Freedom in the Outdoors

Nothing brings out your inner bushwoman like breastfeeding your baby in the woods. How is that for an opener? Let us allow that statement to set the tone for this post.

Our little fambam took to the wilderness last weekend for some pleasant weather, outdoor adventures and that good old fashioned campfire smell. We played in the dirt, took little hikes, Brad earned some good mother nature juju points for  saving a crawdad from the tangles of some fishing line, Khage got within arms reach of a few chipmunks, Harlyn experienced her first night slumbering in a sleeping bag and I strolled ever so closely behind an elk. While all those wonderful things happened I can honestly sit here and tell you that one single thing topped them all: I nursed Harlyn openly and freely in the great outdoors.

If you have yet to provide your baby with an all day eating buffet in the wilderness, you should know I highly recommend it. Its extremely therapeutic. I have had nursing problems with all of my kids. All two of them.

Spoiler alert: if you don't want to hear about my milk supply, leaky boobs or nursing issues then I recommend you jump ahead to the pictures and ignore all commentary.

I will save you from the soggy details, just know this: my milk is bound to hit you in the face if your within a foot of me while I nurse. True story. Ask Brad and Khage, those poor suckers now know to keep their distance. In addition my babies are/were both unlatchers... unlatching every few suckles to gulp some air. The price you pay for making milk by the gallons; when it flows it gets intense and apparently babies don't like to get drowned by their Mommy's heavy let down. So while I'm over here fumbling my boobs and soaking my babies it is quite impossible to remain covered; it gets all spring break while I'm nursing. Everybody's gettin' flashed. So nursing openly outside of the confinements of my own home is nearly impossible. But in the wilderness, the trees don't care and the breeze is embraced. It was magical and glorious, and I anxiously await the next camping trip for this sole purpose. My inner Pocahontas wants to out.

See that Mama elk above, she knows where its at. Nursing her baby while a car full of people are staring right at her. No shame. She's livin' my dream. 

Buttons, Buttons, She's Pushing My Buttons

Remember a few days ago when I was gloating about my amazing daughter? I was like a proud mama bird with my chest all pushed up and my feathers all puffed out. I couldn't get over her perfection, and frankly I needed a reality check. No kid is perfect. For those of you that cant hear me all the way in the back, let me repeat myself: NO KID IS PERFECT. And just when you start thinking crazy like that kids will always put you in your place, they have a very funny unfunny way of making you eat your words. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason at all Harly has taken it upon herself to push my buttons. Big, little, circle, square, and even the red button with the caution sign on it... She's pushing them all. She has been fighting me on naps, wiggling out of my apparently pathetic swaddle jobs, and doing this back arch thing that makes it nearly impossible for me to hold onto her. There is only one way to really ever look at your child as if they are truly perfect... and that is when they are lying quietly asleep.

 

And my goodness do you see that fair skin on this girl? Is it just me or did I give birth to a baby Nicole Kidman? I would say her complexion is simply perfect but then she just might breakout in hives tomorrow to prove me wrong.

 

 

Mama's Little Girl

Harlyn is nothing short of amazing.

Before she was born, before I found out she was a she, and even when I was unknowingly pregnant with her I always said I hope I don't have a daughter. And in an attempt at having to avoid sending her off to therapy one day, that will be the last time you ever hear me utter those shameful words again. From this point on she will only know me as the sweet mommy that always wanted her. Yes that makes me a liar liar sweatpants on fire, and yet I think going to therapy to cure the damage done from your mother being a liar is going to be substantially less then trying to get over the fact that your mother originally wished you to be a boy.

