I'm A Weaner...

... a breastfeeding weaner that is! Two weeks ago today was our last nursing session. I'm gonna write this post in Q&A form even though no readers actually asked questions about my nursing experience. I am hoping this format will keep my rambling to a minimum (because I could go on and on about this).

How long did I nurse?

I am so, so proud to say that we made it to a year!! Anyone that has even tried nursing one time knows that it is quite a feat! We had our share of issues in the beginning, but we were old pros by the 3rd month. Ok, I'm done bragging... : p

What was your weaning game plan?

I dropped one feeding per week. This was suggested by everyone and their mother (literally) as the best and easiest for both mom and baby to wean. Aidan dropped a few feedings all at once during the nursing strike he had when he was 10 months; he was down to 3-4 feedings per day after the strike. To read more about his nursing strike, click here. The first feeding I dropped was the mid-day feeding. Most days it took quite a bit of coaxing to get him to nurse during the day so this was an easy one to drop. After about a week without that feeding, I decided to work on the morning feeding. Again, most mornings he wasn't all that interested in nursing so that one was also easy to drop, [I disliked dropping this session because I could no longer pop him on the boob and relax in bed for a bit longer in the AM. ; p]

Finally, it came time to drop the middle of the night feeding. This one was kind of rough... there were definitely some sleep deprived nights and some tears involved, but we got through it alive. I could write a whole new post about these middle of the night feedings, so I'll cut myself off here for this post.

The last feeding to go was the bedtime feeding. I was worried that this one would be as hard as the middle of the night feeding, but it actually went pretty well. Although, we did have a couple nights of confusion on Aidan's part. He would hand me his pacifier and just lay there waiting, as if to say, "Ok mom, I'm ready to get my bedtime snack." It was pretty cute! I just gave him some water, put his pacifier back in his mouth, and then cuddled him for a bit. That's all it took. He never cried to nurse and went down just as easily as he did when he would nurse before bed.

Overall, I think our weaning game plan lead to a great victory! :)

Now, about me... how did weaning affect my body?

 More specifically, how did it affect my boobs? It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, there were about 5-6 days of severe discomfort. I didn't have much engorgement, but there was definitely some tenderness. Ouch, ouch! I took some meds when it got really bad and just waited it out. By day 6 of no nursing, there was a big improvement in the tenderness. On day 8, they weren't tender at all and had deflated shrunk down to their pre-pregnancy size. This might sound crazy, but... I sooo missed my tiny boobs and I love that they are back! : D

I think the weaning process also had a small affect on me mentally as well. I had some *ahem* hormonal moments. These 'moments' weren't any worse than my most tame PMS 'moments'. <---- From my perspective, Aric's opinion on this might differ slightly. ;)

Do you miss nursing?

Yes and no.

I miss the cuddles. Aidan is way too active to cuddle with his Mama, so I lost most of the scarce snuggles I did get from him when we stopped nursing. I miss the ease of nursing... pop him on the boob and BAM, he's fed. 

I don't miss my big boobs... AT ALL! I don't miss having to watch what I eat or drink. I can drink coffee anytime of day and if I want to I can have a [or 4] glass of wine at dinner and not have to worry about his bedtime feeding. 

Overall, our weaning experience went really well! I hope I can have a similar experience with our next one.... [which won't be for awhile]

Here's a little teaser for my next post about Aidan's 1st Birthday...

"Hey Everyone... I'm ONE now!" :)

If anyone has any other questions about my breastfeeding or weaning experience, feel free to ask!

Mommy Monday

I am LOVING the stage in development Aidan is in right now! :)

I love it so much so let me count the ways...

I love how interactive he is these days. He imitates all the sounds Aric and I make; my personal favorite is when he imitates sneezes and coughs. It always makes me giggle.

I love most of the time how curious he is about ev.ery.thing! He wants to touch, see, move, open, close, rip, and most of all, eat anything that crosses his path. He has become totally enthralled with the toilet lately much to his parents dismay. Yuckola!

I love his new interest in books. Up until very recently, Aidan enjoyed gumming and turning the pages of books but not too much else. He has now come to enjoy listening to me read and looking at pictures before he tries to shove the book in this mouth.

I love how great of an eater he is. Despite a short-lived nursing and eating strike around 10 months, Aidan will eat anything we offer him. I'm sure when he's older we will go through many picky phases, but for now he enjoys all things food.

I love how active he is. He is non-stop all.day.long! He crawls like a pro and is pulling up and cruising around any and all furniture he can find. He very much enjoys doing 'laps' around the coffee table. Oh.so.adorable. Also makes for a tired baby = good nap... me likey this a lot! :p

I love that he doesn't walk quite yet. Hehe. This contradicts the above, but his Speedy Gonzales-like crawling and cruising is more than enough to keep me busy right now. When he starts crawling... the 'A' household will never be the same. Eek!

