18 months & 24 weeks!!!

we had pipers 18 month appointment today....she cried the whole time...like normal....but she is perfectly healthy! 22lb and 31in tall....Dr. Grim and i talked about her "screaming for attention" according her her i have been doing the right thing by ignoring it and keeping a calm tone....she totally encouraged my desire to try to potty train....we might be going to buy a potty tomorrow! and we discussed possibly starting a vaccine schedule at her 2 year appointment....i have never really mentioned it....but we have not done any vacancies yet....but i was never convinced that we would never do them...i just knew i wanted to wait until she was 2ish....so i have the next 6 months to figure out what we should do....time to dust off dr.sears vaccine book :)
here's pipe with her daddy playing their "tars"....LOVE THIS...










little miss beanie is a little over a pound now and is the size of an ear of corn (that is really funny to me;) her heartbeat sounded good at our last appointment and she was laying sideways :) she is finally starting to make her presents known a bit more....i just remember piper moving a lot more then this?? hummm a sign of their different personality's?...who knows!

17 Months & 20 Weeks!!!

that's right! yesterday my 2 babies turned 17 months and 20 weeks on the same day! they are both getting so big!.....

a little bit about Piper...

*the words she says are...mommy, daddy, ball, baby, bath, book, puppy, duckie, piper, diaper, pretty, bubble, cheese, apple, nannie, pa,papa, "t", night night, peepee, poopoo, stinkie, bible, cookie, uh-oh, please, up, yellow, blue, purple and a lot of "words" we are not sure about yet ;)

*she still signs for...water, hungry, bird, more, all done & cracker

*foods she loves...cheese, apples, veggie burgers, PB sandwiches, ice cream, eggs, green beans, goldfish crackers, any dried fruit, bagels & cream cheese...she has really gotten into wanting to "dip" her food, like pieces of bagel into cream cheese, or french fries into ketchup ;)

*she weaned, basically on her own, at 15 months, when i was 12 weeks pregnant...all i did was a lot of distraction, we stayed really busy, and if she would ask to nurse i would offer a snack or an activity, and eventually she just stopped asking for it!

*she is a champ at going to sleep in her own bed now....staying asleep in her own bed is a different story. we honestly at 8pm (after bedtime routine of bath, book, prayer and a minute or two of rocking) can just lay her down awake in her crib and she doesn't make a peep and goes right to sleep....but she is up by 1am and we just bring her to our bed then...not sure how that is going to work when #2 comes??

*she has her first "chore", that she started all herself, when we leave the house it is her job to "put the puppy in her room"....she have even got doing the latch down...and when we come home she goes straight to annabelles cage to let her out...she gets pretty frustrated if we forget to let her do it ;)

*the girl loves her sesame street and praise baby video.

*our favorite activities are, the 2 library programs we go to, our playgroup, the science museum, and the play area at quail springs mall!

*after about a month, a lot of crying, a lot of comforting from the teachers, and probably a lot of crackers, she FINALLY loves going to church nursery!!!

of course i could go on forever about all the little quirks of Miss. Piper, but I'll stop there :)

a little bit about #2...


*our first belly photo!! everyone keeps telling me that i don't even look pregnant...well that's because its winter people and i wear a lot of sweats and jackets...so here is the belly....see i told you it was there!!!

*i have only gained 2lbs...but that is on top of the 2lbs that i lost at the beginning...so i am back right where i was when i first found out...although i already feel SO much bigger then i felt with pipe...but i think that's typical for your 2nd.

*I made it to 20 weeks without one moment of sickness!!!!!!! but a lot of back pain.

*we had our ultrasound last week and everything looks perfect and healthy! he/she is 10oz and moves all the time! he/she is so cute and looks like piper did at her ultrasound :)

*EVERYONE thinks the baby is a boy, i guess because my 2 pregnancies have been night and day different.

*starting to remember the pain of labor and birth...trying to focus on the beauty of labor and birth.

*I have been craving tomato based foods....pizza, spaghetti, and salsa.

