Hair Loss

UGH! I hate it! I feel like I already wrote about the hair loss when Jacqueline was a couple of months old, but I cannot find a post. I know I wrote about it with Julia because it was so strange. It shouldn't be so odd this time, but I still hate it. I'm not a fan of hair, mine, yours, dogs, in particular in copious amounts.

UGH! I get why it happens. The hormones while pregnant makes more grow, yada yada yada, it's all beautiful, yada yada yada. Now 3 months after the baby is born, hormones change & the hair has to come out somehow.

UGH! It's just so much & it's every day, seems like ALL day, for MONTHS! I remember with Julia it lasted SO long, oh it is so gross. I don't know why hair loss is gross to me, but it is. Luckily I have tons of hair so I'm not bald or anything. That happens to some women & they have much thinner hair & other hair issues, but that is not my situation, again thankfully. However, I'd like some balance.

I know it won't last forever & soon it will be normal hair loss, but besides the sleep deprivation & of course my advanced maternal age, there is ANOTHER reason to not have another baby. : )

GCDC

Great Cloth Diaper Change event was today, this morning at East Park Community Center. It was sponsored by a number of organizations focused on children, in particular cloth diapers. A main sponsor & how I learned about the event was Smile Mommy! the cloth diaper service we used for Julia & now use for Jacqueline. They started the cloth diaper service 5 years ago here in East Nashville, the year before Julia was born, & I am so grateful. Really awesome to have the event & business in our community too! 

GCDC event is national for sure, possibly international, & the goal is to have as many people at a certain time change a cloth diaper at the same time. There were quite a few people there, though strangely only 1 other Smile Mommy customer whom I'd met before at a La Leche League meeting. Overall it was lots of fun on a rainy morning & I enjoyed seeing the variety of folks & the children of various ages & of course some breastfeeding moms (lots who were using covers, so interesting). There were some great door prizes one of which I won! Gift certificate for 1 month of Stroller Strides and a box of mini Luna bars in a flavor I like (awesome!).  I didn't think I was going to win anything & then I needed to feed Jacqueline & I thought "of course, now I'll win something" & then it happened, right after she latched on, my number was called. So funny really because the woman calling the numbers saw me react & get up & not unlatch the baby & retrieve my prize! She apologized & I said "that's OK, it was my good luck trick!" : )

Looking forward to GCDC 2013!

Pumping Isn't Easy

The idea for this post came from reading a post on Blacktating blog, one of my favorite & few blogs that I read (not even once a week!). However, now I cannot remember exactly what it was (it's now July when I'm actually writing this message!). I know I'm back at work a few weeks & I'm pumping 3 times a day, getting plenty of milk, at least 3 ounces each session, sometimes more, for a daily total usually of about 10-11 ounces, sometimes more (I started getting less some days by the end of May). The post was about how the author struggled to get much milk when she pumped & other women have similar struggle to express milk using a pump. There was a photo to illustrate how much the author got from pumping after 30 minutes - it looked like maybe 1 ounce. How frustrating that is for many reasons, 1 you know you need to feed your baby something tomorrow & 2 you need to empty to breasts in order to make more milk & the downward spiral (emotional & physical) created when you don't.

Luckily that has not been my issue, I usually get a decent amount of milk. Also when I didn't get enough at work (with Julia) I pumped extra sessions in am before work & pm before bed. Ironically with Jacqueline, I started pumping in late January & have a good freezer stash (over 120 ounces). My dilemma is using the freezer stash appropriately before it expires & protecting my current breast milk supply & communicating with Jai to make sure that happens correctly. I don't want Jacqueline to have less than she needs, but babies can overeat with bottle feeding. I also don't want to pump extra to make my daily total "right" when I have a freezer full of breast milk - seems so silly & complicated for the simple process of breastfeeding a baby. Yet when the pump enters the picture it's no longer a simple "feed on demand" - the pump is not natural & it creates a different dynamic with your body.

I am grateful to have been home on maternity leave for 13 weeks (1/2 paid, I wish all!) & only have to pump 7 weeks before summer break. Then I have 8 weeks at home to breastfeed Jacqueline, pump a little to store about 2 weeks before returning to work on July 24. Also she will be an older baby & maybe starting solid foods soon. I'll have 10 weeks of pumping before Fall Break & then about 8 more weeks to pump before Winter Break. After that 2 weeks vacation, we return to work on Jan. 7, 2013 & Jacqueline will be 1 on January 11. A year flies by & then I'll move on to feeding her at home only.

