Reunited and it feels so good!

Needless to say, you were more than happy to be reunited with "dah-oh"

The Last Bag of Milk

This post brings a whole slew of emotions. This is the last bag of momma's milk. You made it 14 months with some sort of momma's milk every day (nursing or pumped). My dream goal had been 12 months, so I'm quite proud of that stat. 

Why nursing was best for me: I'd always known I wanted to breast feed my children. As the saying goes "Breast is Best." It's common knowledge that breastfeeding reduces ear infections, the chance for asthma, decreases allergies, the risk of SIDS, even some forms of cancer and the list goes on. I'm all about prevention and good health, so I was bound and determined to nurse you for one year. It was something I was really excited about. Call me naive, but I thought this would be a slam dunk (unless I had production issues). Yeah, about that...Nursing an infant is just plain hard. Things I wish I'd known before you arrived and struggles: 1. Nursing isn't quite as natural and easy as you are lead to believe. There's an art to it. I felt like a failure many times in the beginning and worked extensively with a lactation consultant until we were able to jive better. I was lucky, you latched from the beginning. And, although you latched, you just latched too well and not properly. This lead to many painful and frustrating nursing sessions. Thank goodness Medela and Lansinoh have phenomenal products on the market to help with this. 2. It is extremely important to have a good support system in place. Your dad, grandmother, aunt and Mrs. Amanda were crucial in my decision to keep on trucking. Call it dumb luck that my best friend and sister-in-law both had babies your age and decided to nurse. I'm thankful it happened that way! There are so many points in time where I wanted to throw in the towel and the encouragement and support pulled me through. 3. Nursing is really tough on the body. Who knew?? I just figured your body produced milk, no problem. My OB recently told me that nursing is actually harder on the body than the pregnancy itself. Now, everyone is different, but in my case I can totally see where he's coming from. I have dealt with everything from mastitis and recurring clogged ducts to dizziness and hypoglycemic incidences. Nursing demands so much from the body.... not just the mere extra calories you need to consume. 4. Nursing demands a lot time, especially in the beginning. It took me a while to build up any sort of supply for you to live on in case I needed to be away or if an emergency came up. One example to this, I caught a stomach bug when you were 3 months old. Thankfully, I was with family that could help out and take care of you. You still needed to eat and I didn't have a milk supply built up yet, so I literally pumped (while completely nauseous, and handed down bottles of milk to my mom to feed you. Another example, Daddy and I were gone for 4 days when you were 10 months old. At that time, you still nursed 3 times a day. For some reason, my body decided to reject the pump (I never let down) and ended up hand expressing milk to keep my supply up and keep me from being engorged. Nursing is a labor of love! The Joys: I don't want to paint a negative picture of nursing. It was a wonderful experience for both of us. It provided us with a special bonding time. When you were a little older, it allowed me to hold you and cradle you when you'd otherwise be squirmy and on the move. It created wonderful memories. You used to get so excited to nurse that you literally opened your mouth and made the sweetest sound of "I can't wait, I can't wait!" when you'd latch you'd close your eyes and then smile. I knew it comforted you. Speaking of comfort, nursing did help out TREMENDOUSLY in times you were stressed. For example, we were on a plane and NOTHING would calm you down. After about 15-30 minutes of screaming I finally let you latch on and you immediately calmed down and fell asleep. I had already offered you a bottle of pumped milk, but you refused. You wanted mama! In the end: I loved nursing you and will totally do it again when your brother or sister comes along. It provided you with numerous benefits and allowed us to share a special bond. I was just clueless going into it.

Goodbye Chicago

After what seems like a marathon, we've packed up all our belongings and hit the road back south. Miss Hannah had a hard time saying goodbye...

A little cuteness for your day

Things have been more than crazy at our house. We move within the week and I have been packing the house like crazy. We had a last minute change of plans and are using pods for our move, since we'll have to have things in storage until the new house is ready. Oh, the joys!

I have been a little slack on updating the blog, but couldn't resist posting this cute video of
Hannah. She's eating sweet potatoes and apparently pays attention a little more than what we give her credit for. I was blowing each bite before giving it to her, explaining that it as hot. Then, out of no where, she began blowing each bite too!

Oh Where, Oh Where Did My Little Dog Go?.....

In preparation for our move to GA, we decided to take Daisy to Grandmommy and Grandaddy's for the remainder of our time in IL. Miss Hannah, you are distraught over this decision. You walk around the house calling Daisy's name (Dah-Oh) and you look for her every where. You still grab her toys in hopes that she will come running to you. We have since packed Daisy's belongings up.

We were in the grocery store last week and there was a see and eye dog strolling down the aisle we were on. When you spotted him, you almost bounced out of the shopping cart and kept yelling Dah-Oh, Dah-oh, Dah-oh and pointing. I have to say, it breaks our hearts a bit to see how much you miss her. Don't worry, sweet Hannah, you will be reunited soon. In the mean time, Daisy is in the best hands possible and more than likely enjoying a short break from us :)

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween from the Vance Family!

What the Yuck...

Poor, sweet Hannah! The past few weeks have been rough for you. Since turning one (just a short month ago), three molars have pushed their way into your mouth. On top of that, you had a cold and ended up getting pink eye because of it. You have had a rough go of it!

This is just a glimpse of what you endured...

The molars, of course, were the worst. Those pesky teeth would wake you from naps and during the night. Pain relievers and Orajel have been staples for us.  Thankfully, your top molar is completely pushed through the gum line, while the bottom two are about half way through.  The cold is clearing up and you just finished your last day of antibiotics for your eye. You are on the mend :)