in which I go on and on about nursing...

We made it.  To a year that is.  So, in true American fashion the societal pressure has begun for me to stop nursing my baby.  According to many, she is not a baby anymore.  However, I totally disagree. True, I thought a one year old was a "big kid" before I became a mommy, too.  The truth is that a one year old is very much still a baby.  Sure, she is nearing the toddler stage and doing more and more "toddler-like" things, like walking, signing for things she wants, talking, and throwing toys and the occasional tantrum, but she is still a baby!  She still depends on me for everything, and I seem to think that qualifies her as a baby.

I never thought I would have issue with giving up breastfeeding.  I was sort of forced to do it in the first place (remember the whole bottle crisis?!!).  Now, don't get me wrong, I wanted to nurse and would have continued to pump had she ever taken a bottle, but I felt trapped because there was no other option for her to get nourishment in the first six months of her life (before solid food was introduced).  I eventually made peace with it, but it was a difficult journey.  And, now the irony steps in because I am having a hard time beginning the weaning process!  Oh, how God continues to challenge me!

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to six months and then "support breastfeeding for the first year and beyond....".  We have met this criteria, so popular belief is that I should be okay with weaning her immediately.  Truth be told, I am okay with weaning her, but I am not in a big hurry.  I have already cut out the mid-morning nursing and just yesterday began cutting out the afternoon one, but I think I will stop at that for a bit.  She and I both enjoy our quiet time together and I really don't want that to stop. It is good for her and we both enjoy it, so what is the big deal?  Am I creating more of a connection between the two of us?  Perhaps, but I can't think of very many situations where a daughter having a close bond with her mother is a bad thing.  So, I will take my time with cutting out those two remaining feedings.  HOWEVER, it will happen in the next six months (the hubs and I are going to Jamaica for my friend's wedding!!!) because I am NOT taking a pump along with me on our romantic getaway!  Not that there is anything remotely sexy about my breasts anymore, but still, I am drawing the line somewhere (and right there it is!)  Besides, Olivia needs to have a bedtime routine in place that does not include a relaxing nursing with mommy.

So there you have it.  I am nursing my baby past one year despite the fact that it puts me into a selective and small category.  A category that some view as weird or ridiculous, but to me feels completely natural and normal.

Eleventh month recap...

I am behind.  Between the party, family visiting, throwing out my back, and just being lazy, I haven't gotten around to Olivia's eleventh month recap!  So I figured before she turns 13 months I should document what she was up to during her eleventh month :)

Weight: 20 lbs 1 oz  (50th percentile)

Height: 31.5 inches  (still off the percentile charts!)

Napping: Two naps a day ranging in length from 1-2 hours.  Her morning nap begins anywhere from 9-9:30am and her afternoon somwhere between 1 and 1:30pm.  She sometimes goes down without a peep and other times cries and screams for just a bit before falling asleep; you just never can tell.

Night:  Ahh, this has been all over the place this month!  We had her sleeping through the night (11-12 hours straight) and then she got sick, and then some teeth broke through, and then we had family visiting....the excuses never seem to stop.  So, we have had nights where she sleeps through, nights where she is up once, and nights where she is up 4 or 5 times.  It has not been a good month in regards to night time sleeping!

Food: Olivia tries pretty much anything we put on her tray.  Now she may spit it back out, but she at least tries it, so I like that.  New foods this month include: grapes, turkey hot dogs, pancakes, quesadillas, grilled cheese, blueberries, salmon, spaghetti, and a myriad of other foods that I can't recall.  She is totally on table food and eats very well at all three meals.

Nursing:  four times a day

Skills: cruises on anything and everything, loves to walk around holding onto your fingers, imitates me in play (e.g., will pour her teapot into a cup and then put the cup to her mouth), climbs onto the coffee table, squats down to pick things up and stands right back up without losing her balance, "loves on her baby" by hugging her babydoll when we say those key words to her, gives high fives, uses a spoon with the correct form (although she is very messy;), kicks her feet in the pool, brushes her hair with her hairbrush, brushes her own teeth when we give her the toothbrush, crawls and pushes her cars around

Language:  This category is so fun!  Receptive language: crawls to the stairs when we say "time to take a bath" or "time to go to sleep", crawls into the kitchen when I say "do you want to eat?", points to my belly when I say "where's my belly?". Expressive language: new words this month include - that, hat, bath, and book.  She points to everything and says "that" (and I mean all day long!!)  I have changed my labeling method to just the name of the item because I think she picked up on me always saying "thats a xxxx" and has since begun to label everything as "that"! , responds with "num num" when I ask her if she wants to eat

Fun Facts: hates getting her diaper changed and log rolls and throws a HUGE fit most everytime I have to do it, is much happier now that she is facing forward in her big girl car seat, bops up and down anytime she hears music, cries most anytime I am on the phone because she wants it so badly (I am going to admit this is completely frustrating to me!  I feel trapped b.c I can't talk on the phone without her having a meltdown), likes to put things in and take them out of containers, likes to swing and go down her slide, continues to say "hi" and wave to most anything and everything, liked the cake and icing at her birthday party!, is a complete mommy's girl, loves to play with the neighbor kids and will even reach out for Ms. Emily to hold her, is cranky when she's hungry, doesn't like to crawl in the grass, is very ticklish, has 4 teeth, will stop fussing if I put on a Baby Einstein, and still likes to traumatize the cat!

