Life has been SO busy lately.
Sean and I are both back at work, which means Natalie is at daycare. I really like them - there's 2 other babies in her room, but they're like 7 months. Her teacher is super sweet and tells me everything little bit did during the day, which I love. I love being back at work - I feel like a normal human being again. I am not the stay at home mom type - I'm just not. I love my job, which definitely is part of it.
It's also really nice to have both our incomes again too.
Spring is slowly coming. Very slowly. We've been going to the park and being outside more. And maybe raking the leaves. From last fall. It's a bit of a home ownership fail.
Natalie is officially sleeping in her crib. Most nights. And if she doesn't, it's because we accidently fall asleep in our bed with her XD We tend to do "wind down and cuddle" time in our bedroom, and, well, sometimes we wind down too much. But she actually prefers her crib which is awesome!
We made a list this week of house project "to dos". It has everything from painting interior doors to redoing kitchen counters to new windows. We basially want to divide it all up based on time commitment and price. This way, we can save for the big things and conquer the little ones.
But that's it for now!
Friday, March 28, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Natalie - Month Two
Age: 2 months
Weight: 10 lbs, 14 oz
Height: 22 1/2 inches
Clothes: 0-3 months
Little girl, I cannot believe that you are two months old already! You are growing and changing before our eyes, and it's wonderful.
I just went back to work. I took an extra two weeks so I could be with you until the 2 month mark, and I feel like you changed so much in those two weeks - I would have been so sad to miss it! You're staying home with daddy for one more week, then off to day care.
You've really started recognizing us. You're eyes light up when I get home, and when we walk away they follow. You've started giving massive grins - and dimples are starting to show! You have also started to "kiss" us. Which is the traditional open mouth fish attack, but is so sweet.
Standing is your favorite thing - you love to look around and take everything in.
You're sleeping pretty well too - just one middle of the night wake up around 2 or 3. And occasionally 4, which is the time I wake up for work. You're still in our room, but that's mostly pure laziness on our part. It's so easy to just scoop you up in the middle of the night! We'll have to switch to the crib soon though, cause in pretty sure the cat is trying to wake you up at night.
You love naked time and bath time. You're also super jealous whenever we eat food in front of you. You stare and get really excited, then pout when it doesn't come to you.
I'm so excited for warm weather to be here so we can take you outside more. The first road trip to St. Peters happened this month - you were passed around like crazy! Mamas friends came to visit too - you were great at hamming it up. There are many more trips and visits in your future though, so get used to it!
Love you to pieces,
Mama
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Tales of an Exclusive Pumper: How I Store Milk
Exclusively pumping since day 1 has two huge benefits: I have an awesome supply, and I have an awesome stash (frozen, stored milk).
(Fresh milk after morning wake up)
(Just frozen bag)
(What my freezer looks like: top left - milk freezing flat, bottom left - large ziploc of frozen bags, right - loose bags waiting to be ziploced)
Seriously.
In any case, everyone stores their milk differently. It just depends on what works best for the family. I have roughly 2 days of milk in the fridge most times. It's easier for Sean, because he can just grab some and go. I store it in glass jars (okay, they're cleaned Ragu jars), and try my best to keep one day in a jar - Sean is horrible with messing up the jars, but I try to combat it the best way possible.
Every 2 days or so, I freeze milk. Natalie drinks jarred milk for her morning wake up, so when I pump, it's extra for later in the day. I put that aside and freeze any milk besides that in the fridge. I measure my milk out into 3 oz portions and THEN I pour them in the bag - because it's impossible to use said bag to accurately measure. The Up & Up Target brand are my go-tos, and I stock up with Cartwheel coupons. :) I make sure to date it too.
Because I have a pretty awesome supply, I usually freeze 9-15 oz per day. I put these little bags directly into my regular freezer - they're frozen flat to make the best use of space.
Every week or so, I go through and double bag my milk. I put roughly 18 bags in a gallon sized Ziploc and write the dates on the outside. That bag then gets moved to the deep freezer. Milk in a deep freezer can last up to a year, and I'd like to give Natalie breastmilk as long as possible. She'll get frozen milk each day when she starts daycare, and I'll freeze more fresh.
Milk supply is established by 12 weeks, so it's super important I get as much as possible these first few weeks. I'm also terrified that my supply is going to drop when I go back to work, even though I'll probably be pumping more (I only pump 4 times a day right now). Even though I think it would be awesome to nurse, this way works so well for us. It's fairly simple, and I love those 20 minutes of free time that I get periodically throughout the day - it forces me to sit back and relax.
A Day In the Life - 3/4/14
It's March 4th, 2014. I'm on my last week of maternity leave, andNatalie is 7 weeks old.
5:54 - Natalie is crying. I wish she had given us 6 more minutes until the alarm! I actually love when she wakes at this time. Sean is usually snoozing his alarm, so he can feed and change her while I pump.
6:30 - I'm done pumping and Sean needs to get ready. Lil Miss has a full belly, so I put her back to sleep and start to get ready.
7:00 - Sean's out the door, and I'm pretty much dressed. It's the only way I'll be productive. Off to bottle milk and clean pump parts, while eating breakfast. This is the most steady nap of the day, so I have to use it well!
8:00 - I bag milk every 2-3 days, so today yields 11 3 oz bags. I try to shoot for 12 oz a day to freeze, but I slacked on my water intake so my supply dipped. Gotta stop that! I take the time to double bag last weeks milk too. Then I sit down with my oatmeal (honey and brow. Sugar today) and some Belvita bars. They're meant for Sean, but he doesn't like the apple cinnamon ones. I keep "forgetting" and buying them anyway. 😛
9:30 - I've done a couple loads of laundry and vegged on the couch. I finally get off my butt and at least work on my tshirt quilt.
11:00 am - Natalie is up from her morning nap. We eat, talk, change her diaper and clothes, and cuddle a bit. She calms down enough to go back to sleep. I lay her down, and go eat real quick and pump because I don't think she'll sleep for long.
12:40 - and she's awake! She only slept for an hour, but it was long enough for me to eat. 😊 she fusses for an hour or so, and eats a bit more. Then finally passes out on the couch around 2:30.
2:30 - I start putting together food for dinner. It's baked Mac n Cheese night....but I don't have any noodles so I text Sean to grab some. But I measure out spices and milk and such.
3:30 - Natalie is up again. She's in a better mood, so I change her diaper and we talk a bit.
5:00 pm - Sean's home! And didn't get my noodles. He gives us kisses and goes back out to the store. Natalie falls asleep less than 5 minutes later.
5:20 - Sean's home again (this time with a candy bar). I pass off little bits and go pump before starting dinner.
7:00 pm - dinner is finally ready. Crabby but has been whining for Sean, but she's usually fussy around this time.
9:30 - Natalie was asleep, but a dumb Instagram video woke her up 😫 she's a quiet awake though, so Sean and I ignore the fact and sure enough, she falls right back asleep. Thank god.
10:30 - lights out for us! I pump one last time tonight, and then fall into bed exhausted. Mostly mental though. Oi.
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