This one might be a bit boring to those of you already following my every word on Twitter. But for those of you who don’t tweet, or who are following so many people you don’t actually read every post, I decided to post the week’s highlights. That way they’re a bit more permanent to me.
—1—
Watching my baby girl walking down the middle of the hall holding on to nothing is literally breathtaking.
Sophie is officially a toddler now and it’s got me feeling a bit weepy, even as I’m breathing huge sighs of relief. I had these visions of her not walking when the baby is born and having to figure out how to tote two non-walking children around with me post c-section.
Fortunately, she is more and more confident each day and now uses furniture mainly as a psychological prop as she navigates across a room. She can walk across the length of the living room without holding on. She can even stop and turn and come back without falling down! Best of all is watching her toddle after her big sister.
—2—
I love my sister bringing treats from work (she’s a shift supervisor at Starbucks). However, I’m not so sure my OB’s scales will agree next week. Mmm… lemon loaf, marble loaf, lemon tarts, brownies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies…. I’m glad she doesn’t close every day.
—3—
I love when the canticle in Morning Prayer is Isiah 66:10-14, especially if I read it while the baby is nursing:
Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her; Exult, exult with her, all you who were mourning over her!
Oh, that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, That you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts!For thus says the LORD: Lo, I will spread prosperity over her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent. As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap;
As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.
When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bodies flourish like the grass
—4—
I think I saw my first oriole the other day. He was sitting on the top of the neighbor’s tree singing, a bright spot of dayglow orange and black; but flew away before I could get the binoculars. However, he came back later that evening and was sitting in a tree on the other side of the house, again singing away. This time I grabbed the binoculars and was pretty sure about the ID: Baltimore oriole. Except the song didn’t sound quite like the one we found online.
—5—
Not quite so happy a surprise in the garden: I found poison ivy on the side fence, growing in from the neighbor’s yard. So not cool. I am allergic in the worst way! I get an incredibly nasty oozy rash that spreads all over my body. I’d just been looking up pictures of the stuff a day or so before I found it so I was positive on my id. A great disappointment because from across the yard I’d rather thought it might be roses.
—6—
That’s my girl: Bella asks me if she can have some “food”. To which I reply that she has to ask for something specific. Bella: “I would like something specific.” Where does she get that smart mouth from?
And my other girl: We found Sophie seated in the pantry, having opened a sushi rice container, one with a pretty complicated lid. There was a pile of rice on the floor and handfuls of uncooked rice going into her mouth. We had to vacuum it up. What a waste of good rice.
—7—
How cool is it that my little brother is being paid to paint a mural by an art supply store in Austin? He’ll probably kill me for posting this picture; but I’m so stinkin’ proud of him.
The light isn’t great; but you get a sense of scale. And it’s the only one that has my brother in it. I can’t wait to see the pictures of the finished product.
That’s all I got tonight, folks. Visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary for more quick takes and to learn about the connection between scorpions and feta mushroom breakfast casserole.
Hi Melanie,
Re: weaning. I was in a similar situation—nursing #3, pregnant with #4. What happened was that my milk gradually changed as my due date approached and became colostrum around 8 months, if memory serves (#4 is 15.5 years old, so it’s been awhile). #3 weaned himself, although he was a little miffed that my milk disappeared.
He did ask to nurse again after #4 was born, but the thrill had gone or the taste changed and he was now a big boy.
It may work that way for you as well.
Thanks, March Hare, that’s good to know. It’s not that I’m philosophically opposed to tandem nursing as that I know post c-section (and after 2 sections a third is inevitable at this point) I know I’m not going to want a heavy, squirmy sixteen month old on my lap in any way shape or form. It’s very pragmatic.
It would be nice if she were to decide on her own that she’s had enough of nursing. So far she’s pretty stubborn in her clinging. Not that I blame her.
Good to know about the colostrum. I was rather curious about that but none of the books I read really go into details as to whether you continue to have milk if you nurse up to the point of delivery or it switches to colostrum.
I had three c-sections, and last two were tandem nursing. I wasn’t at all sure how it would work out, especially because Augusta wasn’t nursing all that much by the time Dominic was born. But never will I forget Augusta climbing up on the hospital bed when I was nursing Dominic. She crept closer, looked at him intently, asked to nurse too. She pulled off after a moment, smiled beautifully, and whispered, “Mama, TWO babies!!” I loved, loved, loved that! She was not even 2 herself, but I learned to negotiate with her about waiting for Dominic to nurse, about making sure Mama was comfortable, all of that. It wasn’t always easy, but sometimes it was priceless. I remember that her nursing sure helped me avoid engorgement. My husband, who teaches colonial history, pointed out that “good wives” would use little puppies to help with engorgement…and little puppies have teeth! She stayed with me, the baby, and my husband in the hospital when we had to go back in for jaundice. And she was fine with the colostrum; in fact, she gained a pound or two herself that first month and her curly hair took on the most amazing and appealing scent of sugar—I really think it was the colostrum! And the two of them are still best buddies, never any sibling rivalry have a special loving bond. They both took a long time really to wean, Augusta first, then Dominic. And each is a pistol—but nursing them made life easier in the long run, not hard at all, really, and no regrets (though I totally shared your concerns). It goes so quickly. My sister, who just had her sixth, though no c-sections, would tell you the same thing. Did you really the LLL book by Hillary Flower? I think that was her name. That was helpful for me. But mostly I knew it was something that seemed right for us.
Thanks Sheila, I love the input. And a great story about your daughter.
This is not a direct reaction to what you wrote, but thinking further and looking at to how I felt when I read your story, I find maybe I’m so torn in part because nursing Sophia right now is so very often not a pleasurable but a painful experience for me. She tends to dig her top teeth into me and at least once sometimes many, many times in a session I have to correct her latch. And she bites me several times a week. So often I find I’m gritting my teeth hoping she finishes soon. I feel very strongly about nursing for many reasons, for health and nutrition reasons, for bonding and emotional support. And so much of the time I do find nursing a positive experience. But the plain fact is that once both girls got teeth it has often been a struggle not to want to rip them off and scream: Stop it! you’re hurting me!