skin to skin

collagebath

The need for skin to skin is stressed in those early months. Kangaroo care, skin to skin to help establish healthy breast feeding, to bond with baby, to help Dad bond with baby, and on and on. But then? Those babies grow up and into independent toddlers. “I do it myself!” is a commonly heard first phrase from a two year old. The need for distance and autonomy grows and that skin to skin priority wanes. And for some kiddos, that is just what they need, but not my sweet Noele.

I read about Love Language when we were doing our premarital counseling. Charlie’s love language is touch, mine is words of affirmation/time spent (talking)- I’m a talker. But I am not touchy by nature, and it is easy for me to feel touched out just by all the nursing/baby wearing that I do. But Nolie suffers because of this. She needs touch, needs skin to skin, and needs that affirmation. To feel full she needs a lot of touch. One of the best things we have found for her is baths together. I take baths often and once the water is cooled enough she joins me, cuddles up, nurses, tells me all about her day, and always (without fail) asks me to tell her about when she was born and when Ever was born. It is incredible and such a reset button for us.

Last night everyone was crumbling. Nolie was really on edge and losing it over every little thing, Evie was tired and sad if she wasn’t being held, and Charlie and I were both exhausted from a super busy weekend. So we decided to go for it and the three girls all hoped in our (tiny) bath. It was giggling, splashing, cuddling, story telling, shrieking, and all things good. We all got out clean and filled with a renewed appreciation and love.

Finding ways to meet Nolie’s needs, put her needs (and Evie’s) on the front flame and realizing just how important those needs are and feel for her. Ever isn’t nearly as touchy and is more verbal/chatty and love to be talked to/laughed with. Getting to know my girls, their needs, and how to meet them will be a lifelong endeavor I am sure. But today? It was as blissful and easy as taking a warm bath with them and laughing hard and cuddling long.

**also, I hesitated about posting these photos but after talking to a group of other women who parent similarly to me, this was a pretty universal experience. And I want that to be known, and encouraged, bathing with our kids is awesome/bonding/normal and incredible!

sleep.

Ever only naps in a carrier. I was to be upset about this. Annoyed. Frustrated. Clinging to some ‘self soothing’ myth, “she will never sleep” story, sleep training article. I spent a month frustrated that I was never alone. Mad that my baby wouldn’t sleep anywhere but on me. Blaming myself, Charlie, my ‘bad sleepers’, all of it. And then I decided to throw that out. To choose gratitude.

I sing and dance. I crank the music loud. I color and read books. I walk to the park and push Nolie on the swing. I get out! I go to the museum. The frozen yogurt shop. The grocery store. Epic long 3 year old centric playdates. I chat with Nolie and hear her stories with my attention only on her and not focused on keeping her ‘shushed’ or silent.  All this? because I babywear.

Ever sleeps on my back for at least two naps a day, often three. On the weekends Charlie cuddles her up and naps her. When my parents baby-sit she cozy’s up and rests her little ear next to my Mom’s heart and sleeps on. She isn’t an encumbrance, she is a cozy little heater on my back who is used to my voice/beat/cadence of movement. And? when she wakes? she is On.The.Go.

She plays independently. Sits in the the girls room and sorts through all the toys/blocks/trinkets. She and Nolie wrestle and crawl-chase around the house. She sits in her highchair and powers through meals bigger than her sister. She hoots and hollars and cruises around the house with a constant chant of “mama! papa! Nol-ni!!!” and laughter. So much laughter. She is so fast growing and going that I want these cuddle filled naps to never end. Or, maybe not end for a very very long time.

I can be frustrated with her sleep habits or? I can be overjoyed that during the day we aren’t tied to nap time. We aren’t mute and quiet (in our tiny home). We aren’t sedentary in the least (we are dancing! bouncing! movin’!) and we have a rested and happy baby no matter where we travel.

Praise God that he gave me this baby second. That I have shed the need for her to be “normal” (and, that isn’t out there, I promise) and nap in the “right” place, at the “right” time. Praise God for my little back napper.

