Fingerpainting with Kids

So we decided to get a little crafty and have some fun today. Directions on how to make this are at the beginning of the video. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Wyatt!

A year ago today I was terrified and laid out like a suckling pig on the surgery table allowing a near stranger to cut me open. But it was all for a good cause. Wyatt Eldon Carpenter was born at 9am on May 18th 2011 via c-section. Happy 1st birthday to my little man! Also, a big congrats to myself for successfully breastfeeding for one year! :) It was a rough start but we finally made it through. (And we won't be weaning).

Here's a picture journey through the year.

The Beginning

September 8th 2010. Were pregnant!

Our Little bean. DH swears he saw the face of Gene Simmons in this picture. I think its just wishful thinking.

36 weeks pregnant. Huge and hoping it ends soon.

4D ultrasound. I got a lot of ultrasounds because Wyatt was HUGE and didn't want to come out.

41 weeks 2 days pregnant. Day before c-section.

The Birth

Our first moments. Welcome to the world my little man!

Sister gets to meet little bro.

Wyatt Eldon. 10.1 lbs and 23 inches long

Daddy & Wyatt meet for the first time.

Baby Grows

First day home.

Thumbs up mom. I look cool!

Where's mom daddy?

The whole family.

First toy! Meet Mortimer the moose.

My handsome little man.

Weeeee

He stole my baby blues!

The rest looks like all daddy.

Grandma knows how to have fun.

Enjoying a little down time with mom.

Giggles!

Grandpa and Baby man helps with the Christmas lights.

What's the flashy thing mom?

Cousin Joe came to visit.

This is the life right here. So comfy!

The birthday party will be this Saturday so the grandparents can be here. Rest assured there will be lots of birthday pictures posted later. Enjoy these for now.

One is The Magic Number

Warning: If you have a queasy stomach or have a problem talking about poop, you don't want to read. 

So my darling child who has an angelic face with a beautiful smile has learned a new way to annoy mommy. You know its so interesting the way you can see little similarities in your children. They really affirm that they are your children and the hospital didn't mix them up! Not that I was worried about that, but I think switched at birth haunts all mommies.

I look up from my computer yesterday because baby man was being too quiet. Its always a bad sign when a child is being quiet in my opinion. So I look up and he's actually behaving. He's just standing there watching me. But then I look down, and I see a little man worm that should be covered up! "Holy moly where did that diaper go?!" was my first thought. My second thought was, "I hope it wasn't poopy again!". I was unfortunately disappointed. Though surprised he hadn't made a bigger mess. I think he'd just taken it off. But I grabbed him and like a military leader instructing her troops, I told hubby to clean up the baby while I tackled the playpen. Of course by this time baby man is happily streaking through the house naked. Maybe he wants to practice rituals skyclad? lol Either way he was very happy to be rid of that cumbersome diaper. So happy in fact he took it off again this morning.

My daughter did a similar thing when she was about one yr old also. Except she was much worse. She was in her crib and had taken it off sometime in the middle of the night. She had poop all over the wall, on her crib, in her hair, on her hands and yes, even in her mouth. YUK. I don't gag at the sight or smell of many things, but I did that day. They are definitely sister and brother. One day when I'm old and grey I'm sure I'll laugh happily as I embarrass my children with tales of their poopy adventures. But for now, this mommy is just hoping not to have a repeat of yesterday.

And speaking of One, Wyatt has a birthday coming up on the 18th. I can't believe he's almost 1 yr old! Time fly's when your having fun.




Prince Lionheart Diaper Depot

Wyatt Helps Mommy with Laundry

My day so far... Yeah... lol. Its fun chasing around a toddler! 

Sleep Deprived

I nap a lot during the day, especially when DH is home. Right now he's between job assignments so he's home a lot. Which is good and bad. The good is that I can catch up on sleep sooner, the bad is that I'm going nuts and just wish he'd go find a job. DH was going to go to London which is about 2 hrs drive away to put in applications yesterday. But yesterday morning he said there was snow on the ground [That melted before I woke up] and he didn't know if it was going to snow again so wanted to stay home. I checked the news and told him no snow predicted, but somehow that didn't change his mind.

