Random ramblings

Morning.  Let me preface this post by saying that it is being composed on VERY little sleep.  Might be able to add ridiculous to random and ramblings by the time I’m done here.

Coupla new things in Nadiworld just now.

1.  Her Daddy is leaving tomorrow for THREE WEEKS.  Nadi and I have never been alone in Nadiworld together for this long.  Pray for us.  Oh and said Daddy is sick with a cold so Nadi is experiencing her first indirect cold.  Every cough scares her right now, which is both a reminder of how new she still is and super cute.

2.  Nadi likes her soother!  Not any of the expensive natural rubber soothers we bought for her though of course or the dozen other silicon versions we’ve tried but the hand-me-down soother my girlfriend E gave me after her son K was finished with it.  Yesterday as we were cruising in the car, Miss Nadi was exhausted and started to cry (the only way she can get to sleep on her own thusfar, sigh).  I popped the soother in her mouth almost as a joke b/c she’s only ever spit it clear across the room and to my surprise and delight, she started sucking on it and would have gone to sleep quietly if we hadn’t of arrived home just in time to interrupt her.  Boo.

3.  If you’ve read my blog or know Nadi and I personally, you’ll know that she’s been quite a good nite sleeper so far.  She’s goes to bed at 7PM and up until two weeks ago, she would wake up once (if all at all) to eat in the nite and slept 10-11 hours in total.  Two weeks ago, she started waking an additional time, so we’d be up at around 12:30AM and then again around 3:30AM.  She’d be genuinely hungry at one of these feedings and would lollygag around on the other.  I consider myself lucky as I know some Mommas who are still up 4+ times per night with their little chickens.

Last night though, was our first not-so-good night since Nadi was a newborn.  She was up at 10PM and despite nursing her, rocking her and trying the soother, she would not stay asleep in her crib.  Finally after 2 1/2 hours of multiple pu/pd attempts, I succumbed and brought her into bed with me.  She slept 2 hours.  I nursed her, rocked her and tried the soother.  Still, Miss Nadi was super difficult to settle.  Finally at 4 she fell asleep and I crept out of her room to enjoy the 3 1/2 hours of undisturbed sleep I got last night.  Yawn.  (Note: Sorry to those Mommas who think that sounds like a lot.)

She’s drooling a lot.  She’s sucking on everything in sight.  But she’s always done these things so I’m not sure if it’s teeth coming or if she was unsettled because Daddy is getting ready to leave and she senses that or if it was just a one-off.  I’m hoping for the latter.  Again, pray for us.

Ok b/c of last night’s unfortunate sleep, my Nadi needs a nap now so I’m going to lay down with her.  See y’all on the other side.  Peace.

Fur babies vs. real babies

Hi all.  In perusing my blog posts of the past, I realized I hadn’t updated you on this one where I was trying to rehome my beautiful kitty Feather.  Well, Feather found a new home with the lady we called P and she says he loves nothing more than to curl up with her in her lazy boy while she watches the tellie or does some work on her computer.  How I love to hear this!  Warms my heart to hear that my Feather boy is happy in his new life.  He probably doesn’t even remember me.  Sniff sniff.

So in that old post, I also mentioned a kitty called Pauline.  Here’s a picture of her little self.  Pauline is a much more laid back beast than her pal Feather was and so I presumed that even with our Nadi on the way, we’d be able to keep Pauline and that she and Nadi could eventually be friends!

Um… they could be friends if Pauline didn’t routinely wake baby Nadi from her slumber!  Or smack at her jerky hands and legs while she plays.  Or hide under Nadi’s crib just before I’m about to put her down to sleep at night.  Or chew on Nadi’s slippers and hide them in her lair (behind our living room chair).  I’m constantly saying “No Pauline!” and “Get off Pauline!” and “Go away Pauline!!!”  I’m at my wits end with my fur baby.  I don’t think I’m a good mother to both my fur baby and my real baby.  Fur baby versus real baby?  Real baby wins hands down of course.