She was sick yesterday and we hung around home in jammies all day. Here are naps 1-2-3. I feel pretty incredible that at 10mo old she naps three times a day and gets all that touch and cuddle in while I meet my other sweet girls needs, clean the kitchen, write on my blog, have alone time, chat on the phone, and live a little life outside of our four walls too.

Huzzah for baby wearing!

collageb

 

 

forward trajectory.

Just as I get started writing each evening the baby wakes up. and then wakes again. and another time too.

As soon as I sit down for a sip of hot coffee there is a puddle of spilled milk to attend to.

Once the floor is swept the baby pushes the cheerios off the tray and the toddler reaches for the flour off the counter… and… smash.

Just as I think we are all ready to go; Diapers- check, fed- check, ergo- check, change of undies- check. It hits her, This is the WRONG jacket, Mama! and… back to the drawing board we go. This time thirty minutes late instead of fifteen.

It is in each of those moments that I have to make a choice: be overwhelmed or be moving forward (however slowly I move).

If you were to drop by my home you would likely find it cluttered. Toys and crumbs littering the ground, laundry unfolded on the couch, piles of outgrown clothes thrown at the end of the bed, and glitter- so much glitter. But you would also find this: spot on girls. Little ladies who are wide eyed at all things Christmas.  A toddler mystified by my abilities to “cut a snowflake from a nothing” and who turns nearly everything she can into sprinkles (candy canes, pinto beans, rice, sand, etc.) for decorating. A baby who grins at her sister, wrestles/crawls and rumpuses with the best of them. A toddler who is stretching my patience and forcing my growth in all the ways I need it most. And a baby who is changing everything I thought I knew about babies.

Sometimes if you were to drop in you would see me choose overwhelmed. Calling Charlie for reassurance, praying out loud for patience and breath, crying hard and answering Nolie’s questions about “how’s mama feeling?”. But, more often now than before, you might see me choose forward. Choose to say yes to nearly everything I can, no matter the mess or time. Choosing to slow down and give up and in- to abandon the cleaning in favor of playing, to forgo the phone call in favor of crafting, to lavish attention and touch on a toddler who thrives when given the time.

We have hit this season hard. Being three years old is intense. Gently, lovingly, mothering a three year old is almost as intense. But instead of starting each day believing I will be overwhelmed, I am picking one fun activity and calling it good if we get through the day and are still laughing and loving. The house can go, the crafts be half done, the cookies filled with an egg-shell or two, but if at the end we are still loving; I am calling it a win.

A couple of days ago things were rough. Nolie and I were seeming to work in opposition. The more I said no, the more she pushed; And the more she pushed, the more I wanted to say no. Everything felt like it was so big and unending (I imagine we were both feeling quite the same way)… I was holding onto the end of my very frayed rope and I yelled “I am just so frustrated!”  (I don’t yell often and it yielded an immediate halt in Nolie). She looked up and said, “you probably need to talk to God, Mama.” and she was so very right. And after that I needed to apologize to her, again and again each day it seems.

After my blood began to cool and we fell back into activities I sat at the table with a big mug of tea. I am far from perfect, and I have big emotions that Nolie is very privy to, but I am doing this well. Her reaction to my freakout wasn’t fear, wasn’t anger, wasn’t to run away… it was to call out for help. Even if I am failing on the house front, the organizational front, and the getting dressed every day front, I am doing something right. And thank God for my tiny little sponge for being a reflection of that good even in the toughest moments.

 

Thankful.

This has been a really rough season and a particularly hard week. Each day it looks a little darker. But once I retreat into that hole-of-dark I stop looking for the light. And there is a lot of light.

Today Nolie (wholly unprompted) apologized to her friend, he apologized to her and they hugged and played so well and with so much love. And it felt like All The Work that seems too unending and unrewarding… it was worth that moment. All the talking it thorough, letting her direct herself, explaining how I feel and giving her the responsibility and the time to come to her own feelings without prompting, it felt so worth that moment. That was light.

Ever holding hands with her baby friend. That was light.

Food on my front porch more times than I can count from friends who know, get it, and have been there. That was light.

Charlie holding me, answering his phone always, taking time off for sick kids, hearing me- really hearing me. That is light.

A God who lets stuff get hard but never forgets, never turns away and is here and in this moment and all the dark ones too. He is light.

