Philippians 4:6-7

For the past while I have struggled with my spiritual well-being. Becoming a wife and a mother just took it out of me. I know that sounds terrible. But I have just been so mentally and physically tired, and I haven't made the effort that it takes to keep my spirit healthy.

Well over the Summer I decided to work on that. I still need a lot of work. I have to develop good habits again, and fall off the wagon frequently. But I can feel that I have made that turning point that I have so long known I needed to reach. Because now I am really trying. 

For example; I actually made myself a prayer rock. Everyone things they are just for primary kids. But I have become so bad that I genuinely have a hard time remembering to pray. And the prayer
rock works. :)

Also, because it's no longer a habit, scripture reading can become hard and tedious. So sad! I know that inside of me is a passion and love for the scriptures, and it saddens me that I don't feel that fire like I used to. And it's hard to find time to really study and get into it with a mobile baby boy.

So I have taken to carrying the Ensign and a highlighter around with me. I have been reading the latest General Conference edition. I just read it as much as I can throughout the day. Tristan has gotten to it a few times, so it looks pretty sad now. And I find this has really helped me to get re-accustomed to reading God's word. It's a good starting point, and technically it's modern scripture. I have done that enough that I have started to crave it before my usual reading (latest novel: Watership Down).

And while I was looking for a good scripture to put on my prayer rock, I stumbled onto this one completely accidentally. For right now it's my favorite scripture, and I can't get it out of my head.

" Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." phil.4:6-7

• The Joseph Smith translation changes the word "careful" for "afflicted". It means to let go of the things that are worrying you, because you can put it all in God's hands and trust that He has everything under control.
• I also love that it says to make requests with thanksgiving. We don't have to pray only to give thanks, but when we ask for things we need we should put the two together and have gratitude in our hearts towards God for all we already have, and for His ear listening to receive our prayer.
• Then He grants us peace. Peace beyond mortal logic. The peace only He can give. Sometimes our answers come slowly, or in unexpected ways, but we can still have the peace of Christ upon us to calm our minds and our hearts through whatever comes our way.

Isn't that beautiful? Ponder that as you face the days ahead and I know for sure things will turn out better. 

Summer Days

Well it has been some time since I last posted, and I suppose an update is due. This Summer has just flown right by for us! Tristan just gets more cute and more fun every day. Okay, most days. Though sometimes I am super grateful to hand him to his grandma and get a break for a few hours! Man this little man has a lot of energy! 

As soon as he figured out how to get around nothing could stop him. From sitting, to crawling, rolling around, and now standing. He is a determined (stubborn?) little fellow, and quick to learn. I have no doubt walking will be coming up soon as well.

His birthday is coming up soon, and I am super excited, as well as kind of sad. My baby won't be a baby much longer! :( We are still going strong with breastfeeding. 

in fact he reuses to be spoon fed. But he does like to self feed himself snacks. He is in the 63% for weight, and is a strong, healthy kid. 

As for me, not much is new. He's my life now. Although I am still knitting, and reading, and watching my tv shows. :) All the good things in life ya know. 

http://www.ravelry.com/people/PrettyTally

Tristan - 9 months old.

Love Knitting

     I just thought I would do an update on my knitting progress. I am teaching myself and my best resources are Youtube and Ravelry.com. I haven't done much yet, but I really love knitting. It's fun and relaxing, and kind of addicting. Seriously I think about knitting like all the time. Some day maybe I will give crochet a real go too, but I think I have taken to knit better, and it will always be my favorite. If you need a new hobby give it a go. If you get stuck on something watch several Youtube videos or ask people on Ravelry for help. Their very friendly.

     Here are the few things I have made.

     Excuse the poor cellphone picture. 

Bumpy Dishcloth

Square Dishcloth
Messed up the pattern.

Tooley Owl

Baby Hat. Such a handsome model. :)

Baby Starfish Cloth. For Tristan's bath time. 

Eczema

So remember the ringworm I posted about? Well after weeks and weeks of treatment it kept coming back as soon as I slacked off on the anti-fungal cream. And THEN it started spreading ti the rest of his body.

So I decided it had been eczema all along. I bought a baby eczema lotion and started applying it several times a day. When I took him to the doctor for a check-up she confirmed it was eczema. It looked much better at that point. She told me to try Vaseline on it.