So on the hunt I went for a new home for our Pauline.  I posted this ad and have had two visitors and over a dozen inquiries about our girl.  In fact, I have a lady, we’ll call her N, coming in about half hour.  Pauline is being super clingy right now and I’m wondering if she knows what is happening.

In many ways, this situation makes me feel sad.  I’m losing a little creature that has been my friend for almost 4 years.  She’s cuddled with me in bed when I was sick.  She makes me laugh when she tosses her furry mice up in the air and loses them in the plants.  She’s kind and cuddly with any company we have.  She’s just a lovely little cat.  Our lives have just become so focused on Nadi that I just don’t have much energy left over for poor Pauline at the end of the day.  It’s really hard to admit this but… I don’t want the added responsibility of caring for another being right now.  I’m cared out.  😦

So wish us luck everyone…

Nap regression

It’s official: I’m Nadi sleep obsessed.  I read about it.  I write about it.  I talk about it.  I worry about it.  My Husband will tell you I’m a worrier regardless of whether there is actually something to worry about.  Now that breastfeeding isn’t a worry (and man was that a worry!), now I have to find something else to worry about.  I guess sleep is it b/c it stresses me out and here’s why.

My girl is wee.  As mentioned previously, she’s in the 5th percentile for weight.  I repeat: wee.  The Doctor also mentioned when we saw him 2 weeks ago that Nadi looked tired.  I replied, “Well, you’d be tired too if you were 4 1/2 months old and wouldn’t nap during the day unless every star in the universe aligned at the precise moment that you were neither too awake nor too sleepy to fall asleep.”  Or something like that.  In any case, you get my drift the wee kid does not nap.

There were a few posts earlier on where I gloated that I was updating my blog while by baby napped.  Those opportunities have come and gone as it seems we are experiencing a nap regression whereby what if any progress we were making on this issue seems to have been kicked to the curb and we’re sleepless in Victoria yet again.

I don’t need Nadi to nap for my sake.  I’ve had 5 months to adjust to not having any time to myself during the day.  I’m cool with it now.  She and I get on just fine and I’m genuinely happy to hang out with her all day.  I really feel like Nadi needs to nap to GROW.  I want her to GROW.  I’m tired of people looking at me like I’m not feeding my child.  Sometimes I just want to whip the boob out and latch her on as if to say “See?  See?  I FEED HER!!!!!!”  So I guess I do need her to nap for me, lol.

Anyhoo, for the most part she sleeps great at night for which I am mega grateful (so please God or universe or whomever or whatever is in charge of all things, please don’t take this away from me. I REALLY am grateful. REALLY I am.  GRATEFUL.)  My neighbour popped by the other day and told me that her first son napped but didn’t sleep in the night.  Her second, slept in the night but didn’t nap.  She told me you can’t have it all.  Well, obviously I can’t but I’m pretty sure I’ve read some Mommy Blogs whereby they were having it all and quite enjoying it.  Good for them.  I’m happy for you.  I REALLY am.  HAPPY.

So here’s my new nap induction plan.  Nadi will fall asleep under these conditions: you put her in a carrier (either wrap or Baby Bjorn will do) and you walk for about 30 minutes.  So b/c the Hus works at home, he takes her for an AM walk/nap around 10 and then I take her for her afternoon walk/nap around 2.  This way, (a) she gets some much needed day sleep, (b) we get exercise and fresh air, (c) the Hus gets some bonding time with our girl and I get some ‘me’ time, (d) Nadi can get used to napping at the same two times a day so maybe eventually we can get her to nap in the house at some point down the road (only so that when the weather is atrocious we can still get her to sleep).  Sound like a plan?  I know you experienced mothers have something to say on this.  Please say it.  I need all the help I can get.

I have a new Macbook.  It’s cool.  Here’s a neat pic of Nadi and I that my computer (whose name is Shirley btw) took.

Peace out Mommas and bellies and babies.

 

 

Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on her play mat

Ok so (not so) secretly, I’ve always wished I could (a.) flash back to the 60’s and (b.) be one of Tina’s back up dancers (see 3:05 mark and onward to see why).  Those girls can move.  Turns out, so can my wee daughter!  Turns out Miss Nadi was just waiting until she could roll over perfectly before attempting it.  And she made it happen the night before last and has been rollin’ ever since!  Here’s how the story goes.

