A Big Week—Post 100!!!

So my husband is excited because this is my one hundredth post. Yep, I’ve been blogging since June and I have reached the 100th mark. At first I was doing it every day, but then as I went back to work I’ve found it harder and harder to keep up, but I am managing to get 2 or 3 posts a week. There are so many things going on these days that I’m finding very little time to do anything.

We are having an exciting week. This Friday is Solids Day. That’s right. We are starting JJ on solids on Friday. We went shopping yesterday at Whole Foods and bought a few organic veggies so that I can puree up some yummy goodness for him. We bought a yam, carrots, and peas. I’ll probably start him on oatmeal though. I’m sure he’ll do great with it as I eat 3 or 4 times a week myself and he doesn’t seem to have any reaction to it.

Another major milestone that is happening this week is JJ is turning 6 months old. I can’t believe he’s been with us for that long already. He has brought so much joy to our lives. He’s such an amazingly happy little baby. God has definitely blessed us with him.

It’s a big week for me too as I’ll be starting my kindergarten long term sub position at Adams this week. The teacher I am subbing for does not plan on returning, so there’s a good chance that I could get hired for her position. It won’t become available until at least January, but as long as there are no contracted employees without positions, I’ll most likely get it.

Who knows what else this eventful week will bring? Crawling might be happening this week as he’s been on the verge for about 2 weeks now. Today he also halfway got up to a sitting position on his own, so that might also be in our near future. Whatever it brings, I’ll welcome it. Each day brings with it its own adventures!

The Incredible Non-Dairy Brownie?

A non-dairy brownie you say? It can’t be. But it is. And for the breastfeeding mom who has to spend months on end searching for some sort of yummy chocolately goodness, it is a godsend. After more than a month (probably 6 weeks or so now) of not being able to have dessert, of not being able to have chocolate of any kind, of having to sit there and watch in painstaking jealousy while others devour cookies and cakes, I’ve found it. It must be some kind of off brand you say. Surely a brand name must include milk in the recipe for brownies. After all, chocolate is made from milk, isn’t it? Well, it’s at the 99 cent store and it is Duncan Heinz Fudge Brownie Mix and it is dairy-free and incredibly yummy. It makes me realize just how much I’ve missed my chocolate. All of that fudgie goodness….mmm, mmm, good. I’ll be making a few more trips over there in the next few months I bet. How can I turn that down?

Our trip to Wisconsin

So our trip to Wisconsin is over. We’re back home and tired as ever. It went really well though. We woke up at 2 am Friday morning to leave at 3. We arrived at the airport at 4 am. I packed some bottles of milk because I knew that they would probably be needed for our busy Saturday. Although the TSA website says you can have ice packs for baby milk and medicine, they almost confiscated ours and they told John only for medicine. I’m thankful they didn’t take it away from us because then the milk would have been spoiled. Anyhow, the baby did great. We had two flights there. His ears didn’t seem to bother him at all. Sometimes he was sleeping at takeoff, other times he was eating, other times he took a pacifier. He didn’t make a peep and the other passengers commented on how good he was

So we arrived in Milwaukee and started our drive to the rehearsal. Wisconsin is absolutely beautiful this time of year. The trees were so many shades of colors and everything seemed so tranquil and peaceful, not like California where there’s buildings and cars everywhere you go. Anyhow, we were about 30 minutes late for the rehearsal. After the rehearsal, we went to the rehearsal dinner at a place called Adam’s ribs. It was yummy. I had a steak with mushrooms, french fries, and a salad. I got my wedding party gift there as well. It was the jewelry for the wedding, some bath and body works lotion and shower gel, bath salts, and chocolates.

The next day was crazy. I had to be at my hair appointment at 10:45 am so John was on baby duty. I got my hair put in curls. Then at 2 pm was pictures, 4:30 was the wedding and 6:30 was the grand entrance of the wedding party. I had planned to nurse after each of these events, but things didn’t go as planned. I was able to nurse after I go my hair done and then quickly at about 6:15 pm. I was so engorged I was in pain. This was the same situation as the day of the flight because the baby was too distracted to eat much at all during the day. The pictures took until 4:15 and after the ceremony, we went out on a boat overlooking the lake. The reception food was delicious. I had to give a speech and was amazed that some people actually laughed at parts. Who would’ve known I’d be a comic? Anyhow, I was so nervous during the speech, I was shaking. But the bride loved it.

We stayed at the reception til 11 pm, then made our way to Milwaukee. We go there around 1:30 am or so and found a Denny’s to eat breakfast at. We got to the airport around 4 am after returning the car and we arrived home at about 10 am. We finally stepped in the door of our house at about 1 pm after lunch. We then slept darn near all day because of how tired the weekend had made us.

Congratulations to Heather! You were a beautiful bride. I wish you a long lasting, happiness and romance filled marriage! Pictures to come soon.

One week down….many more to go!

Well, I’ve done it. I’ve managed to go a full week without eating any dairy at all or any hidden dairy for that matter. I’ve even managed to go out to eat a couple times without eating dairy. I’ve eaten some really good non-dairy meals. What I like is that I have to be so creative in our meals and it’s becoming easier and easier to do so. Sure, cheese sounds good, but there are lots of other yummy things out there. This is forcing me to eat healthier as well which I’m sure will help me lose weight and lower my cholesterol. John’s only getting dairy at his lunch, for the most part, which means he’ll be getting healthier too. I suppose when JJ’s about 6 months or so, I’ll start reintroducing dairy slowly into my diet to see if he still has the sensitivity. If he does, I’ll just continue on how I’ve been. Not a big deal at all! Anything for the baby.

First day at the babysitter’s!

