Let's see... what's been going on around here?

Milo is crawling... like hands and knees all the time now. No more army crawling. I truly cannot believe this boy. He's also pulling up on things, and starting to climb things like his music table. And just this morning he finally got from crawling back up to a sitting position. And every day he gets faster and faster. And he's so over toys... he's much more focused on exploring and finding the things that he's not supposed to play with. It is sad that he is growing up so fast, but each day he brings more and more joy into our home.

He is also doing very well with finger foods. Purees are definitely on their way out the door. He uses the pincer grasp most of the time and does pretty well using a spoon (considering he's a baby.) Meal times are just SO messy these days! And he is not one of those babies that doesn't like getting their hands dirty. I nannied for two of those babies who don't like messes... Milo is not one. He loves smearing the food between his hands and rubbing his gooey, slimy hands together... then the hands go to the hair...

Another new thing, just this morning, is that his third tooth came in. Its one over from the middle, top two. It freaked me out at first, but I think its normal.

I think that covers most of what's going on with Milo. Nathan's busy and pretty stressed at work. But he's taking things one task at a time. And I'm now on my fourth lactation course which is Infant Assessment, Growth, and Development. I was told the first few classes are the most dense with info, so that was encouraging... hopefully I'll be able to work more while Milo's napping. I just felt like with the first classes, I needed to have complete concentration with out any potential distraction, but I think the next courses should be a bit easier to start and stop as need be.

And when I am ready to begin my lactation work... my business name will be Allegra Lactation. When we were trying to conceive, I prayed for Milo or Allegra. If Milo had been a girl, I guarantee her name would have been Allegra. Allegra is a name that means, happy or joyful. That is exactly what breastfeeding should be. My job will be to help women get to that point so they can experience the joy of breastfeeding.

I think that sums things up for now. I hope you're all staying warm. Spring will be here before we know it!! :)

Another iPod post...

First of all... A big Congrats (such an inadequate word) to our friends Stephanie and Bryan who announced today that they are expecting their second baby in August!

I have a ton of friends having babies this year. And it feels so good not feeling jealous. Not only am I ridiculously over-fulfilled with Milo but I have kind of embraced my infertility. I still wish I could just "get pregnant" but I have embraced it as part of our own special journey. Same with my traumatic labor (yes I do consider it traumatic... Once the interventions took place), my post partum depression, my Breastfeeding difficulties... They've all contributed to who I am today. So my congratulations are now longer bittersweet.. just sweet!

I watched my first lactation lecture today... Anatomy and Physiology of Breastfeeding. It was so interesting learning just how this whole making milk business really works. It was a lot to take in but I loved it. I am absolutely certain this is the right career path for me.

On a side note... Milo now claps when I say "show me big boy!" Its so cute. He's also waving and crawling and pulling up on stuff. He can get up to five consecutive crawl steps in before going back to the wounded soldier crawl. And tonight he discovered his shadow on the wall. And a shout out to Mom and Dad... He looks ADORABLE in his new puppy dog jammies! Thanks!

I'm blogging from the tiny iPod keyboard so please forgive any typos or abbreviations.

First of all... We praised God today for a good report from my followup chest X-ray. I talked to my doctor and he said the X-ray looked good. My question was... So what was it? He used the words infectious and fungal?! So I'm not sure exactly what that means but a good X-ray report was all I needed to hear. We'll do another chest zest in six months. If things do not look good at that point we'll do the lung biopsy.

At my parents urging, I held off until I got the good report before I enrolled in my LC program. As soon as I got my report I enrolled. I had over 25 comments on a Facebook post I made about why moms chose to breastfeed or bottle feed. I loved hearing from all of the Breastfeeding moms... But it was also nice to hear from the moms who couldn't or chose not to breastfeed. It was a good reminder that A) there is a great need for good, encouraging support because Breastfeeding can be very difficult B) That it's a difficult choice and a woman should never be pressured into it or criticized for not. My job will truly be to support the Breastfeeding mom for as long as she desires to breastfeed. It was just great dialogue!!

Ok I'm tired of typing on these tiny keys. Thank you for the lung related prayers... They were heard.

When I Grow Up

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

My parents have been in town, so we are having a blast showing off all of Milo's new "tricks. His latest trick, aside from army crawling... almost REAL crawling... is clapping his hands. Its super cute. He's growing, growing, growing. And he did see the ENT doc about his sleep apnea. He ordered a sleep study that will be done down in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan. I'll post more about that later.

I will be starting the new year, with starting my education towards becoming a lactation consultant. Breastfeeding is something that is very important to me. Every mother who desires to breastfeed should have the support to do so. We would not have been able to do so without the support and encouragement of our lactation consultant, Danae. I quickly realized this is "what I want to be when I grow up." I will be completing a program that will first give me the knowledge of everything from basic anatomy to breastfeeding the special needs baby... and EVERYTHING in between. Then I'll work on gaining the 1000 contact hours required to sit for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners certification exam. My goal is to sit for the exam in the summer of 2012. Its a good feeling to finally... after close to eight years after high school... know what I want to pursue aside from mommyhood. Wish me luck!

I hope good things comes your way in 2011.