I absolutely can not WAIT to meet this little one and learn his or her quirks and get to know him or her like we know Piper!!!!
I love you my little ones!!!!!!

so blessed...

i feel so blessed to have a father-in-law who is such an amazing encourager! he will randomly send me quotes from books he is reading that he feels will encourage me and give me strength and confidence in the work jake and I are doing with Piper...

this one is from Pure Pleasure by Gary Thomas...

“…let me explain the spiritual violence we do to young mothers when we shame them for being overwhelmed with love for their babies in a way they may not feel in that particular moment for God. Neurologists now understand that when a woman nurses her newborn, her brain releases extra doses of oxytocin and prolactin, which are neurochemicals that trigger profound feelings of intimacy and a rush of emotional love. In fact, nursing also triggers the release of oxytocin in the infant. In the God-designed act of nursing, mother and child are all but melding into each other, overcome with intense feelings of adoration, intimacy, and closeness. Their brains ping with positive, pleasurable feedback. Scientists have found this chemical reaction to be so overpowering that mother rats chose their newborns over cocaine!

Our creator designed this interaction, and brilliantly so. In a season of life that calls this young woman to so much work – changing diapers, struggling through sleep-deprived nights, dealing with incessant crying, breathing in unpleasant smells – it’s a mark of God’s genius that he also provides for unusually intense emotional bonding.

I can imagine a young mother’s prayer: “How good and kind you are, my heavenly Father, that you provide such pleasing intimacy between a mother and her baby. What a joy that my child and I can share these moments as gifts from your hand! You’ve designed my brain to truly enjoy regular times of intimacy and to bond so very deeply with a child I might otherwise grow to resent.” (pp.62-63)

I hope this encourages someone else today...

great quote....

my father-in-law is reading the book called "The Me I Want To Be" by John Ortberg...the other night at dinner he wanted to read me a part of the book that "reminds him of the important work I am doing with our Piper"...here is the quote...
"How necessary is (connectedness)? British scientist Donald Winnicott found that children who play in close proximity with their mother are more creative than children playing at a distance from her. Winnicott found that children are naturally inventive, curious, and more likely to take risks in what might be called the "circle of connectedness." When they are in this circle, they take more risks. They show more energy. If they fall down, they are more likely to get back up. They laugh more than children who are outside the circle. Why? It isn't that Mom is doing for the child what the child could not do for himself. She is not solving problems for this little kid or generating ideas about how he ought to play. Instead, when love is present, when that child feels safe and cared for in her presence, something gets released in his life. He gets a little stronger. He gets bolder and more creative. Love releases life in that child that would otherwise remain dormant and unsummoned." (pp. 183-184)

pretty sweet huh?!?!

sick :(

Piper pretty much woke up hating the world yesterday morning....cranky from the start, i just thought it was going to be another one of those "marathon nursing" days. So we sit on on the couch and start nursing...she almost immediately falls asleep after only being awake maybe 30 minutes! she takes a small nap on my lap, but when she woke up...she was hot, crying, and miserable! I took her temp..it was 101.8! then she threw up!! being completely unprepared for this inevitable day, i start crying my eyes out and call jake. While i pulled myself together, jake called our doctors office to make an appointment. i didnt want to go through this all by myself for the first time...so praise Jesus that jake has a job that cares and he was able to take us to the doctors...by the time we got there she looked so sickly...it was horrible...she could not open her eyes and was continuously crying and would not nurse! they listened to her breathing, which was really raspy, they put her on a breathing machine (which she HATED!), tested her for RSV and the Flu and sent us to the hospital to get a chest x-ray to check for phenomena...our doctor told us that she looked so sickly that she was honestly trying to decided if she should admit her to the hospital!!!! flash backs to the NICU came back and jake and i were full of emotions holding our little girl :( after spending a few hours in and out of the doctors office and the hospital, all the tests came back negative!!!! Whooo-hoooo!! And after a few hours on children's Tylenol and finally a good feeding...she was like a different baby...talking, smiling and trying to crawl off the examining table while Dr.Grim was checking her breathing:) It made us feel so good!! Dr.Grim said that it must be some sort of bronchial virus, she said just too keep up with the Tylenol every 5 to 6 hours, keep a humidifier around, and nurse her as much as possible!! We came home and took a LONG nap together :) she is still pretty cranky, wants to be held or nursing pretty much constantly, but i can already tell she is feeling a bit better. ohhhh the trials of parenthood...yesterday was one of the most emotional mornings of my life...and i know this is just the beginning!!!

