The Run Down

I've been terrible about blogging lately, so I'm going to try and squeeze everything I've missed into one abbreviated post. Here are the highlights and lowlights of the events that have transpired since I last blogged:

• Reid had his 12 month well visit. In short, he's pretty perfect (but of course) but a bit on the small side. The official stats:
• Height: 29 1/4 inches (50th%)
• Weight: 21.5 lbs (25th%)
• Head: 46.5 cm (50th%)
  

• We celebrated Christmas. Just us. No traveling or hosting family celebrations this year. It was so much fun to open gifts with my favorite boys. I did find myself missing my family, though. And snow. I still wish for a white Christmas every year, but it seems as long as we are living here in South Carolina, that's not very likely to happen.

• On a couple different occasions, Reid took a step! Just one though. He cruises all over the place when there's furniture to hold onto, and walks behind push toys or with the help of a walker, but doesn't seem very confident in the walking department just yet.

• Colin started to improve with his potty training, although it's still very much a work in progress. He uses the potty a few times a day, usually for a reward, but he still doesn't initiate it on his own. He is perfectly content to sit in his dirty pull-up. We've tried undies, and while he might last an hour or two in them, he always pees in them at some point. We're working with him, but he's not even 3 yet and I'm not super worried.

• A week after his vaccines, poor Reid reacted to the MMR shot in the same way that his big brother did a couple years ago - with a high fever that lasted several days. As of today, he's starting to feel better, though.

• Reid and I successfully completed a year of breastfeeding. Woohoo! We have since started the weaning process, and Reid is now about 90% on almond milk and solid foods. We started out with whole milk, but almost immediately he started to have diarrhea, so our pediatrician recommended switching to almond milk. He loved it and took to it well, so we're sticking with it for now. I have been surprisingly unemotional about weaning, but I am cherishing our sweet snuggle sessions when I still get them, since I don't know which time will be our last.
  

Next up: Ringing in 2014 with my darling husband tomorrow night... as long as we can stay awake!

Happy New Year! ♥

Happy Birthday, Baby!

I really can't believe that a year has already gone by since Reid entered this world screaming and pink. Happy Birthday, my sweet angel. Mommy loves you more than words can say.

To the Parents of Strong Willed Toddlers

Before I had children, I did a lot of silent judging. I would see a two year old freaking out about something dumb in a restaurant or at the grocery store and I'd think, "MY kids will never act like that." Surely children, regardless of age, were a reflection of their parents.

It's true that parenting matters, at any age. But the thing I didn't know back then is that parenting is all about sowing seeds so that as your kids get older and understand more about the world around them, they will blossom into kind, well-mannered, well-rounded people. Parenting isn't a sprint; it's a marathon. And sometimes in those early days, your kids WILL turn into little devils and embarrass you in public. Or in our case, they will fight bedtime tooth and nail and force you to go all Supernanny on their little behinds.

At almost three years old, Colin is all about control. He wants to be the one to dictate what happens and when. He does not like being told no or having to leave somewhere if he's having a good time. Example: he has this thing right now where he likes to get in the driver's seat of my car and pretend to drive. He'll turn on the headlights and push or turn all the buttons or dials. The first time, it was kind of cute, but then it got old pretty fast. Now, as soon as I put the car in park, he'll say "momma, I want to drive." When I unbuckle his car seat, and then go to get Reid out of the car, he'll jump in the front and start "driving." God forbid I ask him to get out before he's ready. Sidenote: It's also super fun to get in the car each morning not knowing which buttons or knobs he's messed with. Typically the windshield wipers and high beams are on.

For a long time, we had a "pick your battles" approach, and to an extent we still do. But because Colin is so stubborn and persistent, we have had to buckle down and reinforce that no means no, which is hard. When he's whining because he wants something, or crying because he wants me to lay down with him until he falls asleep, it would be so easy just to cave and give him what he wants. And sometimes, I'll be honest, we do cave. But in my opinion it's important to think long term, and to stick with our guns now to avoid even bigger battles later.

