The Breast Kind of Bond!

Sorry if this is offensive to some - if you think 'breast feeding' is gross or abnormal.. do not read on! 

I LOVE nursing Emma! I chose to do it because after much research I found there is no formula that comes close to being as beneficial to a baby and it's development than a mothers breast milk.

I'm not going to say that it was the easier choice.... my goodness, we struggled at the beginning! There were many tears shed and many hours just trying to 'latch' properly. And many vents to my online friends coaching me through my frustration! It would have been 100x easier to put some formula in a bottle and give her that. But it's easier to eat at McDonalds than it is to cook a wholesome meal, and then clean up afterwards, yet, the one with more work has more benefits obviously. So it was worth the fight. 

~I love holding her close.

~I love the look on her face as she nurses.

~I love how she is soothed by it.

~I love when she is finished and looks up at me and smiles as though saying 'Thanks Mommy!'

~I love knowing that when nothing else will calm her down, nursing her brings her comfort.

~I love being the only one in the world that can ever have that connection with her. 

~Oh, and I love how it burned all my pregnancy weight right off and continues to do so! ;)

~I love how she gains the perfect amount of weight and has less of a chance to be obese. 

I remember when she had lost a lot of weight and Nick was feeding her a bottle I just sat there and cried. I was so sad to lose that connection with her. I vowed that day, my daughter would not have another lick of formula as long as I could help it. If she needs a bottle while I am away, my milk will be in that bottle! 

I don't understand why people think it is inconvenient. Why? Because you have to be there for your baby? Isn't that what being a mom is all about? When she was born the limelight I lived in was shifted to her. She comes before me, not I before her. I'm passionate about this. Don't have kids if you want your life to be just about you. 

I am even MORE excited today because I found the coolest thing for Emma for the summer! Momsicles- (don't you just love that name?) Instead of freezing juice as a homemade popsicle, you freeze breast milk just the same. You may think that I am robbing my baby of the joys of a delicious sweet tasting popsicle in the heat of the summer sun..... but, have you ever tasted breast milk? I have, while I was fixing a bottle of it for Emma and she was not sitting right, I held the nipple part in my mouth and it almost fell (breast milk to me is liquid gold) so I quickly sucked hard to stop it from falling and got a gulp of my own milk! Honestly my first thought was 'PUKE'... but then I realized... breast milk is SWEET! The only thing I have tasted similar is sweetened coconut milk. Not only does it satisfy the sweet craving that fruit popsicles do, I can give her added benefits between her feedings! Finding this was like finding the perfect pair of shoes and then trying them on and them fitting wonderfully!! 

When Emma weans from nursing it will be a sad day for me, because I will feel a great sense of loss, but it will be something special I will always hold dear to me. Some people hate it, and they say it's not for them. I just don't understand that at all. At first it wasn't for me either.... it was for Emma, I just reaped the benefits I never knew were even there! 

Ahhhh, the breast kind of bond! 

Twila

And the flu lingers...

Emma has gotten worse, but I am handling it a lot better than what I did last time she was sick. No less terrorized though. However, she made up for not sleeping during the night the other day. Last night she slept from 10:30pm until 5:30am this morning! YAY!! GO EMMA GO! Notice how I didn't say 'WE slept', because 'WE' did not! I was up all night listening to her breath making sure she didn't stop! Before I said goodnight to Nick I asked if he was worried about her too and he said 'Yes, very worried'.  Next thing I know he is out like a light! Why is it that dad's can worry while they sleep, while moms are awake the whole entire time? 

In other news... lol... I love when reporters say that! We might be getting either a Jeep liberty (My FAV vehicle) or [drum roll please] a Mercedes Benz ML 320{!!!!!!!!}. The thing is insurance on the Benz is way cheaper, but if something breaks it will be WAY more expensive. BUT, I will feel 100% confident with Emma on the road in such a safe car. This is all IF we sell our Focus, because I don't want to be making two payments!  Whatever we get of the two, I will be happy to have an SUV!! 

