HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to All!!!!

Happy Mother's day to all the Mother's in the world. I am so thankful to be a Mom and to be a part of this incredible "club."

Here are some quotes about Mothers; enjoy and may you truly have a blessed day!!!


A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving


A mother is someone who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take - Unknown


When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice once for herself and once for her child.- Sophia Loren Women and Beauty


I shall never forget my mother, for it was she who planted and nurtured the first seeds of good within me. She opened my heart to the lasting impressions of nature; she awakened my understanding and extended my horizon and her percepts exerted an everlasting influence upon the course of my life.-Immanuel Kant


There is an instinct in a woman to love most her own child - and an instinct to make any child who needs her love, her own.  ~Robert Brault


No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love.  It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star.  ~Edwin Hubbell Chapin

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.  ~Tenneva Jordan


One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters.  ~George Herbert


The phrase "working mother" is redundant.  ~Jane Sellman


The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men - from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes


Who fed me from her gentle breast
And hushed me in her arms to rest,
And on my cheek sweet kisses prest?
My Mother.
~Anne Taylor


The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.  ~Rajneesh

In response...

“Every path to success has been littered with doubt, fear, and uncertainty, as well as persistence, calculated risks and repeated action. The difference between someone who fails and someone who succeeds is the courage to act...”

One of the greatest aspects of social media is being able to connect with other people and share your personal stories/experiences and allow others see to see a side of life that they may or may not have experienced or dealt with and may or may not agree with.

I am okay with the fact that others are not agreeing with the choices that I made during my birth. Where would we be in this world if people always agreed with one another and no one was willing to stand away from the "mainstream" and trust in something else.

I am not here to say that my choices in my birth are the only way to go or even the best way to go, or to cast judgment on those that choose different paths than I would. I simply wanted to share my birth story.

  

In regards to my birth; I believe in trusting ones body and trusting ones instincts. I trust in my beliefs; like many of us do in all sorts of ways. I chose to trust in myself and in my midwives ability to assist me in bringing my son into this world. I chose to accept the consequences for MY actions whether they be good or bad. I do not feel that that was a narcissistic act or even a selfish one for me to make. I feel it was a mindful decision for son and myself because I know that in that moment every ounce in my being was telling me to leave the hospital and I did.  I am NOT saying that that is what all women should do; it is what I chose to do.

My hope in sharing my experience is that all women will learn to trust themselves and do what they feel is best for their bodies and their unborn child, whether that is having a homebirth, delivering vaginally in a hospital, or having a caesarean. I hope that women can take a stand for what they feel to be their best option not because someone told them is was the right thing to do but because they made an educated and thoughtful decision and chose to trust in what they feel to be right and true.

Bad things happen to everyone. Yes, my son could have died but I, too, could have died in the hospital. No one knows what would have happened if I had stayed. The point is that I made a choice for myself and my family, and I believe it was the right choice. I chose not to fear the “what if’s” and am thankful that I did. You all have the right to feel otherwise and I accept your feelings. I appreciate all the thoughts whether they are for me or against me. I am not trying to advocate that all women deliver breech babies at home. I am advocating that women educate themselves on their options in birth and choose according to what they feel most comfortable and confidant in.

For the love of our planet

Earth Hour is tonight, Saturday, March 31st from 8:30pm-9:30pm; it doesn't matter what time zone you are in. This is not an event that is supposed to cure global warming or fix the energy crisis. The sole purpose of this is to "inspire all of us to make positive environmental changes in our lives." Please take part in this if you can; it is a lot of fun to turn the lights out, even for an hour and sit, read, or even play a board game in candlelight. I love being part of an event that I know people from all over the world (130 countries) are collectively experiencing and participating in. One of the greatest gifts social media has given us is the ability to connect the human race and come together to think, discuss and solve the problems that we all are facing within our world.

Family Vacation

My family and I will be on vacation in Florida and Georgia for the next two weeks. My honey and I will be celebrating our five year anniversary along with Lochlan's second birthday. I can't believe my baby is already two. Crazy that almost two years ago I was in labor and about to experience the greatest joy and love on earth. I truly feel blessed.

I will not be posting while we are away, unless something HAS to be said. See you in a few weeks!!

Cesarean Rates

This website has collected data from all 50 states on their hospitals cesarean rates to birth ratio. It's hard to ignore this epidemic when the facts are staring you in the face. Not every cesarean is medically necessary. It's time for women to take birth back into their own hands and stop trusting that Doctor's have our best interest at heart.

Check this link out for Nevada's cesarean rates. It is quite upsetting.

“There is power that comes to women when they give birth. They don’t ask for it, it simply invades them. Accumulates like clouds on the horizon and passes through, carrying the child with it.”

