Day 49: Happy Seven Weeks!

 Popcorn is 7 weeks old!
My little snuggle bug has been here nearly two months!  She is quite the little roller now and has to be watched carefully.  It gives the big kids something to do.  She is really a joy!  I don't want to wax on poetically about how much my Snugs (that's what I call her because she is such a snuggly little baby) but she really is a sweet baby.  She goes to sleep around 12 or 1 am and doesn't wake up until 7 am. That's right; 6-7 hours every single night! The best thing about this is that the school kids leave at 6:20, but Side Salad doesn't get up until 8ish so it's our special time for her to cuddle and nurse uninterrupted.

Already a fashionista!

Popcorn is starting to fit in Side Salad's old dipes which is a plus. I do have a few girly dipes on the way for her-an AIO and 2 fitteds. I'll post pics when they get here.  I'll post a stash pic then, too.  Here's a preview-her in a little Thirstie's warm stripe cover that matched her outfit perfectly.  I'm serious. This little outfit had yellow bloomers but the diaper cover looked even better so I ditched it.  I think it's much cuter this way-don't you agree?


We live a pretty chill life.  She's usually hanging out in the ring sling. It gives her a primo view of the world and my arms a break. I don't know how I raised kids with out it. We've been trying to get out a bit, going to the zoo and parks a lot.  P has heinous cradle cap-all the way down to her eyebrows-and sunshine seems to help it quite a bit.   Today we went to a local park and discovered that it had a splash pad!  Win!  I know where we'll be in the mornings this summer. I say mornings because the heat index 'round these parts gets over a hundred. My summer plan is park or zoo in the mornings, library in the afternoon (books and free a/c),  stove-free dinners in the evenings. I actually found a fantastic new recipe involving rotisserie chicken and yummy tomatoes at Publix this past week. We'll be eating it tomorrow for dinner.  I'll post it below!

Tomato Chicken Stack Salad from Publix

Ingredients
12–15 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
4 large red and yellow (or heirloom) tomatoes
1 Deli chilled rotisserie chicken (plain or flavored)
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive (or avocado) oil
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta, goat, or blue cheese 

Prep

• Slice basil; chop parsley and shallot.
• Cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Remove meat of chicken from bones and chop coarsely (2 cups).

Steps

1. Prepare dressing by whisking vinegar, oil, Italian seasoning, pepper, parsley, and shallots until well blended.
2. Arrange salad on serving plates, alternating tomato slices, chicken, basil strips, and crumbled cheese. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

CALORIES (per 1/4 recipe) 400kcal; FAT 32g; CHOL 110mg; SODIUM 380mg; CARB 11g; FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 23g; VIT A 20%; VIT C 60%; CALC 10%; IRON 10%

What's your favorite no-cook recipe?

Day 41: Losing our latch?

Tomorrow, Popcorn will be 6 weeks old and I'll be done with the "official" postpartum period.  I actually have my postpartum appointment with my midwife later today.

Today, I want to talk about latch. Popcorn had a really great latch as a newborn but lately, she's gotten a bit lazy with it.  Lots of clicking and popping which results in lots of air in her tummy. It isn't affecting the amount of milk she's consuming. She was about 7 pounds 2 ounces at birth, and she was 9 pounds 10 ounces at 5 weeks old. That's half a pound a week she's gaining. My nipples aren't sore or cracked either, so her bad latch isn't causing us problems YET but it's not a good thing.

What is latch?

What is bad latch?

Why does it matter?
Bad latch can cause major probs for mama and bambino.  For mama, it can lead to sore, cracked nipples that are more prone to infection. For baby, it can interfere with the amount of milk baby consumes.

Popcorn's latch issues started after my bout with mastitis.  I think my letdown is to blame. Whenever I looked at her, she cried, she smiled, she drooled, she farted, or I thought about her, my milk would rush down in a big achy blast and my areaola would get all swollen with milk. She couldn't get her mouth far enough on.  Then, if she sucked or licked my nipple, my milk would immediately let down. She didn't have to even really nurse.  Most of the time, she just swallowed and didn't put forth any effort.  Now that my letdown has evened out a bit, she has to suckle and my little piggy is a bit lazy.

I was at the hospital where I delivered Side Salad and Squirrel earlier this week. A friend of mine delivered a sweet little boy by emergency c-section on Mother's Day.  She was suffering from preeclampsia and her placenta started detaching.   Her little guy was 5 pounds 13 ounces and born on May 13-5/13!  Cool, huh?  Both he and Popcorn were born on holidays, too (Good Friday and Mother's Day). While there, I asked the LC about it. She gave me a little advice but couldn't help me officially because it was "against the law."

I've never seen that law, but whatever. I know it's a financial thing.

