Nursing

Disclaimer: This post is exactly about what the title states and I always followed my momma when she said "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". I would appreciate if you would take my momma's advice too.

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Something that has really been on my heart lately, as my nursing days draw to a close, is how taboo nursing a toddler has become in our society. I have never been a victim of any such attacks, but know people that have.

 

Amongst my friends, I have 2 other friends (who I instantly felt connected to) that chose to nurse past what most people consider a "normal" age. It was always such a comfort to be able to hang out with them knowing that I would not be judged in my choice of nursing my little guy a bit longer than most. We can talk and relate on so many levels.

 

It was coming to a point where I was feeling ashamed for my choice to continue to nurse past 12 months, than 18 months and now he will be 2 in December.

 

I was confident with my decision to continue to nurse until the well known "TIME" magazine article was published... if you missed  it you likely live in a cave... just sayin. Not long after that article I had somebody ask me if I was going to be the next person to be featured on the cover.

 

It crushed me and gave me so much insecurity about my decision, that from that day forward I starting lying when people asked me if I still nursed. My answer was always, to chuckle a little first (you know the... trying to act like they were crazy) followed by a, "No we weaned months ago".

 

In a way it is my fault for allowing people to make me feel insecure about doing something that did not affect anyone but me and my child. The past few days it has hit me that I have absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed of. I love nursing my child and he loves it too. Why in the world should that offend anybody?? I am not asking them to watch me nurse or give their opinion on nursing.

 

A conversation I had with my husband last Sunday made so much sense to me, because I used to be the "Ew gross, you nurse and 18 month old" type of person UNTIL my wee one was placed in my arms and our nursing relationship began.

 

 I told him that it was crazy that Crewe was going to be 2 in December and it was still so normal to nurse him. He didn't seem too big or even too old for it, it just seemed like it did was he was a newborn.

 

What my husband said back to me made so much sense, he simply stated "It has been a part of your and Crewe's everyday life since he was a born, so it doesn't seem weird because he has just gradually grown as you continued to nurse. It's not like somebody just handed you a 2 year old one day to nurse". Mind blowing right? I don't know why I had never thought about it like that.

 

There are too many mommas out there who's kids are all grown and one thing I hear over and over is how much they miss nursing. That tells me something!

 

Will I nurse any future kiddos as long as I have nursed Crewe? I don't know, there's a chance that they won't even like nursing, but I for DAMN sure will not have an 1 ounce of insecurity or shamefullness about it.

 

So to any of you momma's who don't feel supported in your decision to nurse past the "normal" age (again whatever that is), NEVER let somebody make you feel ashamed for the good that you are doing. It's mind blowing to me that people will look at you like you are breaking the law if you nurse past a year.

 

 

Issues Lately and BFF's

Let me take you back a bit to my high school days. Not my favortie time in my life, not the worst, just kind of "meh" for me. Up until my junior year I was pretty content with my looks. I mean I had come to terms with the monkey length arms, not hitting purberty until about 16, but all in all and all I can't really complain.

 

My junior year I had a mean sweet friend point out to me that my left ear sticks out farther than my right. You would have thought somebody told me a family member just died with how long those 8ish words have stuck with me. Up until that day I had never noticed it and to this day EVERY time I look in the mirror I see it.

 

Ok so before you all start boohooing for me and consoling me... I have come to terms with it and it kind of makes me laugh now. Kinda.... If ya'll think I am kidding my stepdad used to give me a hard time because I can hold a pencil behind my right ear and it stays... no such luck on the right side.

 

What sticks out most to me in A LOT of my pictures are my similarities to Legolas from Lord of the rings. You think I am exaggerating?

 

Here I am with my ever so prevelant ear sticking through my hair. It.Never.Fails to show up. Next to me... Legolas

 

I'll wait until you can catch your breath.......

 

Done? As you can see I still have major issues have completely come to terms with it.

 

Moving on....

 

My sweet friend Cassie and I have boys that are 10 days apart and we are convinced they are going to grow up and be best friends, keep each other on the straight and narrow, pal around, say no to drugs and make us momma's proud.

 

Nixon came to hang with us for a bit last night and boy did we have a good time. I will let the pictures do the talking. These boys love each other.



What I would look like with twins..... see the ear?

Planes were flown

 

Motorcycles ridin

And the boys were totally into my posed photography session.
 

Love those sweet boys. We are headed to the apple orchard/ pumpkin patch on Saturday... which is sure to result in a video. It's just how I roll!

