The Boob Job.

   I know what you're thinking; this is another internet article about increase of breast implants among people, or about dangers of implants to your health. I would like to surprise you with the notion that this post is about the job your breasts were designed to do .... to feed an infant. Breastfeeding has gone through a bit of a makeover in last few decades as researchers discover how beneficial, nah, important, breastfeeding is for both women and babies. Let's explore the topic of breastfeeding.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Funky Monkey!

   I really can't believe that Funky Monkey turned 10! Where has the time gone? I can still remember being a new mom holding this squirmy little baby in my arms and wondering how he was going to turn out in the future. I remember sitting in the hospital room, holding my new baby, and wondering if they really were letting me take him home. After all, I was really worried that I would break him.

   It was a big adjustment going from living only for me (and my husband) to being responsible for this little creature that depended on me for everything. There were many nights that I cried with him. He was nothing like the calm, content babies in commercial ads and movies. Funky Monkey made a statement wherever he was. He arrived with a surprising amount of pain and a vacuum extraction. The first few months he cried and nursed constantly, the only constants in his little life. It took me a while to get to know his needs and act accordingly. Once I did, our lives went much more smoothly, He still nursed all the time, but I could now recognize his cries and what they meant. When he started crawling he eagerly explored everything, although he was very cautious. He always needed his mommy within the arm's reach. I didn't mind. My presence build his confidence and before I knew it he was out exploring everything, although he never leaped before he looked.

Day in the life of a mom.

   Baby Monkey is 2 months old now and I am busier than ever!!! I am not sure what he weighs now, but it's over 12 lbs. His daily schedule is still all over the place, but there are some consistencies. It also looks like he is following in his older brother's footsteps and has developed baby reflux. It surely throws a twist into the mix. This has increased the amount of laundry that I do and number of times that I have to change Baby M and myself (and sometimes Daddy has to change too!). Since life is so busy, I thought that it would be fun to write about my typical day of being a mom. Let's try a minute by minute account of one day:

7:05 am

Baby M is starting to stir next to me. I am so very tired. It was close to 3 am when I finally got a chance to sleep and 4 hours is just not enough. Maybe if I nurse him lying next to him he will fall back to sleep and we can get some more rest. I start to nurse him...

Cabin fever ...

   Have I mentioned that I feel very cooped up in the house lately. With the weather being cold and a newborn in the house I haven't ventured out very often. And that makes for a very grumpy, nature deprived person. I really think that it's a nature of having a winter baby. Days are short, nights are long, it's very cold outside, and baby takes so much of my time and energy that it just happens that I never really wind up outside except for getting to the car to run errands.

Saying goodbye!

Baby Monkey with our midwife Jennie!

   Last Wednesday, I went to see the midwives for my last visit. At 6 weeks postpartum, my pregnancy and birthing journey is done. At this point Baby Monkey and myself will transfer to our GP. It's a milestone for us. But with each milestone comes a bit of sadness. This is the point when my relationship with my midwives  has come to an end. It's the last time that I will book appointments and go for a check-up. Of course, I will probably pop by their office one in a while and say hello (I would guess that's the perk of working as a midwife - you get to see the babies you delivered grow up), but this was the last time that I was scheduled to come in. Why is this so sad? Well, these ladies provide so much support for the whole family during a very special time in peoples' lives. By nature of the profession, to be a midwife you must be a caring and compassionate person . So it's only natural that women came to like our midwives very much. And it's only natural that we will miss them very much.

So you're having a boy ...

   Let me preface by saying that circumcision is a topic of heated discussions in many parenting circles, I do not intend to get into it here. I would just like to present some facts to parents who just found out that they are having a boy. Circumcision is a surgical removal of foreskin from baby's penis. It dates back to Ancient Egyptians in recorded history, but it might have been practiced even before then. It is routinely preformed in Jewish and Islamic religion, as well as it is performed in many African tribes. It has also been performed routinely in North America between 1890's and 1970's for hygienic purposes. It has since been abandoned as a routine procedure and the choice whether to circumcise their son is left for the parents to decide.

Life with a newborn.

   Baby Monkey is going to be 3 weeks old this Friday. It really seems like he has been here longer. It actually feels like he has been part of our family since the beginning. That could be a sign that we are all adjusting very well to having a new little person in the house.

Sunday Snapshots - Welcome Baby Monkey!!!

   Guess what happened Friday? Friday, the 29th, Baby Monkey's Due Date! At 7:28 am, after 24 hours of labor (5.5 hours of active labor) Baby Monkey was born. He was 8 lbs 13.5 oz, and over 21 inches long. His labor was a hard one, and just like my other monkeys he was stuck in his shoulders so I am pretty bruised up. But we had a wonderful home birth and both Baby Monkey and I are doing very well. We are all so in love with him! Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

Well hello there Baby Monkey

Meeting his siblings

Daddy and Baby sleepy

Meeting Big Brother

Meeting Big Sister

Meeting Little-Big Brother

Rest time

Meeting Grandma

Grandma and 2 Monkeys

Bath time

First bath

Not liking bath at all

More first bath

Proud Daddy

Breaking into Advent Calendar

Meeting Great Grandma

I really am happy!

 With my due date fast approaching I have time to think about things. You will usually find me complaining about the discomforts of late term pregnancy, but in all reality I am very happy. Actually I feel more blessed than just happy. Happy is when you find 20 dollars on a road, or your favorite pair of jeans is on sale, or the sunset is extra beautiful. Happy, although very nice, is ordinary. It doesn't take much for everyone to find something they could be happy about. Even a person lacking something in their life could find one thing to be happy about. State of being blessed is different. It's beyond "happy" in many ways. Blessed means that you have received gifts beyond ordinary. It means that you, and only you have been given something that is extraordinary. Of course there are many things that people could be blessed with. Some people are blessed with winning a lottery, some are blessed with peace in their life, some a blessed with good health. I have been blessed with my husband and my kids.

27 weeks today!

Monkey In-Waiting

   So today is Friday and I am 27 weeks pregnant with Monkey In-waiting. This is the last week of second trimester and I am getting a little nervous. Don't get me wrong, I have been through labor and delivery three times now and that's not very scary anymore, but I am dreading how little time I have to accomplish all the things I need to before this little boy arrives.

No question about gender anymore!

   I think that I would have been further along with my list of to do's if not for the shock of having a boy that took few weeks to get over. With the last three Monkeys I was very confident of what gender they were, so when we found out that we were pregnant again I searched deep inside my motherly intuition and produced my answer, this little baby is going to be a girl.