The camera has been found!

Yay! I am proud and slightly embarrassed to announce that I found our camera last week. It was wedged between my nightstand and the wall. So basically, I lucked out in finding it since that is not a place I would have thought to check. I promise we'll post new photos soon (in case anyone has missed them). We took some today with Justin's Dad and Susan when we went to see them. They are in Atlanta for a visit for two weeks, and Roxanne had lots of fun visiting with them. She was in a great mood until the end of the visit, which was about two hours past her regular nap time. She fought the good fight... One of the drawbacks to nursing a baby "on demand" for this long is that Roxanne won't take pacifiers. I know I should be relieved, but sometimes, like when she is screaming in the car, I wish she could use them. When we get desperate enough, I can nurse her with both of us still buckled up, but it's very uncomfortable, and frustrating because when I sit back down, she gets mad.

Now that she's officially eleven months old, I'm going through this dilemma about whether or not to wean her in a month. In some ways, it would be a HUGE relief, and I would certainly feel like I have done my duty. I mean, I pumped several times a day five days a week from when she was seven weeks until she was eight months and I was able to quit my job. She has never once tasted formula. I am proud of that. I've been doing a lot of research on the subject, and I spoke with a lactation consultant (Julie Duncan at Piedmont Hospital is the most amazing woman ever) and I'm still not sure what to do. For now, I'm just going to take it day by day. I'm considering trying to wean her to a sippy cup but still give her expressed milk instead of cow's milk for as long as I can stand to pump. There's a lot of research out there that suggests nursing a child for as long as possible (don't worry, I would never go past age two because it weirds even me out) is the best thing for their health. The World Health Organization recommends nursing for two years, and the American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends "at least twelve months" but I read that they are considering changing their recommendation to match that of the World Health Organization's. I guess part of the issue is that I don't have a whole lot of reason to wean her right now. We're not trying for another baby any time soon, and since I'm with Roxanne full time, it's not a hardship. We'll see. Either way, I'm proud of both of us for making it this long. Of course, these days, half of the time I nurse Roxanne it's kind of like trying to wrangle a feral cat. She's so busy! But she does stop what she's doing and march over to me, pull up on my leg and whine when she wants to nurse. I feel like spending so much time with her makes it much easier for me to understand what she needs or wants now. It's just amazing how different our relationship is. When I was working, I obviously loved her more than I thought possible, but now it's that and more. It's hard to explain, but I know that I made the right choice when I became a nanny.

Sappy sappy sappy. Sorry guys. I'm a little sick right now with this head cold, and maybe it's the cold medicine making me ramble on like a TLC "Bringing Home Baby" episode. But that's what baby blogs are all about right?