Friday, December 31, 2010

The End of One Year, the Start of Another

Happy New Year!

Over here we're just starting to scratch the surface on a lot of things. It's fitting that it's about to be a new year because there are some changes happening in the Lee family.

We are finally cloth diapering full-time! It's too bad that it took us one-and-a-half years to overcome our fear of touching, smelling and seeing poop. All we could manage when we first had a baby was: take off stinky diaper, roll it up as fast as humanly possible, and discard into the trash can where the poo is no longer anyone's problem (except the trashman's).

Fast forward to now. Here is the new routine: take off stinky diaper, clean tush, take diaper to toilet and flush poo, use hand-held toilet sprayer to clean off the diaper, throw diaper into pail to be washed soon.

I'll be honest. It was really hard when we first started. REALLY HARD. Like, hard for me not to want to vomit. And for these reasons alone, I don't advise anyone to do it unless they are really persuaded with their own reasons (whether financial or environmental). There was a learning curve for us, and an upfront cost. I found myself needing to buy 18 diapers, special detergent to wash them with, a diaper sprayer, flushable liners, and waterproof bags to hold soiled diapers in. On top of this, I wash diapers about everyday now.

However, on the plus side, I really like putting Noelle in cloth diapers! The feeling of going to Target, and being able to pass right on by the diaper aisle without having to load up the cart with yet another box of diapers feels really gratifying. It feels really good to use the same, cute, clean, organic cloth diapers on Noelle over and over again. It's nice not to have a plastic bag full of dirty, disposable diapers to add to the pile of trash I'm sending to the landfill. It's actually fun for me to wash them. And I'll tell you a secret, it's really really fun to have a clothesline out on our upper balcony (where nobody but us can see). Hanging diapers out there in the California sun to dry! There's really nothing quite like it.

Of course now that we've got the system up and running in the way of cloth diapers, it's ironic that we've started to potty train the little girl! The good thing is that the diapers we have (Bumgenius Elemental All-in-Ones and Grovia All-in-Ones) are size-adjustable. They fit newborns up to Toddlers. They can be used as training pants, and they can also be used for the next baby. And they are going to save us thousands of dollars in the long run.

On another note, I'm looking forward to next year. I just finished reading The Plug-in Drug, in which Marie Winn studies the effect that television has on child development and family life. Really, I was trying to make a decision for what to do with Noelle during the time that I needed her to stay out of trouble. Putting on something for her to watch (Sesame Street, PBS, etc.) really became easy and T.V. was acting like a babysitter for me. If she fussed while I was trying to get dinner ready, it was becoming the solution. I noticed that she started to ask for it more and more, whenever she was bored, whenever she saw anything that reminded her of her shows.

So for December we made a resolution to get rid of T.V. and see what would happen. I was pleasantly surprised. It is forcing me to be more proactive in finding something for her to do. It is also forcing her to be more imaginative in her play. Kevin and I now read a ton more books. We are also reading more books to Noelle and to each other. I'm really looking forward to the new year to see what other fun activities, outings, and learning opportunities are waiting for us.

Lastly, because this post is so long, I just wanted to mention briefly that home schooling has been on our brain. Kevin and I are listening to a series of seminars on the advantages of home schooling as well as the difficulties that people encounter. It feels like the beginning of a wild adventure...And something for which I will have to share more about later.

Happy New Year!

Monday, November 29, 2010

The Cloth Diapers are Here!!!!

On Black Friday I purchased some cloth diapers (Bumgenius Elemental Organic All-in-ones, to be specific). It took forever to decide which ones to purchase because apparently, cloth diapers are for mothers what electronics are for men. There are more brands, features and designs for cloth diapering crazy mothers than I can count or read about. It's a whole world with specific terminology and lingo, usage, maintenance, cleaning.

ANYWAY, I've gone and done it. The idea is that we will stop pouring money (in the form of used, disposable, non-biodegradable diapers) into the landfills and be able to reuse these lovely cloth diapers on our first child and beyond.

Will keep updated on how it goes :)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

On Another Note: Home Birthing

You may or may not care, but I don't plan on having another baby in a hospital. Having another baby - YES, may God bless us (not that we are pregnant again). Birthing another baby inside the four walls of a hospital - NO, thank you.