We’ve swaddled Nadi every time she went to sleep since birth b/c she wouldn’t sleep more than 3-4 hours without being wrapped up (I know some would consider 3-4 hours of sleep very lucky and to you, I’m very sorry and wish you much more sleep very soon).  I’ve been dreading the day we’d have to forgo the swaddle and read everything there was to know about when that should be and why et cetera.  Basically, babies can be swaddled for as long as they enjoy it UNTIL they can roll over (for obvious reasons).  Either way, Nadi had not been showing any interest at all in rolling over so I figured we had at least a few weeks.

Well the night before last, I swaddled her, fed her and put her to bed as per usual.  Not as per usual, she woke at 10:30PM just as we were heading to bed.  She was quite upset so the Hus unswaddled her to see if something was bunched, poking, rubbing or just otherwise bugging her.  Nothing.  So I nursed her and then we thought we’d re-swaddle her and put her to bed.  Well, didn’t that little bum roll over right on her mat in front of us!  “That’s it,” I exclaimed “No more swaddle.”  Then it hit me what that actually meant: I was going to have to get her to sleep (not so hard) and stay asleep (harder) w/o our trusty bamboo/muslin fabric friend.

I changed her wee bum and then put her in her thusfar unused sleep sack.  I rocked her until she was asleep.  When it was time to put her in her crib, I felt my body tense up in fear that I’d wake her (it’s now 1:30AM and I’d been up since 5:30AM the previous day) but then I took a moment, rearranged my thoughts positively and repeated in my head “It’s time for bed my sweetheart.  Mummy will just be in the next room.  Mummy loves you.”  Cheesy I know.  I put her down.  She adjusted herself for a moment and then… slept.  Until 7AM the next morning.  Amazing for her first night sans swaddle, no?!!

Since then, every night I’ve had to do less and less rocking to get her to sleep and she seems to be getting used to being put down without her swaddle to restrain all of her limbs.  Yay!

So the evening when I first had to put Nadi down in her crib w/o her swaddle, I was madly googling (on my Motorola smart phone for which I am soooo grateful at times like those) how to put a baby down in his/her crib w/o waking them.  I found nothing that helped so I devised my own strategy.  Here it is.  You’re rocking bub away right?  Probably side to side with maybe a little forward/backward dance step now and again just to mix it up?  Ok now add a little forward circle to your mix, in other words, supporting bub’s head with one hand and his/her bum with your other, lean forward slightly in a circular motion.  Gradually make the circle deeper until you’re basically at crib level.  Bub’s arms and legs will be dangling away and they’ll be none the wiser.  Put bub down and shimmey your hands from beneath head and bum.  Then to finish it off, place hand gently on bub’s chest until they settle (they’ll probably wriggle a bit when you first put them down).  Walk away.  Taaaadaaaaa!

I’m telling you it works.  I’ve tried everything and this worked for our girl.  I hope it works for you too.  Oh and for you ladies who have yet to have your wee bubs, if you never listen to anything I have ever written, listen to this: PUT YOUR BUB IN THEIR LOCATION OF SLEEP DROWSY BUT AWAKE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.  This will help them to learn to put themselves to sleep and you will not be 5 months along and nursing and rocking your baby for hours on end at bedtime like some sore backed, chapped nippled people out there.  Drowsy.  But awake.  I’m just saying.  (Results not guaranteed but are much more likely than if you coddle your peanut to sleep every night for 5 months and then expect them to magically know how to soothe themselves and let you go and watch Millionaire Matchmaker.  Heh.)

That’s all I got tonight folks.  Peace out.

It’s a beautiful day

Today was one of those days for me where absolutely everything was beautiful (even my mop of a hair do!).  The Hus was home for most of the day as we bounced ideas back and forth about his new business.  I put the baby down for a nap around 10AM and when I emerged from her nursery, he’d put together a lovely breakfast of crusty buns, spicy red pepper homous, laughing cow cheese, hot peppers and a light cuke and tomato salad with vinegar, lemon and sel et poivre.  Delish!

