It may be difficult to see as a scan but this is Abby's first family portrait and I'm so proud I have to blog about it and show it to everyone. In the upper left hand corner is Cate. Then to her right is Abby. The big "person" is Mommy and under her is Daddy. You can tell it's Daddy because he has glasses. That's right folks. My daughter is 2 (almost 3) and she drew glasses on her daddy. I'm especially impressed with the fact that she "wrote" The Adams Family at the top. There are mouths, arms, legs, eyes, noses... many details that I wasn't sure she was up to doing. Yep this is a brag blog!

Weening

Someone asked me recently how I weened my girls.

Abby weened almost by herself. I was on a very ridged schedule with her where she ate at certain times and never in between. It was easy to cut out feedings and add in formula after her 8th month. She was also eating some solids by then. When the 10th month was up, I was tired of breastfeeding and she was down to 2 feedings a day anyway. I just decided one day that I had enough and we were done. That was her last feeding and she didn't seem to upset about it.

Cate was a little harder although I didn't nurse her as long. I did the same thing. For about 2 months, I slowed down the feedings and added in formula here and there. She was down to three feedings a day when we took a trip and I decided I was done. I don't like nursing in public. I was away from home for a month and I just stopped nursing her. She was not happy about it. There was some crying and that arching of the back. She would bury her head in my cleavage and nuzzle me. I just stuck to my guns and rocked her, held her and fed her warm bottles while holding her very close to me when she was feeling that "comfort nursing" feeling. She's still a bit clingy but I'm all done.

Always copying Mommy

Checking to make sure she has baby latched right.

The bottom line in my book is, they are your boobs and you can have them back whenever you want. You are the parent, you are the one who has to pull out a boob whenever you believe they want to nurse. The older they are, the harder it is because they can begin to ask for a nurse or they can pull up your shirt or grab at a boob.

From what I have read, breast feeding takes two people. If the baby doesn't want to do it, it's not going to happen. If the mommy doesn't want to do it, it won't happen. If you really want to ween your child, you will do what ever it takes. If you are not really ready, you will continue to give in to your babies signals. There is no hard and fast rule about when a baby should be weened. You have to go with your motherly instincts on when it is time. Just be sure you are doing whats best for your baby and not what's best for YOU.

Baby Hopes

Before you hear this story, you have to understand that my nephew is the smallest little guy you have ever seen. He's off the charts under size but totally proportionate. He is also a little brother and loves to copy his older sibling. My oldest nephew is almost totally potty trained and has been "going" in the potty for a while. The baby has been watching and now that he's old enough to indicate some of his wants, he decided today that he wanted to be like big brother, Grandpa, Uncle Andy and Uncle Josh and wear big boy underwear. Mom put it on over his onsie and diaper and he was a happy camper. He marched around showing off his big boyness all over the house and let me tell you, with all those layers he probably put on several extra ounces. At nap time, I asked the older boy to hit the head and little brother followed after indicating that he also wanted to pee in the potty. He's to short for any of the stools to even help him get his stuff up over the edge of the seat so I held him up high. He put a foot right in the bowl. After cleaning off the misplaced foot, I just sat him down. He was the happiest kid in the world. I asked if he was done and he nodded his head, a huge triumphant smile on his little face. I checked to see if there was anything in the potty. Nothing. Not a drop, but that kid was so happy. He got a new diaper, the onsie and back on with the big boy underwear and pants. He's sleeping happily, knowing that he has conquered the potty... almost.

Princess and the Pee

Cate is teething. It's miserable. Daddy is trying to help and that means that both sets of parents are working to get both kids to sleep or rest at random times of the day. We have to separate them right now because one wakes the other up and such. So Cate is on our bed barricaded in with pillows and she takes up the WHOLE BED! Yes, she is a princess. It's amazing how a little 18 lb. baby can take up a queen sized bed and force both parents to sleep in the living room on the floor or the couch or crawl in with the two year old.

