8-21-06

 

Tomorrow Ash turns 3 months old.  We've been having some ups and downs since going to work.  After that one wonderful first day of taking the bottle, he has refused all attempts since.  Daycare is being good about making sure that he gets at least 2 ounces in the morning and 2 ounces in the afternoon, and then I feed him myself over lunch, but it's still frustrating that he isn't eating like he could be.  I'm starting to wonder if maybe we should start that whole cereal thing soon too.  He just hit 14 pounds even this morning and he has been getting up to eat at night more and more these days.  Last night I was up at least 4 times... I can't really remember exactly since I think I'm sleep-nursing at this point.  Hmm, well, we'll see how things go after a little while.  He'll be 4 months soon enough and that's the recomended time to start. 

 

I sold Ash's size small Fuzzi Bunz (cloth diapers) on ebay and got over $10 for each one!!!  Ebay people are crazy.  Why in the world would anyone be willing to pay nearly full price for a used cloth diaper???  Anyway, I only had 6 of the size mediums and I was doing a lot of laundry for working full time so I bought 12 more Fuzzi Bunz with inserts for $160... about 3 months worth of disposable diapers.  Since ebay people are insane and I could resell those after we're done for easily $140 (because these have inserts and the others I just sold did not) or more, I'm thinking this is a pretty good deal.  WHY do ebayers do that instead of just buying new ones???  Weird.  I also sold the gavies that I made and I only got about $20-something for all 14.  THAT bummed me out!  Not the $$, but what people were willing to pay for them.  I know I know, the $50/diaper that I used to get was back when I was sewing more and 'gavies' had a reputation.  Still, my ego wanted my dipes to go for more.  OH, I also sold some more wintery 0-3 month items and while I did pretty well on that, I offered free shipping for winning 4 or more auctions so 1 person won nearly all the stuff so I had to ship out 6+ pounds of baby clothes for free.  Note for next time - cover your butt on the shipping with a limit.

 

Ash is really getting good at getting his hands to his mouth. :)  He grabs hold of anything he can reach - mostly his clothes or his blankets - and puts them in his mouth.  He also likes to sit under his dangly toy things so he can whack at the toys.

 

8-15-06

 

Hello from work!  I went back yesterday.  It was not easy, of course.  You know, I just really think America needs to re-evaluate the concept of maternity leave.  Every doctor says how important nursing your baby is for at least the first year, but we're just baffled why more moms are not doing so.  Hmmm.... let me think. 

Nursing aside, it is kinda nice being back in the swing of things. 

Baby Ash actually drank from the bottle on the first day without too much trouble - totally awesome!  Today he did not do so well but he still did not scream when they tried at daycare... he just didn't drink.  Hopefully he did better this afternoon.  Pumping-wise I'm a little dissapointed that I'm not getting the 12+ ounces that I got while pumping these early days with Jessie.  I managed a little over 11 ounces today with a lot of effort.  I know that I'm feeding Ash in the night which I never really did with Jessie so that might be the cause. Anyway, his weight on Sunday night was 13 pounds 10 ounces and he was about 13 pounds 11 ounces this morning before I fed him.

Ash is really getting the hang of those hands too!  He likes to use his hands to hold each other and put them into his mouth.  He also grabs hold of blankets and things to chew on.  I sometimes put him down under his little dangly toy thing and he kicks and punches up a storm and knocks those toys all over the place.  Such a little personality!  He will also often stop nursing to look up at me and chat away with his little screechy laugh.

 

7-31-06

 

OK, 10 weeks already!  It seems like just yesterday that he was born.  Then again, it seems like a million years ago too.  He is really holding his head up well now when you carry him.  He is not nearly so floppy and scrunchy.  His fist gets into his mouth more often then not and he is spending more and more time awake during the day.  Ashy is still not too happy about the bottle at this point.  I'm trying to just acknowledge that it'll work out no matter what because it couldn't get worse then what happened with Jessie and she's clearly alive and well.  He is really slowing down with that weight gain now.  He is still gaining at or above the average, but it is nothing like the 11 ounces / week that he was doing.  He weighed 13 pounds even today which is about 6 ounces up from last week.  You know, it's funny how much I want him to gain ounces in weight, but I want him to stay my little baby.  I want him to learn his milestones and to grow and advance, while freezing time at the same time.  Especially with him being my last - you just want to cherish the time and it just slips on by anyway.

Speaking of cherished moments, this weekend since it was about 8 million degrees outside, our outside pool got really warm!  In the evening when the pool was shaded by the neighbor's tree, I took Ashy out to swim in it with me.  Well, I took him out to play in it, I hadn't intended on getting in myself but Gavin was there and begged me to get in too so I just decided what the heck and climbed in with my clothes on.  He seemed rather undecided about the whole thing.  He was OK sitting in my arms and kinda floating there - he's a natural at the back float! LOL!  Dunking him underwater in the "zoom" fashion that we use to teach babies at Foss to go underwater was not appriciated, it seems.  He gasped and gasped when he came up and was breathing so funny that I decided not to do that one again any time soon.  I'll give him some time I guess.  I want to get him used to it while little though because little ones instictively hold their breath and then they won't get scared when older. 

 

So - 2 weeks left of leave.  I was reading an article about the big mystery of why more American's don't nurse the full year that doctors say they should.  Hmm - big puzzle there.  Maybe because nursing alone is hard enough, throw pumping and work places that are not helpful if not outright hostile to pumping into the mix, and marinate it heavily with too short of a maternity leave policy and you'll have your answer pretty clear. 

