Liquid Gold

No, we aren't talking about Starbucks or oil, we are talking about breast milk. We've mentioned before how I've been blessed with an overabundance of milk for Joel. So much in fact, that we've decided to share it. We've decided to donate the 'extra' to BC Woman and Children's Hospital Milk Bank. They use the milk that we donate to feed babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, babies with failure to thrive, transplant patients and so much more. After two months of an intensive screening process, I was finally able to free my freezer from the breast milk we've been storing and donate my first batch to the bank. Normally, they expect a normal woman to pump an extra ounce a day for 100 days to meet the minimum donation commitment of 100oz. I donated what they would accept (no pumping's from Joel's hospital stay) and from when I started pumping for a total of 6 weeks of donations. We were "surprised" to see that I met my commitment.....three times over....for a grand total donation of 325.5 oz. The duty nurse who accepted my donation, was surprised to hear how little Joel still was and made a comment on how blessed I was. I have finally accepted that having an abundance of breast milk is a blessing. Being able to use this abundance has finally solidified that notion in me. When Joel was first born I considered it a curse. Being soaking wet all the time, having to wear dish rags in my bra to absorb the extra milk and sleeping on numerous towels were just some of the perils I lived through. It didn't help that Joel was a lazy latcher (he didn't need to latch to get any milk, he could just open his mouth and it would pour in). Eventually it became a blessing and a curse. I was blessed to be able to help other babies, but was still frustrated with wet tops and difficulty breastfeeding. But time has passed and I have been told countless times that I am blessed to have more milk than to struggle to make enough to feed my baby. I have come to terms with pumping milk into a bottle for Joel to help him grow without drowning in my milk. I have come to realize that this is a blessing. When Joel had his major growth spurt recently, I had more than enough milk for him and wasn't having to deal with a baby who couldn't get enough to eat. What I thought was a curse has turned into a glorious blessing. Even more so, now that we have been able to donate the milk and know someone who might possibly need it for her little boy. It truly is liquid gold!

200th Post!!!

Here we are, post number 200! It's taken us just under 2 years to get here. Looking back over our posts it is very interesting to see how we've grown, the places we've been and all that we have experienced. Having a blog is a journal of sorts, a journal for our lives that we get to share with others. It's been a blessing and a joy to share our lives with those of you that read it and follow along with us. Here's to the next 2 years of posts!

Random Sculptures

I (Dan) have a fascination with all things big, ugly, and odd on the side of the road. I saw this sculpture in Vancouver a while back and wanted a photo. For those of you who can't tell what it is, it is a really big one of those rubber band powered airplanes that you played with as a kid.

I love road side attractions

Joel's Professional Baby Pictures

Special thanks to Matt Schipper for taking these pictures of Joel when he was only 3 hours old. Yep! The joys of having a friend who is also your midwife who is married to your friend who is an aspiring photographer.

Conversations with Amanda and Dan: 3am Style

During those first few sleep deprived weeks after Joel was born, this conversation was born.

Dan: I wonder if warm milk putting adults to sleep has anything to do with warm breast milk putting babies to sleep!?
Amanda: What kind of sick Freudian theory is that?

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Amanda's Thought of the Day:
I often wonder why it takes men so much longer to attend to a crying baby than a woman. At first I thought it was because woman are known to be more nurturing. But I have come to realize that its because their breasts hurt when the baby cries. If a man's nether-region hurt every time a baby cried, they'd go running.
Dan: Or keel over in pain and drag themselves to the crying baby. Its a good thing that men don't have that reaction! (a slight pause) Your breasts hurt every time he cries?
Amanda: Almost every time. Now you know why I get mad when you don't go running to Joel when he cries. It literally hurts me!

Our sleep habits: a weeks perspective

Thursday: 6 hours (its like sleeping through the night!)
Friday: 6 hours
Saturday: 6 hours
Sunday-Tuesday: Two 4 hour stretches (not a fan after those 6 hours)
Wednesday: Joel fell asleep at 12:45am. Dan and I woke up at 2:50am to this loud rumbling, sounding something like road work or a vehicle idling right next to your ear. Dan hear tons of sirens and we heard lots of yelling. The neighbours upstairs came in the front door and we asked what was going on? Turns out there was a fire in the building behind us, destroying one unit. Dan and I couldn't sleep due to the rumbling fire trucks, the firemen yelling and the axe that was tearing down the unit. Once Dan and I fell asleep, Joel woke up. Brilliant!
Thursday: Two 4 hour stretches
Friday: 8 Solid Wonderful Hours! (and then another 2 hour stretch after feeding!) Thank goodness! Since he was fussy all day and cried pretty hard (for him) for a few minutes before bed.

Yep! He's OUR boy!

...the proof is in the details.

I'm not talking about how his brows look like Dan or his lips look like mine. I'm talking about those little idiosyncrasies that we have, that the general public may not notice. It is amazing how God has created little Joel with some of those things too. It is not a learned behavior, its just a natural thing that Joel has.

These pictures (as bad as they are) show just one little thing that Joel and I have in common. Its a pinky thing! We both end up sticking out our pinky on a regular basis. It's just one of those little details that prove Joel is my child.

First Trip to Rockos

Joel isn't too impressed with our flavour choices. Mango and Lime? Not his favorite!

Tammy, our favorite waitress! We go back almost 5 years. And even though we only come in sporadically, she still knows our order. We do make it easy by having the same thing every time. Hi-Lite burger with poutine, and the occasional milkshake!

Joel sitting like a big boy on the bench with his milkshake.

Family photo!

First Trip to Rockos

So excited!

Milkshakes for all!

The burger was bigger than his head! But he sure loved it!

Poutine! Every Canadian's dream comfort food! Joel seemed to enjoy it!

Plumber Bums

Joel was helping Dan out installing the diaper sprayer (for easy poop removal from cloth diapers).