I guess this is the end....

I have been nursing my baby exclusively for 9 months...and now, I think its time to stop. I have been very blessed to have had this opportunity with my baby and love knowing that I alone was able to make him grow and stay healthy with what my body produced. But, all good things must come to an end and this is one of them. 

I have stopped nursing and have been pumping for the last 2 weeks-slowly going longer and longer between sessions. Brett doesn't seem to miss me, and actually gets really excited when he sees his bottle now! (such a difference from a month ago! I couldn't even change in front of him without him want to eat haha!)

I am happy to be (almost) done, and a little sad that this much time has already gone by- my baby boy seems so much like a little boy these days! I would just like to reflect on my great experience.

Thank you BF for:

1. Providing my baby with all he needed for 9 + moths to grown into the 80% of weight :)

2. Keeping him from getting sick for 7 months

3. Always providing me with a way of comforting my baby or giving me a guaranteed way of getting him to sleep -I know bad habits! ;)

4. The special bond that only me and my baby could share- I secretly loved being able to take him away from a crowd of people because he had to "eat" :) 

5. Getting me high school skinny! Seriously! I am now 8 lbs less than before I was pregnant and lost a total of 58 lbs since Brett was born! I am definitely going to miss those extra calories burned every day! 

6. Saving us approximately $1000 over the last nine months in formula that we never had to buy! 

I am so thankful for my experience! I hope every women has the chance to BF even if is for just a little while! Its amazing what our bodies can do :)

9 Months!

Well, we are almost in the double digits! Brett is getting so bug, and looking and acting more and more like a little boy and less like a baby! Here is the update:

 

* Brett weighs 21.5 lbs (62%) and is 29.75 in tall (91%)!!!!

*He can say Da-da, and kind of say bye-bye (ba-ba.) I swear he said Mama the other day but he hasnt said it since :(

*He can wave bye-bye and will lean in for kisses (when he is in the mood)

*Is getting really good at cruising and will let go and stand up for a few seconds before sitting- He actually took 2 steps all by himself tonight! :) Otherwise he is pushing his little walker all over the house.

*He is eating more and more table food. He LOVES the Gerber puffs and the crunchy stick things.

*I haven't "nursed" him in about a week but Im still pumping....Im slowly weaning. Brett doesnt seem to miss it and I am ready to stop as well. I think we have done a great job! He has been exclusively BF for 9 whole months, go me! :)

*He wears size 4 diapers and 12-18 month clothes depending on style/brands

*He sleeps from 8pm- 7am and takes 2 naps totaling 2 hours (on a good day ) Ha!

*He can hold is own bottle and gets mad when you take it away- even if its empty!

*He LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney a nd if he hears the song- (even if I sing it) he will stop what he is doing and look for the TV.

*He loves his mama and is always crawling over to me and trying to climb up my leg :)

Here is the photo shoot!

Happy Family! :)

The Roach

Friday night at 3:30 am, I was awakened by Brett crying on the monitor. Thankfully this isn't the norm anymore, but he has another ear infection and his medicine had worn off. :( 

SO, I proceed to get up and get the ibuprofen from Josh's night stand and when I set it on my night stand, I heard a pitter pitter patter.....WTF!? Surely it was a little tiny something so I turned on the lamp to see and...........OMG! There was a GIANT roach scampering behind my clock! Seriously this thing was 3 inches long- Ok maybe 2 but it was HUGE!

I shreeked and Josh woke up asking, "what are you doing?" I told him about the roach and in his half asleep mumbling he said"you better kill it, 'cause I'm sleeping" I told him he HAD to come kill it because it was so big and I just don't kill bugs.

He gets up and grabs a shoe. Meanwhile, the roach has crawled down the side of the night stand- the perfect spot. Josh slowly raises his shoe and SMACK! He MISSED! The roach ran down the night stand under the bed! :( I said, "How did you miss it!? Its 5 feet long!"

I grumbled and went upstairs to give baby boy some medicine. I am trying to get him to go back to sleep and I see the light from our room come on....then the den light comes on and I hear the door to the garage open. A few minutes go by, and Brett is still awake so I decide to bring him in our bed. ( I know, I know bad habit!) I walk in  our room and see Josh on the floor by the bed with a head lamp on his head and a dust pan in his  hand....he is banging on the side of the bed still trying to find the roach! I immediately crack up at the site, but insist we go to bed and hope the roach has crawled back into whatever crevice he came out of.

The night goes by without anymore sightings and Saturday we wake up and start cleaning the house. I had almost forgotten about the unwanted visitor when I moved a pile of laundry in the bathroom and that nasty bug came running out! It ran between 2 laundry baskets and I got a shoe and, trying to be brave, swung and MISSED! The roach crawled behind one of the baskets and literally disappeared before my eyes! Strike 2.

Knowing the roach was still in the bathroom somewhere, I  put a towel under the door to keep him out of our room in case he wanted to crawl on my nightstand again that night.

Sunday came and went and the roach was nowhere to be seen...I assumed he had found his way into the walls or died.

Monday night, I went to bed before Josh and was almost asleep when he came in the bedroom to get ready for bed. I am laying in bed and all of a sudden I hear SMACK! And then the sound of the toilet flush....VICTORY!!!!   :)

Charleston!

I dont know what it is exactly, but I LOVE Charleston, SC! The shops, the amazing restaurants and of course the beach! We went with my parents and my in- laws for 4th of July and it was so nice. Having 2 sets of grandparents to help with the little man is such a treat! Josh and I were able to actually relax and enjoy a few drinks on the beach :)

Rather than bore you with my amateur writing, I will let the pictures do the talking (with a few comments from your truly )

The View

 Beach wagon makes a perfect crib for naps! :)

Daddy's Beach Zone

The BEST restaurant in Charleston!

Rooftop Bar

Love this boy!