Any nurses or doctors out there? Or just other pediatrically (don't know if that's really a word) knowledgeable people?
Does anyone know whether you are supposed to measure a baby's weight before or after his feedings? I know at the last doctor visit, it was right after I fed him, so I can compare to that to see how much he's gained since then, but when counting his overall weight gain since birth, I don't know whether to use the low number before his feeding or the high number after his feeding. He can take in 4 or 5 ounces at a feeding, so it makes a big difference. It seems like logically I would use the high number after his feeding, since when he was born he was presumably perfectly hydrated, having been continuously drinking and peeing in the womb.
I do love my new baby scale, though. If any one needs one, I can recommend a place to get a great deal on a quality digital model which can be used through the preschool years (up to 55 lbs). It also can be used as a postal or pet scale.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Ah-choo! cough cough. gasp for breath.
We are all sick in our house. Well, all except Samuel who must still have his immunity from his first week of life. I feel like the house will need to be fumigated to kill all the germs when we recover.
The bright side: I am so so thankful for my new rocker recliner (courtesy of my mom, my mother and father-in-law, and my aunt and grandma-in law - thank you!!!!). I had to sleep sitting up last night in order to breathe. Also, I am very happy that the books I ordered came yesterday so I will have something to read while I sit in the chair and focus on breathing today.
We are all sick in our house. Well, all except Samuel who must still have his immunity from his first week of life. I feel like the house will need to be fumigated to kill all the germs when we recover.
The bright side: I am so so thankful for my new rocker recliner (courtesy of my mom, my mother and father-in-law, and my aunt and grandma-in law - thank you!!!!). I had to sleep sitting up last night in order to breathe. Also, I am very happy that the books I ordered came yesterday so I will have something to read while I sit in the chair and focus on breathing today.
Monday, July 30, 2007
any suggestions?
I have a little problem. I like to have the boys play outside. It would be great if they did it more than they do. But lately they have been spending 2 or 3 periods of 30 -6o minutes outside each day. When they come in, they are absolutely filthy! So, they've been taking baths or showers 2 or 3 times a day. This seems excessive to me. They keep the water so cool it doesn't probably use much energy, and we only fill the tub half full, but still! Their skin will dry up and my bathroom will be perpetually wet and sloppy. I have envisioned some sort of outdoor shower or hose attachment to clean them off before they come in, but then we have the problem of flooding the lawn and making even more mud. (And any hose attachment they might take the liberty of using on each other when I'm not around.) So, any suggestions?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
I have been meaning to write another post about the feeding issues with Samuel, basically just to clarify that I don't think using formula is a horrible thing (although I do still hope to be able to nurse exclusively eventually). I am motivated to make nursing work because of the reasons that I listed in my last post about it (the majority of which are emotional, when I look back at it). We have been supplementing with formula now, and I am glad there is good formula available, with many improvements having been made in recent years. Also, we fed Ethan formula exclusively from 5 weeks on. So for those of you who chose to or had to use formula with your kids, I wasn't trying to say I thought that was bad. Hopefully you could see from the reasons I described in my last post about it that being able to nurse Samuel is something that is important to me on a personal level and not part of a crusade to make everyone else exclusively breastfeed. I have some fears that supplementing with formula could sabotage my opportunity to nurse Samuel, but right now our priority is making sure he gets enough to eat, with the secondary priority that it is human milk if at all possible.
The interesting thing is, he doesn't seem to really want any more milk than he was already taking. It seems like we're force feeding him the bottles. He doesn't cry for more after nursing, though he will take the bottles when we offer them, eventually finishing them very slowly. I have increased my supply so that most of the bottles we give him are pumped milk. But if we don't give him the bottles and attempt to give him all the milk we think he should be drinking solely through nursing, he doesn't take it all and I end up having to pump again to maintain my supply at this level. So maybe gaining .58 ounces a day rather than 1 ounce a day was just his natural pattern? I don't know, but he does look healthier now that he is gaining at a little bit faster rate.
