On Breastfeeding: The Final Edition

I have written about my experience and thoughts on breastfeeding here, here and here.  Breastfeeding has been a huge (HUGE) part of my mothering and becoming a mother.  I worked very hard at making sure Crosby was breastmilk fed for his first year.  Once he turned One, I retired the pump and Crosby nursed only when with me.  At One we introduced rice milk in a sippy cup and regular cup.  I thought Crosby would gradually wean himself and was as surprised as anyone when he was still happily nursing by his second birthday.  Crosby would like a nurse before naps and bedtime if it was me putting him down (or if he knew I was in the house!) and also when he awoke in the morning.  My favourite times were in the morning in bed, it was such a lovely way to wake up, quietly dozing with him alongside me.

I have to admit though, by 2 I was quite over breastfeeding.  I didn’t really know how to wean Crosby and I knew I wouldn’t be able to cut him off completely if I was around.  So, when David and I went to Bali in August for 7days, I thought that would be the weaning moment.  Surely with me being gone for a week, he would move on from it.  And surely with a week off, my supply would stop.  I cried the day before leaving every time we nursed, thinking this would be the last time.  I felt a little guilty.  And I questioned if Crosby and I were ready.   The first three days in Bali were quite painful, for me.  My mum would email me saying that Crosby was quite happy and didn’t seem to miss it one bit.  So we were all surprised that the morning I got back, Crosby jumped into my lap and settled in for a nursing session.  Yeah, no weaning happened and my supply returned.

Since August, Crosby maintained a one to two nurses a day habit.  Always the morning nurse (which in all honesty I was happy to keep) and the occasional nurse before bed.  It became easier for me to do the bedtime routine without a breastfeed, and it also became easier to give Crosby a cuddle instead when he asked for a nurse.  A few weeks ago, it was Monday and I realised that the last time Crosby had nursed was the Thursday prior.  On the Tuesday he asked for one, and I said “no more, all done” and he giggled and that was the end of it.  Crosby will still occasionally ask for a ‘nurse’ and I will tell him that there is no more and if he is thirsty give him some rice milk or water, or if he is sooky or has hurt himself, give him a cuddle.  Interestingly, this surprise gentle weaning was accompanied with absolutely no discomfort or pain.  I guess, it was how it was meant to be.  Like most of my experiences with being Crosby’s mother, I fret and stress over little things, and in the end when left in Crosby’s hands, at his speed or level, these fretful milestones and developments just seem to happen with little fanfare and we all just move on.

And so at 29months, Crosby has quit the boob.  When I started this journey, I surely did not think it would be as long as it was.  But I am glad I persevered at this most natural basic mothering instinct.  And I am really (really really) happy to have arrived on the other side.

So, its been awhile.

I feel a little naughty for my absence in this space.  Even though right now I have more time to commit to writing and sharing here, it  has not been a priority for me.  And the longer I was away, the harder it was to come back. 

I just didn’t know where to start up again. 

I last updated this here blog with a recap of Crosby’s 2nd birthday in July.  Since then, I have begun a new job 4 days a week which I love and is awesome and exciting and draining and tiring.  But that is all for another post.

David and I went to Bali sans Crosby for 7 days in August and that was fabulous!  

My older brother and two kidlets recently visited Western Australia (from New South Wales) and it was beyond fantastic to have Crosby play with his cousins, and be old enough to really interact with them – especially his 4 yr old cousin, Lincoln.

David has started the bush fire fighting season again and has already had a few fires, it’s going to be a hot, dry summer.

I have been catching up with lots of friends and their children and drinking lots of wine and just really enjoying the Southern Coastal Spring. 

I have still been doing quite a bit of sewing, having made outfits for a few bubs on the way and some new duds for Crosby.  I have just gifted my first ever pieced quilt – eek!

 

Crosby is growing up fast these days.  His speech is coming along thick and fast and his little (fun, cheeky, defiant) personality is beginning to shine through.  Quite suddenly it seems, Crosby is venturing away from my embrace and exploring his relationship with his Dad.  David, is far more entertaining than I for a little boy, what with motorbikes and skateboards and power tools. 

On a whole, life is good. 

::Turning Two::

Crosby turned TWO on July 6th.  Boy is two a fun age!  I really wanted to throw him a little party as he such a social animal AND as a way to get lots of new and old friends together at our place. 

I went with a 4th of July barbecue theme with lots of red, white & blue and stars.  Crosby loves stars.  I made star garlands out of fimo/sculpey clay.  I also made triangle (pennant) bunting using stiff felt and bias tape.  I strung the garlands from windows and draped across walls.  Actually the red and white details I figure I can reuse as Christmas decorations.

