Happy Birthday Levi!!

Yes Levi is ONE YEAR OLD!! YES it's been that long since I blogged about anything!  Our little man turned one on 4-4-12.  He weighed in at a whopping 19 lbs even :)  We had dinner with cupcakes on his REAL birthday.  Levi immediately picked up the cupcake, flipped it over, took 3 bites out of the bottom, & proceeded to throw the rest on the floor bit by bit.

For Levi's big birthday bash we decided on "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" for our theme since Levi loves books, and this book in particular.  The invitations were precious, and done by my girl Ashley.  Aren't they so cute?!

Of course after many years of "retirement" my mom, G-Mom made the cake!

I got most of the decoration ideas from Pinterest.

I didn't have the time or the inclination to do the entire "menu" from the book.  So we served BBQ from a local place, plus had the fruit that the caterpillar ate Monday -Friday and the "nice green leaf" he ate on Sunday for people to make salads.  The rest of the cards of all that he ate on Saturday were just for decoration on the table.

I had a friend of mine take pictures, which was a big load off of my shoulders.  She did a great job and it was one less thing for me to worry about.  We had her come early and do pictures of Levi with all of his grandparents (and my godmother).

Levi and "Binda" (my godmother Brenda)

Levi with Grandma and Grandad

Levi with Gramps and Nana

Levi with G-Mom

Levi with Mommy and Daddy

Matt and I went back and forth on what to get Levi for this very special birthday.  I still have the Jenny Lind rocking chair that my parents got for my first birthday, Levi loves it.  We decided that every little boy needs his very own little red wagon...

Levi and his buddy Franklin (they are 10 days apart)

It's called IGT

I feel like I finally have answers after over 8 months of part-time, or in my mind unsuccessful, breastfeeding.  I listened to this pod-cast about insufficient glandular tissue (breast hypoplasia) and it all started to make sense.  I don't have all of the common physical characteristics.  Between the characteristics I do have and our journey of Levi's weight loss and my inability to stimulate my supply, there is enough to cause me to believe I have a mild-moderate case of IGT.  I make about 2-3oz of milk every feeding, with the help of herbs AND Domperidone.  After joining an IGT support group on Facebook, I realize that my IGT is nowhere near as bad as it could be.  Some women only make that much in a DAY.  I'm very lucky that I can give Levi as much milk as I do.

But being part of the group has also helped me redefine what successful breastfeeding is.  I thought that because I couldn't give him all the milk he needs that I wasn't successfully breastfeeding.  But really, whatever I'm able to give him and keep going is worth it.  I AM a breastfeeding mother.  It may not look like what most people think of as a "normal" breastfeeding relationship, but that doesn't matter.  I don't need to qualify myself as a part-time breastfeeder, or a supplementer.  I give Levi every drop that I can.  I breastfeed, and that's important for me to say.

If you think you may have IGT, if you struggle with chronically low milk supply in spite of great efforts to boost production, go here as a start for self-diagnosis.  Hopefully, as more people learn about IGT, more mothers like me can get the help they need to be SUCCESSFUL, no matter what that looks like.

Merry Christmas!!

We had a lovely Christmas with family.  We started at home opening gifts from Santa and exchanging gifts as a family.  We headed to Christmas Day worship service at The Vine, which was awesome.  We had brunch after church at G-Mom's house... we should definitely make Christmas Day french toast a tradition!!  And we ended the day by traveling up the mountain for Christmas dinner at Grandma and Granddad's house.  Here are some pics from the day!!

Mom had a quilt top made by my great-grandmother quilted by my great-aunt.  So special.