A Dairy Sensitivity

I think James was probably only 2-3 months old when I figured he had some eczema on his back. Like Leah, he too got a bad bout of "newborn acne". Those annoying little red bumps covering their beautifully sweet and new baby faces. It bugged us, not them. And it really felt like, for both children, that it seemed to last a lot longer than what the "estimated time" was.

He's now almost 17 months old and although "newborn acne" is 14-15 months in his past, we've still been battling extremely dry skin, mainly on his back and shoulders and backs of the arms, and occasionally lower legs too. I thought maybe it was worse because of the dry winter weather. I used so many different types of creams. And none worked. I mentioned it to my doctor and she didn't prescribe anything other than just to "moisturize more". Well, I was.

Anyways, my very good friend who also happens to be Holistic Nutritionist told me that the most common cause for eczema was dairy.

James can drink 3 sippy cups of milk a day. We go through almost 4L of milk in a week. Plus he had a yogurt or two each day along with cheese as well. Basically, my 16 month old was a walking little dairy product. I would say 85% of his diet was dairy.

She recommended goat's milk as a substitution. At first I bought 2%, and he took to it immediately, not even noticing a difference. Then my husband bought the 3.25% for the fat content. Obviously James didn't argue. The kid loves milk. Actually, I like it too! I find it tastes cleaner somehow, and creamier. Leah drank it too without hesitation. Until her father asked if she liked the goat's milk mommy bought. Ha!

So, yeah, apparently goat's milk is actually the closest thing to human milk out there! It's almost 3X the price that I was paying for 4L of regular cow's milk, but it's worth it. Because his eczema? It's still there, still "dry feeling" but its improved incredibly! It's like magic!!

Today I went to pick up another 4L (haha!) and while I was there I also picked up a container of goat's milk plain yogurt. I am not fan of that. It's sour tasting and I think probably an acquired taste. But I defrosted some strawberries and added a small amount of sugar and mixed it all together and it was a hit with James!

I'm actually excited to see how well his skin is doing within the next couple of months!

Let the weaning begin...

I got news yesterday morning that I've been fully accepted into the PSW program that I applied for. My first day is in a little over a month. I have soooo many emotions.

 

I mean, my first thoughts were beaming smiles but the thoughts that followed were like a deer in headlights.

 

I've got so much to do to prepare myself and my family.

 

And when i say family? I mean James. And i mean weaning.

 

In all honesty, I feel so honored and privileged to have strictly breastfed for 15 months but... i need my body back now. Its been a while since its been all mine. Maybe I'm being greedy to some but ive met my personal goal. Which was at least a year. Im actually proud of us and that's what is important.

I know he could do it for a lot longer...maybe even until he was two. But i cant. He still doesnt sleep through the night and im starting full time school soon....in another city.

 

 

Our journey with breastfeeding is ending.

 

 

The memories and precious moments we've shared will be treasured for the rest of my life.

Ive gotten him down to just feeding for his nap and bedtime and the occasional little feed during the day....oh and obviously through the night whenever he wakes up. Which could be 1-2 times a night.

So he still nurses a lot. Ha.

 

First stop on the weaning train? ....

Middle of The Night Milkies = GONE

 

Lord help me.

 

7 Months!

James is 7 months old! Now that the warm, beautiful weather is here I'm really looking forward to being outside more. He loves the outdoors! And gosh how I've missed the fresh air. The sunshine. What a long, cold winter we had. Leah is thrilled for this weather too, she's already gotten a sunburn! :( Now she doesn't leave the house without sunblock and a hat.

Some things im beginning to work on with James?
* cutting down on the number of feeds
* cutting out nighttime wake-ups all together

He's so close to crawling and can pull himself up to his knees holding onto things. Also, he weighs 22.2 lbs now!! Fewf!!

Happy 7 month birthday sweet boy!

I have a 6 month old!

Yes, it's gone fast, but yet, it hasn't. It feels like it's been 6 months. But when I think that's half way to ONE? I get a little sad. My big baby sort of robbed me of the tiny stage. He was never tiny haha. I don't miss the newborn-ness, not really. Not yet. James still wakes up 4-5 times a night and he still relies on us completely so I'm not at that stage yet. Although, it does seem like forever since Leah was a baby. I suppose that's the reality. They aren't actually babies for long.

This month has been crazy though. We made a trip to the hospital for his cough and the ER Dr. said he had Bronchiolitis. He got a puffer and yucky syrup. And thank you LORD, he is finally well!! Also, he got two teeth! (I think I'll need a whole other post for my opinion on the Amber Teething Necklaces.)


He weighs 21.5lbs! (uh, what?... Leah only weighs 34 haha)
He still doesn't roll over but he sits very well and almost never falls over.
He's been on table food for about a month now too. Some bottled baby food like strawberries and carrots and sweet potatoes. But also some "real deal" meals. My mom has an awesome food processor and just purees up a bunch of stuff for him and he LOVES it.
I was at the Doctor today and I brought up how often he feeds (at least every 2 hours) and she mentioned that perhaps he is using me as a "human pacifier". Which is probably the case. Probably why he is up 4 times a night.

