T-minus who cares?

Ah victory, your taste is sweet.  While I didn't do the non-banner details last night, I knocked them out in short order this morning.  With those taken care of, I was able to spend most of the day on the banner.  I took a combined arms approach to the banner, using very thin paints and washes to build my layers.  The most annoying part was actually doing the back of the banner, which took far too many layers to come to a smooth off-white.  I have a few quibbles with the banner, such as the less-than-desired contrast between the brown background and yellow border, plus the Baal Red wash on the central blood drop not tying the gem together like I'd hoped.  Overall I'm pleased like a thing that's happy.  It doesn't look quite like the studio version, but that's fine because it's my version of the studio scheme.  The Guard turned out better than expected in general, a strong finish to a grueling marathon.  The slog was grueling enough that I don't really have much else to say about it, so a photo dump here before I formally proclaim my success at the B&C.

It's all over.  Except the varnishing...

Lookin good.

T-minus 24(ish) hours

While I have not quite finished today, I should have little problem getting everything done tomorrow.  Decals and two more coats of varnish notwithstanding, the assault squad is finished.  I blutaced on the jump packs for the three marines needing decals and took a final pic of the squad to put up on the B&C.  Again not considering varnish, four Sanguinary Guards are done.  I have a head scroll and base skull to do, which I plan to finish tonight.  I also have two wings left to glue.  And then there's the banner.  I'm not so sure about the washes after further inspection of the box.  I think it will work in places, but I'm not sure it would look right doing the whole thing in that manner.  If things work right tonight, I'll only have the banner to do tomorrow, plus gluing a final wing and varnish.  The finish line, it is in sight.



This brings up the matter of what is next on the list after my LPC vow squads.  I have a couple options to choose from.  I could paint up a warcaster or two for Warmachine, or at least assemble and prime the minis that have been languishing in blisters for months.  I have a number of in-progress pieces that I could finish off as well.  Considering I started this blog with Warmachine in mind, it would be nice to "get back to my roots."  Going chronologically, Iron Dwarves are next.  I have three cruisers and a battleship that are half done and a couple new ships have come out since last I played Uncharted Seas.  There's also the Imperial Humans that represent one of my more colossal hobby failures.  Having started them as the opening volley in a forum painting challenge, I never even finished the starter box, much less the three month plan I set forth.  I've been thinking about doing them in Altdorf colors, red and blue, to keep the red theme going and also to pair them with my (theoretical) Empire army in the same way Khador and the ID are intertwined.  Speaking of Empire, there's that to consider as well.  I got a model to use as an Arch Lector a while back that I could at least assemble and prime.  I also have many already assembled models in various stages of completion.  The Ork Shootas that I started months ago are all but finished as well, to say nothing of all the boyz I assembled.  And there's always more Blood Angels, but I think I'd like to do something a little different for a bit, though I could do a Sanguinary Priest or something like that.

(Close enough to) done.

All those options are based on plastic in hand.  The Grey Knights are conspicuously absent from the list because the new codex hasn't even been released yet, let alone the new models.  I've been considering purchases for these new challengers for a while.  The codex is a given, and I'll probably stop by the FLGS after work on Sunday to get it.  For actual minatures I've settled on a pair of options.  First is the "what looks cool" approach.  This would be a box of termies and power armor marines, plus Draigo and Crowe.  I like this idea because it's all the stuff I want to do for GKs, plus I'd have bits for a BA Librarian and TDA Priest should I want to do those models.  I'd need a plastic terminator for the Priest, but that's not a big factor.  The downside is I'd be getting everything I want up front, plus I'd have a bunch of neat individual bits that would probably require more bits to be game-ready.  The second option is the practical approach, either Draigo and two boxes of terminators or Crowe and three PA boxes.  The idea here is to make all the buys count and be able to field a usable, albeit small, force.  I'd be boxing myself in somewhat with this approach, plus I'd be stacking choices and ensuring that I'd be painting the same things for a while.  These plans are subject to change with an actual reading of the codex.

Really just the banner now.

I've also had a few Blood Angel thoughts, again in two basic flavors.  First is a Stormraven and a Furioso.  I like the Stormraven model a lot, although I can see that I'd be painting it for months.  The dread is almost required to run with the bird, and while I have an ancient metal multimelta/CCW dread I'd want something geared for melee.  The other option is an Honor Guard and/or Vanguard Vets, aka Death Company boxes.  All the lists I've made lately have had the meltagunning Honor Guard, so it'd be nice to actually have models for that choice.  The Vets are essential to a DoA army, which I've also made lists for lately.  Unfortunately I'd really like to magnetize the Honor Guard so I don't end up with 30 different models to have one squad with options, and I'd like to have a drill powered by something that isn't my hand to do the magnetizing with.  I'd also need a bunch of bits for all the options.  That said, I am considering just gluing the meltaguns in as it's a configuration I can see running often.  The Vets are the same case only more so.  I could do the power fist/storm shield setup from those lists I just mentioned, but to have any sort of massed power weapons would require bits I don't yet have.  In general, I'm not sure I want to get more Blood Angels after having just finished a batch of them.  I'd also like to adopt a "paint twice as much as you buy" policy to encourage me to plow into my backlog.

Randrom close-up.

EV has advanced the idea of doing another slow-growth "league," this time with 40k.  I'll put links in for his lists and other things when I have a bit of time and a familiar computer.  He's talking about Dark Eldar to break up the power armor monopoly.  I like the slow-grow format as a concept, and it would work pretty well with the approach I want to take with the GKs.  EV's mention of something other than marines reminded me of the orks I have, and it would be the "better' choice to go with the models I have on hand already.  Of course the "best" choice would be to engage with the Blood Angels so I could have a fully painted army of some sort instead of half a dozen in various stages of completion.

It occurs to me this far into the post that I didn't say anything about how I dealt with the rain and varnishing.  The rain has been constant, if of varying intensity, all day.  I got impatient this evening and decided to test a single jump pack.  When I prime in the cold, I keep everything inside as long as possible and minimize the exposure of paints and models as best possible.  The real key seems to be letting things dry inside, where the humidity is controlled.  With this in mind, I figured that it should work the same way in the rain, so I went out on what passes for a porch here and sprayed quick like a bunny, then came right back inside to let them dry.  When the test pack dried without fogging, I figured I had figured it out and did the rest of the packs.  When those also didn't fog, I did the wings as well.  This let me handle the pieces as much as I needed to while removing paperclips and gluing them to their torsos.