Lots of women pump for 10 months with no breaks like I have. If I have to go to the freezer stash more often & pump in the evening, I will. I want Jacqueline to have only breast milk so I'm willing to do the extra work. I just hope I won't! : )

Titantic

I really enjoyed the recent mini-series created/produced by Julian Fellowes, the creator extraordinaire of "Downton Abbey." It is interesting as that is how DA series starts in 1912 when the boat sinks & sets off the drama of having a new male heir to inherit the estate, Matthew Crawley, whom the family doesn't know. I love DA & it was fascinating to see some of the same actors in different roles & of course the story of the failed voyage again. It made me want to re-watch the 1997 movie. How young Leo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet were? Reminds me how young I was! : )

RIDICULOUS

This might seem strange as a post, but this is my new favorite word. Since having Jacqueline I feel like I say it OFTEN. There seem to be so many situations where it is the appropriate word to express how I feel, mainly frustrated with something. Sometimes it is funny stuff, but usually it is in response to something absurd! Ironically I also feel like I hear it a lot from other people, even in a lot of TV shows or movies. Strange how that happens - like when I was pregnant I noticed lots of pregnant women. Now that I have a little baby I notice babies often, especially in strollers. I love strollers, especially ones with high handles. We went to the zoo a few weeks ago & I constantly was staring at the different strollers, there are so many. I've gone to a few consignment sales recently & again always looking at the strollers.

That is what is ridiculous! In March I almost bought a double stroller and I thought it was different from one I bought last August. Guess what? When I got home, I looked at the stroller ... exact SAME one! I paid less for it too so if I'd bought it, I would have spent MORE money for something I already have, hadn't used it yet either! RIDICULOUS!

You know what it is not ridiculous?! I went to my favorite consignment sale (POTATO) today & I got 2 Britax car seats for cheap! Such a great deal! Now we have 1 for my mom's car & an extra one for us. Thank goodness, no more shifting car seat from one car to another!

Jacqueline is 3 months old

HAPPY MONTHIVERSARY!
I cannot believe it has already been 3 months!
So glad you're here, cutie pie, with your sweet smiles & giggles!
You weighed 11 pounds, 25 inches long & 37 cm head circumference.
Lots of growth since 2 month clinic visit, well since you arrived! Amazing!

Jai - insert photo here. please : )

Back to work!

First day back to work - yeah! Awesome!
Good day! I ate lunch by myself, no crying children, or the possibility of not eating.

BTW - you'll notice I haven't posted much in past 13 weeks.
Expect shorter posts with few words like above. I do not have time!
Post soon to come I hope is Birth Story (VBAC success)!

I'm sure the elation of being back to work will fade as the week progresses, but it was great to drive to work this morning by myself. : )

Stomach Flu/SB 2012/Easter

Whew! This was awful! Not that we were planning to go anywhere for Spring Break as I've been on maternity leave since January 11, but we planned to go to church for Easter today. It really sucked to be sick the week before I returned to work. As a bonus I lost 5 pounds, but I didn't enjoy the time spent in the bathroom or lying on the bed in agony. Julia actually had the bug the weekend before; we cared for her, no problem. A few days later Jai got sick & I'll admit I had little sympathy as I cared for both girls & tried to help him (I really thought he was exaggerating!). Then 12 hours later I succumbed to the torture. So awful! Luckily Jai felt slightly better so he helped me by bringing drinking water & the baby to the bed for me to feed. Thankfully Jacqueline was fine & got tons of time with me on the bed; I mastered nursing lying down which is another nice bonus. Real kudos to breast milk keeping her healthy since that is all she eats & it's easily digestible. Someone was healthy in our house! : )

Verbose

Please God, tell me that a 3-year old who literally does not stop moving her mouth is exhibiting an early sign of genius or high-level success.

Julia goes to the dentist

Today Julia went to the dentist for HER first cleaning. Another big girl moment! It was exciting!


She actually has been once before, in February, so she could see me getting my teeth cleaned. We wanted her to be comfortable for her turn. I'm a geek, I love going to the dentist so I want her to have a positive relationship with this important health provider. I'm been going to see Dr. E & Latisha for years, literally since I was a little girl though not as young as Julia. I think we started going there when I was about 10, maybe younger, but not 3! It's so great to get started early, especially as Jai has some dental issues & even though I'm diligent with daily dental care & 2X a year dentist appointments, I have some challenges with cavities (it's been years thankfully).

Julia had a great time, wasn't scared or nervous about the big chair, equipment (the compressed air tool!!) or even the x-rays. I've never seen the chair lifted so high! : ) She also got to choose from the treasure chest - same exact one my sister & brother & I picked a prize. No issues, basically we need to brush before or after her to make sure she's getting them completely clean. She got a new toothbrush, really cool one that sticks on the bottom to the sink. Overall very exciting day!