Home

We are home now and recuperating. Abby's eye surgery went well. We see the ophthalmologist on Wednesday to find out exactly how well the surgery went. There's a possibility she might have to have a minor adjustment surgery next Thursday, but we'll find that out Wednesday. We're crossing our fingers it won't be necessary, but we'll see.

This morning my poor baby woke up with her eyes swollen shut. Despite that, I can tell she's feeling much better than she was yesterday. Yesterday was pretty rough, she was uncomfortable and exhausted and unable to fall asleep. Fortunately, she had a good night's sleep (which means we did too) and was able to eat some pancakes this morning, so I think things are looking up.  

Thank you all for your prayers.

A random Abby picture from a month ago.

Arrested Development

Anyone else super excited for the return of Arrested Development on Sunday? Matthew and I have been looking forward to this for like a year, so I'm hoping it doesn't disappoint. 

We quote Arrested Development all the time. Lucille Bluth is by far my favorite character, but Gob is high on the list too.

Extended Breastfeeding

Never in a million years did I think I would be one of those mothers who breastfed her toddler. I was always a little weirded out by children who could walk right up to their mother and ask to breastfeed. No way would that be me.

Fast forward a couple of years and my dear second daughter, Abigail, is a few weeks shy of turning two and I am still nursing her. In my defense, I don't think nursing a two year old is quite the same as nursing a four year old, but I know some people are weirded out by the fact that she and I still have that nursing relationship. I do get a lot of questions from well meaning friends and family who ask "just how long do you plan to breastfeed her?" or "oh, that is still going on?" Their questions are more out of curiosity than disgust, fortunately.

The funny thing is that I am not a huge proponent of extended breastfeeding (breastfeeding past one year) or some lactation activist (yes, that is actually a phrase), it's just this is what has worked for Abby and me. Before she was born, I planned to try to nurse Abby for a year, that's always the goal with each of my babies. With Hannah I didn't even make it to a year. She self-weaned at 11 months when I was pregnant with Abby and it was no big thang. 

But Miss Abigail was an entirely different baby than Hannah. She could never take a pacifier or a bottle (I'm praying to God that Baby #3 can at least take a pacifier). A pacifier or a bottle would just make her gag or she would simply spit it out. Thus, the only way to feed, pacify, comfort, put her to sleep, etc. was to nurse her.

She nursed exclusively until she was eight months old. We tried and tried to introduce solid foods when she was 5 months and 6 months and then 7 months old. She wasn't having it. She knew what she wanted and she wasn't settling for less. 

So, our nursing continued.

Plus, with her additional medical needs--surgeries, helmet therapy, and such, our nursing relationship provided a lot of emotional comfort through some challenging times. I was especially happy that I could nurse her through her "big" surgery back in October when she was in the hospital for a week. Being able to comfort her in that way, especially when she couldn't see me because her eyes were swollen shut, meant a lot to me.

A year and a half ago, I made a promise to myself to nurse Abby through all her surgeries. Abby has one more surgery tomorrow morning. This time her eyes are being operated on to fix what is best described as a type of strabismus or "lazy eye." If you could remember to say a quick prayer for her tomorrow, I'd appreciate it. After tomorrow, the bulk of her serious surgeries are done. Alleluia! 

As difficult as it has been at times to continue with extended breastfeeding, I'm really glad we have. The benefits to nursing for so long far outweight the challenges. Dr. Sears, a well known pediatrician, writes a lot about the physical, emotional and social benefits to breastfeeding. He notes that children who are nursed in terms of years rather than months tend to exhibit a lot of similar traits, among them are: better lifelong health, high intelligence,greater independence (usually people think the opposite is true, but studies have shown...), easier to discipline (I don't know if this is true, not exactly our experience, but hey), empathetic, and the list goes on. This is not to say that if you don't breastfeed your child for an extended amount of time or even at all that your child won't have any of these traits, I don't believe that at all. He just notes what he has observed in his pediatric practice over 30 years. It may be anecdotal, but a lot of how he describes these kids fits with Abby.

These past few months, I've noticed Abby beginning to self-wean more and more. We are down to about one nursing session a day, sometimes two. Obviously, I think the fact that I'm pregnant and probably have like zero milk supply helps a ton. But I also think our relationship is changing too. She's not such a baby anymore and she doesn't depend on me in that way as much. Truth be told, that makes me a little sad. But I also know it's for the best and that I'll have another little one to nurse soon enough.

I don't know what our next child will be like, if he or she will be another nursing fiend or "high-needs" type baby, but if I've learned anything in these last few years of mothering it's that a lot of being a mom means "just going with it." For Abby, that meant nursing her in terms of years rather than months. For the next baby, I don't know, time will tell.

Abby's Perch

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but Abigail loves to climb. One of her favorite climbing spots is the window sill in our bedroom. She loves to just gaze out the window. Sometimes she waves to people, most times she just watches the world go by. She's such an old soul sometimes, my Abigail. I love it.

I love this picture.

Happy (belated) Mother's Day

Me and my babes.

Happy belated Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Besides my own lovely mother, I have two grandmothers and a wonderful mother-in-law. I am quadruply blessed!

But rather than praise the many virtues of my own mom, grandmothers and mother-in-law (because I could go on and on about these ladies), I thought I might write briefly about my own kids and my own experience with motherhood.

This might sound like an annoying and braggy mom-type thing to say, but I seriously feel so lucky to have the kids that I do. They are such lovely, lovely little girls and Matthew and I are absolutely crazy about them. 

They are both so smart and funny and kind and pretty darn cute (if I do say so myself). We really like our kids, which is one reason why we want to have more of them! 
 
It's funny because before I ever became a mother and even before Matthew and I were married, I worried a little that I wouldn't like being a mom. I completely bought into the societal influences that like to pretend children ruin everything (marriage, finances, physical appearance, etc) In theory, I knew that children were a blessing, but I didn't really believe it. I just assumed that I would be disappointed each time I discovered myself pregnant.

I couldn't have been more wrong about myself. 

Being a mother has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. And I am thrilled each and every time we find out we are expecting another baby. How could I not feel anything but elation to learn there is a life (a life!) growing inside of me?

And all that fear surrounding kids is simply no longer there. Sure, there are certain stresses that come with having kids, but oh my goodness, there are infinitely more joys. 

Thank you Libby for taking these pictures! There are so few pictures that I have of myself with my kids.

Because It Was Time for My Blog to Get a Little More Interesting...

...Baby #3 is on his or her way! 

I wish I had an ultrasound picture to share with you all! Hopefully in a couple of weeks when we find out the gender (which we're going to do this time around), I can upload the ultrasound then.

Anywho, we're thrilled and can't wait to meet the newest addition. We are blessed!

I'm Comin' Out!

Out of private blogland!

I've decided to make my blog public again. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with ye olde blog and have decided that I want to start writing again about a wider range of topics (other than my children, not that they're not great and all). 

Now my oh-so-deep thoughts can be shared with the entire internet and not just my mother (love you Mom!).

And now instead of two readers, I might get three. 

Here we go!