Twila

To The Croziers ~ From The Flu

I am feeling much better!! Nick took great care of me, and Emma was very understanding; even though she wouldn't sleep in her own bed. Which brings me to this: now she is sick! I'm terrified that she will get stuffed up and not be able to breath and have a bad episode like the one that landed her in the hospital in January! I'm trying to stay ahead of the game and keep her nose clear with saline drops, nurse her more than usual to flush the virus out of her faster, keep the air cool and moist, so far so good. Although she woke up at 2:30am and didn't go back to sleep until 6:30am! Argh, not my favorite night! 

Emma sat up by herself today and held for a moment. She has been working on this for a long time and has gone through many face plants in the meantime! LOL She is growing so fast! I will post pics when I find my camera cord! 

Twila 

Snow Day

This weekend was painful! Everything from my glands to my head felt swollen and on fire! Thank goodness Nick was able to be home so much, it was nice to be able to relax without having to worry about Emma! Now I just keep praying Emma won't catch whatever it was I caught! 

Other than that I pretty much stayed in all weekend, except for a bit on Sunday I went to get my hair cut and I LOVE it! I'll have to post some pics. Way easier to do than long hair.. plus I mean you can only have long hair for so long before it gets old and that time was clearly here! Now to get my butt in a tanning bed. Too bad there wasn't a baby and me tanning bed. lol JUST joking! 

Emma has officially found her feet and LOVES to play with them, they are always in the air! Not quite to her mouth yet.. which is fine with me. She is also working on her rolling over skills. I think she forgot how for a while! 

Today all the colleges and universities are closed down so I got to sleep in a bit with both Emma and Nick. And then I was able to have some sleep by myself (Thanks Nick!!) 

That's about it, pretty boring for a weekend but now I am very rested! 

I can't believe Emma will be 15 weeks tomorrow!! YIKES!

Twila

OH.EM.GEE

I feel absolutely horrible!! Because I nurse Emma I can't take any good medications, apparently the cold & sinus medicine decreases your milk supply by 30%! I don't need that at all! So hopefully drinking DanActive, OJ & my daily dose of vitamins... I will get over this quickly! (I hope!) And I just PRAY that Emma does not catch it!! Oh my goodness, I can't handle her being sick, it terrifies me! I'm sick enough for the both of us! :( 

I do have to applaud Lisa's craving for chinese food though. Very influential to that husband of mine, keep the good ideas posting on Facebook!! The chinese was GREAT! lol Although, not so much for the waist line ;) 

I'm getting my hair cut on Sunday.. I'm pretty excited since I have had the same hair cut for a while... and now that it is all falling out anyways, might as well make the pieces laying around EVERYTHING a lot smaller! 

My friend Ashley had her baby girl Lauren yesterday, I'm so happy for her and Scott! Big Congrats!!  Now I am just waiting to hear what Morgan and Dan are having!! That should be very soon! And I am SO happy Morgan has the SAME Dr. I had while I was in Ontario! Go Dr. T! Seriously, THE best Dr.. Other than that, all my other prego friends are in the later stages of the game. 

Alright it is 9:50pm and I just want to curl up in bed and watch a movie...so... I will!! 

Twila

Life

Yesterday was a great day for me, despite how much pain I was in from my latest cold! Emma was laughing at me. This is a big deal because last time she laughed it was by accident. She didn't realize what she was doing. This time I just kept coughing and each time I did Emma would bust into the cutest laugh ever! I got it on camera, thank goodness, because Nick has yet to hear her!

Last evening we went to go see Emma's great grandmother for her 90th birthday. It was a nice visit, we had chinese and pineapple angel food cake. Yum! Imagine living to be 90, I honestly don't think I want to, but the memories in reserve would be intense. Especially in the last 90 years. Going from no t.v, computer, microwave, cell phone, etc to the vast amount of technology that is at our finger tips is extraordinary! Not to mention two world wars, two depressions and a growing medical science field that has exploded in the last 20 years! But then again so have diseases. I also think it is kind of sad to live for 90 years. Think of all the friends and family you would have had to say goodbye to as they pass away one by one leaving you more lonely. Sure you have the family and few friends that are here, but the ones who relate to what you've been through and seen are not. I think that would be a great loneliness! 