She asked if I was making sure P's lips were rolled out (exerted) and they are. That's usually the issue with latch.  She suggested I have Popcorn suck on my finger while I press my finger on the roof of her mouth to kind of train her tongue. {Eeep! She just cooed at me <3 } From my observation, P doesn't stick her tongue out enough.  I've tried it a couple of times and it seems to be helping a bit.  I'm going to keep working on it.  I spoke to my midwife about it and she said that it will probably correct itself as she gets older/bigger and as my letdown lessens.

Here are some additional resources about proper latch.

More Resources
KellyMom's list of resources
Dr. Sears' page on Proper Positioning and Latch

Day 30: Happy 1 month, Popcorn

Today, Popcorn is officially one month old.  We went to church today, my first time since she was born and her first time ever.

The day started off with her being naughty. Instead of nursing, she wanted to make faces and stick out her tongue at me. I sternly reminded her that there was no eating in the car and she got her act together

We finally made it to church, about 15 minutes late.  Popcorn nodded off a bit by then.

However, once church started she made her presence know. I've said it before and I'll say it again: this chickadee has some pipe on her!  I have been working on a nursing room at church and I made use of it today.  It needs a little more work. I want to have some emergency diapers in there. I'm going to donate the diapers from my diaper cake, since we use cloth, and a pack of wipes. I already put a play yard in there.

You may wonder why I didn't nurse her in church.  Nursing an itty bitty is involved. Sometimes she needs  little help with latch and lots of support.  It's easier to bare a boob so I used the room. When she's a little older and can get herself on well all the time, NIP is much easier.   

Even though she was fed and changed, she was still fussy.  I ended up putting her in the sling. She quieted down and went to sleep, and I took communion.

Who needs a headband when you're asleep

After service, she got to meet the pastor who will be christening her in a few months (as soon as she can fit Squirrel's gown).

We had a little photobomber in the shot ;-)

Anywho, tomorrow is a busy day so I need to detach this baby and put her to bed, do some laundry, and make me some cookies.

Day 28: Guess who's an infant!

Popcorn is 4 weeks old today!  This is an important milestone. You see, a baby is a newborn until it is 28 days old. After 28 days, it is an infant. My sweet girl is now an infant. I'll miss those newborn days-the sweet just born smell, the little uncoordinated movements.
It's been a run.  Here are a few of her highlights:

• smiled
• lifted head
• pooped over 100 times
• survived a mama mishap*
• became famous over Facebook
• rolled overA
• developed newborn acne and cradle cap (on scalp and eyebrows)
• helped Mommy get over mastitis
• started having awake time that didn't involve wailing
• slept 6 hours straight at night (from about 1 am to about 7am last night).

She's had a very busy month
She's growing so much! She'll get weighed again on Monday so I'll be able to calculate how much weight she's gained.

Popcorn, freshly popped

Popcorn, 28 days later 

In honor of her graduation from newborn to infant, I am going to share the story of her name.

Popcorn's name is Maiya Eliana.  I selected Maiya because it's a Hebrew name (like Astronaut, Princess, and Squirrel).  It comes from the Hebrew ma'yam, meaning "a spring or brook."  All three girls have names that have to do with water.  Princess's name means "dew from Heaven" and Squirrel's name means "autumn rain" (why yes, she was born on a rainy, fall day).  Eliana is also Hebrew.  It means "God has answered."  I was doing some serious praying about somethings when we conceived her.  And she was my answer.  The very best answer of all <3
More Popcorn Pictures, in chronological order

My sugarplum 

Showing off her accessory

Now she wants to look at the pictures on the wall

Then her headband started coming off...

She remembered her hands are super fun!

Partial smile...Mama was late on the shutter

*Mom-fession: A few days ago, Popcorn and I went to run an errand or two. When we got back, I was trying to get the baby in the carseat replete with screaming newborn, diaper bag, and bags from Kohl's and Target in the house.  I set the carseat down to open the screen door and it went whooshing down the stairs like a sled.  P was surprised and stopped crying, I was devastated and ashamed.  She was buckled in tightly so she was fine.  There are only four steps so it wasn't that serious in the grand scheme of things. This is my 5th freakin' kid!  I've never dropped on before, not even when I was an 18 year old first time mom. Not when I was a frazzled 21 year old mom working two jobs. Not when I was an overworked 23 year old mom of 3. Not when I was a totally zen, easy going 26 year old mom of four.  Noooooo, I make this stupid careless mistake at the point at which it should have never happened SMH.  I cried. Popcorn just looked at me, then milked it (me) for all it was worth.

Day 27: Sick, sick, sick. [[Warning: KINDA GROSS]]

Yesterday, I was quite ill. I mean, no posting statuses on Facebook ill. it really started the night before. Monday, my brother Butter Bean and I went to the Waffle House and then to get my oil changed. I noticed that my cheesesteak had a ridiculous amount of pepper on it. It tasted and smelled like pepper. I mentioned it to my brother, but didn't make more of it.

Uncle Butter Bean and Baby Popcorn, a couple of weeks ago

Later that night, I noticed that when I burped, it smelled and tasted like vomit. My daughter actually walked by and thought someone had been sick. That was my first sign that something was wrong.