Late afternoon update

Nearly ready for takeoff.

Work is progressing well.  There are a handful of details left on the Guard, plus gold on the wings, and of course the banner.  Other than that, things are done and ready for varnishing.  This is where I have a problem.  It's been raining since a few minutes after I primed the wings earlier today, and there are no signs of the rain stopping.  What's more, I think the forecast for tonight involves the words "wintry" and "mix," which is not a recipe for good spraying conditions.  This isn't so bad for the Guard, but presents a problem for the assault squad. 

When I put the jump packs on paperclips, I did so by drilling into the recess where the pack attaches to the torso.  I did this because it was an area that wouldn't show on the finished model, and by drilling in a crevice the bit wouldn't skip around on me.  Turns out this was a mistake.  When I took the clip off the test pack, I had to give it a decent bit of elbow grease.  The point where the clip meets the pack is possibly the worst possible place for so an operation as it is nigh-impossible to cut the clip flush enough for the pack to sit tight against the torso.  I rubbed off a decent amount of paint, despite being careful to minimize this as much as possible, while prepping the pack to fit the marine.  I ended up cutting off the nub on the torso and using the plane above said nub to glue to the opposite plane on the pack.  In retrospect I should have drilled into that plane and not the hollow below, but at least I'll know that for next time.  The point of this is that I want to get a coat of varnish on the packs before I take the clips out so I don't rub any paint off.  I forgot about tonight's humid forecast and now am in a bit of a pickle.  Hopefully the weather clears up tomorrow so I can varnish then, otherwise it'll be a tough choice on how to proceed.  If not for this hiccup I think I could finish tonight, but we'll see how it goes anyway.

T-minus two days

Grindstone, meet nose.

Productive morning thus far, so much so that I feel comfortable taking a couple minutes to blog.  I had a disappointing session yesterday.  I had hoped to finish the jump packs and get some work in on another area as well, but instead I didn't even finish the packs.  They weren't as far along as I had thought they were, having just red, black, and white basecoats.  I got the red, black, white, and silver areas done on them yesterday, but still had work left to do, plus finishing the Sanguinary Guard.  As usual, I was beginning to worry about finishing on time.


Jump ahead to today and things are looking much better.  I got a nice, early start on painting as planned.  The first order of business was to finish the jump packs off.  They are done now, writing and all, and just need gluing and varnishing.  I may wait on the decals regardless of how much time I end up so that I have a chance to read up on how to use the Vallejo decal fluids so I get it right the first time.  Three marines need decals, so I can get six others finished today if I discount the decals.  The squad just needs base touch-ups on the painting front, which is trivial, so I'm content to call that squad finished.

Jump packs: done.

The Sanguinary Guard are clipping along as well.  I have some little details left to finish, nothing major, plus some writing and then the torsos will be done.  I clipped and cleaned the wings, then took them outside for priming.  Being in my painting home away from home, I've never primed here before but didn't anticipate any problems.  I also didn't bring anything to prime on, figuring I could just use some newspaper and a table instead of the usual cardboard.  Turns out I was a bit optimistic here.  The first half of priming was marred a few times by breezes and general clumsiness, resulting in the wings hitting the table and ground a couple times.  They survived though, and the second half went much better.  The wings are drying now and should be ready to go after lunch.  The biggest hurdle remaining is the banner.  I may have mentioned that I plan to use the "painting" with washes approach, which I think should work well for this application.  I'll study the studio banner for a bit to determine what colors I'll use as a base, then slop on Devlan Mud and Baal Red as needed.  To-do list update:

Sanguinary Guard:

• Glaives - done
• Banner
• Reds - done
• Purity Seals - done
• Blacks - done
• Silvers - done
• Basing
• Writing - done
• Any details I missed - mostly done
• Wings - primed
• Varnishing

Assault Squad:

• Jump Packs
• Decals - may wait
• Touch up the base edges
• Varnish

All told, I think finishing today is a reasonable goal.  I may not get to varnishing everything, but all the models (save the ones needing decals) should be glued and effectively finished if I can keep up the pace I've had all day.  After these two squads are done, I'm not sure what I'll turn my attention to.  I have some ideas, but that's a matter for another post...

Jacky's Breastfeeding Story

Reposted with Permission; http://www.mummiesnummies.com/2011/02/my-story.html

In the past couple of weeks, some people have asked me what my breastfeeding story was. Seeing how I have not really battled too much with Kit Kat...... the story that comes to mind is what we went through with Pooker. One of our readers even published the following story on her blog.

So I thought I would share my story with all of you. Just proves that breastfeeding is not always easy..... but can be achieved.

My story is probably one of thousands out there, filled with heartache and joy. For me breastfeeding was a goal that I thought would be easy to achieve.

Sadly, with my first born, I was wrong.

When my oldest (Pooker) was born, in April 2008, it was a day of miracles. She was our third pregnancy in 11 months. We went through 2 miscarriages before having her and we were just so ecstatic to finally have our baby in our arms. She had problems in the beginning with nursing. She was more interested in sleeping, had almost no ability to suck or latch on, and we had a horrible lactation consultant at the hospital. She told us to give her formula and left us alone. But we were still determined not to give up, we were just so happy to be holding her in our arms.

Last Picture taken of Pooker before ending up in the ER

But on the third day of her life, everything changed. I was nursing her at home, when I looked down at her I noticed something was wrong. When my mind caught up with what my eyes were seeing, I lost it. My daughter was blue. Dark blue.... everything. Her lips, cheeks, nose.... her whole face. I yelled for my husband (who luckily was sitting right next to me) and he saw it too. He jumped up just as I sat her up in my arms. The second I sat her up, her color began to return to normal and she opened her eyes. Within seconds, it was like nothing had happened.

We put a call into her pediatrician (whom she had not even seen yet) and waited all day to hear back. We kept a close eye on her the whole day and it did not happen again. Hours later, the doctor called us back and told us to take her to the ER where she was born. From there on........ our world shattered.

While at the ER, she had another episode. I began calling them "blue episodes" and it happened while she was nursing again. At this point they had already informed us that they would be transporting her to Scottish Rite (Childcare's Health Care of Atlanta). I had to hold my crying baby down on a cold table while they did x rays. It took both my husband and myself to keep her still. To hold your baby this way is very heart breaking. She was so small... only being 3 days old. Then they were throwing words like "Spinal Tap and Meningitis" at us. The nurses and staff seemed to be very concerned.... which only scared us even more. When she stopped breathing at the ER, my husband rushed out and yelled for help. The number of staff that came running in was so scary. They took her from me and laid her on the bed. They immediately began doing a catheter and prepping her for the ambulance ride.

