Closing A Chapter

In breastfeeding, that is. I've started to wean Cael. Five nights ago was the first night that I didn't nurse Cael. March 14, 2013. Cael was 18 months and 10 days old. I have to say, I'm pretty darn proud of myself, and extremely thankful that I was able to nurse so long. I'm really sad, though. I don't feel ready. But I can't be selfish. I would love to just start nursing again, but I can't. Plus, I go to a work conference in Ohio for 4 days at the end of April, so I have to be weaned by then. 

These are two of my most cherished pictures of Cael nursing. Some people may think it's weird or inappropriate that I took pictures of Cael nursing. But they are precious to me, because nursing has been a huge part of my life for the past 18 months.

March 12 - A few days before we weaned

December 2012. I tried to blur my areola out.

Soccer, Haircut & More!

After seeing a picture of a fellow Pod member's son (about 2.5 years old) in a picture with a soccer jersey on, posing with his teammates, it made me want to sign Cael up for soccer as soon as he was old enough. I played soccer when I was young, and my mom coached, so why wouldn't I want Cael to play too!? Well, when she told me that they started at 18 months, I was ecstatic. Actually, I was stupid-excited. I signed up Cael up that day. They're 12 week "seasons", meeting once a week for 50 minutes, and it was $150 for the 12 weeks. That includes a jersey and a team photo emailed to you, as well. I was able to sign up just a week before the first practice, so Cael didn't miss anything. And even if we signed up late, the cost would be prorated, which is nice to know.

I really didn't know what to expect, since the kids are so young. From what I read on their website, they do activities to work on cognition, as well as "play" soccer. These activities use cones, parachutes, balls, and various other paraphernalia that I can't remember the names of. I was worried about being able to keep Cael's attention since he's all over the place, and doesn't quite follow instructions yet. Not to mention he has a very short attention span, which is to be expected. But I was very pleased.

They started off with letting the kids play with the soccer balls while they waited for everyone to show up. Then once everyone was there, the Coach had everyone sit in a circle and do some stretches. Of course, Cael doesn't want to sit still, and screamed when we tried to get him to sit down. He wasn't the only one, though. Then we played Red Light, Green Light. That was interesting, because the kids didn't want to stop. So we heard a bunch of whines when the coach had the red circle, and yelled "stop!", and all the parents grabbed their kids to get them to stop. It was funny, actually. Then the coach set up an obstacle course with hula-hoops and some colored, rubber things that look like rocks. The kids had to step on the "plastic rocks" and jump into the hula-hoop, while following the white line on the ground around the goal net. Cael seemed to like that the most, as he loves stepping on the "plastic rocks". Some other activities included bubbles, building cone towers and kicking them over, and kicking rubber bouncy balls around. Then the kids have to help clean up all the balls. Overall, it's a very cute and fun way for Cael to interact and socialize with kids his age, AND start to get into sports. Not to mention he gets to run around and get some energy out. I can't wait to see how next weekend goes.

"You're going to do what to my hair!?"

We had another "big" moment this weekend too. I've finally accepted that the hair on the back of Cael's head was just too long. It was no longer making a cute little whispy curl anymore, and whenever he laid on the back of his head, his hair would get frizzy and just didn't look good anymore. So I took him to the hair place, and finally got him a big boy haircut, and cut off all his long hair. I was ok with it. Cael, on the other hand, was hysterical the whole time! He had to sit on my lap because he kept reaching forward to try to get to me. And even when he sat on my lap, he continued to cry like the lady was torturing him. But in the end, his hair came out pretty good, even though she was trying to rush because of the crying. It was a little choppy above his ears, but it was (I believe) the best she could do with the high-pitched screams.

Before and after his "big-boy" haircut!

