Bittersweet

As a new mom, if there's one thing I've learned it's that your child will rarely do things the way you expect. You pretty much get that memo the first time they poop mid-newborn-diaper-change and you wonder HOW something so small can shoot poop like that??What you expected? Not so much.

I expected that after happily breastfeeding for 9 months, Josie would happily continue until I decided to wean her. I expected there to be an epic battle at that time as well. Tears would be shed by both of us. There would be sleepless nights. Wailing and gnashing of teeth and all that.

Then somewhere around the 10 month mark, she seemed to lose interest in nursing. I thought it was a phase. Teething. Distractions. I tried all the tricks to get her interested again and none of them worked. She would literally push the breast away and scream, or worse, BITE ME. Yeah, that wasn't cool. Not cool at all. I kept trying though. "They" all say a baby won't self-wean before a year. "They" also said I should go topless and bra-less around my house all day so she could nurse "here and there, whenever she felt like it". Um, no. I have windows and neighbors. And frankly, that just made me feel like Bessie the old milk cow with her udders just flopping in the breeze, available for milking whenever and wherever. I've decided to stop listening to the mysterious, all-knowing "they" that populates the internet and especially likes to give advice on parenting.

So, quietly and with no fuss (at least not from Josie - her mom is another story) Josie has weaned from breastfeeding almost completely now at 11 months. I'm thankful it was so painless, but it's bittersweet all the same. An era of our mommy-daughter relationship has come to an end. A really cool thing my body was able to do - providing nourishment for a whole other person - is ending too. I'm losing my membership to the exclusive boob juice club. It's no longer even marginally acceptable for me to whip out a boob in public. But mostly... My baby isn't quite so much a baby anymore! Already she doesn't need me quite as much! How did this happen?

I'm not quite sure how days can pass so slowly, and yet the months and years just seem to fly right by. It's one of the great mysteries of life, one way too deep for me to ever grasp.

The next surprise Josie had in store for me? A milk allergy! Her pediatrician said she could have regular whole milk instead of formula, so we tried it. She didn't hate it like I was afraid she would. Unfortunately, her little body didn't feel the same way about it. She broke out in a rash on her face and puked it back up about 10 minutes later. A second attempt, just to make sure the first time wasn't a fluke, garnered the same results. So while I expected to be buying a gallon of whole milk for a couple bucks a week,  instead I'm buying goat's milk by the quart at $3.50 a pop. Yeee-ouch. The other alternative was soy milk, but apparently that will cause her to grow boobs when she's three or something (according to "them" again), so we're going with the milk from the golden goat's teat. (At that price, it's gotta be golden, right??)

As for me? My boobs are my own again, but already I miss that special, quiet, connected time during nursing. Another reminder to live in the moment and cherish every single one as they pass.

Bored

I don't believe in boredom. I'm mom to a "Little Miss Independent" 11-month-old speed-crawler who's apparently determined to give herself at-home shock therapy (meaning she won't leave the damn electrical outlets alone and has already figured out how to remove those little cover thingies too - which then just become a hazard of their own because she tries to choke on them which is simply AWESOME!) That was a heck of a run-on sentence, but it conveys my state of mind well so I'm leaving it alone. Anywho... I also work full-time if you count both jobs. And if you read my last post, you know I'm all about the multi-tasking and keeping busy.

I don't believe in boredom, but today it occurred to me that this feeling I've been having, this nagging sensation that's almost like anxiety, but not quite... Almost exhaustion, but nope, that's not it either... IS BOREDOM! I have plenty of STUFF to do, and plenty to keep me busy, but my BRAIN is like, screaming... "Stimulate me! Quit Facebook stalking people who have cool things to do and go do something cool so people can stalk you!" Er. Uh. Something like that anyway.

I need a hobby, a pastime, a PASSION. And I'm open to suggestions.

Multi-Tasking

I think I've forgotten how to do just one thing at a time. Seriously. Last night, I realized this as I was taking a shower and cleaning the shower stall at the same time. (Works nicely, by the way. You're all wet anyway, the shower is all wet - just make sure you don't accidentally mix up the mold and mildew killer with your body wash and you're good to go.)

I get dressed while feeding the Bean her breakfast. I clean the basement whenever I go down to do a load of laundry. I sweep the kitchen floor while cooking dinner. You get the idea.

And all of this is great and productive and good time-management etc. BUT (you knew a but was coming) it can be taken too far. If anyone is going to take a good idea and run with it right into speeding traffic, it's gonna be me. Some guidelines so the same doesn't happen to you, fellow multi-taskers:

1) Nothing else should be done while cleaning the toilet. Nothing. Trust me on this. Or while using it, for that matter. Some things are just sacred.

2) I never "waste" a trip upstairs by not carrying something with me that needs to go up there. It's like, TEN steps or something. That's a lot. BUT don't get carried away. It's also a long way to fall if you're carrying so much you can't see your feet.

3) You cannot do ANYTHING with a cat while you have a vacuum running. Just don't bother trying. You will get hurt. Especially if you get the brilliant idea to vacuum the cat (thereby taking care of the shedding problem at the source, instead of after the fact!) Great in theory, but don't bother trying to put it into practice.

4) Water and electricity don't play nicely together. Fo realz. Nuf said.

5) God gave us two hands for a reason. Our one brain can only go in so many directions at once. Which is why, when we try to do too much at once, we forget things like the whole water/electricity thing in #4.

Be careful out there!