Ian update May 31, 2008

He took his first steps Monday with his daddy!  but hasnt walked since ;)

His most recent new words (for yesterday & today) are:

throw (sounds like tow or doh and he usually will throw something while he says it)

turtle (i just learned the sign for it here. too cute)

he's trying to say "glasses" (because he always wants to take mine and put them on himself)

signs "go" and says it

just learned how to say COLD! (daddy has an icepack for his knee and its "c-c-c-coooold")

he makes a clicking noise (clucking?) and rocks back and forth for "horse" ever since he went on the pony ride last week

he did the sign for airplane once yesterday

and i just learned the sign for helicopter (too cool you have to check it out here) and i think he's trying to imitate it but i'm not sure. 

or he's just imitating something that he saw on the ASL (signlanguage) of My Book of Bible Stories. Sometimes we are watching it (or keep it on in the background) and later he will move his hands like he's doing a sign of something, but i'm usually not sure what it is.  We are watching it right now in fact and the story is #58 David & Goliath, and Ian just imitated Goliath slow motion falling forward after being hit by the stone in the head.  Too Cool!!

his favorite words are still ball (& signs it) and car and ga (which i think means "that" because he says it for anything that he points to) and Da (daddy!)

he likes going for walks! and if you say your going for a walk and then dont do it right away he starts to cry ;(

he plays catch (rolls the ball to you and waits for you to roll it back).

he loves to ride on his car (Flintstone style of course ;)

and today his daddy is teaching him how show that he's 1.

oh i love it!  i now know why its so amazing to parents when their baby learns things. its because you remember when they couldn't do anything!  and even when they couldn't do this new thing only a week ago!  and i love watching his brain work as he tries to figure out a new thing, or when he sees something he already knows and then points to it and smiles. 

too fun.

dude i totally breastfeed.

so we are at 13 months.

we are still breastfeeding.

thank goodness.

i am very glad for this.

i had always thought that i would like to breastfeed my baby until he was 2. and after researching about it on the web (kellymom.com is the best!) and talking to professionals (that i respect & agree with) and reading up on it in books, it turns out that its a very good idea. and now it looks like we are well on our way to making it to 2.

i did wonder if it was really going to happen. while i was pregnant if people asked me if i was going to breastfeed i would say "id like to" or "i hope to" or "i'm going to try to." it seemed like it was a "hope it happens" thing, kind of like how i thought natural birth was too.

but now i think about it differently.

i have read so many posts from breastfeeding mothers that have overcome some amazing things to be able to breastfeed. one had a baby who was very sick and in and out of the hospital and she wasnt able to begin successful breastfeeding at the breast until her baby was 5 months old! but she did it! and my baby niece was in the NICU after she was born for 2 weeks and her mother wasnt allowed to even try to breastfeed until the baby was 10 days old. thats hard! because its hard to get a baby interested in it later on! its so much more work. and especially for the little one who's been through the trauma of starting out life strapped down in a hospital. and for the mommy! thats so tough. they make you feel like youre not good enough to feed this baby because they cant measure and chart your milk. but even with all that they did it! and now she's a pro nurser!! she loves it! and i really think my sister is a rockstar to be able to have done that. she is my breastfeeding hero.

i have read about mothers who were able to Relactate - get their breasts to begin producing milk again. they do it to be able to breastfeed adopted babies. yes. thats right. women can make their breasts produce milk without having just given birth. seriously. that totally amazes me.

so what ive learned to change my mind about is this: you just have to really really really want to do it. then when the major obstacles come in your way you will have the desire to push through them. and you will. you will breastfeed. and know that all the other breastfeeding mommys are right there with you 100%!!

i just want to hi-5 all the nursing mommys.

A Mother's Love Never Dies

I was reading a story about what 2 mothers did during the horrible earthquake in China.  I was moved to tears.  For about 1/2 an hour.  I am still breastfeeding my 13 month old so this really hit me hard. The love of a Mother is truly one of the most beautiful things.

From The Electric New Paper, Singapore there was this article:

CHINA QUAKE
AMID THE COUNTLESS TRAGEDIES, A FEW...BRIGHT SPOTS
This female cop helps to breastfeed 8 babies
Another baby survives after a victim makes sure her child keeps on breastfeeding even after mum dies
May 20, 2008

THE earthquake in China unleashed one of the most powerful forces on earth - love.

Whether it is a mother saving her child, a female cop breastfeeding lost infants or celebrities moved to act, it was there like a comforting blanket amid the pain, grief and heartbreak.

Perhaps one of the most powerful examples of these acts of love is the last desperate act of a dying mother, trapped in the rubble, trying to save her 3-month-old baby.

Knowing the end was near, she nestled her baby to her breast, so that the baby could survive after she wasgone.

Dr Gong Pu, a 30-year-old gynaecologist told nddaily.com that rescuers were searching through rubble along a river in Chengdu when they came across a young woman cradling a baby in her bosom.

The mother had lifted up her shirt to breastfeed the baby. By the time they were found, the mother had already stopped breathing.

PROTECTING HER BABY

Said Dr Gong: 'We carried the baby carefully from the mum's arms. The baby started crying after its mouth left the mum's breast.

'It left tears in our eyes.

'From the way she was carrying the baby, we could see that the mum was doing all she can to protect her child.

A MOTHER'S  INSTINCT to protect even extended to strangers.

In Jiangyou county, policeman Jiang Xiaojuan, 29, was seen breastfeeding a rescued infant.

Mrs Jiang is still lactating as she gave birth six months ago.

However, when she heard about the quake, she left her baby in the care of her parents.

And when she saw hungry infants crying at the rescue centre, her motherly instincts took over.

She is nursing the children of three women who were left homeless by the quake and were too traumatised to give milk, as well as five orphans.

The orphans had been placed in an orphanage which does not have powdered milk.

Mrs Jiang's selfless act prompted netizens to sing praises of her on various online forums.

Some even posted MTV-style videos of her, using just that breastfeeding picture on youku.com, the Chinese equivalent of YouTube.

Said one netizen, called The Mollusc in Dayun River: 'To the most respected policewoman, I offer you the greatest salute.'

Another named Dearest Mum said: 'You have taught us what is the meaning of a mother's love.'

That's the power of compassion and it has spread.

Is that not heartwrenching?  I truly love that mother for what she did for her baby.  And nursing someone else's baby to keep him alive is amazing.  Nursing 8 babies?  Beautiful!  Thats the love of a Mommy.  It never dies.