Why I Wear My Baby

Before Gehrig was born, I'd never really thought about wearing my babies. I had a friend who always wore her baby, but I thought it was just her thing. When Gehrig was born, though, we didn't have a stroller, and after lugging his carseat around for a month or so, I finally got a sling.
It was convenient and easy and comfortable, but Gehrig grew so fast and we ended up getting a stroller so I didn't use it all that often after he was six months or so.
When Logan came along, however, I fell absolutely in love with my sling. I don't understand how a mother of more than one child can survive without a sling. For one thing, Logan hates his carseat. I cannot take him into stores in it unless I want to spend the whole time treating everyone else in the store to his screams. If I pop him in the sling, however, he just looks around and smiles at people until he falls asleep.
For another thing, I can't imagine trying to push a stroller and keep hold of Gehrig. He moves so fast, and, of course, he's two so I can pretty much count on his not listening when I tell him to stop. With Logan in the sling, I have two free hands so I can keep hold of Gehrig and carry something, if need be.
If I didn't wear Logan, I'm pretty sure we'd be spending most of our time at home. My sling took a bit to get used to, and I had to do some experimenting before I figured out how to wear it comfortably, but now I can slip it on and slip Logan in and out with no trouble at all. I get more comments on it than anything else, and 9 out of 10 times, people either tell me Logan looks comfortable or I look comfortable. And they're right on both counts.

Pictorial Randomness

My daddy walking me down the "aisle."

The most beautiful wedding ever at my aunt's house in the mountains.

Mike and Mini-Mike a.k.a. Gehrig on our trip to Florida a couple years ago.

Gehrig and Daddy making a birthday card for Jesus on Gehrig's first Christmas Eve.

My big brother and me. I just think this picture is so awesome.

My grad school roommate, Adrianne, and me at our graduation. I'm not sure why I was looking at my degree. :)

Me and my sweet boy Gehrig when he was a day old.

On our trip to Florida, Gehrig had to take a turn driving every time we stopped.

One of the best parts of Christmas in Singapore was going to Orchard Road with all the other missionaries to see the Christmas lights. These pictures just fill me with wonderful Christmas feelings.

My brother, sister, and me.

My first and dream car, Blue32. He died in 2007, and I cried for days. I adored that car.

Right Now...

I'm feeling guilty for not updating my blog in forever.

I'm enjoying the quiet fall morning before any of the boys wake up.

I'm wondering if I'll eat dairy today or if I'll stay strong for a few more days.

I'm so happy Logan is still exclusively breastfed even though I came so close to giving him cereal when he was so fussy this past week. (We're holding out for eight months of EBF!)

I'm hoping the boys behave for the Halloween party today.

I'm wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans (woo-hoo!) and a tank top (over which will go a warmer shirt before I leave the house--also woo-hoo! for the cool weather).

I'm jealous of my friends who are pregnant but can't imagine adding another kid to the mix just yet.

I'm still trying to think of ways to raise money to go visit my awesome big brother.

I'm contemplating two memoir-type stories for Ordinarily Extraordinary.

I'm super excited that my mom and dad will be here two weeks from tomorrow! I have the most awesome mom and dad in the world!

I'm thinking about fall in Pensacola.

I could be yard sale-ing, but I'm too lazy.

My feet are cold.

I'm still wanting to be the fourth Charlie's Angel but realize now that it's never gonna happen.



Until...
Liz

Rolling Over!

The Terrible Twos

We are in the midst of them, and I am about to lose my mind. I told Mike that I'm ready to go get a job because that would certainly be easier than spending all day with my little terror. I love Gehrig more than life, but the kid has worn me out. He wakes up at 6:30, refuses to take a nap, and is horrible by the evening. He whines about everything and throws fits if he doesn't get his way. I know that's mostly because he's just so exhausted, but I don't know what to do about it. I can't force the kid to sleep. I get maybe two hours of respite by myself at night before I fall asleep from exhaustion, but usually either Gehrig or Logan wakes a couple times during those two hours.
All I want is a little time to myself without listening to whining or crying. But then I read blogs and forums where moms are gushing about how much they love being mommies and spending all day with their toddlers; how they can't get enough of them. And I feel guilty. I must be a horrible mommy to want to just get away from my kid. How come I don't want to spend every waking moment with him? Am I doing something wrong?
I've come to the conclusion that I must not be alone. I know there are other moms out there who feel the same way, and I think some of them might be the ones gushing about spending time with their kids. So if you're with me on this, please comment and let me know! Also if you've been through the terrible twos and have some tips, please share. I'm at my wit's end. :-/

Until...
Liz

Gehrig Snippets v.6

Gehrig has my more laid-back personality, but he does get quite a few things from his daddy. Things like not listening (although I'm told that's just a male thing), being contrary just to annoy me (he'll argue that red means go even though he knows green means go), and being completely picky about food. But yesterday he showed me he got another thing from his daddy too--sweetness.
We were in the boys' room, playing, and Logan was just laying on the floor, kicking his little feet. Gehrig laid down beside him, put his arm around Logan, and said, "You're my best buddy, Wogan."
As if that weren't enough to melt Mommy's heart, Logan turned and gave Gehrig one of his slobbery, open-mouth kisses. Gehrig giggled and said, "That makes me happy!"

