Tuesday, February 21, 2012

one of these is not like the others

Since Uli was tiny, she's had a hair-twirling, finger-sucking soother. 



We tried to talk to her about it. Encouraged her to stop. Pointed-out the marks her finger-sucking left on her skin. 



To no avail.



So we let it go. We didn't threaten her with future braces, nor did we attempt to shame her for being babyish. Just... let it go. Trusted her. And she carried on.


Until one day. Quite recently...


We realized everything had changed. We couldn't even remember when it had happened. 



But never fear. 


The tradition lives on.


Monday, February 20, 2012

Last Week in Review

My three-year-old was ill off-and-on all through the midnight hours one night. Came into my room and crawled into bed with me the next morning, as usual. Responded to my question, "Does your stomach still hurt?" by vomiting directly onto my sheets and pillow.

The baby carefully held my current riveting read and then not-so-carefully freed the book from its cover.

I found several more grey hairs.

Three-year-old cuddled with me all day when I was sick. Told me she loves me. Got ready for bed each evening without any tantrums.

Baby added arching from palms to toe-tips to her repertoire (is already very handy at army-crawling backward). Smiled and smiled. Did not get sick.

And now it's Monday. Of a new week. Let us all have a good one!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Two Weeks of Pumping:: A Photo-log

I pump breastmilk while at work, usually twice a workday (occasionally just once, at mid-day, if meetings are back-to-back), and I kept a photolog of the past two weeks' worth of pumping. Just because. Why not. And here are the pics!





From what I've read, I'm pumping more than many woman may expect to pump. From Kellymom:

...Many moms think that they should be able to pump 4-8 ounces per pumping session, but even 4 ounces is an unusually large pumping output.

It is quite normal to need to pump 2-3 times to get enough milk for one feeding for baby (remember that the pump cannot get as much milk as a baby who nurses effectively)...






As you can see from the photos, I am easily expressing more than 4 oz each pumping session, though that's most because of my right breast; my left provides much less, especially on the second/afternoon pumping.




What's with the way more (crazy lots more) milk on the right side? I have no idea. 








I try and put Ilse to nurse on the left side often. And I pump on that side as often (if not even a little bit more, for a few extra minutes) than the right. But, for whatever reason, most of the milk pumped comes from my right breast. If I weren't pumping I wouldn't even know. I don't look/feel uneven, and overall there's plenty of milk for the baby, so I'm not complaining.  It's just... a little strange, maybe? I don't know if it's really that I make less milk on that side or whether the let-down on that side just refuses to relax for the pump (but might be just fine for my baby while nursing?).


Milk-powered!

Whichever side she's getting her milk from, it's workin' for her. And me. I'm so so glad we haven't had any nursing troubles like I had with Uli. Such a relief. There might be something to giving things a second chance.


Saturday, February 4, 2012

Uli's Recipes


Uli's most recent imaginative play often involves "going to work." Last week she was a "cookbook writer," and I took dictation on the recipes she thought up. I wanted to share a few:

Feeling peckish first thing in the morning? Of course. How about making:

Breakfast
  • mustard
  • pancakes
  • cream
  • honey
Mix together. Serve.

Need a beverage with your first meal of the day? One that'll really wake you up? Make a pot of this:
Coffee
  • coffee
  • syrup
  • milk
Mix together. Drink.

The great thing about this next recipe is that if there are leftovers (an unlikely possibility, to be sure, but if there are) they reheat really well:
Enchiladas
  • sauce
  • rice
  • sweet peppers
  • water
  • olives
  • pickles
  • yellow cheese
  • black beans
Mix. Bake. Eat.

Need dinner ideas? What could be more comforting on a cold, winter's evening but a big bowl of:
Soup
Mix. Cook on stove. Eat from bowls with spoons.

And finally, sweet yet also [for some reason] mustardy:
Pie
  • cherries
  • mustard
  • honey
  • crust
Mix ingredients together. Bake in the oven until it's done.


All of this, straight off the cuff! I can only imagine what she might create once she gains access to the actual kitchen...


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