Mother's Intuition

Never doubt it! ;)

At Charlie's nine-month appointment, he had fluid in his ears. He had one ear infection in September (along with the one a couple of weeks ago) and the doctor had noticed fluid off and on. She referred us to an ENT so they could do some further testing. We met with a doctor in late December and he suggested ear tubes. Ugh. Not what I wanted to hear, but if necessary, that's what we'd have to do. But the more I researched it (I know, I know, google is your frenemy) the more I thought that maybe this wasn't the only option. While the surgery is so minor, it would require anesthesia and I wasn't crazy about that at all. So we set up an appointment with another ENT for a second opinion. First of all, I just got a better "vibe" from this practice. And the doctor we met with was AWESOME! She reviewed his history and wasn't as concerned with the two infections. Instead, she's going to try to treat the fluid first with some medication before we explore surgery as a last resort. This sounded much better to me!

This reminded me of when Charlie was struggling to gain weight around six months. I was convinced my supply was fine, but that his spit-up was the real issue. Our pedi suggested supplementing with formula and sent me on my merry way. I cried the entire way home! When I settled down, I called a lactation consultant and made an appointment for the next day. After a weighed feeding, Charlie took in plenty of milk on one side and started nursing on the other. After that, he showed his beautiful spit-up colors and lost three ounces of his feeding! I also followed up with a gastroenterologist and had to pump for three days to confirm my supply was indeed fine - and it was! Again, I'm glad I trusted my gut and kept nursing. I'm so proud that we made it to a year (almost there!) with breast milk. Of course, there's nothing wrong with formula, but I knew we didn't have to go that route.

So there you have it... two examples to show that a mother's intuition is usually right! Trust your instincts, Mommas!

A New Year Brings... the Weaning Process

First of all, I can't even believe that we are at this stage. Charlie will be eleven months old on Thursday and I have a freezer full of breast milk. As a result, I have decided to cut back my pumping sessions at work. Currently I pump once in the morning at home on the side from which Charlie doesn't nurse. Then I pump before school, at lunch, and after school. I come home and nurse at 5 on one side and at bedtime (between 6 and 6:30) on the other. This week, I'm going to eliminate the after school pump and see how it goes. Charlie will still get his three bottles (well, two bottles and one straw cup) of milk at day care. He hasn't indicated any signs of wanting to stop nursing though, so I don't have any plans to go cold turkey. While we were home together all last week (which was so great, btw) I wondered if I might notice a decrease in interest - but definitely not! The boy loves his milk. :) So last week I cleaned out the freezer and turned this...

into this...

All neat and organized now! Ironically, on my first day of less pumping, I still pumped enough for tomorrow without having to go into my freezer stash. I'm sure that will change as my body adjusts to the new supply/demand schedule. It was nice to have the extra time after school to work and clean up the classroom, but I felt really weird not pumping. I almost felt like I was doing something bad or wrong for Charlie, even though I know I can't nurse him forever. I think it will be tough to let go, but I'm excited to see my baby transition into a little boy.

And for your viewing pleasure, here are a few photos from the holiday season:

Official Christmas Card of 2011

He's very serious about Santa



Picking out Charlie's first Christmas tree!

And a quick little video of Champion Charlie who's almost ready to turn one...

Christmas

I'll write an official post on Charlie's first Christmas later this week. But for now, I just wanted to say that I'm posting this from MY NEW iPAD!!!! :) Love!

Charlie is ten months old!

Well, close to 10 1/2 at this point... :)

So much is changing with our little guy. He's crawling, pulling up on EVERYTHING, creeping, and talking up a storm. While I don't understand much of what he says, he certainly inherited his dad's gift of gab.

To flash back to October, this is how Charlie used to move:



Then he started officially crawling last month:



And now he loves to walk (with a little support):



He's come quite a long way from this little guy:

Charlie is nine months old!