The interesting thing is, he doesn't seem to really want any more milk than he was already taking. It seems like we're force feeding him the bottles. He doesn't cry for more after nursing, though he will take the bottles when we offer them, eventually finishing them very slowly. I have increased my supply so that most of the bottles we give him are pumped milk. But if we don't give him the bottles and attempt to give him all the milk we think he should be drinking solely through nursing, he doesn't take it all and I end up having to pump again to maintain my supply at this level. So maybe gaining .58 ounces a day rather than 1 ounce a day was just his natural pattern? I don't know, but he does look healthier now that he is gaining at a little bit faster rate.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
I am the luckiest
When we were in GC recently, I realized that there is a side of Heath that I only get to experience when he is with his best friends. Watching and hearing him interact with the guys he has been friends with for 10-15 years just makes me smile. There is a side of his personality, and particularly his sense of humor, that comes out with them that doesn't come out with other people. I wish you could all experience it. (Of course, several of you reading are those long-time friends, and you maybe don't realize he doesn't act that way around people he has known for significantly less time...)
I mentioned this situation to him, and we talked about how it has to be that way, really, because when you are just getting to know people, they won't know how you mean something when you say it. So, there are quite a few things you just can't say even though they would be really funny if the person understood that you were being facetious. And also, you don't know what everyone's sensitivities are, which topics you might want to avoid joking about.
Something I remember thinking and feeling when Heath and I first met and began spending time together was that it was like we already had the same sense of humor and perspective on life. We never had that uncomfortable feeling-things-out time. Really, from the beginning, he has totally accepted me and loved me. He is really an amazing person, as many of you know. I have said many times that I didn't know there was someone so good out there for me, and if I had I wouldn't have wasted time and heartbreak on other boys. (Though I am still friends with some of those boys, and I'm sure some of them turned out to be fine husbands - just not for me.)
The other night Heath put ear buds in my ears and handed me his mp3 player. He played the song "Luckiest" by Ben Folds for me, telling me after it played that that is how he feels about me. It is hard for me to imagine that he feels that way, but I know I feel that way about him. I know I am so blessed to have him for my husband and my best friend. He is humorous and intelligent and talented and interesting and principled and fun. He is a dreamer and a skilled worker and a dedicated, diligent father and husband. I could brag on him in many other ways, but I'll leave it at this for now. As you can tell, I highly recommend him. :-)
I mentioned this situation to him, and we talked about how it has to be that way, really, because when you are just getting to know people, they won't know how you mean something when you say it. So, there are quite a few things you just can't say even though they would be really funny if the person understood that you were being facetious. And also, you don't know what everyone's sensitivities are, which topics you might want to avoid joking about.
Something I remember thinking and feeling when Heath and I first met and began spending time together was that it was like we already had the same sense of humor and perspective on life. We never had that uncomfortable feeling-things-out time. Really, from the beginning, he has totally accepted me and loved me. He is really an amazing person, as many of you know. I have said many times that I didn't know there was someone so good out there for me, and if I had I wouldn't have wasted time and heartbreak on other boys. (Though I am still friends with some of those boys, and I'm sure some of them turned out to be fine husbands - just not for me.)
The other night Heath put ear buds in my ears and handed me his mp3 player. He played the song "Luckiest" by Ben Folds for me, telling me after it played that that is how he feels about me. It is hard for me to imagine that he feels that way, but I know I feel that way about him. I know I am so blessed to have him for my husband and my best friend. He is humorous and intelligent and talented and interesting and principled and fun. He is a dreamer and a skilled worker and a dedicated, diligent father and husband. I could brag on him in many other ways, but I'll leave it at this for now. As you can tell, I highly recommend him. :-)
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Okay, I'm sure you're all sick to death of hearing about this, but since I went to the doctor today and Samuel is still only gaining about half an ounce a day, it is pretty much all I can think about. The doctor suggested we offer formula after each nursing session, causing disappointment to settle like rocks in my stomach.
I feel like my heart is breaking over the whole situation. Why isn't it working? I really don't get it! I nursed Jacob successfully for 11 months and became a big advocate during that time. Everything about nursing Jacob went so well. And I would think things were going equally well with Samuel except he just isn't gaining weight! :-(
(Edit: Heath said after reading this post that some guys would be embarrassed by this next paragraph. I didn't think it was too much detail, but consider this your warning.)