 

bruised- The Mama Support Network

The Mamas got me through one of the hardest times I have had. With advice, support and emails with ideas and experience.

I am a part of a big Mom support network on Facebook. The group is full of women I would call my tribe. I know I can put the call out and get advice, help, commiseration, meals, support, hand me downs, a reality check and lots of strong opinions.

There is the safety of editing and being able to see your words in black and white before you hit enter- with that, typically, comes a more thoughtful response. But with that also comes anonymity. . . supposed anonymity. There is space between you and the person you are talking to, safety in a screen between you, and a whole lot more bravado in an online presence than an in-life one. And sometimes, that means we get hurt. I know this is a pretty big problem in the blogging world too. I have been lucky enough to only have had a handful of mean comments thrown my way, and I typically can get them deleted before they hardly hit the screen. But on Facebook it isn’t quite as simple.

Lately the words have been hitting me harder. I am not only a member of this group, I am one of the two creators of it. The group was born out of a genuine want and need for support- tangible real support from women in our town. But as it grows so does this group’s ability, knowledge and scope. This group is close to my heart and, maybe embarrassingly, really important to me. I am dedicated to not deleting content that I don’t want there if the sole reason is that I don’t agree with it. The point is for Moms, in any parenting style, to find informed support and ideas, tangible help and, often times, light hearted photos-memes-inspiration, etc.

This is a group that can DO stuff. Like, provide gifts for 25 families. Bring a huge group of PP Moms together to spread body love. Cover Moms in meals, clothes and childcare. This group does good.

But it also can be really hard to be a member when 1200 women means 1200 opinions. And it means, for me, moderating all those opinions. And, I fail often. I lean one way (duh) and it’s hard to remain impartial. I am also a really sensitive person and peoples words about how they feel about this group hit me hard “I only use it to find clients” or “I wouldn’t post there because I am scared of the responses” or ” I left it long ago because there is no support” . . . they are all valid feelings, have lots of truth to them, and are personal opinions (shared with the collective Facebook). And all of them have bruised me.

I know this group offers support. I know that Moms of every parenting variety have found it there. From Babywise or Weissbluth to Sears and Cohen there have been  Moms getting love, support, and answers. Even if it means wading through a debate. And I don’t think debate is wholly evil or that we should all just ‘leave well enough alone’ in parenting. I want people to challenge my choices, I want to defend them and learn more- I know I don’t make the best choices 100% of the time and I need that debate in order to be a better Mom. And to be a Mom who is willing to change. I think the biggest lesson I have learned in the past three years is that if I think I know it all and don’t need to change, I am doing my girls a disservice. I can always be doing better and I need the love, encouragement, gentle suggestions and accountability to make that happen.

I don’t have any pretty way to wrap this up. I didn’t plan to write this post, or about this group, at all. But I have  been feeling pretty bruised by some of the talk about it. For all of its debate, opinion, and “judgement” I think it is pretty damn successful. And I needed to process this, get it out there and feel it. And writing it out is how I do it.

I will say this, if anyone on it is using it solely for clients, or feels like they can’t find any measure of support there (be that giving it or receiving it)- then click to leave the group. One of the most beautiful things about this Support Network is that is has born many, many branch groups. There is a place for everyone on this huge internet, find it and be kind in it.

 

tandem nursing – FAQ

I have been nursing both girls for over three months now. I really thought there would be more work to this, drama, strife, something. . . but this has been one of the best and easiest transitions in the dance of adding another child. Nolie nurses about three times a day, sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less. She loves to nurse at the same time as Ever and while that is logistically/ physically a little hard it is worth it because they love it so much. Nolie offers out her finger and Ever grasps on, they look at each other and Nolie does that nursing grin that breaks my heart. Tandem nursing is easily one of the best decisions I have made for my girls.

FAQ:

Do you have enough milk for both? Yes! I nursed both of them from the get go so my body produced enough for two kids right from the start.