Well, it got worse than these pictures. His entire belly turned red and rough. He was itchy and miserable. I had to gently rub his belly to help him go to sleep. It started spreading to arms and legs as well. His lotion barely made a difference.

So I took him to the doctor. A new doctor. He said there was actually a strep infection on top of the severely dry skin. He gave us a steroid cream for it.

The cream drastically improved it within a couple uses. But the doc said it could thin and lighten the skin, so to use it carefully and not on the face.

As a more natural alternative I put breast milk on it to help clear the infection. And I gave him oatmeal baths, followed by the eczema lotion, which also has oatmeal. I now do this as a routine, using hydrocortisone cream on stubborn patches, and for the most part his skin is normal again. 

My boy is so handsome! I am so happy his skin is healing. 

Why I Breastfeed

I have a family member who is against breastfeeding. His mother is against it, so I don't really blame him. However he has tried to express to me that he doesn't think anyone (including me) should do it. Or that we should at least "just put it in a bottle". As usual, in the moment I didn't express myself as well as I wanted, and as I think it's an important topic, that bothers me. So this is for him, and anyone else who needs to hear it, but mostly for myself. Because I need to learn to express what is important to me, and not act apathetic when in fact I am not.

**************

     So this is going to be long and you are going to think I am crazy. But I have not been able to stop thinking about this. I have to tell you that it’s a fact that the longer you breastfeed the better it is for your baby, especially within the first year.

     Health-wise it is recommended to breastfeed for at least a year, though sadly most American mothers feel accomplished if they make it to six months.  A baby younger than a year still needs milk as a main nutrition source, so if you stop before then you need to supplement with formula anyways, which is 50 times less healthy, and super expensive. Honestly if I wasn’t nursing I don’t know how I would afford to feed my baby.

     Breast milk is proven to have live cells and anti-bodies, and provides major immune support and development. Breastfed babies get sick much less, even years afterward. Studies prove that nursing is a natural pain relief. It helps the brain develop, it protects against cancer and obesity. There is stuff in breast milk that they haven’t even identified yet. On top of all the health benefits, it provides comfort and security, and helps with bonding; all things which are very important in the first three years especially.

     For the mother the longer she breastfeeds the better protection she has against breast cancer and ovarian cancer. It helps with maintaining a healthy weight, and when done right is even a natural birth control ;) It also creates a special bond that only a mother can have to her baby, which I treasure as a gift from God as reward for how hard it is to be a mother. Also it feels good and just makes me happy. And I have never felt more confident and proud of my body.

     We talked about the inconvenience of pumping, storing, and carrying milk everywhere. Not to mention preparing a bottle while dealing with a hungry impatient baby. It’s so much easier, not to mention more natural, to simply nurse my hungry baby. It is certainly easier for you to just turn your head the other way.

     Also, babies can control the flow of milk when nursing, which is healthier. You cannot overfeed a breastfed baby, which makes it a great tool to just calm them down or put them to sleep. And bottles give more tummy aches. Plus pumping makes me feel like a cow. To me that is what feels unnatural.

     I don’t flash the entire room or anything. I can be so discreet you barely know what I am doing, unless the baby is so hungry that he is causing a scene, which is what happens when I wait because I am embarrassed to do it in a certain situation.  I actually have fed him without anyone noticing. I don’t think I should have to hide in another room, or a bathroom (gross) and act like what I am doing is shameful when really it is natural and right and good. Whenever I have done that it has made me feel bad and I have regretted it.

     To me, walking past Victoria’s Secret in the mall is embarrassing. That is the truly shameful, unnatural and wrong way to use and view the female body. That is not the way God wants his daughters to be seen. Breastfeeding is something that He obviously does want. Sorry, but boobs were made for babies, not for men. To think otherwise is immature, selfish, and frankly offensive.

     Obviously you can think what you want. But so can I. And nature, the law, and my baby are on my side so there is no way I am quitting something so important to me because someone else doesn’t get it.

     If you are interested, here is a good resource. http://www.llli.org/nb/nbbenefits.html

They are the world experts on breastfeeding. Hospitals and The World Health Organization support them. I read their book when I was pregnant and still use it for help and support.

Sorry for being blunt! I hope we are still friends and that I didn't embarrass you too much. J Say “hi” to your lovely wife for me. She’s a great woman!

Tiff