And Baby Number 2 is....

...a baby GIRL!!

And this baby girl is a very uncooperative little girl already! She let us see that she is a girl, but wouldn't be still long enough to actually get the picture of her lady parts. Maybe this is a good thing though.... ;)

She also wouldn't let us get any of the cute profile shots. Only these creepy, alien-baby face shots. She sure is a cute little alien though!

But since she was so uncooperative, we get to go back in a few weeks for another ultrasound! The sonographer got all the pictures she needed expect some of her mouth and nose (to check for cleft lip and palate). So we go back in a few weeks to check that. And we get to see her again. Maybe this baby girl is smarter than I thought! :)

Making a Black & White Photo with a Little Color in Photoshop Elements

This tutorial is for @theleakysippy, but maybe others will find it useful too!
As a disclaimer, I don't claim to be an expert and there is probably a better way to do this, but this is fairly easy for me :)

First, here is my picture open in Photoshop Elements 8. I do any cropping, color, and lighting adjustments now.

Then I select the part I want to keep colored with the quick selection tool. (see the red arrow) It helps me to use the Refine Edges tool at the top right above the picture. It helps you see exactly what you have selected and smooth out the edges.

After you are happy with your selection, click Select (at the red arrow) and then Inverse (sorry it wouldn't let me do a screen shot with the menu open) This selects everything you don't have selected, or the part that will be black & white.

After you have the inverse selected, click Enhance (red arrow) and then Convert to Black & White

After that just push Ctrl + D to deselect everything and you're done!

The Post Where I Talk about Breastfeeding (Again)

I don't think I've mentioned here since my long hiatus a while ago that Cooper was still a nursling. Yes, I breastfed a 2 year old. I could give you links to research and quotes from experts that back this up, but I won't. We'll just leave it at it was what was best for our family. Ideally I had wanted him to self-wean, for him to decide himself when he was ready to let go of that. However, since I've been pregnant I've noticed a steady decline in my milk supply. To the point where a couple weeks ago I noticed I couldn't even express one tiny drop. I don't know if any of you moms have ever tried nursing when the milk has dried up, but it hurts. Alot. Coupled with the breast tenderness from pregnancy and I almost wanted to scream when he nursed. He has been down to about 2 nursings a day for a while now, in the morning as he wakes up and at night to go to sleep. Sometimes he has a 2 minute snack or 2 during the day if he gets hurt or something. Several times the past few weeks he has fallen asleep with out nursing or woken up and just wanted to get up without nursing. I knew he was headed for weaning, but since it hurt so bad, I knew for my sanity I needed to encourage him a little. So we had a talk about how Momma's boobas (that's what he calls them & nursing) had to stop making milk since he was a big boy now. I was careful not to mention this was because of his baby brother or sister, because I don't want to make him mad at the baby. Thursday night was the last time he nursed. He has handled it quite well! I didn't expect it to be this easy at all. The first day or so he asked for it and when I said there is no milk he whined a little, but there hasn't been any all out screaming like I expected. 2 mornings ago he woke up and said "Momma I need bo- I need a drink." He caught himself. I thought it was precious. It has taken him longer to fall asleep without nursing but he does fall asleep and that is comforting. I am confident since it has gone so smoothly he really was ready and I didn't force him into it. He just needed a little encouragement! When we discussed that fact that there was no milk we also discussed having a small party for him when he stopped getting booba and call it a "big boy party." He seems quite excited for it and it will probably be this weekend. I will post pictures sometime next week!

Making Educated Choices

In light of recent revisions in the AAP's recommendations for child restraints, I have been involved in and seen some debates over this issue. I think the research is clear on what is better, the longer the child can stay rear-facing, the better. If you watch the crash tests on YouTube, the evidence clearly favors this stance. Some believe this is "impractical." Personally, I don't care how impractical it is if it keeps my baby safer. Another choice I believe in getting educated in is birth, specifically having labor induced. There are certainly reasons to be induced, but having a big baby is NOT one of them. Those estimates can be off by a lot, and for most, the risks outweigh the benefits. I know by 37/38 weeks you are tired of being pregnant and just want the baby out. Trust me I've been there. My doctor suggested inducing and I was all for it. I wanted him out, and I trusted my doctor. I shouldn't have. The pitocin made my contractions almost unbearable. They were very close together, with no breaks between them. Then she broke my water and shortly after Cooper's cord prolapsed and we were racing to save his life. Maybe if I had known that 40% of inductions end in c-sections I would have waited for him to come in his own time and I might not have been sliced open. Yes, the c-section saved him, and I am thankful for that. But one intervention leads to another and, in my case, ended in major surgery. Not to mention, if your cervix isn't ready no amount of pitocin-induced contractions is going to get it fully dilated, and they will wheel you off to surgery. I'm not saying inductions aren't useful, but I think its worth it to do a little bit of research and make an informed decision.