And speaking of later, I'm afraid we may have two strong willed little monkeys on our hands. My little Reid has always been so sweet and laid back, but at almost a year old, we're starting to see some of the same little behavior patterns we saw in Colin at an early age. Lord help us. He is definitely going to be persistent like his big brother. Heck, maybe that's where he got it. Regardless, I think the early days are going to be tough, but in the long run, my hope is that we'll have two level headed, self motivated, intelligent sons.

So to the other parents of strong willed toddlers out there: Hang in there, and keep up the good work. I promise it won't be in vain.

Seriously, my kids don't sleep.

If anyone has a connection to Supernanny, please send her my way.

My kids don't sleep. This is getting a little cray cray.

Truthfully though, I think there are some good reasons why they've been having trouble sleeping. Colin has a lingering cough from the most recent virus, and Reid is teething like crazy. Regardless, the past few nights have been pretty bad. I've been up twice with Reid, which wouldn't be that bad if it weren't for the fact that Colin has been waking up early on in the night, coming into our bed, and squirming around like a fish out of water. What the heck, kid? If I try to move him back to his own bed while he's awake, he flips the heck out on me, which I am just not in the mood to deal with in the middle of the night. You know?

There's no real point to this morning's {ridiculously early} post. I'm just tired and I need to be whiny about it for a minute. It's a really good thing these boys of mine are so cute.

The fam this weekend, with the addition of adorable cousin Emily!

Can anyone else commiserate with our non-sleeping, robot children? If you have any magic solutions, I'd love to hear about them!

Our First Kid Free Night in Forever

Saturday night, the unthinkable happened. In a good way. Justin's brother and his wife kept our kids overnight so that we could have an entire night to ourselves. You guys. An. entire. night. I literally have not had a great night's sleep since Reid was born. The kid just doesn't sleep through the night, and sometimes it really starts to wear on me. It was time.

A coworker and friend was getting married that evening, so we spent our kid free night all dressed up and snazzy, which was another luxury we don't often get to enjoy. I wore red heels, y'all. If you know me at all, you know heels are reserved mostly for job interviews. I may be only five feet tall, but I prefer flats. We were feeling pretty good in our fancy clothes.

 
The wedding was short and sweet, and the reception was like something straight out of Pinterest. The venue was an art museum downtown, and the food was the best I'd had in a long time. Pecan encrusted chicken? Gouda mac and cheese bites? Sweet potato fries with cinnamon sugar and a white chocolate drizzle? Don't mind if I do. Good times were had by all.

My one complaint was that there wasn't a whole lot of seating at this particular venue, and those sassy red heels started to kill, so we took off around 8:30. I may or may not have taken my shoes off to walk the two blocks to the parking garage.

 
So there we were, all dressed up with no place to go, kid free. So we did what any couple would do under the circumstances. We went to Starbucks and sat in comfy chairs and sipped fancy coffee concoctions in celebration of this rare moment of alone time. That, my friends, was the best soy peppermint mocha I've ever had.

That night, despite my deep and unconditional love for my children, I slept like a baby. And then we woke up to discover that we had missed texts and phone calls from Awesome Uncle Tim and Aunt Shannon, who had barely slept. Apparently Reid was not okay with taking a bottle in the middle of the night when he awoke, and then Colin woke up at some crazy hour asking for momma. I still feel bad about the night they had, but I am also completely grateful for the sleep, which has allowed me to be a better mom to my kids this week.

And, on a completely unrelated note, today is my last day to be 27 years old and I'm feeling pretty great about it. I'm not sure at which point birthdays will ever be viewed with dread. 30? 50? Maybe never? Whatever the case, I am young, healthy, and I have a beautiful family. This girl is blessed.

What we've been up to

This week has been a crazy whirlwind! My momma was here all week, and she was a huge help with the boys, especially since Reid was recovering from surgery. He's doing amazingly well, by the way. Crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything, including his big brother, which made his pants fall down. We had a good laugh over that one.

As an update to my previous post, we did end up using a little formula to supplement when I haven't had enough milk for Reid's bottles. He's been getting 5 oz of breastmilk mixed with 2 oz of formula. He's still nursing well when we're together, though, and I am thankful for that.

