Hallelujah!!

I was nervous when Jill came early and I was only halfway done with "Breastfeeding for Dummies," but I thought I had enough knowledge under my belt to tackle the task at hand. I had heard breastfeeding was a challenge and it was more difficult for some than others. "Peggy," our evil night nurse, made it nearly impossible and I'm surprised she didn't make me quit right there during our second night of Jill's existence. Tony and I had researched (well I reiterated) the benefits of breastfeeding vs formula and decided we really wanted to go for it. It never came to my mind that my body wouldn't produce enough milk. Breastfeeding for Dummies didn't touch on that. Well if it did, it was in the second half of the book!

Three days or so after Jill's birth, it seemed like the milk had come in. Breastfeeding was still a challenge but I attributed it to a learning curve for both of us and her lower weight (and strength, that's what I told myself anyways). After almost daily trips to the doctor's office for weight checks, the pediatrician finally told us that we had to supplement feedings with formula. That's fine, I said. But deep down, I was disappointed that we couldn't go all breastmilk. Oh well, what are you going to do, right? And so we supplemented and Jill's weight increased. She started gaining a solid pound a week. Her progress was great and the thought of feeding her nothing but breastmilk left my mind. That is until yesterday.

One day shy of her 2month birthday, my breastmilk came in. Yes, it had come in shortly after her birth, but not really. It's like other things that you think happened but then when it really happens you realize it hadn't before ... HALLELUJAH! We went from supplementing about 14oz a day to nothing! All breastmilk yesterday. It was crazy! Nursing was soooooo much easier and then I realized what my Mom meant when she told me it was easy and I wouldn't have a problem. I just needed the goods!

So now I have to wonder what happened to make the milk magically appear. I think it's a combination of working out (I started the day before), starting Fenugreek again and wearing a sports bra. Sounds silly but those are things that I did differently Friday and Saturday and then POOF! milk galore! Whatever it was I'll take it. :)

On a not fun note, Peanut has her first cold. She's super stuffed up, miserable and snoozing on the couch right now with her Dad. Very cute.

Bed Wetter

POP PARENTAL QUIZ: Your baby finishes eating in bed at 3am. He/she refuses to burp. You (the parent) feels a wet sleeper and (surprise!) a wet comforter underneath. Do you continue the burping trial or clean up your baby first? Friday night I chose B and chose wrong! Jill spit up a good amount of breast milk while I was trying to change her. From the earlier posts you know that breast milk is like liquid gold to us. Next time I will sit in the pee.

Sunday morning the three of us woke up at my Mom's house. After the most explosive diaper yet and a subsequent shower with Dad, I brought Jill into my Mom's room to hang in bed with her while we went grocery shopping. My Mom cracked the shades and Jill fenced, also called the tonic neck reflex, with both arms (example above right) and squirmed around like a mad woman! My Mom lifted her to go downstairs and she had - yes, again - peed through her sleeper and onto my Mom's sheets. At least we know she is well hydrated!

More Coffee Please

Sleep - like Spandex - is not a right; it is a privilege. And it's not something Jill is interested in this week, during the nighttime hours when normal people sleep anyways. We have been housesitting at my bro's with my Mom since Sunday. That's 3 nights as a single parent and I have to say that's no job I would ever want! Tough work!! Can't wait for Tony to come tonight. I miss him (of course) but I also want his help during the wee hours of the morning!

Four's a Crowd (Including Rachael!)

Six weeks in and this might be the first time the thought crosses my mind that we can handle this parenting thing. Jill is laying on Tony's chest and we're all in bed on a Sunday afternoon watching TV. Tony's Mom left a couple hours ago. She was only here for 24 hours but was such a help during that time. She held, fed, burped, changed and just spent time with the baby while Tony and I did other things (including a Hanny's outing! haha I will contain the excitement). It was nice to have an extra set of hands. We are lucky to have such great family!

This first month and a half has been interesting, to say the least. I didn't believe my co-workers when they said I wouldn't have much spare time while on maternity leave. I thought I'd read a few books, teach myself to cook, reorganize the house. Needless to say, this is only my second blog post (the other is the labor and delivery story). It's like we wake up and all the sudden it's 3pm. The other day I didn't brush my teeth until almost 6pm - gross! During the end of the pregnancy, Tony joked around and said that bringing the baby home would be like military boot camp. It's a shock to the system: you don't sleep, you get yelled at all the time and you don't get anything in return. You could say it's been like that. We were walking zombies for the first 2.5-3 weeks. Jill was sleeping but only during the day. Little did we know (we figured this out later with a second pediatrician) that I wasn't producing enough milk yet (probably partly due to a lack of sleep) and Jill was still hungry during her night feedings. We started supplementing with an ounce or two of formula and I began taking Fenugreek, an Indian herb she recommended that would supposedly increase my milk supply. It seems to be working (I'm still taking it) and Jill has been feeding better for sure. She's finally put on weight and it seems like the strength behind that extra 2lbs. is helping her feed more effectively as well, not that I'm a doctor and I know what I'm talking about! Well it seems that my blogging time has ended. The milk truck is needed!