Deborah Tagged me to do a "meme". Although I still exist in blog-land I really don't know anyone so I may transfer this to facebook after. But I will participate in the meme because she is Aaron's Auntie and I'm nice like that! LOL!

I was given 8 questions to answer and told to compose my own 8 questions to pass along. Which will be incredibly hard for me as I'm not terribly creative!

What is your 'life verse' or verses that have special meaning to you, (This could be scriptures that helped you through a difficult time or helped bring you to salvation, or impacted you in some other way.)
I could really go on and on about this one!

Isaiah 63:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."

2. And why? I thought that a prayer I said when I was 7 years old made me a Christian. I went on to live a wretced, sinful life all the while thinking I was just a 'backslidden' Christian. After the birth of my first child I started to think about her future and started seeking 'religion'. After hearing the preaching of the Word for months and months these verses were preached and finally it hit me. What I needed was not to 'clean up' my life. I needed salvation!!!!

3. What is your favorite story (or stories) from the Bible?
I love the book of Ruth.

4. Why is it meaningful to you?
She was an amazing woman. I can't even fathom the devotion she had to God and to her mother in law. I think an especially difficult thing she did was to give her child to Naomi. There are plenty of people who I love but I can't think of one person I would want to give my baby away to, no matter how good a person! But God told her to so she did. It reminds me that some of the sacrifices God asks me to make are really quite small. Of course my favorite part is Ruth 4:16 "And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it."
5. Do you have a favorite 'phrase' from the Bible? (such as 'it came to pass,' 'his mercy endureth forever,' 'count it all joy', 'but God' etc.)
Its a whole verse but still a 'phrase' I think 1 Thess 5:17 "Pray without ceasing"


6. Do you have some special memories or a testimony that you would like incorporated into a song? (links to special blog posts are helpful)
The most special memories to me are those of Wesley's birth and the time leading up to it where I really drew the closest to God. I don't think it could be a song!


7. If you had a theme song for your life and faith, what thoughts or statements would you want it to contain?
I'm not good at thinking things like that up.... I guess probably just how unworthy I feel to have been given salvation.


8. What would your theme song sound like? (what music style, fast, slow, upbeat, sombre...give an example of a similar sounding song if possible)
All of the above! I would imagine it to have plenty of ups and downs in pace and many genre changes throughout!

Wow, that was harder than I thought!!! And now I have to come up with my own 8 questions?? I don't think mine will be so deep... I'm changing the tone of this meme from thought-provoking and soul-searching to random and pointless!!!

1. What color are your laundry baskets?
2. How do you take your coffee?
3. Do you abide by the '5-seconds on the floor is ok' rule?
4. What is the messiest room in your house?
5. When you go out for coffee with friends, what is your favorite snack to order?
6. Who was your kindergarten teacher?
7. Where does dryer lint come from?
8. What scent is your deoderant?

I'm putting this on facebook now!

Where did the time go?

Wow, its the middle of September! Summer just flew by at the speed of light! I kept a garden and am actually harvesting food from it. The kids had tons of fun playing in the dirt and building their imaginations. We have some cute black fluffy kittens to enjoy and managed to plant 2 rows of trees that actually survived!

Danielle has so much to say and is in love with learning her letters! If only I took a little more time to teach her, but this year is not kindergarten yet so I will be taking my time. She is full of energy and is excellent at helping me around the house. She loves to do her hair, paint her nails and is very inquisitive about my make-up but at the same time has no problems going out and getting covered from head to toe in mud! She can ride her bike incredibly well and LOVES animals.

Jack is a very determined, willful little fellow who wants to be able to do everything that his big sister does and more! He is steady, calm and thoughtful in his actions and has a generally quiet disposition. He is still my snuggler but is starting to outgrow the desire to be curled up in Mama's lap. He turns 3 next month!!! He takes his tricycle 'mud-bogging' and disappears with Daddy's hammer whenever it is left available for little hands to pilfer.

Wesley is my loud one. I thought Danielle was until Wesley came along. Because he is non-verbal he communicates solely by screaming, yelling, whining and sometimes laughing. I continue to encourage quiet by responding to him in the tone of voice that would be more appropriate and am trusting that he will sooner or later catch on. He is 9 months old and can crawl very well, pull himself up to his knees and eats table food very well with only his bottom middle 2 teeth! He loves to be with people, especially his older siblings and he really seems to enjoy music.

Aaron's business is taking off, but we are going to really need to be trusting God now that winter is coming because its very hard to do construction in 8 feet of snow. Although I've always wanted 4 children Aaron is feeling satisfied with 3 so I'm trying to come to terms with the idea of quitting here.

Unity

Camp was awesome! Bro John's preaching was a wonderful blessing from God. The theme for the week was unity and the focus was on relationships. I must say that it certainly is a wonderful thing to meditate on the kind of relationships God would want me to have. I feel very blessed to have been a part of it all.