About 5:30 am, I was hit with a stomach pain that can only be described as labor-like.  It was that bad. I had to vomit and it was like pure acid. I immediately sent for some baking soda just to neutralize the acidity.  Then I threw up a disgusting foamy, non-acidic mess.

Then, the real fun began.

The abdominal pains were foretellers of the watery diarrhea that would haunt me for the rest of the day. It was awful and painful and miserable. I was so dehydrated my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. My lips were all dry and whatnot. Lettuce went and got me some Gatorade.  I was extremely concerned about getting dehydrated, what with nursing and all. Mercifully, Popcorn slept nearly the entire day and night, as if she knew I was ill.

I'm not sure if it was a tummy bug or food poisoning but I suspect the latter.  I was the only one who was sick and tummy bugs are notoriously contagious. We are a family of seven living in a tiny house so someone else would have gotten sick.  Also, I think the random, copious pepper was a ruse to cover meat that was past its prime.  Let me explain. I used to work at the Waffle, way back in 2001, and then 2002-2003 (#1198, one of my absolutely favorite jobs ever!) when the cheesesteak was new.  Since its inception, I have only NOT ordered a cheesesteak once and that was because they were out.  And I almost went to another Waffle House (we literally had 4 in a ten minute radius) but I didn't want to waste gas.  I know how they are supposed to be made.  Not with pepper. I am going to call that Waffle House and let them know, tomorrow.

Plus I googled my symptoms ;) Sounds like Giardia, to me.

In baby news, Popcorn is getting heavy!  She has a healthy appetite. She is able to wear more of her outfits.  She's got double dimples in her elbows and kissable cheeks, though the excessive kissing is giving her a horrid case of baby acne.  She's also got what looks like contact dermatitis on her forehead, all through her eyebrow area.  It's flakey and yellowish. This terrifies me, especially in conjunction with her milk sensitivity. It's like Squirrel all over again.  Or maybe it's just cradle cap and I'm a paranoid mama.  I am about to start making detergent again, for the dipes, but we may use it for all the clothes.  That would be for the best.

SHARE TIME! SHARE TIME! SHARE TIME!

Gina's Laundry Detergent (I don't remember where I got the recipe from)

• Washing Powder
• Oxygen Cleaner
• Borax

Mix equal amounts of each ingredient.  Put it in the washing machine and use it.  If you want smells, add a couple drops of essential oil, but be careful because some can irritate skin.  

Day 24: Milk, My Nemisis

Popcorn is growing by leaps and bounds.  The mastitis is gone!  There was a lump for a couple more days but no pain.  I used more heat and massage on it.

I have cut most dairy out of my diet because I suspect Popcorn may have an issue with it.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Squirrel has severe eczema and several allergies: peanut, tree nut, dairy, dogs, dust.  {Princess had eczema as a baby but outgrew it.}  The boys are fine, for the most part.  Side Salad had a RAD-like episode in response to a virus last fall.  Allergies, eczema, and asthma are the trifecta, the three sisters.  That's part of the reason I am so committed to EBF.  The boys were breastfeed 13 and 21 months in contrast to the girls' 4 and 8 months.  I'm getting off topic. I cut dairy out because we have a genetic predisposition to these sorts of things. I myself and lactose intolerant.  Yes, I know ice cream is dairy. It makes me obscenely gassy and if I eat too much, it gives me horrendous diarrhea.  For Popcorn, it gave her colicky symptoms like excessive, inconsolable crying, gas, and possibly a funky rash.

This is how she looks when I don't drink milk.

For my sweet baby, I give up ice cream in copious amounts.  A good friend of mine offered me some replacements-almond milk (which I love in my cereal), almond milk ice cream, and coconut milk ice cream. I am going to grab these when I do my shopping this coming weekend.

I myself went to see my GP today. It wasn't baby related. He wanted to check out some things.  According to my last blood test, I have low levels of thyroid, a vitamin D deficiency, anemia, and high cholesterol.  He wants me to taking the fasting blood test so I have to go back but I am pleased to note that my blood pressure is a sassy 100/80 BAZINGA!

Day 20: OUCH!

Pain during breastfeeding is an indication of something going wrong.

Something has gone wrong.

Yesterday, I started having kind of a pokey pain-like someone was jabbing me with a needle-in my right breast.  It was hot to the touch and swollen.  I took my temp and it was 101.5 and I literally had goosebumps because I was freezing.

I suspect that I have a touch of the mastitis or, as I like to call it, "the devil has taken up residence in my bosom."

It could just be a plugged duct but the fever and general sense of malaise are telling me otherwise.

This is what I did, per Kelly Mom:

• took a long hot bath and put warm wash cloths on my breast
• put a warm compress on the bed and laid my breast on top of it
• started Popcorn on that side whenever possible.  Due to the swelling and excessive milk, she couldn't get my areola in her mouth. I hand expressed almost 2 ounces and then nursed her.
• got lots of rest-no easy task with 5 kids.  Astronaut made dinner for he and his siblings-hot dogs, carrot sticks, and chips. 
• drank plenty of fluids, mostly juice and Gatorade
• slept a lot. I still woke up every 2 to 4 hours from the pain and nursed.

