MOMMY DIARY
February 3, 2011
Being a mom is the best feeling in the world... but being a mom to a little boy like Shane is the best thing in the Universe! He is so great - his smiles, his laugh, his charisma... he's so wonderful. I find myself stopping and starring and thinking of how great he really is (especially compared to a lot of other little ones we've seen) and count my blessings. He's such a great baby that he doesn't even cry when he's hungry - he just gives you the cues and is patient until you get his food going... course when he see's it and he doesn't get it right away, he gets a little antsy, but who wouldn't! Point being, he's already so patient (and maybe it helps that we're always conscious of his next potential feeding time) but even still, he just has an awesome personality that we enjoy.
Sometimes I think I'm being biased when I say that he's so charming and cute, but every time we go out together, whether it's Home Depot, the bank, or picking up some fast food, people stop and in awe and comment on how cute he is and he charms them with his smile!
I'm still nursing Shane... a double pump-session at work and twice at home. It's been a sacrifice, but I'm reaping the rewards of bonding with him during this precious time, and witnessing how great his immunity has been. It's been challenging trying to keep up with the milk-production relative to how much he consumes, but I keep telling myself that if I want to keep doing it, my body will keep making it. I try to eat more so that I keep up with the suggested +500 calorie diet they recommend to make enough milk, but let me tell you - it's really hard to eat so much food! Not to mention that I already feel like I eat enough all the time. My goal was to nurse until Shane reached 6 months, now that he's a little over 7... I feel great about it and will continue to do what I can to make it to his first year.
LIVE and LEARN
A few things I've learned and would do, or wouldn't do all over again!
- Change baby often. Yes, even if they are asleep! We changed Shane during each feeding, even if he was sleeping and by the time he was a month old, he was used to it. He started smiling and cooing at us during each diaper change and it became his favorite spot to babble with us!
- Read! Read out loud during pregnancy and to baby each day. As your baby gets older, they become more and more interested in the words they are hearing and the pictures they see. And it's never too early to start getting their wheels turning. Shane loves story time after a bath before bedtime and it's so wonderful seeing him trying to turn the page!
- During pregnancy, read baby books with the hubby, talk about your expectations, and take a class or two about "what to do with the baby!" Don't forget that hubby's don't have the "motherly instinct" and based on my experiences, it's not easy trying to care for your newborn and asking your hubby to do things he has no clue about!
- Don't save the your favorite baby clothes just for special occasions. Babies grow fast and your favorite outfit won't fit them for long! So put them in your favorites and take lots of pictures! You'll end up doing laundry about every other day anyway, so you'll be able to use it again if you have somewhere special to go!
- Don't leave it to a coin toss to chose your baby's name! I did and still regret it! I should have just agreed after I the delivery when he said "honey, you did such a great job, you can name him."
- If you get lots of "newborn" outfits after your baby shower(s), keep a few but not many and exchange them for 3-month sizes. Before you know it, they won't fit and you'll have a bunch you don't end up ever using.
- Come up with a list of things you do each week for when the family visits. This is what family should really be doing - helping you out with chores you can't get to when you're busy feeding around the clock! Write things down like how you do your laundry, what to buy at the grocery store for breakfast and snacks and where to find the cleaning supplies! This will be helpful so that when your family comes to visit, and asks if they can help with anything, you can hand the list over and you can focus on your time with the baby.
- Don't be afraid to tell your family that you need some alone time. It can get really overwhelming and frustrating to have them hover over you and want to hold the baby all the time! Remember, the baby needs their mommy and you need to do what's best for you and the baby so if you need a break, take it!
MY MOMMY DIARY
December 17, 2010
- Updates
I can't believe tomorrow my little boy will be 6 months old! I feel like it was literally just the other day when I started feeling my contractions come regularly and Mike and I downloaded the "contractions counter" on our iPhones and before we knew it, we were headed to the hospital and were admitted! I love being a mom more and more everyday. It's challenging and sometimes I second guess whether or not I can handle having more than one... but each time I see Shane smile, or grab for my face and look with amusement, it warms my heart and I think (out loud) I love him, I love him, I love him!
I know people always say that babies grow fast... but wheew, I didn't imagine it was this fast. I feel like I'm constantly weeding through his clothes to figure out what still fits, and what doesn't and what he can wear next. The laundry is a good 3-4 day rotation before I'm in trouble trying to find something to put him in! Our Wednesday's together continue to be a blessing and I enjoy every minute I get to watch him grow and learn new things.
October 16, 2010
- Updates
Needless to say, life has been very busy since I've been back to work! It has been great though... knowing that Shane is in good hands while I'm at work, being able to stop by and visit during lunch breaks and drop off some freshly made milk for his afternoon feeding, and giving my dad a break from sitting! Of course, once we move this schedule will change so I'm a little bummed... but I'm thinking a about arranging my schedule to make things work out.
I'm enjoying motherhood more and more as our little guy continues to learn and expand his interactions with us. I love his babbles, and his smiles and laughs. He just recently found his cute little feet so he grabs at them and smiles - which of course makes it challenging during diaper changes, but these are the precious moments I enjoy the most and try to absorb as much as I can.
I'm also happy to report that my milk production has been back up since the week after I was worried about it! I just maintained my 4-hour routine and have been doing about a 4-5 hour routine since then. It's quite an effort to get it done during work, but it's also a nice break from my desk so it all works out.