And Colin... oh, Colin. He is the most hilarious kid. As he inches closer to three, he is (knock on wood) becoming easier to communicate with and as a result he's having fewer tantrums. He is a little sponge, absorbing everything around him and starting to ask questions. Last night at bedtime he was asking me what different animals eat. He is a very busy two year old and it is often tough to get him to settle down for a nap or bedtime. He's still an early riser, too. Both kids are, and I'll be honest, the lack of sleep can really wear me down some days. I'll be thankful when they are both consistently sleeping through the night. That does happen, right?

Speaking of which, I'm afraid to even say anything in case I might jinx it, but as long as everyone stays healthy and nothing comes up, this Saturday night we will be kid free all night long to go to a coworker's wedding. I am stoked. 


 

That time I bought formula

Remember the time I was talking about how I haven't spent a dollar on formula for Reid yet? Well, that isn't true anymore. Now I've spent ten dollars on formula.

Over the course of the past ten months, my milk supply has fluctuated. There were times when I had so much milk that I thought I was going to explode, and there were times that I worried because there just didn't seem to be enough. I have only had one six ounce bag of milk stored in my freezer for the past few weeks, and thankfully I've been able to pump just enough for Reid's needs during the day while I'm at work.

Well, the pumping was getting to be a little crazy, and I was having to pump 3-4 times a day just to get enough milk for the next day. I've been trying all my usual tricks for increasing supply (herbal supplements, oatmeal, etc.) and it only made a slight difference. 

So, yesterday at lunch I picked up some formula. Holy moly, I forgot how expensive that stuff is. $10 for six 8-ounce bottles of liquid formula. I realize the powder is cheaper, but I wanted to be sure we didn't waste a whole can if it didn't work out.

Last night, I offered Reid a bottle of formula at bedtime and he hated it. He takes bottles of breastmilk every day, so it wasn't the bottle that was the problem. I guess he just didn't like the formula. He turned away from it and pawed at my breast. My mom tried to give him the bottle too, but she had the same experience. 

Today while I'm at work, she's going to try adding a little formula to a bottle of breastmilk, and that way we can gradually increase the amount of formula (and eventually cow's milk once we start that transition) and decrease the amount of breastmilk. He's doing so well with solids now, too, and he will drink a little water or pedialyte when we offer it, so I am confident his nutritional needs are being met.

Breastfeeding moms: Did your supply start to decrease as your baby got older and started eating more solids? Did you ever have to supplement? I'd love to hear about your experiences!
 

Surgery and a Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday, my sweet baby Reid had yet another fun hospital experience. It's a good thing he won't remember anything from his first year, because my poor little guy has been through the ringer. Between his NICU stay, a hospitalization at 5 weeks for RSV, and countless ER and urgent care visits due to a slew of different viruses and ear infections (oh, and his ear tubes), it feels like the local children's hospital is our home away from home. Not really, but almost.

Reid all prepped for surgery

Anyway, our little adventure yesterday was a procedure to repair his circumcision. I'll spare you the gory details, but there was an issue that was not going to resolve itself over time, as one pediatrician had originally told us, and the only way to fix it was through surgery.

Reid was a perfect angel at the hospital, smiling and babbling to the doctors and nurses, and only crying for a few minutes in recovery. I thought he would be an angry baby since he couldn't nurse any later than 3:15 am, and his surgery wasn't scheduled until 9:15. But as usual, he maintained his sweet as pie demeanor and made friends wherever we went.

In order to help out with his recovery, my mom came to town and is staying with us this week. It's been great to have her around. Over the weekend (before the surgery), mom and I took the kids to a pumpkin patch and had a nice time enjoying the gorgeous fall weather. The highlight of that day was that Colin got to drive the horse-drawn covered wagon. I don't think I've ever seen him so serious about a task in his life. This pumpkin patch trip was really more for Colin. Reid hung out in the stroller or in the Ergo most of the time and didn't care too much to be in pictures. :)

In the coming weeks, I hope to get into some more fall fun with my boys. Speaking of which, stay tuned next week for the cutest Buzz and Woody you ever did see!

 

Breastfeeding update

I am proud to say that almost 10 months in, we still haven't spent a dollar on formula for Reid. Pretty amazing, but boy, what a journey it has been.