When I talk about home birth, some people look at me like I have an elbow growing out of my forehead. Well, how do you think women have given birth for thousands of years before medical hospitals were invented. Midwives. All done at home.

And plus I live 4 minutes away from the hospital, so it's not like I couldn't get transferred in the event of an emergency.

But, WHY? is the question. Don't I want the comfort and safety of the hospital? Oh, the needles and tubes and wires and gadgets stuck to me, winding around my legs while I am trying to cope with labor pains; the nurse telling me I have to wait to push, even though the baby is already 2+ station coming out....just because they need the OB to catch the newborn...and the OB is not here yet?

Actually, the biggest reason I don't want to give birth in a hospital is for post-partum reasons. I literally did not sleep a wink at the hospital after giving birth to Noelle. We had her at 5am. I was not "discharged" until the following morning at 8am. Count the hours awake: somewhere around 49 to 50 hours, and the first quarter of those hours were spent in labor.

For a person like me, the hospital is not a place of safety, comfort and rest. Sorry! I just have trouble sleeping in an unfamiliar environment and those who have known me since I was young know that this is true. In fact, when Kevin and I first got married, it took me a full year to adjust and start sleeping well again! Normally, it's ok to to lose some sleep - but not when you've just gone through labor with no epidural, you haven't been sleeping well anyway because you were 38 weeks pregnant, and you won't be sleeping well for the next 3 months!!

When Kevin brought me and Noelle home from the hospital (this was after we begged them to release us so that I could go home and get some sleep), I remember collapsing in the comfort of our bed and thinking, "Never again."

Next time I am doing it at home. No more jackhammers (yes, they had jackhammers outside my hospital window), no more overhead calls from nurses broadcasting to other nurses in the ward (can you turn it off or at least turn it down? No, because the nurses need to be able to hear it), no more noise and hustle from interrupting nurses and pediatricians and doctors and photo-takers and religious clerics, no more being unable to sleep and nurse with the baby in bed, and no more separation from family (I didn't like being in the hospital alone with strangers who don't care about me).

Do I sound ungrateful? I'll try not to be and just say this: I am thankful that hospitals exist for the many times that births cannot happen naturally and need the help of pitocin, epidurals and c-sections. In the event that something goes wrong, I know I would be very thankful to be sent to the hospital to be cared for. And to give hospitals some more credit, some moms I know say that they had a good experience, that the nurses waited on them and it felt like a "hotel."

For me, however, if I am ever able to have another baby again, I know for sure that the hospital path is not one I will seek out. It might sound crazy, but to me, it sounds so normal to give birth at home.


Change

Pigtails, pink wings, and a rainbow tutu of sorts. Gotta love having a little girl to dress up for Halloween.

We went to a trick-or-treating thing in downtown Sierra Madre with some family. She had no idea that hundreds of kids were stuffing their faces with candy - my dad gave her some banana to eat. Gotta love that, too.

Our family dynamic is changing more and more everyday. We can't talk about Noelle as much anymore in front of her. She's beginning to understand that we are talking about her. So we say, "She's so C. U. T. E." instead because we don't want her to become conceited. Hehe. I imagine pig latin may come in handy soon, too. And then there's the reserve we must show when an issue comes up that requires a "united parenting front." All the issues have to wait until she goes to bed and we can discuss parenting approach in private.

Life is really flying before my eyes these days. Noelle grows out of her shoes and clothes faster than I ever imagined. Cute shoes and outfits don't have time to become "favorites" - they must be worn a little then shoved into a box for another baby.

New developments hardly have time to be cherished. She's saying new things everyday - every moment - ALL OF A SUDDEN. Now she's a parrot. Rejoice that she can say, "One - two - three!" And the next second she is saying a lot more. There just isn't enough time to take pride in each new thing.

It's like the wind decided to give a great big gust, shaking all the leaves loose off the tree, and here I am running around frantically trying to capture each one. Each leaf is amazing! But I can't hold them all and soon they'll be gone. She is changing so fast.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Suddenly a Toddler

I walk, I crawl, I wobble here and there! I can go so fast! I like to feel myself zipping down the hallway on two legs. The speed is addicting!

I pick at Grandma's mouth and eyes as she pretends to sleep. I go into crazy giggles when I find out she is only pretending.

