5 posts tagged “pumping”

I've been seriously considering getting a separate freezer not just for my accumulating breastmilk but also so we can stock up on things that we eat all the time. There are 5 of us now, with plans for another, and the freezer in our fridge is not really all that big (it's a side by side fridge). The freezers are not that cheap if we want a good one that will hold more than just a few things, but I think it would be worth it in the long run. So I've been researching them. Can anyone guess where this story will end? I will give you a hint, the old me would think the universe was plotting against us. Now, I just think it's funny. Irritating as all hell, but funny. 

Last week we had a meetup at the state museum. The Princess went on her very first carousel ride. She seemed to enjoy it, as did SkyWalker (also 10 months old when he went on HIS first carousel ride). The meetup was fun and it's nice to do these things with other people.

Later that day the Princess had another first.... she crawled all the way up the stairs! She got to the top, turned around to look at me like "That's right yo!" and then realized "Crap, where the hell do I go from here?". I brought her back downstairs. She crawled right back to the top. SkyWalker was over a year when he did that.

She is also decided to stop being a baby and get her hands on some real grub. I haven't given her a baby food jar at all this week. She's eaten fettucini alfredo, grilled chicken, oven baked chicken, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, as well as her vegetables because she is a good child. I wonder how she's done tonight with Vader. She's still nursing 3-4 times a day. She's a bit behind with the sippy cup. I give her water but she doesn't really know what to do with it. I don't know how breastfeeding moms are supposed to do sippy cup training. I don't give my kid a bottle, I give her a boob. And I'm not replacing my boob until I have to. I split her bottle tonight so Vader can give her the sippy and then her bottle later. I'm sure she'll get the hang of it once we switch to whole milk and I stop boob-feeding during the day.

Last week I was sure I was going to get a cleaning lady because I just couldn't keep up with the bare minimum of cleaning. This week I have washed all the windows, including the outside ones I could reach, washed the living room floor (!) with the floormate thingy (!) and cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms. We're having our first playdate at our house on Friday and it looks like rain so I'll have babies crawling around the living room. Unless I can keep everyone downstairs in the office/playroom. I hope there's someone for SkyWalker to play with since he is why I am doing these meetup things.

I'm not sure if I actually came out and said this or not, but I started my own meetup. The one I joined before is great, but there are 90 moms in it and a lot of the events are kinda far from us. So I decided to go completely against my nature and started one for over here. I have 21 moms now. We've had a few meetups and it seems to be going well.

SkyWalker was very funny today. He told me "Don't you dare run out of napkins!" at lunch time. I should really jot things down when he's saying them because it's hilarious and then by the time I post I have forgotten most of what he said.

Part of the wallpaper in the kitchen is peeling off. I have this really strong urge to just start ripping and see how far I get. What's the worst that can happen? I'm either paying someone to take it all down or I'm paying someone to fix what I mess up right? I just want to see how much I can get off. It almost seemed like it would just pull off.

Yesterday I had to drag my kid out of the library screaming. He didn't want to leave but the Princess was cranky. GAH--interrupted by North Greenbush Granny knocking on the door! GAH! Anyway, we left the library and we didn't even get out of the parking lot before he was completely fine. He's the bipolar one. He begged me to go to Denny's but we couldn't. I did get Burger King for him and the Princess though. Which means driving past Littleman's former home. I try to avoid that as much as possible. He once again said "That Littleman's home?" I said "It used to be. He doesn't live there anymore remember?" which is what we said last week. He said "Who lives there now?" I said "people. Do you remember where Littleman lives now?" He didn't answer. I repeated. He said "Don't tell. I don't want to talk about it." It was funny in how mature he sounded, but really really sad.

Gah. I didn't even get to my yogurt. The ONE time I forget to put the sign on the desk.

Teething really needs to be changed. This whole process is just not fun for anyone. Not for baby, and not for mama and DEFINITELY not for breastfeeding mama. All 4 of the Princess's top teeth are swollen and the gums are white and they are just minutes from breaking through but they just aren't breaking through. Gah. She cried and cried as I left for work today, coupled with her brother's crying that he "just want you to stay home." Good times. You scientists really need to come up with a better teething method. Because this one just sucks.

Speaking of sucking, I am barely getting 2 ounces while pumping at work. I counted how much I have left and how many bottles I will need before I make the switch. I have enough to make it, unless there's an emergency. I haven't been pumping in the morning because I have been sleeping and then letting the Princess have both sides. She's actually been more interested in nursing than solids lately. I think it's the teething. Maybe I'll start pumping in the morning again to have a little backup and then stop pumping at work. I've already fed her 3 times today.

We're going to the state museum tomorrow for another meetup. I hope it's fun. I hope SkyWalker is a good boy and has a good time. Want to know how he did at soccer today? So would I. But he did not want to go. He wanted to stay home. I told him if we stayed home I was cleaning the house (i.e. not playing with him) and he said "Okay, let's go to soccer" and we got all ready and we had some extra time so I played trains with him and... he said he didn't want to go, he just wanted to stay home. We'll be missing another one when we're in North Carolina. If we don't go next week this will be a big waste of my money. Which means it will be coming out of his account. I just don't know what his problem is now. Well, I would bet anything it has to do with Daddy working 24/7 and never having two parents in the same room together anymore. If I'm eating dinner with him Daddy is not. If Daddy's there Mommy is not. (Doesn't it sound like we're divorced? We're not. Really.)