Today we are having a blizzard! I love it!! It makes in side that much cozier (is that a word?). So Emma and I are cuddling in bed playing while Nick is at work. Everything is cancelled and work places are closing down, so for much of the city it is a snow day!

In Ottawa today we are hosting a visit from the U.S president Obama. So many people are so excited and the security has been drastically increased for him, yet it has never been like this for any other authority figure's visit. Not even the Queen who is directly related to the Canadian government. Obama, not so much! I don't buy into all his promises and innocent misdemeanor. We will see what happens over the next few years. And what is the whole 'New World Order' he keeps talking about? 

I just had a thought, I could use a new pair of shoes and a purse! I'll have to look into that! ;)

Twila

The 'Mum' Thing!

Of course I have to brag about my daughter, after all, it's what mums do best ;)

Emma (Named after Nick's grandmother) Lynn (Named after my mother)

Nov 11, 2008 12:45pm

7lbs 10oz

13 hours of labor; An hour and a half of pushing!

9 long months full of severe morning sickness

And we have our little blessing!

She is such a good baby! I am very blessed, she is so smart and is learning how to do more and more each day! Some days I wish she would just slow down because time seems to be flying! She seems so big to me now compared to what she was just 14 short weeks ago! 

She is 3 months now (14 weeks to be exact) and is so much fun to be with, her personality is just booming! Here's a quick shot of her after her bath before she went for her 3 month shot (12lbs 7oz):

Isn't she just perfect, wrinkles and everything!

She is totally holding her head on her own, I don't need to support it for anything now. She can hold her weight when she pushes up on her legs, she picks out her favorite toys and brings them to her mouth, she loves sucking on her hands... and any skin for that matter, but refuses to take a soother or bottle. She rolls over, but there is no convincing her to do it unless SHE wants to. When she wakes up she doesn't make a sound until she gets bored of starring around the room then she will let a scream out for me. Lately she has been trying to sit up on her own, she can get up to the sit position, but has yet to master the 'hold', lol, so she continues forward until her face is between her legs. It's so funny, but she gets really frustrated. She LOVES to talk to her toys and carry on conversations with whoever will talk with her. She adores being in a warm bath, she absolutely hates being cold, I guess that's why she loves cuddling up with Mumma and Daddy! She sleeps through the night, although sometimes if she stirs, she wants nursed back to sleep. But I never mind waking up to spend some extra time with her. :)

OH I AM JUST SO IN LOVE WITH MY LITTLE EMMA!

Twila

Here We Go Again!

Those of you who have read my other blogs know I start one and it goes for a while and then I seem to drop off the planet. I have a good reason for this, maybe even an excuse; I write a lot in my physical journals and when I come online I feel as though I have already gotten my thoughts 'out there' so there is no need to go over the same things twice. However, last year and this year, a lot of my friends who have been in my life have, and are, graduated(ing) from university and everyone is so spread out now, so the easiest way to keep up with me is online. So here we go again! 

I have no idea how to do fancy things on here as of late, but I'm sure everything will change up as time goes on! At least I hope.

So the quick update (for those who have been long lost):

Yes, I did become a Christian (I know! Even I thought that would be highly unlikely!)

Yes, I did move to the U.S and end up in Jail (Long story)

Yes, I did marry the one person I said I would never marry! AND

Yes, I even love him! ;)  {I'll attach some pics}

Yes, I did have a daughter in Nov '08 even though I have always said I didn't want kids and I love her more than my own life! {I'll attach some pics}

I have two years left for my BA but don't know if I want to finish it in 'Religion' or not.

Those are pretty much the highlights of my adult life thus far. Maybe a little 'low key', after all I'm not a moon walker, but there has been no lack of drama! 

At the moment I am wondering why the blog keeps autosaving my post. I guess that is a good thing, no? 

My Dad and I {Aug 19, 2006}

Nick and I

Emma Lynn {Nov 12, 2008-1 day old}

Twila