How strange my life is becoming!

I have one doing this:




And one doing this:



Yes, my oldest has lost his first tooth at the ripe old age of 5. And yes, that is the adult tooth coming in right behind it. I guess it makes sense, he got his teeth way early so he'll lose them early. I can live with that!

I am a human pacifier.

Myths about breastfeeding:

1. It is convenient.
Horse puckey. The only time it is convenient is at night and only because you don't have to get out of bed.

2. It is good bonding time.
Yeah, only if you don't have any other kids and a million other things to do.

3. Babies who are breastfed aren't as gassy.
Again with the horse crap.

4. Breastfeeding is cheap.
Is not. It's costing us a lot for me to stay home and do it. Plus, I'm not getting anything done.

5. Breastfeeding feels good.
To who?!?

I'm not saying I'm giving up. I'm not. But there are definitly moments when it sucks. Today, for example. I've been nursing for an hour. With a five minute break so I could put some soup on the stove. Soup I probably won't get to eat. The more I nursed today the more I understood that I wasn't nursing a hungry baby. I was nursing a baby who thinks I make a better pacifier than his pacifier does. It's not that I don't want to comfort him. I do. Just not by spending all my waking hours with my boob in his mouth. I started really pumping in earnest today. Besides the electric double pump I have I am now the proud owner of a handheld manual pump that I am using in the shower. I'm getting some decent amounts so I'm hoping that this will either allow for Brandon to help feed sometimes or build up a supply. I'm trying to pump after every feeding although this isn't the easiest thing to do with the kindergartener wanting something from me every 5 minutes. So, while breastfeeding is great because it's so good for babies, it's hard, inconvenient, time consuming and stressful. You have to really commit yourself to make it work, and everyone around you has to be committed to helping you.

Counting my blessings.

There are few things on earth better than being married to a man who is a great dad. I was blessed with a hubby who is very dedicated to his family and really enjoys getting family time. He prefers being home with us and isn't one to go out with friends or find other things to occupy his time. He'd rather be here than anywhere. The only real time consuming activity he participates in is school and I don't count that since the end result will benefit all of us. He works hard, studies hard and puts in a fabulous amount of time and work at home. He is truly a great husband and a great dad!

Ambivalent? Well....yes and no.

Corb starts kindergarten on Thursday. I'm so excited for him, I think he'll love it! On the other hand, it just kills me to let him go. I know that once he starts school I'll never really get him back from it. He'll be in school (God willing) until he's at least 18. On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to half a day with just Linc. It'll be so nice to have the afternoons to focus on my youngest and to get things done around the house should Linc decide it's one of those afternoons where all he wants to do is nap. It does happen occasionally. I'm also looking forward to hearing all about Corb's school experiences. I've met his teacher and she seems super nice. I liked her a lot and so did Corb. I'm hoping that the other kids in his class will be great and that he will enjoy their company. I'm not looking forward to deprogramming out of him all the crap he'll pick up from kids with parents who are less strict than I am. I'm also not looking forward to those days when I'm trying to get Corb to school on time and Linc is smack in the middle of a meltdown. I know it's going to happen sooner or later. This is a true win/lose situation. We all win a little, we all lose a little.

Sigh. I'm going to miss that kid. My first baby.

Special thanks.

We have a lot of people to be thankful for who were very helpful during my pregnancy, labor and delivery. First and foremost, Sabrina for being such a great doula, for putting in a lot of time during my pregnancy forcing me to think about and talk about a labor plan and what I wanted and then helping things turn out the way they did. Also for being such good and supportive company and a fabulous cheerleader. Also for holding my foot in such a way that I didn't get a leg cramp. Thanks to Jennifer for making phone calls and fielding phone calls and generally helping keep family and friends informed while we were in panic mode trying to get to the hospital after my water broke. This was super helpful and allowed us to focus on the battle ahead and have some moments of closeness before things got too crazy. To both our families for respecting our wishes to have a private labor and delivery, this turned out to be exactly what we needed to have. I think this was really instrumental in what turned out to be a successful VBAC. Thanks to all for all the support, congratulations, humor, company and gifts. Thanks to all my coworkers for all of the support, gifts, parental wisdom, help and homemade goodies. I think that covers everyone but if I forgot something specific I blame it fully on labor amnesia.

The beauty of the newborn.

I am amazed by this:






I think it's cool that there are aspects of babies looks that are adorable that aren't attractive in adults. Plus, I just think this kid is gorgeous!

Not that I'm biased or anything.

My Current Pleasures

It's definitely a challenge to have two in the house instead of one, especially since one requires such time consuming care. I'm really enjoying it, though. Corb is so interested in his baby brother and very sweet about it. He also totally enjoys being the big helper and is always pleased and eager to play fetch and carry or put dirty diapers in the garbage or whatever. It's pretty awesome. I have to give his auntie props for that, she was the front-runner in teaching him the rewards of being helpful. It's been such a treat for me and the hubby to refer to our children, the boys, our sons. So while the experience isn't without pain, discomfort or difficulty it is rewarding, amazing, and fullfilling. We have been blessed!