It looks to me like he's feeding fine. We do 10 minutes on the first side, switch sides so he doesn't wear out too soon from non-nutritive sucking, and then usually do at least 10 minutes on the second side. I know I have milk; I can pump 2.75 ounces at feeding time. And he eats at least 8, sometimes 9 or 10 times a day. That would be 22-28 ounces a day, enough for a 9.5-10.5 lb. baby. It just doesn't add up! I am going to pump and give him the milk in bottles for the next 24 hours and keep track of the total, because maybe some of the feedings are yielding considerably less than 2.75 ounces.
It was so easy with Jacob. He cried to be fed about every 3 hours, I fed him, and he pooped and peed and gained weight like a champ. I didn't have to keep track of anything after the first week or two - if I lost track of time, he cried to be fed. I knew he had nursed for 10 or 15 minutes, time to switch sides, when he stopped nursing and pulled away on each side. I knew he was having at least 3 poopy diapers and 6 wet diapers a day (the minimum a breastfed baby is "supposed" to have), because he had both at each of his 8 feedings. I basked in the peaceful wave of prolactin and the sight of my milk-intoxicated little baby. I marveled at his solid little body and the soft rolls in his arms and legs, knowing it was part of me, lovingly and nurturingly transferred to him, that produced such vitality. I felt a primal drive to protect and nurture him that seemed inexorably linked to my experience of nursing him.
Of course, now I know from having another child that I was not able to nurse that I still felt the urge to nurture and protect my child without nursing. It didn't lessen our bond or my love for him that he was formula fed. Still, I remember an instinctive force, beyond my emotions or logic, that seemed to be present within the nursing relationship.
This is why I want nursing to work for Samuel and I. All these things - the ease and naturalness that are normally a part of nursing, the happy hormones and the baby fat confirmation, the instinctive drive to love - are why I am obsessing and worrying and suffering heartbreak over whether or not I will be able to continue to nurse Samuel. (I'm not even concerned so much about the potential for increased IQ and immunity to disease, although those are nice, too.)
Okay, and there is one more thing. I can't get this image out of mind - a mother and baby in a church we visited in Africa. I said to our missionary host, "Oh, is that a new baby?" And she answered me, quietly and discreetly, "No, he's (however many) months old." The other women were gathered around her helping her get him positioned to nurse, and apparently giving her advice as well. Obviously, he had not been feeding well for some time, for whatever reason. Maybe he was born early or sick. Or maybe they were just having trouble like Samuel and I. So what would happen if I wasn't a lucky enough to be born in a prosperous country? I know it is irrelevant, but it really bugs me.
I feel like my heart is breaking over the whole situation. Why isn't it working? I really don't get it! I nursed Jacob successfully for 11 months and became a big advocate during that time. Everything about nursing Jacob went so well. And I would think things were going equally well with Samuel except he just isn't gaining weight! :-(
(Edit: Heath said after reading this post that some guys would be embarrassed by this next paragraph. I didn't think it was too much detail, but consider this your warning.)
It looks to me like he's feeding fine. We do 10 minutes on the first side, switch sides so he doesn't wear out too soon from non-nutritive sucking, and then usually do at least 10 minutes on the second side. I know I have milk; I can pump 2.75 ounces at feeding time. And he eats at least 8, sometimes 9 or 10 times a day. That would be 22-28 ounces a day, enough for a 9.5-10.5 lb. baby. It just doesn't add up! I am going to pump and give him the milk in bottles for the next 24 hours and keep track of the total, because maybe some of the feedings are yielding considerably less than 2.75 ounces.