I have seen alot of washi tape on many of the blogs I frequent, so I purchased some in various red, white and blue patterns and used that to make little cupcake flags and the cake bunting.  The washi tape was also great for making the ’2′ decal on the mirror in our entryway and useful for hanging all the garlands and bunting.

We went pretty simple on the food, which was a good thing as not much was eaten!  The party was on a Sunday from 2.30 – 5.30pm and although the kids all had a bite to eat, not many of the adults did, I guess it wasn’t really eating time.  Anyway, in the American BBQ theme, we served: crock pot mac n cheese, melon, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (cut into stars!), apple & cheddar salad, potato salad and hot dogs.

I wish I took some more photos of the food, besides the one above at a distance.  Oh well.  We pushed our dining table up against the front window to make more ‘milling’ room and had all the food on there.  On the other side of the room I threw a red tablecloth on my buffets and had all the deserts set up.

 

I asked my mum to make batches of red, white & blue play doh using her Thermomix.  My parents couldn’t make the party as they were in NSW looking after my brothers’ kids, so it was nice that I could incorporate my mum somehow.  I portioned the play doh into little containers and this was the party gift to all the kids (6 2yr olds!). 

For the sweets, I made a gazillion star sugar cookies with royal icing.  A few of the kids discovered these and went crazy on them (hello, sugar!) but otherwise they weren’t really touched. 

I made a dozen or so regular and two dozen mini sized crimson velveteen cupcakes with old fashioned icing AKA vegan red velvet cupcakes with fake royal icing.  These were the bomb!  This recipe is from my much loved and well used Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  Highly recommend.

For the birthday cake I was inspired by all the Flag Cakes I saw on Pinterest and thought I would try my hand at one of those.  Although the cake worked – when it was cut into it looked like the American flag – it wasn’t as neat as I would have liked it to have been.  However, it was a big hit and it did taste great.

All of these photos (besides the cut cake) were taken frantically before the guests arrived.  I may do another post with some action shots from the party.  I have become increasingly frustrated with my camera as it is not producing the image quality I want, and I think after this little shin dig it has confirmed that we need a new camera!

Anyway, for now, I will leave you with a picture of the birthday boy digging into his cake! 

Love this guy!

Catching Up

It really has been a busy few months.  Big changes have happened in our little household, the biggest being I quit my job!  Perhaps I will go into it more in another post, but suffice to say that working 50 hours a week and commuting 12 hours a week just wasn’t worth it.  I think Crosby is happier.

We have instituted Friday Pizza Nights!  Frustrated by a lack of good pizza in our area, we started making our own using this recipe.  It is awesome and tasty and makes more than enough dough for a few Fridays.  Crosby likes to help with the dough-making, and sneaks a few bites every now and then.

Since moving to Australia, we have begun to eat meat.  This is a big deal for David as he was a vegan (and then vegetarian) since he was 19!  I was vegetarian throughout my pregnancy with Crosby, and we only introduced meat to our family since Crosby was about 18months old.  Crosby is more of a carbs, cheese and watermelon guy these days (aren’t all 2 yr olds!?) and only eats meat a handful of times a week.

Crosby is being slowly introduced to the potty.  We are not potty-training per se, just sitting on the toilet every night before bath and pretending to wipe bottoms and what not.  I am trying to take a no-pressure-do-it-in-your-own-time approach and hopefully that will work with limited potty trauma!

Oh so fun getting all dolled up and catching up with friends!

We have had a new addition to my family – Lily Mae!  My younger brother had his second child in June.  She is adorable and a welcome addition for the cousins.

We have also had a big birthday!  Crosby turned TWO on July 6th and we had an Independence Day themed birthday for the little Aussie-American that he is.  More details on that extravaganza another time.

Although I am working on a part-time casual basis, I do hope to find more time to frequent this space more often.  I hope you do too!

 

A Summer Collection

At the end of May my little niece, Matia, turned two.  As I told my sister-in-law, I remember holding Matia when she was a few days old, so tiny perched on top of my pregnant belly and her and Crosby (in my belly) were hiccuping in unison.  Such a fun and special memory.

These days we are oceans apart so I wanted to make Matia a fun collection of clothes, a Summer Collection if you will, to take her through the Northern Summer.  I love making handmades for others, but sometimes I am not sure if the receiver appreciates the gift of a handmade.  Even a poorly-made handmade is special.  Handmades are infused with time, love and thought.  Before I set out to make anything for others, I do think long and hard about what they would like, what patterns or style would suit them and their needs.  And then the process of picking patterns, tracing patterns, picking fabric and notions, purchasing fabric and notions, making the garment — that all takes time, energy, thought, money and love. 