The baby woke around 10:45AM (little bugger) but was in good spirits so we let her stay up.  The Hus left around 1-ish to run errands and do some writing (his thesis is due on Friday!).  Nadi and I did a load of laundry and then she did some tummy time on her mat.  I noticed a really big difference in her during tummy time today.  She was able to keep her head up much higher and didn’t tire as easily.  I was so proud!

Also exciting is that Nadi tried to roll over on her own today!  She’s not been showing any interest in rolling over to date and certainly doesn’t do anything physically to suggest that she’s close to trying.  My girl is cautious and I’ve been gently turning her over now and again during our playtimes so she would get the feel for it and not be afraid to give it a try.  Today while I was folding laundry on our bed, I put her face down over a small bolster pillow she immediately (b/c it is perfectly round and almost as little as she is) rolled over onto her back.  She looked at me with eyes wide and I clapped and smiled and tickled her in encouragement.  We did it another 10 times or so and then I brought her out onto her mat and put her on her tummy and… she almost did it on her own!  She had one leg propped up and her opposite arm tucked in close to her body and she was gently rocking herself back and forth.  I shook a toy in the direction it looked like she would go and she looked at it but wouldn’t go further.  Well not today at least!  I’ll try again tomorrow.

By now its 2PM and Nadi’s getting pretty darn tired given she’s only had a 45 minute nap since rising at 7:30AM.  I feed her and try to put her down but she won’t have it.  So I pack her up and put her in the Moby Wrap (which we LOVE btw) and this is what happened:

There are two things of note in this picture: (1) my Nadi is asleep and (2) you can see why I included a search for a new hairstyle in my last post.  Holy shaggy and shapeless Batman.

Anyhoo, we had a lovely walk in the rain (I had an umbrella shielding my Nadi from the misty rain that was falling) and she was out like a light.  I walked around until it was almost dark b/c she was sleeping so peacefully but eventually had to come home.  When I did, she woke up as if on cue when I stepped into the driveway and was smiling and happy when I unwrapped her and delayered her.  A little brunette angel I tell ya.

The Hus arrived shortly thereafter with qeema for dinner- a Persian eggplant, lentil and beef stew.  Oh God.  If you’ve never had qeema, you must must must try it.  It is sooooooo delish.  If you happen to live in Victoria, we get ours from Side Dish Restaurant (Langley and Broughton).

My poor baby was beyond tired tonight and was yawning by 530PM.  I showered with her (part of our nightly routine now as we both enjoy it so much) and slathered her with lotion and got her in her jammies.  We read The New Baby Calf and had Time for Bed in the cue but little Nadi could take no more so Daddy swaddled her, I prepared her room and turned on the heating pad in her crib (which I remove before putting her down of course) and settled in to nurse her.  And that is the end of the story and of a most beautiful day.

Peace out bellies, mommas and babies of the world.

Prenatal Class Reunion, Nadi update and Hair

Hi kids.  So on Sunday the Hus and I hosted our prenatal class reunion.  We finished the class mid-August so it was really neat to see everyone again and meet their babies.  Thanks to those of you who were able to join us!

Unfortunately some of the babies and/or parents were sick so couldn’t make it.  Still, we had a houseful and here are the babes (except for an Anna who was having her poopy nappy changed and my Nadi who was antisocially hanging out on my boob).  Awwww!

Anyhoo, the gathering got me thinking about my pregnancy.  While of course I wouldn’t wish Nadi back in my belly, I did absolutely LOVE being pregnant.  Feeling your baby move around inside of you is one of the most glorious and amazing things in the whole wide world.

Coupla things Nadi’s been doing a lot lately…

1.  Trying to sit up… like all the time.  I’ve had to start reading to her in a reclined position b/c if she’s even semi-sitting up, she’s constantly lurching forward.