I giggle A LOT when it gets late and it's past my bedtime.

Books are my favorite things to look at. That and other babies. I am very interested in little people. They are so small and they are my size.

I like to eat crackers. I just discovered them. I don't want to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner anymore. I just want crackers.

I can't help but smile when I am happy, and everyone thinks it's so funny, especially when my two teeth show through.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

What We are Up To

Noelle is walking! I started religiously taking her to the park when I realized that she went hog wild at experimental walking when she had wood chips to fall on and other toddlers to chase around. She is also trying really hard to say things, but so far can only manage to say words that begin with the consonants "m" and "b." So "up" sounds like "bup." She's 13 months old!

Kevin is on a break from classes (he's earning a certificate in Human Resources at UCLA Extension). Only one more class to go before he's done, yay! He's also started rock climbing more and is doing this thing called "Convict Conditioning" where he is conditioning his body using old school calisthenic methods. He's been reading a variety of things on his own, but to Noelle he reads a book called "Leading Little Ones to God" that explains God's character, the human condition, and the work of Jesus Christ. For our devotions together, he's been reading the Psalms.

As for me, I am going through a stage in my life where I feel up to my eyeballs in sheer joy everyday. I wake up and can't wait to start the day as a mother and wife. I love taking Noelle to the playground, the library, to the zoo - I love coming home and watching her eat a cheese stick all by herself. I love making food for our nightly dinner, then consuming and watching my family consume the dinner with gusto and enjoyment. Right now I am also going through another educational stint on parenting. I am reading Proverbs and just raking it for any wisdom on parenting. There is really so much parenting advice out there in the world - much of it good, and unfortunately, a whole lot of it TERRIBLE. What do you do when there are books and books full of manmade advice on how to raise your child, advice that contradicts and conflicts with each other? Well, you read the Proverbs and you pray for wisdom, of course!

"If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." Prov. 2:4-6

I am learning that there is a load of parenting advice out there aimed at the behavior of children. How to manage it, how to modify it, how to control it. How tempting for a young Christian parent to want to reduce parenting to something as simple as behavioral modification. Is my job really only about keeping my child "in line"? Especially (ahem) at church, at the grocery store, in a nice restaurant? The answer is a resounding NO. But what will people think when my child can't sit still at church, throws a tantrum in the checkout line at Target (and on and on go my man-fearing thoughts...).

I am positive that God has so much more for me as a mother than what I just mentioned above. So far, just reading the first three books of the Proverbs has already blown my little mind. For instance, the writer says to his son, "Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching; indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck" (Prov. 1:8-9). Already a beautiful vision of motherhood is developing right before my eyes: that of teaching and instructing my child, not just manipulating her behavior through spanking, time-outs, or what-have-you every time she disobeys or misbehaves. My job is to teach wisdom and pray that the child receives it and builds internal character that will take her into a fruitful adulthood: "For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you" (Prov. 2:10-11). What a high-calling!! Pray for me.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

If it's good, share it

We have been drinking raw cow's milk for a couple weeks now. Guess what, good news for the lactose intolerant: I can totally digest it, no problems!

This is because raw milk has not been pasteurized (heated up) and therefore retains all of the enzymes that natural to milk, including lactase, the enzyme that helps us digest milk.

We are raw milk converts now. Especially when it's from such a reputable source, a farm that has never had any issues with contamination or food poisoning, we are happy!

We buy from http://www.organicpastures.com/ though not online. They have a "hub" (a truck, essentially) in Glendale where we buy their stuff for almost half the price they used to sell it at Whole Foods Market. A family at our Bible Study also buys from them and they've been drinking their raw milk for years.

I am a total "natural parenting" mom, so guess what Noelle is going to be drinking once she can start dairy?

Monday, May 3, 2010

You and Me





What day is it
And in what month
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

Cause it's you and me and all of the people
With nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people and
I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you


- "You and Me," Lighthouse

This is us honeymooning 2 1/2 years ago, with all the fullness of heart and lightness of spirit that we began with when we got married.

Today we are a family of three, but when all the business of life is over, and the baby is sound asleep, it's just you and me and I love our quiet life together.

Monday, April 26, 2010

What I see...




Life is beautiful. Even when it's messy.

