Ready for Bed

The girls have cute matching jammies. After baths we decided to take some pictures. I'm not a great photographer so most of my pictures end up with red eye, but these ones were pretty cute.

Blanche is getting bigger all the time and doesn't look like a newborn any more. Her cheeks are filling out nicely and she's getting good and fat. She is smiling more and more but I haven't been able to catch it on camera.

Can I just say I'm in a perpetual state of "ready for bed". I am tired and could fall asleep just about any time of day.

Making the Switch

Mommy Brain posted today on Nipple Confusion and reading it made my eyes sting a little with tears. So, I thought I'd tell my story thus far with breast feeding.

BG was breast fed. It took us both a little while to figure it out after birth, but once we got the hang of it, we did great. My goal was to exclusively breast feed her for 6 months and I did that. After 6 months, we started weening, mostly because pumping at work was such a hassle. By 8 months we had switched to bottles full time.

When I was pregnant this time around, I had every anticipation of exclusive breast feeding again. In fact, I was thinking I would try to do it for longer that I did with BG. Since it was never a problem with BG, I never supposed I would have any issues this time around.

After Blanche was born, she took to the breast and latched like a champ. I was surprised how easily she latched and thought we were off to a great start. I knew that it would hurt for some period of time while my body adjusted to nursing. After four weeks, I was cracked, it was still incredibly painful and I knew something was not right. I pumped and cried the first time I gave her a bottle.

Last week I went to the lactation specialist who gave me all kinds of gizmos to try and let the cracks heal while still nursing. She told me that Blanche latches fine; she is a strong sucker which is part of the problem. I stopped nursing and pumped for two days while trying to heal. I told myself I would give it another week.

Blanche did ok with the bottle. She did figure it out, but it took a lot of sputtering and soaking burp rags first. I started nursing again slowly and she latched well, but seemed frustrated that the milk wasn't coming out fast enough. That first nursing didn't hurt at all and I thought "Hurray! I've healed and we can move past this." But the more I nurse, the more it hurts. I have tried doing a combination of nursing and bottles, but that is confusing for Blanche. She chokes on the bottles and doesn't get enough on the breast. JM suggested pumping and giving it to her in a bottle. She acts like I'm starving her and sucks down formula faster that I can produce breast milk.

So now I'm to the end of the week I told myself I would try. I'm still cracked. My daughter is confused from switching from breast to bottle and mama's own to formula. I cry when I work hard to pump and she spits out most of it. I never thought I would be a formula mom but all this making me change my tune. I think are going to make the switch.

Go big or go home

I believe in breastfeeding where possible. I have been at it for four weeks now and it still hurts. So I decided to go see the lactation specialist to figure out the problem. After waiting an hour for her, (that I'm not upset by at all) she took one look at me and said "Wow. I haven't seen cracks that bad in a really long time." Great. Glad to be on top of something.

And while I'm complaining, can I just mention that my skin has not looked this horrendous since I was going through puberty. I thought all those messy pregnancy hormones would be out of my system by now resulting in a recovery of bad skin. No such luck. There will be no family pictures taken any time soon.

Wordless Wednesday

What else would I be posting pictures of?

Fire in the Hole

My child only poops after her diaper has been removed.

My child wakes up at 6pm and refuses to go back to sleep until 1am.

My child easily sleeps through the singing, playing, and noise making of a three year old. Her eyes pop wide open when it gets quiet.

Life with a newborn is a bit rough, and I'm tired.

Looking Great After Labor: A Tutorial

Many of you kind people have commented on how I look good in the pictures below after giving birth. First off, thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it. Since I'm a giving person, I decided to let you in on my simple two step process on how to look good after delivery. It really is quite simple, and anyone can do it!

Step 1: Opt for an elective induction. This way you can plan when you will deliver and make sure to have your hair and make-up done in advance. (I may have also gotten a pedicure and shaved my legs in preparation.)

Step 2: Take no more than 4 hours to deliver the baby. We arrived at the hospital at 8am. By 8:30 my Dr had broken my water and I was on Pitocin at 9am. At 11:00 I got an epidural (also helpful for looking good after). Blanche was born at 12:53 (after waiting 30 minutes for the Dr before pushing). My nurse laughed at me when I told her upon arrival I would have a baby by lunchtime. I sure showed her!

While I am taking time off for maternity leave, I am doing my best to spend it with my girls. I may or may not be blogging much, but I will try to stop in every so often with updates and new pictures. Here are a few to fulfill your cute quota.

Blanche is Here

Blanche made her grand entrance into the world last week. Here are her stats:

Born: January 14, 2010, 12:53 pm
7lbs 6oz, 19 inches long

We are home from the hospital and doing well. We have been spending lots of time hanging out, watching TV, and working to adjust to life as a family of four. BG LOVES her baby sister and wants to hold her all the time. She is very helpful - sometimes too much so. Here are the pictures that everyone really cares about. (Email me if you want to know her name - I won't be using it on the blog.)