Luckily, I know Ellen appreciates all the handmades she receives from me for her girls.  I know this because Ellen tells me so.  She sends photos of her girls rocking the outfits I spent so long creating for them.  And her girls wear them, alot.  That makes me feel good and that my time and effort was worth it and appreciated.  And I know Ellen loves that her girls are rocking some fun clothes that noone else has!

So I made Matia a Summer Collection with no-pink-in-sight!

I wanted a mix & match set that would all go together, as well as would be easily paired with white and pink tees from big box stores. 

I made a pair of the Basic Pocket Pants, a Sweet Dress, quick change trousers shorts, modified sweet dress into a flutter-sleeve top and the Little Cap with a flower applique.  I used some Anna Maria Horner fabric, some Kona cotton solids, and the yellow is a designer from Westminster fabrics that I cannot remember the name of.

On the dress and top I did the little bunting tags again so that the front/back is easily found.  These are the fun surprise details that are only found on handmades.

When making the Basic Pocket Pants, I used the same alterations that I did on the second pair I made for Crosby (higher back rise, lower in the front) and this time I contrast stitched the pockets to the front of the pants as I have found that in the pairs I made Crosby the pockets tended to gape a bit.  Can I tell you that I love this fabric/colour combination! 

See how they coordinate?  I had so much fun putting this little collection together for Matia.  It was a nice change of pace to be working with girlier fabrics (that I am more inclined to).   Ellen has since sent me photos of Matia wearing some of the outfits, and she looks even better than I imagined. 

Matia also received some toddler crayons and a headband in her birthday package (which arrived a week late – sorry!).  This was a really fun project for me – from conception right through to shipping it off I had so much fun making these clothes for such a fun and vibrant 2 year old. 

Oh, and you know I had Crosby model the fit on that dress!!

KCWC – Day 7 and Done!

Wow.  I was really good about doing a little bit of kid sewing throughout the whole KCWC challenge.  And yet, when it came to this final post and reveal of the final outfit I made for my boy, well, it has languished in my drafts folder for almost 2 weeks!  I blame it on working full-time, a teething toddler and beginning another big sewing project.

In any case, to wrap up KCWC I wanted to show just how big that first pair of track suit pants and jumper was on Crosby.

See, it is far too big.  But that is ok, I have put it away for next Winter.

So on the last day of KCWC I made the same track suit but in the size smaller.   This time I did add the little pocket as detailed in the pattern, using left over grey star fabric.

The pants turned out awesome!  They fit Crosby so well and are casual, comfortable and cozy.  So that David (and I) can tell back from front, I added a tag with the star fabric when sewing the waistband.  This is such a simple touch that just raises the cute personal factor.  I am going to try to remember to add tags to all his pants from now on.

Unfortunately, the smaller size jumper is too small!  I have decided that I do not like this pattern as it is. To fit Crosby’s little body which is longer than it is wide (not a bad way to be), I will have to make some alterations to the pattern pieces before making it again.  I would like to make him some vests for Winter, and might use this pattern as a guide, but we will see.

So almost 3 weeks late, that is the end of Kids Clothing Week Challenge!  I had lots of fun, am so happy with my successes (and failures, all part of the learning) and Crosby has some new clothes for Winter.

KCWC Day 6 – Oh For Cute!

Yesterday was day 6 out of 7 for Kids Clothes Week Challenge and I had quite the productive sewing Saturday.  Between the child, husband, swimming lessons, housework etcetera, I managed to cut the pattern pieces and fabric for the smaller sized track suit attempted on KCWC day 3.   Then, late in the night I finished the second pair of Basic Pocket Pants that I have made this week.

Umm yeah, I love how these turned out.  I modified the pattern a little to better fit Crosby.  The first pair were not high enough in the rise at the back and were too high in the front, causing ‘saggy crotch’.  Not a good look.  As I had already cut these before putting the first pair together, the modifications happened as I went.  The first pair were also a little long, so I sewed the back pieces on higher and then kind of cut the pants high in the back and lower in the front before adding the waistband.

These pants are made with less than one metre of pinwhale corduroy that I got on sale for $6.50/m.  The green corduroy is left over from my couch pillow covers that I made about 4 years ago.  It is also the same corduroy used in this hat, which is Oh.For.Cute when worn together!

Crosby quite happily obliged with the photo shoot against a blank wall.  It was much easier to try to capture him with our slow camera, although he wasn’t still for long.  Oh, and he accesorised with his toy car-key, which was a perfect addition to the car attire.

It didn’t take him long to discover the pockets either.  He is not quite sure yet exactly what to do with pockets, but I imagine he will figure it out soon enough.  Pockets are a must for little boys, don’t you think?

 Definitely.