Looks like we made it...

In two days, I will have been nursing Nathan for 18 months. When he was first born, I set lots of short-term goals and one long-term goal for our breastfeeding journey. My first small goal was 6 weeks because that is the time that "they" say that nursing gets a lot easier. Those first six weeks were filled with ups and downs. I had sore nipples and there was definitely a learning curve for both of us. Thankfully, we didn't have any major issues and we made it to six weeks. My next short-term goal was 6 months. 6 months was the time that I could begin solids and I knew that nursing would get easier after that. 6 months came and went and Nathan preferred nursing to solids anyway. My next goal was 1 year. I felt that if I gave my child a year of breastmilk I would be setting him up with the healthiest start possible. And we made it to one year easily.

Through all of that, my long-term goal has been 18 months. Babies and toddlers rarely wean themselves before the age of 18 months. Nursing strikes are common but can usually be resolved with patience and persistence. True gradual self-weaning normally happens between the ages of 18 months and 4 years. I knew that I would not be ok with him weaning before the age of 18 months. So my goal has been a year and a half of nursing. AND WE DID IT!!!!

Thankfully I have really enjoyed our nursing relationship over this time. I have really grown as a person and am much more confident in my mothering abilities. I just feel amazing that I did it. I pushed past the sore nipples, latch issues, teething, all-night nurse-a-thons, nursing through illness and injury, a nursing strike, nursing in public and the dirty looks from not-so-nice people, educating family and friends about why I was nursing this long, etc. The list goes on.

But I am not wonder-woman. I don't deserve a medal or any recognition at all for this. I am a mother. And this is what mothers do. I'm happy today because I could do this. I had the support that I needed from my husband. I had the support I needed from my family. The picture above is the platinum symbol for nursing for 18 months.

And I did it. Because I was so dedicated to this. I put my heart and soul into this and I did it. I can do anything! This feeling of strength and confidence is so amazing.

And for those wondering...My next and last goal is 2 years. If we make it to two years, then awesome! But if he decides to wean himself over the next 6 months, then I will still be proud.

Feel free to leave comments about nursing your little ones...best moments, biggest triumphs. Or if you don't want to post, just think about your nursing relationship today. Even if it lasted a few days, look back on that with fond memories. :)

Happy nursing to all! :)

Night, night...

Nathan is saying "night, night" now! It is adorable! I say "Nathan it is time to go night, night." And he says it right back and runs over to the bed. Cutie, cute, cute!

In other nighttime news, I am really not sleeping well. Thinking about just going back to some Benadryl or something....am I a failure or what?! I just wish I didn't have to deal with this. I really think that the root of the problem lies in the fact that I am honestly a night owl. I would prefer to stay up late and get up late. But alas, the cutie pie mentioned previously makes that impossible.

Nathan's first haircut!

A before picture of the front. Taken a couple weeks ago.
A before picture of the back.

Getting ready for the haircut! We tried to sit him in a booster seat but he wasn't having it! Grandma ended up holding him.
Here he is saying "Pick me up, please."
First snips!
After picture of the front! So cute! He looks so much older now. I cried. :(
After picture of the back.

We took my little brothers and Nathan to Chuck E. Cheese afterwards.
Hello?!

Such a little ham!
He had fun with this game.

Playing back at home. A good side-view of his hair.
He has learned to open the gates.
Getting so tall!
Can I come in, Mom?

All in all it went well. Nathan did great and didn't cry at all. I cried mostly because it was just sad to see him looking so grown-up. But it is done now and I think he looks cute. Can't wait for Brandon to see it!

Night Three, teeth, and the Great Imitator

Night three did not go so well. It started off kinda rough. Nathan was really not wanting to go to sleep. Around 11 he finally drifted off. I fell asleep shortly after! That was really great! However, my darling husband decided to sleep with his phone in the room. Well wouldn't you know it, it goes off at 4 freaking AM! The one night that Nathan decides to sleep longer than a 3 hour stretch, I get woken up by something else! Grrrr.... Nathan didn't wake up at this time though. Oh no. He waited until around 5:30 when I had just (kinda) drifted off to sleep after the 4am wake up call. Well after that, I just called it quits. There was no way that I was getting back to sleep. So I have been up since 4am. I'm tired and cranky. I'm sure Brandon is scared to come home. LOL!

In other news, Nathan is teething! Fun, fun! I noticed a tiny bit of tooth poking through last week. Well I peek in there today and see that his molars are coming in! They look downright painful.

He is still being a cutie pie though. He has turned into the Great Imitator! He loves to imitate Mama and Daddy. The other day, we saw that he had the can of moouse (for hair). He shook it up, tipped it over, pretended to get some mousse on his hand, put the can back down, rubbed his hands together, and put his hands into his hair! It was the cutest thing. He knows exactly what product goes with what. He will take the contact solution bottle and pretend to put it in the contact case. He is hilarious.

