I've Created a Monster!!

It has come to my knowledge that I may never be able to leave my child during a mealtime (ok, "never" may be a bit much...but at least for as long as I'm still nursing). Why?? Because I've created a monster!! Hopefully, this post will be helpful to some nursing mamas or those of you who may be expecting.....this is what NOT to do!

Bug is 100% breastfed, with the exception of solids and finger food. Needless to say, she needs ME for most of her nutritional needs. I'm planning on nursing somewhere beyond a year, and she'll be a year next month. So we'll see how I feel in a few months. Several months ago, my milk supply started slowing down. She was nursing less often with the introduction of food. I even added the number of meals very slowly so my supply wouldn't take such a huge hit. I thought I was doing everything right, and I definitely did my research (total nerd like that). Anyway, my daughter takes her breastmilk like one would wine---a little at a time. Yet another hit to my milk supply. Prior to maybe September, she would occasionally get a bottle of pumped milk, and all was well to the world. Here's the science of nursing for those who may not be familiar....the more they nurse, the more they tell your body to produce. The body gives what is needed, so if they're nursing less, the body thinks it needs to produce less. Pumping is good, but it isn't as efficient as nursing. Nothing gets more milk out than your baby.

With our little science lesson behind us, you'll understand why I decided to hold off the pumping and keep her nursing. I didn't want to waste any of my liquid gold (frozen milk) I stored up unless there was an emergency. That was the beginning of the end. Braya was nursing more often and my supply went up more, but it was only enough to feel her. I wasn't making much extra to store. Basically, the milk I stored up was probably going to be "it" as far as my supply went unless I could up my supply, which I was hoping to do by nursing her more often. I guess at some point in those months, she got so used to nursing that anything other than the tap itself was unacceptable.

We found this out the hard way. The other night, my boobs just really wanted a break. They were drained. The tap was dry. So Darling Dearest heated up some liquid gold. He attempted to give her a bottle of it...NOPE! Bug threw a fit and wouldn't take a bit of it. So we put it in a sippy cup, which is what she normally drinks from. NOPE...this girl is not taking the sippy cup either. Back in the bottle it went because goodness knows I wasn't about to waste any of this milk. She was going to drink it, even if I had to put a funnel to her mouth. No need to call child protective services, the funnel comment is an exaggeration (maybe). :-) We tried different size nipples--thinking if we tried one with a huge hole, she'd be forced to taste enough that she'd realize it was the same thing.

Darling Dearest and I had two different approaches. His was much more annoying and angrying than mine. She looked away, he found her with the bottle. She got mad and he continued to chase her down. Finally, mama had to step in. Darling Dearest is usually amazing with his Bug, but tonight....he didn't have the golden touch. It's basically a miracle she didn't learn to punch and slug him right in the face with how much he was annoying her with the bottle.

So did I get her to finish the bottle? You bet I did. Did it take distraction with a book, a million sips before she actually stuck with the whole drinking thing, and a ridiculous amount of time?? You bet it did!! I swear I aged a good 10 years from start to finish of that bottle, but hey...no liquid gold was wasted. I should've just nursed her and had it over and done with, but through this experience...I learned the hard truth..............

I've created bottle-refusing, boob-lovin' MONSTER!! I'm counting down the days until she's one when she can drink cow's milk amd all the water she'd like to supplement her mama's milk. This mama would like to be able to go do some things without her! Here's to hoping she finds something she loves just as much as her mama's milk!

Becoming Cleopatra

Sorry, it's been a few days. Things have been crazy around here with Halloween creeping up! In the midst of all that is scary this time of year, I encountered the scariest thing of all yesterday....the ugly green-eyed monster!! Yep, I admit it....I'm officially house jealous. Now, it's not even really about the house (although don't get me wrong, I'm sure if I thought about it--it could be), but it's about the home-maker.

One of my favorite hottie friends (we'll call her Cleopatra since she made a fabulous one last night) had a little get-together last night (ok, it wasn't that little...good thing she's the Hostess with the Mostest who can handle that kind of event because I'd probably pee my pants a little). Cleopatra is ridiculously PERFECT. She's gorgeous to the max, an awesome teacher, a great wife, friend, and every other title she carries....but not only that---she's a sickeningly amazing homemaker. Seriously, her house looks like it's straight from a Martha Stewart magazine, except with a modern/homey feel. The worst part of it is...she doesn't even know how amazing and talented she is or how perfect her house is. It's decorated to the T, and she even finds great discounts. I mean, I saw the green-eyed monster popping up the second I stood on her door stoop. Yep, even her 3' by 5' stoop is better decorated than my ENTIRE house!! How bad is that?? She always has said that if she stops teaching, she should be an interior decorator. And you know what I think??? She should. Better yet--she should start with my house pro bono. :-)

I guess I'm just not "girlie" in that sense. I'm not a natural homemaker, by any means. I don't love to cook. Although I'm not a bad cook, I don't have a natural sense of food, tastes, etc. (good thing Darling Dearest and I were raised similarly where dinner wasn't a big deal and neither of us are foodies--we may actually be food bores). I don't love to clean...but I think people who actually enjoy it are on something (sorry to my OCD friends-you know who you are). :-) I'm not a cutesy decorator. My house looks okay, but would you actually walk through it and say, "Wow, your house looks great!"???? HECK NO! Unless of course you're a worse homemaker than me (while that may be possible, you'd be in bad shape if that was the case). Sorry, Mom! hehe!

So lately I've been down on myself about my lack of what is stereotypically a girl's thing--something that should come naturally, right?? I mean, making your house cute and homey is what girls should be able to do...according to the stereotype. Well, if that is the case.....I'm the worst. I think a good amount of it is because I'm cheap (financially forced to be cheap...did I say I'm not working yet??), and never EVER go shopping for things for my house. I also don't really watch all those home shows (I'm too stuck on mind-erasing reality shows), even though I do love them when I stumble upon them. I guess I just wish someone (namely, Cleopatra) would come do it all with me (translation: FOR me) and tell me what is cute, what is not, what goes with what, etc.

So I've decided to turn a new leaf. Instead of letting the ugly green-eyed monster creep up on me again, I'm going to learn to be a homemaker. I'm a teacher and a self-professed nerd. I'm an academic perfectionist, so why can't I study a different type of subject?? I'm going to buy cute, girlie magazines (not the ones on make-up and clothing like I usually do). I'm going to watch decorating shows for inspiration. Shoot, if I can't naturally come up with my own cute ideas, I am not above stealing someone else's!!! I'm going to become THAT girl. I'm going to become Cleopatra (and several of my other best girls who have the same talent--ugh! Am I the ONLY one bad at this stuff). Hopefully, she'll give me some tutoring sessions and take me under her perfectly put-together wing. Hey, you never know...I may go wild in my effort to become a lady. I may actually stop biting my nails, updating my chipping toenail polish (and by "chipping" I mean that there may only be a few remnants of color actually ON some of my nails...GROSS!), and I may even start DOING my hair! So here's to becoming Cleopatra and fighting the green-eyed monster, so he can go creep up on someone else when they enter MY house!!

Oh, and here are a few pics of Bug, etc. @ Cleopatra's party. Wish I would've taken some pics of her gorgeous house so you all could be envious with me.