Born Musician

]Not sure if you know this, but my baby is a way famous musician. Which instrument does he play? Which instrument does he NOT play?? I just wanted to post some video spam of his many instruments.

Guitar
Drum
Piano

Recorder

Say What?

If one more person asks me if he is talking yet, I am going to scream. No. NO NO NO. Okay!? Nope, not even mama, thanks for reminding me. So STOP asking!! Yes, I know sign language counts. Yes, I know boys are usually behind girls. However, knowing these fun facts doesn't help the fact that I am about to lose my mind from all the grunting and squealing he uses to communicate lately. He is 18 MONTHS old! COME ON! Maybe if I had formula fed, and ignored him more he would feel the need to talk to me rather than just wait for me to figure it out. Darn me for being a good mom and anticipating his needs.

Words he says:
Dada
Kitty
Woof
Uh Oh
No
Wow

Words he signs:
Thank you
Please
Mama
Apple
Bird
Awesome (yea thats a new one)
Water/Drink
More
Hat
Brush Teeth
Elephant
Ball

Lately, he has been teasing me with *maybe* words. Like, he says "gall" when making the ball sign. Or he will say choo when he is holding a shoe. But don't expect for him to repeat it. Cause he won't. Case in point:

Back to School

As you might or might not know, I am obsessed with boobies. More specifically, I am obsessed with the function of breasts. I mean, other than being spectacular fun bags, of course. Did you know that they can actually be used to feed (gasp!) children!? I know, I know, traditionally that is what we have cows for, and more recently, rodents, but it is true, a long long time ago, when women had babies, they had to care for them and feed them themselves from their husband's favorite toys, their breasts.

Used to be, women learned how to nurse their babies from their mothers, aunties, grandmothers and sisters. It was a tradition handed down for generations and it was simply a fact of life. It was what babies ate. Now, because of an entire generation of women who were turned off from breastfeeding because of greedy doctors, misinformed "science" and that thing that rules us all, fashion, we have a hole in the tradition. In many families, there is no one a new mother can go to in order to learn the art of feeding a child. Due to this country's obsession with modesty (unless you are a preteen with hot pants or an underaged pop star) and certain very uptight prudes, most women have never even seen a woman feed a child properly.

Sadly, women still have it in their heads that even without this constant learning process we have been deprived of, nursing should come naturally. So when they are pregnant, they don't ask questions, don't seek information. They are told it is a natural process, an easy adaptation to a new baby and it's mother. Well guess what people, it isn't. You can't learn to do something if you never are exposed to it. Now, without the support of family and friends who are breastfeeding around us, there comes a need for a specialized job called a Lactation Consultant. The job of an LC is to teach a woman is to work with new moms and babies to learn how to work with each other and to successfully accomplish a nursing relationship.

I have decided to pursue this career for myself. I can't think of a worthier cause than to help moms and babies be healthier and happier! This is not something I can accomplish in a few weeks, it is a highly specialized certification which will take me 3-4 years to complete. I have the course work, which alone will take two to three years. Then of course, there is the 600 hours of counseling experience (through becoming a La Leche Leader) I have to complete before I finally take the leap that is the final test to become certified.

I am so happy that I have found something that I feel passionate about, and that I can accomplish while having babies in my arms and at my feet. I feel like I am truly coming into my own, and though I know that being a stay at home mom is a very difficult job, I need something more. Sorry. I do. I need to use my brain, and my talents and my creativity. I need PEOPLE, I need to learn! I am so so grateful that I have found a way to have both.

Oliver is....

...going to be a big brother!! I know I said I would wait to tell people, but I am looking at it this way, I need all the prayers, good thoughts and positive vibes I can get. If something goes wrong, I will need people to love me and get me through it again, and when it goes right, I am going to need people around me rejoicing.

