She's a really good scootcher

Here's a really short video of her latest discovery, this was taken on the 19th. She figured out how to do this about two weeks ago, she's real speedy at it now. When she goes after the cat or dog she looks so adorable with the most determined expression on, she really has no hope of keeping up with them but she's persistent enough that they get bored of running away.

Bedtime was a drain today, I think she napped to long in the afternoon. We had been outside in the sunshine all morning until 3 in the afternoon and she'd just caught a 30 minute nap in her stroller so I figured she could use some extra rest in her afternoon nap. So instead of picking her up and continueing with the evening after her nap I put her back to sleep. She fell back to sleep like a charm, I paid for it later though when she wouldn't sleep until 12am, I can't  remember the last time she was awake that late. Also, I thought I'd save myself some time and skip the bath today, turns out skipping the bath doesn't save time because she doesn't have the bath time to wind down and get ready for sleeping, not doing that again =/

Ivory's wedding was on Saturday, Lissy, Medori, Michelle, Izzie, and myself danced at the end it was super fun, I'm not much of a dancer but I was enthusiasticly imperfect and had a blast, I'm sure people watching must have been embarased enough for the both of us so I just had fun and didn't worry about what people where thinking. Besides wich, I know for a fact Medori and Melissa didn't know what they where doing and they didn't look bad at all so I figured I could do it too, just move to the beat right, I mean even Wesley can dance.

what's up at 8 months

It seems just these last two days Wesleys discovered that she can express her own preferences, this is new for me. In the past she was compliant to almost everything I could say, "it's time for a change" and tell her, "the head comes through, the hand comes through, now the other hand" and she didn't mind it that much. I could tell her "car seat time" and that was alright too. But now, she lets me know when she doesn't feel like having a shirt put on or sitting in the seat.
Of course such things still have to be accomplished, the wee one must be dressed for the weather and in her car seat when we go places, so I talk to her gently and just go about dressing her or buckling her in and she growls "ner ner ner ner rawr" and wiggles all over. When we're sitting around she doesn't just sit nice and still in your lap anymore eigther, she wiggles and squirms and twists all over to try and investigate everything she can see.
Another new development this week, she takes steps =D. She's stood when you hold her up for a long time, but now when you support her arms she'll go walking, very big steps, toes to the heavens, and sometimes she oversteps and doesn't know what to do about it so you have to help her out a little more. When she's sitting on the ground and sees something out of her reach she's very determined about investigating it. I get the impression one of these days she's going to figure out the scooching thing.

Today, in walmart there was a little kid, maybe four, who came over and was standing nearby looking up at Wesley. Wesley was so excited for some company, she squeeled with delight a couple times and tried to reach down and grab the girls nose. The whole time I was standing in line they just stared at each other, Wesley cooing and squeeling.

Rusty got lost on the other side of the highway and a trucker found her and brought her to winnipeg and called us I'm so glad she has a tag. She's home now, really scared though, it's all so strange for her.

Daddy Time

Babies

From Newborn...To 3 months, and so beautiful all the time

Sleep, an elusive concept at the moment. Our first night together in the hospital I was so tired but I couldn't sleep because that would mean closing my eyes and not seeing her. She's so beautiful, I still find myself mesmerised by her. They say I'm suposed to sleep when she sleeps but just now I can't do that because I'm enjoying her little sleeping faces too much.

I was going through grandma and grandpas photo albums earlier today and found myself especially interested in the many babies that have been in their life. I saw one of my dad at just about the age wesley is now, it makes me think how happy I am to be at this stage in life. Newly married with my first little one

I also saw a little bity Uncle Douge, Darrel, Michelle, Devin, Mackenzie, Melissa, Medori, Ginger, and Thomas. they've seen so many babies born.

High Tea

The Birthday girl and her familyall the Momans girls (though one became a Marks and another was born a Marks)

I was probably 12 the last time I had a tea party and I believe I made a fort at the top of the stairs and prepared sandwiches, cookies, and of course tea, served on moms fancy china to Lissy, Medori, and Ashley. Beck came up with the idea of having a tea party and watching Jane Austen videos all day for her birthday, it was great I am hereby thoroughly 1800s romance brainwashed. It's just to bad we didn't have time to watch them all though it would probably take another entire day to finish the rest of them.

On the way home Lissy, Medori, and I where in a car together, Wesley slept in her car seat the whole way. It felt like we where the three little girls again, Lissy and Medori where pestering each other and talking about ridiculous things.
Melissa: "I whip my hair back and forth, I whip my hair back and forth, I whip my hair back and forth"
Medori: "Lissyyyyyy" =_=;
Melissa: "Could I get salt all around that rim-rim-rim-rim? Trey? I was like, “Yo, Trey? Could I get salt all around that rim-rim-rim-rim"
Medori: "Lissssyyyyyyyy" @_@;

I was ignoring it, or teaming up with Lissy against Medori, or with Medori against Lissy I believe though, I've matured enough to just do it for fun now and to know when to stop, not to enjoy seeing someone pestered as I used to.

