Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Some downtime, finally!

Winn took a 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon and I feel like I had the day off!  And now I put him down to sleep at 9 pm (usually his bedtime is at 11:30pm).  I could get used to this real fast.  I had time to catch up on blogs, cook a decent supper and relax on the couch.  I may even get to watch some Downton Abbey.  I rented the dvd on netflix and I am addicted.

Still dealing with a sore left nipple.  You would think at 4 months I would have this breastfeeding thing down pat.  I don't know if it's residual yeast issues or what.  I am going to a breastfeeding doctor in Madison, MS next week, so hopefully she will help me.  I went to a dermatologist today to get a mole removed on my back and I talked to him about my nipple problem.  Poor guy, he didn't really have much of a clue.  He prescribed me some steroid cream to apply for 10 days.  I told him about Dr. Jack Newman's All Purpose Nipple Ointment (APNO) and he thought that was too strong.   He said that breastfeeding is irritating to nipples because of the digestive enzymes in the saliva and that is why most women stop.  Absolutely no words of encouragement from him.

Anyhoo - Winn is growing like a weed.  75th percentile!

I've got 2 new books going on my kindle.  One is Wild by Cheryl Strayed and the other is Why Have Kids.   Wild is beautifully written and emotionally raw - her mom dies from lung cancer when she is only 22, pretty heavy stuff.   "Why Have Kids" is an interesting read so far and is basically saying that having childen is not going to make me happy and all the research actually shows that adults become less happy after they have kids.  I wonder if they have done this research on infertiles?  I wonder if we are less unhappy because it took us so long to get to have kids.  I will say that being a mom is the hardest thing I've ever done day in and day out.  It's totally exhausting having a baby, but I will take it any day over still trying to make a baby.  My heart and prayers go out to all the women who are trying right now.  




Thursday, October 4, 2012

Amost 4 months old!

Whew!  Just got Winn down for the night.  Earlier than usual, so that's always nice.   He's a night owl like his daddy.  I can't believe we've come full circle from where we were last year sitting on pins and needles waiting for a positive beta. And it was 4 years ago, when Obama was running against McCain that we first started trying.  It took 4 years for Winn to get here and I am so thankful to finally have him in my arms.

Winn is growing up so fast!  Tonight he grabbed a fistful of rice off my dinner plate.  He is smiling and laughing and squealing.  It's funny when his crying turns into laughter.   He's generally an easy-going baby, but likes to be held alot.  He's finally warmed up to Sela, our golden retriever.  She actually provides lots of entertainment.

 Still has alot of reflux and I cut dairy out this week to see if it helps.  Also cut out sugars because I got thrush (yeast infection on the nipples), so I think I am finally going to lose the last of the baby weight.

We spent 10 days down at the beach in Gulf Shores.  It was lovely to get away and have such a beautiful change of scenery.  The weather was just perfect.  The monarch butterflies were starting to migrate.  We saw lots of Great Blue Herons, sandpipers, pelicans and dolphins.  We got Winn in the ocean which he tolerated.  Lots of walks on the beaches at sunset and one morning I drug myself out of bed to catch the sunrise.

Just got interrupted by Winn crying out - he's awake - this sleep shit is hard to figure out (for both of us)!  I've gone back to using the swing for long naps during the day and then sometimes at night especially in the wee hours of the early morning when he is sleeping more lightly.  I've stopped co-sleeping in the morning since we got home from the beach because I found that he was having more reflux and also I was not sleeping well due to his fidgeting and my worries that the cover was going to aphyxiate him somehow.   Still rocking out the rock n play. What would I do with that thing?   So no crib sleeping yet.

So breastfeeding is still somewhat challenging.   I almost had mastitis again, but was able to head it off with constant nursing.  I noticed last week that my nipples were sore again, but the lanolin wasn't helping restore them.   I've always been prone to yeast infections, so I'm not surprised that I developed thrush.  I took diflucan and it seems to nipped it in the bud.  lots and lots of different remedies out there.

So the postpartum hairloss is no joke.  Fistful of hair comes out in the shower.

I'm settling into more of a routine and embracing my new role as a mother.   never thought i woyuld be a stay at home mom .  it is harder than  i thought it would be, but it is such a privilege to spend my whole day (and night) with Winn.

I'll leave you with some recent pics -

Dammit - he is just woke up again - arggh-  could he be teething already - he is drooling like a madman and chomping on his fists all night.