A Walker and a Weener!

Look what happened the day before Mother's Day!

She took her first official STEPS!!!!! ( she had taken two steps before, but nothing like this!)Bekah and I were at a neighborhood pool with Mary Pat, Ryan and Evie and suddenly, Mary Pat looked at me, and exclaimed, "Since when did Bekah start walking????!!" Teehee, it was almost like she was a bit upset with me for not telling her! I then looked over at my daughter and sure enough, she is walking like a zombie towards the pool! NOW, that sounds really bad, it was a zero incline pool and so it wasn't like she was in immediate danger, I had simply looked over at Mary Pat for a second, then, that's when it happend! And what a blessing that IPhone is because Daddy was on call that day, so Mary Pat whipped it out and started shooting! Zack had actually called that very moment and you can see me "gabbing away" as my baby girl is taking her first steps, I promise, I wouldn't have answered the phone had it been anyone else! It was so cool that daddy got to "be there with us!" Mary Pat, you are just the best for helping us capture this moment!

And so, now I understand how it is to have your child start "walking" because it really isn't always an instentaneous thing, it happens in little stages. Like after she did all that walking at the pool ( Mary Pat has like 5 videos!), she really wasn't too interested in doing that again for another day or two, and then, even at that, it was in short intervals, when it felt "crucial" to get to where she was going, as you see below in the first video on the L. The next video is about 5 days later, definitely showing her confidence and steadiness ( at times : ) ) improving:

Now, given that she is a walker, you know what else she did that Mother's Day Weekend??? She was weened! Do you want to know how badly I wanted to title this post, "My Walking Weener?" Teehee! Us weener dog owners just don't think twice about that word the way the rest of the world does! Anyways, I nursed her for the last time, Mother's Day Night! And to document how it went, I thought, taking pictures of my two little "weeners" together would only be appropriate!

(sorry about the underlining, I coudn't get it to come off!)

In my last post, I had said that I dropped a feeding about once a week (starting when she turned one, when I was nursing her 3X a day), give or take some days due to her being sick. Mother's Day night was about a week after I dropped her 2nd to last feeding and it was such a conflict of emotions with how I felt about it, I was looking forward to the day, but then again, wasn't! I guess it is the perfect way to feel, to appreciate and enjoy something that you did, but to be ready to move on. When I nursed her for the last time I am so grateful for remembering to pray during those moments and just thank God for making it such a wonderful experience for the both of us, I couldn't have asked for a better nursing experience! Teething has been challenging, we have had our fair share of illnesses, and we are certainly a picky eater, but nursing has been a smooth and natural thing for the both of us and I can't tell you how grateful I am for that, my prayers were certainly answered there.

Monday night, I made sure to be out of the house during bedtime and went to work out. I thought it might be easier for Bekah to take the sippy cup of milk without me being there. Zack said she did say my name over and over as he was rocking her to sleep, which really did break my heart when I heard that . .. After about a minute of that and fussing, she, I hate to write it, but I guess, "just gave up" and had a wonderful night of sleep, just like any other. For about another 4-5 nights I think she would sort of fuss around that time, maybe reminding me that she would prefer me, but with lots of cuddling, book reading and Praise Baby watching, we moved past it and she drank her milk for the most part.

It has basically been smooth and as good as I could have asked for, her sleeping hasn't changed and she is just as cuddly, if even more so! Some good advice I recieved from my mother in law was, during the weening process, take note of how she may need some extra love in care, by sitting them in your lap and reading to her more than normal, cuddling, hugging, kissing, just all the things we usually do, but just to step it up a notch, for her to get that love in other ways. It was valuable advice that I really took note of.


For this photo shoot, Bekah naturally had to wear her wiener dog onsie, being the weener that she is!

"Okay Charlie, now that I am taller than you because I can walk, you do what I say!"

"I feel like reading you a book, so that is what we are going to do, got it?"

Between these two huge milestones, I feel like she has grown up so much! When people ask me if I miss nursing, I do say I am sad how that special chapter is now closed, but it was time and we are ready for our next chapter! Plus, since she stopped taking a bottle after Christmas and I've never left her overnight, I am so excited about being able to leave her with grandparents or daddy for girl's trips and weekends away with Zack!