I've always wanted to breastfeed. With Colin, I only made it a few weeks before throwing in the towel. It was not, as I discovered, as "natural" and easy as I had heard it described. My first experience with nursing was that it was painful and stressful. I had a constant fear that I wasn't producing enough for my baby. Colin was losing weight and jaundiced, and as soon as we got past one hurdle, something else would pop up. It was frustrating and neither of us was happy, so we formula fed him from there on out. Please know that I take no issue with moms who choose to formula feed, but in my case I was upset that my original plan didn't work out, and I had some self-inflicted guilt to work through as a result.

When we found out we were expecting baby #2, I knew I wanted to give breastfeeding another try. I felt like I owed it to myself. My attitude this time was different though, given the way the first attempt had gone. I went into it with the thought that if it didn't work out, it would be okay, but that I would give it my best shot.

Yes, there were still hurdles this time. Reid spent the first six days of his life in the NICU with a feeding tube, so I couldn't nurse him and had to pump instead. I had awful engorgement issues for those entire six days. My breasts were HUGE and ugly and had red splotches and golf ball sized lumps. I hated it.
 
But then, the day my baby was discharged from the hospital, he latched on for the first time, and he did it beautifully. My milk came in, he continued to latch well, and we never looked back. I have also had the hurdle of having to pump at work to provide for him while he's at daycare all day Monday through Friday. Pumping has taken a lot of time and energy, and it has certainly not been easy, but we've made it work and it has become a part of my routine.

Well, my little Reid man will be 10 months old on Friday, and we're still truckin' along. He loves to nurse but also takes his bottles well at daycare. He is still waking up at night, in part because he's teething and in part, I think, because he just misses me. I know he's old enough to let him cry it out according to certain methods, but honestly it isn't that big a deal to me so I continue to get up and nurse him. He breastfeeds 3-4 times a day and takes two bottles at daycare, and he is also doing really well with stage 3 baby food and certain finger foods. He loves puffs and yogurt melts, and he has tried avocado, potato, mandarin oranges and pear. Of those, he only really liked the potatoes and pears. I'm not pushing new foods too hard yet, because he still only has two teeth and he eats his baby food so well.

Oh, and speaking of teeth, he did bite me a few times when they first came in. Um, ouch. When that happened, I took the advice of a friend and pressed his face into my breast, which startled him and made him let go. It only took maybe three or four times before he figured it out and stopped biting.

Overall, my takeaway from this second chance at breastfeeding is that it is challenging at times, but also convenient in a lot of ways. I'm not sure I'm any more bonded to Reid than I would be if we were bottle feeding, although it did give us a lot of good cuddle time in the beginning when he would nurse constantly. A major plus is that my baby weight has fallen right off, so hooray for the calorie burning aspect. Basically, there have been ups and downs, but when all is said and done I am really glad I stuck with it. It has been good for both Reid and for me in a lot of ways, and I am so very thankful it's still working for us. Pregnant moms, if you're on the fence about breastfeeding, and new moms, if you're thinking about throwing in the towel, let me encourage you to set a short term goal and give it your all. With Reid, it took a good few weeks to get into a rhythm where nursing was easy for both of us, so keep that in mind, too. And please, please don't hesitate to find a good lactation consultant or contact your local La Leche League for help. There are a ton of great resources out there if you look.

Let me know if you have any questions, mamas - I'm an open book!

More to come.

 

Camilia Teething Relief {Giveaway}!

Is your little one having teething troubles? You're not alone. We know all about the joys of teething. The fussing, the crying, the night waking, the puddles of drool. It's just lovely, isn't it?

When one of my boys is cutting a new tooth, I tend to reach for the ibuprofen, but let's be honest. The irritability associated with teething can sometimes last a while, especially when multiple teeth are coming in at once, and it doesn't seem like a great idea to be constantly medicating my kids.

If you're looking for a more homeopathic teething remedy, you might want to give Camilia Teething Relief a try. Camilia temporarily relieves symptoms of teething, including painful gums and irritability. It comes in single dose vials of liquid that you simply snap apart, twist open and pour into your little one's mouth. Easy peasy!