She was admitted into Scottish Rite where she had another Blue Episode, this time while she was being given Zantac. Once again the room was filled with nurses giving our miracle air and checking her vitals... all the while my husband and I were left hanging onto each other in the corner watching our little girl suffer. This episode was different. This time, she did not turn blue, she turned bright red and her arms and legs began flailing around like stiff boards. She was clearly in distress and this time she could tell.

While at Scottish Rite, they did a Spinal Tap, a dozen or more x rays, brain scans, heart scans, blood tests, RSV tests, and a Barium Swallow. This little baby had a dozen wires sticking out of her body 24/7 and the crib was like a jail cell. Cold, metal bars on all sides. I was convinced that she would spend as little time in that crib as possible. In my mind..... if we were going to lose our baby.... she was not going to die in the crib. She would die in our arms. Looking back...... my heart still races. To have to even think that thought as a parent........but if we had to lose her.... she was going to leave us in the arms of the people who loved her. My husband and I took turns holding her and we never left her side.

After four days, she was diagnosed with Silent Reflux and Breath Apnea. The whole time I either pumped or nursed her. When I say pumped.... I mean I was up every two hours pumping what I could and giving it to her in a bottle. I was like a clock...... I would pump, give the nurses what I got and then ask for what milk I pumped 2 hours before and I fed her that. After a couple of days I had this whole process down to an hour. Then I would have about another hour where I could nap before I started it all over again. I finally got the courage to breastfeed her, with the help of an amazing Lactation Consultant! I thought I was the reason she was turning blue, as it all started while she was nursing. So you can imagine my fear of actual breastfeeding.

So our miracle was not going to die.... with the help of an Apnea Monitor that she wore for 24 hours a day (minus bath time) and some serious over protecting on our part. She had some major problems with pain form her reflux, and I began to see the warning signs when she was having another Blue Episode. I learned that she would begin to turn gray before she turned blue and that she would make a slight gurgling noise as well. These signs were very slight but the mommy instinct in me kicked in and I was one of the few people to notice these changes. But we prevailed with the breastfeeding. Our little fighter made it through medication side effects, poor weight gain, latching problems, I had a breast milk imbalance, apnea spells, poor sucking ability and a traumatizing first week of her life. But I am happy to say that she nursed for 11 months. It was not until she was 6 months old did she really get the hang of breastfeeding.....so to say that my first experience was easy.....well that is so far from the truth.

Why did we stop breastfeeding at 11 months? Because I was pregnant with our second miracle. I am happy to say that her breastfeeding experience has been much better.... still plagued with the horrid reflux.... but not nearly as bad as her older sister's. My current Nummie Lover (Kit Kat) is 15 months old and still going strong! My daughters are the reason I started Mummies Nummies.

I knew I was not the only mummie who had problems to overcome!

Breastfeeding can be very hard....but if you are strong willed...... it can become a beautiful experience.

www.mummiesnummies.com

Early Breastfeeding Obstacles Part 7: Confidence

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I knew I was going to breastfeed. But I still bought formula just in case. What if I didn't make milk? What if I couldn't figure it out? What if...what if...what if...


Confidence. That word is a part of our lives as women. When we walk into a room and there is another woman who is skinnier, or blonder, or has straighter teeth, how do we feel? Our confidence drops a few points...or many points, perhaps. When we start a new job or a new hobby or join a new play group. Anything new or different affects our confidence, so of course breastfeeding would have the same affect, especially on new moms!


As new moms, most of us intend on breastfeeding. We have every intention of giving what we know is the best thing for babies to our baby. Then we have our baby and we're in the hospital and they give us the new breastfeeding mothers package with that cute little reusable bag....and formula. Wait a second. Why did they give me formula, you think to yourself. I plan on breastfeeding my baby! If you're brave enough to ask, they tell you it's just in case. If you're even braver and say you don't need it, they tell you to take it because it's free. The second a new mom runs into any issues with breastfeeding, most doctors and nurses will push formula on them. You get home and it's day 5. Your mother in law is over and your baby wants to eat for the third time that hour. She tells you that you must not be making enough milk and you'd better give that baby some formula or s/he'll starve (see Cluster Feeding and Growth Spurts). You open your mail and you're overwhelmed with formula samples. We are set up to fail from the beginning due to "well meaning" family members and the formula companies who seem to be EVERYWHERE. All kinds of hurdles present themselves in your path and it can really shake a new moms confidence.


It's important to stay focused. Find yourself a support group, online or local. La Leche League meetings are great for support. Arm yourself with information and facts and present them to "well meaning" family members and doctors when they try to push formula on you. Heck, let them know ahead of time that you don't want to hear it! And always remember what we and countless other breastfeeding resources will continuously repeat over and over again: if baby is having wet diapers and gaining well, baby is just fine and getting enough to eat!!!

Be sure to check out:

Early Breastfeeding Obstacles Part 1 - Visitors & Helpers

Early Breastfeeding Obstacles Part 2 - Comfort Levels

Early Breastfeeding Obstacles Part 3 - Lack of Support

Early Breastfeeding Obstacles Part 4 - Scheduled Feedings

Early Breastfeeding Obstacles Part 5 - Fear

Early Breastfeeding Obstacles Part 6 - Cluster Feeding & Growth Spurts

Still four days

Return of the group shot intro.

One of the benefits of posting in the early morning hours is that if you come back and do another post, like this one, you still have as many days left as you did in the earlier post, which is good for morale.  While I got less done yesterday than I wanted to, I made up for it by getting in some more painting this afternoon.  I did the greens and glaives on the Guard, bringing them closer still to completion.  The greens went easy as I've got them pretty well figured out by now, while the glaives were a little trickier but a nice change of pace.  From the obvious news department,
getting prominent areas of models finished makes them look closer to completion.  The Guard felt very much in progress yesterday this morning, and the simple addition of three glaives makes them suddenly feel all-but finished. 