There are an infinite amount of things I love about my days with my handsome guy so I can't actually count all the ways, but these are some of the highlights.

Happy MLK Day All!!! : D

Stop taking pictures and finish feeding me Mom! ;p









I know I have been neglecting my blog recently... I keep hitting speed bumps, with the most recent one being that the power cord to my laptop doesn't work so my computer can't charge (I'm using Aric's). UGH! I am hoping to get a new one this week. Also, I am going to introduce a new weekly featured post this Friday! It's something I am a little nervous to blog about because it's a sensitive subject for me, but I think it will be interesting and hopefully helpful for others. Get ready for it! Did I peak your interest enough?! Haha!

Mommy Monday

 My Dear Friend Sleep, how I miss you!

Aidan has only slept through the night a handful of times in his life. Yes, my [almost] 11 month old! :( The long nights of sleepy tug-of-war Aidan and I have been playing has been quite the adjustment for this girl who could easily sleep 12 hours pre-baby. Not only has it been an adjustment on my sleep pattern, but it has been hard on Aric's school work and my confidence as a Mama. Luckily, Aric continues to do very well in school despite the [lack of] sleep he gets, but it has changed from the first semester of school which was pre-Aidan. For some reason I still seem to blame myself for Aidan's sleep habits even though I have done EV.ERY.THING to help him sleep better. 

I can definitely understand why sleep deprivation is used as torture device in the military world.

Someday when he FINALLY sleeps through the night I will celebrate, cry happy tears, get rid of these garbage sized bags under my eyes, and tell the whole story. Right now my mind is too clouded by this repeating thought.... "Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep." ;p

No matter how bad the night is, I always end up with a big smile on my face when I get to see this little face...

Our little Firefighter. :p Sorry for the poor photo quality; this pic was taken on my phone in bad lighting.










Please excuse the choppiness of this post. Last night was one of the less than restful nights... 

Double Digits!

Aidan is now 10 months (as of yesterday)! Wow, time has flown by!! He gets cuter, he is learning more and more, and he is so much fun everyday! :)

So handsome! :) 

Stats

Weight (guesstimate): 21 lbs. 4 oz.

Height: Not sure, but at his 9 month check-up he was 29 in.

Food: Nursing about 3-4 times a day, but still not as interested in it as he used to be (during the day). 2 solid meals a day, but not eating as much of that either. :( I think he's teething which is making him less interested in eating.

Sleep: about 10-12 hours with 1 or 2 wakings. He is doing so much better than he was 2 weeks ago **knock on wood**. He regressed back to newborn sleeping... I was so tired!

Milestones: Not much has changed since his 9 month update, BUT he has learned to clap!!! It is the cutest thing ever! He does it all the time now!


A couple of in-action clapping pics... 

Side-note about teething... I hate how much of  a guessing game it is! I have been thinking and saying he is teething since he was about 5 months old and he only has 2 teeth! Hmm... something doesn't add up. He has so many teething symptoms lately and still no new teeth. Come on teeth, hurry it up! : p

Mommy Monday

The 'Little' Man is 9 months old!

I'm a little late with his 9 month update so I had to rain check (sort of) Mommy Monday to post this. I say 'sort of' because I wouldn't be a Mommy without this guy around!

He's growing like crazy! So bittersweet.

~STATS~

Weight: 20 lbs. 15 oz. (52%ile)

Height: 29 in. (70%ile) <---- I am pretty proud of this one considering his Mama's lack of height; he's definitely getting that from his Dad.

Food: Still nursing 4-5 times a day (hoping to make it a year), 2 solids meals (breakfast and dinner), and sometimes a snack around lunchtime.

Sleep: 7ish-6:30ish with a night feeding around 4ish. The last couple of weeks he was waking up every 3-4 hours... I am still recovering from that.

Milestones: Not as many as last month, but still a couple of biggies...

Cruising... he will pull up on anything and use it to walk around.

The couch and coffee table are his favorite cruising 'devices.' : p

Climbing... he has discovered the stairs. We will be getting a gate pronto!

He's practicing for the climbing he'll be doing in the Rocky Mountains. :)

Funny story about his discovery of the stairs... He normally wouldn't climb them without Aric or I behind him. Well, on Saturday I ran into the kitchen real quick to make a sandwich. I didn't hear him making noise at all... never a good sign, right?! I went into to living room and Aidan was no.where to be found. All of a sudden I hear a little squeak coming from the stairs. Yup, Aidan was halfway up the stairs. I had a minor heart attack. I promptly told Aric that we NEED to get a gate ASAP!

