This past weekend marked the 6-month point of providing only breastmilk to my little Roni girl, or as I call her my macRONI [DNA confirmed I am 78% of Italian descent so…] I am so proud of myself. It has not been easy, because I am down to making 1 bag of milk a day, but I had enough freezer stash to get me this far. How will I celebrate, you ask? By cutting my remaining milk with formula.

No judgements, but baby girl has to eat, and I just don’t make it like I used to. I have previously stated I will pump until I pump air, which remains true, but supplementing is how I plan to stretch my milk. This is #mymomtruth today. I didn’t mean for my journey to wind down as National Breastfeeding Month also is, but I also can’t help if my timing is impeccable.

Although I am deeply saddened by knowing there will only be a few months left of nursing and pumping, I also am happy to start regaining some alone time. [Editor’s Note: There is no alone time. Alone time ended in 2016, but for the sake of my sanity, let’s allow me to believe I will be able to have some time for myself without an infant or a machine attached to me.] I am also excited that as the days get closer to my breakup with breastfeeding, I can start to drink my favorite licorice mint tea again. If you don’t know, mint is said to lower milk production and help reduce your supply. Maybe one of these weeks I’ll have Ray, Ray make a recipe for some teas!

To wrap up our August Campaign: Real Mom. Real Stories. Real Life., I chose some quotes from our model mothers. For all the other posts you may have missed from this campaign, click here.

And without further ado, I leave you with the best about the breast from our moms.

 “I remember spraying everywhere… right in the beginning, I was overproducing so it was just milk-mania at first!”– Lauren

“I work in construction and I wasn’t going to pump on the job, so I was like, “Yaknow what? Let’s just get him on the bottle, it’ll be easier for [Kim] to transition to feed him at home with our crazy toddler running around.”– Sarah

“There’s nothing like having a nursing baby fall asleep on you. Everything feels at peace in the world.”–Kim

“I’m okay not breastfeeding at this point. I feel so happy that I was able to do it and it was such a beautiful experience, but at the same time I am happy to have my body back.”– Thara

“When they were first born, the amount I had to feed was wild! I was having to feed constantly; I don’t know if it was as much challenging as it was shocking. The time to myself was gone” – Audra

“I have no problem breastfeeding in public. I have an aversion to putting a hood over my baby’s head. I saw the ‘lactation suite’ and thought what has the world come to that we have to hide away and do that? It’s a shame. I’m very happy to nurse in public.”– Narelle

“You’re trying to teach yourself and your baby something brand new that you never had to do before. Even if it’s your second or third kid, you still never had to breastfeed that child, so it’s like learning something all over again.”  – Alex

“I’m sure every mom who’s had to pump has her little cups all out and Dad comes home and says, ‘let me help’ and inevitably knocks something over. Oh man, it’s so heartbreaking when you see that and you think NO. I just sat here for so long, and there goes all my hard work! I was literally crying over spilled milk.”– Darlene

“I think that’s the coolest part about being pregnant is you do feel a connection with baby. It’s indescribable almost, but definitely the best feeling, because I just know he’s going to be a momma’s boy.” – Chakari

What’s your story? @motherhoodmaternity #mymomtruths

Welcome to the first edition of YOUR MONTHLY CRAVING.

Get ready for some easy, healthy and delicious recipes – OH, and we’re bringing back Mocktail Mondays. I’m EXCITED for you to get to meet another copywriter who works for Motherhood®: Ray Peraino.

Head’s up – he’s a wordy one! Over to you Ray:

“I’m a copywriter with a background in fine dining who’s afflicted with an insatiable sense of curiosity. I’m impulsive and excitable like a newly rescued Pitbull pup. I carry around a comically small notebook full of half-baked ideas, quotes, recipes I’ll never make and ridiculous doodles.There’s a lot of similarities between the marketing world and the professional kitchen — the pressure to create, the stress, the camaraderie, the indescribable urge to cater to others. Serving creativity on a fork or on a page both take a lot of thought, consideration, and time — most of which goes unseen or unappreciated, but I blissfully carry on in service, because, well, it’s what I love.”

It was through Ray that we met his friend Lauren, one of the “real moms” from our video series. Lauren shared about being a new mom and how it made her realize that taking care of herself first is vital in order to take care of others.

Lauren said, “Being a working mother and breastfeeding and pumping and juggling everything is very difficult. For my first pregnancy with Maui, nursing with him, I lost a lot of weight. I was not taking care of myself because you’re just trying to provide and you kind of forget about yourself. With the new baby, I’m going to really take care of myself and my son, and really focus on our health and making sure we’re all good.”

Ray recently called Lauren to see how her second pregnancy is going. He asked about how she is now taking care of herself after experiencing that difficulty with her first son.  She used to buy bulk bags of granola to pick on all day because she was so exhausted. But this time around, she gets low-glycemic fruits and adds protein powder with different nut milks in a blender. She told him it changed her energy, which is good since as an optician she is on her feet all day!

In honor of Lauren, doing double-duty as a mom and a mama-in-the-making, Ray has provided us with a smoothie bowl [he’s so hip] topped with granola, because Lauren didn’t ditch the granola, she just knows that mama’s gotta eat more!  Make it; tag it; I want to see it. Take it away Ray Ray! – Daina

Berry Smoothie Bowl with Protein & Granola

This simple recipe was inspired by Lauren’s go-to pregnancy breakfast. I jazzed it up a bit to pack in a few extra nutritional benefits. Oats and oat milk are a great source or iron which is a must to increase milk supply in nursing mothers. The toasted walnuts on top add some omega-3 ALA and the berries are loaded with antioxidants, low in sugar and high in fiber. The Omega-3s are a great source of healthy fats and have been associated with many benefits for baby like brain health and development.

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

2-3 overflowing cups of mixed frozen berries

A few ice-cubes

Some splashes of Oat Milk (Sub almond or coconut milk). Remember, this is going to be something you’re going to be eating with a spoon, not pulling through a straw, so you want it to be thick- be conservative with the milk here. Add it a splash at a time to get things moving.

2 tablespoons almond butter

1 cup of organic, plain instant oats/oatmeal (These blend better, you don’t have to cook them before hand, they’re easier to digest than whole rolled oats and they add fiber to your smoothie without a ton of calories.)

1 Fistful of spinach (You won’t even taste it, scout’s honor.)

1 Serving of the plant-based protein powder of your choice (I highly recommend vanilla here.)

Instructions

• Place everything in your blender, mixing until smooth, adding oat milk as needed.
• Pour into bowls, top with your favorite organic granola and some toasted walnuts.