Why I Breastfeed (and wean at 1 year)

Before I had Gehrig, I was kind of ambivalent about breastfeeding. I planned to breastfeed him because my mom had told me I should and because we were BROKE and I didn't want to spend money on formula. If I'd known WIC pays for formula, I might have decided not to breastfeed. Thankfully I didn't know that!
Once I started nursing Gehrig, however, I knew I could never do anything else. It was hard at first, and definitely painful, but every time I nursed him, I would just feel this rush of overwhelming love for him. And it's the same way for Logan. I truly believe you'll never feel closer to your baby than when you're nursing him. I also like the fact that no matter where we are, what we're doing, or who we're with, when it's time for my baby to eat, he's all mine. I give him something no one else can.
After I had already fallen in love with breastfeeding, I started reading up on it. And breast milk is truly amazing! It gives the mother's antibodies to the baby so if the mother gets a virus, the baby will probably not get it because he already has his mommy's antibodies. It changes as the baby's stomach matures, starting out being completely easy to digest and getting more complex as the baby grows. I even read an article that said studies are showing it can help prevent cancers like leukemia! But then why am I surprised that God-made milk is better than man-made milk?
I know some mothers try as hard as they can and just are not able to breastfeed (I know a mom who pumped for seven months just so her baby could have breast milk since he couldn't nurse), and they have my complete sympathy. I'm definitely not saying if you can't nurse your baby you're not a good mother! But I do think if mothers who aren't even interested in breastfeeding their babies understood how amazing nursing is, they'd reconsider.
I was so sad to wean Gehrig at 13 months, but I knew it was better for him. He had started cow's milk and was mostly eating solids anyway. And he was ready to wean--I thought he'd miss nursing, but he acted like he didn't remember at all. And that's the way it's supposed to be. I feel like it would have been harder on him to wean any later. Now I'm thoroughly enjoying nursing Logan, and I'm dreading next year when I'll begin weaning him.
My boys are huge (both of them are consistently in the 90-95th percentile for both height and weight), and neither of them have ever had an ear infection and they rarely get sick. I believe that's because they were and are breastfed babies. Feel free to share your ideas about breastfeeding (even if they're contrary to mine)!

Until...
Liz

Gehrig Snippets v.5

Gehrig can't hear me when I say "stop it" or "don't do that," but he hangs on every other word I say. He woke up at 6:30 this morning, and Logan woke up shortly after. I fed Logan, and then climbed back into our bed (Mike had fallen asleep on the couch, as usual) to snuggle and maybe get a little more sleep. I invited Gehrig to join us, and he proceeded to run back and forth from the bed to the living room bringing me various things. I'd left out all the sale papers from the Sunday paper, and he brought me the Dollar General one so I could "see what's on sale." He lay on the bed beside me, looking through the ad and naming things he saw, then he exclaimed, "Forty dow-ars?? That's 'dic-er-rus!" :)

And here's a bit of Gehrig-ese that I find cute:

Elegator - elevator
Tart-pops - Poptarts (he calls them by their proper name now, and it makes me sad)
The Judsons - The Jetsons (he has a friend named Judson at church)
"I've got fire in my nose" - "I smell smoke"
Donkey-man - Buzz Lightyear (we finally figured out he was saying "star command." I think he finally gave up trying to explain to us and just agreed that he was saying "donkey-man.")
Dora Bora - Dora the Explorer
Cheese grilled samwich - Grilled cheese sandwich
The mall - anything with a playground
'Pecial gum - his special gun (a gift from his cousin Tobie)
"No way, sir!" - No way
"Ahoy ladies!" - "Ahoy maties"
Marshmellers - marshmallows

I know there's more so I'll have to add another list when I think of them.

Until...
Liz

Blog hopping!

I've just discovered blog hopping, and since I'm bored, I'm giving it a whirl. :) Here's a hop or two I'm participating in:






Until...
Liz

Gehrig Snippets v.4

For some unknown reason (other than the fact that he's two and a boy), Gehrig threw his green binky (one of his favorites) into the trash yesterday. Now I am all about throwing away the binkies--we've cut binky use down to only naptime and bedtime and I've decided we're not buying anymore--but I wouldn't have just thrown away one of his favorites. He was quite upset when he realized he couldn't get it back out. He's asked for it a few times, but he already knows where it went; he's just looking for sympathy. :)
Today he asked once again, "Where's my green binky?"
"You threw it in the trash, remember?" I answered.
He turned his big sad eyes on me and said, "I miss it sometimes because I cry." (I'm pretty sure he got his clauses backwards--he's still experimenting with "because")

The other day we were driving somewhere, and Gehrig was busy "shooting" other cars with one of his guns. Then I heard the gun hit the side of Logan's carseat (missing Logan, thankfully) and Logan coo in response.
"Gehrig," I said, "Did you throw your gun at Logan?"
"Uh-huh," he answered happily.
"Don't do that, you could really hurt Logan."
"But he likes it, Mommy!"
And I'm pretty sure he was right.