So with that nonsense out of the bag then shoved right back in, lets get back to Harlyn being amazing. And she totally and completely is. She has this smile that sends my heart into a mini seizure and makes me wonder what ever I could have done so right as to be rewarded with such a girl. She is less then three months old and I envy her happy spirit. I have often times told Brad that she is my hero; when I grow up I want to be just like her. She is blissfully cheerful, with joy running through her little body and beautifully crazy hair that only adds to her charm. Her happiness is incredibly contagious. Don't get me wrong she can also be challenging, I want to sit here and tell you all the rotten things she does so you don't snub your own babies, but nothing currently comes to mind. Oh wait, the girl is a booger factory. She always has a booger or two flapping away in both of her nostrils and it drives me silly, but she never gives me grief for picking them. Did that just happen? I'm afraid it did. I tried to call her out on a character flaw and instead turned it into a compliment. I am obviously her biggest fan. And you would too if she looked at you the way Harly looks at me; with pure unconditional baby girl love. Exactly what I always wanted.

Swingin' Like Tarzan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So I know this kid... and he's a complete psycho. A multi personality psycho with mood swings and behavior triggers. Jokes on me considering the kid I am referring to is my own. His moods are swinging like Tarzan in the jungle, a metaphor that is more then suitable considering sometimes he acts more apelike then boy. He's up, he's down, he's happy then sad, he's smiling then thirty seconds later he's screaming about wanting a banana. I'm sorry I couldn't resist. But I am seriously loosing my mind over here, I'm living in constant fear of what personality is going to climb out of his bed in the morning. I'm not sure if all toddlers go through a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde phase or if I'm just the poor sucker whose kid is rockin' three different alter egos. Either way I'm gonna stick it out; once the angry one walks away, and the sad one goes to sleep and we're left with the happy one he's usually belly laughing and I'm a sucker for a belly laugh.

Sidenote: No, I will not pay for this child to have a haircut, eventually I will learn to cut his bangs straight. Feel free to look over the pictures above and mentally scold me for being so cheap. Sticks and stones my friend.

Two Months Old

 

A few little facts about our sweet girl:

She loves being sang to, her favorite song being You Are My Sunshine

Her hands are always folded over each other in a very proper lady like manner

She is such a nursing snob; demanding a quite, calm, and comfortable setting to guarantee a good meal

She has finally started smiling at Khage

Her hair is getting so long that it will no longer stand straight up

She will stare at your mouth when you talk and she tries so hard to mimic it's movements

I am on the receiving end of 90% of her smiles

I have to avoid eye contact with her while she is nursing or I risk her loosing any and all interest in eating and she will then prefer to spend her time staring at me with a smile on her face

 I am obviously her favorite

She sucks on her fingers all of the time, drools all over the place and is constantly blowing bubbles

She is becoming more and more interested in her toys by the day

She will laugh out loud, sometimes causing her to gasp for air

When she stretches she will point her little toes to the ceiling and smash up her face to form a deliciously irresistible double chin

She has given up on her evening time fussiness and her heat rash is also on its way out the door

She has a very cheerful personality and such a warm and calm little spirit

and

With every day that passes, and with every new discovery of who she is, we cant help but fall so much more in love with her. She is our precious little girl, our little ball of sunshine.

Some Things Never Change

With every holiday that comes and goes my sentimental heart likes to take a little jog down memory lane. I like to ponder what it was that we were doing that exact day, just one year ago. Recently I played this little mind game on the Fourth of July, and it is amazing all that can change in 365 days. Last year we had just moved back to Arizona from Texas. Since then we had bought our first home. We added a new addition to our little family. I gained ten pounds. Brad lost more hair. And Khage... well it seems he is still walking around a few garments short of an outfit.

Although he did upgrade from a diaper to some very patriotic under-roos.

 July 4th, 2012

 

July 4th, 2013

 

It seems that in one year a whole heck of a lot can change... while other things stay exactly the same. Next year I vow to make sure he is fully dressed on this holiday, if not for the sake of this blog then purely just out of respect for this country. I guess he could always argue that he rocks a modest birthday suit on this fair nations birthday. To that I say nice try but no sparkler.

