7 Weeks: Mommy's Little Soprano

Sarra has been testing out new vocal sounds all week. Her newest is a crazy high pitched squeal of frustration. It's awesome.

This week she also grasped my hair in her hands while I was holding her. That's the reason I got my hair cut in January, but it's grown out quite a bit since then. She's enjoying her play mat more and is starting to grab at the hanging toys and making them rattle. And my favorite thing is watching her watch the spinning monkey mobile on her playard. They fascinate her. And of course lots and lots of smiles and coos. She and her Daddy have the most interesting conversations. I want him to write them down and make them into a one-man show.

Yesterday we had our first non-formula day, with an ounce of refrigerated milk to spare! We actually had 4 ounces as of midnight but she didn't get to sleep until 3 a.m. and needed 3 ounces of it. Still, no formula for a couple days. Eating and hydrating really do work wonders for my supply.

This morning I put Pandora on my phone and Sarra sand and danced along to Weezer.

5 weeks, 3 days: Happy St Patrick's Day!

Sarra had an eventful day. First walk in the stroller around the neighborhood, first "successful" immersion bath (trick was to put a towel under her and a towel over her to keep her warm as the water was going on her. She was fascinated by it and gave me this look of wonderment as I was pouring it on her. She was like, "Why, Mother, I've never felt such a sensation! I did not know it was possible to feel such bliss and contentment!"), and first St. Patrick's Day. We didn't do too many photo ops because by the time we'd get the camera, she was already crying.

She had kind of a "hungry" day. I wasn't producing much milk for some reason (maybe sleep deprivation and dehydration with a little stress thrown in), so it was frustrating for all of us. Luckily I had 14 ounces of milk stockpiled from my Indiana trip. We're down to 9 ounces now.

Tomorrow's trip to Indiana will be very interesting and I hope we didn't forget anything crucial. My hope is that she will sleep for the entire 4 hour trip and I won't have to feed or diaper her on the road. Something about diapering a baby in a rest area just icks me out. We brought several "puppy pads" to lay her on, so hopefully that'll suffice. Plus, the immunities she's getting from breast milk will hopefully ward off any nasties lurking on the changing stations.

I'm very excited to see some family members on Sunday for her baptism! I'm praying that Msgr John Kuzmich will be available to do the baptism. Mom always said I was the first baby he baptized at St. Vincent. I'm mad I don't have pictures... they're all in storage.

What do I like about not being pregnant?

What do I enjoy about not being pregnant?

So very many things, but I enjoy being able to eat a meal at a table without having to hold the plate/bowl in my hand under my face so I don't spill my food all over myself.

I like sleeping on my back.

I like not having to pee every 20 min and then only peeing 3 or 4 drops. And I like not peeing in my pants, too. That's cool.

I like being able to walk from a parking lot to a business establishment and not having to sit down to catch my breath.

I like being able to shave my legs (etc).

I like being able to bend over and pick things off the floor.

I like being able to stand up from the couch without Colby having to help me up (and bracing himself with one leg behind him like he's lifting an elephant).

I like being able to hug Colby and our arms go around each other. I like weighing less than him. I feel so very tiny!

I like knowing what my baby's face looks like.

Mama's little animal

For a week or so, Sarra has been grunting and growling and snorting. Once I realized it was normal, I have come to find it adorable. I'm not sure what sort of animal she thinks she is. Part piglet, part wolf cub, part thoroughbred colt.

But to me, she will always be Monkey Face.

5 weeks, 2 days: The Milk Lady Cometh

First favorite moment of my life: the first skin-to-skin contact with Sarra and she stopped crying and opened her eyes in recognition at my voice.

Second favorite moment of my life: Watching her wake up after a 24 hour separation (my day trip to Indiana) and seeing her face light up in a huge smile instead of crying like she usually does when she wakes up. It was like, "Oh! The Milk Lady didn't leave forever!"

Speaking of, I managed about 16 ounces total expressed on my trip, plus I would imagine around 3 oz at her 7:30 a.m. feeding before I left for Indiana, so that's not too bad. Colby had to feed her about 8 oz. of formula, but I'd had 8 oz of milk already stockpiled in the fridge, which fed her until evening.

Her poop this morning was very dry and hard to wipe off, but we should be formula-free from now on, if all goes well and I can keep my supply up! I had left my More Milk Plus capsules at home, so all that was just me!

4 weeks, 3 days: Happiest Baby on the Block

Not only is it a great book and video (Happiest Baby on the Block) that describes the 5 S's that help keep your baby calm and happy and sleep better (http://www.happiestbaby.com/), but it describes Sarrazine tonight: