Sorry I have been gone! New Job, new pumping situation!

So I just packed up and moved across the country! Sorry I have been so MIA for a while!

I started a new job and I was terrified about how to ask about pumping. Librarians are famous for having no children, so I had a feeling that my boss and many co-workers would be child-less (I was right!). I decided to just wait until I started on my first day to bring it up because I didn't want to make it a big deal. I was talking with one of the office managers and she mentioned my pump bag because her daughter had the same one. I told her I would need a place to pump, and she went out of her way to help. I was given the break room for my own use for 15 minutes twice a day. Signs were put on the door so I would be undisturbed and everyone was informed that I wasn't to be bothered. I was also told that CA law requires all new buildings to have a "lactation room" for nursing mommies, so the new court house Ill be in will have that for me to use.

Whew! I have been so blessed to have such a supportive work place during my months of pumping!

Overheard on Road Trip

“I’m so sorry Aunt B, he just fell off the chair, I didn’t mean to do it” – Henry, my 5 year old nephew on why Ardun was on the floor and not in the chair where he was two seconds prior

“Give him some icing, it won’t kill him” – my entire family at a cousin's wedding while my 6 month old is being fed cream cheese icing (I know it won't kill him, but I'm not fond of giving him dairy at this age)

“Is that baby in your tummy?” – 6 year old girl in elevator at the hotel, I was wearing Ardun in a ring sling

“Wow, he made an ugly face!” and as I turn to see what Henry is talking about “Don’t worry Aunt B, I only gave him a tiny amount of cookie and then he sucked the chocolate off my finger, but he didn’t like it and made an ugly face.” – Henry in the car while we are driving home. I thanked him for sharing his food, but reminded him Ardun doesn’t need cookies yet.

“Aunt B, let me help and get your nursing cover for you.” Henry helping me feed Ardun at the wedding, I love this one.

“Wow, your baby is really small, what is he, 3 months?” – random woman in the pool at the hotel, I’ll remind you, Ardun is 6 months and 16.9lbs

“Where the heck is your mom?” me, asking the same 6 year old from the elevator while we are in a pool she can’t touch the bottom in. The answer: “I don’t know, somewhere over there.” SERIOUSLY???

“NOOO” – from my sister, Jenny, about a thousand times to her 15 month old son, Jack

“WOW, Mommy fail, your car seat wasn’t latched AT all today Becky.” – Jenny to me after a three hour car ride. Yep, MASSIVE MOMMY FAIL!

“What were you doing Aunt B?” – Henry to me after seeing me wear my nursing cover in the car while Ardun was next to him. “She was cold.” – Jenny to Henry “Ahhh, were you pumpin’ Aunt B?” Henry to me when he saw the milk. How does he know this stuff?

“Can we rip out that bathtub and put it in your truck?” – Jenny to my Dad after taking the most amazing bath at the hotel.

“Jen, is this movie inappropriate for Henry?” – me to Jen while watching the Hangover “Henry, close your ears and go to bed, I love this movie.” Jen to Henry

And P.S. Rachel and Mark have begun the journey across this country to California, so she will be MIA for a little while. We already miss them and Kansas City mourns losing and amazing couple and awesome little girl. We love you guys, travel safe!

Ugh, teething, distracted, un-cooperative nursing!!!

Sorry about the picture. I googled "baby teeth" to find a picture that worked, and this made me laugh and think... wow, those parents rule! So, thank you google docs for again providing me with a weird picture :)

Now that I have your attention, how do I get the attention of my little child? Last night she was hungry and tired. We decided it was time to retire to bed, where I nurse her to sleep. Lately the dogs have been running in the room and barking while I am trying to nurse so I have been turning the tv on mute for some soft light. She craned her neck to look at the tv last night. I kid you not. She wouldnt even face me to nurse. I was holding her against me with all of my might and she showed no interest in eating.

This has been a common theme for us lately. She is far too distracted to eat. If we're in public its awful, she unlatches, drools spit and milk all over me, laughs, looks around, sucks 2 more times, and repeat. I am getting frustrated with her. I am almost to the point of packing a bottle of breast milk just to give her when she is acting like that. Although, ill admit, I am far too lazy. Power to the formula moms, they lug around a lot of crap. I never minded nursing in public until lately, she pulls my shirt up, drools all over me, smacks me.

A friend has a daughter 6 days older than Eliza, and she has teeth. I am scared to death of the day Eliza bites me...

What is a new mom to do?

Why I switched my 5 month old to her "big girl" car seat!

 Image from Mom4Life.com

When Eliza was 2-3 weeks old, I met Becky at a holistic mom's meeting and I was surprised that she had Ardun in a sling rather than his car seat. I used the car seat, but I generally took her out of it when we got where we were going. She looked surprisingly confident and Ardun slept like an angel. Later that day, one of the moms at the group said "our society views children as luggage" and that just hit me... I lugged her around in a carseat praying that she would sleep the entire time I was out, as a convenience to myself. I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing, because we all need our own time, but I actually enjoy the company of my baby, and I have no qualms about waking her up to go in to a store.

I read this article in Mothering; Car seats are for Cars and it really made sense. The article talks about flat-head syndrome which has become rampant in this generation.

"Timothy R. Littlefield, MS, is affiliated with an Arizona clinic that treats plagiocephaly. In an article in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics, he notes that 28.6 percent of infants who attended the clinic between 1998 and 2000 spent 1.5 to 4 hours daily in car seats or swings, and nearly 15 percent were in them for more than four hours per day. Another 5.7 percent of infants were allowed to sleep in these devices.Littlefield observes that cranial distortion resulting from overuse of car seats and swings is more severe and complex than in children who develop plagiocephaly from back-lying on a mattress. Consequently, he recommends reducing the time spent in car seats and swings, if possible"

They also talk about the lack of touch. The authors talk about parents who leave children in the seats for extended amounts of time. "In a Columbia University study, researchers gave either a baby seat or a soft, wearable infant carrier to mothers of low socioeconomic status who had recently given birth. After 13 months, the researchers found that the babies who had been transported in wearable carriers were significantly more likely to demonstrate a strong attachment to their mothers."

Now that Eliza is much more interactive, we felt that even though its a lot harder to hold her when we go to stores or out to eat, at least we're interacting with her. The car seat is safer in the car anyway!  A new study in the journal Pediatrics reports that " almost 9,000 infants go to the emergency room (ER) every year for car seat-related injuries that happen outside the car." As reported by MSNBC.