Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jig

We are adjusting to life at home again after vacation. It has been a frustrating week. Our vacation rhythm is way different that our home rhythm. So this week Malachi has been totally off, not being ready for sleep at night until 12 or 1 in the morning, not napping well. Uhhh. He actually will go to sleep at bedtime, but he treats it more like a short evening nap, waking up 30 minutes later with sweet smiles. Today he slept almost the whole day, only getting up twice for an hour at a time. I had to stay with him because every 20-30 minutes he kept waking with tears and needed to be nursed back to sleep. Then he was up the entire evening until almost midnight. Past my bedtime. But each night, it is getting a little earlier so within a few days we should be back to normal.

In addition, we are still dealing with nursing issues. They had all but disappeared by the end of our vacation. I was only giving Malachi a couple of extra ounces before bed, not because he was hungry, but for the calories. So I was all ready to take a break from the supplements for several days to see how how he would gaining with just my milk. But we got home and I got lazy and didn't follow my daily regimen (oatmeal, lots of water, Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle) to a T. So we have been having to add the other supplements back in. Yuck. BUT, at least he's gaining well. As of Monday morning, he had gained 1 lb, 2 oz since we started supplementing. An ounce a day! Yay!

From Beautiful Arkansas

We are in Arkansas for a few days visiting Joshua's family and have very limited Internet access. I am at McDonald's right now so that I can check in.

Malach is doing great. We are still supplementing with donor milk, but my milk supply is increasing, and Malachi is gaining admirably. In fact, he has gained about a pound in the last two weeks! He is chubbing up nicely. If this continues, we are going to be off the supplements in no time. By the way, if anyone is interested, I am using a homemade SNS, which is working great. I love that he is still at the breast, and that I don't have to spend as much time pumping.

I was regretting the timing of this trip because of these breastfeeding issues, thinking that it would be hard to make sure I keep my galactagogue diet, supplements, and feeding Malachi on demand and supplements a priority while we are here. The opposite has turned out to be true. I didn't think about the fact that we are on vacation! That means no cleaning, no cooking or laundry, no appointments we have to rush off to while Malachi is kept waiting for food! I have done little except hold Malachi and feed him. It's been great for my milk supply, and I'm sure he's gaining at least as quickly as he was at home.

I wish I had thought to bring our camera so I could post a photo or two of our time here. Malachi is enjoying his cousins (12 out of 17 of them!) quite a bit, especially his cousin Sean who is about the same age. Unfortunately, all of those snotty noses resulted in Malachi's first cold. I'm so disappointed! I really thought the fact that he is breastfed would keep him from getting sick for a lot longer than this! But it's really quite minor, possibly because of his superfood. You should hear is cute little raspy voice though. It is quite adorable, and I figure since he feels okay, I might as well enjoy how cute it sounds.

We are headed to the Buffalo River (where we got married) with the fam today. Joshua will be here to pick me up in a few minutes, so I'd better wrap this up, but I can't close without saying again: Thank you! For your prayers and support and encouragement and time and MILK to keep Malachi an exclusively breastfed baby. It is so important, and I know it is only because of the help of the breastfeeding mommies around me that we were able to continue on this path. It is truly a testament to the power of community.

Where We've Been

This is officially my fourth attempt at this post. Sorry I've been so silent lately, but we have been dealing with some things and it's taken a lot of my time and mental energy. And I haven't known what to say about it. I could just ignore it, but it's what on my mind. I don't know what else to write about.

The long and short of it is, Malachi is not gaining the weight he should due to breastfeeding issues. We are working to rebuild my supply. Our breastfeeding relationship is in jeopardy. It is hard. He is being fed now not only by my milk, but by the milk of other mamas in Roanoke who have generously donated their milk for Malachi. We are so grateful.

I will probably share more details in the days ahead. But at the moment, we are laying low for a few days to make sure that he eats like crazy and I pump like crazy, take extra good care of myself, and eat lots of lactogenics.

