I'm baaa-ack...

Life is eventful and as a mommie, I feel pretty uncertain of every choice I make. But, usually, at the end of the day, I get a silent reassurance that we are doing just fine. When I look at my little guy slowly drifting into sleep while cuddling his "bwown bearw" book, I know that we are all going to be okay.

But yesterday, we had a long day. After looking forward for months to the visit of a traveling overseer to our congregation, we had to leave early. My poor baby J was having an issue again. The issue is one that we thought had been resolved over a month ago.

Go back 2 1/2 months...
We had tried nearly all natural methods, a few traditional ones, and finally had to mutually agree with our doctor that antibiotics seemed the best route to get this under control rapidly (as it had gone on for several weeks without improvement). He took a regimen of antibiotics and probiotics.We were ecstatic when it worked. The problem cleared up. And he had only a day of nasty antibiotic side effects.

Now to the present...
After napping peacefully as we listened to the well-prepared discourse by the traveling overseer, he woke rather pleasantly. I left the auditorium to change him and found that *sigh* it was back. We took our things, quietly left the auditorium, and proceeded to the emergency room. There, the physician's assistant recommended a straight catheter to retrieve a sterile urine sample for urinalysis and culture. I was happy that she was being so proactive, but secretly in terror that my boy would have to go through that. I quickly asked if I could breastfeed him while they placed the cath. The nurses looked at me like I was crazy. Here I am with a nearly 2 year old about to have a straight cath placed and I ask about nursing him during?!? They were apprehensive, but I stood out of the way, contorted myself as one nurse prepared to place the cath, the other held him down with my husband's assistance. It seemed like forever, but he nursed and occasionally let out a gasp of discomfort. Afterwards, the nurses said that went "surprisingly well". I'm sure they attributed none of it to the many positive results that breastfeeding a child in distress produces. But I do.

And so, while I get strange looks when I mention that I still breastfeed my 23 month old, I'm confident that I have made the right choice for my family. Had I not, he would've been a lot more traumatized and in more pain. I owe this one to our Grand Creator who knows what he is doing!

Learn more about the long-term benefits of breastfeeding.

Kids Say...

When my 4 year old nephew saw me breastfeeding Baby J. He asked, "Is that where you keep his milk?" When I replied affirmatively, he quickly responded, "I keep mine in the fridge." Put a smile on my face.

Attention All Mommies; I'm Calling a Truce

As children, we are always eager to do our best and gain acceptance and approval. When we become teenagers, while we pretend that we want to be individuals and thrive on excelling, it is the security of genuine love that gives us strength. While single, young adults, we have no one to think of but ourselves and feel lost. Then we marry, have babies, and sacrifice much of what we are to offer our sprouting young ones the best.

With this in mind, it is no wonder that we dote, spoil, and place these little replicas of ourselves on pedestals.

Since the birth of our little replica, I've noticed a pattern. I love him more than I ever imagined I could love someone. I know that all mommies and daddies empathize. With all these factors in mind, a competition seems to ensue.

And so, I'm calling a truce. Whether you breastfeed, bottle feed, formula feed, work outside the home, work at home, stay at home, co-sleep or don't. If you have a child who is off the charts, average, below average, silly looking, a Gerber baby, looks like the wrong gender, eats Play-Doh, has shaggy hair, or no hair at all, this is to your advantage.

Let's all just be happy for each other. No more snide remarks or comparisons. Let's all remember that we are in the same boat. We all want our children to grow into loved, well-rounded adults. So, if someone offers uninvited advice, please smile say thank you. Because they're just trying to help.

Happy Truce Day! May we all enjoy these precios moments of child-rearing which will pass much too quickly.

Never try to match wits with a Sicilian when death is on the line.

Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Haha Thud.

Sometimes having a toddler is like going to battle with a Sicilian, except death isn't on the line. Sleep is.

The past few weeks, baby J has acquired a few new, somewhat strange habits. He is determined to continue to nurse frequently at night. And, I, the Norwegian/German that I am, am determined to have my way.

His first battle was realizing that if he coughed, he got mommie's milk. In the beginning, it was a legitimate cough. And because I would never withhold anything good for my son, I nursed him. But then I began to notice that the cough continued, except he had no congestion or drainage. Yet, he would wake up and start coughing. Strategy: Cup of water on the nightstand. Success! Sleeping baby!