2.  Laughing and giggling.  She especially loves a good session of airplane.  Who doesn’t really?  LOL.

3.  Grabbing.  Her favourite thing to grab?  Mommy’s hair.  Not only does she grab but she yanks.  Ouch!  I’ve been attempting to grow my hair out after several years of having it short and/or shoulder length but I have to say, Nadi’s love of my locks has me thinking maybe a Mom Do doesn’t sound so unappealing.  Here’s some I like:

What’s not to like about this Katie Holmes do.  My hair is pretty wavy so would do the flippy thing pretty easily.  A solid option I’m thinking.

Had a version of this fierce cut for quite some time about two years ago and really loved the versatility.  This is my comfort zone though so maybe something a bit more exciting?

Me thinks this is quite lovely.  Regal.  Elegant.  Mature.  All things I aspire to be.  I did have a version of this as well but it was in the late 90’s in my first few years at Uni.  Gwyneth in Sliding Doors was my inspiration then.  On second thought, maybe this is too much of a throw back.

Ok so this one is by far my favourite.  I’ve been lusting after this haircut for a couple of years.  My hair is wavy.  Audrey’s is wavy.  My hair is thick.  Audrey’s is thick.  Ok that is sort of where the similarities end.  She’s got lovely super dark hair and mine is much lighter brown.  She’s bloody gorgeous and I’m more on the cute side.  Still, I LOVE this haircut.  Maybe one day.

My Mom always used to say “When you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything.”  I guess I have to wait until I know which way to go with the hair thing.  Baby crying.  Gotta jet.  Peace.

Baby stuff

I promised a post about baby stuff I can’t live without.  Btw, I’m typing this while Nadi is NAPPING 🙂

1. Bamboo baby bedding (we have these lovely sheets by BambooBaby).  The heater in our house has a mind of its own and most often the house is either too hot or too cold.  In addition to being naturally antibacterial, bamboo is also a wonderful temperature mediator and I find that when Nadi’s wrapped up in it, her body temperature feels basically the same regardless of what our heater is doing.  Helps with her being such a good sleeper I’m sure.

2.  Our stroller.  Despite a few posts below where I toggle back and forth between the Bugaboo and the Phil & Ted’s, we didn’t buy either :).  Instead, practicality won out (aka the Hus won out) and we got the Baby Jogger City Select. While it doesn’t have the aesthetic appeal I typically succumb to, it is pretty great and Nadi really likes it so that’s all that matters of course.  We use it A LOT and have made great use of the many ways you can position the seats etc.  Technically she’s still supposed to be in her car seat perched on top of the stroller at this age, the seat is so much more comfortable that unless she’s asleep in the car and I need to put her in the stroller, I put her in the seat.  People used to put their babies in the backseat of cars in boxes for heaven’s sake.

3.  Our aden + anais bamboo/muslin swaddle blankets.  Nadi still likes to be swaddled for sleep and b/c she’s so little, she’s not outgrown the swaddle yet so we keep doing it.  Yes, I’ll have to wean her off the swaddle at some point but that point is not today.  She likes it.  I’ll do it until she doesn’t.

4.  Nadi’s Leap Frog caterpillar.  While of course she can’t make full use of this yet, she loves to cuddle it and listen to the classical music that it plays.  She even hit the #2 the other day when caterpillar stopped singing to her!  Totally by mistake of course but she got a kick out of it and we had a little party in her crib to celebrate.

5.  Nadi’s Eric Carle teether.  Ours is a butterfly rather than a lion but she really likes this toy.  We take it everywhere and she particularly likes to suck on the crinkly parts.  Gives the nips a break now and again so… yay for that!

6.  Nadi also really loves her Manhattan Toy Whoozit.  This was the first toy she ever really showed any interest in and we didn’t leave the house without it for her first 3 months on Earth.  We have the girl Whoozit but while out and about the other day, we saw a little boy with a boy Whoozit (dark blue face instead of pink).  Cute.

There are also a few baby items I can’t live  without the IDEA of, however we either missed the boat, haven’t caught the boat yet or the boat is too expensive.  They are:

7.  The Natursutten soother.  I have 4 of these in different sizes and nipple shapes but she won’t have any of it.  Sometimes the girls need a break Nadi!