Today, I feel much better. No more fever or chills. My breast isn't hot.  There is far less pain when I nurse. I am assuming it was simply a mild case of mastitis.  All I know is that I feel much better.  

Day 18: The Screamer and 2 things I love

I know you can't tell from the video but Popcorn is a bit of a screamer. She has these crying jags. They aren't super long, but they are long enough, maybe 15 to 20 minutes. I don't want to use the c-word, but I don't know. It's really frustrating but honestly, I feel like nursing brings me emotionally closer to her and helps me function.  This may sound crazy, but breastfeeding clearly defines my goal. I provide sustenance.  No one else can do this. This prevents me from feeling like others aren't doing their share. It may not be like that for other people, but it keeps me grounded when I'm feeling worn thin.  I have a couple of tools to help me cope, my nursing pendant and my slings.

The Seville *drool*

Yesterday, my ring slings from Comfy Joey arrived.  I ordered my slings during Ayesha's (the CJ mama) April Fool's Day sale, before Popcorn was born so I tried to pick gender neutral colors.  I only opened the Marrakech for now. I am only one person with one baby, after all.   I love the color, a warm terra cotta, and the name, a city in Morocco.  Morocco is my number one dream vacation, so it was clearly meant for me. The second sling is Santorini, a deep sea linen.  It is named for the Greek island of Santorini and Greece is my other dream vacation.  Ayesha picks the best names for her slings!  The colors I like are all places I want to visit. I wish I'd ordered the Seville, a spicy olive, though (guess who wants to visit Seville, Spain? Me!!!!). Green is my absolute favorite color but I thought it looked too autumn-y.  Silly me. Oh, well-I guess I'll have to order another in the fall!

Marrakech sling

Santorini sling

I put Popcorn in the sling tonight during her crying jag.  She was refusing to nurse at the time. It wasn't her first time in it. I had her in there while I made dinner, too.  Anywho, she was crying and Lettuce couldn't get her to stop either.  She bobbed around on his chest like she was looking for a nipple, then refusing to nurse when I put her to my chest.  So, I put her in the sing and talked and swayed.  She fussed at first, then quieted down.  I sat down on the couch and she let me nurse her until she fell asleep.  She's still in the sling now, napping quietly.

Nursing in the sling

Finally nodding off

In nursing news, I am still super leaky.  I feel like a milk fountain. The big kids love to point out the wet spots as the appear.  It's annoying and I have to remind myself that it's temporary.  My nursing pads are never ever nearby, but that's my poor planning.

A plus to using the sling is that not only can I nurse in it, the free edge makes a great nursing cover, if that sort of thing interests you.   I personally think my breasts are fantastic and that you haven't lived until you see them.  I'm just kidding.  See how it covers up my upper portion? It's pretty wide so I can drape it over her and have as much coverage as I need.  The fabric is linen, which is breathable.  It can get in the triple digits here in the south, and the heat index is unbearable.  Linen is a natural fiber with a kind of open weave. As far as security, she feels super secure, not like she's going to fall out at all.  The sling came with a DVD to help novice mamas learn how to wear their babies.

Way back when Side Salad was born [4 years ago], I had a pincher on my hands. He'd nurse on one side and want to pinch the other. This was a point of contention for us as I don't like my nipples to be pinched. I heard about the Nurse Purse, the nursing pendant from Lori at Risky Beads, on another blog and decided that it was cheap enough to try out.

NEWS FLASH!! 

I am super frugal and won't buy something unless I know I can use it or it's cheap enough to justify it failing me.

So I order the nurse purse from Lori and it worked like a charm!  You can read about it here.  Then he weaned and I never saw it again.  It's been gone like 2 years.  Right before Popcorn was born, we moved.   Then, literally days before she was born, I found it!  I've been wearing it all the time.  Today, her little roving hands finally found it. It's really smooth and feels warm because I wear it all the time. 

I caught a pic of her holding it.  WARNING: This is a nursing pic! If you offended by my magnificent multitasking bosom, don't scroll down!

Day 17: Pumping

Popcorn is 17 days old. Yesterday, I was so worn out from doing to much on days 14 and 15 that I couldn't function. My greatest accomplishment was watching the RHOA season finale, part 3.  And eating nearly a whole bag of dark chocolate Loacker Quadratini.  They really are delicious.  Anyway, it was a reminder that I just had a baby a couple of weeks ago and I still need to take it easy.  It's very easy, as a mommy, to try to get back in the swing of things too early.  You have to rest.  Pretty much every non-Western culture expects new mamas to get lots of rest and recuperate for 40+ days after giving birth.

I don't know why you don't get rest, Mommy, but I sure do!

