Happy 15 months to my little son, Sebastian Josip!

My life, happy 15 months 🐣 20.01.2017. 💝 Sine moj, neka te na tvom putu uvijek prati sreca 🌟💫

Don’t ever forget to smile 😀🌟💫❤️ 


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#MOMMYMONDAY: MEDELA NIPPLE SHIELDS REVIEW | HOW TO BREASTFEED WITH INVERTED NIPPLES?

Hello lovelies!

In this "MommyMonday" post I'm sharing with you my video review of Medela nipple shields and telling a little bit about my experience with breastfeeding and inverted nipples.

I was recommended to get Medela nipple shields by hospital's obstetrician (where I gave birth), and they suggested the size I should get.

I didn't go on my own to buy nipple shields out of my own initiative; at that time I really had no other choice: Because of my inverted nipples, my son couldn't latch, and so it was impossible for me to breastfeed him. I wanted to stress that out, because I don't think you should get nipple shields without first consulting your obstetrician or lactation specialist. Nipple shields are a temporary solution (they were indeed, very helpful in my case, as thanks to them I was able to overcome the problem of inverted nipples); my son eventually learned how to latch properly, and now that he's 13 months I still breastfeed him (without the nipple shields).

I used them until he was 2-3 months old, and then, one day, it just happened: He was able to latch without nipple shields! It was like a little miracle, because I tried having him latch for countless of times, and it was always a struggle which resulted in him crying and hungry and me being quite stressed out. As soon as he latched without the help of nipple shields, my milk supply started to increase (as there was no more that barrier that affected my milk supply), and I was able to switch from mostly formula feeding, to exclusively breastfeeding my son.

It was definitely a hard and challenging journey, and I thought that, because of the shape of my nipples, my son would have to be formula fed and that's just how it's gonna go down, but luckily, I kept trying and I never gave up on breastfeeding him always before formula feeding...one day he was able to latch without that "plastic barrier"...

Nipple shields were indeed very helpful the first few months, but as soon as my son was able to latch, I ditched them, as I wanted to increase my milk supply and I knew, by using nipple shields this would never gonna happen. When you have direct "skin to skin" contact, the hormones are released, to affect and stimulate milk production, if there is constantly a barrier between your nipples and your baby's mouth, chances are high that your milk production won't be enough to satisfy your baby's needs.
So yes, they were helpful (in my case), but don't use them just to prevent cracking or sore nipples (there are plenty of great nipple creams and oils that can help you out with that!).
If you need to use them for a bit, because it's just way to painful to breastfeed without, then use them for some time until your nipples heal, but aim towards not using them if not necessary.

Here is the video where I talk more about this subject:

and all about my breastfeeding journey:

#throwback to february,15th.2017. My baby was 25 days old! Time indeed flies by! Our bundle of joy :-)

Please feel free to share with me your breastfeeding story!

Did you ever have to use nipple shields?

Were you able to breastfeed and for how long, or did you use formula to feed your baby?

Healthy Chocolate Rice Krispies Recipe | Sugarfree!

Hello lovelies!

This post is going to be a little bit different, as I'm not going to talk about beauty or fashion, but I'm going to share with you one awesome recipe for a chocolate rice krispy, that you can easily and quickly make at home!

I love making easy and healthy treats at home, especially now that I'm a Mum, I'm always on a lookout for healthy treats that I can easily make for my son, (when he gets a little bit older).

WHAT YOU NEED:

Rice Puffs (I use the bio, wholegrain rice puffs from Cadoro supermarket in Italy)

Coconut Oil

Peanut Butter (also great with almond, or any nut butter)

Maple Syrup, Honey or Rice Malt Syrup (I used honey)

Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)

DIRECTIONS: 

Put 4 spoonfuls of coconut oil in a cup, mix it with a spoonful of peanut butter, 3-4 dessert spoons of cocoa powder and a good amount of honey. Mix it well together, until it reaches a smooth consistency.

In a plastic container (suitable for freezing), lay the puffed rice (this is going to be the base of your chocolate treat). Once you have blended the mixture well together, pour it on top of the rice and distribute it evenly with a spoon. Make sure that all the rice is covered in this mixture.

(If you see that you don't have enough mixture to cover the rice, you can quickly & easily create some more!)

Then,  put the container into the freezer for a couple of hours!

After a few hours, your dessert is ready, enjoy! 

I'm always inspired by other mommy vloggers, so I want to mention Elise Sheere, thanks to her youtube channel I discovered this recipe!

You can also check out my vlog/ recipe video, where I show you, step by step, how to create this delicious treat:

Please let me know if you try out this recipe and if you'd like to read more recipe posts from me in the future!

