Tag Archive | LaLeche League

Shots, Breastfeeding, Shopping and Motherly Worries

So with the combined effort of both Ken and his folks (aka Nana and Baba) we are the proud owners of a 1996 Nissan van that now is completely road worthy… Ken just had to stay overnight at my mom’s and have some random piece fabricated by local welders. Hey at least the kids and I got a pizza party in the livingroom out of it (thanks to Ken leaving behind cash on his desk that was not set for something specific!). There are a few quirks to our new old van as is to be expected with any vehicle, especially one over 10 years old, but we are NOT complaining.

Pizza Party (Zander)

We managed a trip out after Mike picked up Zander and Ken got back with Echo and Emanuel after shots. Shots went rather well… Emanuel didn’t cry, Echo calmed down quickly, she was told she was cute… now comes the less “good” – she has NOT gained any weight since the last time. Now what has me happy is she hasn’t LOST any either. And in the span of time she has started rolling from front to back, been trying to sit on her own, loves to “stand” with us holding her hands and is constantly moving and kicking, smiling and cooing. So we have accomplished something – we have MAINTAINED while she has become progressively more active and has had a cold/flu off and on since November. Of course I took my worries and my concerns and called the best reference I have – the local LaLeche League. I got a lovely breastfeeding mom names Emily who was willing to listen, discuss and even went through some of her literature and called me back. We have a new game plan –  today instead of rice cereal we mixed bananas and breastmilk to work on moisture getting into her AND weight on her adorable little frame. Apparently things like bananas and avocado are great for that (I don’t know enough about avocado to pick one and our family LIVES on bananas). The nurses also told Ken how ADORABLE Echo is and how lovely, she was smiling and chatting AND even did some giggling so our little one put on a great show! I am also going to substitute the breast for the binky. Instead of soothing with the soother whenever possible we will try and get a sip or two in, it has worked pretty well tonight and given me some hope. I am learning more and more about breastfeeding and feeling more and more supported in my wish NOT to use formula! It is terrific! I am hoping I can make it to a LaLeche League meeting in January in our area.

We went out with the 4 remaining children today (as I mentioned above) and stopped at Walmart. We used our gift card we got this Christmas (thanks Fydo and Kristen!!) and got a new Wii game – Epic Mickey. Ken has all the games he wants right now with his WoW account and all so it was my choice. (the other option was a baby swing but none were on sale)

Shopping as a family

New game

And then as a treat we got some Babybel Gouda cheese. We rarely buy anything other than cheddar so this is somewhat of a delicacy.

Yum!

So tomorrow is New Years Eve… we plan on having a few people over for games but with the kids and the cold… well we are staying indoors. We tend not to make a big fuss about New Years, though this year we will let the kids stay up later… not sure if they will make it to midnight though.

Now I have a new sewing project I am working on until I get some more patterns Ken is working on, and I have a ton to do over the weekend so back to work I go! Thank goodness Ken is home and the shots are over. Now I can focus on my new game plan and on getting my family in order for facing 2011.

Full belly, clean bottom, time to snuggle with Daddy (soother due to Tylenol given for shots... here's hoping tonight we work on our new plan!)

LaLeche League and Other Moments

I think the entire family has at some point in the past week come down with this cold. But I woke up feeling it finally this morning and Trinity is still a bit of a mess. With Echo not peeing as much as I would like I figured it was time to call the local LaLeche League. You call the main number for the city and it gives you a local number to call of a mom who is trained to give breastfeeding advice. I have done this before with Trinity when trying to face down the paediatrician who was in love with formula. I have never had a bad experience with the call line and today’s call followed that positive pattern.

I got a mom named Nancy who not only was a breastfeeding advocate BUT also had homeschooled her children up to grade 9. She was supportive, willing to chat and absolutely full of information. We ran down her “symptoms”… peeing less (and it smelling a little more but we put that at maybe my diet too – smell wise), not gained much weight in the past few weeks, and a concern about her fluid intake. What we also noted was her soft spot is not sunken, she is ACTIVE ACTIVE ACTIVE, making eye contact and sleeping and awake still much the same. Oh and the big thing – an over 1 inch length growth spurt in the same amount of time. What the consultant told me is… first off babies grow at their own rate, charts can be limiting and a source of unneeded worry, second she is NOT failing to thrive with how active she is (a baby failing to thrive is lethargic, won’t make eye contact and acts very concerned all the time – not like our bubbly and happy baby)… AND the large length growth is terrific and where the majority of her energy and nutrients are going to go.

Add to all that her stuffy nose we are constantly cleaning out and my finally feeling ill and we figure that I picked the wrong week to micromanage. Oh and with the urine comparison – well it could also be us used to too much peeing after all I was over producing and she probably taking in too much that she could not use… so maybe what we are looking at is equalling out. The actual amount of pee at a time is a lot smaller than I thought (tablespoons!). So I ended my rather lengthy call feeling lifted up not only in regards to breastfeeding but to homeschooling as well!

Sleepy Echo

Ken managed to get a hold of our mechanic… he has the transmission in but it is not shifting gears quite right yet. The hope is that when we call him or he calls us on Monday it is for us to come in and get the van. I have shopping to do! Christmas is right around the corner and I so badly want to be done my presents.

Tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent and is at 10 am instead of our usual 11. Without the van it is just Ken and the boys heading out, but with Trinity and my being sick it is for the best. Ken is going to take the pink camera and get the kids singing at the front on video. That is a bit of a kicker for me – Emanuel’s first time at the front singing… BUT I will see it in video and share it with you all as well!

Wearing a snuggly sweatsuit for her sicky day

We had Ted over last night and into today. It is great to have someone ELSE in the house to chat with, share jokes and what has been going on lately with. It is going to be so weird when we move in the spring and are over an hour away from Ted. He currently does not have a car… we figure he will just have to follow us! He and Ken ran out this evening so Ted could but a DSlite. He got the blue and black version which Ken is now coveting – after all MINE is bubblegum pink.

Late night gaming

The stocking for my nephew is awaiting the last few components! But the bones are basically there! I am very happy with it so far, it has green on the toe and heel instead of red and the backstitched lines are the opposite to Quinn’s (except the top horizontal ones).

Stocking to date

I have started a small project that is a gift for one of our friends as well tonight. Not much to look at yet, but it should be a quick stitch.

Hard to tell what it is just yet!

Now if I could just get the last of the ornaments on the tree and Ken the rest of the lights fixed. Our living room is still full of half emptied boxes and such that need to be cleared out, I would LOVE to start the week with a tidy kitchen and living room… and a van but I have to sit and trust on that one. Since Ken was able to get a pretty good answer on the vehicle I am going to be very careful to NOT dwell on it tomorrow and just keep positive and put all this excess energy into stitching and baking!

Zander, Gavin and Trinity... another sneak peek