I know my husband has a mental illness. I know he has some anxiety about going back to work. But this can't go on! I call bullshit on his snow excuse. Every time he says he's going to go looking there's always a reason not to go. He did go to the next town over and put him a few applications. That took less than an hour. Then he was back home playing on the computer and doing nothing. And ya know what, that mysterious snow storm no one predicted but him, never came.

OK sorry I'm ranting. I've just had lack of sleep and disappointed in everything. Wyatt will not sleep in his bed tonight. I don't know why but sometimes he just refuses to sleep in his playpen.

He goes through these days where he sleeps just fine in it, the next he wants to be held or sleep next to me all night long. Those nights are exhausting and I've pretty much given up on getting any sleep right now. Though Wyatt is happily asleep next to me on the couch. I bet if I moved him to his bed he'd be awake in 2 seconds flat.

Greetings, Love, and Light

So were getting down to the wire for Christmas/Yule. Man it doesn't seem like this year should almost be over. Wasn't it just yesterday I was a big pregnant whale eagerly awaiting our son? And now our son is 7 months old! He's getting big and doing new things everyday. He's such a precious little man. I couldn't be prouder!

This weekend I did a little bit more crochet work. I decided to get festive because honestly I'm not all that cheerful this year. I thought maybe it would help me get into the holiday mood. Plus it helps me learn more about crochet. Double bonus!

Santa showing off my crochet candy cane.

Here is Santa modeling my crocheted candy cane. Out of my huge stash of yarn I somehow do not have a good bright red. So I had to improvise and use a maroon. That's OK, after all they do make many different kinds of candy canes. It isn't perfect but it adds character! Somehow I got it turned wrong. Not sure where, but that's OK. I still like it. :) 

Crochet Candy Cane Tutorial 

Here is my wreath. I had this lovely festive yarn I just had to do something with. Isn't it pretty? I've also been working on a baby blanket for a very dear friend of mine. She just gave birth to her baby girl on the 14th. Congrats to BabyElephant! She is from the U.K. We are both members of the same dog forum. This year she sent me a lot of things for my son, so as a thank you, I'm making her a beautiful blue and white shell blanket. Though it's taking forever! The child might be out of diapers by the time I'm done. Thankfully I also have a back up. I've promised her my Moby wrap since I don't use it anymore.

Crochet Holiday Wreath

 

Well that pretty much wraps up my weekend. Speaking of wrapping, do you have those presents wrapped yet? Our daughter saw the tape left out on the counter and just knew I'd been wrapping presents. Do you put your wrapped presents under the tree? We do not because our daughter would forever be asking to "unwrap just one" every single day. So the presents get wrapped and hidden until the big day. 

My baby has Superpowers

It never fails. Sometime between 12 am and 3 am I think it's safe to assume little man has been sleeping long enough to say he's in a deep sleep. I fix my covers, grab my pillows (I have several. Must have pillow support!) and I settle down to get some much needed sleep. That's when I hear the tell tale whimpers from the crib. I begin to pray that those whimpers cease or better yet are my imagination, but usually no such luck. I swear he has mommy radar.

So I get up to fetch my baby, grab my drink and tonight I added a cookie to my routine just because I deserve it. Guess I won't be getting much sleep again. Luckily breast feeding my little man usually knocks him out again, if only temporarily. If tonight goes anything like the previous week, as soon as I put him in his crib again he'll wake right back up. Sleeping on my chest seems to be the only way he and I can get some sleep. Co-sleeping has its advantages, but I can never be comfortable or get a good nights rest while I know he's right there with me.

Well blogger fans, if your sleeping have some good dreams for me.

On another note, this is my 200th Post. Woohoo!

And here's little man having some laughs with daddy. Wyatt is saying Dad more often too. Sorry the quality isn't the greatest, I think I need a new camera.

