Adventures in Mommyhood- week 17

I never expected motherhood to turn me into a bigger geek than I already am but that is exactly what has happened.  I started to tinker with a movie creating program to create a dvd for my parents showing some video clips of Shammy since they’re not techie enough for YouTube.  I never would have guessed that I would get so into it that now the project has evolved into a full “history of Shammy” compilation.  It’s got photo slideshows of the pregnancy, the birth and Shammy’s first 3 months, it’s got background music, transition effects, captions and at 15 mins long already I’m not yet done.  The video along with this blog will document Shammy’s early history.  I hope that Shammy will appreciate this legacy that I’m creating for him, I wish my mom had kept a journal or something.

Who knows, perhaps this will just be volume 1 and I’ll create new chapters every few months or so….

I have given up and come to accept the fact that my son is going to be a technology geek, it’s int he genes.  He loves to stare at the computer screen, tap on the keyboard and even figured out on his own how to click the mouse.  When’s he’s fussy he’ll calm down when the TV comes on.  ::sigh::

He’s had a messed up sleep pattern lately, some days he’ll sleep through the night as usual and on other days he’ll decide that 4am is the start of the new day and he is not going back to sleep and wants to be entertained.   Out of exhaustion my husband sat him on his bouncy chair in front of the TV and turned on an infomercial and lo and behold, we got to snooze.  How sad is that?

As of this week I will have been breastfeeding exclusively for 4 months, I admit that at first I didn’t know if I would make it this far.  I am glad that I have and we keep on going strong.

I have finally found my pumping groove.  After struggling for months and dreading the whole process I have worked it out to a smooth routine.  I now pump once a day 1 hour after he goes to sleep for the night and I keep the pump parts in the refrigerator so that I don’t have to disinfect every day.  I’m also increasing the volume of the bags that I freeze for larger servings.

The other night I was preparing a bag to freeze when hubby walks in and asks “what are you cooking?”,  without hesitating I responded “breastmilk, want some?”

A lot of people may cringe but I have actually tasted my milk, I do it regularly too.  No, I don’t steal Shammy’s pumped milk to do shots with.  Instead I lick the drops of milk that fall on my arm during nursing or pumping, most of the time it tastes like vanilla soymilk but I love to notice the change in taste based on what I’m eating.  Shammy’s milk is a heck of a lot more interesting than formula and I do ask him “what would you like in your milk?” when I am trying to decide what to eat.  He gets birthday cake milk on his birthdays.

Since work has been dry for a couple of weeks thus needing less bottles I am finally starting to have the resemblance of a freezer stash.

Shammy got to celebrate his first Thanksgiving, his father insisted on instituting the tradition of having him watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade and see Santa.  Shammy’s act of peaceful rebellion was to conveniently fall asleep 10 minutes before Santa came on and waking up 2 minutes after it ended.

Shammy is now 4 months old!  And to think that I still get pain from the surgery, usually after physical activity.  I still can’t have the elastic in clothing sit on the scar without pain 🙁

I’ve had to adjust the straps in his car seat to a larger setting again, it was just over a month ago that I had adjusted it last, wow.

He has outgrown all of his sized diaper covers and I only have 1 one size diaper cover so we are barely using the contour diapers.  I now have a couple of [amazon_link id=”B003K1CNBK” target=”_blank” ]Fuzzibunz [/amazon_link]one size diapers that I had traded for and I must say that I like them so far.  I like the fact that they come in colors that are not available with Bumgenius such as brown and they are a trimmer fit which works well for clothes that Shammy is about to outgrow.  I also like the sizing adjustment process for them.  I haven’t tried them overnight so I don’t know how well they would hold but I would like to get more in different colors to better coordinate with Shammy’s outfits.

Speaking of diapers, I need a larger diaper pail.  The one that I currently have was designed for disposable diapers emptied daily and instead I use it for cloth diapers washed every other day so it doesn’t quite hold 2 days worth of diapers.  When I start working again I’ll look into getting a kitchen trashcan, that would probably be better for the task.

Despite books and websites repeatedly telling me not to expect Shammy to respond with sign language for several months I am happy to report early success with this approach.  He understands the sign for milk and has been known to use it (his dexterity is still developing so it’s not perfect but understandable).  He has also developed his own sign for “pick me up”.

I’m hoping to learn more signs to incorporate into our interactions.  Books advise to just pick a few signs and teach those but if I can learn more and just use them normally in conversation I don’t see how that could hurt.  What he has learned so far has been from regular “conversations”, I haven’t tried to do sign language lessons, instead I just make the sign whenever saying the word/doing the task and he’s learning by context very well.

And this week’s rant is a 2 part one:

I have been attacked on Facebook for being outspoken about breastfeeding thus making formula moms “uncomfortable”.

Seriously? I am PROUD! I worked really effin hard at this and succeeded!  It wasn’t always easy, I cried, I dedicate a lot of time and energy but it is worth it.  I don’t always enjoy being covered in milk, or pumping on the highway, but I do it. It is the best thing I can do for my son, and I am proud of it.  I am sure we have a zillion things that we don’t agree on in all areas of being a human being. I post things on facebook as a reminder to myself and my dear pregnant friends, that they can do it. I have had more than one pregnant mom tell me that the pro-breastfeeding things I post on facebook has encouraged them and empowered them, so damn-it, I am going to keep on keepin’ on!

I happen to have good friends that are passionate about things that I am opposed to.  I just skip over those posts and I don’t put anything negative, it’s my personal choice.

! It seems like every single time I post something (or a friend posts something) about breastfeeding or circumsicion, at least someone gets offended and acting like I am attacking them directly. Nothing I post on Facebook is aimed towards anyone but myself, and my fellow natural moms who might want to read the same article. If it doesn’t apply to you, or you don’t want to read it, then skip it.   Though I am not as nice as some of my friends, I like to defend myself and I rarely apologize for anything I have said or posted, because again, its NOT aimed at YOU! Get over it!

I have also been attacked for being indescreet in my breastfeeding, I proudly admit to this.  Why do fatty men get to show their boobies (many of which are larger than mine!) but I can’t feed my kid?  If you don’t have to cover up when eating your cheeseburger or go eat it in the bathroom then baby shouldn’t have to do the same to eat his lunch.

Besides, breastfeeding needs to be normalized, not hidden.  Sundae Horn wrote a good essay on this topic on Mothering Magazine and she wrote the “Indescreet Breastfeeding Manifesto” which I happily subscribe to.

Indiscreet Breastfeeding Manifesto

• I will nurse my child anytime, anywhere, no matter who is present or what I am wearing.
• I will bare my breast with pride and confidence.
• I will not apologize for nourishing and nurturing my child.
• I will not smother my child with a napkin or blanket.
• I will smile at everyone around me and ignore rude stares.
• I will know that I am giving my child the perfect infant food from the most efficient, ecological, and economical delivery system.
• I will know that I am giving my child the healthy start that is his or her birthright.
• I will set an example for women and girls, educate the public, dispel breastfeeding myths, desexualize the breast, and make the world a better place, all through the simple act of feeding my child.

I’m not a fan of the performer Pink but I do tip my hat to her for making a powerful statement in her latest video by showing a row of human females pumping milk that is then fed to a young cow.  Powerful analogy for what most people just refuse to think about…