The Month Is Almost Over!?!

The oldest ram twins (about three weeks old)

This is one month where I keep looking at the calendar and thinking, "how did we get to the end already?" Granted we had a lot going on this month from baby plans that involved a visit to the hospital, to the baby shower, to setting up the nursery, and so on.

Then there are the lambs in the barn. The three sets of twins that arrived at the beginning of the month are all healthy and growing quickly! We had one more lamb arrive last week. A single ram lamb born from a first time mom. Both are doing well.

The newest ram lamb (three days old)

The same day he was born, we lost a ewe. She prolapsed and was not able to pull through as she was in too much pain. We lost her lamb, too. It's always sad when one losses an animal.

We are still waiting on several ewes to lamb, and hoping they all do well.

The days keep quickly passing by, and like I said at the beginning of this post, I am still in shock that we are at the end of the month. Where does that time go?

Next month will be busy, too, with early planting and plowing, and more lambs arriving. It is a never ending cycle, but it sure beats being bored!

Early Signs of Spring

I always look forward to the early signs of spring. The daffodils starting to bud, the early tulips poking out of the ground, and the grass slowly getting greener.

Other signs of spring are the lambs which arrived quickly this year, and are now slowing down. We have a ewe who should lamb any day (or week) now. The rest of our younger ewes, who will be first time mothers, look like they will be lambing at the end of the month or sometime in April. It is hard to say, but they are definitely pregnant.

It is looking like a good lambing year for us. We now have two sets of ram twins and a set of ewe twins. This will be our first ewes from this ram, who I was beginning to think would not produce a ewe.

Other than the lambs and flowers, spring is not arriving quickly enough weather wise. We did get a glimpse of warmer weather this past weekend, but are back in the thirties with snow flurries today. I guess it still is too early for warm weather to stay. I cannot wait to put the winter clothes away until next season!

Off to a Good Start

Saturday marked the first day of the new arrivals at the farm, our first lambs, a healthy set of twin rams!

The first born twin about 12 hours old.

The second born twin about 12 hours old.

When we first found the laboring ewe, she had delivered the first lamb. We waited a few minutes and then decided to move her and the lamb to the lambing pen. Little did we know that a second lamb would arrive. We thought she looked big like she would have twins, but we also thought that she would have had both lambs by the time we had moved her. Well...we thought wrong!

It just so happened that we stepped away from the lambing pen to get fresh bedding for the pen when we heard a lot of bleating. I left hubby to fend for the bedding while I went to look to see what the commotion was about. To my amazement, there was a second lamb!

We are truly blessed, and are looking forward to the rest of the lambs arriving.

Homemade Nursing Pads for Breastfeeding Moms

Let's face it if you are a nursing mom or a soon to be nursing mom, you potentially will need nursing pads. There are a two options available at the store, disposable and washable.

I will go through my thoughts on the two before we get into how to make a washable nursing pad. If you do not feel like listening to me rant a little, then just skip the next few paragraphs.

The money savings, if you were to use disposable nursing pads exclusively, are HUGE. Most of the disposable nursing pads I have seen in the stores are around eight to nine dollars for a box of sixty pads. One will use two pads at a time (typically you will be changing nursing pads at the same time, sometimes you may not, but for the sake of argument, we will assume that you change both nursing pads every time you leak or feed.) Considering you feed a newborn baby eight to twelve times within a twenty four hour period, that means you will be changing nursing pads at least eight to twelve times a day. Not to mention the times in between feedings when you just happen to leak. We will say you need to change three times a day in between feedings, just so our math works out. Who really knows how many times you may need to change.

This brings our total use of nursing pads, assuming you feed ten times a day (the middle road for the average) and change three times a day in between feedings, to twenty six nursing pads a day. That box of 60 will not last long if that is the case!

In addition to the cost, think about all of these nursing pads showing up in landfills across the country. I think we have enough trash everyday that we really need to think of ways to limit our garbage.

As for the washable nursing pads that you can buy in the store, they typically cost about twenty dollars a pair. You will need more than one pair, and I will let you figure out how many you need based on how often you want to do laundry. They do sell wool nursing pads that I hear are easy to rinse, dry, and reuse without having to launder them, but they cost significantly more than the other types of reusable nursing pads.

All of this brings us to my latest project, homemade nursing pads. I did a quick google search to figure out what materials to use, and how thick to make the nursing pads. Then I went to work on gathering my supplies.