8.  The Baby Bjorn high chair.  Nadi isn’t too far off from giving solids a try which means I can pitch this chair to the Hus.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  🙂

9.  The songbird Grobag.  Just love this but can’t justify the $70 price tag when I can get a Halo sleep sack at Winner’s for $20.  Boo.

10.  Last but not least, me loves the idea of the Puj foldable baby bathtub.  Nadi loves baths but I only have a standard hard plastic bathtub for her and while we have a fabric hammocky-type thing that she lays on, she never looks very comfortable and I have to keep adjusting her as she slides down the hammocky-thing several times/bath leaving her neck cricked at a disturbing angle.  While she’d be too big for this Puj now, bathing her when she was a newborn was totally daunting and b/c I didn’t feel I had the proper equipment, I tended to sponge bathe her instead.  Nadi cried a lot when she was really little and given how much she likes baths now, I’ll bet something like this would have helped us all.

That’s all I have for today.  We’re having our prenatal class reunion at our place later today so gotta prep the house!  Peace out.

A Saturday quickie…

My daughter did the cutest thing today.  As I was about to put her sweater over her head this afternoon in advance of a trip to Costco, she closed her eyes in anticipation!  She’s 4 1/2 months old.  Obviously, she’s super advanced.  LOL.

Tummy time is an interesting thing isn’t it?  Sometimes she loves it.  Other times, “scream” doesn’t do the sound she makes justice.  Here are a few photos of my darling in the first scenario.

I think you wished us naps…

… because that is what Nadi is doing right now!  As she did for 2 1/2 hours yesterday morning and for another hour yesterday afternoon.  And it hasn’t been a fight!  Yesterday I rocked her for about 5 minutes after her meal and put her down.  This morning, I took her off my boob, slung her over my shoulder to get any bubbles out, walked to our room and plopped her in her bassinet.  Asleep.

The Hus says I routinely jinx things by getting overexcited about them.  I don’t disagree but I just can’t contain myself sometimes.  For the last 3 months, I have fought with my daughter over naps, sometimes spending the greater part of the day trying to get her to go down for one.  Is it the 10 minutes per boob thing?  Is she just finding a rhythm?  Am I able to better read her signs and get her down before the window closes?  I don’t know but I’m happy!

Only thing is, Nadi returned to waking up in the night last night.  After two weeks of sleeping straight through for 11 hours, she woke last night after 7 hours and wanted a drink (she only had one boob and when I put her on the second she just laid there and smiled at me so I figured she was done).  Post-drink, Miss Nadi was still really awake and in my sleepy haze, I remember fearing that she’d be up for another hour or more.  In an attempt to reverse her wakefulness, I slung her over my shoulder and did what I’ve been doing lately to put her to sleep: holding her really tight in a hug with one hand supporting her neck and rocking her medium-hard.  Within 5 minutes she was breathing heavy and in another 2, her breath had changed to the shallow kind I was listening for- the baby sleep promise land.  I put her down.

Her eyes burst open.  I patted her chest and went to get a glass of water naively hoping she’d at least look a little sleepy when I returned.  I returned.  She didn’t look sleepy.  I didn’t speak to her.  She followed me across the room with those big dark eyes of hers and watched me crawl into bed.  I heard her sucking on her tongue (the self-soothing technique she has learned from being swaddled for sleep since birth) and then grunting a bit here and there and then… silence.  I lay still waiting in suspense to see if my daughter had done the unthinkable, the amazing, the fantastic and highly coveted self-soothe to sleep.  To date, she hasn’t been able to do it… or I wouldn’t let her b/c I rush in as soon as she makes a peep for fear she’d cry (yes I have the new Momma fear-of-baby-crying syndrome).  Well I am pleased to say that she did drift off to sleep on her own and slept soundly for another 4 1/2 hours.  I’m pretty proud.

Couple that with our new napping thing and I’m beyond it!  Ok I think this officially counts as jinxing.  I should stick a sock in it.

Sock is officially inserted.