*jake took this photo at the doctors office with his iphone

just at the right time...

man God knows exactly the right moments to show encouragement...Piper and i were having a bit of a rough morning...she was pretty fussy and all she wanted to do was sit on the couch and nurse...and a1thought when she gets in these moods i get nothing done...i really don't mind...but today she was on and off, pulling, getting distracted...so on and it was really getting to me...this sweet time that we were should have been sharing was making me frustrated and hurt! she eventually fell asleep so during her nap i searched out for some encouragement and came across this video! Practically in tears i realized that this selfless gift of not only amazing nutrition but comfort i am giving to my little girl is worth EVERY SECOND!! the dishes will get done later...my nipples will heal...but what i am showing her when i nurse her where ever or whenever she needs it is the love and security she will always have in me and that is priceless!

this video also really makes me wish piper and i had more photos of us nursing..i think we only have 2 or 3 from our early days together...i need to talk to jake about that :)

teething...

wow! we are in the mist of a teething little girl!...how do i know?...

A)something very sharp lying right under the gums...cant see much...but you sure can feel it!
B)serious crankiness (as shown by the 30 minutes i just spent with a screaming baby...who could not even be soothed with nursing!)
C)runny nose (i think this is a sign??)
D)major drooling!
E)green poops (and no she is not even close to eating enough food for her poops to change)
F)mommy being turned into a human teether!

ok mom blog followers....since i now know its coming...any advice for nursing a baby/toddler with teeth!!??

Is being an attachment parent worth it?...

*this is an article taken from www.attachmentparenting.org that I wanted to share :)

Is being an attachment parent worth it? Let’s face it, it can be tough.

I co-slept – with kicking kids who woke up repeatedly during the night, all night long. One night my youngest kicked me in the breast so hard that I developed a massive lump and had to get an emergency mammogram to make sure it wasn’t going to explode or fall off.
… Our friends who Ferberized their kids boasted about what great sleepers their kids were. “Little Johnny sleeps through the night and doesn’t wake until 8:00. Sometimes I have to wake him up for breakfast!”

I nursed – when my breasts were so sore. Breastfeeding hurt so bad with my middle child that I would start crying as soon as she woke up hungry, even before she latched on…
… My friends would pull out a little bottle, shake some sticky powder into it, and pop a plastic nipple into Little Suzy’s mouth, who happily gulped it down. I even had a friend who had one of those bottles with the long tube attached to the nipple, since she couldn’t even be bothered with holding her baby to eat.

I carried them — my newborns, my toddlers, and my preschoolers for a thousand miles, sometimes more than one kid at a time (thank goodness they were small!). Sometimes one would be in a backpack, one would be in a sling, and one would be on my hip or holding my hand….
… My friends would be (choose one) dragging their kids along by the hand because they didn’t want to cooperate, lugging immensely heavy carseats, or pushing them apathetically along in a stroller.

I responded with sensitivity — well, that is, pretended to be patient, endlessly giving words of reassurance or encouraging mediation, while my inner voice was screaming behind my ears, “Just stop it, already!”…
… My friends would pull their kids behind a fence and give them a swat or two, or maybe put them in time out. Problem solved.

My friends — wonderful, loving, committed, but decidedly "non-attachment parenting" friends — would look at me with a sorry mixture of pity, confusion, and something bordering embarrassment as I stuck to my guns, refusing to spank my kids, "punish" them or demean them.