 

The Good Stuff

A lot of times in my life the things that don't go as expected turn out to create my favorite memories. Now, why I haven't just learned to go with the flow more when there is a change in plans??? Maybe when the plans change for the 1,561 time.. I will learn to just be cool with it.... not be so... what's the word... uptight, maybe??? Stick up my butt??? Possibly.... You get what I'm saying.

 

We had big plans of pumpkin patching it Saturday until the hubby and I got into a bit of a disagreement and I did some retail therapy instead.

 

Pumpkin Patch 2011

 

 I had played up the pumpkin patch in my head too much to have it go anything but perfect. The disagreement passed but the pumpkin patch will happen next weekend.

 

Instead Friday night entailed a long excurrsion here... swoon. Two glorius hours of uninterrupted browsing and mentally decorating. A little piece of heaven.

Surprisingly, Daddy and Crewe opted out and stayed home to create this.

 

 

Followed by, what Daddy calls "Club de Moran"

 

 

I have a feeling this big little gem will stick around for a while.

 



I also cleaned out a moldy garage fridge in my pajama pants, a tank top and no bra (for 3 hours) WITH the garage door open. Our neighbors love us! It turned out marvelous and would have made for a helluva before and after picture. No pic though ;-(

 

Sunday was total family time with church.. where Crewe decided to dirty his diaper as we were walking out, shoulder to shoulder with other church goers, causing us to leave a not so pleasant trail and getting some strange looks like we don't bathe.

 

 

Followed by lunch

 

 

Which led to more shopping.....

 

Now I am not the one that my friends, family, pretty much anyone.. turns to for fashion advice. Most likely if we hang out you will find me around 2 years behind in the fashion world UNTIL... today. I closed the gap in my fashion statement by about a year today. So, so proud!

 

In fact I came home and put these babies on with my black tights and a t-shirt and wore them the rest of the night. You know, just to break them in a bit ;-) My husband thought I was crazy. Of course I am just adjusting to being more fashionable.

Notice the nice paint and bleach stains on my knee. Just shows I have
a ways to go before making ANY kind of fashion statement.

We finished off the day with painting in the backyard, wine, steaks and sweet potatoes.

 



Then we stepped in dog poop, got our feelings hurt and refused to walk on the grass the rest of the night. Can't say I blame him.

This weekend rocked and next weekend has a tough act to follow!

 

Oh and what programs do you use to make collage pictures for your blog? I need some help!

Insignificant

It is amazing how wrapped up I can get in the insignificant happenings of life, that seem so huge at the time.

Crewe has been waking up again at night and it has utterly thrown me for a loop. I love my sleep and felt so blessed when, at 14 months, he decided to start sleeping through the night and I feel I live in fear any night he wakes up that we are going to start the cycle again. It is not so much the getting up that bothers me, it is the fact then when he goes back to sleep around 4, I am wide awake. Losing sleep is not my favorite.

I am not greatest at segwaying (don't really  even know if that's a word) so hang with me on this.

Loss seems to be a prevalent happening right now. Just this week I have learned of a sweet baby girl who was born early and lost her battle and was taken far too soon... to a young man who's life was  lost in a car accident just 2 days ago, leaving behind a wife and precious 11 month old daughter. 

It really has put some perspective in my head about what the signigicant and insignicant things of life are. How that momma that lost her sweet newborn would give anything to hear a crying baby through a monitor wanting to be rocked or how the wife who lost her husband would  love to crawl back into bed, after rocking her baby, to her husband peacefully sleeping.

THOSE are significant, life changing, tragic events.... no matter how much I would like to think a waking toddler is.

 

It causes me to question the decisions God makes for our life. I know that God is soveriegn and would never make a wrong decision, but I just don't understand and know in this lifetime I never will. All  I can do (and am called to do) is trust and work daily not let fear dominate my thoughts.

 

THAT is a daily battle for me... when there are people on this earth that I cannot even fully grasp my love for or thought of them not being here.

 

This statement that I stumbled upon calmed my heart a bit in my fear of not fully trusting God.... 

 

"Faith is not the absence of doubt, but still walking towards the presence of God so He can deal with the doubt.."

 

Just some of my thoughts before bed. I will definitely have a different perspective when my sweet boy whines through the monitor at 3am.

 

 

 

I did it!

My first Vlog! Can you tell I am a little more proud of myself than I probably should be. If you read my Epiphany post it kind of explains why things like this make me all hot, sweaty and nervous. I do think its good to get out of your comfort zone though.  