I have been having a lot of leaking lately so I decided to try to save some of that milk. I'd rather save it than marinate in it.  The first time, I hand expressed after nursing and got about 20 cc from each side. Today, I got about 30 cc on one side while she nursed on the other.  It's not a lot, but I put it in some Lansinoh bags and froze it.

t

That's her "I'm ready to nurse" face.

Even though Lettuce and I have pretty much decided that I'll be staying home with the kids, I think it's important to have some milk stored for emergencies.  My milk will keep at least 6 months in the deep freezer.  I'd really like to pump some, but I lost the flange from my pump. WIC may be able to help me with one, if I go back to work.

Avent Isis Manual

So let's talk pumping.  With the first two kids, I didn't pump. I didn't have pump money.  They can be expensive, as I'm sure you know.  I vaguely remember trying a Medela with no success. I hand expressed a little for the Astronaut, but my mother ended up bringing him to me to nurse. I know that sounds crazy but I worked super close to our house.

With Squirrel, I knew I was only going to be home for 6 weeks. I began pumping after about 2 weeks and we introduced a bottle at that time.  I am a heavy chested mama (about an F-yes F as in frog-cup) so the flanges of the pumps were an issue with me.  The flange is the part where you put your breast.   I decided to go with Avent for several reasons.  

•  I'd heard they were easier for bigger mamas.
• It came with a nice carrying bag.
• Avent nipples are wider, more like my nipples, so I figured it would be an easier transition.
• The price was right. It was less than $50, not too big of an investment if I couldn't use it.  

The pump was super easy to use and I pumped the whole time I was home.  I was able to exclusively breastfeed for 7 months, then another 2 months while we transitioned to formula.

But it was hard.

Pumping is so hard and I truly respect the pumping mamas. I nursed first thing in the morning before work, I  pumped on my lunch break at work (my job had a lactation room), which was very lonely business. I nursed as soon as I got home.  I pumped every night.  I was worn out and my supply diminished. There's nothing like baby to breast. In hindsight, maybe I could have used some fennel or Mother's Milk Tea to help me keep my supply up. I was also depending on a manual pump for some pretty high volume pumping. I probably should have upgraded to electric for her.

Avent Isis IQ Uno

With Side Salad, I was a full time student. I went back to school when he was 12 days old.  Initially, I took him with me, but he was the cutest distraction. Plus, I had a professor who was uncomfortable with my breastfeeding.  Yes, she was a woman.  Besides, I was only paying tuition for me, not the kid.  I was only gone a few hours at a time so he took a bottle if necessary, but mostly he slept during my class time. I Supgraded to an Avent Isis IQ-about $150 4 years ago-which is the electric version of my pump. It allowed me to customize the pumping action so it wasn't yanking my nipples off.  I could make the suction as gentle as I needed it to be.  I did not use the petal massager because my breast fit better without it. I told you, I'm a bigger girl.  We ended up with a freezer full of milk.  I was able to go on a cruise without him. He was about 18 months old at the time. He had plenty of milk and I pumped while I was gone to keep my supply up.  I loved my  pump.  As you know, Side Salad self weaned around 21 months.  I put the pump parts somewhere random and now I can't find the flange, though I have all the other parts.

Now I want to pump as a precautionary measure.  Worst case scenario, we use the milk to make her cereal when she starts solids.  Of course, we're team Avent again.

Soon as I can find a flange.

Day 13: We are ready to go! (and how I started cloth diapering)

Baby Update: So Miss Popcorn will be two weeks old tomorrow!  I can't believe she's been her so long. It feels like she just got here and like she's always been here at the same time.   I just love the little sugarfoot so much!  I think I mentioned that we moved last month so the kids had to change schools.Well, Squirrel's former teacher (who is also a distant cousin of ours) just advised me that I was invited to the volunteer appreciation breakfast.  I used to volunteer/chaperone  field trips a fair bit over the years at their school.  It's tomorrow and I-well, we-are going!  The forecast is 82 so Miss P will be wearing that cute little pink and brown polka dot outfit, since it's one of the few things that fit.  After that, we may swing by Target or buybuyBaby and return the plethora of disposable dipes I got for some gift cards or something else I can really use.  I wanted to get some more little gPants, maybe in Good Morning Sunshine and Goddess Pink, in the next size up.  I got a lot of dipes at the shower.  That's crazy because we cloth diaper. I guess people missed the memo.

Speaking of cloth dipes, I am often asked about cloth.  We went cloth when Side Salad was about 5 months old. It was a purely financial decision.  When we found out I was pregnant, I'd just been laid off. I had money saved, a college refund check, severance, and unemployment. We began prepping immediately, buying a box of diapers each month.  SS went throug them fairly quickly and I was tired of tossing money in the trash can 8 times  day.  Since my unemployment was due to run out, we made the switch.  We stared with prefolds and Bummis Super Whisper Wraps.  I got a couple of bumGenius 3.0s for when we went out, too.  I ended up with a varied stash that included custom fitteds from Orange Diaper Co. nee Scuttlebutts and even a goodmama.