Clearly, some of my friends thought that I was coddling my children, perhaps even dooming them to a life of feeling entitled and being unfulfilled.

But I tried my best to treat my kids with the same respect that I would want. They had just as much value and deserved just as much respect as I did. Why would I want to teach them that the world doesn’t respond to their needs (that is, cry-it-out)? What would be the point of saving myself some discomfort now by bottle-feeding when I was perfectly capable of breastfeeding. How could I tell them to stand up for themselves and not let the world take advantage of them if I treated them like “less than” or if I demeaned or humiliated them? And did I really want my kids to think that I was the absolute authority on everything, so much so that they needed to jump to my every command, lest they be punished?

Nope. I wanted my kids to think for themselves; to know that their parents always had their best interests at heart, even when it wasn’t convenient; to be able to count on their parents to be there when they needed us; and to know without a doubt that their thoughts and opinions were just as valid as mine or their dad’s – or any adult’s.

Was it easy? No, not always, especially at the beginning, especially when what I was doing was so different from my "mainstream parenting" friends(and family) strategies.

Now, though, I must say that it’s the easiest and most natural thing imaginable. Today my children know that they’re valued and worthwhile and that they’re the equal of every person on the planet, no matter their age. They’re secure, they enjoy spending time with my husband and me, they enjoy each other, and they’re just plain fun to be around.

And what about my friends’ children? Are they easy? Well adjusted? Self-confident? Still connected to their parents? Some certainly seem to be. But, well … not all of them are. I see many of them turn to their peers for validation. Some put up a good front at being cooperative and “good” while investing a lot of effort in “getting away” with things behind their parents’ backs. And others bow to authority simply because of the authority’s age or position.

That’s not what I want for my kids. I like to think that the “work” I put into being an attachment parent in the early years is paying off now. After the thousands of hours and hours of effort I spent cosleeping, nursing,carrying, playing, talking, listening, comforting,and just being, I’m seeing the rewards.

And those rewards will last a lifetime.

all the baby mommas, all the baby mommas....

happy momma!!!

welcome baby Titus James
born at home, on November 29th
9lb 13oz 21.5in

This is my cousin Eric and his wife Rebekah...but they are more then just cousins to us... we consider them dear friends! Congrats!! cant wait to meet little Titus!! The look on Rebekahs face is of pure happiness for sure!!!

I am thankful for....

1.my best friend and love...jacob
2.my heart outside of my body...piper
3.the grace and forgiveness of my savior
4.two paid for working cars
5.pipers nap time
6.e-mealz
7.my super cute and cozy home
8.my parents happiness
9.dave ramsey
10.the dr.sears book series
11.pipers smile
13.piper and i's playgroup (aka...adult conversation)
14.moby wraps and slings
15.redbox
16.cloth diapers, breast milk, hand me down clothes...and everything else that makes having a baby cost practically nothing!
17.my sweet doggy...annabelle
18.midwives
19.modern family, afv, the office, the middle, big bang theory...
20.the fact that i have wonderful in-laws (and sister-in-law!!)
21.james taylor
22.jacobs job
23.white noise application on jakes iphone (it has saved us from a lot of screaming car rides)
24.the fact that i can easily stay at home with piper.
25.blogger...having so much of piper life documented is so amazing!
and much more then i could ever list....i am very blessed...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS!!!!

ok, im totally just kidding ;)

soooo, the first two nights with Piper in her crib went smooth, slept from 8pm-2am, then up again at 5:30am, then back to sleep (then in our room) until 7:30ish...it was practically clock work...then the third night...not good...she never even slept in her crib, because she was fighting it so much...the crib was NOT her friend. Then the fourth night, started out nice and smooth...asleep in the crib at 8pm...then...who is the problem...not piper...not the crib...the problem was mommy! I realized how much I missed her :( I kept wanting to go get her and bring her to bed with us...I hardly got any sleep, because our room felt so weird without her...I was up watching the clock until she woke up for her feeding around 2am...she has been back in our room ever since :)
We are in NO rush to "get her out of our room", and the fact that she was not sleeping any differently in her room vs. our room, and the fact that I still need her close and much as she need me close...means...she is back in our room ;)

last night...