~ Sheryl Feldman

Weaning Day 6 and 7

During the days Lochlan has been on and off. He has moments of being very upset, throwing himself on the floor, hitting the air, stomping his feet; all things he did not do as much prior to the weaning process. When he's like this I acknowledge his feelings of frustration and ride it out. I go about my business and let him work through it. If he needs me I will come but I don't try to make him stop crying. I tell him if he wants to be upset, he can be upset, he is allowed to have feelings.

Day 6 night was awesome. He woke up three times. The first time he put himself back to sleep without me even going in the room!! Victory! Then the next two times I went into his room after he cried for 15 minutes and was in there for under 20 before he fell asleep again on his own without nursing. This is incredible. I really did not think we would be at this point so soon considering how often he nursed throughout the day and nights prior to the weaning process.

My Mother told me that often times when there are behavioral changes right before it subsides completely there sometimes may be a last minute retreat to the "old ways." Sure enough last night, day 7, he latched himself onto me. Literally.

He fell asleep in the car heading home from a family gathering. When we arrived at the house he woke up and I brought him into his room, changed his diaper, wiped his hands and face and put him into pajamas. He nursed for about 30 minutes and fell asleep at the breast. When I went to lay him down in his bed he woke up and started crying. I sat next time him for 10 minutes while he fussed but then fell asleep. At 10:30 he woke up and cried for under five minutes and went back to bed. He did this again around 11:15 then at 12:30 (which I swear he wakes up on the dot every single night) he cried and cried and I could tell he wasn't going to gown down on his own. So I went into his room and he was sitting on the floor. I pick him up, he stops crying; put him back in his bed and waaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I sat in their for an hour and a half. He kept getting out of bed and I would have to pick him up to put back into his bed. I noticed that every time he would grab hold of him he would squeeze hold so tight. He wanted to be close. Eventually I needed to go to bed. So, I stood him up and said, "Would you like to sleep in Mommy's room?" "yes" "Okay, you may sleep in there but you will not be getting any leche (which is what I call breastmilk). It is time to sleep, not play. Do you understand?" He says, "Yes" and then jumps onto me and squeezes tight. You could tell he was excited this had become an option. We went into my bed and he layed on me with his face pressed as tight as he could get it to mine. Wrapping himself onto me. He never asked for milk once. But he was needing me to be close. It was nice to REALLY snuggle with him without him needing milk. I fell asleep; he woke up a couple hours later and fussed for a minute but then snuggled back up and went to bed. We woke up around 7; he nursed for maybe 10 minutes and got up. A week ago I would have nursed him maybe 4 times in a night for at least 30 minutes each and then in the morning he would nurse roughly from 5:30-7am. THIS is so much better for us/me at this point. I am glad we still have those three to four times a day we nurse before he goes to sleep; to reconnect and be close, but it is nice to not be a constant milk machine. I feel like I have a part of my body back. For so long it did not belong to me.

We still have time to go with the weaning stage but so far I am so pleased with how calm I have stayed through out this. His crying and anger, has definitely brought me to tears, but I am confidant in why I am doing what I'm doing and it has allowed me to have so much more love and grace in the process.

Being a Mom that had tried to wean before but still slightly on the fence; there is NO WAY you can wean if you are not 100% committed to doing so. It is hard to hear your baby cry and get so upset with you. No Mom wants to see their child struggling but it can be a growing process. It can be a time to truly show your child how much love and compassion you have for them. When they are fighting to stay the same you are showing them change is okay; Mommy is going to be here and hold your hand every step of the way.

Weaning Day 5

Last night was rough. He only woke up twice but each time it took me over two hours to get him to fall asleep. He asked for everything under the moon: a diaper change, a book, a new shirt, food, his shoes, to color, to go bye-bye, his Papa, Daddy, the dog, new pants...he eventually would realize the only option he had was to drink his water, lay down and fall asleep.

My rule for staying in his room is this; I will sit in there and wait for him to go down if he keeps his head on the pillow. He can not be sitting up. I would ask him, "Do you want Mommy to stay in here while you fall asleep." He would say, "Yes." "Okay, then you need to lay your head down and close your eyes." If he would not do that I would get up and leave. Let him cry for about 5 minutes and then start over again.

In the morning he did great. He did not ask for milk at all until it was time to take his nap. I have noticed that he is very excited and willing to let me know when he is tired and ready to go to sleep because that's now the only time he gets milk.

Every day is different but it seems each day is getting  better and less dramatic for him. I am managing his emotions fairly well and I think a big part is because my body is not in constant demand of milk production. It takes a lot of energy to produce enough milk for a toddler. I am proud of myself for sticking with it this time and I am extremely proud of my son for listening. Yes, he is upset and lets me know but overall he gets what is going on. Growing pains...