Waiting on Asher

We recently celebrated the impending arrival of baby Asher.

He should be here any day! Here are a few pictures of the shower for mama Kathi and baby Asher.

Bebe Au Lait

Oh the pages I could type on my experience with breastfeeding. If you really want to know all my aches and pains, ask and I'll let you know.

But for now I am going to share the most important things I learned throughout my pregnancy and first few months attempting to nourish my baby.

They're are alot of crazies out there. Don't believe everything you read online. And just because it's in a bookstore, in the pregnancy section, does not mean you should read it. This applies to anything, not just breastfeeding.

Trust your doctor. They are the doctor for a reason. The nurse is not the doctor. Your best friend is not the doctor. The lactation consultant, doula and mid wife....they are not the doctor either.

A healthy mom and healthy baby are most important. Baby can not be healthy if mom is not healthy.....No matter what they drink.

If you are breastfeeding your baby but hate your life because of it you are not doing the best thing for your baby.

I believe it is selfish for a mother to continue to try and breastfeed when they are not able to provide adequate nourishment.

There are plenty of mothers who could feed an army of babies with their milk supply.

But if you have a low milk supply, latching issues, etc, that can not be worked out, and continue to try and breastfeed because you are worried about what others will think,that is selfish. Formula is okay. Your baby will not be stupid, they will not be sick all the time.......

IT IS OKAY TO GIVE YOUR BABY FORMULA. IT IS OKAY. YOU ARE NOT A BAD MOTHER....

There are alot of benefits of feeding your baby formula. Daddy can bond with the baby during feeding. So can Grandma, Grandpa, aunts, uncles, friends, whoever.

Mama can sleep all night and recover faster from delivery. This is extremely important for women who have had C- sections. A well rested mom equals a happy mom, and a happy mom equals a happy baby.

Baby picks up on the energy surrounding them. If mom is cranky, worn out, fatigued, overwhelmed...etc, baby will feel that emotion.

The goal is healthy mama, healthy baby. To have a healthy baby you must first have a healthy mama.

The point of this post was not to discourage breastfeeding. I believe in it 100%. I wish I could have been able to breastfeed Emery. It was very hard for me to give up the dream I had of giving her my milk. I do believe it is the best way to feed your baby and obviously the cheapest.

But. If you can not do it, if you hate your life because of it, if you think you've ruined your life because of the turmoil of trying to breastfeed..... if you just feel like it is something you don't want to do....then don't do it! It is not that big of a deal in the long run.

Emery has been sick once in six months and she did not even have a fever.

She is the most beautiful child ever to be born. And she is brilliant.

Table For Two

If I had to pick one album of music that best represents my spiritual life, past, present and future, it would have to be the Caedmon's Call album, 40 Acres.

This album came out somewhere around my sophomore or junior year in college.....97 or 98.

If you don't have it get it. If you do have it get it out and listen to it again.

I kid about getting "all my theological training" from Caedmon's Call. But there is some truth to that.

The providence and sovereignty of God is constantly represented in this album.

God is in control no matter the circumstances in my life. Nothing I do can or will change the outcome of God's plan. He knows the past, present and future. He knew me before I was formed and he knows the number of my days.

Soooo... That is why I chose Table For Two as the namesake for my Blog......



Table For Two

Danny and I spent another late night over pancakes,
Talkin' 'bout soccer
And how every man's just the same
We made speculation
On the who's and the when's of our futures
And how everyone's lonely
But still we just couldn't complain

And how we just hate being alone
Could I have missed my only chance
And now I'm just wasting my time
By looking around
But you know I know better
I'm not gonna worry 'bout nothing
Cause if the birds and the flowers survive
Then I'll make it okay
I'm given a chance and a rock
see which one breaks a window
See which one keeps me up all night and into the day

Because I'm so scared of being alone
That I forget what house I live in
But it's not my job to wait by the phone
For her to call

Well this day's been crazy
But everything's happened on schedule
from the rain and the cold
To the drink that I spilled on my shirt
'Cause You knew how You'd save me
before I fell dead in the garden
And You knew this day
long before You made me out of dirt

And You know the plans that You have for me
And You can't plan the end and not plan the means
And so I suppose I just need some peace
Just to get me to sleep.

Baby's Mama

Before I became a mom I devoured any information I could find on how to be the BEST mom. I read random blogs of mom's I didn't know, read half a dozen books on how to have the the BEST delivery, how to give my child the BEST nutrition...and so on.

Google was my BFF in those last few months of pregnancy. Some of the info I found, looking back on it, I probably could have done without.

I've decided that over the next few months I'm gonna post my own "mom advice".......