Update on my family! Everyone loved camp! Even Wesley! There were lots of young girls especially one 13 year old who spent lots of time playing with him and keeping him happy! Everyone slept remarkably well and we had a great time being active with our church family and eating lots of yummy food. Yes, Wesley too eats food still. Once the flu had run its course he renewed his interest in solid food quite quickly and very obvisously. Those who say that commencement of solids begins the weaning process are quite right. He now only nurses every 4 hrs as opposed to the every 2 hrs he previsouly nursed. If I try to nurse him before mealtime he gets quite annoyed, pulling off and pushing me away but greedily goobles up whatever is on the spoon. He likes food, and I'm slowly but surely becoming ok with that! :) He still very much enjoys nursing when he does nurse.

Keep a dear friend in prayer as her little one is battling a difficult illness. He is the same age as Wesley and its so hard to imagine such a hard thing for a sweet little baby and for his mother to be under so much stress when she still has 4 other children to care for.

I've been off my dieting for a while now and was up to 203 lbs yesterday. Thats 13lbs GAINED in about 4 weeks!!!!! Truly terrible. So I was really careful and good yesterday and was down to 201 this morning! I'm going to really start to pay attention again. Especially since I think that my milk supply issues had nothing to do with the Arbonne shakes I was drinking but the crystal light/aspertame/splenda drinks that I was drinking! I had one not too long ago and sure enough Wesley was miserable the next 2 nursing sessions! I've had the Arbonne shakes again here and there and he's had no reaction. My goal is still 175 and I'm hoping to reach it by Oct. 26th.

Resuming Exclusively Breastfeeding?

I've always thought once you introduce solids there is really no turning back. The weaning process has begun and thats it.... or is it?

Sadly, my little man seems to have come down with the flu. It started Tuesday. He was quite cranky and everytime I offered him a meal, he'd take one or two mouthfuls and then refuse to take anymore. But the end of the day it was apparant that his frequent bowel movements had become diarrhea and I happily nursed him as often as he wanted to help flush his system and boost up natural anti-bodies. Wednesday he ate no solids and had the runs all day. Thursday the runs were subsiding but he still showed no interest in solids. Today his poo seems to be back to that of an exclusively breastfed baby and he still shows no interest in eating food! Could it be that we had a 2 week stint of feeding solids and now with my milk supply re-established we can return to exclusive nursing!!? Maybe its too soon to tell, but I'm hopeful that my dreams of baby-led solids may have only been way-layed for a couple short weeks due to vain stupidity and my little man can continue to get all that wonderful breastmilk until he sprouts some chompers!!!!

Eating my words

Wow, talk about irony. So, I never took pictures but I fed my baby solids
:( me of all people! I'm feeling somewhat low, but happy that my baby is happy.

Wesley had of course been doing the typical baby things, watching us eat, grabbing at my food. These are things that I don't think necessarily mean its time to offer solids. Most babies watch, grab and put anything in their mouths. So here's what changed. Suddenly, my little guy was waking up in the night again. I figured at first, must be a growth spurt. Then he seemed to get very dissatisfied at the end of nursing sessions. I thought, maybe my calorie cutting is too extreme. I weighed him and discovered that he hadn't gained anything in 3 weeks! 14lbs 12oz. So, I started eating like a starved refugee! I could tell my milk production was up and he was nursing every 1.5 hrs during the day and still up 2-3 times a night. Still he would often cry after being nursed, suck his soother and fall asleep.

I just thought, "this is crazy! he's still hungry!" So one evening I offered some mashed bananas. He gagged a little and didn't swallow much. Next, I offered a bite of my oatmeal. Same response. I thought, "nope he's not ready yet" But still the crazy nursing and night wakings went on. A friend came over. Her little guy is just 13 days older than Wesley and eating solids. She forgot a jar of baby food here, mixed fruit. I mixed it into some wheatlets the next morning. He loved it! He gobbled up the whole tiny baby bowl full! He hasn't looked back.

In the mornings I think, maybe he doesn't really need food. Then he sees us eating and gets all excited and bounces, he sees a bowl of food and starts opening his mouth in anticipation, squeaking out protests if I don't offer him any. Squeals of anger bursting when the spoon does not return to him brimming in a timely manner. I nurse him before his meals and he still eats his food!

I've commenced the weaning process and I couldn't be sadder :( But he is so happy! And he's even gained up to 15 lbs 6 oz. He still nurses every 2-3 hrs and I only offer food at breakfast and supper at this point. But he's back to sleeping well at night and is happy nursing again. Falls asleep contentedly at my breast and comes away happy and full!

My only worry and regret is the dieting. Could I have avoided the food if I had not been cutting calories to cut my waitline? Did my own quest for vanity cause me to give up on my dream of delaying solids or was he just ready for food? I'll never know for sure and I can't exactly beat myself up over it. There seems to be no turning back as this little fellow surely seems to enjoy food! I sure do miss those exclusively breastfed poo diapers.