I am just so excited for the warm weather to start so we can all just sit outside and play in the grass (and pick it out of a drooling baby mouth).

Happy Half-a-Year Birthday my sweet boy!!

4 AND 5 Month Update (oops!)

Life has been all kinds of hectic here lately. We've been sick (who hasnt been?). Matt worked 31 days in a row and most weeks pushing 55+ hours.

Also? Ive been cooking! Ha. Yeah, that New Year goal of mine is happening. We've been trying new recipes for suppers and baking cookies and tortillas. All kinds of fun stuff. More on that later. Back to my baby:

So, at his two month check up he was over 16 lbs. At his (late) 4 month check up only days away from him turning 5 months, he was over 19lbs and 27.5" long. Biiiiiig boy. It is so so relieving to know he is getting enough to eat and growing steadily. He has had a cold for a while now with broncitis prior to that. He's been put on antibiotics again now for a sinus infection (hes been getting bloody noses), although we are 7 days in and he's still getting dry bloody crusties in his. He sleeps with a humidifier so im not sure if this is something I should be concerned about since its cold and dry these winter months. For the last month though he has been the crankiest most grumpy baby. Its frustrating to say the least. For a few days he was terribly gassy but now he seems fine, just whiney. I think he's just about to cut his first tooth.

He has started to sort of roll over from his tummy to his back, only a few times. He seems content with not moving from his back though. He coos and chats up a storm. He can also sit up on his own now, although he will occasionally still topple over. His favorite person is Leah. Also, still waking up every 2-3 hours a night. He's a chatter box too. Sometimes when I put him back in bed he coos for another 20 mins. I love it.

He really truly loves his sister. And she really truly loves him. He lights up becomes a different baby when shes here.

I love being their mom. And most days I feel so complete with this family God has entrusted me with.

I cant believe he is almost a half a year old! Seriously. 

We made it to two.

Two months. Eeeep! How exciting is that? Okay, you're probably definitely not as excited as I am. But still. I have a two month old! A wholly breastfed two month old! Super proud. I had so many worries and fears about breastfeeding and weather or not it was going to work since it didn't with Leah. But we have fought through thrush and we've gotten this far and its such a blessing, a true gift to have this special experience with him.

Oh heck yeah, you better believe there's nights I just want to throw in the towel (all for sleep mind you!) just to let Daddy feed him. Days where I'm just so exhausted physically and mentally. But it only take about 2 minutes for those thoughts to leave my mind. Because I'm exclusively breastfeeding my baby(!!). Its a dream come true. A prayer granted. And I want to do this for as long as my baby will let me.

Right now he's smiling like crazy. Always smiling. Smiling more than Leah did at this age. He likes sucking on his fists and watching colourful shows like The Adventures of Chuck and Friends and My Little Pony (Leah's fault). He watches us walk around the room and loves looking and listening to his big sister. Also, she still completely and fully adores him. She calls him her honey bear. His favorite person though? Mommy. All day everyday. Daddy is okay too. Mainly for cuddles. But mommy wins all. And believe it or not my two-month old already stares us down while we eat. He's wearing 3 and 6 month clothing. A lot of 6 months. 

We've got our very last midwife appointment on Friday and we'll be finding out all his stats. 

I love having a two-month old!! 

We made it to one.

One month that is. One whole month of two children, lots of diapers, little sleep, fewer showers than I would like, and breastfeeding -its going, and its going well (says the chubby-faced little ONE MONTH old!!). I've also learned to appreciate more, even 5 minutes of silence. It's a beautiful and welcome sound that doesn't occur too often. And I have to say, most of that isn't from James. I've recently realized that Leah's "off switch" may be broken, or not exist at all for that matter, and yes, its taken me this long to fully comprehend. The talking...never stops. Ever. But with lots of 3-year-old-talk comes lots of laughs. James seems to be so taken aback by everything. It wouldn't surprise me if it was because of his wild big sister. Always asking, saying, singing or acting out something while jumping off furniture or doing laps around the house. She's exhausting but so full of love, and she's so worth every new wrinkle or grey hair we find (and yeah, its happening).
One of the many things I look forward to is learning all about his personality and watching that part of him grow as well. The brother-sister relationship that has already kicked off with a bang just warms my heart and I'm excited to see their bond grow.
Everyday is a fresh new start that begins with smiles and coffee. Its a new reality that isn't always pretty; most days the inside of our house is not a pretty picture, some days none of us get out of our pj's, occasionally we're a little over-frustrated, tears are shed (not only by children), and supper goes without being made. But everyday there are smiles and memories are made. This month flew by and I know I will blink and they'll be finishing high school.

Month one, complete. Bring it month two. :D