The Marathon

I am not really what I would call a "runner" but I do a enjoy a good jog. I have even have run some 5K races in my time and even once did a half marathon.  So I am familiar with the concept that the last few miles at the hardest. I have found the same to be true with nursing. Long before Leia was conceived, I made a goal that with my next child I would nurse until at least 1 year. I also told myself supplementing would not be the end of the world since it would lessen stress and ultimately enable to enjoy nursing more (still working on that one after 1.5 months).  And though it is not easy having to venture down the road of pumping, we are so close. As in 22 days close.  And just like running, I am struggling to stay motivated. Not with the nursing. I am good with that but the PUMPING.  I am over it! Oh sure, we were good friends for a while but I have been hooked to my pump a minimum of four times a day on most work days and to be honest she (the pump) is not all the that interesting anymore. She has nothing new to say just the same old, same old. ;o) So this week I made a choice to cut back on one pump per day and opt instead to hit the gym. So far so good and not really getting less milk yet.  And doing something for me and my body has given a much needed mood boost. I have already been slacking on my nighttime pump because let's be honest, hooking yourself up to machine doesn't really set the mood for sleep.
So has the world ended? Nope. Does L suddenly reject me? Nope. Are we nursing exclusively on days away from work? You bet. So just like running, the end miles are tough but baby, once you see that finish line you pick it up right? No one slows down before the finish like...they take a deep breath and keep trucking. 
That is what this mama is going to do. Don't get me wrong, I am not going back to more pumps. Can't do it. However, I am going to focus of eating well, drinking more water, exercising and taking care of me. I really have no set plan on weaning or really stopping pumping altogether. To be honest I haven't really thought much past the one year mark.

For now, I am staying focused on the finish line.

" I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27

In the middle of every day life, I sometimes forget to thank God for how blessed I am to have these two beautiful children. I can still remember the days in our marriage where it was just two of us and how badly I ached wanting to have children. I would cry each time we heard of a yet another new pregnancy within our group of friends and family, though I would try to hide it from Nick.  Looking back I am sure I did a miserable job.  While I felt ready to have children, my husband needed more time.  Oh, I would pout but then there were other times that I would just pray.  God assured me that it would happen but I needed to patient.  It wasn't about what was the right time for everyone else.

I know now that His timing was perfect, He knows what we need and when...all the time. As I stare into the precious faces of our children, I sometimes have to catch my breath as I am overwhelmed by Gd's gift.

Why today is awesome...

Keeping with the theme of random, here we go. I was woken up at 6am today but a spunky little princess but no worries, I got my coffee by my side. I am in a such a good mood today and here are a few reasons why!

-The commute to my new office did not suck. After all the doom and gloom talk, it has started off just fine. Oh and for those in the DC area, you will understand this when I say I found a SLUG LINE! There is a morning line to my building and an afternoon line as well as a e-mail list. For those of you out of the area, this means I stay on the HOV and can keep the flexibility of driving. (NK carpools so one of us needs to be flexibile. ) I still may occassionally opt to ride versus drive but it is nice to have options!

-E finished a great school year and will be starting summer camp next week. I am also in the process of registering him for Fall soccer. YES! I am finally going to be a soccer mom! I have been dreaming of this since I was pregnant with him.

-L moved to a new Infant class and will be doing all kinds of "big girl" stuff. :o) Oh and in case you lost count, she will be 1 in 6 weeks! So party planning is starting! Trying to decide the theme and guest list. I do plan to keep it smaller than E's  1st birthday blow out because frankly that was just nonsense.

And last but cetainly not least, three weeks until our beach trip. A whole week at the beach!

He and I

I found these lovely words from Pinterest and it really stuck with me.  My husband and I have been through our share of up and downs.  To be honest, at times I play the comparison game or feel like quitting.  It isn't that I don't love him immensely but this marriage stuff is hard! Like, really hard.  Like, harder than anything you will ever do hard but totally worth it.  We are blessed to have some faithful believers, supportive friends and family to keep us encouraged when times are tough.  Those are the same people who are there to celebrate with us in the good times.  We are entering a different phase in our marriage when neither one of us is content to just "get by" anymore.  So we are rolling up our sleeves amongst the choas of working, having two kids. and running a house. Because when it is all said and done, it will be just he and I...

Randomness

So like always, life just keeps chugging along. I love coming back to this blog as a place to share all the things going on in our little world. Today is a random bunch of thoughts and happenings

-Leia is 10.5 months old, that's right double digits! Still nursing which makes me overjoyed because I put a lot of effort into giving that girl boob milk!
-She is pulling and cruising, occasionally letting go to move to something else but definitely not the same confident cruiser Emory was at this age.
-Leia popped two bottom teeth two weeks apart and who made the discovery? The one who nurses her...NOPE! Her Daddy. ;o)
-She eats EVERYTHING, no really. I have stopped sending solids to school in favor of her eating their menu almost exclusively.
-We do not sleep 12 hours but a good 6 to 7. I am cool with that. She gets up, nurses and heads back to bed. 10 minutes tops. And I love the snuggle time, even if I am zombie. ;o)
-I am thinking I will start planning her birthday party soon but thinking of opting for a smaller party than E's 1st.

-Emory was the victim of a home haircut, yes I made Daddy but his hair. The result is cute but let's just say, we will be letting it grow and returning to the barber shop.
-My boy still  makes me worry like no one else but I am learning to chill out and learn what being a boy mom is all about.
-In a conversation with a good friend, we discussed love languages and I think E's is time which is different than the mama and the daddy. This has been a true light bulb moment for me and has allowed me to find better ways to parent him.
-Emory has done so great is his Montessori program this year, he is registered for Junior Kindergarten this Fall...WHAT?!?!

