Breastmilk on ice

Not as fun as "Stars on Ice" or "Disney on Ice", but it gets the job done...!

The joys of pumping breastmilk will never be fully understood unless one has done it themselves. That being said... I just walked back to my desk at work (yes, I'm there now) carrying two bags (11.5 ounces, total) of breastmilk in a giant Ziplock bag full of ice. *sigh* Everyone knows what I was just doing...! While I know that "breast is best" for Bruce, there are times where it is down-right inconvenient to get that kid fed.

Just for kicks the other night, I started making "Mooo" sounds from the office I was using to pump in, and my boss nearly passed out from laughing. There is a bright side to everything!

Pollywogs and Pie

My son is a pollywog.
I'm looking at his little (ha!) tummy and, next to Buddha, it is the most round stomach I have ever seen on a human being. Put that together with his chubby, bent legs... and I've got myself a baby frog.

In terms of development, BMax and I went to Granny's work this afternoon for an early 2-month weight check. Want to hear the results?

Weight: 14 lbs., 7 oz. (95th percentile)
Length: 24.25 in. (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16.75 in. (95th percentile)

Any worries that I had about him being on-track for growth are now pretty much obliterated!

He has his official 2-month Well Child appointment on 3/3, so we'll see what the tally is then. Poor guy has to get his first round of shots. I'm not entirely sure he's going to take it so well, even if I'm feeding him while its going on; he notices (and is bothered) when I pick something out of his hair while I'm feeding him... so I think he's going to notice getting jabbed in the thigh three seperate times. I'm sorry, but an infant doesn't understand "I know this is going to hurt, but it prevents whooping cough!"

I'm thinking about having one blog post a week be a recipe of some kind... something that I have either tried (complete with the results/reactions afterwards), or something that I plan to try that week (with the results/reactions to follow later in the week). What say you?

He grows, I grow

At 8 weeks and 2 days, our little man is quite the opinionated boy-child. I feel like, for the last two days at least, I have existed solely for the purpose of producing and distributing milk for Bruce's enjoyment. Gah! It's a good thing I'm enjoying the breastfeeding experience, because the way that kid demands it... oy.

I'm trying to figure out a way to get Bruce and I on some kind of a schedule; not for feeding or sleeping (Lord knows it's way too early for that!), but just a general day-to-day kind of thing. Take, for instance, his nightly baths. If all goes well, he has one every evening around 8:00 p.m. and enjoys it immensely. I love watching him smile up at us, and see the realization in his eyes that whenever he kicks, the water will splash! Such a funny goober! Anyway - waaaay off topic. I want to get a daily rhythm going so that he and I will both have some sense of an idea of where the day is going... that way, I'll be able to schedule times to get together with friends, work on Avon projects, bake, etc. Or, at least that's how I hope it will work.

I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to write about this, but I guess I am now...! Ever since Steve and I moved back in with his parents, I've been getting weird looks and condescending questions from just about everyone; family, friends, co-workers... it's annoying. It is just another one of those situations where no one will believe that you're truly happy because, in that same situation, they themselves wouldn't be. Well... tough! I don't like their issues being projected onto me! As startling as it may seem, I love my in-laws, and feel immensely blessed to be living with them. I don't call them "Mom" and "Dad" out of some feeling of obligation...!

Oy.

Well, considering as I'm trying to work on that schedule, I should probably get to it while I have the time. Here's to productivity!

The business of starting

Whether I'm starting a job, a project, life at a new house, or a new role in life... I feel the same sense of "OHMYWORD!!!!" every single time.

In the past three months, the following has taken place:
1. I started my own AVON business.
2. I started talking to my parents, after over 18 months of not.
3. Thanksgiving.
4. Bruce's due date passes.
5. Christmas.
6. Bruce is born (read: the Heavens opened up...)
7. Post-partum depression and thyroiditis sets in.
8. New Years.
9. Steve is (officially) laid-off from his job.
10. We move back to my in-laws' house.
11. I start pumping (you know what I'm referring to).
12. We take our first mini-vacation to Cannon Beach, OR.
13. I go back to work, at just 6 weeks post-partum.
14. Bruce is dedicated.

One thing changes... I'm able to breathe... and then another thing changes and *wham*. Start all over.

In the midst of all this starting and stopping and coming and going, I almost forgot one important thing: to enjoy. It is simply amazing to think that I have a son. I can sit and enjoy his little smiles, gurgles, and spit bubbles for hours on end. It is wonderful knowing that we have a place to live, a family to help take care of us, and an abundance of crazy cats (7 in all, people) to keep us entertained.

My plans for this blog? To use this as a way to keep my memories of this amazing time alive. Bruce will want to know what his life was like in these early days/weeks/months/years, and I plan to tell him this:

You enjoyed.