Fresh Oranges (previously known as Scuttlebutts)

I actually just ordered Popcorn 3 Oranges, two of them customs. Pics to come as soon as they get here. Hers will be serged, not turned like his. I digress.

Rockin' a bamboo square and snappi

I got deep in cloth diapering and loved it. I sold the hubby on it.  Initially, he would only use AIOs until one day when Squirrel would only bring him a prefold and a snappi.  He got with the program.  Now, cloth diapering is paying off even more because we get to use the diapers on another kid-SCORE!  The only issue is that Side Salad was 2 pound heavier than Popcorn was at birth, and we didn't cloth diaper him until he was about 5 months old.  He has lots of dipes but they are entirely too big for her. I went ahead and got half a dozen newborn prefolds, 4 small covers (the Thirsties Hoot <3 and Kushies are here now, two more Thirsties will be here Monday), and the three newborn fitteds (they fit up to 15 lbs) that are on the way. Those should hold her over until she can fit what we have.

I <3 owls!

Side Salad NIP at age one

Mama Update: Well, I've pooped 3 times since I had the baby. This is such a good thing. Other than that, I feel pretty good most of the time.  I have been having some leaking. I use the term "some" lightly. When Popcorn nurses on one side, milk floods out of the other.  I should put a bottle or something up to it and save it for a rainy day.  You know, the kind where rain means alcohol....  It's only an issue at night, when I am too sleepy to bother with bras and nursing pads.  I sleep on a towel.  It comes in handy when Lettuce annoys me.  I am not above using these puppies as weapons.   Side Salad finds it amusing. This maybe his first time seeing a baby be breastfed. I wish I'd taken more pics of him nursing. I found a couple on the old blog.


Can I tell you something?  Everyday, I feel like I feel every single emotion that I've ever know. I love Popcorn but she cries an awful lot. It can be really frustrating, even though she's my fifth.  I really get down sometimes. I try to keep things in perspective.  Popcorn is a baby; she can't talk. She can't tell me what she wants. She's in a new environment and it can be overwhelming.  Plus I love her so doggone much.  That surge of love hormones business is serious!  When she cries, I feel bad and overwhelmed but I feel so much for the young mothers because I was young when I had the Astronuat (18 and 4 months out of high school) and the single mamas (Lettuce and I have been together for 8 years. The big kids are 9 and 11. You do the math.) because it's hard.  Sometimes I want to cry.  Then she stops crying and all is well. But if I were to be overwhelmed, I could hand her to Lettuce. Not every one has that luxury.

Breastfeeding can be a double edged sword. I provided food and comfort, which is beautiful and makes me feel like, I don't know, Gaia.  I feel like my body cradled her and created her and nourished her before she was born, and now that she is born I am doing the same. At the same time, I provided food and comfort, which is exhausting  and makes me feel like I am handcuffed to the baby.  She's a needy little sweetie, that's for sure.  It's important to keep things in perspective. I can only do this for a little while, in the grand scheme of things. And she won't always be 2 weeks old.  In a few weeks, she'll even out a bit.  In a few months, she'll be doing other stuff.  Right now, all she does is sleep and grow.

I also remind myself of how much work I'm saving mystuff. You see, she'd still cry and need to be held and fed if I wasn't breastfeeding. But if I used formula, I'd have to make bottles and heat them up and wash them, etc. I'd have to get up at night instead of simply rolling over. I'd have to go to the store. It's just too much on top of what I already have to do. Anyways, this entry is getting a little long in the tooth so I'll stop for now but that's pretty much it, just loving my life and the people in it!

Day 9: I know she's growing because she can wear CLOTHES

Popcorn is 9 days old now. She's starting to develop a little personality of her own. This is how her nursing sessions go:

1. P frowns and rubs her left fist in her mouth while waving her right hand.
2. I pick her up and uncover the boob that she didn't start on at the last feeding.
3a. If it's the right boob, she latches on perfectly and snuggles. Then, looks around and enjoys the sights while she nurses.
3b. If it's the left boob, she refuses to open wide enough and I have to hold left hand in my left and while also using my left thumb (yes, her head is on my left arm) to pull her chin down so she can get a good latch. Then, as she squirms, I use my right hand to smush my areola as small as possible to get as much in her mouth as I can. This sounds complicated. That's because it is.
4. Baby nurses and look around for 20 minutes. Then she either goes to sleep or simply stops nursing. Meanwhile, either my lap or my cleavage fills with the milk running from the other side as I look wistfully at the box of nursing pads on top of my jewelry box across the room an curse myself for poor planning.
5. Suddenly, P stops nursing and looks at me. She makes a face. It looks like she's going to smile but morphs in to a lopsided grimace-one eyebrow up, the other down with a squinted ey, mouth twisted to one side, lips pursed-and proceeds to fill up her diaper in an explosive way.