-Handsome (aka NK) is doing super great at work and loves his job. I am SUPER DUPER proud of him.
-After 14 years of marriage, we are starting to communicate better than ever. We are working hard of meeting each other's needs and it is paying off.

OK, so now for me and the real randomness.

-I have decided at some point in the future, I want to be a La Leche leader. I am so passionate about breastfeeding and just want to encourage other mamas.
-My office is moving from VA to DC, everyone is all up in arms. I am trying to be positive and actually looking forward to being on a actual Navy base again.
-Oh the dreaded furlough...it's WAS all over the news but the popularity has died down a bit. I am being forced to take one day without pay each week for 11 weeks. Losing the money is not awesome but an extra day at home with the littles...awesome.
-Along with the furlough pay cut comes super saving and selling. I have been selling unwanted items on craiglist and swaps. Grand total so far $176! That is all just crap sitting around my house. I have donated some items too.
-I love coffee...still. Yes, I am addicted but in moderation. Just this week I have returned to using half and half with sugar. It is simple and delicious. However, I am going to make my own flavored creamer next.
-Quiet time. I have committed myself to having quiet time each morning and boy it helps. Weekends are a little out of whack but the weekdays are set. The length of time varies but I am working on a new morning routine. It benefits everyone in the house because I am more calm and nicer.
-In preparation for my move, I have forced myself to start getting up earlier and prepping every night. WOWZERS! It is such common sense but you have better morning when you aren't stumbling trying to get things done or rushing sleeping kids. It is really only about 15 -20 minutes earlier anyway.
-I am back to using cloth diapers just about exclusively except for daycare. I have downsized my stash and working to find what works best for night.

Oh and the best thing...our vacation to the beach is in 28 days! YES!

That is all from the land of Kiernans. Much love to everyone.

How I got Sleep Trained :o)

Leia started off her newborn life as a great sleeper. The first night in the hospital, my amazing night nurse helped me work a solution that allowed us to get hours of perfect sleep. She swaddled her and put her in the crook of my arm and there we slept for hours. We repeated this same process until we were discharged. We repeated a similar process at home until her two week visit when her pediatrician expressed concern about her weight gain. I had to start waking her up every three hours for feedings. Yes, wake a sleep baby! Who does that? So slowly our nighttime sleep eroded and we had nighttime feedings.

After returning to work, I felt blessed that she only would get once or twice during the night which was fine. I am not exactly sure how long that last before a third feeding crept in occasionally right and then sometimes another...  So the months crept on and my fear of messing with my milk supply led me to continue to get up and nurse at each whimper until this week. I started to realize I beat!  And being exhausted was no better for my milk supply. After a few pep talks from a friend (also a co-co-worker) and a gal who rode home with me that  Tuesday evening, I knew it was time. I didn't need to set a date or read a book, just do it! 

We went through our normal bedtime routine, (thankfully she goes to sleep fine on her own), until about 10:15 when she woke up. I went in, gave her her pacifier, covered her up, patted her bum and walked out to a fussing baby.  I laid in bed for a minute and Daddy offered to rock her.  I sleepily agreed and he went into her room. A few seconds later, he come back saying tonight was the night to let her fuss a little and we closed our door.  I have no idea how long she cried, we feel asleep! The next thing I knew it was 2:27am and I woke up a little disoriented. I crept out of my room, peeked to make sure she was still in her crib (crazy, huh?), went down to pump, and then checked on her. She was spread out like a starfish, paci in her mouth, and sleeping like a rock.  I covered her up and she returned to sleep until 4am.  And guess what? The next next nights she didn't even bother! So all my worry and fretting was for nothing, this girl is amazing. She told me, "Hey mama, I got this..stop bugging me while I am trying to get back to sleep. " And now we are both happier, though I am still getting up to pump in the middle of the night for the time being which is fine with me. Once is way better than 3-4 times per night.

Sleep training for babies...for me it was her teaching me!

Could that be Spring?

I am checking back in after a few crazy weeks of life.  It is a gorgeous day here in VA and it looks like the upcoming week is going to be awesome! There is just something about nice weather that makes everything seem better. So here is what has been going on the past few weeks.

-We have visited urgent care 3 times, 2 times per kid. One group visit . E had an ear infection and then most recently was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. Two doses of IV antibiotics and he is back to his superhero self.  L has managed to limit herself to a cold for now and we think she is teething.

-Leia is officially crawling, pulling up, and generally moving at a rapid pace. She is making the switch from purees to more solids foods with great voracity. She is still nursing like a champ and wants to eat anything she can get her hands on. Watching her "chew" with no teeth is really cute. She is not sleeping well at night which stinks but Mama is going to work on that soon enough.

-Emory is doing great in spite of his sicknesses. He is excelling in school. He has mastered lots of Spanish words such as body parts, colors, and numbers. He is eating regular dinners with us on a frequent basis. He is taking swim classes and swimming like a fish.

-We made two big purchases at the end of  last month...a HARLEY and a playset for the littles. Yes, a Harley. I think I might be more excited than Daddy. It is a 2008 Nightrod. And the best part is we paid CASH. No debt makes it even more awesome. The playset was also paid for in cash.  We are trying to decide where to put in the yard and what work will need to be done to get  the spot ready. Grandad and Uncle Mike are standing by to help put it together.

-Spend free month went well though I did cave a few times however, I ate out WAY less and made only two trips to Target (one big trip and one for Easter). We stayed pretty close to our grocery budget as well. And another HUGE thing...we paid off two, yes two, credit cards! I am so excited to have that debt gone. We just have one more to go!

-I did not finish any organizing or cleaning projects but oh well! My kids are happy and fed. The cleaning will wait to my furlough days which start in late May, early June.

So life around these parts has been busy.  In fact, I am going to scoot now so I can get these buggers dressed and get OUTSIDE!

Happy Spring!