* read more fashion & beauty articles at Glam Express

My Baby Boy's Clothing, Food & Essentials Haul in Croatia!

Hi guys!

Recently I went with my little family on a short trip to my home in Croatia. It was sort of a mini vacation and we all enjoyed it pretty much!

When I was there, I went in a few stores that sell baby clothes & other essentials, and I picked some items that I want to share in today's post.

My dear long time friend Fatmira came to visit us, and she gave me a gift card to use in S. Oliver's store (as she said, she wanted to get to my little Sebastian some cute bits from that store, as their clothes is really cute and nice quality.)

This is actually the first time I was shopping for my boy in S.Oliver's store and I can say that I was very pleased with what I picked out!

My little son already has quite a big selection of summer clothes (and babies grow fast), so I decided to pick a few things in bigger sizes, that he's going to (hopefully) be able to wear next summer!

Aren't these T-shirts and a little bandana adorable?

I also went to Drogerie Markt and Muller drugstores and I picked some yummy baby food and hygiene essentials:

I'm still breastfeeding, but my baby is 7 months old now, so he does eat some solids too. I usually cook his meals (I got the Philips Avent blender & steamer that I'll be reviewing soon), but I discovered these delicious Frutek meals that you can offer to your baby as a breakfast or dessert, and boy, does he love them!

They're made in Slovenia, and...well done! They're super delicious (can mommy have one too? lol), and I even went back the next day, to buy some more (as I haven't seen them here in Italy).

I also bought some baby hygiene essentials, such as Penaten creme (recommended by my Mum. She said she used Penaten products on me and I never had any irritations or nappy rash), Water Wipes (probably the best wipes on the market, as they don't contain any chemical ingredients, only water and fruit extract), great for sensitive skin. I like to buy them whenever I'm in Croatia, because I can't seem to find them here where I live in Italy :-(

You can get them in DM and Muller, but in Muller they're more affordable!

I also picked some cute bath products and his first toothbrush (by MAM). He only has 2 bottom teeth so I think it's still a bit early to start brushing his teeth (he doesn't even know how to spit yet!), but I'd appreciate to know your experiences and advices, when did you first start with your baby's oral hygiene?

You guys know that I don't share pics of my baby on the social medias, but here are a few "candids" where you can see bits of him and his daily life activities.

He's such a good and dear boy, he loves to play and he always smiles! I love him more than life!

You might have noticed that, since I became a Mum, my blog has been moving into a slightly different direction...Well, I started my blog a very long time ago (has it been 7 or 8 years now?), and it never started as exclusively fashion blog, but it had a mixture of everything (fashion, beauty, lifestyle...)

A few years ago, I started posting mostly outfit photos and my blog was taking almost exclusively that fashion direction. I got to work with numerous fashion brands and I'm not going to lie, I loved it.

Some really cool outfits and fashion posts were created in that period.

But since I gave birth to my precious boy this January, taking outfit photos has been pretty much impossible to me! I would try to "steal" a moment whenever we were out as a family, but those photos never looked as professional and put together as they used to (we used to go on a hunt for the perfect location, and my stylings were always carefully planed days ahead).

I don't say that I miss that, I'm just saying that, being used to delivering one type of content, it felt quite frustrating knowing that I took a step (or two) back in the quality of the content that I'm currently producing for you guys.

That's why I decided not to stress out about impossible situations, but to "adjust" my blog to my current lifestyle. As I truly enjoy being a Mum and I believe that my son is the greatest blessing in my life, I really want to share with you more of "Mum" related topics here, and tell you more about my & my son's journey :-)

You were already able to notice that I posted more beauty topics and reviews in the past week, and I'm planing to continue in this direction.

So from now on, there'll be lots of more beauty topics, lifestyle and Mum & baby related topics! Of course, fashion is still my love, so I'm going to try and surprise you with an outfit post whenever I can, and also "New In/ Haul" type of posts.

Since I'm doing this blog update, I also wanted to be honest and straightforward with you and let you know that sponsored posts and "wish lists" are also welcome here on my blog, as they're giving me the possibility to earn some extra $$$ to invest in my blog/ youtube and to provide better quality content for you. This is the only reason I say yes to those type of posts, as every single $ earned, I like to invest in my blogging/ vlogging. However, I always state, at the bottom of the post, when it's sponsored.

I hope you enjoyed this post! I really feel better about blogging again and I feel more motivated.

I think I really needed to pour my thoughts into this post, as everything looks clearer now!

I hope you'll keep following my (blogger/Mum) life journey :-)