His second battle was crawling out of his bed and crying. This worked to his advantage, because when his papa got up to retrieve him, he tripped over him. Both returned to our bedroom in hysterics. So, we put the baby gate up on the top of the stairs each night, propped even more pillows in his bed, and were able to avoid an accident. Success! Sleeping baby!

Tonight, he must have thought, Forget it. They're onto me. I'm a pretty light sleeper these days, so I was surprised at what I heard next. There were small footsteps pattering quickly. Then came a shadow. He looked light a miniature football player barreling towards our bed. I quickly sat up, took him in my arms and cuddled him as he sipped the water. In record time, he was asleep in our bed. Success! Sleeping baby.

I think that I will join him now.

Lazy River Laziness

I had been quite bummed. Many of my friends had ventured away for the weekend. I was feeling very left out and wanted nothing more than a few days away. So, my hubby surprised me with a trip to Timber Ridge Resort & Lodge in Lake Geneva, WI. It has an indoor waterpark and each room is a suite. He told me the morning of our departure of his plans.

It was wonderful to get away, especially in light of the impending snow storm. We made the trek northward and enjoyed the warm indoor excursion with a beautiful view of the outdoors. It felt almost like being in a snow globe, except with the snow on the outside of the glass. We played in the pool and baby J went down his first mini-waterslide. Shortly before the fun was about to end, baby J and I floated on the lazy river. He was tired and very relaxed. He said that he wanted NeNe, so I positioned him gently and nursed him until sleep found him. That is how we ended our retreat. What a lovely way to bond!

Everything I Know, I Learned From Being A Mommie

You think you know everything, until you become a parent...

Then you realize how little you really know.

I had heard it a million times before. Parents would make comments and I would smugly think, They have no idea who they are talking to. I knew from my vast knowledge of how the universe works that breastfeeding past one year old was only to prolong a mother's emotional attachment to her child, that diapers should be changed every 2 hours, that children should sleep in their own beds from birth, that people carrying their children in carriers were hippies, and that I would be the best parent on earth.

To be fair, I thought I would be the best parent on earth, mostly because I never thought that I would be a parent. I had often imagined myself with offspring and that I would be as nurturing as educating. My child would grow to be a highly functional, well-developed asset to society. Ha!

Each day I am reminded how little I know about the universe, nevermind the miraculous workings of a small child's rapidly developing heart and mind. So, despite my worst efforts, I am now the BF, CD, CS, BW mommie. And I love it! Parenthood is a delightful learning experience.

WANTED: Experienced Weaners

Hello all! I know that you are all here because the job market is slim right now, but this isn't a paying gig. This is a search for experiences from mommie's who have been where I am and want to help.

Baby J is 14 months now. By no means do I want to wean him completely. There are still so many benefits for him to continue as a breastfed baby, but I would love advice on how to help him not to want to nurse so often. According to our doctor he is still a full-time nurser, which we don't have a problem with. However, it makes it difficult for his caregiver when I am at work. Ideally, I would like to make nursing a signal that bed and naptimes have arrived and, if he hurts himself (he's quite clumsy, a trait from his mommie), to provide comfort.

I am prepared, so please, fire away...

Oh, please also note that if I have to choose between a FT nurser and a completely weaned baby, I choose nurser.

He can make a sick mommie smile.

Today, I was sick.

My husband stayed home to help me, especially with baby J. Poor baby J hasn't been feeling so well either (because of sneaky dairy). But, he still found the energy to amuse me.

I have a little wooden chair which my dad built for my dolls. He has adopted it as his. He has also taken to the nintendo controller. So, earlier, he sat himself down in the doll chair with the controller in his hands.

Then, just a few minutes ago, he was fussy and sleepy. So, he dragged the boppy to me. Now, he is contentedly asleep on my lap.

It really is amazing how, despite feeling so crummy, he can still make me grin. How did I function as a sicky before my boy?

Sleepy mommie gets in shape...

Although financially things are a little tight right now, I have decided that I need some "me" time to escape from reality. I have always loved physical releases, so, I joined the gym. I am having a really great time because so many of my friends are always appearing there, so I have a lot of support.

Today was quite a day, though. I finished my day in the ministry at about 3 pm and talked with a friend until 4, grocery shopped until 5, picked up new gym shoes, and ran home. Then I frantically made dinner while putting the groceries away, washed my workout pants, fed the husband and the boy. I sat down to nurse baby J for a few minutes and before I knew it, he was sound asleep on my lap. I placed him in bed, changed, searched for socks, laced and put on my new gym shoes, and frantically ran out the door.

