Snowed In

I know most of the country, especially those up North, are sick of the snow, but this is our first big snow in ages! While generally speaking I loathe the snow, I am finding it quiet pleasant this time around. Probably because we haven't had it in so long, it is a welcomed surprise. Plus, watching Lo play in it {inside mind you} and listening to her squeals of delight as she watched it fall made me happy.


But I am getting a tad bit of cabin fever. So glad Chad is home to keep me entertained and help out with these two kids I am getting use to. Not sure how Target is staying in the black with us snowed in...hopefully we will meet again soon Target! ;)

Therefore, I have absolutely nothing to really post about. But that won't stop me! HA! Here is all the randomness that is going on as of late.

1. I am frantically getting Lo a 2nd birthday party put together. I decided this year it just needs to be very low key and family focused. Next year when Micah is ONE! and Lo is THREE! We will go all out for a joint party. {A nice little perk of your kids only being 4 weeks apart.}

2. Nursing woes. Have I mentioned that Micah and I struggle with nursing?! Due to his low birth weight, high bili levels, and wt loss after birth we had to switch to bottles of breast milk for a few days, this just exacerbated the problem. Have you heard how white preemie boys are the laziest?! Well, Micah fits that bill to a tee. He just wants the milk to pour down his throat and do very little work to get it. It is beyond frustrating.

Lo was an AMAZING nurser. This kid never messed around, she would latch on through my shirt when she was hungry, ;) not Micah. Yet another difference between my babies. So needless to say I never thought nursing a second baby would be so hard.


Now, all he does is fight and fight me to latch on and nurse. I really don't want to quit before the 6 week mark {just the small goal I set for myself, ultimately the goal is a whole year}, but he is really trying my patience. Plus, I don't want him burning calories fighting me. Nursing should be a rewarding and bonding experience and so far it has been anything but. Last night he actually did better, so I am praying hard that we are turning the corner?!?!

So there is the latest on Micah.

3. Speaking of nursing, these are my nursing brownies. :) Oh.my.word. they are delish and I am not ashamed to say I ate 95% of the pan all by myself. My mother always told me you need lots of fat and water to make good milk, so bring on the brownies. They are mint chocolate and I am in heaven!

When my mother had me she ate these all the time while nursing. So it has become a family "joke" that I have to have these for all my special occasions, ie birthdays, having and nursing babies, it is a must. I could care less about anything else then getting those brownies! Now if I could only get Micah to enjoy the "chocolate" milk. ;)


4. Here are some pics from our fun in{Side} with the snow. Chad and I would brave the snow for a quick minute to fill up buckets of snow for Lo to play in, where it was warm!

Now Chad is off shoveling us out, since our side of the street got the worst of it! The temp here feels like -15 or something crazy like that, what a brave man I have!

Up next laundry and snow ice cream...be jealous! :)

10 Months

Sigh.
10 months old.
A year ago I was big and pregnant wishing I could hold my sweet little girl in my arms.
Now she is here and making this Christmas one of the best I have experienced.

Happy 10 Months Leighton

Here are all the fun and crazy things you are up to this month:

*You are starting to say "da-da", "bye", "bah" whenever you see the dogs, and on occasion say "ma-ma"

*You "sing" along to songs. As soon as you can talk and sing I am sending you to Jendy for voice lessons :)

*You dance to music. Especially, when the pop-tart commercial comes on. You stop whatever you are doing to look up and start to boogie.

*You climb UP the stairs.

*You throw your toys and mostly importantly the ball for the dogs (as promised in this post ;) ).

*You give us your toys, food and sometimes kisses when asked.

This is your bed head. I am excited b/c you have to have HAIR for that! :)

*You still aren't walking on your own, but bolt around the furniture and on your walker like a pro. Although today you took 1 tiny step (twice) before falling. I am hoping for a Christmas miracle. It is all I want for Christmas...for you to walk!

*You had your first overnight stay with mommy and daddy for a small group retreat. This resulted in you sleeping in a tiny twin bunk bed with you just so you would sleep. You are not a fan of the pack 'n play evidently. A very tiring, long night for mommy. Although I did love waking up next to you and snuggling you all night...sometimes sleep is a tad over-rated. ;)

*Finally you are almost weaned.