Is Ever growing enough/getting enough and does she nurse first?  You know, the whole ‘when do I nurse who’ thing was really confusing and worrisome to me before we started but it has come really naturally. In the morning I don’t nurse Nolie till Ever is fully awake and done eating. She sleeps with us from about 2am on and nurses on and off till 7. But during the day I just kind of go with the flow. Sometimes Ever sleeps for a long time and instead of pumping off the engorgement I offer to nurse Nolie (and she VERY happily obliges) and other times I wait, like in the morning, for Ever to be totally full and done and then Nurse Nolie. But basically I have total faith in my bodies ability to produce enough milk to satisfy both of them and I don’t put too much thought or worry into it. As for Ever, she is growing like a weed and putting on weight just right and Nolie has gained three pounds since my milk came in! Hurray for going from skim to heavy whipping cream!

What about colostrum? Was there enough or did it ever come in? A lot of people have wondered if I ever had colostrum or if it was just constant milk since I nurse through my whole pregnancy. How it went for me. . . I had milk through my second trimester and then from about 25-30 weeks I was pretty much dry, then my colostrum came in and Nolie drank that. It continued to flow, stronger, once Ever arrived and when she was two days old my milk came back in. However, newborn milk and toddler milk are very, obviously, different and it came in hard and strong. Lots of milk just dripping out. In short, your body won’t create a certain amount of colostrum but rather creates it for a certain duration.

Pumping too? I am pumping here and there, I have donated about 60oz and have another 25 or so in the freezer to hand off. I have given to a couple of families but now have one family I will be donating to regularly. I don’t have over/under supply issues and pumping has taken some work and effort to figure out but I am finally getting the hang of it. Your body will produce what is demanded of it so it isn’t crazy to think of nursing two and pumping regularly.

Are you just nursing constantly?? No, not really. But both of my girls have/are frequent nursing babies. Nolie nursed all the time as a baby and Ever is following in her footsteps (or lip smacks). So adding in three (for Nolie) doesn’t feel like that much of an extra draw. In the early (first month) days I was nursing somewhere between 22-25 times a day and that was really crazy but it established a great supply and perfect latch. Now, at three months, I nurse about 12 times a day and that feels very manageable.

I don’t know how long we will tandem nurse for, I don’t intend to wean Nolie until she wants to be done but who knows how I will feel in another few months/year. I have no problem nursing an older toddler and am exceedingly grateful for all that nursing has done for my relationship with my girls and their relationship with each other. Nolie has surprised me time and time again with how willing to wait and share she is and how concerned she is that Ever get to nurse first. I think it has also helped improve her relationship with food because she is grasping that she gets to eat lots of fun foods that babies don’t and so she is actually less reliant on nursing than she was before Ever arrived. Overall, nothing but positives have come from our experience.

If you have any other questions about tandem nursing ask in the comments and I’ll answer them there! Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

nearly 1,000 days and counting into my nursing adventure!

green eyed monster

Yesterday morning I fell into that hole. The one where everyone has it easier and their grass isn’t only greener but it is manicured, growing pretty flowers and self weeding. Working Moms who get to leave for the day, Moms who get to have sweet side jobs and family who can do child care. Moms who have a good reason to get dressed each morning, interact with lots of other adults, and come home and be excited to see their kids. Moms who have husbands who work from home. Moms who have their own mothers close by- those moms have the technicolor green. Everyone had it better than me. Or so it felt.

I won’t get into the debate of working vs. SAHM because it isn’t worth it. We all work hard. Very, very hard.

What I will get into is how obnoxious my attitude was. I wasn’t fun to play with. I wasn’t worth talking on the phone to. I was mean and angry and frustrated no matter what. I was annoyed with Nolie acting her age. I was frustrated with my lack of a clean kitchen. Upset that I couldn’t pull it together.  I called and got mad at Charlie for no good reason. I over reacted when Nolie wouldn’t listen to me. I got upset that Ever wouldn’t just be happy laying on the floor and wanted only my arms. 

And then the comparison set in… So and so gets to have a fun job and still be with her kids all the time. So and so has lost all the baby weight and still eats donuts. So and so can just head over to her Moms house and get help with her babies at the drop of a hat. And then my joy slipped away… my frustration got bigger, my fuse got shorter and my parenting skills got duller.

I ruined my own morning. and then these little words slipped out of Nolies mouth…

“sorry you were mean and frustrated. you need a moment?

