C'est Moi! C'est Moi, I Blush to Disclose

Today is Day #1 of my Special K diet. So far, I've eaten one bowl of Granola cereal (didn't care for it) at 6:45am, a yummy snack bar at 10:00am, a bowl of Original cereal at 11:00am, and an apple at 11:45am. And...I'm still hungry. 

The Special K challenge is to lose up to 6lbs in 2 weeks. I have to replace two meals with cereal (I don't care for the meal shakes or the protein bars) and only have 2 of their Special K snacks a day (these include cereal bars or crackers). My 3rd meal is a regular meal, which will be my dinner (I just have to remember portion control!). I can drink whatever I want throughout the day and have as much fruit and veggies as I want. I do this for two weeks and hopefully lose 6lbs and get down to my ideal weight.

We'll see how this goes. I'm also running/walking for 20-25 minutes a day, hopefully getting up to 30 minutes. I will continue to run/walk after the diet, which will hopefully keep the weight off, as well as smart eating and snacking. Before I got pregnant, I was down to my ideal weight and I loved it. Working at Bright Horizons helped me lose the weight I gained from working at a movie theater. I was constantly up and down, picking up kids, and had no time during the day to snack. I also didn't have big lunches. I gained almost 40lbs while pregnant, lost it all about 6 months later, but since Lydia has stopped nursing, I've started gaining some back.

Today is Day #17 of Lydia's "nursing strike". At first she would drink 4oz of breast milk from a sippy cup in the mornings and 6oz from a bottle at bedtime, with 4oz if she woke up. Now, she refuses to drink breast milk in the morning or any other time during the day! She will drink about 4oz at bedtime, then I dream feed her the other 2-3oz around 8:30pm. She hasn't been waking up at all during the night. In the morning, I put about 2.5oz of breast milk in with her oatmeal, since she won't drink it. She's still eating really well. I make sure I feed her about every 1.5 to 2 hours, either a snack or a meal. She is not much of a drinker, only sipping at her milk or juice. Usually at dinner time she will drink a lot of milk. She still has wet diapers (we have to use the special night time ones at night) and poops a lot, so I'm pretty sure she's good. She's in a great mood. She naps just fine and sleeps all night. I now pump 3 times a day (6, 12, 6) and get about 2.5 to 3oz each time. We will see what the doctor has to say next week at her 9-month check up.

Today is President's Day and I have off of work. Brian had to work today, since they had that Snow Day a few weeks ago. So, I was stuck bringing in the Escape to get LoJack put on it. I had to drive all the way to Carmax (about 35 minutes) with Lydia. She started crying when we got on the highway, so I had to get off, give her her pacifier and then she was fine. We made it there by 8:00, but our appointment wasn't until 9:00 (we got confused). We drove around looking for something to do. Lydia was screaming and I was getting frustrated, since I don't know that area. We finally found a Subway so I could give Lydia her yogurt for snack. We then walked around Lowe's and Lydia had a great time! She loved looking at the kitchens (and trying out the sinks) and feeling the carpets. Everything is a learning experience and an adventure for her! At Carmax, she had a great time playing with the few toys they had there, then we had a snack, and she played some more. After an hour and a half, we were done and could head home. She dozed in the car, but was still too tired to eat her lunch when we got home. I put her down for a nap and will try to give her more lunch when she wakes up. We will then head to a kid's consignment store to look for shorts, new shoes, and a little car to ride on. We miss Daddy, but will still have fun!

Well...Actually...There's Not Much Going on Today

Today is Day #7 of Lydia's "Nursing Strike". I don't know if I can still call it that...I don't think she's striking anymore - she's completely stopped. I get very sad every time I offer her to nurse and she turns her head and starts to cry. And now she gets excited when I get her bottle ready at night. Oh well, she thinks she's a big girl.

I called the pediatrician, wondering if I should bring her in for the doctor to check her out. The nurse suggested that I just keep my eye on her and look for signs of Lydia losing weight, sleeping all the time, etc. I told the nurse that Lydia has been acting perfectly happy and normal. I also told the nurse that she only drinks 4oz in the morning, 4oz at night and 3-4oz if she wakes up at night. That is not enough, the nurse said. I have to supplement with formula. There is nothing wrong with formula, I just thought I would never have to use it. It was never in my feeding plan for Lydia. But, I want to do what is best for her.

So, Lydia's feeding schedule:

7:00am - breast milk (I can usually pump 3-4oz each morning). She usually doesn't drink it all, so I add it to her oatmeal.

7:30am - breakfast.

9:30am - snack.

11:00am - lunch. I give her 2oz formula and 2oz whole milk mixed together. She wasted my breast milk the other day, so I don't want to give her that. She doesn't want to drink anything but whole milk at lunch, but I want to be able to tell the doctor I've tried.

