A "Quick" Update

[PhoenixRising]

As requested, a small baby/life update. I really did not realize how long it's been since I posted last. This year has been absolutely wild, and life has changed a lot since Gilberts arrival. We've been through quite a few hardships, but have also had some great experiences.

After Gilbert was born we had a lot of feeding issues that I really didn't talk about for quite awhile. We struggled until he was 6-8 weeks old to figure out why he wasn't gaining weight and why he was always so upset and gassy. Turns out he was both tongue and lip tied, and has a dairy intolerance. It's not a lactose issue, but proteins from dairy that transfer into breastmilk. I have been totally dairy free for about 8 months now and I desperately miss cheese and ice cream but it's also become a bit easier now that it's been so long. We had his tongue and lip tie lasered at about 8 weeks old, but the damage to my milk supply was already done and I've never been able to reach a full supply. We have been extremely fortunate to receive dairy free donor milk from 3 other mommas so far, since he wasn't able to handle even anti-allergen formulas. Because we had so many issues, I ended up switching to pumping for many reasons, and as of tonight I've put 948 hours on my pump.... I spend roughly 4-5 hours PER DAY pumping. So that and taking care of him and the house on a daily basis hasn't left time for much else. I took a much longer maternity leave than I had planned since healing was rougher than I'd hoped and then I was so overwhelmed with all of this.

Phoenix is doing great. She went back into training with my trainer when she returned from California and spent the month of May in training, but then I had an opportunity come up in June and financially I had to pick one or the other and the other had to win. I'll go into that a bit more in a minute. She ended up sitting for a couple months again with me struggling to make it out to ride, before I decided maybe I needed to find someone to lease or half lease her because I just couldn't make it out enough... and even when I did I had no one to watch Gilbert while I was on. I ended up finding out a close friend who is very skilled and wanted to start riding more again. She has been riding her and doing a fantastic job for the last couple months... its working out great for all of us.

In June my husband was asked to go to Florida for work. He told me about it mostly as a passing thought but I jumped on it. The person I wanted to learn equine myofascial release from lives in Florida. I asked him to take the trip if I could arrange it to work with her while we would be there. It all lined up, and off we went with little 5 month old Gilbert in tow. Our hotel was in Jacksonville, but I drove back and forth almost every day to Ocala.... roughly 2 1/2 to 3 hours each way. Gilbert went with me almost every day and was SO good all things considered. He's such a laid back baby in general, and he wasn't very mobile, so he was usually happy to sit in his rocking chair out of the way and watch us work. We worked on so many different types of horses and I learned so much. My husband and Gilbert both visited the ocean for the first time together, visited St. Augustine for Fathers day, and enjoyed the fresh seafood available. In hindsight, I was a little crazy for taking this one but I'm really glad we did it. We arrived home and less than a week later headed out for a week in Colorado.

Since we've been back from all of that I have put my focus into really getting my business off the ground. I'm working on as many horses as I can at a discounted rate to gain experience, until I go back in Jan/Feb 2022 for a month to finish my training. I have had fantastic results with horses already so I'm very excited to continue to learn and to be able to offer this. I've also focused on getting the human side of things going more and have invested in all the tools I need to work events (massage chair, brochures, fliers, banners, etc). I've done a few events now and hope to start seeing the fruits of that soon. I've also gotten involved with a local BNI chapter that if nothing else, has helped keep me motivated and helped me learn so much more about how to be a successful business owner.

But Gilbert. Man he's great. He is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me. He's laid back and happy. He has 7 teeth ( I have no idea where number 8 is hiding) , and is doing really well with solids. He started walking at 9 months old (he just turned 10mos this week). He babbles the words mama and baby and recently started waving hello. He makes us laugh every day and I'm convinced he's the cutest kid ever.

This post ended up so long. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. It's past my bedtime, and I don't have time to proofread my ramblings right now so hopefully all of this is cohesive.

[PhoenixRising]

More recently.

[exvet]

Too stinkin' cute! Congrats on all your life changes...........I recently watched my son get married...........They grow up fast

[blob]

thanks for the update! looks like a lot of big and exciting updates in a short period of time. Gilbert is adorable!

[Moutaineer]

Glad to see that life is treating you well. Gilbert is a cute kid!

[hoopoe]

the Halloween pictures are adorable

[StraightForward]

Good to hear from you and great pics. What an exciting opportunity to go to FL and pursue additional training!

[Srhorselady]

Wonderful pictures of a cute kid! You’ve had it tough but you’ve obviously come through it stronger! Good luck with your growing business and wonderful family.

[Sue B]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for updating us. Gilbert is truly adorable and you look like a happy family. Best of luck as these crazy times roll on!

[Canyon]

What a great update; I glad you all survived everything! Gilbert is an adorable kid and looks so happy. I love your little lobster in the pot.

[demi]

What a baby doll !! I really enjoyed the pics. Thanks for sharing. He looks like his mama!

[heddylamar]

You've had a lot going on! Gilbert is adorable! I love his Halloween costume <3

[KathyK]

Simply darling! The lobster in the pot is hilarious!

[Hayburner]

Ahh, thanks for the update! Gilbert is adorable

[Woost2]

Cutest baby ever!