And were OFF

It's Wyatt and Mommy at the starting gate. Wyatt is a spirited young stud and he's pawing and scooting around while Mommy is an older mare and couldn't care less what the young man is doing.

And were OFF.

It's mommy and Wyatt neck and neck as we round the couch end turn. Then it's Wyatt as he giggles gleefully and heads toward the computer cords. But wait, mommy put on a burst of speed and foiled Wyatt's move.

Now it's Wyatt heading toward the invisible spot in the carpet. He's got a wad of hair but Oh no mommy grabs it from him.

And now we have Wyatt who watches mommy slyfully as he grabs the diaper pail. But Daddy swoops in from nowhere and baby is foiled again.

And Wyatt is off, this time heading to the rocking hair bend as he grabs the seat and wait.. He pulls himself up! Holy cow I've never seen a baby take off so fast. Oh no, he's let go and fallen down but don't worry mommy is there to pick him up.

And there you have it folks Mommy saves the day with her nummie maker soothies.  lol

Silly Boy

For your viewing pleasure, this is what we wake up to every day. One silly boy who loves to ham it up for the camera. His new favorite thing is to click his tongue.

I Love You But....

I love you but you drive mommy crazy sometimes. I love your giggles, your smiles, even your fascination with holding my nose, but you, my dear Wyatt, drive me crazy with your late night crying. We rock, we nurse, we nap together, but mommy's arms go numb, and when I put you down, you cry some more. You have this amazing spidery sense that tells you when your not in momma's arms. I love that your so in-tune to me. But please baby, mommy needs sleep too! Please remember, sleep deprivation isn't nice. Mommy gets cranky when she doesn't have sleep. This is why Mommy takes a nap every afternoon and your left with daddy. Please note, crying while mommy is napping keeps her awake and therefore negates the nap idea. You do not need to be in my arms for 24 hours a day. Other people can and should hold you too. It's essential for daddy's well being that mommy is happy. So please baby have good dreams. Have good dreams so I can do the same.

Remembering our Angel Baby

Source

In January of 2000 I had the happy pleasure of announcing that I was pregnant with our first child. However in March when I went for my second prenatal appointment the doctors discovered that my baby had no heartbeat and had died several weeks beforehand. My husband and I were devastated. I refused to believe they were telling me the truth. After all I had just heard the heartbeat a month before. Everything was going so well. I wasn't really sick and had only mild pregnancy symptoms which I would later attribute to loosing the baby for many years. Though I later learned no symptoms of pregnancy is not an indication of miscarriage.

Anyway, I refused to believe my doctor. So instead of letting them do a D&C right away, I made an appointment with another doctor for a second opinion. It was a Friday so I had to wait all weekend before I could get the second opinion. I had such high hopes that weekend. I had convinced myself they had to be wrong.

That following Monday I experienced mild cramping as I was getting ready to leave, but being the stubborn scorpio woman that I am, I refused to believe my baby was dead. As we were driving to Lexington our car broke down. This was in Versailles, KY and the road we were on is treacherousness if you are on the side of the road. Some kind construction workers picked us up and took us to the gas station where we could make a phone call. By then the cramping became worse and I admitted to myself that we wouldn't need to get a second opinion. That horrible moment where I told my husband that I was having a miscarriage is forever etched into my memory.

Versailles KY Cash Advance. Where I had a Miscarriage

While my husband made the phone call for his father to pick us up, I walked around the corner to the closest business. It happened to be a Cash Advance. The old lady there was kind enough to allow me to use her bathroom. She could tell something was wrong but I didn't tell her what.  To this day I really hate to look at this picture. This is where my baby exited my body, I was taken by ambulance to the hospital where a D&C was performed. I sat in shock, just hoping I was dreaming. Realistically there was no way to know if the baby would have been a boy or a girl. However to us, the baby would have been male, and named Seth Andrew.

