two months left!

One of my favorite mommy blogs that I've come across so far (there are soooooo many really great ones that I'm sure I've yet to stroll across) is Harper's Happenings. And one of my favorite features on her blog is Steppin' Out Saturdays. Basically it's a link party where mommy bloggers can post links to their blogs where they showcase their style. It's very inspiring to look at other mommy's that manage to look cute at least once a week to get out of that pajama funk that a lot of stay-at-home mom's (and working moms too) fall into. I know I can definitely say it is hard for me to put in any effort in the getting dressed department, and there are a lot of days where I take a shower just to get right back in some pj's. But, as JC has adapted to a pretty predictable schedule, I manage to shower, get dressed, and do my makeup most days while he takes his morning nap. It really helps get the day going, even if I'm just going to hang around the house. It also makes it easier if we do decide to get out. All I have to do is get him ready because I'm ready to go. So anyway, I've lurked the Steppin' Out link party a few times and we went to a friend's baby shower yesterday so it gave me the perfect excuse to join in! So here is my entry for a Steppin' Out Sunday!

On me

Dress, Nordstrom Rack

Shoes, Old Navy

On JC

Shirt, hand-me-down

Jeans, Target

Shoes, Babies 'R Us

No need to adjust your screens, my legs are really that pasty. It's really bad. I don't know how JC is only half Mexican and he looks more tan than I do. Maybe he gets his GTL on while I'm sleeping. I will say, after seeing this picture, I spent some time sitting in the backyard reading Bossypants until I got too sweaty. 

Every time I put on a dress, I always say to myself, "why don't I wear dresses more often?? They're comfortable, flattering, and easy!" Then I have to nurse JC and I remember why I don't wear dresses. I literally had to take it off to feed him, so that really wouldn't work too well if I had to feed him out in public. But I won't have to worry about that too much longer because yesterday was JC's 11 month birthday!!!

Which leads me to my post title, LESS THAN TWO MORE MONTHS OF NURSING!!!  Yay!!!! I can't believe we've almost made it to one year. My plan is to stick to our nursing schedule as it has been for the past couple of months (first thing in the morning, after his morning nap, after his afternoon nap, and then right before bed) until he's one, then start dropping a feeding and waiting about 3-4 days before I drop another. So hopefully, we will be done weaning before he's 13 months old. 

As much as I am ready to have my body back to myself, I will really miss nursing my little baby man. It really has helped create this great bond between us. At first, I was a little bitter that I was the only one who could feed JC so I had to be the one to get up and take care of him every 2-3 hours and Charles got to sleep. But later, I felt grateful that I was the only one who could feed our baby. If we were out somewhere, it was nice to be able to step aside and have a nice quiet moment between us. After you have a baby, it's so weird to have them out in the world and no longer all to yourself, rolling around in your belly. Breastfeeding let me feel like I still got to have a little piece of him all to myself.

I never thought that breastfeeding would be as important to me as it has become. Before I got pregnant, I was pretty apathetic about breastfeeding or formula feeding. I was only formula fed and I turned out ok, right? Charles was actually the one who was really adamant about me breastfeeding our kids. I was like, geez ok I'll think about it! Then when I actually got pregnant and felt this little life growing inside me, I knew breastfeeding was the right choice for me. And really, we've been blessed with how well it has gone. I know a lot of people who have had problems with breastfeeding and I visited thebump.com message boards ALL THE TIME when I was pregnant and right after JC was born so I saw a lot of women having difficulties with breastfeeding there too. And there were times that I wanted to give up, when I thought it was too much work, hurt too much, or when I just wanted my body back for myself. But luckily I have a lot of very supportive people in my life and I knew once I muscled through the first couple of months, it would get easier and I would learn to actually enjoy it. Honestly, I still think that formula feeding is a completely fine way to feed your kid. It's really just personal preference and no one has any right to judge anyone else on how they decide to feed their baby. For me, I've found that breastfeeding has been so much easier and works perfectly for our family. 

So if any mamas have weaning advice, I'd love to hear it! Leave me a comment because I need all the help I can get!