Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Lunch Date with a Pixi

Ooooh, I was very fortunate to be able to meet Pixi for lunch while in Boston for a conference on August 4th. Firstly, she is glowing and absolutely gorgeous. What a lovely woman! So friendly and down to earth. It's great to meet another fellow blogger IRL. I'm so happy for her and her husband, getting ready to welcome their little wee one soon! Lunch was lovely - mushroom tortellini with goat cheese (we both ordered it). I'm looking forward to hearing about her shower. It's so nice to hear success when one has been struggling with recurrent miscarriage. My fingers are still crossed for everyone else...

Bee is doing great, but my milk supply seems to be dropping off, which causes me great concern. I didn't pump while I was at the conference; we brought the Bee with us (along with my Father-in-law to keep an eye on him while we were attending worksops at the conference). Instead of pumping, I went to our room to nurse him in betwen sessions. Since I've gotten back, I'm getting 6 oz. first thing in the morning, and then 1 to 2 oz. every 2 hours during the day. I was getting about 9 - 12 oz in the morning, and 3 - 4 oz. every 2.5 hours. So, little concerned there. I am making sure I'm eating enough and drinking, and getting enough rest. Just wigging quietly... (Well, maybe not so quietly - I discuss this with Mr. Right and C several times a day). Bee's urine output seems to be down, too, but I'm not sure if I'm imagining it. He seems satisfied after he nurses, but I supplement with formula if he's still hungry and I feel "tapped out." Any advice on pumping / increasing my supply will be wholeheartedly welcome...

My brother came down with aspiration pneumonia so he's now in a hospital. He's responding well to the antibiotics and out of ICU. They'll insert a feeding tube next, and my parents are actually talking (to each other!). Of course, my mother had sent my dad a card inviting him to call if he wanted to discuss my brother's condition, then was pissed that he didn't call right away. Now that they're talking, she complains that he calls. Impossible to please that woman - that's why I gave up when I was 16. Apparently, she prays the rosary with my brother and watches the Rosary channel with him. I cannot imagine worse torture for him (NO offense to Catholics or to fans of the Rosary); my brother was not remotely religous... Monster Garage is more up his alley. Gotta tell my mom that, but she never returns my calls.

My cousin who donated her wonder eggs just got a 4.0 in her first semester in Physical Therapy program. She's doing really well and sounds happy - I'm so glad for her! She moves next week to the new campus for fall semester. I know she'll do great!

That about wraps it up for now. Upcoming, I have a wonderful story about how I put my foot in my mouth with my new neighbor, and insane family drama - with the e-mails to prove it. Glad I see my therapist tomorrow evening... Hope you all are well!

Have been up since 2:30 this morning: Bee awoke, and after 30 minutes of happily chatting to himself, seemed annoyed. He had rolled on to his back, so I put him back on his tummy and told him he really needed more sleep (after praising him for his fine rolling work). He went back to sleep immdiately. I got insomnia. Tossed & turned for 30 minutes, then got up and watched the end of Six Degrees of Separation, Mr & Mrs. Smith, pumped 6 oz, showered made breakfast and got to work. I tried to nap this afternoon, but sleep eluded me there, too. I was at least able to rest, so that helped. Thanks for the prompt comments, lonna and mm! : )

7 Comments:

At 8/16/2006 4:52 PM, Blogger lonna said...

I have some advice for improving milk supply, but you might also want to check out kellymom.com

I was a lousy pumper. I never got more than 4 ounces, and I was lucky if I brought home 1/3 of what my son ate while we were apart. It was maddening. I was convinced that my supply was down, but it wasn't. Two things: first, eventually your body realizes how much Ben needs and that's about what it will make (usually around 3-4 months but mine was earlier). 2) pumping output is in no related to actual milk supply. I think that I eventually had a slight over supply because of everything that I was doing and I still couldn't pump much. Fennugreek is what did the most for me. You have to take a lot - 3 to 5 capsule 3 times a day and you will smell like maple syrup, but if it's worth it to you, it's really worth it. Good luck.

 
At 8/16/2006 4:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice to hear from you! Glad you and the babe are doing well. ;)

 
At 8/17/2006 1:27 PM, Blogger Jenny said...

There is a lot of wisdom in the adoptive breastfeeding community about increasing milk supply. This site is great, and mentions fenugreek & blessed thistle:

http://www.asklenore.com/breastfeeding/induced_lactation/herbs.html

I have also heard that eating lots of oatmeal is helpful to increasing milk supply. Here's more info:

http://www.asklenore.com/breastfeeding/induced_lactation/increasing_milk.html

Good luck!

 
At 8/18/2006 5:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm sorry your brother is having such a hard time. Such an awful disease. I'm sorry that your family has suffered so much because of it.

Oh, but look at your beautiful Ben. I really love the second pic -- what are you doin' with that thing, Mama???

I'm so glad we were able to hook up. It was such a nice time! I hope someday we get chance to do it again!

 
At 8/19/2006 1:08 PM, Blogger charlie's mom said...

I can't believe how much he's grown!

 
At 8/29/2006 11:47 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your baby is BEEEEUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
At 9/02/2006 12:06 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Anna, Ben is so beautiful! I have no advice to offer, but I hope your milk-supply problem is taken care of.

I just read your comment over at MM's. I am so very sorry about your brother. Wishing you much strength for the difficult days ahead. Know that I'm thinking of you.

 

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