We made it!

We have made it nursing for a year!  We are still going with no end in sight. 

I can't say how amazing it is to be able to nourish my baby/toddler on my own.  We only made it a little over for months with Owen.  I feared that the same would be true with Charlotte.  It is amazing how different these two are.

Through out the past year I have had mastitis four times.  The first time was the worst.  Each time after that I knew what was going on and how to ease it.  Which made it a little better. 

When Charlotte got her first tooth she got into the habit of biting.  Which we had to put an end to real quick.  Before we could she managed to break the skin. OUCH that hurt! Not to mention it took about two weeks to heal.  Nursing continued to break open the wound making it take longer to heal.  Right after it happened my husband asked if I was ready to quit.  Not this Momma. I had a baby who wanted the best milk possible, and I had a body that was producing that yummy goodness. 

This past week Charlotte had hand, foot, and mouth disease.  For those that do not know, it is a viral infection that causes blisters and sores on the hands, feet, and mouth.  Charlotte had many sores in her mouth.  This caused it to hurt when she nursed.  She went almost 29 hours without nursing.  I pumped when I felt like I was getting full. I managed to pump over 100 ounces in that time period.   When she finally latched on it was just for a let down.  I got the milk flowing before trying to get her to latch.  This way she didn't need to do anything but swallow.  After the let down was over she let go.  It wasn't until bed time until she was able to nurse without screaming in  pain. Last night she slept very well and  we are nursing regularly now. 

Charlotte nurses first thing in the morning right after waking.  Then she nurses again with lunch, before nap time, after dinner, and before bed. She also nurses two to three times at night.  Which neither of us really wake up for. 

I am really happy we made it this far and look forward to the time we have remaining. 

The only picture I have of Owen nursing.  A week old

Charlotte at a week old. 

Charlotte three months old.

It's Party Time!

July 19th we celebrated Owen and Charlotte's birthday.  The following weekend they got another birthday celebration.

Here are some pictures from their parties.

We have a One Year Old!

Last week Charlotte turned a year old.  It is still amazing to me to say that.

She continues to nurse a few times a day and while she loves to eat solid food, she also loves her milk.  She sleeps pretty well at night, nursing two to three times.  She doesn't usually actually wake up to nurse, as she lays next to me in bed.  We have bath time, reading, and bed by 8 pm.  She tends to fall asleep pretty quick unless her brother is being silly and jumping around the bed.

She has three teeth, two on the bottom and one up top.  She also has three teeth that are so very close to breaking the gums.  All three which are on top.  With no sight of anymore bottom teeth.

Her favorite foods include green beans, ground beef, and grapes.  Food dislikes include mashed potatoes, apple sauce (not apples, just sauce), and tomatoes.

She loves reading books.  She especially loves when Owen is reading the book to her.  It is very adorable seeing these two laying together looking at books.  There are also a couple of puzzles that she enjoys pulling all of the pieces off and trying to figure out how to put them back together.  She has recently figured out how to climb on her brother's little trampoline and to bounce on it.  Her and Owen have fun chasing each other around the living room and hiding in his play house.

Over the past year she has visited Pappy Mark in Maryland for Labor Day and Memorial Day, she went to Babcia's house for Easter and her birthday.  She traveled to Pennsylvania in April to help Kristen after she broke her leg.  She also visited Pennsylvania to go camping and celebrate her birthday with all of her Pennsylvania family.  Another big trip included going to Florida for vacation.  In Florida she went to Sea World and to the beach in Ft. Lauderdale.  At the beach she loved playing in the sand (and tried eating it!)

I am amazed every day at all of the new things she is learning.  It is also amusing and adorable watching her and Owen play together.  Our next big milestone is for her to start walking.

Now enjoy some pictures from the last year.