I love so-sleeping... Or bed sharing, sleep sharing, family bed, etc. I truly do. There is nothing sweeter than snuggling up to my warm, sleeping cuddle bug on these cold Michigan nights. however, the constant nursing that takes place isn't all that fun. I don't mind two or three times a night... But sometimes it's much more frequent than that. So there have been talks of night weaning in the Morgan home.

Take a moment and imagine sipping a nice warm mug of tea or maybe hot cocoa, better yet a chai tea latte before bed. Then imagine getting a few sips everytime you wake up during the night. Finally imagine waking up to that same warm cozy drink. For 8 months this is what you are used to. Now imagine someone else decides you will no longer have access to this calming, sleep inducing beverage anymore.

That's exactly what night weaning is to Milo. We know this will not be fun. We know our son will not go down without a fight. But eventually it's going to have to end. We are just trying to decide when to do so. I think we've kind of decided to wait until Milo hits a year. I know there is no good time but that's going to be a lot of stress on Milo. But I think we have found a gentle plan that should ease Milo out of the habit. Wouldn't you rather have someone slowly, gently, kindly wean you of your night time addiction? For now... Momma's Nightly Snack Shack will stay open. And that's ok.

I see I haven't blogged since asking for prayer for baby Miranda. She did not make it. She is now in her mother's arms, with Jesus in Heaven. I can only imagine the prayers the husband/father is in need of us he mourns his losses.

God has been answering prayers this week for a few friends that we've been praying for... One friend is regaining her vision, another friend had a divine appointment for a job situation, a good pregnancy report... It's a week of reminders that God hears us when we pray. And sometimes those prayers are answered in unexpected ways. But He definitely hears us.

We are praying for God to open and close some doors for us right now... while giving us clarity. Specifics aren't important right now, but please pray for our family as there are done decisions to be made in the coming months.

Milo turned 8 months old on Tuesday! He all boy. Aside from crawling very fast and pulling up on everything, he is also climbing on anything he can find... Like laundry baskets, jumbo packs of paper towels, my aerobic stepper, etc. He can now open the bottom and middle kitchen drawers, open cabinets, and crawl under and through things. He can also reach the edge of the kitchen table... And pull things off. He loves paper of any variety... Especially toilet paper; that's his favorite! And I am constantly playing refere to Milo and the cat. Neither of them understand what the other is doing. Milo doesn't understand what a slap on the forehead followed by a hiss means and the cat doesn't understand that if she doesn't want Milo to touch her... move!

And the most exciting thing Milo is now doing is walking. Not well or often. But over the past couple days, he has consistently taken 3-4 solo steps at a time. It's amazing! He doesn't quite understand what he's doing. I believe he thinks it's a game. But none the less, these are his first steps. And I think with each passing day... those steps will become more frequent.

I just thank God daily for my happy, healthy son.

Last night I heard about a very tragic story. A family from a nearby town here in Michigan was in a car accident. The mother was three weeks from her due date. She did not survive, but they were able to deliver the baby girl 45 minutes after the accident. The father also survived. This little baby girl, named Miranda, is now fighting for her life. This has been on my heart all day. The couple had been together for 15 years and struggled to conceive. The father has a blog that he started when they found out they were expecting that can be found here. Reading his words just now... I just pray that baby Miranda survives and grows up to be a happy healthy little girl... so that he can always have a little piece of his wife.. and so that despite his tragic loss can still have equal joy. Please say a prayer for baby Miranda and her family.

Blogging... Now What

Hello World. Are you still out there??

I feel like its been a really long time since I've sat down just to blog. Milo and Nathan are playing in the living room... I always love the sounds that come from Daddy-Milo time.

Here I sit. I almost have way too much I want to blog about.

My lactation courses are going VERY well. I am learning SOOOO much. The last course was about breastfeeding from a biological perspective. Oh how I wish I could go back and start all over again. I think breasetfeeding would have gone much differently had I known what I know now... and I don't even know everything yet!! Like so many other things these days, if we let things be, as God and nature intended... we'd have much fewer problems. Same with nursing. Babies are born with this AMAZING ability and instinct. Mothers have this too. That's not to say mothers don't and won't need guidance... but they need to be guided in a way that allows them to let nature work. This is definitely a perspective I will use in my journey towards helping women and babies breastfeed. And the deeper I get in my learning, the happier I am to be nursing today. And we will not be defined by an amount of time. Breastfeeding has benefits beyond twelve months. As long as Milo and I are both satisfied with nursing, we will continue to do so.

What else... Milo is becoming such a tough little boy. I underestimated him. He has a HARD head... and only rarely hits it hard enough to cry. I guess I haven't mentioned this, but I had a mini melt down the other day about Milo getting hurt. It still makes me nervous, but he's getting much steadier on his feet. He's crawling FAST, pulling up on EVERYTHING, opening drawers, standing on his own, and is done with baby food. I think one of his favorite meals is tofu, green peas, and apple sauce with cinnamon. He is also enjoying shredded cheese. He's also waving and giving high fives. While I do miss that tiny little baby I brought home from the hospital... I'm immensely proud of this "big" "little" boy he is becoming.

Right now... we are supposed to be getting a blizzard. They have hyped it up so much, I have a feeling its going to be disappointing. But the anticipation is fun anyway. And they did double time at work today to prepare, so Nathan will get a snow day tomorrow. =)

I feel kind of pathetic. I was all excited about blogging, and I'm afraid this post was a bit of a bore. Oh well.

I hope you all stay warm and cozy.