Peace out mamas, babies and all of you other people.

The post with the most

So… it’s been a while.  Like 5 months and a bit awhile.  What happened in these last few months you ask?  Well, I had a baby that’s what happened!  I’ve got a lot to say.  Bear with me.

My life change’s name is Nadia and as anyone whose met her will tell you, she’s darn gorgeous.  She was born Sept. 8, 2010 at 7lbs 15oz at Victoria General Hospital in Victoria, British Columbia.  She had her 4 month check up with Doc a few days ago (albeit almost 2 weeks late) and she was in the 75th percentile for length and for weight… wait for it… the 5th percentile 😦  Boo.  She weighs an adorably but light 11lbs4oz now.  Are there supermodel babies?  B/c I think my daughter is one.

Doc recommended we try limiting her feeds to 10 minutes per side (12 if I’m feeling really generous…which I usually am b/c I’m a SUCKER).  Structuring a baby’s feeds is highly contentious I have realized.  Actually, everything about having babies is contentious.  We Mommas take our jobs pretty darn seriously.

Couple of key reasons for this 10 minute per side thing.  One- Nadi doesn’t nap, well at least not without a pretty good fight and a sore back for Momma from rocking her for hours on end.  Doc says she might likely be able to fight off naps b/c she’s catnapping on my boob so much.  How did he know?  It’s true, I’ve been a bit lazy where trying to get her to nap is concerned.  It’s just so much darn work!  And if I let her laze at my boob, I can actually like write emails and make phone calls and stuff.  Bad.

Second, she’s quite small for her age which could mean that she’s not eating as well as she could be, again, b/c she’s lazing about at my boob for hours on end.  So…. we’ve been doing this 10 minutes thing since we got back from Doc’s office on Monday afternoon.  Today is Thursday.  So except for her last feed of the day where I let her lollygag about until she is sound asleep (Bad), I’ve been taking her off after 10-12 minutes per side.  Funny thing is, occasionally she does fuss but it only takes a small distraction before she is back to her smiley self so I’m thinking she’s not missing out on too much.  Plus, a little selfish plug here, feedings take SO MUCH LESS TIME which means I have more time for myself.  In any case, I’ll keep y’all updated as to how this goes.  We’re going in for a weigh-in on February 8th where our efforts will have either paid off or… not.  Wish us weight.  And naps.  And weight loss for Mama, heh.  Hey I can ask!

Other than that, our Nadi sleeps great at night.  Her routine just changed (babies are like the weather, don’t like what they are doing, wait a minute) and she is now going to bed between 7-8PM and sleeping until 6 or 7AM respectively.  Biggest change there?  No night feeding.  Until two weeks ago, she was waking after 5-6 hours for a feed and then going back to sleep for another 3 hours or so.  I like this new thing she’s doing much better.  Not sure my boobs do tho.  I wake up with rock boobs.  Anyone whose had milk come in knows to which I refer.  Ouch!  I can’t explain the relief once I get her on and she gets going.  It rocks.  Pardon the pun.  Apparently boobs are really smart though and will adjust to the fact that she doesn’t seem to need a night feed anymore.  Eventually.

I wasn’t joking about having a lot to say was I?

A couple of things I didn’t know before having Nadi:

1. Newborns have pooplosions.  I had to wipe yellow newborn poo off of Nadi’s nursery wall, window and ceiling, yes ceiling, after one particularly large one once.  Nadi’s poops tended to stay inside her diaper after about 10 weeks though.

2.  Cloth diapering is actually really great.  Before Nadi was born I knew I wanted to put her in cloth diapers but when we bought them, compared to the very small disposables we were using at the time, the cloth looked positively daunting.  I mean two pieces AND a liner?  Sheesh.  But we got used to it and now we’re both loving it.  Here are the diapers we have in case you’re wondering:

– Jamtots Berry Plush
– Stay Dry AMP
– One size duo AMP

3.  Sometimes you have to wake babies up to feed them!  And waking a baby who is sleeping peacefully sucks.  A lot.  We had to wake Nadi every 4 hours for her first 8 weeks of life b/c of her weight (not that its gotten any better since we’ve been letting her sleep).  So if you’re preggo, don’t waste a prayer on eye colour or hair or even on intelligence.  Pray you have a baby who loves to eat b/c food leads to sleep and sleep, well, sleep will be a highly coveted thing very soon.  Yawn.