I am only a month along, I got my positive test at only 9 days after ovulation, which is insanely early. I have my first ultrasound and appointment on the 11th of August at 8:30am after we get back from Colorado. I have decided to get an ultrasound through my OB/GYN before picking a midwife for the rest of the pregnancy and the birth. I still want a home birth, I still want a medication free, intervention free birth and I still want the gender to be a surprise.

I am exhausted, hungry constantly and nursing Oliver is quickly becoming very painful. However, I am continuing to nurse him until he decides he no longer wants to, I can't see weaning him and because there is no threat to the pregnancy (had nothing to do with the last miscarriage) I will continue. I have to believe that this pregnancy will be successful and come the end of March, I will have a tiny baby in my arms.

I am asking you, my friends and family to only have positive and encouraging things to say about this pregnancy and the new baby. Please do not say anything negative to me, or anyone else about it, I need nothing but happy and positive feelings around this child. If you believe it is too soon, or bad timing, or whatever, please, keep it to yourself. Love this child from the beginning so that he/she will want to stay.

I will leave you with these pictures of Oliver, he is so cute how could I NOT have more babies?

Free to Be, Dairy Free

As many of you know, my dearest baby son has never been what you would call a good sleeper. At best, he wakes up 1-3 times a night. Then, the weekend after we returned to the coast, he slept through the night twice in a row. HOLY CRAP! This has never ever happened his entire life. Giddy on sleep, I start searching for the reason he was doing so amazingly well!! His naps were good and long those days, we didn't do much different though. And then, in the middle of the dairy section of the grocery store it hit me all at once. We have been out of Whole Milk for the past two days!! The same days he was sleeping through!

I immediately left the store, and got on Google. It seems that if your child has never slept through the night, no matter what weaning, training, etc. that you have been doing, a food allergy is often to blame. Wow. You mean for the past 18 months my baby has been suffering while I have been frustrated and cranky and angry with him for waking up? Thank god that we decided not to let him "cry it out" like everyone suggested, in this situation, that would have been akin to abuse.

Apparently, dairy allergies can manifest themselves in several different ways. Rashes, vomiting and loose stools are the most common, but there can also be emotional, behavioral and sleep issues! So, Oliver is now completely dairy free (with the exception of casein and whey) he no longer eats milk, cheese, sour cream, etc. We have replaced cow milk with soy milk - which has the same amount of calcium btw - and he took right to it!

As Oliver is still nursing, I am trying to cut milk out of my diet as well, but it proves to be a bit harder for me. UGH! I want to be completely dairy free in a few weeks because I do not want to go through this with another child.

Life is a Beach

Sorry I haven't written in a while, I have been exhausted trying to keep up with my boy. At the end of June, my mom took the whole family to the beach. when I say entire family, I mean THE ENTIRE FAMILY. We had 10-14 people in a fabulous rental house, (mom, dad, two cousins, aunt, grandparents, sister, brother in law, husband, son, and two long lost relatives). It was SO relaxing and the perfect trip to celebrate all of the events in our lives (graduation, going aways, wedding, birthdays, etc).

The fun you can have with a toddler on a beach is endless! My son, the Aquarius, has absolutely NO fear of water, waves or sand. Instead of running from the waves, he ran into them and fell just as they crashed over him. He played endlessly with sand, filling buckets, emptying buckets, crushing sand castles, and stealing other kid's sand toys. The kid was rarely out of his swimsuit. He kept wanting to go deeper and deeper into the ocean. I never want him to lose his sense of wonder about the world, that innocent bravery!

He slept so great during the coast trip, he slept through the night the first night, but after that it was once or twice a night which is fantastic! I guess that is what you get when you wear him out all day! It was so nice to have so many family members around, it is such a relief to know that EVERYONE is keeping an eye on the kiddo, and he isn't just bored with me all the time.

I leave you with pictures (sorry so small - stolen from facebook) and video!!

Having snacks on the beach!

Hanging with his Jonathan





Daddy and baby, being safe!







Not sure why, but he kept finding holes to sit in...