Conversations with a Toddler (Part Two)

I was about to nurse Mungee and she said "Don't bite the milks".  I said, "That's right, don't bite".  She said "It hurts mommy".  I confirmed.  Then she said "It hurts mommy's nipples".  She's very thorough, this one.

Oh, did I mention I'm still nursing her?  She's two now, and will be starting school in less than two weeks.  Weaning is inevitable.  Any tips on how to get my milk to dry up? (natural remedies only, please and thank you).

2 year stats:

26 pounds ~ 50th percentile

35 1/2 inches ~ 90th percentile

She's tall and skinny like me (HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!)

Did You Know?

Did you know that you can only eat whatever you want while breastfeeding for so long before you start gaining weight again?  Now I know.

Did you know that the library, bookstores and even Whole Foods have story time, but they all fall during or at the end of your child's naps?  Now I know.

Did you know that a frozen bagel used as a teether won't stay frozen for long before your child, who has 6 teeth, bites off a chunk the size of a large marble and chokes on it?   
Now I know.

Did you know that when you're bathing your child and they kick and splash with excitement, drenching you in the process, that you'd happily splash along with them?   
Now I know.

Did you know that you'd be discussing the color, size, texture, consistency and odor of poo with your husband, parents, friends and complete strangers?  
Now I know.

Did you know the sink would fill with dishes, the laundry would get ignored and toys would get strewn across the floor, but you wouldn't care because your baby is happy and therefore you're happy?
Now I know.

Did you know that months of holding your sleeping child for hours at a time, several times a day, sacrificing your need to go to the bathroom or merely move, were worth it because you have a child that finally takes naps in their crib and sleeps through the night?   
Now I know.

Did you know that when you're walking through the grocery store with your baby, talking and singing and being goofy in order to keep them entertained, you'll be oblivious to what other people think?  Now I know.

Until you've experienced it, there's no way to know what you will come to know, you know?  I can't wait to know more.

*** What do you know? ***

Setting Off the Sprinklers

A while back, Mungee set off the sprinkler system at JCPenney's. 

Well, sort of.

Before I figured out when Mungee needed to take a nap in the morning, Mondays were our "mall day".  She typically would fall asleep in the stroller after we walked around for a while.  Since we would spend several hours at the mall, I needed to nurse her at some point.  I found a large dressing room at JCPenney and the feeding commenced.  

This particular dressing room had a loud chime to alert the salespeople whenever a customer entered or exited.  Just as I felt my milk let down, the chime went off and Mungee quickly detached from my breast to check out the noise.  I looked down and saw what appeared to be a thin white hair on my nipple.  I proceeded to pick it off, then realized that it was actually milk spraying out!  I couldn't help but laugh.  I had been nursing her for at least 6 months at this point and this had never happened before.

As Mungee becomes increasingly curious about the world and is easily distracted when she's nursing, this has happened several more times.  It's usually when I'm trying to watch TV or when her Pa enters the room.

Nursing moms, tell me about your breastfeeding snafus.  We've all had at least one.

Routine - Part One, The Morning

Okay, where was I?

After banging my head against the wall (or sometimes the floor, while curled in the fetal position) for seven months, I think we've got some semblance of a routine that keeps me from cutting myself going insane calling an adoption agency crying a lot.

Mungee wakes up between 7 and 8 a.m.  Toward the earlier end of that range if she didn't wake up somewhere between 3 and 5 a.m. and toward the latter end of that range if she did.  I should be getting up prior to her waking so I can shower, but I take advantage of every moment of shut eye I can get, even if it means I stink for a good portion of the day.

Once Mungee is starting to get frustrated that we haven't come to rescue her yet, I go in, greet her, change her diaper and then we go in the den and I nurse her, while watching a snippet of the news or one of the elevently-billion shows I DVR because I rarely watch anything at the time it actually airs.  Then Mungee gets to play while I have coffee and snarf* down breakfast (*do my best vacuum cleaner impression).