While driving to the gym, I nearly thought, didn't I just have enough of a workout?!? But, then I took into account that I had made plans with a friend and still needed some mommie time. I made it to the gym, walked/jogged 1 mile and biked 3.5 miles. All the while, the baby slept for the husband. I feel better now and only hope that he stays asleep while I crawl into bed with him.

Goodnight all.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Decaffeinated Mommie- A Tragedy

As a result of my eagerly sought after desire for rest, I have found solice in my unrequited love for coffee. A true romantic, I anticipated each day the dance that the cream and sugar would have with the freshly brewed beans. I say cream because I am truly infatuated with cream, otherwise known as half & half. The colour that it creates as it blends into the rich brew is a comfort. The aroma that it creates arouses the senses. But the taste, ah, the taste has always been a reward to me. Now, more than ever, my fatigued brain craves it all.

However, my son seems nearly recovered from just shy of 9 months of hysteria-induced insomnia. The solution seems to have been a dairy allergy. Being a true fan of natural nourishment, he still nurses upon his request. While it is not nearly as frequent as during infancy, it is often enough that my dairy consumption affects him adversely. For this, I began to express my deep affection for the unnamed manufacturers of a product referred to as "non-dairy" by their own label.

As a trusting person, I did not second-guess their claim. I simply consumed their product gratefully. All the while, I was not able to mask this lie from my son's digestive system. Because recovery from his most recent dairy consumption was not happening, I began to investigate. To my dismay, the culprits are the very ones who offered me comfort on those tiring mornings. So, to the makers of shmInternational Deliars, at least I know where we stands. It is my deepest desire that we are able to reconcile our failed relationship. Until then, please know that I think of you often. Soon the wounds will heal. I will learn to love again. But for now, I endure.

I'd like to thank everyone but Kanye West

It's 8:14 pm on a Friday night and I am excitedly blogging about, no, not the movie I saw or the restaurant that we ate at, but the fact that my son is asleep! I have always wanted to be a mommie. I suppose that I have led a pretty laid back / uneventful life, so such an evening is not extraordinary to me. That is excepting the fact that my son is peacefully asleep at 8:18 pm.

I feel as though I should treat this as award show; if I did, it would go something like this: " I'd like to thank my son for this wonderful show of gratitude. I'd also like to thank my husband and mother and father and all my dear friends for their support. Also, a shout-out to GF, DF, EF Koala Rice Krispies that keep the little tikes appetite satisfied. And, of course, the endurance and ever present support from Jehovah God, who has tirelessly put up with my tantrums, crying fits, spurts of anger, and insanity due to sleep deprivation."

Last night, after he had fallen asleep nestled next to me, I placed him on his mattress situated directly next to our bed. He fell asleep with much difficulty and awoke at 2 am. It was sooooo refreshing for me to have 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. However, I did awake to the sound of his head thumping against our bedframe as he sleep crawled off his mattress. After that, I think he felt a bit traumatized because he'd only return to sleep after nursing.

Tonight, I thought ahead. I wrapped my gigantic pregnancy pillow around his mattress. He won't sleep crawl / escape so easily again!

Well, pray for us tonight. I think that we might have some resolution with regards to food sensitivities. Thanks again for checking in!

GF Oreos

There is something wonderful and comforting and almost divine about processed flour and sugar. The texture, the taste, the satisfying sensation they create when eaten. If it was for me, I would cope with the side effects of food sensitivities, but for my son, I would eat dirt. Yes, dirt would become my main staple in life.

As I scanned the shelves at Earthly Goods (a coy name for food that is not processed or bleached, in essence, dirt), I actually considered weaning. If we weren't still breastfeeding, I could still be eating normally while he adjusted to this realm dubbed GF, DF, and egg-free. He wouldn't know the difference, after all, he has only been eating solids for 6 months. On the other hand, I have been eating solids for 21 years (well, maybe not, but let's imagine that it has only been that long). So, as I worn my son cozily in our sling and reviewed the shelves contemplating whether to purchase snacks for him alone or for the both of us, it hit me.

I love food. I love Oreos and a tall glass of cold milk. I love iced lattes with lots of whipped cream on top. But, more than that, I love the feeling of my son snuggled tightly against me just before he dozes off at night. I love the ability to provide comfort for him while he is sick. I love picking him up after he has fallen from his wobbly legs and bumped his head. During those times, only mommie can provide what he needs. And, for that, I will make the sacrifice.

Once he weans, though, we are having a snack party with lots of goodies!