Mommy Monday

I have a fever... 

Belly Fever that is! A slight variation of Baby Fever, this Belly Fever I have is making me want to be pregnant again. Someday, when I have recovered from the sleep deprivation I have endured since having Aidan I am certain I will have Baby Fever, but for now it's just Belly Fever. 

Because this fever could be highly contagious, I'll list my symptoms so you all know what to look out for:

• I am very interested in all things pregnancy. My love of A Baby Story has been reignited and I watch it anytime it's on tv, even if I have already seen the episode. I love talking to my pregnant friends and family members about their pregnancies and always want to hear every.little.detail. I stalk follow any and every pregnant ladys' blog I can find and check them daily for updates. 
• Pregnant women are all around me lately. Everywhere I go, I see pregnant women. This might just be a coincidence; however, since I love to people watch I think I still would have noticed them before I came down with The Fever. Is this a sign?! 
• I SO miss rubbing my pregnant belly. My (no longer) pregnant friend (Congrats Katie!) was recently at my house hanging out and she kept rubbing her cute, little belly. While mine was not little, it reminded me of how much I loved rubbing my cute, big belly! 
• I have been taking trips down memory lane more and more often, by looking at my maternity pics. Every time I look at them, I think... "Hmm, I wasn't as big as a house I thought. Maybe, just maybe, I was even a cute, pregnant lady." <---- Something I definitely did not think once I hit the third trimester. I was so, so happy to get my waistline back after Aidan, but now, I think I'd be ok with having a half-moon shaped belly.
• Finally, the most important symptom... I REALLY miss feeling the baby's little love taps. :) I miss the first oh.so.subtle flutters. I miss the hard, startling jabs that almost knock the wind out of you. I miss the slow, rolling waves of movement that come towards the end when there's just barely enough room for those limbs to move. I miss this awe-inspiring part the most! I could watch my belly move for h-o-u-r-s and h-o-u-r-s when I was pregnant.

Jan. 2009 (a little over 8 months along)

If you have at least one of these symptoms, seek out a pregnant lady to befriend so that you can live vicariously through her immediately! BUT... If you're ok with developing Baby Fever, then let the Belly Fever symptoms progress on their own. ; p

Here's a couple more belly shots of Taquito and I just for good measure. Taquito was Aidan's name in utero because we did not know his gender beforehand (by choice). :0

Dec. 2009 (about 7 months along)

Feb. 2009 (about a week before I had Aidan)

This post is to Mommy Monday like a tangent line is to a circle... not exactly on the same track, but comes from the same idea. Oh yeah, you better believe that I got an 'A' in Trigonometry. : D

Our Little Frog Prince



HAPPY late Halloween!!!



Plastic Pumpkins.. yum! ; p

It has been a little hectic since Halloween so I am just getting around to posting this... my apologies. As you can see, Aidan was a little frog for his first Halloween! He was just too cute in this (borrowed with much thanks to Story) costume! We did not officially go trick-or-treating because he is too little for candy, but we did celebrate.



Too cute and a little funny as well!



On Friday night, Aidan and I joined our friends for a trunk-or-treat at their church. This was a cool idea and all the trunks and costumes were quite festive. It was a little too late in the evening for Aidan though, so he didn't like as much as his mom.



What are you making me wear now, Mom?!



On Sunday, we visited a few friends that lived close by to 'trick-or-treat' and show off Aidan's costume. He didn't enjoy it very much at first, but by the second house he was having lots of fun. I think he enjoyed being in the limelight a bit.

All in all, it was a pretty mellow Halloween, but we did get a little bit of candy and some super delish spice cupcakes (thanks, Rach). Also, a magical thing did happen at  the end of the night... When I kissed that little frog goodnight, he turned into a little prince! : D

Little Prince :)

NOTE: I made a rookie mom mistake forgot to check the battery on my camera so all these pictures are from my iPhone... good thing the quality is still pretty good.

7 Months?!?!

     Aidan is 7 months old today! Where has the time gone? I can't believe how much he has grown and learned in that time;  his 'stats' (as of 9/9/2010): 19 lbs. 8 oz. and 25 in. long! Aidan is an expert at rolling over and sitting up now. He doesn't crawl yet, but he gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth so I know it's coming soon.
     Aidan, you make me smile, laugh, and so happy everyday! I love you! Here are a few pics from earlier today...

Aidan's take on Chris Farley ; p




Just chattin' with mama.

 

Look at that hair, those cheeks... ahhh, everything! : D





 He's getting closer and closer to crawling!



*NOTE*: My good friend, Katie, helped me out with my blog header... you like?! Thanks Katie!!