Technically, it was yesterday, but I'm writing about it today. :) Charlie is celebrating his nine month birthday with a growth spurt. He woke at 3:00 this morning to eat (that NEVER happens) then woke for the day at 6:30. He nursed five times throughout the day and ate the following for solid meals:
Breakfast - YoBaby organic banana yogurt; half an organic blueberry waffle
Snack - half an organic kiwi cut into cubes; 1/4 cup of organic oatmeal mixed with breastmilk
Lunch - cubed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and organic green beans
Dinner - organic cheddar cheese on a slice of whole grain toast; half an organic banana

I am loving making Charlie's food, and I try to feed him organic as much as possible. He's doing so well with his finger foods too. I even got to witness an excellent example of the pincer grasp at dinner tonight. :) Here's our little man in all his nine-month glory!

Charlie is just 91 days shy of his first birthday. I can not even believe that! He is such a good baby and I am so proud to be his mom. Love this little boy!

A Day in the Life of Charlie's Mom

In the past I've done a few posts on what Charlie does throughout the day. Today I thought I'd do one from my perspective. Now that I'm back at work, much of Charlie's day is a mystery to me. I know he eats, sleeps, and plays at school, but I don't have the nitty gritty details. I do, however, know what my busy days are like... so here we go! :)

5 AM - wake to my alarm and pump the left side
5:30 - Charlie is starting to stir so I go in to nurse him. Sometimes he settles back down but since I'm awake I figure I might as well. :)
6:00 - Charlie is back asleep so I hop in the shower. I usually shower at night, but I'm presenting today so I hoped for a morning one - and Charlie cooperated quite nicely.
6:40 - Charlie is awake; I dress him and bring him downstairs. I finish packing his bag (milk and food for the day). Last night I put in his bibs, sippy cup, bowl, spoon, and clean clothes. He also has a bag with a bunch of clean diapers, wipes, and wipe solution for a couple of days.
7:00 - We're in the car and ready to go. The drive is only about five minutes, which is great.
7:10 - We drop Charlie off. He eats his yogurt with Miss Sandra while I unpack his bags. John and I kiss him goodbye.
7:20 - We stop at Dunkin for breakfast. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I don't like the Dunkin in my town. I feel like it's kind of dirty and they often mess up my order. Ugh!
7:30 - I drop John off at the train station and then drive to work.
7:55 - I arive at the high school (we have a professional development day today). I head to the nurse's office and pump.
8:30 - The presentation finally begins. It's actually pretty informative and entertaining, which is a nice surprise.
11:00 - I excuse myself a little early from the second presentation and pump again.
11:45 - I drive to the other elementary school and eat lunch with the other afternoon presenters (spinach salad and sun-dried tomato panini).
12:45 - 3:00 - My colleague and I do four presentations to teachers in grades 3-6 on reading workshop. They go very well, and I'm excited to be able to leave early to get Charlie from school.
3:30 - I arrive and Charlie is sleeping - boo! I pump while I'm there.
4:00 - Charlie wakes up and we head home. My neighbors are outside with their kiddos so we hang out and say hello (after letting the puppies out to go potty, of course).
4:30-5:00 - Charlie and I play together. He gets some tummy time, which these days means he rocks back and forth on hands and knees (I need to snag a photo of this!)
5:00 - We nurse, followed by a little oatmeal mixed with milk.
5:30 - It's play time again! Tonight's activity involves an empty tissue box (see video below). ;)
6:00 - We head upstairs for bath time, followed by massage, jammies, a quick nursing session and bedtime. Charlie is asleep by 6:30.
The rest of the night involves the following...

• emptying Charlie's bag from school; loading bottles into dishwasher and putting dirty clothes and diapers into the hamper/wash
• general tidying up around the house, including laundry if needed
• making and eating dinner (though my Peapod order isn't here yet, so I'm typing this instead and I'M STARVING!
• doing a little school work

If all goes well I'll be in bed and sleeping by 10 so I'm ready to do it all again tomorrow. Phew! And as a reward for making it through all that - here's Charlie!

Where is my brain??

On the way to work today I noticed that my left side felt a little full and I thought to myself, "It will feel good to pump when I get to work." And then I thought, "Which will be difficult since my pump is sitting in my bedroom at home." UGH! Where is my brain?? I lost it somewhere in the second trimester and it hasn't come back yet. I need it, especially now that I'm back at work, so if you see it, please let me know. Thanks!

(Incidentally, I turned around and went home to get my pump. Let's hope this was the last time I'll have to do that!)