Pause: At this moment, I pat myself on the back for using cloth. Otherwise, my lap would be full of baby poo.

6. I sight and reach for her diaper change basket, lay her down, and start undressing her.

7. P begins to shriek.  She's not a fan of mid-meal changing sessions.  She expresses her displeasure occasionally by pooping or peeing during the change.

8. I finish changing her and put her on the other boob.

Fun times, fun times.

Many times, people worry about if breastfed babies are getting enough nutrition because they don't know how to gauge their consumption.  KellyMom.com is a great source of information on knowing if a baby is getting enough to eat but here's a little information on it.

• One way is by weight. That's probably the easiest way.  Unfortunately, I don't have a baby scale or fish scale to weigh her.  
• A more common way is diaper counting. However, if you use disposables, this can be difficult.  Sposies absorb a lot of urine before they feel wet. Cloth diapers are easy to count because they feel wet immediately.  Popcorn poos a lot but some bf babies only poo every couple of days. That's normal. 
• Finally, there are visual cues that let you know a baby is growing. The baby is happy, shiny eyed, bushy tailed and all.  The skin is soft and supple. And most of all, the baby is bigger.  Today, Popcorn wore an outfit.  That's right. She's wearing more than onesies and gowns now. Furthermore, it's a 0-3 months size outfit, not newborn. So I know she's getting bigger because she can wear clothes.  

All dressed up with no where to go

Boom.

Day 7: Getting in the swing of things

Popcorn is a week old today and we are really getting in the swing of things.  She sleeps at night and naps at reasonable times.  She eats lot and though I am pretty swollen and leak a little, I'm not engorged. Engorgement can be super uncomfy to say the least-like sleeping on two giant red, leaky boulders. I nurse very frequently, on demand, so this isn't an issue. She's gaining weight nicely and interacts with us. She can lift her head, too.  I made her birth announcement today :) I like to wait a little while until that newborn newness wears off before taking pics, but Popcorn is crazy cute. She didn't peel at all, probably because she's never had a bath. I'll elaborate on that later. Anyway, here's the announcement:

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Okay, about the bath. I recently read some literature that indicated bathing immediately after birth could interfere with bonding. She was wiped down, though she really came out relatively clean anyways.  She hasn't been bathed since.  Unlike the other children, she never peeled and her umbilical stump has already fallen off.  The other kids, that didn't happen until they were about 2 weeks old. I only cleaned hers with water and used rubbing alcohol on the others.

Popcorn sleeps a lot better than the others. She takes timely naps and sleeps for long stretches at night. She tends to cluster feed, but I actually prefer cluster feeding because it frees up long stretches of time where I can do other things, like hang with the big kids or bathe.  She's a really good baby and I feel so blessed to have her! The kids treat her with so much love. Here's Side Salad singing to her:



I was looking at last year's Easter pic and it looked like someone was missing.  It already feels like she has always been her, like she's always been a part of our family.  It's amazing how she fills a void I never knew was there.

day 6 and I'm blogging kindle style!

My laptop is acting stinky and blue screening me so I haven't been on much. Then I remembered that I can do almost *anything* from my Kindle Fire so here I am.

Popcorn is 6 days old. She has her one week check up yesterday and she is just perfect! She's gained 3 oz over her birthweight and looks fantastic. Her umbilical stump fell off yesterday, too, giving me a new spot to kiss on. She's also picked up the unfortunate nickname "Pig." She roots around, grunting, and smacks her lips. It's so cute!

Oink!

{Postpartum TMI: my bowels finally moved yesterday. I am relieved, in more ways than one. Today, I had horrible gas pains that had me in tears. I may need to up the alfalfa...}

My mind has been in overdrive trying to come up with ways for me to continue to be a SAHM. Last night, I tried my hand at making a tutu and a couple of head bands. They came out kinda cute and I'll add pics when I can get my computer to work. My plan is to show Pig off with them on and hope people want to buy them. I also plan to make big girl head bands for Princess and Squirrel to wear to attract the tween and kindergarten set. If supplies for 3 headbands cost $5 and I sell them for $5 each, there's a profit of $10. That's not including tutus. Hopefully, I'll make enough to help Lettuce and have fun doing it.

First attempt at a tutu and headband

And another headband

And here's Popcorn rockin' her mama's creation!

Day 3: Kaboom!

A pre-nursing nap. Or is this a post-nursing nap? I forget.

As I was saying yesterday, my milk is in now. Baby Popcorn is a voracious nurser. This girl gets down to business.  She prefers to nurse on one side per feeding (about 15-20 min) and go until she falls off in a milky coma, complete with a sweaty nose and a satisfied grin. {I've been trying to catch that grin on camera all day.}  She sleeps for a few minutes, maybe 10, then wakes up to eat on the other side.  I know you're "supposed" to switch baby after 15 minutes but I just don't do it like that. We have a more child-led approach. After all, this ain't my belly we're filing. As long as my sweet baboo is happy, I'm happy.


