The hardest thing...

The hardest thing about being a parent (of a newborn/infant) has to be the "not knowing".  Its so hard to know if what you're doing is the right thing for them! I realize that it probably just gets harder but man, this is tough.  My dear friend Amy says that the celebration at their 1st birthday isn't for the kid but to congratulate the parents for keeping the kid alive for a year! ha!  I feel like I'm constantly obsessing over Emily's schedule/feeding/sleeping but I just want to do the right thing for her.  

Isn't this the sweetest thing you've ever seen...
She's helping hold the book!

The one thing I know that I'm for sure doing right is breastfeeding.  Its the hardest and easiest thing I'm doing at the same time.  Easy b/c there are no bottles to make and wash but hard b/c I'm the one thats always feeding her.  (I have to say that she does get at least 1 bottle of breast milk on most days but more often than not she's nursing all day).  I love it though, I don't even mind the getting up in the middle of the night (which we're still doing most of the time but its only once so I really don't mind) and we're on a good 3 hour schedule for the most part so it isn't ALL day exactly.  I know its the best thing for her and its helping me shed those pounds I put on during pregnancy.  I am constantly looking to message boards, friends, and books for helpful tips and advice.  I plan to continue to breastfeed until she's at least 6 months old and if all is going well, on through the first year.  I recently came across this blog post that was just the sweetest and encouraging thing about breastfeeding. I urge all mommies to read it; you'll shed a tear just like I did I'm sure.  I've been blessed to be able to give the gift of breast milk to Emily. I prayed about it while I was pregnant and continue to pray that we will be able to make it through this first year.

So this week was a little challenging...she had become increasingly fussy during/after a feeding and I was getting worried that her reflux was out of control but then she began to seem to want to refuse to nurse at certain feedings. I was a hysterical mess about it...  researching nursing strikes, eliminating dairy, calling the doctor and lactation consultant, doing what ever I could (obsessing) to figure it out.  Well I still don't know what was wrong but she's eager to nurse again and I couldn't be happier. She had even slept through the night one night and I was anxious for her to wake up just so we could nurse since she was better when she was sleepy. I mean who hopes their baby wakes up in the middle of the night?!?!  I'm glad I had the patience to stick with it as well as the time to work with her during the day.  

we were trying out a new hairstyle!

Thanks for reading my long story :) The pictures aren't really relevant at telling it, I just thought they were cute and needed to add some flair to the post.  Plus I wanted to document the whole story of our little family.