Well, like  a ton of bricks, the mouths of babes, all that. . .

Yes, I need a moment. A moment of stillness in all the puzzle playing, artwork creating, meal planning, dish washing, laundry folding, endless sweeping and chore doing. A moment even when it feels like  I “do nothing” all day. I still need that moment.

When Charlie got home I took  a bath. I laid there it the silence that pounding water affords and prayed. Was still and just listened. Took that moment and faced my family ready to interact, love and talk. I have been feeling a little like I am drowning. Coming up for needed breath here and there, but just enough to keep splashing. Not enough to swim or find anything sturdy to put my feet on.

But tomorrow is our anniversary. Tomorrow we will spend some time alone and make  a plan. A plant to find solid ground amidst the whirlwind of two kids.

Here’s to stability, alone time, couple time and plan making. Here is to prayer, priorities and quick realizations. Here’s to grow-grow-growing always.

And there is the real green eyed monster of the house.

Saying Yes!

Ink pen on your arms? No. Paint on the table? No. Another layer of clothes? No. Playing in the sink? No. Playing in the cookie dough? No. Playing with the ink pad? No. Playing with the unfolded laundry? No. Playing with food? No. Painting with your hands (elbows, arms, and chin)? No.

It is easy to say no. Easy to be the one in “control” and then lament over my child never asking permission, just doing stuff I don’t want her to, and seeming “bored” with my sanctioned activities. But lately a big lesson I am learning is to Say Yes!

Why not color on your arm so you can have a tattoo like Papa? It washes off in the bath and is super fun ( I remember doing it!). Our table is washable, our paint is washable… and it is just stuff! So sure, use the table as a palate. Ink pad? Kids are washable, strip her down and let her put finger prints all over her belly! Why not?! and painting your whole body… this just resulted in endless laughter, tickling with a paintbrush and, now, an awesome bright blue bath.

I want control and I am realizing more and more that I don’t have it even if I want to try and grip as tight as I can. I am also seeing a change in my little firecracker. The more I say Yes! and encourage the asking… the more she asks and listens to my answers instead of just DOING.

And the joy? The sheer and totally overwhelming JOY about getting to decide what she does and how she will do it. The elation of making her own art project and not just sticking to the ones that I lay out? It is so beautiful.

I could easily become the Mama that just says “no.” to nearly everything, and when I do and then ask myself “why can’t she do that?” it is usually only fueled by my own laziness ( I don’t want to wash her off, I don’t want to explain it to someone, I don’t want to risk my house looking less than perfect) and pride, not my desire to let her grow-learn-explore and be her.

Taking this step into Yes! is hard and awesome. My girl is creative, inspiriting and changing every day.

I love getting to know her in all her two and (almost) a half year old glory. What a gem.

My 25.

my then "25"

A strange part of being a young Mom is that all my friends went on growing up in a normal speed around me. I however, married young, got pregnant young, and am now growing my family young too. This usually doesn’t hit me, I don’t notice the age difference in huge ways. I have gravitated toward people who are older than me nearly all the time. Growing up with siblings that are far older than me (9,10 and 13 years) I have always felt more comfortable with people who are older than me. But in college I made a tight group of girlfriends who were all my age or younger. We were close in the way that only college girls can be.

Drinking together, sharing secrets and sobbing over family-boys-futures-traveling-dreams-jobs-and everything that felt life and death at the time. We were making memories that were hazy with rum but only ours and could only be referenced with a knowing look of “you had to be there”. We were inseparable. Creating theme parties each weekend, texting and messaging all the time, experiencing the bars together in the way that is only possible if you make it to last call, and we always made it to last call. Hugging, kissing, trading clothes and keeping track of each others phones-wallets-ID’s and safety nearly ever Friday-Sunday. I had that and loved those girls… then I got pregnant. Those girls became the incredible, beautiful fun aunties that every little girl could ever dream of. But, we did grow into different directions.

They are becoming professionals, pursuing further education, figuring out long term relationships, partying, staying out till dawn and spending there hard earned money wherever they want to (as well they should!). I am staying home, haven’t been drunk in over three years and haven’t danced till I got kicked out of the bar in even longer than that. I am cleaning poop off of the floor, preparing tiny meals for a picky little girl, rocking in a 50 year old chair in the wee hours and all day long too, my body isn’t my own and hasn’t been for a few years now, I am aching and sore from growing a baby and getting ready to face birth (again).

