High Five for Friday!

Friday, we meet again!  It's hard to believe another week has gone by.  It's funny how these tax season weeks feel so slow, but they're over before you know it.  We're supposed to get a big storm today and this weekend with lots of snow and bitterly cold temperatures, so who knows what the weekend will hold.  Hopefully we can have some fun, even if the weather doesn't cooperate.  Here's a roundup of the highlights of the week!

1. The Voice started up again.  I just love that show.  The talent is great and the judges are funny.  It's an entertaining show that both Doug and I can agree to watch.  Singing is one thing that I wish I was better at, so I'm very appreciative of those that have been blessed with such great voices.  I only wish I could do what they're doing!
   
2. Drew got to spend some time with two of his cousins on Wednesday and it was fun to watch.  He's finally getting big enough that he can interact a little more, and it's fun to watch him with the big kids.  He has another cousin on the way, so pretty soon he won't be the baby cousin any more, which is weird to think about.
   
3. I got my hair done on Monday.  It's always nice to get a fresh cut and color, and I'm thankful that Doug is able to watch Drew while a take a couple hours away.  The tax season days can get really long, and sometimes it's nice to have a little break.
4. For Valentine's Day, Doug got me some Trolli Crawlers.  They were my one true craving while I was pregnant and I ate a ton of those things.  I haven't had any since I was pregnant, and I finally got to enjoy some again this week.  What can I say, I still love them!
   
5. It's date night tonight, so that's definitely a highlight.  We normally have date night on Thursdays, but since Doug is working late, we decided to move it to Friday when he will only work until five.  That will give us a little more time to go out before Drew has to be home in bed.  His 7 o'clock bedtime makes going out at night a little tough, but we make it work!

Well, hope you all have a great weekend and have better weather than we're supposed to have.  I'm hoping for it to be slightly better than they are predicting so we can at least get out and have some fun.  Maybe we'll get a trip to Big Sky in.  Happy Friday!!

Growing Up!

There's nothing better than watching my baby grow up.  It may be going too fast, but I sure love seeing him develop and progress on what seems like a daily basis.  I can't believe he's getting close to a year old.  These first 10 months have flown by.  I can barely remember when he was just a little baby.  They always say it goes too fast, and I can attest that it's true.  I look at Drew and I don't see my little baby anymore.  He's resembling a toddler more and more every day!

Now, he's not only an expert crawler, but he pulls himself up on anything (and I mean ANYTHING, whether it's sturdy enough to hold him or not!), and he cruises along the furniture. I think he'll be taking steps any time now.  He's started to wave and clap, both of which are immensely cute.  I just can't get enough of him waving to me!

One of the most exciting progressions to take place in the last few weeks is that he's begun to say momma and mom.  I don't think he understands that I'm momma yet, but it melts my heart every time he utters those words.  The other day, he looked right at me, said momma about three times and crawled right to me.  Wow, that was pretty special!

He has two teeth and he's started to get another one on the top.  He's going to start looking so different with all these teeth coming through.  Just getting older, I guess!

He's just the best little boy out there and I couldn't love anyone more than I love him.  He's my fun every day and I can't believe how big he's gotten.  It just keeps getting better and better!!  I'm so proud to call him my son!

Wednesday Wisdom - Life as a Camera

I found this cute quote the other day on Pinterest.  Not only is the little girl a doll, but I really liked the saying.  It's so true, and definitely not a way that I've thought about life before. 

Focusing on what's important is so key to living a happy life. So many times we get caught up in things that, if we stopped for a second to think about it, we'd realize they don't really matter all that much.  Remembering what is most important to you and what your end goals are is so important.  There's no point in wasting time on things that aren't helpful or things that stand in the way of you getting to where you want to be.  Knowing what is most important to you, and what will truly make you happy is what life is all about.

I think developing from the negatives is probably the most important point of this saying. We all struggle and we all have failures and disappointments.  No one is perfect, and no one's life is perfect.  We all experience things that can break us, but it's important to recognize the negatives and learn from them.  The best thing we can do is learn from our mistakes to ensure that we never make them again.  And even if the "negative" you experience has nothing to do with something that you have done, it's important to take it as a lesson, focus on what's important and what matters, and learn how to turn that negative into a positive.  Learning from our struggles helps us develop as a person and helps us become stronger and more equipped to deal with any failures we may experience in the future.  It helps us grow character and become the person that we ultimately want to be.