It was so easy with Jacob. He cried to be fed about every 3 hours, I fed him, and he pooped and peed and gained weight like a champ. I didn't have to keep track of anything after the first week or two - if I lost track of time, he cried to be fed. I knew he had nursed for 10 or 15 minutes, time to switch sides, when he stopped nursing and pulled away on each side. I knew he was having at least 3 poopy diapers and 6 wet diapers a day (the minimum a breastfed baby is "supposed" to have), because he had both at each of his 8 feedings. I basked in the peaceful wave of prolactin and the sight of my milk-intoxicated little baby. I marveled at his solid little body and the soft rolls in his arms and legs, knowing it was part of me, lovingly and nurturingly transferred to him, that produced such vitality. I felt a primal drive to protect and nurture him that seemed inexorably linked to my experience of nursing him.
Of course, now I know from having another child that I was not able to nurse that I still felt the urge to nurture and protect my child without nursing. It didn't lessen our bond or my love for him that he was formula fed. Still, I remember an instinctive force, beyond my emotions or logic, that seemed to be present within the nursing relationship.
This is why I want nursing to work for Samuel and I. All these things - the ease and naturalness that are normally a part of nursing, the happy hormones and the baby fat confirmation, the instinctive drive to love - are why I am obsessing and worrying and suffering heartbreak over whether or not I will be able to continue to nurse Samuel. (I'm not even concerned so much about the potential for increased IQ and immunity to disease, although those are nice, too.)
Okay, and there is one more thing. I can't get this image out of mind - a mother and baby in a church we visited in Africa. I said to our missionary host, "Oh, is that a new baby?" And she answered me, quietly and discreetly, "No, he's (however many) months old." The other women were gathered around her helping her get him positioned to nurse, and apparently giving her advice as well. Obviously, he had not been feeding well for some time, for whatever reason. Maybe he was born early or sick. Or maybe they were just having trouble like Samuel and I. So what would happen if I wasn't a lucky enough to be born in a prosperous country? I know it is irrelevant, but it really bugs me.
Monday, July 09, 2007
We had a lovely long weekend. We made it to GC in time for a BBQ and fireworks, though not nearly as early as we hoped (as usual). We spent lots of time with family Wednesday through Friday, then attended a 7/7/07 party with friends Saturday night. Check out some pictures here: 7 party!
Sunday, the women of our church threw a baby shower for Samuel. It was lots of fun, with a teddy bear cupcake-cake, celebrity baby-to-parent matching game, lots of cool presents and interesting conversation. Samuel received cute clothes and shoes, a really soft blanket, lots of diapers, wipes and baby toiletries, plus some gift cards for anything else we need and some items purchased especially with Mom and big brothers in mind. Thank you so much, ladies! You have really blessed our family. (I didn't bring my personal photographer with me, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share this time. :-)
Sunday, the women of our church threw a baby shower for Samuel. It was lots of fun, with a teddy bear cupcake-cake, celebrity baby-to-parent matching game, lots of cool presents and interesting conversation. Samuel received cute clothes and shoes, a really soft blanket, lots of diapers, wipes and baby toiletries, plus some gift cards for anything else we need and some items purchased especially with Mom and big brothers in mind. Thank you so much, ladies! You have really blessed our family. (I didn't bring my personal photographer with me, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share this time. :-)
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
The past two days have been so peaceful and restful. My Mom offered to take our two big boys for a few days, so I would have opportunity to focus on making nursing work for Samuel and I. So, my big boys have gotten an idyllic summer vacation at Grandmas - going to the pool, riding bikes, burning sparklers, taking extra long baths and staying up late reading a million story books. And Heath and I have gotten some great 1-on-1 time with Samuel. And best of all, I am starting to believe the nursing thing is going to work. Thank you, God!
It hasn't gotten any easier to lay him down by himself, though! I didn't realize how much Samuel's big brothers help keep him happy when I do have to lay him down during the day - giving him his binky, talking to him and touching or even holding him. That was a pleasant realization. So, I ended up napping next to him to catch up on rest. We stayed in bed until 5 pm yesterday (with the exception of getting up to eat lunch) and 11 am this morning!
We are heading to GC for the 4th celebration, picking up big brothers on the way. If we can ever get out of town, that is. :-) Better go finish packing. Have a happy Independence Day!
