My growing 9 month old

You've seem to have lost your desire to say "dada" as you made the discovery that mom is always asking you to say "mama"
And now you stand at at will whenever you're around anything you can use to lift yourself up
I cannot keep your fingers out of drawers
Or get your diapers on fast enough
I have discovered that background noise (air purifier) helps you lengthen your naps by 1/2 - 1 hr
You still don't seem to be interested in your high chair or eating your bananas
But grapes in tiny little bites will arrest your interest for maybe 5 minutes
There isn't any room in your heart right now for anyone else but your mom, but I can live with that!

Visit to the family home

Growing bigger and cuter everyday.

But we're still having trouble with sleep!

Nap times are still irregular.

Frequent stirring in the night.

Growing so fast

I used to wait impatiently for milestones.

Little did I know that when crawling time came around,

I would wish you back to your stationary former self!

Now little feet are so quick to dart away,

And little hands impossible to contain.

The daring 8-month old

Isn't he the spitting image of his uncle? *(sorry, dad!)

And we have liftoff this week -- he's able to now use furniture to help him stand up supported.

Many bumps and bruises all week long.

But you wouldn't know from the look on his face 5 minutes after the deed.
His crawling style has refined somewhat -- quite like a soldier (according to babycenter.com) "bellying through the underbrush"
 .

This is an expression we wear frequently now.

Sick

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 He was sick for 5 days.

His only symptom was a moderately high fever up to 104 degrees.

The nights were hard

Frequent crying, fussing, waking episodes

But he seems better now.

I'm very thankful.

His eczema seems to be better with the moisturing lotion that the dermatologist recommended.

You can also see his first 2 baby teeth -- adorable!

7th month self portrait

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Got too excited about being able to crawl (pushing his tush up and inching along).
Face planted onto the wood floor.
This is the after picture -- being consoled by grandpa.
Doesn't he quite resemble grandpa?  Must be the cheeks!

Welcome, Carnival of Breastfeeding readers!

The Gift of Life: Breastfeeding During A Time of War

I was born in the late 1970's in Cambodia.  At that time, the country was being ravaged by revolution and genocide.  My parents, like others at the time, were sent to a labor camp and endured starvation and malnutrition.  When my mother gave birth to me, she speaks of only having a ration of  rice porridge to eat daily during designated meal times -- grains of rice cooked in hot water.  My father risked his life to poach fish from the nearby river to feed us.  The war ended soon after my birth and my parents fled to a refugee camp.  However, the people overseeing the camp eventually led truckloads of refugees, including my parents and me, into a desolate mountain where many people died from landmines roaming the mountainside in search of food, water, and help.

I survived as an infant through such hardship because my mother breastfed me.  In a time where an estimated 20% of the population died, I survived even when food was scarce and doctors and medicine could not be found.  Breastfeeding sustained my life and my health so that I can have an opportunity to give birth to and experience the daily joy of breastfeeding my own 6-month-old son.

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Check out these posts on this month's theme (updated throughout the day):

Breastfeeding Moms Unite! - The Gift  That Keeps On Giving

Elita @ Blactating - The Gift of Confidence

The Milk Momma - Breastfeeding: My Baby's Gift to Me

Momma's Angel - The 12 Gifts of Breastfeeding

Christina at Massachusetts Friends of Midwives - The Intangible Gifts of Breastfeeding

Tanya Lieberman - A Gift I Never Expected 

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We've been having difficulty with nap time.

I'm utterly exhausted this week.

Eating

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We're starting solids this week officially.

Although he has already eaten bananas, papayas, and a spoonful of cream of corn while his grandparents were visiting before Thanksgiving.

Goal Setting

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After giving birth to Luke, I had a difficult time getting him to take the breast.  Essentially, he did not receive a feeding until nearly 18 hrs after birth.  I was so anxious because my goal was to breastfed him for at least six months.  I kept trying to get him interested in latching at the breast, but all he wanted to do was cry and turn away.  I refused to have him supplemented.  Finally, on the second day, he latched!  It was an amazing joy to see my son feeding from my breasts.  However, our difficulty did not stop there.  Although he was latching most of the time, we were having problems with trying to position him so that his latch was deep enough.  I started experiencing a lot of pain as he was feeding.  The pain persisted even though I asked all the nurses to evaluate his latch and they all told me that it looked great and that breastfeeding was "supposed to hurt at first."  The pain was unbearable at times to the point where I had to clench my teeth and point my toes during some sessions.  My nipples were cracked and blistered by the end of the second day.

However, I persisted.   Each session, I would attempt to evaluate his latch to ensure that I would get the deepest latch possible.  I also worked on different nursing positions because I began to experience terrible back and shoulder pain from constantly being hunched over  as I was nursing my son.

There was also the issue of my over supply and fast milk ejection reflex.  I was so desperate to breastfeed my son but one incident almost made me give up.  It was during the time he was experiencing his 2 - 3 weeks growth spurt.  He was literally on the breast all day long and he kept crying!  I was sure that I somehow had caused my milk supply to diminish from not drinking enough water or from forgetting to alternate to the other breast at each subsequent feeding.  Of course, now I know better.

I did relent to supplement him once.  But after that, knowing the joy I experienced as I was breastfeeding my son, I knew that I would do everything in my power to ensure that my son never received another bottle if I could help it.

And as of this week, I have met my goal of breastfeeding him for six months.  And since we've made it this far, I'm extending the time-frame of our breastfeeding relationship to one-year!

Up

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Luke in his first sitting up picture
Well, more leaning forward than anything.

* 365 project idea inspired by Georgia.  The idea became my blog inspiration.  So thanks Georgia!

Not Quite the Beginning

After nap time

Luke is almost half a year old as I finally find the time and motivation to start this blog.

Well, at least the motivation.

As for the time, I will eventually have to find bits and pieces throughout my day.