we decided to put Piper in her crib last night. I originally thought maybe after the first of the year we would try it...but really kinda hoped to keep her in our room for a year or so....well....the past 3 weeks she had started this new thing of wanting to wake up like 6 or 7 times a night!!! really just to cuddle, because every time I would wake up and start to nurse her, she would fall right back to sleep...only to wake up about an hour later! Yesterday was her 4 month appointment, and I mention it to my pediatrician, she said she had the same issue with her little girl, and she suggested moving her to her room, because the fact that Piper can smell me and hear me makes her want to wake up more....it makes total since (i had even thought about that before she mentioned it) but I just wasn't ready for her to leave my side yet....but I was ready for some sleep! So last night I rocked and nursed her then laid her in her crib at 8pm, she was awake again by 9pm, I nursed her again while thinking this was going to be a LONG night, laid her back down and I didn't hear a peep until 2am!! then she slept again until 5:30am! At that point jake just brought her into bed with us and she slept for another couple of hours! Of course we will try again tonight :) before I laid her down last night I prayed for her safety, being in a new bed away from me just worried me a little bit, I prayed for her security, I didn't want her to feel alone being away from us, I wanted her to still feel warm and secure, and of course I prayed for sleep for all of us :)

attachment parenting...

I know that I have left people high and dry on what exactly attachment parenting is (unless you already knew :). It is a parenting theory that i started doing research on long before our little Piper arrived. I was immediately drawn to the "motherly instincts" approach as opposed to the "get them on a schedule, cry it out, so on..." approach. There are 7 base ideas to attachment parenting...
the 7 baby B's of attachment parenting...
1. Birth bonding
The way baby and parents get started with one another helps the early attachment unfold. The days and weeks after birth are a sensitive period in which mothers and babies are uniquely primed to want to be close to one another. A close attachment after birth and beyond allows the natural, biological attachment-promoting behaviors of the infant and the intuitive, biological, caregiving qualities of the mother to come together. Both members of this biological pair get off to the right start at a time when the infant is most needy and the mother is most ready to nurture
"What if something happens to prevent our immediate bonding?"
Sometimes medical complications keep you and your baby apart for a while, but then catch-up bonding is what happens, starting as soon as possible. When the concept of bonding was first delivered onto the parenting scene twenty years ago, some people got it out of balance. The concept of human bonding being an absolute "critical period" or a "now-or-never" relationship was never intended. Birth bonding is not like instant glue that cements the mother-child relationship together forever. Bonding is a series of steps in your lifelong growing together with your child. Immediate bonding simply gives the parent- infant relationship a headstart.
2. Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is an exercise in babyreading. Breastfeeding helps you read your baby's cues, her body language, which is the first step in getting to know your baby. Breastfeeding gives baby and mother a smart start in life. Breastmilk contains unique brain-building nutrients that cannot be manufactured or bought. Breastfeeding promotes the right chemistry between mother and baby by stimulating your body to produce prolactin and oxytocin, hormones that give your mothering a boost.
3. Babywearing
A baby learns a lot in the arms of a busy caregiver. Carried babies fuss less and spend more time in the state of quiet alertness, the behavior state in which babies learn most about their environment. Babywearing improves the sensitivity of the parents. Because your baby is so close to you, you get to know baby better. Closeness promotes familiarity.
4. Bedding close to baby
Wherever all family members get the best night's sleep is the right arrangement for your individual family. Co-sleeping adds a nighttime touch that helps busy daytime parents reconnect with their infant at night. Since nighttime is scary time for little people, sleeping within close touching and nursing distance minimizes nighttime separation anxiety and helps baby learn that sleep is a pleasant state to enter and a fearless state to remain in.
5. Belief in the language value of your baby's cry
A baby's cry is a signal designed for the survival of the baby and the development of the parents. Responding sensitively to your baby's cries builds trust. Babies trust that their caregivers will be responsive to their needs. Parents gradually learn to trust in their ability to appropriately meet their baby's needs. This raises the parent-child communication level up a notch. Tiny babies cry to communicate, not to manipulate.
6. Beware of baby trainers
Attachment parenting teaches you how to be discerning of advice, especially those rigid and extreme parenting styles that teach you to watch a clock or a schedule instead of your baby; you know, the cry-it-out crowd. This "convenience" parenting is a short-term gain, but a long-term loss, and is not a wise investment. These more restrained styles of parenting create a distance between you and your baby and keep you from becoming an expert in your child.
7. Balance
In your zeal to give so much to your baby, it's easy to neglect the needs of yourself and your marriage. As you will learn the key to putting balance in your parenting is being appropriately responsive to your baby – knowing when to say "yes" and when to say "no," and having the wisdom to say "yes" to yourself when you need help.