Our very 1st bottle together.

This is a decision that didn't come lightly. I planned on nursing until you were a year. However, with your recent weight loss caused by my decreased milk supply I had limited choices. It was sad at first but I am loving it now.

We did go to the Dr. today to do a weight check to see if you had gained. The verdict:

Your 10 month stats are:
Wt: 15lbs 40z Ht: 26 in

So you have gained (up about 11oz)! Yay! Just another of many affirmations of my decision to wean.

It also means daddy can help more and it allows him some much needed bonding time with you. You even hold your own bottle.

*This month we celebrate your first Christmas and I can't wait.

I have never laid under the tree and looked up at all the lights? Am I weird do other people do this. It was neat and sort of peaceful. Go on try it.

We love you sweet girl. You are growing up to be a beautiful and delightful little girl. I look forward to seeing your big smile every morning. Happy 10 Months!

Baby Steps

This weekend was a big weekend for me. I left Lo in the care of her Grandma Rachel while I attended a movie! It was so hard for me to leave her. I haven't been away from her ever for longer than maybe 45 minutes while I ran to the store. Plus, she still refuses a bottle so I really feel tied to her. I was secretly hoping that she would take a bottle while I was gone but no such luck. However, it was fun to be baby free for those few short hours with my husband! I really needed that time even though most of it I spent worrying and torn...but remember baby steps!
Then on Sunday I put her in our church nursery so for once I could be apart of church. Usually once the "light show" and music is over, Lo is done! And then I spend the rest of it out in the lobby! Plus, there was no where for me to go to nurse her except the bathroom and quite frankly I was tired of dragging a chair into the handicap stall with my arms full of a baby and diaper bag! Again dropping her off was hard, but I knew I was just a few feet away if they needed me! I was hoping that maybe they could be successful in getting her to take a bottle, but again no such luck and at the very end of service my number flashed up on the screen! But at least they have an area back there for me to nurse in...no more going to the bathroom! Honestly this was my whole purpose in taking her to the nursery! Re-con! I am fairly new to this church and don't know all the ins and outs yet!
So while it was tough to leave her it is important to my sanity to get out WITH my husband! (or grown-ups).

I have also discovered this book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and while it is wordy and has a lot of scientific facts in it, it is helping understand how important her sleep is (it is NOT FOR THE WEAK) and how to reclaim it! So I am currently on a mission to get her to sleep better! So far it is going well. I have managed to get her to take naps (short ones) outside of her swing!!! That is a HUGE achievement in itself! So again baby steps!

Sadly these are seriously the ONLY pics I have of her sleeping!!
Why? B/c she NEVER IS SLEEPING!

Nothing is more precious than a baby sleeping! I shall keep you posted on how it goes, and I am ALWAYS open to suggestions!

Sleep is for the Weak!

(sorry don't know how to "turn" the picture)

My mother-in-law bought this onesie for us before we even knew if we were having a boy or girl or even chosen a name. When I got it I thought to myself "hahaha, that is funny...but won't be TRUE! Babies do sleep..." Oh how VERY naive I was and perhaps jinxed myself with that thought! Because while it is true that babies sleep it could NOT be further from the truth when it comes to Leighton! Maybe I drank too much coffee while pregnant who knows, or maybe she is like her daddy who can get by on just a good night's sleep either way mommy is TIRED!

I thought I had made a break through with her sleeping through the night last week but instead she just was taunting me! We have now reverted WAY back, it is like having a brand new newborn again. One that has to be nursed every 1.5-2 hours! Then once 9am rolls around we are up for the day! It absolutely astounds me. Then when daddy gets home we are SUPER fussy b/c we are SUPER tired! (That statement really goes for both Lo and me!)

I am up for suggestions if anyone has any! Part of the problem is she is a snacker and as a breastfeeding mom it is hard to know how much milk she IS getting, so when she does doze off it doesn't last long b/c she gets hungry again. (and please don't suggest a bottle, because she REFUSES bottles! Chad tries and tries but after 30 minutes she eventually gets what she wants...mommy!)


Here's hoping for some sleep! :)