2:00pm - snack.

3:00pm - light snack (she likes to eat every hour in the afternoon...).

4:00pm - fruit jar.

5:00pm - dinner.

6:00pm - 6oz bottle of breast milk mixed with formula.

That's a total of 14oz offered to her during the day, plus 3-4oz if she wakes up at night, which equals 18oz - the minimum requirement for an 8 month old. For her 9-month checkup, I'm going to ask the doctor if I can get rid of the lunch time formula, since she doesn't really want it then. Hopefully he'll see that she's gaining enough weight and is happy and healthy.

It's very sad for me that she wanted to give up breastfeeding so quickly. I thought that I was in charge, weaning her when I wanted to. Lydia has proven me wrong. She doesn't even ask to be nursed, or ask for milk. In the afternoons when she wants to snack, I give her crackers or yogurt and a cup of whole milk, that she downs. I still believe she does need breast milk in the mornings and at night, but probably not during the day.

The only good thing about giving her a bottle at night (the only time she gets a bottle)? Brian can put her to bed! He gave her a bottle and rocked her last night and she went right to sleep with no problems! We recently bought a treadmill, so I was able to pump and exercise without having to put Lydia down first. That saved a lot of time for me in the evening! I'm glad that she let Daddy put her to bed, instead of just depending on me. I miss my teeny baby, but I love the big girl she's growing into!

Plus, she's started pulling up to standing on her own!

The Best Thing For Being Sad is to Learn Something

Today was Day #3 of Lydia's "Nursing Strike". She has not nursed since Saturday at 5:30 in the morning! Her 3:00 weaning had been going so well. She had still wanted to nurse at 6am, 8:30am, 12pm and 6pm with no problems. 

Friday afternoon we headed to Austin to visit Lydia's Pfeiffer grandparents. She nursed at bedtime at 6:00, I dreamfed her at 9:30, again at 2:30am and then at 5:30am. At 5:30, I brought her into our bed and nursed her. She bit me on after we switched sides and I told her "no", we tried nursing again and she bit again and I said "no" and said we're finished. It didn't seem to bother her much, since she soon fell back to sleep until 6:45. After that, no more nursing. When I tried nursing her before her morning nap at 9:00, she started screaming at me and pulling away. I tried to nurse every time we normally do, but she screamed each time. By 5:00pm, I was dying and had to go out and get a pump from Wal-Mart. I put the breast milk in a sippy cup and Lydia downed it! So, obviously, she still likes my milk!

I tried dreamfeeding her Saturday night, but even though she was fast asleep, she still refused to nurse. The nights have been the hardest. Without nursing to go to sleep, she doesn't want to sleep! We were up over an hour trying to put her back to sleep. Last night (Sunday night) was the worse night in a long time. She woke up at 9:30 and didn't got back down until 11:15. Despite rocking her for 1/2 hour straight, she wouldn't go to sleep. I tried giving her a bottle of breast milk and a sippy cup, but nothing worked. I tried letting her crying it out, but I couldn't handle the screaming. Her crying caused me to cry and I didn't know what to do to help her. Finally, by 11:15, she was exhausted enough to fall asleep.

Today, she refused to nurse several times, so I pumped instead. She downed her milk in a sippy cup this morning, and snacked on 3oz throughout the day. She had 2oz in a bottle to go to bed. Hopefully, tonight she will either take breast milk in a bottle or sleep really well...or I can handle her crying.

I'm worried that my milk supply will go down. I don't want to give up nursing quite yet - I wanted her to at least nurse once a day until 12 months. I don't really think she wants to give up nursing, but I haven't figured out why she isn't nursing. She doesn't have an ear infection, she's not teething, she's eating everything else so it's not her tummy. Hopefully this "strike" will end soon and we'll get back to normal.

Don't Let It Be Forgot

Day #4 of Lydia's 3:00pm weaning and it's going great! I don't think she really misses it. She gets a bit fussy around 3:30 and I give her a sippy cup of whole milk and she just drinks it down and she's fine!

The only bad thing about weaning is that I think I'm going to miss it. This is probably why many breastfeeding women don't wean until after 12 months! I love the quiet times we have sitting in her room in the glider, especially at bed time. But, we have other times when we cuddle and play, that are still special, too.

Lydia's schedule has changed (as has mine) since I first started posting. Here's are current daily (Mon.-Fri.) schedule - careful, it's a busy one!

6:00 - my alarm goes off. Usually Lydia is awake by now, talking in her crib. She is rarely still asleep. Recently, she has started screaming at 5:45, but I don't get her out of her crib until 6:00.