*all of this information was taken directly from Dr.Sears website.

books i am attempting to read...

I am reading this book for my Monday mornings MOM's group bible study. I have not read much of it yet...but I think it will be a really great study. Now that we have a little one that God has in trusted jake and I to train up ...this study will be really good for me, to beable to put the boundries on our familys lives that will keep our family heathy and happy.

with out getting to personal ;)....jake and I have prayerfully decided to not use birth control (since about our 3 year anniversary). I have serious control issues...so God has really challenged me on this issue. But we believe that God has much better plans for our family then we could ever "plan". I know that someday God will give us a feeling of peace that our family is complete...but who are we to decide at this point that 2 or 3 or 4 or 5...and so on is the "right number". I also trust that God will not give us what we can not handle :) So I am doing all I can to prepare for what God might have in store for us...and this is a great book for it! Everything from fitting a large family in small spaces...to great large family vacations...and much more....its great!

AMAZING!!! I am an attachment parenting advocate. I believe its the best way to parent. I believe its the best way to foster the relationship i want Jake and I to have with our children. I think its the best way to teach them how to treat people with compassion and respect. I LOVE this book... and I think every parent should read this!

Happy 2 months!!

-you are smiling lots...and even giggling a little
-you are out of mommy and daddies bed and sleeping great at night in your co-sleeper
-you still LOVE your moby wraps, and now even face out sometimes.
-you LOVE to nurse and in the evenings sometimes you need "mommy time" every hour!
-you are generally a happy baby and really only fuss when you are tired or want to nurse.
-you hold your head up like a champ!
-you are still pretty little, and very long! I think your going to be a model!
-when you are held (unless your sleepy) you like to be facing out to see the world
-you are offically in your cloth diapers 99% of the time...pre-folds and covers during the day and your bumGenious at night, and a disposible here and there when mommy is in a hurry out in public :)
-you snort all the time. We think that is from Daddy's side.
-you have been great when we go to the dollar movies, although you sleep through all of them, as you are snug in your Moby.
-you still wake at least once in the middle of the night to feed.
-you have just started sittning in your Bumbo for short amounts of time.
-you are still a big James Taylor fan.

We look forward to see how you change each month. Until then, we will enjoy watching you perform for us. Hopefully we will be able to catch your performances on camera like we have your first two acts below.

my newborn is becoming a baby!!

As we speak Piper is sleeping in her co-sleeper for her morning nap!! She has always slept in the Moby for her morning naps...which i never minded because I was still able to get things done. And as silly as it sounds, i still could not imagine the idea of...putting her in a bed to sleep, then closing the door, and being in a completely different room then her while she slept. That just seemed like such a "big girl" thing for her to do...plus I would miss her. But i thought I would try today (seeing that she will be 8 weeks old tomorrow!!). I layed down with her in our bed, nursed her to sleep then layed her down in her co-sleeper. I layed with her for a few minutes to make she she was blissfully asleep...then i did it...i just walked out of the room...and... success!!