 

7-22-06

 

Ash is in his crib sleeping now after a very busy day at Farma's house.  I'm waiting for him to wake up because DANG I need to nurse on my right side!  I could just go pump but I'm afraid he'll wake up and want to eat a lot since he didn't eat much today and I don't want to pump it all out.  Speaking of the pump, Ash has decided he isn't having anything to do with the bottle now.  He did great with it at 5 weeks and we kept giving it to him so he'd keep up the skill but he progressively got more and more whiney about taking it until this past week when he downright refused.  I've gone the last 2 days now not giving him any bottles hoping that maybe he'll forget that he is mad about that.  I really hope he takes those things by August 14th!!  What is it about my kids anyway???  I'm doing what I'm supposed to do and lots of other people manage to nurse and pump and bottle feed at the same time so what???  It makes me just want to scream!

 

I have finally pulled out Ash's 3-6 month clothes.  I've decided that now that all his 0-3 month stuff keeps spontaneously coming unsnapped whenever you move him, my denial has to end.  It is sad... but oh well.  I was very shocked to see him weigh in at 12 pounds 10 ounces this morning!  He had been stalled out at 12, 4 for a few days and then hit 12 6 yesterday so WOW!  Good day for it though - on his 2 month weight check day.  *Sigh*  2 months old.  My baby.  Oh, and you should hear him!  He coos and laughs and is just sooo much fun to sit and talk to!

 

7-17-06

 

I cannot believe he is already 8 weeks old!  I hate only having a 12 week leave.  Ash's weight is at 12 pounds 3 ounces now.  I've officially retired his size small fuzzy bunz diapers and I'll probably only use the gavies for one more round before retiring them as well.  My last baby has left the "newborn" stage.  Kinda sad.  I'm kinda looking forward to selling the newborn stuff on ebay though if I ever find the time and motivation to get it listed.

 

Ash accompanied me into work yesterday.  Shhh!!!  I'm not supposed to be working at all during my leave so we can't officially tell anyone I guess.  Anyway, he napped the whole time so it was mostly fun to get out of the house and be a hero with him napping away in my cube.  I wish I could just bring him to work with me after August 14th.

 

Nursing has been going well - but Ash has delevoped this weird aversion to the right side.  He doesn't like nursing on that side.  I hope he gets over that soon because it is really annoying.  I went to pump yesterday (well, today, very early, like 2 AM) and the pump kinda lost all suction.  I'm so frustrated with those motors.  I've been through 3 of them now with the 3 kids.  I called Medula and told them what's been going on and they are sending me some new parts free of charge to see if we can't fix this.  I have to say they've always been a great company.  Also, it seems that it is always best to call the company and talk about what is going on before just buying parts because I was all set to buy all this stuff and now I don't have to spend the money.  Yay!

 

7-12-06

 

Our first camping trip went well!  Ash seemed to like the camper - or at least - he liked getting to sleep with me at night.  Not that he seems to mind either way, but he was pretty stuffy over the days that we were camping due to a little cold that our family had so sleeping upright in my arms seemed to really help.  I was impressed that he actually slept that way and that I got sleep holding him.  I didn't get to weigh him while we were gone obviously, but we got back in time for his 7 week check - 11 pounds 9 ounces.  He seems to be slowing down a little bit - but you can't blame him as 11 ounces per week is a tough gain to maintain.

Ash is really smiling a lot these days!  It is so fun to talk to him, have him smile at you, and then coo and 'talk' right back.  He really liked sitting on my lap with his feet up so he could kick at my hands and stuff.  I was flipping channels the other day and caught a developmental research show on babies and it showed how feet and leg control comes before arm and hand control because there are fewer directions that the legs can be moved in.  He does like kicking at things!

 

7-3-06

 

Ash is 6 weeks old today.  He weighed in at 11 pounds even this morning, and he has outgrown the smallest of his diapers and will soon probably outgrow some more.  He has been sleeping generally 1 longer chunk at night which is good for my sleep, but of course the trade offs are the worry over the nursing and supply and all that.  I really sometimes wish that I could get co-sleeping to work between me, the baby, and my husband so I could just know that I was nursing all night even if I am not awake, but I know I'd not be able to actually get any sleep doing that.

 

We went over to visit my brothers this weekend.  I don't get to see them that often because they live on the other side of the planet and all that.  It was a lot of fun.  Those boys are just so mature for being so young.  I have thought of them as "adults" for years now and Ryan, the oldest, is just now getting near college age.  You know, the weird thing is that Zach, my youngest brother, was 6 years old when Gavin was born.  Gavin was 6 years old when Ash was born.  Zach and Gavin are the same age distance apart as Gavin and Asher are.  I do wish we lived closer because I think Gavin would love to spend more time with them too.  Anyway... Ash did well at the visit.  He even managed through the restaurant meal when we were sitting in a booth that would've been ackward to nurse him at so he didn't get to eat until we got back to the house.  Speaking of public nursing... I was reading a magazine today about how it should be easier to nurse in public in America and one woman wrote in saying the culture was to blame for the lower breastfeeding rates in America and another woman wrote in saying that she didn't believe that.  Ya, people could be more accepting of it, but really, the breastfeeding rates in America suck because our maternity leave sucks and without the longer leave you have to pump with is no fun at all.  I can only dream of having the chance to nurse my babies their whole first year in person and not having to pump and use daycare because I have to go back to work.  Personally though, I think it all goes hand in hand.  If people were more open to nursing and it was more the norm for us, I think the maternity leave options would be much better.  I also think public feeding would be easier.  Not that I think public feeding is all that hard now.  I just went to Dolittle's tonight and nursed Ash there, and no one said anything.  Honestly, I'd think anyone would be happier to have a nursing baby at the next table then a crying one.

 

OH, BTW, I found an aweseom site for creating a baby growth chart so I've put that new chart below.  It is www.mybirthcare.com.