Monday, August 19, 2013

Look Alikes

I recently got some pictures of my husband as a baby. I put some collages together. I think Maxim and Maggie are little clones of him. You be the judge


 I couldn't find a good picture of me at 2 to compare. Though my face was round at 2 like Max's is but he has all daddy's features.

Friday, August 9, 2013

13month Coconut update

Our little Coconut is 13months today. No, she is not walking. She does have days where she takes a crazy amount of steps and then nothing for a week or more. I think she is waiting until Daddy is working less. If you remember she didn't really start rolling over until 7months but by 8months she was crawling and 9months pulling up. She just likes Daddy to see her milestones just like her big brother. No weight or length updates until 15months. She babbles alot. Her newest thing is she tries to blow kisses. It is so cute. She is still a huge foody. There is not much she doesn't like. Maggie is still in 6month clothes and her hair is getting so long that I often take a small clip to keep it out of her eyes. I don't plan on cutting it anytime soon. Her hair doesn't surprise me since about 11months Max has had monthly haircuts. Hair on the ears bugs me.

Max though he still isn't most understandable 2 year old his vocabulary is definitely coming along. I think the newest addition is Water and Bubbles. Bubble Guppies is the first tv show he has requested. He will point to the tv and say bubbles. Sometimes he will just point and say tv. He also calls both the radio and tv, "tv." Whenever we try to differentiate different items like radio and tv or car and truck, he just looks at us and says okay. He doesn't say "yes" he says "okay." For instance, "max, are you hungry?"   "Okay" will be the response. "There you go," "here we go," "no" and "uh oh/ oh no" are still big staples of his vocabulary. Maxim also loves to grab people by their finger and show them things where in a store or in the house or at the aquatic center.  We love our little buddy. He is also doing so well transitioning into a toddler bed. I have also been leaving the door to his room ajar and when he is finished reading books to sleep he wakes up and comes out. I am so proud how well he is doing.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Boys Home

As you may or may not know I am part of an organization called MOMS Club. It is a great group of ladies with wonderful kids. It is such a great drama free environment. Seriously! For example a little boy in the middle of potty training peed on a little girl during a playdate in the backyard and nobody got mad. What can you really do but laugh?  Anyway after a year I was asked if I was willing to join the board. So I am now the Administrative Vice President (Admin VP). I am in charge of charities and fundraising.
One of our ongoing charities is the Methodist's Boys Home. They house about 12 boys at any given time. Each friday we volunteer to bring a baked good. We also keep track of birthdays and if a birthday falls that week then we make sure to bring something like brownies or cupcakes.
Well it is back to school season and to help them out a little more we are donating some school supplies. I am so thrilled with what we are donating considering we only have about 25 members and probably half are actually actively involved. We have 22 notebooks, 2 package of paper, 3 packages of pens, 2 packs of highlighters, 2 packs of colored pencils and 4 glue sticks.
I know they are grateful and appreciative of our donations especially when we drop off the baked goods and the boys look excited. It just feels nice to give back.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Breastfeeding

You may or may not know this is world breastfeeding week. You may be surprised that the reccomendation is 2years. Well personally that is too long for me. My goal with both kids was a year. Max we only got to 6months and with more support I think I could have made it a year. Though many people do it tandem nursing non multiples doesn't appeal to me, so Maxim would have been weaned a at year.
One fact about breastmilk that I find fascinating is your babies saliva changes the content of your milk. Basically as your child grows and needs change so does your milk. Also breastmilk is supply and demand. When you are empty your production increases and when you are full it decreases.  So when baby is constantly at your breast during a growth spurt constantly "emptying" it is telling your body to make more! Also I use quotes around empty because you are never truly empty. Even though it is almost a month since weaning Maggie I am still producing milk.
It makes me sad that many moms are told they can't. Your milk can take upto 10days for your milk to come in. Before that you are just producing colostrum.  This is certainly enough for your newborn. Many moms in the 80s and 90s were told that they couldn't breastfeed and this was probably simply not true for most. Luckily, more and more hospitals are taking formula samples out of delivery rooms. When I was admitted6/ when Maggie was born they were in the bottom of the bassinet and the nurse simply asked if I was planning on breastfeeding and when I said "yes" she removed it. I wish nurses would stop telling new moms "just incase." I feel this just leads to breastfeeding failure.
Though Max was a champ off the bat, it took Maggie 2 weeks to get the hang of breastfeeding. It is nice having a husband who is a good support system and even through those 2 rough weeks was a huge help.
Just because you didn't breastfeed your previous babies doesn't mean you can't breastfeed subsequent babies. Also even if your baby is 3/6/9months old and formula fed you can relactate. It may take 4-6weeks of dry nursing but you can do it.
I know this blog is usually just about family but this is a topic that inspires me.