It hasn't gotten any easier to lay him down by himself, though! I didn't realize how much Samuel's big brothers help keep him happy when I do have to lay him down during the day - giving him his binky, talking to him and touching or even holding him. That was a pleasant realization. So, I ended up napping next to him to catch up on rest. We stayed in bed until 5 pm yesterday (with the exception of getting up to eat lunch) and 11 am this morning!
We are heading to GC for the 4th celebration, picking up big brothers on the way. If we can ever get out of town, that is. :-) Better go finish packing. Have a happy Independence Day!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thank you to all of you for your encouragement. I am feeling a little bit better about the situation today. (So far, anyway.) Spending most of my time nursing and pumping, but feeling a bit more encouraged.
Here is a funny story from last weekend, to balance my last two entries a little bit. We were on our way home from GC and trying to get the kids to fall asleep. We were playing the quiet game, and Heath had just announced the start of a new game. We all were sitting quietly when Ethan declared confidently, "I'm going to win this time!" LOL Obviously, his prediction didn't come true.
Another happy occurrence is that Jacob lost his first tooth! Heath is planning on putting a picture of the missing space on his blog, so I will leave that to him.
Here is a funny story from last weekend, to balance my last two entries a little bit. We were on our way home from GC and trying to get the kids to fall asleep. We were playing the quiet game, and Heath had just announced the start of a new game. We all were sitting quietly when Ethan declared confidently, "I'm going to win this time!" LOL Obviously, his prediction didn't come true.
Another happy occurrence is that Jacob lost his first tooth! Heath is planning on putting a picture of the missing space on his blog, so I will leave that to him.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
I took Samuel in for his weight check again today. He is 6 lb. 10 oz. now - he had gained 4 oz. in a week. Newborns are expected to gain 8 oz. per week. He is still 2 oz. under his birth weight. :-(
I am going to continue feeding every 2.5 hrs and add in pumping sessions. That should increase my supply, and hopefully he will begin taking the increased amount when he nurses. If not, I'll have to give him the extra milk in bottles after each nursing session. Which might result in him taking even less when he nurses because he might prefer the easier flow of the bottle, in which case I will be left with only two options: pump exclusively and feed the pumped milk to him in bottles, or switch to formula. This makes me want to cry. In fact, I did cry for quite a while after the doctor's appointment today. I usually am not able to cry even when I want to, so I guess that's a good thing - I'm probably in better spirits now than I would've been.
Please, if you see me with Samuel over this next week or two, please don't tell me how tiny or skinny he is. I know. He is smaller than an average newborn, and much smaller than an average 3 week old. I know. I am trying my best, and I feel totally responsible for him being small still. I don't think I could feel more like a failure. I haven't been diligent enough, haven't fed him often enough and long enough. I think I compromised my supply by experimenting with single side feeding for a few days during the second week.
Anyway. It's been kind of a hard day. I got about 5 1/2 hours of sleep. Jacob had a huge meltdown earlier. They both have been disobeying most of my requests for most of the day. I've yelled at them a couple of times, so that makes me feel like even a worse parent. They want me to play with them, but I'm holding and nursing Samuel all day. We started the day with Ethan hitting me because I wouldn't give him candy. I hesitate to share some of this, because some people who apparently have compliant children don't understand that we have strong willed children. We do discipline them, just so you know.
Ok, done venting. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
I am going to continue feeding every 2.5 hrs and add in pumping sessions. That should increase my supply, and hopefully he will begin taking the increased amount when he nurses. If not, I'll have to give him the extra milk in bottles after each nursing session. Which might result in him taking even less when he nurses because he might prefer the easier flow of the bottle, in which case I will be left with only two options: pump exclusively and feed the pumped milk to him in bottles, or switch to formula. This makes me want to cry. In fact, I did cry for quite a while after the doctor's appointment today. I usually am not able to cry even when I want to, so I guess that's a good thing - I'm probably in better spirits now than I would've been.
Please, if you see me with Samuel over this next week or two, please don't tell me how tiny or skinny he is. I know. He is smaller than an average newborn, and much smaller than an average 3 week old. I know. I am trying my best, and I feel totally responsible for him being small still. I don't think I could feel more like a failure. I haven't been diligent enough, haven't fed him often enough and long enough. I think I compromised my supply by experimenting with single side feeding for a few days during the second week.