 

A Letter to Woody

Woody,
You are one lucky toy. You get played with more then anything else that Khage owns. At first I felt sorry for you because of the abuse you take on everyday from this rambunctious boy. You have been buried in the sand, soaked with the hose and ran over by his scooter. You are filthy, stained and your poor cowhide vest is fading. You look well over a few years old and yet he has had you less then two months. He begs me to let you in the bath with him, and as much as you need a good bathing, I don't think you soaking up his dirty bath water will help you smell any better. And I now get the constant request that you be strapped into a seat belt whenever you accompany us to the store. You were gifted to Khage from Harlyn on the day she was born, an attempt at easing the change that came along with getting a new sibling and I think it has worked wonderfully. Khage quickly attached himself to you, with the buddy system in full affect since the day you were freed from your box. You sleep with him during the night, sometimes you accompany us during dinner, I don't doubt that one day you will vacation with us as well. But then there are days that you get benched, he will set you down somewhere and days will pass before you are played with again and I will think your sweet friendship has finally come to end. I figure the bond between boy and toy has finally dwindled but its never too long before he has picked you right up and you are back to being lovingly abused. I have come to realize that the happiest toys are the ones that are worn and tattered by constant use, if battle wounds are proof of love then you cowboy are one loved toy. You truly got a friend in him.

Baby Day Spa

The bath is Harlyn's happy place. Bath time to her is what dinner time is to me. It doesn't matter what kind of mood I am in, when that dinner bell rings: serenity now. Harlyn's evenings are brutal, like getting smacked repeatedly in the face by a baby brutal. Once she begins her crying fit those little arms will flail and anything in arms reach is fair game. So we like to interrupt her punching match  with an impromptu bath knowing that her little whale jacuzzi will set her mood right. But yesterday Harlyn took her bath time to a whole different level of comfort and relaxation. I don't know if she was overly tired or if she just finds her Daddy's bath routine a drag, because this girl was out within minutes of her toes touching the water. I felt like we were working at a day spa and we should have been rubbing her feet with tiny stones and placing cucumbers on her eyes. I mean who does this?

 



40 Weeks, 6 weeks ago

Looking back just a few short weeks ago I have come to a conclusion: I was a big fat fatty. Well I realized that and something else: I am ridiculously sentimental. Its been six weeks and already I'm feeling nostalgic about being pregnant. I can literally be holding my newborn and be daydreaming about being pregnant again. Part of it is that people around me are continuing to have babies, so with every baby that pops into this world my uterus aches. Which is ironic because my uterus just got over the post pregnancy aches from Harlyns birth. Don't let me trick you into thinking that having two kids ain't no thang for me and that I am anxious to juggle another. I am barely keeping my head above water with these two people. Its just that pregnancy is beautiful, and if I ever get to be pregnant again I plan on relishing in the moment so much more.

And maybe I will eat a lot less sugar.

Easier said then done on both counts.

She's One Month Old

 

A few little facts about our sweet girl:

 She held her head up within minutes of her birth

Brad thinks she looks like a baby rhesus monkey

She has shoulders like a linebacker and they are covered with blonde fuzzy hair

She has flashed her adorable grin since the day she was born

She falls asleep the best with her face smashed right up against the boob

Her arms, fingers and legs are all so long for her little body

She makes a face like a whistler, with her mouth puckered into an O

She refuses to nurse if her head is covered, creating quite a predicament when she needs to eat in public

She cries just about every time Khage comes near her

She wakes up 1-2 times a night and every so often she spoils me and doesn't wake until morning

She is a super eater and Mommy is a super feeder, making us one incredible team

She cannot handle heat, breaking out in a heat rash within moments of being outside

Poor thing loves the outdoors but rarely gets to go out (see above)

She wont take a pacifier but loves to suckle

Just about every night, from 7 until she falls asleep, she is ticked at the world and doesn't know why

She clenches her fingers in the tightest little fists making it impossible for us to force her to hold our fingers

and we cannot believe she is only one month old and yet we feel like we have loved her forever.