At least I got the house somewhat cleaned today.

Our garage door opener has stopped working. It's not the batteries, the chain looks fine. I can't figure it out. I tried to reset it by unplugging it but that didn't do anything. When you press the button it just clicks and the lights come on and it almost sounds like it's trying but it doesn't actually get the door up at all. We probably need a new one. Which will involve me buying one and having it installed unless I rent a husband for the weekend. That would be a good business. Renting husbands. Maybe I can get one to install the baby stair gate I bought in February. By the time that's up the Princess will be having her own children.

FIL will be buried on the 19th. MIL is having some type of service, I don't know exactly what because Vader didn't think to ask for any details. I'm torn. I have nothing to do with my kids. It's been too long since we've seen the friends who watched them for the funeral and I feel bad asking them again when it's been so long. I'm not sure what's going on so I don't know if I can bring the kids. I'm not sure I'd want to anyway. It looks like I will probably just stay home with them. I can't believe we have to go through this all over again.

Prick your finger/it is done/the moon has now eclipsed the sun/the angel has spread its wings/the time has come for bitter things.

I think that's the best Marilyn Manson there is, certainly better than his newest stuff, but maybe even the best of all of it.

I think I mentioned the Princess was being weaned from her swaddle last week. After a week of 30-45 min naps I said "Screw that, yo" and promptly swaddled her back up and enjoyed 1 1/2 hour naps. I think the 2 hour naps of the past are gone just because she's older. Today did not go as well because... well... I overslept this morning. I started her out late and put her down for a nap at the same time and she is so clearly a textbook baby--if she needs 2 1/2 hours of activity time before a nap and she only gets 2 hours she will not nap longer than 45 mins. So then she was a mess the rest of the day. She's also becoming more aware of the world around her and waking when SkyWalker yells "Yes that's the cup I want" at the top of the stairs. SkyWalker has also not napped the last 2 days,  but he has stayed in his room and had "quiet-as quiet as he can be-time." The Princess is definitely getting older and sometimes I forget to stop and listen to her. She needs more awake time... but she also needs to be swaddled! She's moving SO much now that in the middle of her nap when she naturally stirs at the 45 min mark she wakes herself up and flips over and then she'll never fall back to sleep. She was in the pack n play before I left for work today and she was trying SO hard to get her little heiney in the air so she could crawl. She's been scooting backwards and sitting up (when I put her in that position) and playing with toys and just developing so much lately. I feel like I missed this stage with SkyWalker because I was at work. Sure I was home with him on the weekends, but weekends were full of laundry and chores and *stuff*. I love that I'm home now to witness all the firsts--to see her becoming this little person. And to see SkyWalker turning into a big talking boy who loves to be involved in anything even if it's cleaning the toilet.

Speaking of SkyWalker's talking... yesterday he was wearing just underwear and he pulls his pee-pee out of the side. He's ecstatic at the idea that he can have access without pulling down his underwear. Then he says that he's going to pee like that, like Daddy. Then he says "Daddy has a big pee-pee," shakes his head, "No, Daddy has a big penis." and I laughed and laughed and laughed. Which of course means that he will say it again, probably to his grandmother. Won't that be funny?

Bee and Boogie came for a playdate last week. She nicely ignored the fine layer of dust that covers everything in my house except for the children who move too much for it to settle on them... Boogie played SkyWalker's guitar and did really well and I had to laugh when his experience came from "Guitar Hero." He also recited his address and phone number. As paranoid as we are we have not taught SkyWalker this. He knows his town and state but that's it. We've been trying to rectify that this week. What have we taught him to say? "Bada bing bada boom" "Bababooey" "Prepare for the deluge" (I can't even explain that one).

It's a good thing I had a freezer full of milk... I am definitely pumping less than I used to. As I suspected when the Princess started cereal the stash has been reduced. I don't put anything new in anymore since it all goes to the cereal. So the freezer goes to her bottles when I'm at work. I think I'll be alright for another 6 months though. I think every breastfeeding mom just worries about supply.

Pumping break is over but I can't leave without the cat story... I looked out my back window today and saw something black in one of the trees. I thought it was a couple of birds or maybe a weird looking nest. I got out the binoculars and it was the pain in the ass cat who has been taunting my dogs! It was pretty high up. I kept watching it and waiting for nap time when I would do... I didn't know what. It was there for hours. It must have jumped from tree to tree and wound up on the other side of the yard, still in a tree. I brought the dogs out at naptime (so I can leave right when Vader gets home and not wait for him to take Isaac out like I used to) and the damn cat just walks right down the tree with no problem. I have no idea what it was doing up there for so long if it could get down or if it was just a coincidence that I brought the dogs out and it figured it out... It was the most exciting thing today. SkyWalker and I just watched it wondering what it would do. Good times. 

I can't believe I'm working.

Well, I'm at work.

Right now I am in the office pumping. I don't know whose computer this is but it is green and freaking my eyes out. I am glad that I don't have to worry about how much I get... I'm really pumping just to keep up my supply since I'm missing a feeding. I don't think my left boob likes the pump. Hmmm. I'm not worrying since I have a huge stockpile.

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Everything has changed here. It's so weird to be back. It's weird to be part time. I was always on the other side of the fence... now I'm part time and trying to leave all the politics and bullshit behind.