So my little guy had his first day at the babysitter’s today. He did great! She told us that he was easier than any of her 3 kids ever were. What a nice compliment. It’s just cuz my baby is wonderful though. I’m thoroughly convinced of that. They did all sorts of fun activities–playing in the exersaucer, reading, swinging on the swing, going for a walk and tummy time. Supposedly the only time he cried was during tummy time. He sure didn’t eat very much though–only 8 oz the whole day. From 730 to 1245 he had eaten 5 oz and from 1245 to 4 he ate 3 oz. I guess I’m glad he didn’t eat much because I didn’t pump much at work today (only 7.5 oz), but I think he’ll be one of those babies who easts more when he’s with mommy than when he’s not. He took two naps–from 845 to 1045 and then another half hour nap later on in the day. Pretty typical. He’s such a great baby! Daddy and I sure did good!

Tomorrow’s the big day! (and Day 1 of no dairy allowed)

Well, tomorrow’s the big day. I’m going back to work. JJ will be staying with Judy-our landlord’s wife while I’m gone. I’ll be dropping him off around 7:45 and picking him up between 3:30 and 4. I have a feeding dilemma though. I have made a decision to stop dairy for the next 3-4 weeks to see if the little guy’s tummy troubles get any better. Well, here’s the thing. I have a bunch of milk stored up. However, it comes from the days when I was eating dairy products and if I give them to him, I’ll never know if me stopping dairy is working. I have a can of Neocate formula which is not milk or soy based and is used for babies with allergies. I think what I’ll do is give him milk I pump during the day (which won’t be enough to last him through the day probably), and then just supplement with the Neocate formula. That way his tummy should feel better. I don’t really want to resort to formula, but I think it will probably be best.

I have officially been on a no-dairy diet for the past 22 hours. It hasn’t been that bad. I picked up my first carton of Rice Milk today. Tomorrow I’ll be giving it a try for the first time. Here’s how my meals went on my first non-dairy day.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with brown sugar

Lunch: Pinto Beans and a Fig

Dinner: Chicken with garlic and olive oil; spaghetti with olive oil, tomatoes, and garlic; yellow squash

Mooo!!!

So I noticed something really cute and funny the other day. When I feed my little guy, sometimes we use the side lying position on the bed. Occasionally my husband will use this time to lay down with us and talk or bond in other ways. The other day, he said “Mooo” while the little guy was eating. JJ stopped eating, turned his head, and looked at my husband. After a couple of seconds, he continued eating. However, each time my husband said, “Moo,” our little guy always stopped eating and looked at my husband. It even works when I do it. I can say it and he’ll stop eating and look up at me. He’s fascinated by that sound for some reason. I can’t wait to take him to a farm or a zoo and have him hear it for real just to see if he has the same reaction. What a cutie!

Pumping and Feeding Dilemma

I have a dilemma. A couple weeks ago, I started pumping at the same time my little guy was eating. This helped a lot with let down and I was able to get about twice as much per day pumping this way than by pumping either before or after him eating. For whatever reason, my pump does not trigger my milk to let down very efficiently. However, ever since I started pumping this way, my little guy has started waking at night to eat again–sometimes once, sometimes twice. It’s like the more milk I get out with the pump, the less there is for him to eat or something; therefore, he is more hungry and night and continues to wake. I’ve tried holding him, giving him a pacifier, putting him in the swing when he wakes up, but the only thing that soothes him is feeding. This is odd because for the past two months, he’s been sleeping through the night.

I’m afraid if I stop pumping while I feed him, I will loose some of my supply. It will help me get more sleep probably because he’ll be more full when he goes to bed, but I won’t get that much to store for when I return to work. I’m afraid too that when I go back to work that I won’t be able to pump much because I tend to not get very much when I pump without feeding the baby at the same time. Hmmm….I’m not sure what to do.

Hungry all the time!

So I think now that I have this breastfeeding and pumping thing down now, I realize that I am starving all the time. I’ve realized that the most efficient way to get more milk is to pump on one side while the baby feeds on the other. I’m getting at least 2 oz each time I do that. Yesterday, I managed to get 12 oz and today so far I think I’ve got pretty close to the same. Normally I only get about 6 oz tops. Anyhow, all this extra milk making sure makes me hungry. Unfortunately, I have this huge bag of candy in my fridge that I won from a baby shower and I’ve been eating tons of it. I did have lots of yummy sliced veggies for dinner though. I’ve also been eating oatmeal a lot to help me make more milk. I’m getting much more confident that my little guy will have enough when I go back to work. I am so thankful that breastfeeding is a form of weight control because with all of this eating, I would definitely be gaining lots of weight. However, I’ve stayed stable since about 6 weeks post partum. That’s 7 weeks ago. I’m officially at about 10 lbs lower than my pre-pregnancy weight which means I lost a total of 25 lbs. Go me!

Little Milestones

Isn’t it amazing how enthralled moms get when their little ones do something so small–like lifting up their heads, supporting their weight on their legs or rolling over. My little guy does all of these things. Both of his doctors have commented on how strong his legs are. He’s been “standing” for about a month now. He rolled over for the first time at 10 weeks, then waited a full week and rolled over about 5 times in one day, then waited 10 days and did it again. He’s also having some other milestones like staying on his tummy for a full 10 minutes before fussing. I have a video of my little guy rolling over on www.myspace.com/ucirvine2001. You should check it out. He’s so adorable. He’s also doing much better taking a bottle from me and from other people. He won’t touch it if he’s not hungry (unlike with breastfeeding which he’ll do whether or not he’s hungry sometimes–I think he just likes the closeness), but if he is hungry, he downs it quickly.