Anyway. It's been kind of a hard day. I got about 5 1/2 hours of sleep. Jacob had a huge meltdown earlier. They both have been disobeying most of my requests for most of the day. I've yelled at them a couple of times, so that makes me feel like even a worse parent. They want me to play with them, but I'm holding and nursing Samuel all day. We started the day with Ethan hitting me because I wouldn't give him candy. I hesitate to share some of this, because some people who apparently have compliant children don't understand that we have strong willed children. We do discipline them, just so you know.
Ok, done venting. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Monday, June 25, 2007
in need of grace
Please pray for me to have patience with the kids today. It is running really thin.
I was out of coffee at home this morning, not a good thing for a Monday morning when I got only 4 or 5 hours of sleep (as opposed to the "normal" 6 or 7). So I load the kids in the van and head to Starbucks. We hadn't fully unloaded the van from our weekend trip, so there was a bag with some kids' underwear on the floor near the kids' seats. The kids grabbed four pairs of underwear and were examining and discussing them for some reason beyond my understanding. They each had two pairs to look at, until Ethan grabbed one of Jacob's pairs. Jacob said, "If you don't give me those underwear back, I'm going to hit you in the face!" As I am saying, "If you do that, you will be in big trouble..." I hear Ethan start crying, and then moaning, "I've got a bloody nose!" Yep, Jacob hit him in the face - over a pair of underwear - and gave him a horrific bloody nose.
I know God must have given me three boys for a reason. Apparently he thought I would do well mothering boys? Or maybe I would just do poorly mothering girls? (I hope that is not the case.) But at times like this, when the boys are so violent, I sure don't know how to handle it. It just makes me mad, and I can't be logical when I'm mad. The thing that really gets me is that Jacob wasn't really repentant about the incident. He kept complaining about how he didn't have the special pair of underwear, and how he never gets anything special. I can't help but wonder what else the day will hold. They are on their craziest behavior today because they have only gotten 9 hours of sleep for 3 nights in a row, building up a deficit of about 6 hours now.
In good news, Samuel has gained 3.5 ounces since his dr. appointment last Thursday. I know this because I weighed him on the electronic post office scale this morning, which I assume is very accurate. Last Thursday he only weighed 6 lb. 6 oz. - after weighing 6 lb. 11 oz. the Thursday before! Not a good thing. I don't know if anything could make me feel worse, as I am totally responsible for feeding him. I guess I got overconfident when he had almost regained his birth weight by 9 days old. So I wasn't being as careful to keep track of his feedings the next week, and I guess he wasn't getting enough. He wasn't crying for more. But the last four days I have fed him every 2 and a half hours, and he is gaining again. I just feel horrible for that week when he was losing weight. Ug. I always had oversupply with Jacob, and he was a vigorous demanding eater. I don't think I could have messed up nursing him other than if I had just ignored him. I have been freaking myself out these last few days looking at Samuel and thinking, "Is he shrinking?"and obsessively evaluating the efficacy of his suckling and the contents of his diapers.
I was out of coffee at home this morning, not a good thing for a Monday morning when I got only 4 or 5 hours of sleep (as opposed to the "normal" 6 or 7). So I load the kids in the van and head to Starbucks. We hadn't fully unloaded the van from our weekend trip, so there was a bag with some kids' underwear on the floor near the kids' seats. The kids grabbed four pairs of underwear and were examining and discussing them for some reason beyond my understanding. They each had two pairs to look at, until Ethan grabbed one of Jacob's pairs. Jacob said, "If you don't give me those underwear back, I'm going to hit you in the face!" As I am saying, "If you do that, you will be in big trouble..." I hear Ethan start crying, and then moaning, "I've got a bloody nose!" Yep, Jacob hit him in the face - over a pair of underwear - and gave him a horrific bloody nose.
