No Breastfeeding in 2012

It's not so much a resolution as a statement. It's a statement that I'm completely and utterly conflicted about, but resolute none-the-less. I will miss our breastfeeding relationship. It was wonderful to stop everything and have a little one-on-one cuddle time with my favorite little person. But like everything, this too must come to an end. I'm very proud of our 20+ months of nursing. I entered this arrangement thinking it would last no longer than a year. A few months ago, I decided we'd be done before her second birthday. The last few weeks, our breastfeeding relationship kind of wrapped up on it's own.

If you read about weaning, it's always suggested to avoid weaning at stressful times, including the holidays. I was planning on starting to really wean her after the holidays had commenced. We were already down to just two sessions a day (before nap and before bed), but the hectic schedule of the holidays made my toddler too busy to remember to nurse, and I wasn't about to remind her. I kept our before bed ritual as best I could until this week. Before I knew it, three days had passed without her nursing at all due to evening plans that kept her out past her normal bedtime and falling asleep in the car. We were home all day yesterday, and she asked to be nursed a couple of times, but was easily distracted and despite following all our other nightly rituals, didn't have any problems going to sleep without it.

I'm sure if I wanted to continue nursing, I would still produce milk, but I feel that perhaps this easy weaning was an answer to my prayers for the last 8 months. I was so afraid of a tearful, painful weaning. While it is bittersweet, she doesn't seem to upset by it at all. And I can't tell you how excited I am to go out and purchase bras that don't have escape hatches and actually fit (although I'm willing to bet that the girls are not quite done shrinking yet).

2011 was a wonderful year for my family and I hope 2012 will bring new growth to our little family as we hope to start trying for baby #2 this summer. I wish you all a blessed new year and that you find joy in your families, as I have in mine.

Quick Last Minute Gift

Has this ever happened to you?

You forgot to get a hostess gift for a party you are attending later this evening. You'd rather stab a fork through your hand than go out again in that last minute Christmas shopping hell, so you grab that bottle of Pinot you were hoping to enjoy yourself. But how do you make it look like you put a little effort into the gift instead of grabbing it at a liquor store on your way to the party?

Enter: the super easy to make wine bag. It says you're thoughtful and crafty, but what your hostess doesn't have to know is that it took you less than 10 minutes to make!

First, you'll need some festive fabric, about 13 inches by 11 inches. If you have a pair of pinking shears, use these to cut your fabric, it will make your life a million times easier*. Fold the fabric in half hot-dog way (so it becomes 13x5.5"), wrong side out. Sew along the long side and one of the short sides.

Now here's the fancy part: on the sewn short end, pinch your corner and sew a triangle into the corner like this:

Repeat with the other corner. This creates a more rounded bottom to your bag. Just make sure that your seam lays in the same direction on both corners, so it doesn't look like this:

Now, flip your bag right side out, insert your bottle of wine, and tie closed with a pretty ribbon. Voila!

*If you don't have pinking shears, make your fabric 1/2 inch longer (13.5x11), fold down the top edge 1/4" twice, and sew this seam down.

Two Must Have Sewing Tutorials

I have to share these two sewing tutorials that I've found and used. They are must haves for sewing mamas with small frys. Just starting out at sewing? No worries, they are super easy to follow and don't require any advanced sewing skills.

The first tutorial is perfect for the season: flannel PJ pants! I've already made two pair for my kiddo and a pair for my nephew. My sister wanted our kids to have matching PJs for Christmas Eve, so this was the most economical solution I could find and paired them up with some Christmas Tshirts from Old Navy. I added a bow on the front since my husband was a little weirded out that the first pair didn't have a front and back.

The second tutorial is perfect for my girlie-girl. It's rare to see my daughter not carrying around a baby doll or purse, and I was tired of watching her drag around silly gift bags or reusable shopping bags as her purse. I found this super cute tutorial on how to make a purse from old jeans. The blogger uses her daughters old embellished jeans to create an adorable purse. I didn't have any old jeans of my daughters that needed to be up-cycled (and lets face it, she's only now wearing 18 months; that would be one tiny purse), so I used some pieces of my own old jeans that I had cut off and just sewed on a purple heart. If I use this tutorial again (who am I kidding; WHEN I use this again), I will avoid using the original cuff; it was too hard to sew over.

The Evolution of the Toddler

If I have learned nothing else from being a mom, it is that my daughter is constantly changing. Nothing about her is static. Everyday she learns a new word (today it is "happy"), tries out a new skill, and changes her mind about what food she likes.

Our newest and most challenging change for me is nap time. For the last almost five months, since cutting down to only one nap, our routine before nap has been very simple. After lunch and a little play time, we go up to her room, close the curtains, and nurse to sleep. Of course, some days when we're out and about, she'll fall asleep in the car, and then I'll carry her to her crib where she continues to sleep. Unfortunately, this past week, nursing to sleep has been wholly unsuccessful. Mind you, she'll fall asleep while nursing; its during the transfer where she wakes up, stands up in her crib, and screams bloody murder.

Today, we tried a completely different approach. After church, she decided she really wanted her "boobies". Ok, fine. So I told her that she could have her boobies now, but then she would have to eat lunch and for nap time she would not get boobies. She agreed, but I was skeptical. As nap time approached, I could tell she was getting quite tired. I told her again, we would go upstairs and read books, but then she would have to close her eyes and go to sleep.

Amazingly, it worked! I mimicked our bed time routine with the exception of a bath and putting on pajamas. We put on her sleep sack, turned on her music, sat in the rocking chair, and read three books. After our three books, and a quick diaper change due to an unexpected poop, I laid her down in her crib and told her night-night. I did not hear a single crab or cry on my way downstairs. I'm sitting here typing and checking the monitor and feel like I was just granted a miracle!

I'm sure with time, this wonderful stage will end and another will begin. I was once told never to get used to any stage, good or bad, because before I know, it will pass. For now, I will enjoy this small victory until the next battle begins.

Mini Ring Sling

I was so excited when I saw these super cute mini Beco's for little girls to carry their baby dolls in. I wanted to get one for my daughter and was immediately convinced that it was going to be one of her Christmas presents. But as I thought about it, I had a few concerns. First of all, would it be small enough for her? My daughter is super tiny, only in the 4th percentile for height and 2nd for weight. Then there was the whole issue of spending almost $30 for something that I might be able to make myself. While a soft-structured carrier might be a little above my skill level, I knew I could come up with something that would produce similar results.

After thinking on it awhile, I decided to make her a mini ring-sling. I had made a few regular ring slings using a tutorial on the Maya Wrap website that appears to no longer exist, so a mini ring sling should be pretty simple, right? I first had to figure out what to use as the rings. I would typically use rings purchased from SlingRings.com, but since this ring sling would be much smaller and carry plastic or fabric baby dolls, I didn't really think anything that fancy was necessary. So I found some large D-rings at Hobby Lobby and used those. I bought a yard of cute fabric and cut it in half so it was approximately 18"x45". I hemmed the long edges and secured the D-rings on one end. I looped the free end through the D-rings, tried it on my somewhat unwilling model, and found that it fit!



Mini Ring Sling!



A fabric that is "reversible" or cute on both sides might work better, but lets be honest folks, this is for my 20 month old. She doesn't mind! After making sure it fit, I hemmed the loose end and hid it so she would forget about it. It's now wrapped and waiting to be put under the tree. Yay for simple, inexpensive Christmas gifts!