First post. Breastfeeding.
Second post. "Natural" Delivery.
Third post. Vaccines.

You may not like what I have to say, but that's why this is my blog. Stay tuned.

Blue Jean Baby, L.A. Lady

Our friends 2 and 1/2 year old daughter saw a picture of Elton John one day.

She looked at the picture and excitedly pointed at the picture and said....

"Benji!".....


AH HA HA HA HA AH HA AH HA!

NYE

This year we had our first New Years Eve party. It was so fun. Wild and crazy with two 5 month olds, and two 2 year olds.

We did have one attendee puke...... Emery.

Other than that we played some Wii and ate too much. Here are some photos of the bash.

Emery was in her onesie that says, "this is my little black dress." Her favorite aunt Kathi gave it to her.

No Onions Ever!

Okay. Benji's out of town as I mentioned in my first post of the day.....

My apartment is clean because I had a New Years Eve party, dishes and laundry are done, Emery is asleep, No homework, nothing on T.V. , all my other friends have a life....so I'm binge blogging. 3rd one today.

One of my guilty pleasures is watching almost any reality T.V. program on Bravo. They have GREAT shows.

Flipping Out is one of the shows I love. The main guy is a house flipper...anyway, he is really OCD and eccentric.

He has personal assistants go get lunch, and he is always yelling at them, "No onions ever!" Evidently he hates onions.....

Which leads to my list of new year resolutions.

I've decided after 30 years of life that I don't like onions. I've always eaten them, and enjoyed the flavor in salads, on sandwiches, cooked in things, etc....but last week I thought to myself.... "you know I don't think I like onions, why do I eat them?"

I also recently decided this about scallops and brussel sprouts.

So resolution #1, No more onions.

Resolution #2, is the obvious. Lose this stinkin baby weight. I'm not going to go into it again, but I'm fat and I hate it.

Resolution #3, related to 2, I'm going to work out regularly. Benji and I were really good about working out a few years ago. It was a great stress reliever and I felt so good. One day while working out I blacked out. It scared me so bad I didn't go back for awhile, then I got pregnant....then I got old and fat.

Resolution #4, related to 3, make sure I get "me time". I don't need a lot, just maybe an hour a day. Working out will give me time to myself.

Resolution #5, be more green. I've been slowly implementing some greenness into our lives. I wash all our laundry on cold. I don't use the heat dryer on the dish washer. I always take my own reusable bags to the grocery. I quit buying bottled water and we drink FREE WATER from the tap. WHICH has more regulation standards than the bottled water does..... AND most bottled water is.... get this..... just tap water! suckers!

The bottled water industry is a conspiracy against all the stupid people. It's like bottling and selling AIR.

Anyway.

Once we move into a house I'm going to start recycling and I also want to have a garden and a compost pile to cut down on our waste.

Once I run out of what I have I am going to start making my own household cleaning products (like mopping the floor with vinegar and water), or buy the green brands.

I will however, never use a cloth diaper. no way. I know you all thought that was coming next.. ha ha.

I think 5 is a good start for 2009. Some other things I want to accomplish this year are, try to have another baby. I mean have you seen the first one? Who wouldn't want another one of those?

I also want to have yard sales at my new home. This is something I am so excited about! I've never had one and I can't wait to make money off of my junk!

I want to read more. I looove to read and this is the first time in 7 years that I haven't had to read for school. I'm looking forward to reading anything and everything.

I love new years. I love setting goals, having dreams. It keeps you young, keeps you alive and moving forward. Cheers to 2009.

A Girl After My Own Heart

One of the best things about moving back to Greenville is that we are only 2 hours away from El Sombrero... or El Som...or Da Hat. How ever you choose to say it.

I love mexican food, and nowhere does it better than El Som. I know some will disagree....

Here Emery is indulging in the chips and salsa. Im training her early!

I'm Taking Up Hunting

Benji is hunting this weekend. So its just me and Emery...well, and Vance. Vance is significant. You never realize what a pain it is to have to take a dog out 5 times a day until you have 5 month old.

Why is it that all three of us have to go to the bathroom at the same time?

Any way, that is why a fenced in back yard is one of our "must haves" in our new home.

I've decided I'm taking up hunting. So I can go away for a weekend. Well, okay not really hunting, but I need to get away. Alone, i.e. no baby, no dog, no husband.

Not that I don't LOVE them all. Of course I do.... But Benji gets to get away, why shouldn't I?

Benji has a few friends that always go with him hunting, so I'm going to need some "huntin buddies"....

So who wants to go with me? I'm thinking either Atlanta or Asheville.....