Starting to look Elite

I tried to paint the glaives in the studio fashion as best I could.  Looking at a picture of the studio Guard again just now, I see that I did a pretty poor job of replicating their style, but I think it turned out fine all the same.  My guiding principle was two-fold: the glavies themselves are blue, but when the power is applied it causes them to brighten up.  Practically this means that I painted a cloud around the power-applicating-node-things in the opposite of the usual manner, where the closest bits are the lightest.  I also put on some arcing lightning sort of lines across the glaive in a couple different shades of blue and white.  That part didn't turn out so well when I compare mine to the studio versions, but considering that this is a first attempt I'm happy.  Resuming the list from last time:

• Glaives - done
• Banner
• Reds- done
• Purity Seals - done
• Blacks - done
• Silvers - done
• Basing
• Writing
• Any details I missed
• Wings

Glaive looks a little better here.

The missed details category is bigger than I'd like, but despite that I'm getting close with the Guard.  Hopefully I'll get the wings prepped and primed tonight so I'll have them ready for tomorrow.  I'm really getting down to the last little bits on the LPC squads which is good because it means I'm close to the finish, but bad because of my setup.  I've mentioned before that I do most of my painting on the go now.  I've got my painting box whittled down to the essentials now, which makes picking it and heading out with it a breeze.  It also makes it a pain when I need a certain tool or material that I haven't packed with me.  Since I'll surely be doing non-standard things to finish off the squads, I'm liable to need things that I didn't expect to need, and therefore didn't bring with me.  I plan to combat this by gathering everything I think I could potentially need and dragging it all along with me, though I'm not sure that I'll be toting along spray cans.  I do have a few days left though, and while I hope to get most of the work done tomorrow it won't be a killing blow if I find that I've neglected to pack green stuff or something similar.

T-minus four days

Quick post because it's late.  I didn't get as much done today as I would have liked, but progress made is good in any amount.  I got the silvers, reds, and (most of) the blacks done on the Guard, as well as a basecoat on the glaives. 

I was pleased in particular with how the tabard turned out.  I started with Heavy Red, then worked up through Blood Red and whatever orange it is I have, followed by a mix of the orange and Bleached Bone, finishing with pure Bleached Bone on the sharp parts.  It was quite a bit brighter than I'd intended, so I did a few washes with Baal Red and called it good.

 An update on the list from last time for the Sanguinary Guard:

• Glaives - started
• Banner
• Reds- done
• Purity Seals
• Blacks - just needs a wash
• Silvers - done
• Basing
• Writing
• Any details I missed
• Wings
• Varnishing

Irrelevance of Time

Last year a 'note' was passed around Facebook with the following letter. No credit was given and I have no idea where it came from. But it's awesome and I wanted to share it here. The link from Facebook no longer works. If anyone knows who wrote this let me know!

As a midwife, I am often asked about how to help labor begin. Women get tired of being pregnant and look for all sorts of ways to get un-pregnant, some natural, others not-so-natural. One of a midwife’s duties is to encourage women when they are struggling with the aches and pains of late pregnancy. I wrote this piece for a client of mine who was really quite tired of carrying around a very pregnant belly. Of course, this article is for normal pregnancies and does not speak to medically difficult or very post-dates women. If you have questions about your own pregnancy, be sure to ask your care provider.

Imagine you are a woman living in the jungle. You have no clocks; only seasons. You know the stars and the tides, but they are a part of you more than a conscious thought.

Your baby grows within and you never even had to read a book about the different phases of your pregnancy. The baby has zero concept of time. Is it time to grow a toenail? Time for that thirtieth hair on her head? No study has to be done to calculate the correctness of her growth. It just happens.

In this jungle (or desert or forest), you live your life. You pay passing notice to the increased weight on your joints or the frequency of having to go to the bathroom, but it does not keep you from living your life. You harvest the food, or make the bowls, or clean the hut, or build the house, or skin the animals or clean the clothes in the river with your other sisters, pregnant and not. You do not have the luxury of sitting still and wondering about your body. No television jeopardizes your time. No refrigerator stands full a few feet from your resting place.

Pre-labor contractions touch your body, but things need to be done. You know from experience that when your labor is enough to slow you down it will be time to seclude yourself. No one in the tribe even has a word for "Braxton-Hicks Contractions" or "prodromal labor" because the women have too much to do to stop and think about twinges (strong or not). The elders steal quick glances as you lean over again and again while you hang the clothes to dry, but no one mentions anything. You have “enough” inside yourself to do this work. And they all believe.

Once labor begins, depending on the culture, you might labor alone or with another woman or several women in attendance. Labor knows no time. There is no watch. No clock ticking on the wall. No one says, "You've been four centimeters for six hours now, time for pitocin." Labor is allowed to unfold in its own way. The women around you merely witness, remind you of your strength, press cold cloths to your face and hot ones to your lower back. And they all believe.

When it is time to push the baby out, it is the same thing... no clocks timing how long to push... none of that counting-to-ten three times for each push. It would seem absurd to our jungle woman! You push when you feel the need to do so. No one touches your cervix to feel if you are "complete." You are complete. Without anyone checking anything. Your completeness is simply a part of your existence.

When I was a new mom nursing at night, I nearly went crazy because of how often my son wanted (needed) to nurse. I would grind my teeth as I looked at the clock and saw he had "just nursed" forty-five minutes earlier and now I was awake for longer than I had been asleep. It bred so much anger and resentment.

When my second child was born, I learned to cover the clock, or better yet, remove it from the room. When she wanted to nurse, I was there, present, nursing my baby who, in the wilds of the world, would have clung to me for survival. It is the instinct she was born with.

That same inner knowledge that caused her to grow to health and wholeness... that did not trigger my labor until her lungs were fully ready to be born... that did not know that I was tired when she was
ready to come out (and did not care)... knew how to keep me going so I could tend to my child. In pregnancy and nursing, and eventual continuous mothering, I was there for her. She did not have to worry about any clocks or schedules. She needed me; I was there.

As a midwife, I encourage women to let go of time. Grow your babies. Feel those tightenings. Embrace the beauty of your heartburn, your frequent urinating, your insomnia, your separated pubic bones, your weight gain... and your baby's movements under your flesh, your child's inner hiccups, your 100% safe-from-the-difficulties-of-this-world child.

Time, as trite as it sounds, is so fleeting. I pine for those aches and pains. My youngest is now twenty-four years old! I am sorry for wishing those moments of difficulty away. I speak so you might take a deep and grounding breath, say a prayer or incantation if that is your way, and stay in the moment with your child. It is the only time ever you two will be alone.

