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| Ellie in her Moby wrap |
In other news, we're still using the nipple shield crutch, but have discovered we can do without in a pinch. I'm debating trying to wean her off of it for simplicity (since it's just one more thing I have to remember and clean), but I'm being lazy about it. Plus, when she's frustrated at the end of a long nursing session or overly tired or hungry, she doesn't seem to be able to latch and just gets more upset. However, my nipples have been sore for about 3 weeks now and don't show any signs of "toughening" up. My mom made the observation that they won't so long as I'm using the crutch. And, since I have the goal of breastfeeding for another 11 months at least, I can't say that that prospect seems at all tempting.
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| Sporting cute socks from Grandma |
Christmas was nice. My family came up from Texas to see Ellie. My mom was up for the second time and seems to be stocking the guest room for a succession of future trips. I didn't get to spend as much time with everyone as I did last year. It felt like I was pretty much just nursing or my mom was chasing me to bed for a nap. I did get to wrap P's presents on Christmas Eve, but my mom and sisters wrapped all the other gifts. Ellie made out like a bandit. She has tons of new clothes. We might have to leave the house more often if she's ever to have a hope of wearing everything. I have a ton of thank you notes to write on her behalf.
I am having a bit of a scheduling dilemma. I can't figure out how to work around Ellie's eating schedule, which is sporadic and irregular. I'm not sure if she's still an inefficient nurser, or just eats a lot, but during the day, she seems to prefer longer nursing sessions (30-90 minutes) which is not conducive to running errands or even just going to the doctor. To give me peace of mind, we've been taking a bottle of breast milk when I think her "stomach clock" will go off in the middle of an errand. So far, she doesn't seem to have any issues going back and forth. I still hope to minimize bottles, but I don't really see a way around it when our doctor makes us wait nearly an hour and then wants to actually examine her rather than see her on my breast. The bottle has also come in handy a couple times when Dad was left in charge while I went to the store and took a bit longer than expected due to holiday traffic.
Also, she's been nursing very little at night. She would have let me sleep all last night if I hadn't woken her at 5:20 this morning because I was worried. She had been fussing lightly all night, but didn't wake up, even when I had to pump at 4 am. Generally, she's been sleeping from about 10 to 2, feeding, and then up again about 4:30 and then 6:30 or 7. She's gone to really light feedings at night too. Usually between 10 and 20 minutes. Which, I suppose is how she was able to stretch out for so long last night. However, she slept a lot better (ie. quieter) after I fed her at 5. So, I may continue to feed her when her chatter wakes me up.
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| Storytime with Dad. |
Our new best friend is the Moby wrap. We were waiting to use it until she was about 8 pounds since that's what the instruction booklet specified, but the tag on the actual wrap says it's for 5-35 pound babies. It means I can actually eat something, use my computer, and do a few light chores. I feel a lot more like myself with some time to do normal stuff even when she won't accommodate my wish for her to take a nap without me holding her. The wrap gives her the closeness she wants and lets me have my arms back. That makes it a win-win. And, Dad can use it to wear her while I snag a nap and they clean the kitchen.
I'll post some Christmas photos soon, but I'm hoping my mom will send a cd, because she took more with her camera.
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