Easter pictures!

Nathan's Easter basket! We gave him an Elmo puppet and his own remote control. He loves Elmo!
See! Went straight for him!

Yum...Elmo! Poor Nathan has been teething up a storm! 2 more teeth came in this week!
Loves the puppet!
Such thought...
Hi there Elmo!
What a second....how come he isn't moving now?!

Had to take a break for breakfast! We have been nursing for 10 months!! Such a milestone!

Such a fun day! Nathan is just getting to be so big!

On the TTC front: CD 25, 9 DPO. I am pretty sure that we aren't pregnant this month. Having all my lovely PMS symptoms! Time will tell though....

Nathan made me smile today (well he does everyday)...

Nathan said "Mama" today!!!! I was so sweet. I almost cried! My friends Emily and Carrie were here to witness it. My baby boy is getting so big! Can't wait for him to say it again!

We have another tooth!

One of Nathan's top teeth poked through yesterday! However, I was really hoping he would go a little longer without them. Mama is scared of biting during nursing! We should work it out just fine though. My sweet baby boy is growing up so fast.

My baby is crawling!

Nathan has been crawling for the last two days!! I can't believe how big he is!! Mama is so proud!

Happy February!

February is here!

Nathan did something new today! He moved from his hands and knees to sitting up. It was so cute. He looked so proud of himself. Brandon got to see it too! He still wants to crawl so badly. He is rocking back and forth on his hands and knees now. :)

We see another tooth!

When it rains it pours. Poor Nathan has cut his second tooth. We are really hoping things slow down a little bit for him now.

We see a tooth!

My sweet boy has his first tooth! Poor little guy has been in some pain. Hopefully it gets better soon.

It's Friday!

I love Fridays. It is also my friend Carrie's Birthday (Happy Birthday Carrie!!). I simply love Fridays because it is almost the weekend! And weekends are fabulous because I get a small break from mama-land.

Speaking of a break, I miss working. I am so ready to go back part-time. Nathan has started to drink some water from a cup so I think that this will allow me to go back to work for a day or two. Although I am pretty scared to leave him with Daddy. Don't get me wrong, Brandon is an amazing father, Nathan just prefers mama rocking him to sleep and I really don't know how he will handle getting breastmilk from a cup rather than the tap. So anyway, I took a big step and emailed Dr. B (our infertility doc) and asked if he had any weekend positions open. AHHHH!!!! I am waiting on a response. Hopefully I get good news. Although a small part hopes that he doesn't have anything open right now because I am going to miss Nathan something fierce! :)

Speaking of infertility, it sucks. Just plain stinking suckity-suck-sucks. Several friends are going through it right now and my heart breaks for them. K is starting an IVF cycle soon. K, I have every part of my body crossed for you! H is still struggling and trying to have faith. Big Hugs H! Like all infertility sufferers, I wish I could say to Brandon "Let's have another baby!" And then we could go make one! Nope, our process involves so much more than that and it makes me sad. I would love to have my babies two years apart but that isn't possible for us. We have to pay off our first loan before we can pay for another cycle. It is going to be a long four years! And even still, I am not sure that will will even do another IVF cycle because, what if it doesn't work on the first try like last time. The fear is overwhelming at times.

Moving onto lighter news...We think that Nathan is saying his first word and wouldn't you know its DaDa. Forget the person who carried you around for nine months, birthed you after 14 hours of labor and three and a half hours of pushing, nurses you for hours and hours upon end, and spends her nights and days seeing to your every need and want. HA! In all seriousness, it is seriously cute!! We are sure that he has no idea what he is saying or that it even means anything but it is just too freaking cute!

So that is all. Mama must go, Nathan is over the frog toy.

Tuesday's thoughts....

Happy October!!! This is one of my favorite months! I just love fall. I can't wait for the leaves to change here. The weather is just beginning to cool down at night.

Speaking of nights....poor Nathan is up all night! He is teething something fierce! We are really hoping that we see some teeth soon. That is my reason for not posting here as much. I swear I have an excuse!!! :) My normally happy baby is so cranky all the time now. I wish that there was more I could do for him.

Speaking of Nathan....my little boy is pushing up on his arms when he is on his belly now! Just a matter of time before he pushes up to crawl! We are working on getting him to sit up by himself. He does fairly well except he falls over to the side after a few seconds. He will get there soon enough.

Hmmm....what else as been going on? Not really much of anything. I am looking forward to cooler weather so that I can take Nathan outside more. I will try to keep up better! Hopefully Nathan lets mama get some sleep soon!

Milestones...

Nathan rolled from his back to his belly today!!! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! He just looked so proud of himself. I am so blessed that I got to see it. What a wonderful day!