As your baby grows without guidance and conscious thought, so too, begins labor and birth.

And we all believe.

T-minus six days

Get it?  Six days left.

Didn't get quite as much done yesterday as I wanted to, but progress is good in any quantity with less than a week to finish.  I got the whites done on the Sanguinary Guard, though I may have missed the odd skull or scroll end.  I'm considering how to do the purity seals, whether I should stick with the green like the assault squad or go with the more traditional red.  Green would keep everything tied together, but I originally started the green because red seals on red armor didn't work out so well.  Red on gold will be just fine though, and if the Guard's seals are a different color it will be another little detail to distinguish them from the rank and file marines.  I'm also pondering pauldrons, specifically what color they'll be.  White and red are under consideration, though I'm leaning towards red.  It will help tie the Guard in with the other troops, plus it will make the little sculpted white circles on the pads stand out more.  Much of the remaining hand-wringing is about these little details, and since the Guard have plenty of little details there's more than enough wringing to be done. 

You can almost see the pauldron circle here.

From the great timing department, I got an email this morning saying my Warstore order has shipped.  While I'll be glad to have some dropper bottle metallics in hand, especially with Grey Knights on the horizon, it is still a bit of an kick in the pants to see them shipped the day after I finish the task I ordered them for.  It does mean I'll have the transfer liquids sooner rather than later though, so perhaps I'll have time to finish both squads completely instead of doing the best I can with what I have in the time remaining.  When I really take a step back and thinking about it, I don't have that much left to do.  A list, for visual reference.  First for the Sanguinary Guard:

• Glaives
• Banner
• Reds
• Purity Seals
• Blacks
• Silvers
• Basing
• Writing
• Any details I missed
• Wings
• Varnishing

The ol' switcheroo: group shot is last this time.

And then for the assault squad:

• Jump Packs
• Decals
• Touch up the base edges
• Varnish

The lists together are lengthy, but each entry is fairly minor.  The wings and jump packs are the biggest elements, and both can easily be finished in a day (once I clip out the wings, prep, and prime them of course.)  The banner will take a while, and the glaives might as well, but both of those should be finishable in another day.  That leaves decals and the other minor details, which again should be a day's work at most.  Varnishing is a non-factor, and I can get both groups at once.  This is all a worse-case scenario as well, figured up to give me wiggle room and extra time to compensate for lack of motivation, life-intrusions, and other unforeseen complications.  I'm looking at three days worth of work to finish the lot off, and I should have three or four days to work with between now and Thursday.  I think the deadline in 11:59 pm on Thursday, but I'll have to check.  If it's actually Wednesday night then things might be a little hairier than they appear now, but still very doable.  I hope to get in a good chunk of painting on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, which will leave Thursday for varnishing and finishing up any little things that I've overlooked.  One nice thing about having all those metallics in pots is that I can return to my roots and paint straight out of them if I miss something like a grail charm on a knee pad.  I'm fairly full of confidence at this point, and if I can stay on target I should complete my vow sometime before the deadline.

Raining Blood (Angels)

Today's post is about angry red marines falling from the sky.  I made some lists this morning to take advantage of Descent of Angels, the Blood Angel's special rule that makes them scatter d6" instead of 2d6 when deep striking.  This gives me a great excuse to link a Slayer video as reading music.

To repeat the disclaimer I've done in the past, I spend a decent bit of time reading at 3++ and I've read a post or three about this very topic which has not doubt influenced my thought process on these.  That said, these are still lists I figured up this morning, so any similarities are coincidental but not surprising.  I'm working around a core of Vanguard Veterans and a Librarian with Honor Guard.  The idea is that meltaguns drop in and pop hard targets while the Vets tie up any targets that will threaten the other squads dropping in.  The Librarian is there to provide a cover save, as usual, plus to bring in the meltagunning Honor Guard.  The rest is scoring units and boots on the table.  With the basics thus established, details.

130 - Librarian w/ Jump Pack, Shield of Sanguinius and Blood Lance
265 - Honor Guard w/ 4 Meltaguns, 3 Storm Shields
180 - 2 Sanguinary Priests w/ Jump Packs and Power Weapons

235 - 5 Vanguard Veterans w/ 3 Power Weapons and Power Fist

235 - 5 Vanguard Veterans w/ 3 Power Weapons and Power Fist

235 - Assault Squad w/ 2 Meltaguns and Power Fist
235 - Assault Squad w/ 2 Meltaguns and Power Fist
235 - Assault Squad w/ 2 Meltaguns and Power Fist
1750

The assault squads could combat squad to let me (potentially) melta seven different targets.  The Storm Shields are there to take shots for the Librarian as much as possible to cover the lack on an invulnerable save on him.  The Vets are there to kill things dead.  My concern here is that the Vets may be too good at their job and kill things in my turn instead of pinning them down.  I also wish the Honor Guard was more effective offensively as I'm not keen on having my mobile hammer tied down, though they have the shields to help them outlast otherwise deadly opponents.  Horde armies could also be a problem.

130 - Librarian w/ Jump Pack, Shield of Sanguinius and Blood Lance
205 - Honor Guard w/ 4 Meltaguns
180 - 2 Sanguinary Priests w/ Jump Packs and Power Weapons
210 - 5 Vanguard Veterans w/ Power Fist and Storm Shield
210 - 5 Vanguard Veterans w/ Power Fist and Storm Shield
210 - 5 Vanguard Veterans w/ Power Fist and Storm Shield

235 - Assault Squad w/ 2 Meltaguns and Power Fist

235 - Assault Squad w/ 2 Meltaguns and Power Fist

135 - 5 man Assault Squad w/ Meltagun and Power Fist

1750

This is the same idea with a tweak.  I traded the Vets power weapons and 5 assault marines, with a meltagun, for another unit of Vets.  I also moved the shields from the Honor Guard, who should hopefully never get shot or assaulted, to the Vets.  The shields should see more use with the Vets, and with the loss of the power weapons the Vets' job is to tie up units more than destroy them, so the extra survivability will help.

