Little Red Wagon

Hey ya'll...I think I outgrew my wagon. Do you think so? Just kidding! Mommy and Daddy put me in my toy wagon just for fun. I fit in it, but barely. LOL! Everyone got a good laugh! It's not quite like the one from the beach!




Here I am looking at Daddy through the storm door. I loooove pressing against the glass and standing up!


I got my hair cut....FINALLY! I was going to grow it back out, but since I'm in Richie's wedding(my younger brother) in October, it won't be as long as I'd like it anyways, so I did my usual spontaneous haircut. I love being spontaneous. Hugh never knows what I'm going to look like when I come home. Hee-hee! It's fun keeping everyone in suspense...including myself, until I sit in the chair. :)






Mommie's Milk:
Laney has been growing off of Mommie's milk for 8.5 months, and I must say, I truly am proud of myself for hanging on and sticking with it. Like people in the south say, "hanging in there like a hair in a biscuit." (completely gross visual, I know! Ugh!) Here lately, pumping has been such a challenge for me since Laney is a like a speedy Gonzalez throughout our house every day, all day. I have to constrain her by putting her in her pack'n play which is good for about 5 minutes...maybe not even that, depending on her mood and how long she's been up. Hugh works a ton and now that Graduate school is back in full swing, that means he'll be home even less now, which in turn means even harder to pump milk for Laney. I've been praying and seeking the Lord to see if this is the time to throw in the towel. Why pray about this?? Some of you might be asking that, maybe guys or maybe those who don't have kids yet. To provide milk for your baby is the most loving, bonding, God-given experience of a mother. It's so wonderful, not to mention the most healthy way for a baby to grow. I honestly have given 110% in giving Laney Mommie's milk, whether struggling through the day-to-day, hour-to-hour trials of nursing Laney with a bad latch and a protein milk allergy(didn't know it at the time though)the first 3 months of Laney's little life, through the MAJOR stress, fatigue and tears, then the last 5.5 months pumping away for her since she got so accustomed to the bottle that she won't nurse anymore. I didn't want to have any regrets with baby #1 if I had anything to say about it. I wanted to give what I could and look back happily and satisfied. As I look back, I'm happy and satisfied that I made the choice to do whatever I could to give Laney the best health that I could. Now, I stand at a cross-roads of spending quality time with Laney or setting her aside while I pump 6-8 times a day for 10 sometimes 20 minutes. Then there's the cleaning up, feeding her her bottle, rocking her to sleep, fixing her food, cleaning our house, cooking for Hugh and I(on rare occasion nowadays) and trying to exercise, spend time with the Lord and do laundry, including her cloth diapers. Ay carumba! That's pretty much what I do all day, every day and it's a blessed one at that! I love it! I love being a mom and caring for my Laney. I'll tell ya this much, there's no way I could pump the way I did if I had another little one. No way. So whenever baby #2 comes around, and FYI that's not for quite some time (don't get your hopes up).

So, those of you who would like, join me in praying about this. I might go all the way to 12 months or I might start to taper down here soon. I really want to seek the Lord about this, so that I have a peace. If I do start to weine her, I have a feeling it will be a bit sad for me. The hard part is choosing to say no to Mommie's milk when it's there in abundance. It's not like I'm forced to go to formula, so I'm blessed in that regard. I'll keep ya posted on the outcome. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!