Want a free box to try? Just enter using the widget below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
I was not compensated monetarily for this giveaway, but I did receive a free box of Camilia Teething Relief from Boiron USA.

An Employee in my Home

The other day as I was elbow-deep in dishwater, I said to my husband, "Sometimes it feels like I work here." And it's true. Don't get me wrong; I am fully aware that we are blessed in many ways. We are fortunate enough to have a roof over our heads, and food on the table. We are all healthy, at least for the moment. Justin pitches in and helps out where he is needed. These things aren't lost on me.

But when each day is pretty much the same and we don't get many breaks, it's pretty easy to feel burned out. Parenthood is a voluntary position. You don't get paid for what you do, and you don't always get praised for it, either. There are certain things that are expected of you, regardless of how you feel or how much sleep you got the night before. Everyone must be fed. The house must be cleaned every now and then. The children must be disciplined. There are naps to be taken. Baths to be given. Stories to be read. Piles upon piles of laundry to be washed. Oh, and a marriage to tend to. No matter how much you love your spouse and your kids, there are days when it really does feel like work.

I must say though, these bosses of mine sure are cute.

Now if only they'd give us a couple weeks of vacation time, we'd be all set. :)

Undercover Mama... what a concept!

Being a breastfeeding mom comes along with its fair share of challenges. It's true that some moms coast through nursing without any issues, but if you've been reading this blog for long, you know that I am not one of those moms. I have been lucky in that Reid is a great nurser. Even with our rough start, we have become a great team in that regard. Still, there have been some challenges to overcome. Like right now, I have a painful clogged duct I'm dealing with. It's not the first time, so I know how to deal with it, but it still hurts like crap. So annoying.

I've also had to deal with being a working mom, which for me has meant a ton of pumping, worrying about my output, and washing bottles and pump parts constantly.

One of the biggest challenges, however, has been the issue of nursing in public. I'm never been one to show a lot of skin in public. I don't wear bikinis at the beach. I try to choose underclothes that smooth and shape, rather than push up and flaunt, you know? So nursing in public, for me, can be awkward and uncomfortable. When Reid was tiny, I could just throw a blanket over him and nurse anywhere. Sure, I had to keep peeking to make sure he was latched correctly, but overall it wasn't a big deal. As he got bigger, though, and squirmier, he started hating nursing covers and blankets over his head. I found myself avoiding situations where I'd have to nurse in public. I'd either stay home, nurse in the car, or pump and bring a bottle.

Enter the Undercover Mama nursing shirt.

What a smart, innovative idea! This shirt attaches to your favorite nursing bra, and makes it so much easier to nurse in public without showing too much skin. It saves me from having to decide whether I'm going to lift up my shirt and expose my stomach, or pull down and show my whole boob. With the Undercover Mama nursing shirt, I can stay covered and comfortable, and Reid can eat happily.

This product is definitely going on my must-have list for any future babies we may have, and I will certainly be mentioning it to my fellow nursing moms and moms-to-be. Get yours at www.undercovermama.com!

So my kids are 2 8/12 and 9 months...

I was having lunch with my darling friend Erin (you know her from The View From 510) and she asked how old Reid was. She couldn't believe it when I told her he was already 9 months. Really, I can hardly believe it myself. Where the heck has the time gone? How have we already gone from this...

...to this?

This boy of ours truly is an angel baby. He's so easygoing, and kind of just goes with the flow. At 9 months, he hasn't crawled yet, although he has mastered rolling and sits up pretty well on his own. He is still breastfeeding like a champ, loves his mommy, daddy, and big brother, and is constantly saying "da da." (We're still working on mama). He has two teeth and very little hair. :) He is also smaller than his brother was at this age. At his 9 month checkup, he weighed in at 20 lbs and measured 28.5 inches tall. He's in the 70th percentile for height, but only in the 45th for weight. Tall and slim. He's still not sleeping very well, but I'm sure that has a lot to do with the fact that he is perpetually teething and/or sick from daycare germs.