225 - Dante

130 - Librarian w/ Jump Pack, Shield of Sanguinius and Blood Lance

205 - Honor Guard w/ 4 Meltaguns

150 - 2 Sanguinary Priests w/ Jump Packs
190 - 5 Vanguard Vets w/ Power Fist
190 - 5 Vanguard Vets w/ Power Fist
240 - Sanguinary Guard w/ Chapter Banner and Power Fist
210 - Sanguinary Guard w/ Power Fist

210 - Sanguinary Guard w/ Power Fist

1750

This one is built to use Dante and his ability to never scatter while deep striking, plus using Sanguinary Guard as troops.  Dante and a Sanguinary Priest join the banner-bearing SG unit to benefit from the banner, though the Priest could go elsewhere to make a smaller footprint while landing.  I made this list as a reaction to a problem I see with the first two: a lot of deep-striking units.  With less squads, plus Dante's auto-bullseye, there should be less chance of landing a unit on something else.  There is a distinct lack of melta though, so the Vets would have to do double duty as vehicle poppers.  This one feels weak to me, despite 15 Sanguinary Guard, but I like the idea.

On the hobby side, I hope to get more painting in today.  I might try to finish the jump packs first, though I may go for the whites and purity seals on the SG instead.  I anticipate another two or three painting days in the next week, so the LPC deadline isn't as heavy as it usually is.

Another post about metallics

Group shot: Sanguinary Guard version.

A variation on a theme today, with no very little talk of Grey Knights.  Yesterday was very productive in the painting realm.  While I made no progress on the jump packs, I made quite a bit on the Sanguinary Guard, as you can see to the right.  I knew I needed to get in a good day of painting and while I got started a little later than I'd hoped, I still managed to get the armor done.  I wanted to get a test model done, just to make sure that I had the right idea and process, but because time is a factor I decided to jump right in.  As you're no doubt aware, the LPC deadline is a week from today, and while I've been worried about it for better than a month now, it looks like things will work out.  There are plenty of little details on the Sanguinary Guard, but they're all the same sorts of details that I've been doing on the assault squad, so I have my approach down and it should be a straight shot to the finish line.  The glaives and banner could be interesting, since I haven't done either of those before, but I think I'm going to just go with the studio approach to the glaives and I've been looking forward to the banner since I cracked the box open in January.  Another two or three days of good painting and I should be done, all done, done done, completely finished (except those decals), and that's a nice thought.

Bad picture as usual, but better than expected.

I stuck to my painting plan, mostly, and things turned out pretty well.  I used Tin Bitz as a bottom layer, covering everything that was going to end up golden.  Then I moved on to Dwarf Copper, which I used as the standard basecoat, leaving the Tin Bitz exposed in the deep crevices.  Shining Gold was next which I employed as the final layer for all the shadowed parts of the armor.  Burnished Gold was next, the first highlight for all upper/exposed armor.  I had intended to do another layer at this point, a half and half mix of Burnished Gold and Mithril Silver, but I was already hitting the point of diminishing returns, plus it was getting close to time to stop for the night, so I skipped this mixing step.  Mithril Silver was the final highlight on the sharp corners, a very sparse layer.  I was confident throughout the process, having a good mental picture of how I wanted to proceed and what I expected the final product to look like.  Things are awfully shiny, which is unsurprising considering I put five layers of metallics on the figures, so I'm pondering a very, very thin wash of Devlan Mud to knock everything down a notch or two and give the details some extra definition.  I'll probably skip this step though as I'm happy enough with the results as-is and I'd hate to do something horrible that would require a near-complete repainting.

Shiny butt shot.

Because my Warstore order is still waiting to be completed, I had to use the GW paints.  I give the Vallejo paints, and dropper bottles in particular, lots of credit for my improved results of late, so regressing back to paint pots was painful.  My biggest problem in the past was transferring paint to palette.  I would use a brush, generally the brush that I was about to paint with, and scoop/slop paint from one container to the other.  This was bad for the brushes and pretty wasteful at the same time, especially since I used the brush to thin my paints as well (when I thinned my paints at least.)  A couple years back, when I was considering a return to hobbying, I got a palette knife for this purpose.  Since I switched to the droppers the knife became extraneous, so it's served as a "sculpting tool" since then.  I put it to it's intended purpose yesterday though, and it worked like a charm.  I still ended up wasting a bit of paint, but much less than I used to, and my brushes weren't wailing from the abuse either. 

I also got some ideas for a kitbashed Librarian while painting.  Another box of Sanguinary Guard has been on my shopping list for a while, so I can use the banner as a Chapter Banner for an Honor Guard and so I can have options with the Sanguinary Guard, not the least of which is the option to run two squads.  I've always liked the glaive the above pictured Guard has, and last night I thought it would work well for a Librarian.  Since the White Dwarf I got earlier in the week was a Grey Knight treasure trove, I've been pouring over the sprue breakdowns lately, especially the shoulder pads and extra bits.  It looks like the power armor box will come with an extra set of shoulder pads, so I can use one of the pads with a book on it along with a Blood Angels pad.  I'm uncertain about the torso and helmet, though they'll probably come from the Death Company box or perhaps the Space Marine Commander box I've been looking at.  I want a pair of braced legs so I can pose the Librarian as if he's taking a big swing with the sword, possibly angling the sword like it's carrying up to hit something larger than the Librarian.  I'm not sure what I'll do about the psychic hood, but I'll figure something out.  I also decided that the Grey Knight codex will be my reward for finally finishing my LPC vow, which is perfect considering it comes out a couple days after the deadline.  Now all I have to do is actually finish my vow.

Guide to Understanding Attachment Parenting Style for People Who Don't AP - Part One

This was/is intended to be something you can provide to nay-sayers in your life if you are an Attachment Parent who is struggling with judgement and unsolicited advise.

Guide to Understanding Attachment Parenting Style for People Who Don't AP - Part One

You have been given this booklet in the hopes to enlighten you on a parenting style that ___________________________________________________________ have chosen. First off let us clarify that there are many types of parenting styles and that no one is wrong or right. Every family has the right to choose how their offspring will be raised, so long as it does not violate any governing state or federal laws. The intended purpose of this booklet is to have you better understand attachment-parenting (AP) principles, give situational examples and helpful responses, and help maintain a strong relationship between you and the attachment parents. The choice to follow attachment-parenting style is in no way a judgment on how you chose to raise your children. You did what worked best for you and your family; we are just trying to do the same for ours.

Not all attachment parents follow all these principles, but I wanted to cover all the basics and I suggest that the AP’s highlight ones that they intend to follow. There are Eight Principles of Parenting as outlined by API (Attachment Parenting International). I'm going over the principles that I most strongly believe in and ones that are often questioned by others.