Happy Father's Day!

What a difference a year makes!

Andy and Olivia Father's Day 2009

....and Father's Day 2010  (Olivia is "helping" Daddy open up a new toy)

Andy, I know you read this so I am taking this opportunity to tell you what a great daddy you are to Olivia!  She adores you (even if she is more of mommy's girl right now) and I can see the special bond between you two already.  You are a complete blessing in my life as a husband and father and there is no one that I would rather share this parenting journey with.  Happy Father's Day!

party on!

In honor of making it through Olivia's first year we celebrated with friends and family this past weekend.  It was a cupcake and polka dot theme!  So fun!  

I love to plan and host parties, so planning her first birthday was a labor of love!  There is just something about having a houseful of friends that makes my heart flutter!  So even though our guest list was a little larger than first planned (I would never want anyone to feel left out!), the celebration went off just as I had envisioned.  Besides, I grew up with a very large extended family so 65 guests felt like a regular ol' holiday celebration to me.  No sweat off my back!

Your baby girl only turns one once, right?! 

Amazingly delicious favors thanks to THIS tutorial at bakerella.com

Olivia with Nana and Papa (above) & Grandma and Grandpa (below)

Birthday cake from Stephanie Allen on Vimeo.

FYI: I highly recommend using Dimpleprints off of Etsy. She designed the invitations, favor tags, and cupcake toppers and was very easy to work with!

One.

Olivia  turned one today and I love her more today than I ever thought possible.   

I remember this day last year.  I remember how excited we were to finally be heading to the hospital, but not before we snapped one more picture of my pregnant belly!  The next time I would stand in that spot I would have a baby in my arms!

I rememeber laboring for 25 hours.  I remember Andy being there for every single contraction - a "coach" that even Dr. Bradley would be proud of!  I remember her first loud cry and how it took my breath away.  I remember holding her, albeit briefly, before they whisked her away to the the Level II nursery.  I remember the helpless feeling when I couldn't hold her or comfort her cries that first night while she was under the oxygen hood; an abrupt introduction to how much being a mother can hurt your heart just as much as it fills it with love.  I remember the first time they let me hold and nurse her.  I remember knowing that nothing else in the world mattered but the moment I was experiencing that very moment.

I remember looking into Andy's eyes in amazement as we realized the life we had created together was finally here!   It had been a long nine months waiting and now we were finally parents.  We knew our life would always be different, but the truth is that we really had no idea!    

This baby girl has rocked our world.  She has added more love and smiles than we ever thought possible.  We give thanks to God for her each and every day because we know that she is a blessing far beyond what we deserve.   Happy birthday, Olivia Grace.  Mommy and Daddy  love you very very much!

Martha.

I gave Martha Stewart a run for her money tonight! 

Great fabric, my iron, a little stitch witchery, and a cold beer all combined to make a pretty fabulous curtain in our downstairs bathroom.

Ahhh, it feels good to check another thing off my list....

feverish.

This is day 2 of Olivia having a low grade temperature. It has been lingering around 100 with a steady dose of Tylenol. She is hot, clingy, fussy, gets her feelings hurt easily, always needs mommy, and just plain doesn't feel good.  The doctor said it is a viral infection related to teething and that her ears look good.  We just have to wait it out because medicine won't help.  Poor, poor, thing. 

I haven't gotten a thing done while she has been awake.  Well, unless you count watching Baby Einstein and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with a little cutie snuggled in my lap, then yes I have been very productive! 

Last night I looked at the clock, saw it said 2am, and realized I had only gotten about 30 minutes of sleep up to that point.  ugh.  No wonder I have been dragging a bit today.  I just put Olivia down for her third nap of the day and we haven't done that in months!  Hopefully the extra sleep will help her little body heal and recover before her visitors start arriving!  (which happens from Monday through Saturday and will total 12 before we are said and done!)  Yes, yes, she MUST get better soon because I have a house to clean, and groceries to buy, and a birthday party to plan, and food to bake, and errands to run, and the list goes on and on and on.......