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Universe is Weird

Our apartment is not the most baby-safe place. There are electrical wires, drawers, shoes, and other things which I cannot hide or stow away. So I try to provide toys and random objects that are safe for Noelle to manipulate.

A few days ago I went out and bought her a chunky puzzle with farm animals and a fat farmer. Each piece had a knob on it, easy for baby's hands to grab and pull on. When I brought it home, I ripped off the plastic covering, my heart quivering in excitement. A new toy for my baby to play with!

I set it down in front of her and she peered at it, engaging slowly. "What are those knobs?" her brain seemed to say.

Then she reached out, pull on one of them, and appeared shocked that the picture of the fat farmer came up with the knob. She gawked at the piece in her hand, looked at the back of the wooden puzzle piece, then shrieked and dropped the piece like it had burned her.

She then proceeded to do the same shriek-and-drop routine with the duck and chicken puzzle pieces. Yes, I dare say that she actually started to cry at this new toy that I bought her!

There are some other toys we have bought her that also make her cry. Like her Gertie Ball. From the moment we blew up the purple ball and bounced it in front of her she has cried like it were a vicious dog barking at her. Today while in the bathroom, I pulled out a loofah for her to "explore." She shrieked and crawled into my arms crying.

It's as if her little mind is trying to accept the fact that not all objects are going to behave the way a solid wooden block does. The loofah is poofy and soft like clothes, but it's heavy and there's a hard plastic stick attached to it. The ball is moving by itself - is it like a dog? Will it jump on me the way I've seen dogs jumping on the grass? What is that loud thing that mommy keeps moving around to and fro on the carpet?

The universe must be a weird place to an infant. Everything is so new and the mind has no way to understand. And so we respond with fear.

Friday, March 5, 2010

New Avenues

Today we went to the Glendale Public Library where each Friday they have a story telling hour for babies and toddlers, followed by a play time. I thought it would be a good idea to get Noelle started in joining some regular play groups. This was perfect: close by, at the library (one of my favorite places), and right between her naps.

When we got there I knew that it would be what we do every Friday morning. There are bins and bins of toys, lots of babies crawling around and playing, and lots of mothers sitting around talking to each other. Noelle loved it! She is really at a stage where she does not like seeing other mothers (maybe it is related to her fear of having her mother switched out for another?), but she adores seeing other children. When they scream, she squeals. When they laugh, she giggles. It is a joy to witness. When she was there today, she watched the older kids banging the walls with a play hammer. They were engaging in imaginative play: "building a house," they said.

It will be at least a year before her mind is even ready for imaginative play. She is just beginning to have some imitative play. She will pick up her stacking cup and pretend to drink from it.

Right now she is into the minutiae. She wants to pick every little pebble, piece of fuzz, every speck of nothingness off of the floor. Then she wants to put whatever sticks to her finger into her mouth. Who knows what she has eaten? Well, I do - I am the one inspecting her diapers everyday!

One of the mothers at the library said that her son wants to eat and drink everything, too. She said she was horrified when she found her sound drinking from a puddle of water outside!

Last time I went to the children's library, I met a mother whose daughter, one month older than Noelle, was actually more petite than Noelle, whom I feared was not gaining weight adequately. It put my fears to rest after seeing for the first time, a baby smaller than Noelle.

This time at the children's library, I met two mothers who were talking about their birthing experience. They had both had water births at home. They both also happened to be yoga instructors. What caught my attention while they chatted was the fact that they had what they would describe as pretty painless births!

One mother said that she did a lot of prenatal yoga, along with hynobirthing techniques, and she had a painless birth! I could not believe my ears. She said there was some minor back discomfort during contractions, but it was over from start to finish in 6 hours.

The other mother said that while her labor was not painless, it was over in an hour! She said that she felt something in her back; then an hour later, she was giving birth in a tub of water and called it a day!

I always wanted to meet somebody who had had a home birth so I could ask questions and see what their experience was like. Both of these ladies said they would have it no other way, exclaiming that birthing is a very natural process and that women have been giving birth for thousands of years.

Yes, but what about all those women who died in childbirth? And all those infants who died, too? This is the reality, for those people who glamorize "natural childbirth." On the other hand, I have heard too many stories of mothers whose births were over-managed by western hospitals. C-sections galore there! Horrible birthing experiences. That is not the way it should be.