On the up side, Abby has decided she's ready for potty training. That means that Mommy has decided she is never going to potty train anyone again and if Abby wants to be a big girl, great. Otherwise, diapers it is until college. Anyway, Abby can get into her own drawer and get out panties and put them on... all on her own. She can also get onto the potty and do her own business. So, if there is an accident, I clean it up and put her in a pull-up. If she wants to put on panties, she knows what she has to do. Updates to follow.

Battle of the Earwigs

When Andy and I were first married, I battled the mice living in his apartment. There were traps everywhere and we lived in the middle of a huge field so that didn't help. However, I triumphed after many weeks and countless times being woken up by the sound of a loud SNAP!

Now we are here in the land of eternal rain and there are earwigs in our house. I don't know of any snap traps that will deal with that kind of infestation. I have been grabbing them up with Kleenex and running them to the toilet to be flushed (to which Abby says, "Bye bye, Nemo bug..." Anyway, I'm battling the earwigs and dreaming every night of them being all up in my nose and stuff. I'm especially worried about my babies having earwigs on them EVER! Therefore, I have decided that I will never sleep. I will be the night watchwoman over my kiddos and grab earwigs whenever they appear. I already function solely on caffeine and cheese. I can go without rest...

The Waiting Room

Seinfeld has a whole bit about Dr.'s offices and the waiting rooms and all that and it's soooooo true. Yesterday, I went in for my annual invasive procedure. I waited with baited breath knowing that it was going to be totally uncomfortable but I would get through it with the usual humor and sarcasm. My experiences with doctors and this procedure have always yielded great blogs. Anyway, I waited and waited and after an hour of waiting and trying to entertain a two year old and make sure she doesn't pee on the rug, they put me in the next waiting room and then... they came in (I've been there for an hour and a half), the nurse comes in a tells me that the doctor is delivering a baby. "Your choices are: Wait for her to get done, or reschedule." Duh, I'm going to reschedule! What a let down... after all that waiting, nothing. Kinda like being the kicker for a football team. Game winning kick coming up in
3
2
1...
Just kidding! TIME OUT! Now you have to wait again.

Anyway... Today, I took Cate to the doctor and we waited again... for shots. I hate babies getting shots. Especially my baby. I cried when Abby got them and I cried again with Cate. Three sticks in the little chubby legs (she's in the 90th percentile in weight and height... chunky monkey) and she screamed bloody murder. I was sooooo sad for her. We cried together and she was to upset to eat so I just held her. She is still whimpering and it's been several hours. I think she's going to hate me forever.

Me and the Porn Star Mom

I was watching a documentary the other day and there was a porn star on who had been married to some crazy rocker. They had a baby together. Cate is only three weeks old so I'm still a little hormonal but even two years after Abby's birth, I have felt a special connection with other mothers.

The porn stars daughter died at 4 years old from cancer. I cried. Yep... I sat there and cried on behalf of the porn star mom. I felt that pull of sisterhood and cried for her. At that moment, she wasn't a porn star, she was a mother and I was a mother and we were on the same level. I wasn't better than her and she wasn't better than me. We were both sad over the loss of human life and although I have never lost a living child, I have felt loss and I felt it for her.

Should that be how the family of God is? Shouldn't we always feel the pull of humanity? Shouldn't we all be on the same level, loving one another and sharing in experiences? I hope it's always like that. I hope I can see it that way. We have all had an experience, the same experience to an extent. Can we all feel that for each other? Can we all feel the pull of being saved and the loss of human/divine life that it took to save us?

31 weeks and I'm dying

I'm at 31 weeks and I'm going to die. Symptoms to look forward to at this stage of pregnancy:

1. Being so big every pair of pants accept your husbands sweats cut off your circulation. Bras as well. You have to get a large bra. I also feel the pain of obesity. I have back issues, hip issues and my legs always feel like they are about to crap out on me.

2. Baby moving around. Now, at first, this is cool. Then all my organs are squished so much that all this movement is becoming rather painful.

3. Water weight. Yes, the tingly feeling of water weight seeping into my cells is starting to drive me nuts. Everything itches and tingles and it's just not nice to notice that your whole body is swelling up like a water balloon.

Well, onward to the end! I will triumph.