4.  There are a lot of baby experts.  Looking for a way to get your baby to nap?  Maybe you’d like to get them on a schedule or you’re wondering what to feed them when solids enter the picture?  You have 1,098,355 experts to choose from.  Go ahead, choose!  Goodness me.  Sometimes reading other people’s opinions (which is really what they are when it comes down to it) can be comforting, I won’t lie.  Especially when you’re up in the middle of the night again, with a baby who won’t stop crying again, unless they are attached to your boob, you got it, again.  But other times, I think reading the thoughts and feelings of others can actually separate you from your own thoughts and feelings and you gotta watch out for that.  Having said that, here are some experts I like:

– Dr. Sears
– Kelly Bonyata
– And while it sounds ultra-cheesy, the Baby Whisperer

5.  Getting out of the house with a baby takes practice.  Before Nadi was born, I think I thought that I’d just throw her over my shoulder and we’d head out on adventures every day.  Adventures to the grocery store, to Mum & Babe groups, to the park.  Um…. not so much!  Breastfeeding is not easy (see #6 below), at least it wasn’t for us, and while Nadi was really little, she had to eat every 90 minutes or so or she was pretty unhappy.  Try to pack your bag, get baby’s diaper changed and get some clothes on her, get the seat on the stroller, get yourself dressed and your hair combed, find your keys, grab something to eat, put your coat and shoes on, walk somewhere interesting and return home all inside 90 minutes!  It’s not easy my friends and until quite recently, I was not very comfortable nursing in public which meant Nadi and I stayed home a lot.  So I’d suggest making your home as comfortable as possible before baby is born.  Admittedly I’m probably more of a home body than most but regardless, I think it is pretty common for new moms to be home a lot more than they were pre-baby.

6.  Nursing may be one of the most natural things in the world to do but it doesn’t come as naturally as I thought it would.  The nurses at the hospital actually wake you and baby up so babe can chomp in the first day or so (which may sound annoying but was actually extremely comforting for me).  When you go home tho, you’re pretty well on your own.  Here in Canada, we have public health nurses who visit you a few days after your baby is home to weigh them, check on breastfeeding (if that was your choice) and share what mom-babe resources there are in your community.  My nurse’s name is Pamela.  She’s a very nice lady and she came a lot for the first several weeks because Nadi was so little.  In any case, she helped us through thrush (see #7), latch issues, sore nipples (yowsa!), sleepy baby syndrome and just provided general support.  Thx Pamela.  You are my public health hero.

7.  Did you know you can get a yeast infection in your nipples?  Well, you can and it’s 10000x worse than the kind you get down there.  First, your nipples don’t itch, they burn.  When your baby latches on, it feels like needles are shooting up your breast and into your armpit (the armpit pain is the telltale sign you have thrush as opposed to just sore nipples).  Not only that, the pain persists after the feed is over and ANYTHING that touches your raw, red nipple is the enemy.  Doctors prescribe meds for thrush but Nadi and I kicked it the old fashioned way.  Here’s how we did it.

I took Grapefruit Seed Extract by mouth.  I took a 50 billion probiotic each day and cut back sugar and all other white foods.  I boosted my immune system with zinc and echinacea.  I put liquid silver on my nipples after each feed and let them air dry.  Nadi took a baby probiotic (open capsule and fed to her with a wet finger which she actually really liked though it had no taste; I tried it).  And the the thing that made the real difference?  Garlic.  I take 4 capsules of Kyolic garlic every day with meals and each capsule is equivalent to… get this… 17 cloves of garlic!  Woweee.  And it didn’t make my breastmilk taste funky or if it did, Nadi likes funky.

Ok I’ll shut up now.  Stay tuned for my next post- baby items I couldn’t live without!

Peace.