List of things he's eaten so far. Wheatlets (cheaper cream of wheat, no additives) Jarred fruits, jarred sweet potatoes (now that I know he likes them I will buy some and make and freeze some homemade baby food), lentils (he did not care for these!), fork mashed chicken stew (a potatoe, carrot and gravy).... he loves the fruit, and stew!

Sorry for being a bad example of delayed solids but I'll keep telling myself that I still did baby-led solids!

Baby led solids.

Sometimes called baby led weaning, or delayed solids. I wanted to post about this because most things I've read talk more about "mother-nature" and the idea that "baby knows best" I believe God is in control here and that He put me in authority over my kids for a reason. We can learn a lot from the bible. Gen 21:8 "And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned." Weaning babes in the bible was usually celebrated with a feast, historically this has been show to be between the age of 3-5 years of age!!! Somehow I doubt that people back then were starting the weaning process at only a few months of age. (introduction of solid foods is considered to commence the process of weaning)

We can also learn a lot by looking at things with common sense. Our babies come into this world with the ability to suck milk and no teeth. Research is indicating that their little tummies don't have the ability to digest anything other than mother's milk until at least 6 months. This is not minimum age to start solid by. Some babies might be ready by this age and others may thrive on mothers milk until well into their second year of life. I've read many accounts of children who 'ate' nothing but mother's milk for the first 13 - 18 months of life and were perfectly healthy, happy children. Once they started eating solids they were able to chew and swallow easily and dove into eating table foods with no special preparation.

We didn't always have processed baby cereals, pureed jarred foods or blenders. So what would a baby need to truly eat their food? Teeth!!! Logic tells me that a baby won't be able to eat what I'm eating until they can chew it up. So what can you feed them if they only have a couple teeth and you're worried about chocking? Soft cooked meats, lentils, beans or egg yolks are great because they are high in protein and iron. (Just like all the infant cereals are fortified with over-processed and artificial forms of) Steamed veggies and soft fruits can be cut up into small chunks. Raw fruits and veggies can be grated. If you're interested in offering dairy you can use yogurt, grated hard cheese or cubed softer cheeses. Bread, crackers, cooked pasta and rice for grains. The basic idea is to wait until your baby has a couple chompers and can handle palming or picking up food directly from their bowls/plates/high chair trays! Messy but this way they start eating exactly what they're supposed to and if you wait until they're older and start with the softest foods they learn to chew and swallow safely!

I'm really considering this more and more. With my oldest, I started with packaged infact cereals at 2 mos old, jarred veggies/fruits at 4 mos, moved onto the jarred casseroles around 6 mos and then started the chunkier jarred foods around 8 mos. From there she started eating mashed table foods. My second born I delayed solids till 6 mos but I did start with spoon feeding blended table foods, cereals and mashed fruits.

Wesley is currently 5 months old and show no signs of teeth erupting at this point and he is thriving on breastmilk alone! He has more than doubled his birth weight, is alert and happy, can roll from back to front (then gets furious until you flip him back!) and sleeps at least 8 hours consecutively each night. I think he would be able to sit up mostly on his own if he didn't constantly kick his feet and topple over. I have no plans to start offering solids at this point. I'll keep you posted and put up pictures when we offer him his first "meal".

Of course I plan to nurse him until he starts to wean naturally onto solid foods. I do not plan to 'wean' him onto an alternate milk whether it be cow's, goat's or formula (that is what I did with Jack) and I don't use bottles at all. Until he is at least 12 months old I will be offering my milk BEFORE his meals as it contains 100% of his daily nutrition!

Sometimes I just feel glum

I can't quite place any particular reason, but I just feel a little glum somedays.

Today is one of those days.

Perhaps I didn't get enough sleep or could it be just being a Mom in general is getting to me at times. The hardest thing is to not eat over it. I did ok during the day and kept my calories consumption at an adequate level, but now the evening is hear, Aaron's gone to church for door-knocking and I'm sitting at this computer trying oh so very hard to not get up and eat rice crispy squares or make myself a big bowl of buttery popcorn. I'm staying on track with my goals (193 lbs as of yesterday!) so I have incentive to behave, but oh how I want to just pig out tonight!!! Pray pray pray... and then I'll pray some more.

As soon as the kids are done their movie I think we'll be working towards a dragged out bedtime, including stories, songs and cuddles just to cheer Mommy up!

But then there is the issue of the baby... his day has been weird. He was up for a feed at 4am, then up from 8am-10am. Napped from 10am-11am, up 11am-1pm, napped 1pm-2pm, and then up 2pm-5pm... so now he's finally taking a nice long nap?! Which likely means that he won't be going to bed around 9pm as per usual... weird little baby. I feel inclined to start forceful scheduling but in the past (with Jack in particular) found that to make each of us quite miserable... fighting the urge to impose rigid sleeping/eating schedule... children seem to do much better with guidance and love. Maybe I'll wake him up, that might be the ticket! I'll wake him up now (cause its 7pm - he's napped for 2 hrs) and then hopefully he'll be tired again by 9pm... that would be nice. Wish me luck!