And if things don't turn out, take another shot.  I love this.  We're not always going to get it right on the first try, and sometimes, our best laid plans don't work out.  But the great thing about life is, there's always that opportunity to make it better and try again.  As the saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  We're all in charge of our own lives and our own destinies and we are capable of making our life whatever we want it to be.  If things aren't going your way, or if you're unhappy with how things have turned out, make a change.  It isn't the end until you are happy and content with where you are.  Until then, you always have the power to take another shot.

I love this quote and I think it's a perfect reminder of some really good life advice.  Happy Wednesday everyone!

Snow Day!

Well, they've been calling for a blizzard since Saturday, and the snow finally came!  It's a snow globe outside today.  So pretty!  I have a feeling Drew and I will do just what the picture says today.  Hope you are all staying warm!  Happy Snow Day!

Back at It

Is it just me, or do the weekends go by way too fast?  With Doug only having one day off a weekend, it feels like we run out of time too quickly.  Now, it's Monday again, and time to get back at it.

We had a good weekend!  My mom was in town visiting for Drew's baby race on Saturday.  It was so good to see her.  Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and she had to leave early Sunday morning to avoid the storm that we got last night and this morning.  Her trip was way too quick, but it was good to see her and fun to get to spend a little time together, even though it was short-lived.

The baby race was Saturday night, and needless to say, Drew didn't win.  In fact, he didn't even make it off the starting blocks!  He saw the mascot right away and was scared, and he never did see me on the receiving line, so we didn't have a chance.  It was fun though, even if he didn't win.  He was the winner in my heart, and definitely the cutest baby there!!

 

Other than the baby race, we ran quite a few errands this weekend, which isn't all that fun, but it was nice to get some things done that we've been meaning to for awhile.  Doug and I even got to watch a movie last night, which was kind of fun.  We haven't watched a movie in ages.  We watched the Internship, which I think is a pretty old movie, but both my sisters recommended it, and I have to say, it was good.  Funny and endearing.  My kind of movie!

Well, hope you all are gearing up for a good week.  I already can't wait for next Sunday!

High Five for Friday!

The weekend is here again, friends!  The week went pretty quickly, and it's hard to believe it's already Friday again.  I'm not complaining though, that means it's one day closer to a day off with Doug!

We have a fun weekend planned, as Drew is in the Great Baby Race at the men's basketball game tomorrow night.  My mom is coming to watch Drew crawl to champion, and I'm so excited to have her come visit.  I always love having her in town!  Well, here's a roundup of the week:

1. Like I mentioned above, the time has come for the Great Baby Race!  I think Doug and I had both planned on practicing with Drew, but we just never got around to it.  He's an expert crawler all the sudden though, so I think he has a chance.  I suppose it will just depend on how much the crowd and the noise affects him.  He's quite a curious baby, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was as still as a statue just looking around!!  The other thing working against him is that the race starts WAY past his bedtime.  And he can be a big grump if he doesn't make it to bed on time, so that could be interesting.  No matter the outcome, we will be so proud of our little man.  He's always #1 in our eyes!
   
2. We had date night last night at Bar 3 BBQ.  I was not overly impressed with the food or the service, but it was nice to get out and mix things up a bit.  It seems like tax season can put us in a rut, so it was fun to have a date night.  Plus, I didn't have to cook, which is always good in my book!
3. Drew's been extra cute this week.  He just changes so much every day and it's so fun to watch him grow up.  He's got quite the personality and he makes me laugh every day.  I love him so much.  He truly makes every day better just being around!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. We have quite a few birthdays, showers, and things coming up, and I got a head start on gifts yesterday.  It felt good to get it out of the way early and I love feeling organized!  I am planning on making some gifts as well, so if they turn out, I will share them on the blog.  After I give them, of course!
5. I just want to say thanks for the support on yesterday's heavy post.  I appreciate you all reading it and taking in my point of view on the subject.  It's a topic that really gets under my skin, and I felt it was time for me to share my story.  It's obviously not easy, but I just feel like so many women are shamed and forced into guilt over something so petty and it's just not right.  It just comes down to us all wanting the best for our children and trying our hardest to provide for them.  A supportive community is key, and I just want other women out there to know, that you're not alone, and there are people that won't judge you or insinuate that you're doing something "wrong" if you're feeding your child formula, no matter the reason.  So thanks, and again, let's all just be kind, compassionate, and helpful.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Confession of a Stay At Home Mom.....

Warning - this post may make me unpopular, but it is my truth, so I stand by what I say.  I am in no way implying that all moms should feed their babies formula nor am I saying that breast feeding is not the ideal choice.  I am in no position to judge what any other mom does, and I won't because I think it is destructive.  To each his own.  As the saying goes....be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

I have a confession......I'm a formula feeding mommy, and I'm not ashamed of it even though society would like me to be.