18 Months Old!!

February 5 - March 4

Ok, so I'm a little behind with this post. I'm not going to backdate it because quite frankly, I don't care too much at this point. :) We had Cael's 18 month appointment on Tuesday (a week ago), and I'm proud to report that my son is the size of an average 2 year old!! Well, height-wise anyway. The little stinker grew 2.5 inches over the course of 2 months, measuring in at 34 inches! We knew he must have been going through a growth spurt last month, but jeez! That puts him at the 90th percentile for height by his age. As far as his weight goes, he's only gained a pound, weighing in at 25 pounds (which is the 40th percentile). But that's perfectly fine, considering the kid is all over the place!! He's climbing on everything, running everywhere, lifting anything. The boy is crazy. As long as he had a growth spurt, I'm happy.

He's still behind in speech, but once again, the doctor wasn't concerned. She said that he's not showing any signs of developmental delays, and he can understand what we say and tell him, so we should just give him more time. Boys tend to be slower with talking, and faster with everything developmental. Our next appointment is when Cael is 2 (holy crap!!), so she said if he's still not speaking much/forming sentences, then she'll refer him to a speech therapist. But until then, we're not concerned.

For a while now, I've felt that Cael has an umbilical hernia. He has an outie belly button, and I understand that. But because I'm that weird mom, I would poke at his belly button, and try and (gently) push/poke it in. Of course, just playing around. And when I do that, it feels like something is there that gets pushed in, and it feels "squishy", if that makes sense. Plus, his belly button, in general, protrudes further out than I think an outie should. So we asked the pediatrician about it, and sure enough, he does have a small umbilical hernia. She said it's not something to worry about now at this age, but if in a few years it hasn't fixed itself, then he'll need to have it surgically repaired :(. She said that as children grow, their abdominal muscles tighten and develop, so umbilical hernias at this age usually repair themselves. Here's to hoping that Cael's fixes itself over the next few years.

Big-boy bed!

We ordered the toddler rail for Cael's crib back in February. It finally came in and we picked it up 2 weeks ago. We figured we could order it now, since it took a while to come in (up to 8 weeks!), and see if Cael was ready for the toddler bed. So this past Friday, we converted Cael's crib into a toddler bed. It was a very hard moment for me, but I dealt with it. We thought maybe it was time for a "big boy" bed. Well, I guess we were wrong. The first night, we had to put Cael back into the bed several times before he finally crawled back in himself and fell asleep. Nap time on Saturday was non-existent until I laid down with Cael in our bed, and we both napped. Sunday was the same thing with his nap. Saturday night was a little better, so I thought this was working out. Well, basically, Cael isn't ready.

Enjoying a lollipop - or 2 - after his shots

Yesterday and today, Matt was out all day with Cael, so he didn't get a chance to try nap time in his bed. Come Tuesday night, Cael fell asleep after putting him back in bed a couple of times, but then he woke up screaming at about 10. He was standing, in the dark, right at the bedroom door, and as soon as I picked him up, he clutched me so tightly. He was terrified. Enough was enough, I'm not forcing him to do something he's not ready for. So I had Matt and our friend do an emergency transition of the bed back into the crib, while Cael and I laid in my bed and I nursed him to calm him down. Those boys had that crib together in 5 minutes flat! As soon as I put him in his crib, he was out cold. I guess the crib is what he wanted. It's ok. In fact, I'm perfectly ok with it. :)

My Valentine's Day gifts

Valentine's Day was last month. I had the sweetest surprise when I got home from work the day before Valentine's Day. Turns out, Matt and Cael went out and bought Mommy some gifts. Even though Matt and I decided we wouldn't. Matt also had Cael finger paint me a picture. I LOVED it! Matt and Cael also bought me a beautiful orchid (add 3 ice cubes a week to water), 2 Yankee Candle candles, and 2 of the sweetest cards - one from Cael and one from Matt. It was so sweet. And surprisingly, I haven't killed the orchid yet.

Last month, we also took Cael to the library for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised with how amazing our library is. It was built in 2010, and it's all updated and "green". Not to mention is has an awesome children's section! I was so surprised, and Cael LOVED it. They have wooden puzzle-type games (if you will) on the walls, and children's books everywhere. Cael really enjoyed walking around, pulling out books, and flipping through them. I am so happy that Cael loves books so much. It makes me proud.

Enjoying a book at the library. Especially a truck brook.

The two most important boys in my life