As I sat in the hospital waiting to enter surgery, I meditated on why I was loosing the baby. Goddess let me know that the spirit attached to the baby wasn't ready to be born. But we were promised a year later we would have a baby. A year almost to the day, we learned we were expecting our daughter Sierra Belle. I'm at peace with loosing Seth. I know it was meant to be. But that doesn't make the pain of loss any less. He will always be apart of us.

Sierra 1 month old

This month on the 31st all witches and Wiccan's around the globe are celebrating Samhain, which is the 3rd harvest sabot and a time we honor our ancestors. All too often our babies are forgotten because they were with us such a short time when we honor our dead at Samhain. So this post is to remember that even if you never got to hold your little one, light a candle for your sweet babies. Now is the time to remember and honor them.

Blessings, Love, & Light

This post is in honor of Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day 

Like my page on Facebook

Wyatt's 4 Month Check Up

So today was his 4 month checkup. I can't believe how time flys! I really was dreading taking him to the doctor today. I hate getting his vaccines, but I do believe they are for the best. I know a lot of moms are choosing to skip vaccines for various reasons, and that's their right as a mom. But I just feel that they do have a good purpose and the risks are worth the benefits.

So he got two shots and an oral vaccine today. The doctor checked him out and mentioned "Rice cereal" at 6 months which we will just ignore. Evidently DH's mother has been saying that Wyatt should be eating solids. She hasn't said a word to me about it. Probably because she knows it wouldn't go over well with me. He's had a taste or two which I don't like doing but tolerate. He won't be getting any solids on a regular basis till I feel he is ready. I have such an awesome hubby to not mention his mothers "suggestions". He knows it would irritate me. But he told the doctor what she's been saying, so now I know.

Wyatt is now 17.95 lbs and 27 inches long. He's such a big boy! And he's a trooper. I think the shots hurt mom more than baby.

My Breastfeeding Mommy Weakness

I posted this on another blog but I thought it would be a good topic to post about. My son, Wyatt, is 4 months old and is a Nummie lover supreme! Breast feeding is easy now, but it wasn't always that way.

My first weak moment for me is a time when I felt like my body was not my own. Wyatt was only a couple weeks old then, and the term "leech" came to my mind. I'm not sure if that was a little bit of PPD or what, but I felt so guilty for feeling that way. If you've ever felt that way, its OK to just unlatch and take a breather.

I remember about a month after he was born I had a mommy breakdown. My nipples were cracked and bleeding so bad I was flinching every time he latched. This was before we had his tongue tie clipped. Trust me, if you have a baby that is tongue tied, find a doctor to clip it! The night of my mommy meltdown I was exhausted. I sleep on the couch and had his bassinet right beside me. He was waking every two hours to nurse still. That night I cried as I was feeding my son. I just couldn't stand the pain any longer. Using my own milk didn't help sooth my nipples. Nor did any cream. Our local Wal-Mart didn't carry nipple shields, so I sent my husband to the store at 4 am to buy bottles. That night I felt like a complete breast feeding failure. I let him feed our son while I got a good nights rest.

The next day I went back to breastfeeding our son. I had my husband feed him one bottle a day for a few days till my nipples healed. Then went back to breastfeeding full time. His tongue tie was also clipped by then, so we were having a better time with latching. Soon it became an afterthought to just pop the nipple in his mouth and lay back in our recliner while he had lunch. My husband is such a trooper. In those early days he took care of everything while I just nursed in the recliner. He brings me water and food and takes care of the house and our DD while I relax and breast feed. So I just want to say having family support you in those first weeks post-partum (and beyond) is a wonderful gift!

Before the baby, I said I'd only breast feed to 6 months. When I got pregnant and did a lot of research. I then changed my mind and said I'd go to a year. Now, I don't see us stopping at 6 months, a year, or maybe not even 2 years. I'll let him decide that.

So I hope whoever is reading this, perhaps you just have your brand new little one in your arms or just found out your pregnant, I just want to say I've been in your shoes, and while its not easy, its completely worth it!