It is easy to feel that the grass is greener. I miss that life sometimes, I miss being the age I am- even though I am it. Does that make any sense? I am 25 and living the life of 30-35 and missing what being “25″ means today. Most of the time I don’t really think of it, I have incredible Mama friends now who “get it” when I say I am tired. Who understand what an “all nighter” really is. I have friends who understand just how important one glass of wine can be and know how ever life giving a single hour alone in a coffee shop can feel. But I miss my girls sometimes. I miss what I am not anymore.

It is hitting me hard today. Because today is one of those rare days that only happens in movies, a day where I know exactly where I would be if I hadn’t married Charlie and hadn’t gotten pregnant with Nolie and now Harbor. I woke up half in a dream that  I was starting that day… and then my little girl padded into our room at 5:30am asking to “nurse a mama now? peeease?” and I lay and nurse for an hour wondering what I would have packed had today been the day it might have been…

I would have a Facebook status that read: 4 Hours to Vegas, Baby! and I would be prepping for my first trip to Sin City. I would have suitcase packed with tiny Forever21 dresses and sky high heels that I would likely lose in a bar or a long walk back to a hotel. I would have a tiny bikini and no sunscreen. A bottle of something hid away hoping I could get it onto the plane. I would have cash, so much cash (probably from tips from my waitressing job)- nearly all dedicated to Champagne and not much food (one buffet a day should do it, right?). I would have my journal and an easy way to lock my phone so that I wouldn’t call anyone when I had drank too much. I would have an iPod packed with Katy Perry and Aqua primed to get ready in the hotel room with far too much eye liner and just enough rum. I would arrive and be buzzed from the airplane, quickly change into something too low cut and tight. Then I would kiss my girl friends, drink a bottle of champagne while we reapplied too much makeup and walked out to whatever club we were starting at. And I would have, what would feel like, the time of my life.

I miss it in some way, I miss being that close and that … 25. Instead my 25 today has looked like this.

Mr. Rogers and scrubbing my bathroom with a tiny toothbrush. Praying and trying to observe lent however hard it is for me this year. Making coffee for the first time is six days because I have been too tired, exhausted, pregnant, and sick to make it to the kitchen for food let alone coffee. Cleaning out the tub because Nolie pooped in it and then wanted another bath. Stretching pants, that are at capacity, over hips that feel like they might just burst apart they are growing so wide. And eagerly awaiting 4pm when my knight will burst through the door and usher us out into the back yard to measure and plot around our garden. He will help Nolie on her big wheel and I will pull a few weeds till I have too many contractions and have to head inside for water and feet up. I may have half a glass of wine with a dinner my sweet husband will make. After dinner we will put the baby to bed, snuggle under the covers and possibly share some chocolate sorbet while we wait for the season finale of Downton Abbey to load and I talk at length about my day, and my thoughts and he will do the same. I will fall asleep with the same guy I have for the past, almost, four years. Kiss goodnight the same man I have for the past, almost, eight years. And in the morning I will remember it all and do it all again.

It is hard to know what I would be doing. It is hard to know what I am missing and it is easy to wish my life away. Wish for what feels and looks easier to me now. But I remember that time and it was far from easy, far from comfortable and far from what I wanted. I wanted what I have now.

I dreamt of this. I want this gem of a family, this cute and loving husband who cares about my wants and needs and growth, this girl who needs me and loves me without question, this kicking little Harbor in my womb who is pushing out and out more each day. I am living my dream but some days I need to write it all out just to remember that.

my now 25

To my girls, have the time of your life. Have an extra bottle of champ for me (and make it strawberry if you can find it). Dance and bend in half on my behalf, but don’t get kicked out- unless it is the last night. And take a billion pictures so you can remember it more clearly, more crisp and more perfected. You will be Mamas one day and this trip will mean the world to you and the girls, no matter where we are- in stages and relationships, in geography and experience… we will always have memories and tonight you start a new one. Soak up this 25. I love you guys.