 

Yes, I did go over what I would say about 10 times before I hit record.... although I give myself some mad props for just going with the 1st video and not recording it 10 times although I really wanted too.

WARNING: Turn your volume down, for some reason I felt the need to talk 10 decibels to loud.

 

 

Can't wait to check everyone else's Vlogs out. It is so fun to put faces and voices with the blogs. Oh and link up with HOLLY and EMILY, so I can get to know you better.

Diary of a Wimpy Momma

 It never dawned on me, until I went through childbirth, that when you get the joyous news that you are expecting, there will also be blood involved. Blood from birthing the babe (I won't even get into the 6 weeks after birth) TMI?.. Well, if you're a momma you know what I'm sayin', blood from pricking your poor baby's heal if they are jaundiced, blood from when they are learning to walk and fall a million times, the list goes on....

 

This is all quite problematic for me because I turn in a royal wimp at the site of blood.... like I have to give myself a 7 day pep talk just to donate blood. Followed by 48 hours of me telling my husband how exhausted it makes me to donate and I think my blood pressure its too low to do it. Excuses??? Never, not me!

 

Well a few weeks ago my honey was out of town and my poor kiddo took a HUGE face plant into our wood floor. I say INTO because he literally took a chunk of tooth out of his mouth when he hit. To me that is not ONTO but INTO..... so you guessed it, blood starts going every... he is screaming.. I look into his mouth and half his tooth is missing.. and I panic!!! Like almost called 911 panicked.

 

 

Please tell me other mom's react like this at the sight of their own child's blood? Well with that particular instance I surprised myself, gave myself and A+, "way to go" mom, and I am pretty sure I literally reached around and patted my own back.  Lots of blood, Momma acted her age.

 

AND THEN there was tonight. Sweet boy was chasing Daddy around a rack in Target when I heard the cry... you know the cry... not the "I need a hug because I hurt my head cry", but a true from the gut "something is REALLY wrong" cry. My heart sank and I was afraid to look up from the shirt I was debating on buying.

 

Blood was EVERYWHERE. Dripping from his nose.... his mouth... we couldn't get baby wipes out quick enough to keep it from getting everywhere and to make matters worse his poor cracked tooth, from his previous fall, cut his lip.

 

I went into mommy mode, high blood pressure, fast heart rate, inspecting every inch of him to make sure it was nothing too serious. Daddy took him out to the car and THAT'S when it him me!!!

 

 I just saw a whole lotta blood. Things rapidly declined from there. The room started spinning, the Target lights looked 10 times brighter, my stomach started turning and I new I was in for it.

 

From there, I sat in the drivers seat, sent John back into Target to finish up the shopping with Crewe while I stayed in the car willing myself not to pass out. Seriously??? Seriously???

It's like I turn into a wimp if I have the option a.k.a Daddy is there, but if it is just me then I can be tough. Although in my defense I do not know how to change it.  

 

Oh AND.... John text me from inside while I am acting like a 5 year old in car, letting me know that he ran into some of our friends. I can imagine the convo went something like this.

 

Friends: Is Alexis here?

John: No, she's in the car.

Friends: Why is she in the car?

John: Crewe fell and started bleeding and she reverts to the age of 5 and has to sit in the car with the A.C. on full blast to stay coherent.

 

NICE! 

 

So yeah, I pretty much don't know what I am going to do if he ever needs stitches. Advice welcome!

I did rock him a bit longer tonight because it broke my momma heart to see him like. My boy definitely has his Daddy's hair.

Proofreading this just made me realize maybe I should stop at 1 kid as it appears I cannot even keep him in one piece.

 

Stay tuned for my Dimplage post! You don't want to miss it! I will need input on that too! Oh and if you need an affordable way to advertise your blog do it with Holly's blog. $10 for a whole month. She gave me a shout out today and I have 10 new followers in 1 day.

 Dang good in my book and welcome to my new followers! So happy to have you follow along.

True Story

This little Crazy Wrap Thing is completely changing my families financial future and it can do the same for your family!

 

I never thought it was possible to replace my FULL TIME salary that we lost when we decided that I would stay at home with our munckin, until I found this amazing company.

 

We are able to bless others beyond what we EVER thought was possible and there is no sign of me every needing to work again! TRUE STORY!

 

Read more about this crazy wrap thing and see a host of before and after pictures HERE

 

 

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