I didn't plan on feeding Drew formula, it was never in my plans.  After talking to the doctors, they said breast was best, so that's exactly what I was going to do.  I wanted what was best for Drew, and I still do today.

The first week seemed to be going okay, and when we took Drew in for his one week appointment, I had no doubts that he was gaining weight like he should be.  The nurse walked us over to the scale, and I truthfully didn't give it a second thought.  She placed Drew down, and to my horror, he was still below his birth weight a week later.  As a first time mother, my heart sank as I felt like such a failure.  I had one job as Drew's mom and I was already failing.  How could that be?  The nurse walked us back to the doctor's room and I was doing everything in my power to not break down and cry.  The doctor came in and he was worried.  I think his panic compounded my own worry and sadness.  He said we needed to supplement with formula right away, and there were also things I could do in the mean time to increase my milk production.  He asked if I had any formula at home, and I told him no because we hadn't planned on using formula.  He gave me a small supply and sent me home.  I left the doctor's office that day feeling completely deflated.

I went home and wanted to feed Drew as quickly as possible.  But I soon realized that you needed bottles to use formula.  I didn't have any because this was never in the plan.  I searched the house and found one bottle that was part of a baby shower game and quickly made Drew his first bottle of formula.  He drank it with the voracity of a starving animal and quickly fell into the deepest sleep of his short little life.  I remember as soon as he fell asleep, I found myself sitting in our master bathtub crying my eyes out.  How could I already be failing as a mother only one week in?  Drew was starving and watching him eat that first bottle made my heart break.  He was hungry and I wasn't providing for him.  As I sat there, I couldn't help but wonder why something that was supposed to be so natural and easy wasn't working for me.  It truly was one of the hardest days of my life.  I knew that the doctor said there were things I could do, but truthfully my mind was only on getting Drew healthy and gaining weight.  He was my number one priority.

I continued to supplement with formula for the first few days, but I could tell that my production was going way down.  After about three days, I completely dried up and we had to switch to exclusively formula.  I was disappointed, but the health and well-being of my son was way more important to me than trying to avoid the stigma of being a formula feeding mom.  But I can say, after feeling like such a failure to Drew, the last thing I needed was for others to judge or question what was going on.  It was hard enough already.  It wasn't easy then, and it still isn't as I constantly get judged and questioned by so many people, family included.  I can't tell you how many times I've been asked if I'm breast feeding and when I reply with no, I get a disgusted look in return as if they wish to say "how could you, don't you know that breast is best?"  As if I would purposefully choose to give my son less than the best.  I've tried to look past all the judgement and be strong in my decision and belief that I will always do what I feel is best for Drew, even if many don't agree.

So while being a formula feeder was not my first choice, it is the reality that I was dealt and I'm not ashamed of it.  It's such a dividing topic among moms and I just don't understand why.  Every mom wants what is best for her child, and the way she goes about it should be no one's business but her own.  I mean, I'm a pretty private person, and I don't understand why my boobs should be under discussion or debate by anyone besides me.  It's a private matter.  And I think we all know that being a mom is tough enough as it is, so why make it even more difficult by judging and ridiculing those who do things differently.  Being supportive, no matter the circumstances, is such a better choice, and it would be a whole lot better if more moms chose to be supportive rather than judgmental.

I've watched friends struggle with milk production, and they have been so afraid to supplement with formula (or heaven forbid solely use formula) because of the stigma attached.  I've seen babies drop to unhealthy weights, and their moms be more concerned with their own ability to say they are not a formula feeder than with the health of their baby, an avoid formula at all costs mentality.  It's just so obvious to me that the health of our babies is the most important thing, and if they aren't gaining weight like they should be, formula is an option.  Sometimes a woman simply can't produce enough milk to sustain a growing baby.  It happens to the best of us.  I'm pretty sure no baby has ever died from being fed formula rather than breast milk, and in fact, it even has some benefits as my doctor described to me.  I have the happiest, healthiest baby I have ever met so you'd be pretty hard pressed to convince me that the formula we feed him is inhibiting him in any way.

So yes, I'm a formula feeder, and I'm not ashamed.  I hope there comes a time when there isn't such a stigma attached to it, and a time when mothers can be supportive of one another and not try to tear each other down.  We all have different situations and different struggles.  What's easy for one mom may be downright impossible for another.  We all want our babies to be happy and healthy, and we all need to do what's best for our personal situation and for our families.  So let's be supportive of one another and trust that we are all doing our very best.

Wednesday Wisdom - Son Love