Co-Sleeping

Breastfeeding & Extended Breastfeeding

Baby Wearing

Responding with sensitivity

Positive Discipline

Nurturing Touch

Co-Sleeping:

Co-sleeping has been done since the dawn of time, yet for many people it seems like a foreign concept. Often media reports of infant deaths due to co-sleeping, but typically there are extreme circumstances when really the co-sleeping factor was not the cause of the death. Also, these stories tend to fail to compare just now shockingly many children die in cribs. As with any parenting choice, we could all go find some experts that sight our side of things, countless studies & books to support our side – but really it is up to the parents of that child to live with the decisions they’ve made.

Aside from safety, the other issue that arises with co-sleeping is dependence. Often people question how a child could possible learn to sleep on their own if they are being raised in a family bed. There is actually a paradoxical effect from co-sleeping in that children feel so secure that their independence is inevitable. We believe that a child who feels secure 24-hours a day is going to grow into a strong independent individual.

When done appropriately there is nothing physically dangerous or mentally damaging about co-sleeping with a child of any age.

A time will come with the AP’s will complain about being tired. Before jumping in with advice about how they should just put the baby in a separate room and let him/her just “cry it out,” think of this; #1 have you ever come across parents of an infant who are not tired? And, #2 Would you ever give the advice to non-co-sleeping parents who complain about being tired that they should bring the baby in bed with them? Advising someone to do the opposite of their parenting style will end up leading to resentment and frustration. If you are unable to think up solutions that parallel the parenting style, suggest that they find like-minded families in person or online who will be able to off up advice. All babies eventually find their way to sleeping through the night. It is an epic journey/battle that all parents go through, and being judged or ridiculed doesn’t help anyone.

Breastfeeding & Extended Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a personal choice. For some women it comes easily, and for others it is a struggle. The best thing you can do is support whatever the mother wants to do. Pushing the AP’s to do the opposite of their wishes will only alienate your relationship with them, especially if your advice is repeated and unsolicited. For a mother who is having difficulty with breastfeeding, the best advice you can give is that she connects with other mothers who have successfully breastfed. Just to name a few, such mothers can be found at the Le Leche League, online, hospital support groups, friends, etc. It is very easy to create doubt in a first time mother who is trying to figure out breastfeeding. They have enough to worry about, and sometimes something that is seemingly “natural” does not always happen without a lot of practice and support. Suggesting that she give up and switch to formula should be a last resort. There is one sure fact, and that is that breast is best.

For those who are successfully able to breastfeed, there comes a time shortly after that monumental first birthday that the general public tends to think that it is time for the baby to get off that boob. There are just as many studies/books out there claiming it is harmful as there are studies/books that will say it is beneficial. That being said, making judgmental comments will only damage your relationship with the parents. Breastmilk does not expire at 12 months of age, nor does it suddenly become void of nutrients. When to end breastfeeding is a choice for baby and parents to make together. Women all over the world allow the child to self-wean, if the AP family you know have chosen to do this negative comments from anyone are not going to stop them.

Baby Wearing

Baby wearing is used as a gateway between womb and the outside world. Babies are used to being confined, and they are actually generally more comfortable being in such an environment. Transitioning them to a sling where they can get a glimpse of the outside world in small doses just feels like the right thing to do.

When done with an appropriate sling there is no pain for parent or baby, and they are less complicated than you think. It is often recommended that the baby always be facing inward so as to maintain eye contact with parent at all times. For extended use it is not recommended that any device be used where the child is dangling with their full body weight on their hips (this being forward facing slings, Johnny jumpers, entertainment saucers, swings, etc).

Babies will fuss in a sling, just as they will in a carseat or stroller. Often times it is just those few precious moments when they are fighting the sandman. They will squirm and fuss and in the blink of an eye they are sound asleep.

Responding with Sensitivity

The art of responding with sensitivity is learning to read your child's cues and acting quickly and appropriately to answer their needs. By responding to the child's needs a trust is being built. AP’s do not believe that responding to requests from the child will lead them to be spoiled or co-dependent. Instead, by consistently responding to the needs of the baby they feel that a bond is being created, which leads the children to become confident in themselves and therefore able to operate independently.

So, truth be told... I wrote this about 18 months ago in defense of my girlfriend who was constantly being harassed by her in-laws and then I had major writers block so I never really finished. I've looked back on it several times... but just can't seem to find the words to finish off the last few principles. Have any ideas for me? Want to help out? Email to: thegoodletdown [at] gmail [dot] com - Part Two just might show up someday with your help.

The Crankiest Baby on the Block

That, my friends, is the story. of. my. LIFE. Ella cries. All. The. TIME. Okay, not all the time, but far more often then the normal baby. I remember before Ella was born I would always say, I"ll let her comfort nurse, she'll be such a happy baby. {SNORT} Yes, she comfort nurses...but that doesn't stop the screaming. There have been times, mostly in my pre-zoloft days, when I couldn't stand to even TOUCH her let alone nurse her, so yes, this personality definitely affected our nursing relationship. I DID nurse her, of course, but it was extremely difficult. I looked at the different things it could be and consulted with my girlfriends. Reflux? But she doesn't spit up (it could still be reflux apparently, but not as likely). Colic? Seriously...what is colic? A crying baby? Okay, sure it's colic, now what the EFF do I do about it? Gas? Hunger? Too hot? Too cold? ......... You get my point.

I tried everything. EV-ER-Y-TH-ING. Pacifiers, bouncey chairs, swings, baths, bathing with her, wearing her in different types of carriers/slings, rocking, bouncing, shushing, swaddling, white noise...you get my drift. Nothing worked consistently. Sometimes I could nurse her into stopping screaming. Sometimes I could sing to her. Sometimes I could rock her. But for the most part, the screaming would go on and on for hours.

I have been distrustful of pediatricians because our last pediatrician was a complete and total idiot so I didn't bring it up to the pediatrician. I figured she'd tell me it was colic or that she needed formula. Wasn't about to happen. Today we went to the pediatrician and I broke down and told her what was going on. It had been like this every single day since Ella came home. Completely miserable. She asked the normal questions, the word "colic" did come up (of course) and she mentioned that a probiotic might help. Then she mentioned, hesitantly (she knows me) a lactose free formula that could be tried (then said she was hesitant because of how well Ella is thriving on breast milk...12 lbs 5 oz, thank you VERY much!) and I said, "well, couldn't I just cut all dairy out of my diet?" "Yes! You could do that." So with a heavy heart, I decided to cut dairy out of my diet...after I finished my $5 Caribou latte of course.