6:00-6:45 - I get Lydia up, her diaper changed, and nursed. I then get ready for the day while Brian gets her dressed (in clothes I pick out). Brian also gets my lunch ready and in Lydia's bag. Brian leaves at 6:30 and we head out the door at 6:45.

6:45-7:00 - Lydia plays on her own while I set up the center. I check e-mail and facebook on my iPhone.

7:00-7:30 - the children arrive. We usually have 3 or 4 by 7:30. I get breakfast ready and Leah comes out at 7:30. Lydia now eats oatmeal with banana for breakfast and a bit of whole milk in a sippy cup.

7:30-8:30 - play time. Our 5th kiddo usually arrives around this time.

8:30-9:30 - Lydia nurses and falls asleep. She usually sleeps about a half hour to an hour (depending on how loud the kiddos are). They kids have snack at 9:00, while Lydia has snack when she wakes up from nap. I usually give her Lil' Crunchies, a cracker or a jar of fruit. 

9:30-10:00 - play time.

10:00-10:45 - we usually go outside, weather permitting. Lydia loves playing outside! If it is too cold, or rainy, we do a directed activity. Lydia participates in everything. She has painted, colored with crayons, played in the water table, popped bubble wrap, danced, watched bubbles - everything!

10:45-11:00 - we read books. I have recently started letting the kids take turns picking out books. They love deciding what book to read. Lydia sits with us, although she isn't too interested in books, yet.

11:00-11:20 - lunch time. The kiddos are all sitting at the table eating "real" food. Lydia sits in the highchair and has a veggie or fruit, and sometimes a meat. She isn't a fan of the jarred meats, so I'm just going to stick with the veggies and fruit. She can eat a whole jar of 2nd foods, sometimes a whole jar and a 1/2 of something else. She has some whole milk with lunch.

11:20-12:00 - Leah and I eat lunch while the kids play. They are always in a good mood after a yummy meal! Lydia loves watching the kids play, although sometimes I have to save her, since they have started pushing her, sitting on her, or just getting up in her face too much.

12:00-12:15 - circle time. Lydia loves the songs we sing (Jesus Loves Me, Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc). We also go over where our eyes, ears, nose and mouth are. We do Ring Around the Rosy, The Duke of York, stomp our feet, turn around and wiggle! Then, we read a book. I nurse Lydia while Leah reads to the kids.

12:15-12:30 - I pat the boys down for nap. Lydia plays quietly (sometimes) while I pat the boys down.

12:30-2:00 - I rock Lydia to sleep and put her in the crib in the back room. She is good at sleeping an hour and a half. The boys are real good sleepers, so I get about an hour nap in, as well!

2:00-2:30 - the kids wake up and we give snack. Lydia gets a yogurt and water. 

2:30-3:15 - we go outside, weather permitting. If we don't get to go out, we do a directed activity around 3:00. Today we did dancing, bubbles, and then stacking blocks.

3:15-4:00 - play time. This is the time Lydia starts getting fussy for her nursing. I sit her in the highchair and give her a sippy of milk. This usually makes her happy and she plays until 4:00.

4:00-4:30 - snack time and more play. Lydia has a cracker or two for snack. The kids play again and some are picked up.

4:30-5:00 - Lydia starts getting fussy and I try to put her down for a nap. She usually doesn't go because the kids are being noisy and she wants to join in. I want her to rest so she can be happier when she gets home, but oh well.

5:00-5:30 - Brian comes between these times to give Lydia dinner (usually a veggie or fruit and milk). He then plays with her (Mon, Thurs and Fri). The other kids love to watch Brian play and he has fun with them. Usually Lydia is in a good enough mood to laugh and play with him. Sometimes, not so much. I use this time to start cleaning the toys and the center.

5:30-6:00 - I play with Brian and Lydia. I get to leave at 6:00, since I came in at 6:45. Leah stays until the last kiddo leaves (usually before 6:30).

6:00-6:30 - Lydia sometimes gets a bath. She is changed and gets ready for bed. I nurse her and she falls fast asleep. Brian is making dinner while I put Lydia to bed.

It's definitely a busy day, but everything usually goes smoothly. The kiddos usually don't drive us too crazy and we get some breaks when they play independently well. Sometimes there are fights that we have to break up, sometimes we have to put a child in time out. But, most days are good ones. Lydia loves watching her friends play. She has started crawling around (pulling herself on her tummy) after them and laughing. She likes to join in on their playtime and activities. She loves to stand at the shelves and cruise. She has started getting upset when a friend takes her toys, but she has also started taking toys!

The weekends are quieter, but we still like to go on adventures to keep Lydia busy. Brian and I still switch days on who gets to wake up at 6:00 with Lydia. I love it when I get to sleep in until 8:30 or 9:00! Brian is so good with her in the mornings. She loves playing with him!

Lydia, November 2010.

Lydia, February 2011