We learn things from people who are not doing it the conventional way. Camille was using an Ergo which she said was way more comfortable than a Baby Bjorn. Nice to know. It has lumbar support and they use it when hiking. I also learned that her PPO covered 4/5th of the cost of her home birth with Leslie Stewart, a midwife whom she highly recommended.

It was nice to come home from the library feeling like I had learned so much - but not from a book - from actual mothers who could tell me in person. And it was nice to hear something new - not just the same old, "I gave birth with this same OB-GYN, at this same hospital." It was a new avenue for me. I am going to look further into home births and am praying that it will be a possibility for us for the next birth.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Saturdays Are Fun Days

The weekends are fun times in the Lee household. So fun in fact that Noelle loses her Monday-Friday routine of taking 2 naps a day. Jean thinks that it is because Noelle gets really excited when I am around and that I play with her more in the early mornings than Jean would.

Today we made the trek to the Westside for my 6 month dental checkup (which was all good), followed by a visit to Feast from the East for some awesome Chinese Chicken Salad. It was supposed to rain today but we didn't see any rainclouds so we headed for our old stomping grounds UCLA! I've been taking classes for a certificate in HR Management from UCLA Extension so I have a parking pass that is valid on nights and weekends (work even pays for it).

We decided that our journey would start out in Ackerman Student Union so Jean could feed her Wetzel's Pretzels craving and so we could see what had changed (which happened to be a lot). It was nice to bring Noelle to campus and to walk around sharing stories about our college days. Jean and I both went to UCLA but we met at church after we'd both graduated. After Ackerman, we cut through Kerkoff and took an elevator so we didn't walk up Bruin Walk

One thing that stood out about this visit was a new understanding of how inconvenient it must be to be handicap since we were limited to using walkways that included ramps and couldn't use the stairs. If you thought going uphill on Bruin Walk was tiring try having to only use ramps designated for wheelchairs (we only experienced Bruin Walk going downhill though). Noelle and I made the trek downhill while Jean took the stairs. While she was waiting a chinese student tried to evangelize to her and invite her to a bible study.

Since Noelle didn't take her 2nd nap she had an early bedtime so Jean and I didn't eat until she was in bed. Tonight's menu was homemade sukiyaki.

Below is a video that we took on a Monday morning on a day that I didn't go to work.


Sunday, February 14, 2010

Dear Noelle,

You are growing up so fast. There are things I want to remember about this first year of your life, images in my mind which I will never forget.

I still remember when you were just a month or two old, when you would wake up crying and I would take that as my cue to feed you. I read from some book that I was supposed to keep you awake at least an hour so that you would fall into a napping schedule. So after I fed you, I put you on my lap, facing me, your little head cradled in my hands. But your eyelids were so heavy, you just couldn't keep it together! Sleep was going to take you, no matter how hard you or I tried. Your arms became limp as old lettuce. During those times we called you the "narco baby" - sometimes you were narcoleptic and other times you were a spasmatic!

I will also always remember how easily startled you were (and are). Thinking that nobody was watching you, you would do all sorts of acrobatics in your crib, singing and talking (baby gibberish) all the meanwhile. Of course I was peaking on you the whole time, and of course I would forget to "approach your crib gently." Just saying "HI NOELLE!" from the door half-cracked would send you into a near heart attack! Please forgive mommy for all those times I scared you and made you cry. Please forgive mommy for that one ridiculous time I decided it was a good idea to vacuum your room during the end of your naptime. It sure woke you up and sent your heart beating ten times as fast as normal. Mommy is such a knucklehead sometimes!

Something that just happened yesterday sent your dad and me into a crazy fit of giggles, and it is also a scene which I will remember always. We were getting ready to go out: I was in the bathroom doing my ugly hair (some parts of it is as short as daddy's hair and it sticks straight up), and I screamed out of frustration. Your dad and I then heard an echo of my scream from your room. You screamed, too! I was the "Marco," you were the "Polo!" Your daddy and I ran to your room out of excitement and found you standing at your safety gate, your eager little face peering over the edge, knuckles white from pulling up to stand. You screamed again, "Ahh!" And then we looked down. Your pants had plain fallen off and were sitting in a puddle at your feet. Mommy didn't realize that you were so skinny and the drawstring on your pants should have been pulled tighter! Of course your pants would fall off when you stood up! Thankfully it happened when you were very young and the laughs we were catapulted into made you smile and giggle, too.