According to my research, flannel is the most recommended material to use for homemade nursing pads. If you do not have any old flannel lying around, any material that is 100% cotton will work. You could also go to the local thrift store and look for some inexpensive flannel sheets, or even buy some at the store.

I could not find an old pair of flannel anything at home that I was willing to cut up, so I raided the old T-shirt stash that was meant to become rags. I found enough 100% cotton T-shirts to make what I feel will be enough nursing pads for my need.

After gathering the material, I used an old CD as the template for my circle. You could use a disposable nursing pad or a store bought washable nursing pad as a template, too, or anything that will give you the right size and shape to cover properly. The CD looks like it will work.

I then traced circles onto the fabric using the CD and a highlighter. I am sure a marking pen used for sewing would work better, but I did not have one. After the circles are traced, cut them out with a good pair of scissors. Mine were a little dull as hubby was using them to cut flooring, of all things.

Now that we have our circles cut, we want to put four circles together to create one nursing pad. Sew these four circles together using a sewing machine or hand sew if you would like. I have been hand sewing mine as I have yet to convince hubby of the need for a sewing machine. I use the oversewing stitch, and I have washed a few to make sure they will not fray. It works wonderfully! It takes me about twenty minutes to hand sew one, but I am a slow mover. I am sure it would be a quick task on the sewing machine.

I hope you have found this information useful, and happy sewing!

Our Snow Princess

Princess in the snow

We have several barn cats that we have come to consider as part of the family. Like most animals and people, they all have their own unique personalities. I have a fondness for all of them, but Princess happens to be one of the cats who have taken hold of my heart. She is one of the only barn cats who follows me everywhere. She even escorts me home, unless the snows too deep or she's hunting.

Of course, on cold days I think she is just trying to find a way to get into the warm house.

She is such an affectionate cat that I sometimes wish she could be an inside cat, but I know she would not be happy cooped up in the house. Plus, I do not see our house cat being happy about sharing her home, as she likes to hiss at Princess when Princess is outside the window.

I sometimes think that she was supposed to be a dog as she is my faithful companion when I am outside. She even follows me from the barn to the ram shack when I go to check on their water and hay supply. Of course, I think part of her reason for going with me is because she likes to see the rams. They love to chase her around their pasture, and she seems to enjoy darting around, especially when she can slip through the fence before they get to her.

I often wonder what the neighbors think when my husband and I are outside because his dog is always at his side, and now I have Princess at my side. She is eleven months old, and I am hoping that she remains as sweet and affectionate as she is now.

Princess at four months old

It amazes me how affectionate she is considering when I first found her, she hissed at me when I picked her up. She used to hide from us when she was small. Then one day, she stopped hiding, and wanted to be right by my side. Ever since that day, she has been my faithful companion.

Weathering the Storm

We had an ice storm and a snow storm last week. I had hoped to get out of the house to do a little shopping, but was either iced or snowed in. It was rather difficult for me because I have been feeling the cabin fever lately and really needed a day, or two, out.

Luckily, the weather, although cold, has been mild this week. I went shopping, and found some nice yarn for a good price. Now I have some projects to do, which will come in handy if we get another winter storm.

In addition to the weather, last week was the start of my extra treks to the barn. Lambing season is coming up in a few weeks. We should have arrivals by the end of the month. If I do not get myself used to going over more frequently to check for lambs now, it will be more difficult for me to get into a new routine when I absolutely HAVE to.

Now that lambing season is close by, I am itching for spring. We have yet to see the ground without snow or ice covering it since Christmas. It is getting tough on us, and on the animals as they have been confined to the barn while we wait for the ice to melt.

It Is Freezing Out There

I cannot say that I like this cold weather. We have been in the single digits or colder all week, and I am looking forward to above freezing weather!

This time of year, I long for the summer months when going out the door to check on the animals means tossing on a pair of shoes.

I CANNOT get away with only putting on shoes in this weather! Instead, I venture out in so many layers that I start to resemble the little brother from A Christmas Story. It is comical, if your not the one bundled up.

Generally, I do not mind being bundled up. It is the time involved to get bundled, and the time involved to take the layers off. Especially, if I am only coming in for some water or a bathroom break. Then it seems pointless to spend the time taking off layers and putting them back on. Of course, if I am only going to be in the house for a few minutes, I rarely take all the layers off. Just the necessities like my boots and coat.

I am beginning to think that I would much rather be a sheep this time of year. The only thing they have to complain about is the lack of fresh pasture to graze.