September 9, 2010
- Two days on... one day off... Two days on.
After several attempts of trying to schedule a follow up meeting with my boss regarding my back-to-work schedule, he and I were finally able to touch base today and let me say - it was worth the wait! Last month, I proposed working from home one day a week so that I could spend a little extra time with Shane and still get my work done. My boss said he would think about it, and that we would work something out. When we spoke on the phone today, he agreed to give it a try because of my exceptional work ethic, he thinks it'll work! Hooray! I'm so excited to be able to put in the extra hours during Shane's nap time, and be able to spend the extra day with him during the week. Not to mention, it'll also give his Grandpa a break from babysitting.
September 8, 2010 -
- What have I done to my Moo Moo?
For the first couple of months, I have to admit that I have taken my "udders" for granted and thought I'd always produce a surplus of milk. I was making so much milk, almost half of our freezer is packed with "Mommy's Milk" baggies... well, since Mike and I have been running around and crazy busy, I had lost track of my normal pumping sessions, and quite honestly... gotten really lazy and almost stopped the pumping sessions in the middle of the night because I wanted to get back to sleep as quickly as I could after Shane either nursed or got his mommy's milk from a bottle. The other day, I noticed that while I was pumping, I was getting half of my normal amount.
At first I didn't think much of it because I figured I was pumping closer together from the last time, and then it dawned on me and I could only say "what have I done!?" I was so angry with myself for having had taken it all for granted. I just figured that even if I waited for longer periods of time in between pumping sessions, as long as I was still pumping, I'd maintain my milk supply! I started to freak out and then did all this research on how to get it back. Yes, I even tried the awful lactation tea - which I don't really think helped, but I was desperate. I'm back to a 4-5 hour pumping routine and I'm slowing noticing an increase in the milk flow... my goal was to nurse/breastfeed until Shane was at least 6 months, so I'll be really disappointed if I can't make that happen. It's not all that much fun having to pump when I'd rather be sleeping... but after seeing what it does to the milk supply, I tell myself that it's a small price to pay for such a great reward.
September 6, 2010
- Naps and Blueberries
Shane and I took a nap together today and I truly treasure moments like these as I know once I'm back to work, they will be few and far between. When I woke up, he was still sound asleep, resting his head on my shoulder. As I kissed his forehead, something about it smelled like sweet blueberries - the kind you smell from freshly baked blueberry cupcakes! I'm not really sure why he smelt that way considering he got a bath last night and Mike and I didn't eat anything with blueberries in it today! But I squeezed him gently and Thanked God for giving us such a precious baby.
September 3, 2010
- My Rambles.
Shane is getting so big, so fast... Just the other day Mike and I sat down to watch the video that Joanne took of his birth. It was amazing to see how little he was when he first entered this world, and to see how much he goes more and more everyday. I'm saddened at the idea of not being home with him everyday after September 13th because he truly brightens my day and I'll miss him! Sometimes though, I'm reassured by the idea that I'll start to feel a little more human again with more adult interaction! But still, it's hard to how that I'll miss out on some of the first-time milestones that he'll do while Mike and I are at work.
My plan is to come home during my lunch breaks since right now, we only live 2 miles away from my work. This will allow me to give my dad a break from babysitting and I'll also be able to pump more milk and get a few extra minutes in the day to hang out with our little guy! But as with everything, this luxury won't last forever once we move... so I'm hoping I can have a flexible schedule at work and come in early and leave early.
The last couple of weeks I've learned that as soon as you get used to something working or becoming routine - it changes and you come up with something new. For a short time, I was rocking Shane to get him comfortable and help him to sleep. Then it went from rocking him to him being able to fall asleep on his bed alone without crying as long as he had some white noise. Now I'm finding that he either likes to be cradled, or likes falling asleep in his swing! I'm not in the least bit complaining after hearing what some other mothers experience... but it's just interesting to see the transition before my eyes of what does and doesn't work.
Gas... how come no one ever talks about it? I swear, no one ever told me that babies have so much gas and have such a hard time getting rid of it! My poor little guy suffers from so much gas, I wish I could help him get rid of it because he looks so uncomfortable! I debated about strictly nursing him to prevent the build up but realized that I won't be home with him forever and that at one point or another, he would have to take a bottle so I've stuck to my guns about it. The more I thought about it too, I was reassured by reminding myself that some babies are never breastfed and manage with or without the gas issues and that it'll eventually pass once his digestive track is fully developed. We tried giving him some gas relief drops but it seemed like it made him even more uncomfortable because it was like it was forcing it out and he didn't know what to do. Not to mention, there was something in my instinct that was telling me not to give him medical supplements as he's just a baby and we need to let him develop his system without us trying to interfere with the chemistry. During Shane's recent wellness visit, the Doc said that babies just spit up - a lot and as long as he's gaining weight, which he seems to have no problem doing, he's fine!
Shane is getting so fun... He is very assertive and it might sound crazy but I feel like he looks at me and understands me and laughs when I say something funny, or really tries hard to concentrate on what I'm saying! Whether or not that's true really doesn't matter because the bottom line is I love the connection we have. The transformations Shane has gone through in the last 5 weeks (since he started to smile) have been such a treat and Mike and I say all the time that we wish humans could remember their childhood back to when they were babies and express what they were really thinking when the parents thought something totally different! Then quickly realize that it would take away all the joys and innocence of being a baby and be that much less fun!
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