Speaking of happy, I'm about to throw all the big kids out. I swear it sounds like they are remodeling my living room out there.

Except this one. He's too cute.

Gotta make sure we are latched on right-areola, not nipple.

I spend a a good bit of time making sure we have good latch every time I nurse because good latch is vital.  I don't want cracked or sore nipples. I already have lanolin waiting JIC but I'd rather have intact nipples.  I haven't had to deal with engorgement (yet) this time, which makes it a lot easier for me. My motto is, "You can nurse too little, but you can't nurse too much."   Nursing is my default action for her. It may seem excessive but it truly works for us.  She's fed and happy, our nursing is becoming well established.

Anyways, now that my milk is in, Popcorn does more than just eat and sleep. She's picked up a new skill:  she "looks."  She likes to gaze around at her siblings and walls and other fascinating things. She supplements this skill by "making faces at things."  She does some cute ones.  I'm glad she's found a new outlet for her creativity.

I'm not angry. I just look this way.

Reflecting on the time I spent in utero....

Oh and I forgot her biggest skill: filling her diaper.  And man, is she good at it. She was taking an nap and let loose a bowel bellow worthy of a oil tanker.  We're starting off with gDiapers this time and I'm so happy.  There isn't as much trash as with sposies and I'm not up to doing laundry so this is perfect.  If we were using sposies, she'd be blowing the backs out but cloth contains better.   Her last poo was all the way yellow-no meconium at all.  In the words of Squirrel, "You know like Tinkerbell's hair?  That kind of yellow."  Even at 6, she has the eloquence of her mother.  This is a good thing and means her little GI track is up and running.  All that colostrum she guzzled really cleared her out. Her first pediatrician appointment is on Wednesday.

Snuggle time with Daddy <3

Mama-wise, I feel less overwhelmed, probably because the hubby is off today.  I'm not going to lie. It's not peaches and cream every second, though it may seem like that when I blog. I get frustrated, I get tired and I am very much overwhelmed.  I just try to take things moment-by-moment.  I don't look at the big picture, because the big picture is too much sometimes.  But today is pretty good.  He is kid-wrangling and cooking and cleaning and even went to the grocery store.  He had to call me three times and took exceptionally long, but at least he went.  He's off tomorrow, too :)  I still wish some of my friends would come by but I know people always feel like they are intruding when you have a new baby.  My mother and some of her friends my drop by today. Hopefully they will.

Sweet baby toes; is there anything more precious?

Day 2: Help!!

Happy Easter!

We finally had some company last night!  I have 3 little brothers, though I use the term little loosely.  They are 22, 26, and 27. My baby brother is stationed in California so he only gets to see Popcorn by Skype. He was still the first to see her. My other two brothers both came by last night as did my mom and my extra brother (the 26 year old's best friend whom I absolutely LOVE). It was nice just to have someone here, which brings me to my topic for today, What New Mamas Want.

[Disclaimer: Of course I only speak for myself, but I can't be the only one who feels the way I do.]

I want some company and some help with the kids!!!

{I get lonely very easily.  I wish I had more company. I get frustrated when it's just me and the kids here.  Lettuce has to work so he's gone a lot already but he also just got a second job which means even more alone time.  Popcorn was sweet enough to be born on the first day of spring break so while I don't have to worry about making sure no one misses the bus I do have a house full of kids who just want to be kids. That means they want to run around, jump on the furniture, and all sorts of things.  No bueno. They annoy each other, make a mess, and wake the baby.  Plus, I'm still recuperating so nursing sometimes gives me after pains in my belly.}

The top 5 things that would help me right now

1. Take the non-newborns to the zoo for a few hours.  I have a membership, so this wouldn't even cost anything. Or take them to the $2 movies, to family night at the children's museum, strawberry picking, etc. I want them to have fun on their spring break, but I can't do it with them.  
2. Come and hold the baby while I bathe or sleep. Sometimes, I just need a break.
3. Drop off dinner or a gift card for a restaurant.  My wonderful brother actually left pizza money for dinner tonight and I appreciate it so much! Most people will be having ham and whatnot but we'll be doing Domino's.  Better yet, make me this.
4. Wrangle my kids for me. Make them clean up the way they know they are supposed to. I just don't have the energy for it and it's already starting to show.
5. Just be here.  That's all. Watch TV with me.  I don't care. It's really lonely when your world is being controlled by a tiny tyrant who commandeered your body for nearly 41 weeks, put you through the ultimate physical challenge, and now demands my entire upper body.  Just don't leave me here with these kids!
6. Bonus Points: help me take my braids out and wash my hair.  It's gross.  

 In baby news, Popcorn took the hugest poo two of the hugest poos EVER!  I was absolutely shocked at the size of it them.  I didn't know such a tiny baby could have so much poo in her. If we used disposables, it they would have been a blow out.  Like, ewww.  I can't stay mad. Look at that little face.

Enough with the camera, Ma. I'm trying to sleep.

Oh, and my milk came in!