I know God must have given me three boys for a reason. Apparently he thought I would do well mothering boys? Or maybe I would just do poorly mothering girls? (I hope that is not the case.) But at times like this, when the boys are so violent, I sure don't know how to handle it. It just makes me mad, and I can't be logical when I'm mad. The thing that really gets me is that Jacob wasn't really repentant about the incident. He kept complaining about how he didn't have the special pair of underwear, and how he never gets anything special. I can't help but wonder what else the day will hold. They are on their craziest behavior today because they have only gotten 9 hours of sleep for 3 nights in a row, building up a deficit of about 6 hours now.
In good news, Samuel has gained 3.5 ounces since his dr. appointment last Thursday. I know this because I weighed him on the electronic post office scale this morning, which I assume is very accurate. Last Thursday he only weighed 6 lb. 6 oz. - after weighing 6 lb. 11 oz. the Thursday before! Not a good thing. I don't know if anything could make me feel worse, as I am totally responsible for feeding him. I guess I got overconfident when he had almost regained his birth weight by 9 days old. So I wasn't being as careful to keep track of his feedings the next week, and I guess he wasn't getting enough. He wasn't crying for more. But the last four days I have fed him every 2 and a half hours, and he is gaining again. I just feel horrible for that week when he was losing weight. Ug. I always had oversupply with Jacob, and he was a vigorous demanding eater. I don't think I could have messed up nursing him other than if I had just ignored him. I have been freaking myself out these last few days looking at Samuel and thinking, "Is he shrinking?"and obsessively evaluating the efficacy of his suckling and the contents of his diapers.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
If you are not interested in the details of our home schooling adventure, you can skip this post. :-)
I think I am finally done shopping for books for homeschooling next year, horray! We decided to purchase the rest of the books rather than checking them out from the library. We realized that if we shopped around and bought used books when we could, we would be spending just slightly more than we would on gas to drive to the library each week - and we would get to keep or sell the books later. I ended up spending slightly less than half the amount it would have cost to order everything new (and many of the books I did end up getting new).
There are actually two missing from this picture, but they have been ordered. Starting from the left, we will have 22 books for reading aloud (about a chapter per day), then we have science and social studies books (several pages from each subject per day), then a storybook Bible (several pages each day), then books for learning to read (starting with just a few lines per day), and finally math (1 worksheet per day). My instructor's guides, which include lesson plans, discussion questions for the books and worksheets for language arts and science, are on the right side where you can't see them.
I think I am finally done shopping for books for homeschooling next year, horray! We decided to purchase the rest of the books rather than checking them out from the library. We realized that if we shopped around and bought used books when we could, we would be spending just slightly more than we would on gas to drive to the library each week - and we would get to keep or sell the books later. I ended up spending slightly less than half the amount it would have cost to order everything new (and many of the books I did end up getting new).
There are actually two missing from this picture, but they have been ordered. Starting from the left, we will have 22 books for reading aloud (about a chapter per day), then we have science and social studies books (several pages from each subject per day), then a storybook Bible (several pages each day), then books for learning to read (starting with just a few lines per day), and finally math (1 worksheet per day). My instructor's guides, which include lesson plans, discussion questions for the books and worksheets for language arts and science, are on the right side where you can't see them.
Monday, June 18, 2007
quotes
"Are you sure you want to switch sides already? You want to make sure he gets enough hindmilk." -my lactation expert husband
(The impressive thing is, he's absolutely right. We can see in Samuel's diapers he's getting too much foremilk.)
"Mama, you know I'm just pretending to read, right?" -Jacob, a few minutes after sitting down with his new Bible and telling me he was reading.
"I'm a grown-up. I'm going to Walmart!" -Ethan, getting ready to go with Daddy to Walmart (without Jacob or Samuel or me).
(The impressive thing is, he's absolutely right. We can see in Samuel's diapers he's getting too much foremilk.)
"Mama, you know I'm just pretending to read, right?" -Jacob, a few minutes after sitting down with his new Bible and telling me he was reading.
"I'm a grown-up. I'm going to Walmart!" -Ethan, getting ready to go with Daddy to Walmart (without Jacob or Samuel or me).
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