And Colin... oh, Colin. He's a sweet, silly, crazy, strong willed two year old. All boy. He knows what he wants and does not like to be told no. He has the kind of personality traits that can drive a mom insane sometimes, but I firmly believe that he's going to be an amazing man because of those same traits. I can already see that he's going to be a leader, an extrovert, and incredibly intelligent.

I really cannot believe that in a few short months, we'll have a three year old and a one year old. Someone make it stop! Just like we did with Colin, we will probably have a small first birthday party for Reid. I want to do something fun for Colin's third birthday though, since he kind of got jipped out of a second birthday party due to the fact that his baby brother had just come home from the hospital a couple weeks before. I doubt we'll do anything huge, but we definitely need to invite some daycare friends. I'm thinking maybe a restaurant playplace party so we don't have to clean up after. Ha.

More to come!

Yummalicious Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

Do you ever walk into a really dirty room and have no idea where to even start, so you just stand there staring at it? That's been me with this blog lately. I love to write, I love the blogosphere, and I have so much to tell you all about, but I don't have a lot of time, and I'm not even sure where to start.

So instead, today I'm going to share a yummy cookie recipe. Sound good?

My hubs convinced me to make these the other day. His reasoning? "They'll give your supply a boost." He's right, by the way. Oatmeal does wonders for breastmilk production. You're welcome, nursing mommies.

So, the recipe.

Gather your ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 cups Quaker quick cooking oats

Get to mixing.

I use a hand mixer for this part. Throw the butter and sugar in first and mix well. Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix again.

Let me let you in on a busy mom secret. I don't sift my flour, and I don't mix my dry ingredients separately. There, I said it. Go ahead, dump in all of your dry ingredients now. Right on top of that buttery, sugary goodness. Try not to clutch your pearls too tightly, ladies. Now mix it alllll up with a fork. See, that wasn't too bad, was it?

Now drop those puppies onto your cookie sheet (or baking stone, which I lurve) and bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. The key is to take them out when they're a little underdone. Let them sit for a few minutes, and then transfer them onto a cooling rack.

Then, eat them the heck up. They're delicious, and they taste like fall. You're welcome!

Sorry, I don't have any pictures because the cookies didn't last long. Next time. :)

 

Wordless Wednesday: Our Family

Getting By on Prayer and Coffee

You might notice I haven't been blogging as often as I used to. It's not because I don't have anything to say. Can I be completely honest with you for a minute? I haven't written as much lately because I'm one of those "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" kinds of people, and I'm afraid that I might sound like a Debbie downer.

Let me start by saying that I am incredibly thankful for the blessings in my life. I am fully aware that I am blessed to have a job, a husband who loves me, and two beautiful children. I thank God for His goodness all the time.

But... since this is my blog and I feel like being candid right now... some days I don't feel as blessed as I know I am. Like... today, I changed a nasty, poopy pull-up in the parking lot outside the church we've been visiting. I shared my shower with a two year old. I held a fussy, teething, drooly baby while he fussed. I had my nipple bitten - hard - by the same teething baby while nursing him and howled in pain. I ate oatmeal for dinner after everyone else had already been fed, and most of it got cold while I was tending to the busy toddler and the teething baby. I sat on the edge of a "big boy bed" for far too long because someone did not want to go to sleep even though it was past his bedtime.

I wish I could say today was just a bad day, but let's face it. When you have a two year old and an almost nine month old, this is kind of just the norm. Our house is never clean anymore. The laundry is never really done. The dishes pile up amazingly fast, since we haven't cooked in a while. Date nights are few and far between. Between my job and my family, there are days when I don't really get to relax until after 9 pm, and by then I'm too tired to really enjoy it.

And still... having said all that, when I see these two little faces, I can't help but overflow with love for them. This motherhood thing is a wild ride. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. If you're a parent, and you feel like you're on the verge of pulling your hair out on a regular basis, know that you're not alone. It doesn't mean that you're doing something wrong. On the contrary, I think it means you're doing something right. If you're totally spent by the end of each day, that means you've given your time, energy and love to your kids. That's a good thing, even though it doesn't always feel that way.