Be thinking of us, and if you are the praying sort, we would love some of those as well.

Seven Random Things

Not feeling inspired tonight, just a little bored after laying around all day after oral surgery. So, you get to listen to my ramblings.

1) I need to start a blog idea notebook. Today on the way to the oral surgeon, I had a post idea I was really excited about. Apparently the anesthesia knocked it out of my head because now I can't remember it! Annoying, especially because I haven't been very inspired the last few days. Maybe I'll think of it again.

2) My oral surgeon was drug-happy. In addition to the pain meds and antibiotic, he gave me valium (which I didn't take), he gave me laughing gas, an IV anesthetic, and enough local that it didn't completely wear off until 12 hrs later.

3) I've been a little bent of out shape the last few days waiting for this oral surgery. My concern wasn't the actual procedure--I couldn't wait for that to be over with. My fear was the recovery. I had a bad recovery from a wisdom tooth extraction about 10 yrs ago. And with a little nursling to care for, I really didn't want that to happen again. Especially since he's been especially needy because...

4) Malachi is having a growth spurt. Yay! His weight gain has been a little slow, though the pros aren't concerned about it. Funny--the day after I decided to try feeding him more frequently, he decided he wanted to eat more frequently anyway. So he's been eating every 1.5 hrs or so, even at night. Normally the frequent feedings can be somewhat frustrating, but I have been nothing but happy about it this time around. I'd be glad to see him gain a couple of pounds, but I'm not going to worry about it.

6. As it turns out, my recovery thus far has been so easy! It must be because of my friends who have prayed, knowing my concerns and how important it was for me to heal quickly. Thanks, everybody! The pain isn't that bad, and I even ate (soft) solids for dinner tonight. I've had enough energy to run an errand (Joshua drove), fold some laundry, and...

7. I have a crockpot of oatmeal on so it will be ready in the morning. Looking forward to having a hot breakfast waiting for me when I wake up in a few hours. I've mixed in craisins, pecans, apples, and cinnamon. I'll let you know if the recipe is good.

It's long past my bedtime, so I will say goodnight!

Red Bead Giveaway Winner

It's time to announce the winner of my red bead giveaway: my childhood friend Jessica, also known as Dumpysunshine in the comments section. Jessica, I'll be in touch!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway to make it a great success. I am looking forward to doing more giveaways in the future.

What Makes Me Laugh About My Husband

My friend E does a weekly blog carnival called Midweek Laughs. This week I decided to participate.

The topic is: What makes me laugh about my husband.

Lots of things make me laugh about my husband, but the thing that always makes me laugh, even though he does it all. the. time. is the Sleeping Joshua. It goes like this: I enter a room, and Joshua plays like he's sleeping, letting hid head droop to the side and his tongue loll out of his mouth. He may be sitting at the computer. He may be standing at the sink. It doesn't matter if it makes no sense at all for him to be sleeping in that situation, he does the Sleeping Joshua. And it cracks me up. Wish I had a picture of this. [Edit: I took a picture of this (though its not a great one) so you could really see what I'm talking about]

Another thing that cracks me up about my husband is a little thing I like to call Rico Suave. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here you go:

Ignore me in this photo. I was 37 weeks pregnant and felt like Shamu. Joshua however, is putting on his fake sexy face. Which I find hilarious.

Unbelievable Peanut Butter Topping

I just made some peanut butter topping that was so good, I wanted to lick the pan. It's incredibly easy.

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Water

1/2 cup Peanut Butter

Melt sugar into water over high heat, stirring occasionally, until boiling. Allow to boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and stir until melted and smooth. I used crunchy peanut butter, but creamy would be good too.

We served this over brownies and ice cream. Cutting the water in half makes it thicker, and I would like to try swirling it into brownies. I have a feeling I'm going to be sorry I discovered this. It's too delicious and easy. Bad combination. Or good. Depends on your perspective.