Wyatt. 4 months old

P.S. This has all been typed while breast feeding my son! You get really talented at multi-tasking! 

World Milksharing Week!

Lets take a break from the Pagan posts to talk about Milksharing. Its World Milksharing Week! As a breastfeeding mom, I'm all for milksharing. It hit the news a few days ago about a father to a 9 month old decided to go on an all mothers milk diet. Unfortunately it looks like his blog has been taking down. I know a lot of people were upset that he was drinking it instead of the milk going to an infant. I think a lot of people over reacted without taking into consideration that,

• The milk is theirs to decide what to do with it. No one has the right to say what someone should do with their milk. 
• Donating milk isn't always easy. Milk banks have a lot of rules on what milk can be accepted. 
• Giving it to others can become expensive if its being shipped. Think about how much they had! In this economy not many people would be able to ship it. 
• IMO there are health benefits for adults to drink it too. 

There is a happy ending though. A mother of quadruplets has been given the milk, and evidently they worked out the logistics of getting the milk to her. 

About 10 years ago I had a coworker pat my belly and revel in the joy of new life forming. I was 3 months pregnant at the time with my daughter. Before my daughter was born, he was dead from cancer. We watched month after month as my friend went from a scrawny 110 pounds down to pure bones. He tried marijuana to help his appetite. However after awhile my friend just gave up. He stopped Chemo, he stopped eating, he stopped answering the phone or even leaving his house. Breastmilk may not be a cure for cancer, but it might have been able to help him keep weight on him. That would have given him the energy to continue the fight for life. Even if it had no physical effect for him, the hope it could give might have been enough for him to continue the fight.

There hasn't been enough research on the benefits of breast milk for adults. We are still fighting the good fight to raise awareness for its benefits for kids! But the more we raise awareness for the natural uses of breast milk the more accepted it will become for both children and adults.

Here are some links I found on Breast Milk uses for health reasons.

Breast Milk the New Wonder Cure? - By Louise Atkinson.

There's little doubt that breast milk helps keep babies healthy, but could it be a miracle cure for adult illnesses, too? 

That's the suggestion from a number of studies on its use as a treatment for conditions as varied as cancer, diarrhoea and diabetes.

In the latest research published last week, a Swedish team reported that the sizes of bladder tumors were reduced just five days after patients were injected with a breast milk compound. 

The team at Gothenburg University had been looking at the antibiotic properties of breast milk when a researcher noticed that cancerous lung cells in a test tube died on contact with breast milk.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1268987/Cancer-arthritis-diabetes-acne--breast-milk-new-wonder-cure.html#ixzz1Z0vV18S3

Breast Milk contains Stem Cells

The Perth scientist who made the world-first discovery that human breast milk contains stem cells is confident that within five years scientists will be harvesting them to research treatment for conditions as far-reaching as spinal injuries, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

But what Dr Mark Cregan is excited about right now is the promise that his discovery could be the start of many more exciting revelations about the potency of breast milk.

He believes that it not only meets all the nutritional needs of a growing infant but contains key markers that guide his or her development into adulthood.

To wrap this up, I'd just like to leave you with these final words. If you are OK with drinking milk from a cow or goat, then why wouldn't you be OK to drink milk from a human? Its just Milk, so drink it. :-) 

Merry Meet Mortimer

Meet Mortimer. Now before I show you a picture of our families new best friend, I must say he's not the normal best friend. He has some special talents. His skin crinkles, he's got funny looking colored skin, his tail has bumps on it, and his feet are too large for his legs. But he doesn't mind his ears being chewed on. What a great friend!

So without further adieu, here is Mortimer the Moose!

Wyatt and Mortimer's first meeting. Wyatt doesn't know what this thing is, but he'll soon find out he loves good ol Mortimer.

He finds Mortimer's nose is yummy to chew on!

I found this toy on Amazon Mom. Wyatt is in love with it. :) If you have a little one, I highly recommend it.