Fuzzi Bunz Give Away!

In the Know Mom is giving one lucky lady a FREE Fuzzi Bunz one size diaper!  You can head over to the blog by following the link above to enter.  I am so excited about this!  These are by far my favorite diapers!  Good luck to every one!

A Mother's Love

So the solids have already come and gone. LoL!  He was eating solids great, but there was a SERIOUS dip in the amount Daniel was nursing.  I was concerned, but when I weighed him and he had only gained .7 pounds (did ya see the decimal?) in 41 days I decided it was time to get serious.  NO MORE SOLIDS...and I let him trigger my let down reflex and then hand express the fore milk.  No more sugar water for Mr. Jackson!  LoL!  He is doing much better without it.  He actually comfort nurses now!  LOVE that!  And he is also more satisfied after his meal (which are longer too).  It was hard watching him fight for his meals as they were sprayed down the back of his throat.  I'm glad I figured it all out and wised up.  Oh, and he crawls now.  Watch out world!

Luke started first grade yesterday.  He seems to like it, but you never know with that kid.  He's so quite.  He never really talks about what goes on at at school and that sort of bothers me.  Who is he hanging out with?  What do they play?  What was the highlight of his day?  I get very vague answers...always have.  *sigh*  My grandma tells me it's a boy thing, but then why do I hear most of the other boys talking their momma's ears off in the HALL WAY?  I suppose things will get better...or I'll just get used to it.  He's still being a pretty good help around the house...a little mouthy, but we had a serious talk about choosing friends tonight.  I think that may be some of the problem...that and being tired for all that "work" at school ;)

Vanessa has been on my mind a lot lately.  She just has.  I keep thinking about the last dream I had of her and how she said she wants me to be happy.  I am, but sometimes I still feel like I replaced her...regaurdless of what she said.  Did I ever tell you about that one?  Here, let me do it now just in case I didnt....
Not long after I found out I was pregnant with Daniel I had my second (and so far last) dream of Vanessa.  I was very upset about getting pregnant again so soon and I wasnt sure how SHE would handle it.  Yeah, I was worried about my child in Heaven.  Like she was really concerned with being replaced where she is.  But still.  Anyway, in the dream she just sort of appeared.  Behind her it was all white and sort of bright.  Typical "cloudy heaven" look to it.  She looked to be just a bit older than me.  I would say early 30's, but as soon as I seen her I knew it was her.  To myself I thought, "Vanessa.  Wow, she's beautiful."  She looked at me and rolled her eyes like a teenager and said, "Mom, seriously, I'm fine."  Then she smiled at me and her eyes were so kind and sincere.  She said, "I just want you to be happy.  It's ok."  And I woke up.  That was it.  After that night I never once felt bad about Daniel.  The devil tries to trip me up from time to time, but all I have to do is picture that eye roll and her sweet smile, think of the words she spoke to me, and it's all ok.  I cling to those dreams of her like a life line sometimes.  I NEED to know she's happy and ok...and God has allowed her to show me enough so that I know.  I'm so thankful for those dreams.


Ah, kids.  They make us crazy, dont they?  I swear I've aged 15 years in the past one.  I keep waiting for the grey hairs to add to the eye wrinkles.  LoL!  But I love them all so much.  I wouldnt trade a moment of the time I've had with them for anything.

Perfect Zoo Day!

A random snap shot from our living room. I love these boys so much!

Today we took an impromptu trip to the zoo.  It was such a great day!  It was warm out, but cool enough that I was able to wear Daniel in the Moby Wrap.  We worked and figured out how to nurse in it...once we did that he thought he had to nurse all the time.  Silly thing! 

Luke and Landon rode the boat ride...TWICE!  They loved it!  

The polar bears were lounging around watching the fish in their inclosure swim around.  I was waiting on this one to dive in for dinner.

Here are the boys playing with some tame polar bears.  LoL!

Too Much Milk?

Today I learned that your milk is NOT supposed to spray out of your nipples, you really shouldnt have much leaking between nursings, and green, blood streaked poop is not ALWAYS caused by a food allergy.  All are also signs of too much milk.  Here I sit worried I dont have enough, and I have TOO MUCH!  LLL calls it "over enthusiastic" breasts.  Lovely.  I knew I had a strong let down reflex, but I had no idea that it was a sign of over production.  I reacted the same way when Luke nursed, but because he ate sooo much, it never bothered him.  He took the extra fore milk AND the hind milk.  Poor Daniel's problem is that he's getting too much fore milk...it contains the sugary Lactose...which can cause the gassyness, upset tummy, green poop, and after it builds up in the intestines, blood streaked stools.  All are also signs of a food allergy, but we have already went through the steps to rule Dairy as a DEF. allergy.  Today I KNOW I ate nothing with dairy and we are still having some really nasty diapers, blood streaks, and he's broke out in his diaper area.  All thanks to the lovely Lactose.

So how is this problem fixed?  Most women are looking to increase, I need to decrease....Kellymom.com suggests nursing one side per feeding.  Ok, I do that.  The next step is to nurse one side for TWO feedings then switch.  We are going to start that tomorrow and see how it goes.  I'm just thankful the bloody poo is nothing more serious than a little extra milk.

Name pictures

I want to thank Elaine over at Waves Over Stones for the wonderful pictures she took of Vanessa's name for me on a recent vacation she took.  These are the first that have been done for us and my reaction really took me by surprise.  I teared up so much that Landon thought Luke, who is with his dad this week, had wrote me a really sweet email while he's away.  No, some one just actually took the time to realise that I have a daughter instead of the normal "can we just pretend it never happened" that people usually treat her with.

Sweet Moments

I dare someone to tell me that's not gorgeous. LoL. He was FAMISHED when I got out of the shower after picking beans the other day. We cuddled up and he fell asleep like this...melts my heart to the core. Some times I feel like he only likes nursing because it fills his belly, but right here is my proof that it is more than that. He loves ME! He loves his cuddles with mom...

Newbies

Cloth diapering is all the rage! 
I converted two people today! LoL!  Ok, Ok, so one was already thinking about switching, and who knows if the other girl will follow through, but still!  Cloth diapering just plain rocks and I'm so glad that people around here are starting to get with the picture.  I feel like such a trend setter.  HaHa!

In other news...why do babies sometimes prefer one side over the other?  My left boob is really not happy right now.  Daniel sometimes takes these spells where he goes for about a day or two and REFUSES to nurse off it.  Screams as soon as he tastes it...and will greedily suck away at the right side.  Luke was the SAME way. I wonder if my boob is defective.....

Another question, ALL of my velcro dipes leak if I use them at night.  Regardless of how little or how much I line them, they will leak.  It comes from around the velcro itself, like where it's sewn in...No issues with the snaps though.  Is it just a velcro thing, or am I doing something wrong?

Ok, I leave you with darling pictures of my children.  LoL!  Enjoy!

 Cuddle time at the lake over the 4th.

 Pretending we are a super cute and cuddly puppy dog!  Two outta three aint bad!

My silly Luke lounging around in his PJ's...hard to believe he will be 7 next month.