You are our sweet, little girl. We love you so much and can't wait for you to read our letters some day.

Love,
Mommy

Friday, February 12, 2010

Family Portraits 2010

We had a great time taking photos with Lukas Van Dyke for Portraits for Missions!



Wednesday, January 27, 2010

In Defense of Breastfeeding

It's been awhile since I last posted. Wondering what we've all been up to?

In short, I've been busy nursing and feeding Noelle, and finding acceptable foods to feed my family. She is 8 months old now, her appetite grows by the minute.

At 6 months old (actually at around 5 1/2 months), I fed her rice cereal, which she threw up in the middle of the night. She would wake up screaming throughout the night for the first time. And contrary to the popular advice of well-meaning people, feeding her solids did not help her sleep through the night but only made her wake up with a tummy ache! Rice cereal did not work. The pediatrician suggested oatmeal, which I dutifully fed her for a month, until I noticed that she started developing a horrible rash all over her face with an oddly bloated look. She often turned her head away, not wanting to swallow another bite...

I didn't realize until I stopped many of her solid foods that she was allergic to many of them! She was starting to look like a racoon with red, puffy circles around her eyes, with red, scaly, dry, itchy skin around her nose and mouth. She had food-allergy induced eczema and angioedema!

Under the supervision of Noelle's pediatrician and allergist, we have been on an "elimination diet" for almost one month now: no rice, oats, dairy, eggs, wheat, shellfish, peanuts, sesame, and the list goes on. Good news: her skin is eczema-free! I am now in the process of adding foods in, one week at a time into my own diet, and gauging whether she is allergic or not. So far, as confirmed by a test at the doc's office, Noelle cannot have rice or oatmeal (not even in the breast milk she drinks). Read: I cannot eat rice or oatmeal because it passes into my breast milk.

I am very certain that I introduced solids too early. The more I read, the more I am becoming educated about the digestive and immune system of infants, especially those who are allergy-prone, like mine. An excellent and well-researched book, in case you are interested, is DEALING WITH FOOD ALLERGIES IN BABIES AND CHILDREN, by Janice Joneja, Ph.d

I am finding that what I fed her too early, too frequently, she has now become sensitized to. This makes sense because younger infants lack intestinal maturity - food proteins pass through the intestinal gut wall that are not recognized as safe by the immune system, and consequently the body "attacks" the foreign proteins, producing an allergic response! Boy am I glad I did not feed her formula. If she is allergic to rice (which, btw, people, is considered one of the most hypo-allergenic grains, which is why pediatricians recommend it as a first food), then think what are the chances she would develop an allergy to dairy, which is on the top 10 of most allergenic foods!

So, all that to say, this month has been a busy one in terms of food: finding and testing acceptable foods on her, finding substitutes in my own diet to give an adequate amount of calories and nutrition for a nursing mother. She is nursing 8+ times a day, sometimes 10+. This will make many people's eyes pop out of their heads! I know mothers who weaned their babies at 5, 6, 10 months. But the reality is that there is no other acceptable food for her besides the handful of things that she eats, plus breast milk!

Which leads me to the topic for which this post was named, IN DEFENSE OF BREASTFEEDING:

-Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics advises AT LEAST one full year of breastfeeding? It is the best food for your baby! Most easily digested, perfectly balanced nutrition, full of immunities that you can pass onto your baby's otherwise unprotected body.

-Did you know that the World Health Organization recommends two years? Not just for third world countries, people! Breast milk is superior to formula, not the other way around.

-Did you know that the ability to maintain milk supply for your infant varies from mother to mother? Some mothers are able to nurse 3-4 times a day indefinitely while others will see a drop and cessation of milk production when nursing that infrequently. That means that for many mothers, the plan to nurse well into the 1st year means you must nurse more frequently if you want to maintain your supply. Yes, it is a commitment! Yes, it means that as you start seeing less and less mothers nursing their older babies in the nursing room at church, you still go and do it!

I have so much more to share, about the milestones that the girl has reached, but will save that for another post.