After I selfishly feed myself, I plop* Mungee into the highchair and prepare her delicious multigrain cereal spiked with bananas (*buckle her in while being ever so careful as not to pinch her fingers as she is grabbing for the straps to gnaw).  Mungee eats breakfast and then I read her a book (usually Mr. Brown Can Moo) and sing a few songs.  At this point it's about 9 a.m. and a couple different things could happen:

*I could plop* (*see above) her into the bouncy seat in the bathroom while I take a "quick" shower and then the morning nap commences (more on this in a moment).

*I can tell that she is already too tired to patiently wait out me taking a shower without quickly going into meltdown mode and so I skip the shower and therefore the morning nap commences.

Morning Nap Ritual:

1. Go to my bedroom
2. Change back into sleep-type clothes (if I was actually already dressed for human-other-than-Mungee's Pa interactions)
   
3. Hide Google phone from Mungee under covers so I can chat on The Nest, read Facebook status updates and play Solitaire once Mungee has fallen asleep
   
4. Nurse Mungee
5. Burp Mungee
6. Settle Mungee onto me laying down chest to chest
7. Endure Mungee finding and eating my bra strap
8. Endure Mungee trying to give me a hickey on my chin
9. Endure Mungee pulling on her ears and ripping at her dry skin in some weird and twisted self-soothing mechanism
10. Feel Mungee's stomach contracting just as she is about to fall asleep
    
11. Hear farts
12. Hear poo
13. Hope the poo was just a little squirt that can be changed later
14. Hear more poo
15. Proceed to get up and change diaper (and outfit if poo has leaked)
    
16. Come back to bedroom to get settled again
17. Repeat 10-16
18. Endure Mungee twisting her body around so her face lands in the crook of my elbow
19. Reposition Mungee so we are both more comfortable
    
20. Hear Mungee's breathing change from that of awake baby to that of asleep baby
21. Suppress urgent need to go to the bathroom
22. Pull out phone and commence time-wasting living vicariously through others aforementioned activities
    

Obviously this is not ideal.  Ideally, Mungee would nap in her crib, allowing me to incessantly read other mommy blogs that are way cooler than mine clean the house and prepare dinner.  But it's what works for now.

Sound crazy?  Have a baby around Mungee's age?  What's your morning routine?

Please stay tuned for Routine, Part Two - The Late Morning/Early Afternoon Depending on When the Morning Nap Started/How Late it Went

I Did It!

Prior to Mungee's birth, I decided that I would breastfeed her for at least 6 months.  I knew it would be of great benefit to her and help us bond.  It also made sense from a financial standpoint since I had quit my job to stay at home with her.  (That was a very secondary reason).  

Breastfeeding was very rough at first ... my milk took almost a whole week to come in since Mungee was in the NICU for four days and was receiving formula.  She was born on Monday and my milk didn't come in until Friday.  I had a very hard time trying to figure out how to get her to latch on.   It didn't help that she was hooked up to several monitors/wires that we had to try and keep untangled while I nursed her.  It was hard to find a comfortable position for both of us. I consulted with two lactation experts at the hospital, but their advice went in one ear and out the other because I was exhausted!

Once we were home, I experienced a lot of pain and sleepless days and nights trying to balance nursing and pumping so Mungee's Pa could give her a bottle and give me a break every once in a while.  I finally decided to stop supplementing with formula when Mungee threw up like a fountain after breastfeeding following a formula feeding.  Things got easier from there.  As I was able to relax, so was Mungee and she latched on more easily.  Breastfeeding also got easier when I realized that I no longer had to keep my hands over my chest when I showered.  It didn't hurt anymore!

I am proud to say that with the exception of formula supplementation for the first few weeks, and the introduction of rice cereal and yesterday's sweet potatoes, Mungee has been exclusively breastfed for 6 months now! 

Feeding Mungee by my own body has been our way of life for so long that I don't see myself discontinuing because I hit an arbitrary number that I had set out for us.  My decision is to continue breastfeeding as long as it works for both of us and Mungee's nutritional needs continue to be met in this manner.

Did you decide to breastfeed your little one?  How did it go?  Please share your story.