WEANED!

I’ve been a wee bit nervous that Pickle would still be nursing once our next baby arrives. My goal was always to have her weaned by 9 months, and as of this weekend we’ve successfully cut out the wee hours of the morning feed and she is sleeping through the night! I say “we” because there is no way on God’s green earth I could have done this without the support and help of Mr. Burley. We decided to cut out the last feed beginning on a friday night so it would give her time to be adjusted once my husband had to go back to work on Monday and couldn’t get up with her during the evening snuggle time. It feels so amazing to have set a goal and stuck to it.

Now, I’m looking forward to our night away while Auntie, Uncle and the cousins entertain Pickle (and entertain they sure do!) she loves going to their house so it will be so nice to know that she is able to sleep through the night while there. I feel excited for her. She’s leaping through these milestones at what feels like just the right pace. Weaning wasn’t traumatic for her or for me, it did require consistency on my part and a few sleep deprived nights, but the reward is well worth it! Now if she fusses in the night, a snuggle with mommy and rock will put her back into a peaceful sleep. She’s happier, more rested, and I’m feeling very much more rested. You don’t realize how tired you were until you no longer are getting up every 2 hours through the night. Pickle now drinks her milk happily, drinking on her own with a sip cup. I’m so proud of my little trooper! And thankful that she won’t associate the arrival of her little brother or sister with the end of nursing.

Now… just to master the potty 🙂

Releasing a Pickle

Here we are again… nap time. Its a funny thing these naps.. I have to keep myself busy or I just get so bored. When Pickle was a newborn I would lay beside her little sleeping body and wonder when we would be able to play and when her nap would be over. I never minded the sleepless nights. I was so in awe of how beautiful she was and how adorable every coo she made was. Its hard to believe that these past 9 months have gone by as quickly as they have. Its tempting to be saddened by this but I must remember that each new discovery she makes is one step closer towards independence and towards the destiny God has for her. I’m her mom, not her owner. I’m her to teach and release.

I began the process of releasing my daughter while I was pregnant. I had waited so long and desired so badly to be a mom that I knew I would need an extra measure of grace to release her the proper way, with excitement for her and joy and not mourning. I love my little family, I love this new little one on the way. In less then a month I will find out if Pickle will have a little brother or sister and I cannot wait! This child too, I must pray God’s will and not my own for. So that he or she is free to be themselves. 

Being a parent is an amazing thing. Pickle is now weaned, drinking from a sip cup, eating independently and beginning to crawl. She’s working on her 6th tooth and has the personality of a full grown person stuffed inside her tiny body. She keeps me going. All those nights of waiting for our play time, and here it is. We play all the time. Lego, blocks, read, puppets.. you name it. My husband and I have decided to simplify our lives in this season so as not to become distracted. We don’t have cable, are currently looking for buyers of our iPhones so we can downgrade to a text only phone, have gotten off Facebook and have become more involved in our community. Going to free community events, library outings and for walks. It feels nice to disconnect and reengage in true living. 

Life’s to short for distraction. 

-Kate 

Little Fish!

Tonight we took Pickle to do one of her favourite things.. swim. I think this child is part fish. Her first time in the pool was at the ripe ol’ age of 2 months. I will never forget that experience. That’s when we were still packing her entire nursery for a trip 3 feet outside the front door. We have since become wet wipe forgetters and the parents who give “wing’n it” a whole new meaning. Oh no. We are not slackers. We are just not as scared of all the parenting unknowns as we use to be and have learned that Pickle is much more adaptable then we realized. However, on that first swimming trip, we somehow managed to forget towels… TOWELS! for the lot of us. It was horrible. Canadian winter, swimming and being towel-less just do not mix. My only wish is that we had realized this BEFORE taking the plunge. We managed though. I dried myself off in a bathroom stall with toilet paper, left Pickle with Mr. Burley in the pool so she would stay somewhat warm. I didn’t realize, whilst drying myself with single-ply, that Mr. B and our little fish were in the men’s change room due to a minor melt down on Pickles part. The screams of an infant just echo so beautifully off aquatic centre walls. When I finally got to my little lady, she was done. I wrapped her in my sweater, dried her off and got her bundled in a warm sleeper.

My parenting advice for today.. when taking your newborn swimming, take a towel for the little dumpling, otherwise people will think you’re not a perfect parent or something. It was an adventure to be certain. Now, by some miracle, that experience was not traumatic for Pickle and she still loves the water. She kicks her legs, splashes and laughs the whole time. It’s an awesome family outing. One that I am so thankful we are blessed to be able to do as often as we do.

Happy Parenting 🙂

Kate