On the way home I was thinking about it and I figured at this point, I had 3 new things to try. Probiotics, dairy elimination or a chiropractor. I'd heard good things about chiropractors for babies and had been saying I was going to bring her but hadn't gotten around to it yet (I'm such a bad procrastinator). Well after much discussion with myself and on my favored facebook groups, I decided to try the chiropractor first and made an appointment for tomorrow. HOPEFULLY, that's the issue and I don't have to do an elimination diet but I WILL do it before formula will pass those sweet little rose bud lips.

While I love all the faces of Ella, this is my favorite and I'd like to see it way more often then the first picture (which, unfortunately, I see pretty constantly). I'd like to avoid cutting out dairy because, let's face it, I like butter. I like it A LOT. And sour cream. And ice cream. And milk chocolate. And cheese. Those are all staples in my diet (Yes I know that's why my pre pregnancy jeans don't fit). I will do it though if necessary because as much as I like butter, I like my boobie baby even more. 

Rampant speculation

Not quite what I meant...

I've been reading most everything that says "Grey Knight" on it lately in hopes of gleaning some idea of how things will work.  The codex doesn't come out until next month, yet somehow lists are popping up all over the place. The "black boxes" are no doubt to blame, and I'm sure I could find a pdf of the codex in the darker corners of these interwebs if I were inclined to look, but I actually enjoy this period of scrounging for information and trying to piece together a feel for the army.  I won't be able to do this in a couple weeks so I want to make the most of it while I can.



I had two ideas for armies when I starting hearing bits and pieces: a Tyranid-esque "gribbly" list of the multi-wound Terminators and Dreadknights, and a teleporting assault army.  It looks like both of these styles might be viable, but considering I already do an assault army (not to mention having the Orks in the works), I think I'll lean towards the Terminators.  I'd like to squeeze Draigo in if it's viable, if only because I like the mini, but I'll see how viable that is.  Crowe is another one I'd like to use, this time because of the blurb on the GW site, but the interwebs seem to agree that he is worthless for some reason and he doesn't really fit with the Terminator theme.  What does fit into the theme is a Terminator Librarian, which means I can use this model and not feel bad about keeping the casting hand instead of strapping a Storm Shield to that arm.

I already like that the army can be built almost entirely out of two sets.  While this means that I'll be getting a bunch of the same thing, it also (hopefully) means that I won't have to convert any basic components and that I won't have to wonder where I'll get four psycannons from.  Plus the Terminator box comes with Apothecary bits, so I won't have to do too much work converting a TDA Sanguinary Priest either.  I like that all the troops will be plastic, and therefore easy to convert.  At this point the only thing I'm not madly in love with is the $60+ Dreadknight, but I can't say I'm surprised about that.  I've been fighting the good fight up to this point, reminding myself of all the minis I have yet to paint (and in some cases assemble,) but I don't know that I can keep it up.  I'm a hair shy of all in for these guys already and I haven't even seen the codex yet.  It may already be too late for me.

In related news, I did stop by the FLGS today after seeing that my Warstore order is still waiting for key components.  I got the paints I plan to use on the Sanguinary Guard, plus the new White Dwarf that has (what else?) Grey Knights splashed all over the place.  Hopefully it's not just a one page "Coming next month" teaser issue.  I'm planning to do a step-by-step chronicling of the Sanguinary Guard, just in case I miss the LPC deadline and have to submit an article for the Bolter & Chainsword, but also because it should be good content for this blog.  As I plan on doing a longer piece about the process I won't go into details here, but I will say I plan on doing a Tin Bitz > Dwarf Copper > Burnished Gold > Shining Gold > Mithril Silver progression.  Five layers is a lot for a trooper, but they are elites and deserve a little extra love as a result.  In the immediate future, a few minutes after I hit the publish button, I plan to put in another hour or so on the jump packs.  I want to get the packs ready for a big Devlan Mud wash, which means I'll need to do the black areas at least, and I'd also like to do the metals and perhaps get a first coat of post-wash red down as well.  I may not finish the packs by Wednesday, but now that I have paints in hand for the Guard I'm not as worried about the deadline.  Worried yes, just not as worried as before.

Now, to the painting table.

Metal mania

These guys want metal too.

Still waiting on my order, while in the background the clock ticks on.  I thought about sending Neal @ the Warstore an email asking him to send on the metallics now and the rest of the order whenever it arrives so that I could get going on the Sanguinary Guard.  Having dug into the backlog orders part of Warstore lately, I see that what's holding my order up is the metal.  So much for that idea.



I took a flip through a Blood Angel centric White Dwarf last night to see how they did a non-metal metallic Sanguinor.  While I think I could do the techniques as described, there are a crazy amount of layers involved and doing a five man squad in that manner would probably take much longer than the time I have left.  Instead I'm pondering hitting the FLGS on the way home from work tonight and picking up a handful of metallics to supplement the lone pot of Burnished Gold I have.  (I also see I ordered the wrong "heavy yellow," getting the Tausept Ochre equivalent instead of the Iyanden Darksun.  Alas for converting between paint ranges.)  I'm none too excited about getting a bunch of paints to do a single squad when I already have nearly those exact paints on order, but I just don't have the time to wait.  Perhaps I'll see if there's progress on Monday instead of going shopping today.

In happier news, I got the red and bone/parchment areas basecoated on the jump packs yesterday.  It's unspectacular progress that I didn't photograph, but it does take me a bit closer to finished.  While I'll get the squad painted in plenty of time for the LPC, I don't know about the transfers.  Since I have the decal fluids coming from the Warstore, I'm in the same boat with the transfers as the metallics.  I am unwilling to get them from a store though as I don't really need them in the same way as the metallics.  I think seven of the assault squad guys don't need, or already have, transfers, so I can easily stick the guys who are waiting on them in the back when I take my finished group shot.  While this is sort of cheating, I do have some great extenuating circumstances and I'm not taking advantage that much really.  Hopefully it doesn't come to that anyway.  Thinking about it while doing this post, I think I'll buzz through the FLGS as a pre-purchase scouting trip, to make sure they have what I'm after, and then make my actual purchases after I finish the jump packs and get the assault squad together.  Hopefully that squad will be done before Wednesday so I can get a good start on the Guard then.