Being a mom is sometimes a thankless job. It's easy to feel like your kids want more from you than you can even give. But somehow, each day you do it all over again. I'm honestly not sure where I get the energy to press on some days. Prayer and coffee, I guess. But every day, there it is. I hope that my kids don't see the frustration and fatigue on my face. I hope that they can see past it and that they feel the overwhelming love I have for them. Because it's not always right there on the surface, but it is there, and it always will be.

In which I answer the question "do you want more?"

For some reason, this question has started to come up again. Maybe it's because my baby is not a tiny little thing anymore. Maybe it's because the two we have are spaced pretty close together. I don't know. I'll be chatting with a stranger in Target  a friend about Colin and Reid, and they'll smile and ask, "Do you want more kids, or are you done?"

I can usually sense just a hint of sarcasm in there. Like they're hoping I'll say, "Yes! I want ALL THE BABIES as soon as possible!" so they can laugh at me behind my back.

The truth is, I really don't know. There are days that I would honestly tell you that two is enough. That we're done. And there are other days... days when no one is sick, and both boys go to bed without a fuss, and everything is right with the world. On those days, I would tell you that yes, I would love a third.

What I do know for sure is that if it's up to us, it won't be any time soon. We've decided to wait it out before we do anything hasty. We are not going to try and get pregnant again anytime soon, but we are also not going to do anything permanent to prevent it. I'm on the pill now, and will keep taking it until we have "the talk," which will likely be years down the road.

So, back to the "do you want more kids" question. If I'm lucky, it will be quickly followed by, "Will you try for a girl?"

The answer to this question may surprise you. While I would be tickled to have a little girl, and buy frilly pink things and headbands with huge bows on them, I love being a boy mom. I really do. Boys are great. Yes, they're crazy, and messy, and they break things, but oh my word are they great. I love having two sons, and between you and me, I would love to be able to have another one. 

Just not right now.

Wordless Wednesday: Two Pieces of My Heart

The Great Paci Purge

We've done it, you guys. We are a pacifier free household.

It's kind of funny how it happened, really. A couple Saturdays ago, we had a babysitter come to the house so we could have a date night. That night, the sitter didn't give Colin his paci, but he went to bed just fine without it. He's been without it at daycare for a while now, but we were still allowing him to have it in bed at home.

That night, we decided that if he could survive one bedtime without it, that it was time just to get rid of it for good.

Someone stole a paci intended for baby brother...

The first couple nights were too easy. The second couple nights you would have thought we were torturing him. After that, things kind of leveled out, and the last two nights he hasn't mentioned it at all. Saturday will mark two weeks since he's used one at all, so it's safe to say we're done.

Since Reid still won't take a pacifier at all (he prefers his thumb or a blankie to suck on), I think it's time to throw out the few pacis I've kept in hiding.

It feels really good to have a parenting "win" under our belt. Next up? Hopefully, more potty training successes.

I just love this little boy-man so much.

 

Mom hair

Motherhood causes us to make sacrifices. If you're a mom, you know exactly what I'm talking about. We moms have to put ourselves on the back burner pretty much all the time. We are always making sure the kids are fed before we fill our plates. We wear the same pair of jeans until they fall apart, but our kids have more clothes than they can wear. We sacrifice our sleep, our bodies, our social lives... I could go on and on.

The funny thing is, these sacrifices don't always feel like sacrifices. We do these things because we love our children. Yes, we have moments when we feel a little burned out and even resentful, but at least for me, those moments are fleeting and often fade after doing something for ourselves. It doesn't have to be much. A Starbucks run, a hot shower, a date night, a new pair of earrings. Whatever it is that makes us feel a little human again.

One of the things I tend to neglect when there's a baby in the house is my hair. Besides the issue of time (it takes a while to blow dry and style it the way I like it), babies are grabby. As my sister recently put it, "those sticky hands find everything." I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of my hair being pulled out in fistfuls. As a result, this is the look I've been sporting on the daily.

{also notice the ugly nursing bra with a gigantic strap}

After having two babies, this is becoming a habit of mine. I grow my hair long while I'm pregnant, give up on it by the middle of the third trimester, and revisit it again when it starts to drive me crazy.

Well, I think that time is coming soon. I think I may be just about ready to take the plunge and get it cut again. Maybe.

Moms, what are some of the sacrifices you've made for your kids?