From our drive we concluded that Medori makes a straightforward snow whisperer but my methods seem more mystical.
Medori: "the snow says there's a van in front of us"
Meghan: "The alighnment of the flakes tell us the road is clear and we should make it home safely"

Since Whitefish last summer I was trying to describe the kind of fog we saw on the road in and driving home I think I finally found the right words, "the fog clustered in transparent pools above the road" Lissy and Medori had some conversation about the fog too.
Medori: "the fog is dense like Lissy"
Melissa: "what do me and fog have in common?"
Medori: "mostly the dense part with fog being a more distant relative"

New Mom Update

Me and my little girl having a momentStaying warm by the fire after a bath
So being a mother has consumed most of my life as of late... actually, all of my life has been taken over by this new joyous task of baby raising. She's over two months old now and it has been two months with some of the most amazing and most stressfull moments in my own 22 years of life.

One of the most precious moments in my life was when she was born. I asked to hold her immediately and as the screaming little body was placed on my belly she calmed down and silently rested there, we both where so content. I looked down at her and instantly loved the little warm infant, I thought she was beautiful.

Ten minutes felt like seconds and the doctor was asking to cut the cord and take her away to do their check up stuff I didn't want to part with her but I hesitantly allowed them to take her away. The next afternoon we headed home and I set up my room like the hospital with everything near by so that I didn't even need to leave the bed to care for her it was very convenient. Mom came over and helped out with a lot of stuff.

To forwarn you, an account of my breastfeeding exprience ahead,

After three days we discovered she wasn't gaining weight properly and wasn't sucking well so whenever she wasn't sleeping she was crying and after three more stressful days of trying, waking her up every two hours to try get her to eat, I finally had to start using some formula, feeding her has been the most stressful aspect of these few months I've had with her, I can only imagine how simple things would have been if breastfeeding had gone smoothly.

As it is, I had to start pumping and couldn't get Wesley to latch or if she did she didn't suckle much at all. Over the course of time I've tried all kinds of things, waking her every three hours, cup feeding, finger feeding, nipple shield, kangaroo care, chiropractor visits all to get her to latch and pumping, herbal supplements, and domperidone to keep my milk supply up. Over the course of time I spent hours reading up on all the information I could find on what other people have done in my situation. Sometimes I figured I would just have to accept my role in her life as a mom who was going to pump milk for her and bottle feed her for the first year of life, sometimes I was close to giving up completely. I don't know what's wrong with me but somehow giving up just isn't an option I supose I'm incrediby stubborn that way and it finally seems to be paying off!!

At just about three months she is finally a latching baby and it takes a bit of training on my part to get used to this idea, I always nurse her before bottle feedings now and she is needing less and less bottle feedings all the time. Bottle feeding is so much more convenient in public right, so I have to train myself not to resort to it out of embarasment. I have a nursing baby I just have to get used to the idea of being a nursing mama.

Thoughts that kept me going:
"It's not going to happen quickly this will be two steps forward one step back" A breastfeeding friend of mine from church told me that her son got frustrated with bottle feeding because it was to slow for him so I figured aha! "A key component to this is getting enough milk for her to prefer me to the bottle." And when I did get her latched on and she was barely sucking (as usual) or just sitting there I would just leave her there as long as it wasn't time for me to pump or she wasn't searching for some sustinence "comfort nursing first, then as she begins to associate the breast with food nutritive nursing would follow naturaly" I also left her there thinking to myself, "she's learning, this is learning time for her as she figures this out"

Once she hit 12 pounds I let her set her own sleep schedual and wake and sleep all she liked. I believe our first real breakthrough happened when I sat on the couch, put her on a pillow latched on and lay my head on the back of the couch and fell asleep. Over time we found out how to lay down on the couch with her on my stomach resting in my one arm which was suported by the back of the couch, our most recent accomplishment is the side lying possition which we both love.

Eventually I believe it was shear persistance and some grace from God for all the patience that made it work.

Happy Birthdays

Yesterday I celebrated my 22nd year since my birth, and our little girl celebrated her first full day. The instant I saw her I thought she was beautiful. I heard it's normal to think your baby's funny looking, but after working all night to see her and waiting these fourty weeks watching her come into the doctors hands was the most amazing sight.

I woke up at six in the morning on the fifth and started feeling occational tightening in my lower abs and stomach but it was so mild and infrequent I figured I should get some extra rest in case I didn't have another chance later so slept until 11.

In the afternoon Wade and I went over to Jed and Lindsays. I watched the girls while Wade and Jed went to switch the cars tires afterwards we where invited to my parents house for waffles and ice cream. I napped about two hours or so and Wade went out and mowed the lawn with the tractor before having some waffles. We left about 9pm. All day the abdomen tightening had continued and where becoming more frequent so to be on the safe side Wade and I headed to the hospital.

While waiting for the doctor Wade asked what I thought it would be, "I'm going to say a girl, but I know I'm going to be wrong" he said, "me too I think it's a girl but I'm going to be wrong." We where set on a boys name but still uncertain about a girls middle name we both liked Anya and Claire so we did rock paper scissors, I think secretly I wanted Claire to win though.

The doctor talked about inducing in the morning if things hadn't started on their own and that I should walk around until midnight and if nothing happened get some rest, I walked until midnight then lay down to rest and boo hoo couldn't sleep because they where to strong and frequent, I was a bit bummed out that I wasn't going to be getting to sleep

needless to say, by 8:55 the next morning we had our very own little daughter and we named her Wesley Claire.