School's In

Leaving your 3 month old to go take care of 22 three year olds is a bit mind boggling, but such is my life now!

Maternity leave made me loose my teacher immune system, so by the end of the first day I had a cold!  Stuffy snotty nose and scratchy throat.  And I am no longer able to talk nonstop 8 hours a day, so it has turned into laryngitis.  So now I have noooooo voice at all.  Plus I am worried Cordelia will get her first cold.  Maybe she'll have a strong immune system, like Dad....

Cordelia and Jason seem to have done just fine this week. He was off the whole time, plus MeMe is out of town on the cruise to Alaska!  Cordelia has had plenty of milk and taken her bottles well.  Jason is much more likely than me to take her out, so they ran lots of errands.  They even got me flowers at the farmer's market for my return to school!  She seems in good spirits and is a happy baby.  I feel like in just a few days Jason is even more strongly attuned to her than before, taking care of her every need.

 She has continued to have marathon nursing sessions, probably from missing me, which means she is still, somehow, sleeping through the night!!

Pumping at work is taking some time to figure out.  At first my 20 minutes breaks were at logical times 9:30, 12:40, and 3:30.  Close to when she was eating too.  But from a classroom perspective, it was terrible!  I was always in the middle of a huge transition, like clean up/snack/potty/circle time and lunch/cleanup/nap.  I was soooo rushed and stressed when I'd get back there, it would take forever to let-down.  After two days, I told my director it just wasn't working, and I'd rather just push pumping back later than be gone during those essential times.  So now it's 10:30, 1:40, and 3:40.... Though my afternoon break is not a full 3 hours between the previous break.  Part of me is wondering about going down to just two breaks, maybe 10:30 and 2:00?  Then I could take half-hours, instead of 20 mins, which is NOT enough time.  It seems like when I am less rushed, I pump a decent amount.  We still have surplus milk for her, so shortage of an immediate supply is not the concern.  But just getting through mastitis, I don't want to pump too little!  She is still having 3 bottles a day, so I should probably be pumping three times, right??  If I go down to two, will my milk supply decrease too much?  Or would it even out?

Breast issues continue for me.  The mastitis has cleared from my right boob, but I have a milk blister/bleb that is so far painless.  (I had one before and it was SUPER painful for like half a day, though it had mostly gone down by the time I made it to see the lactation consultant, who made me feel like I was being a wuss about nothing.)  Then I got a second one last night on the same nipple, but this one came off right away, leaving a tiny raw spot that stings a bit when she nurses.  Sigh, I am not sure if all this is because one time I didn't position my breastshield well when pumping or (maybe more likely) because Cordelia has an imperfect latch.  It is always too tight and she doesn't open her mouth big enough. I try pulling her lower lip down, like the lactation consultant showed me, but it never seems to do anything.  Sigh, this isn't the most terrible, but still I wish it were easier, especially now that we're past the 3 month mark!

Other memories....

Cordelia laughed hysterically when I buzzed like a bee.  She also loved Jason hissing and gurgling at her.  He said he was speaking Parseltongue to her.

Today she found her feet on her own!  I've been putting her hands on them for ages, trying to get her to realize.... there are piggies down there!  She did it once on the changing table and then several times throughout the day.  It was neat, as I've been watching for her to do that, and I'm pretty sure I got to be there for the first time she did it. Glad I didn't miss it!

Jason reads The Napping House to her, and she starts her baby song as she gets into the rhythm of the story.

She loves to "stand" and be lifted in the air now.  She hates tummy time and cries so much, we don't like to give it to her.  "Back to sleep, tummy to play" they say, but the result is definitely not playing!!  But I want to start working on her neck muscles more, given her tilty head.  My friend's baby is younger and has already rolled over!!

Cordelia is fascinated by her reflection.  She makes eye-contact with the mirror baby and her lips turn up in a smile.  Sometimes she smiles even bigger and gets happy.  I started taking her on a "tour" of all the mirrors in our house (bathroom, bedrooms, and hall) to get all the Mirror Smiles.  Jason really got into it and takes her on tours all the time.

I love covering her in smoochies and nibbling on her tum tum.  Between diaper changes (if she hasn't gotten dressed in an outfit), I love getting "nakey baby time" with her.  Who knew that nakey babies are the bestest?  ha ha, at least that is what I tell her.  She is just so yummy.

Hmmm, she zonked out a little early tonight.  She only had one long nap in the afternoon, so I am not surprised.  But usually with her longer nursing sessions, she has been "topped off" and I think it helps her sleep through the night.  Tonight, she definitely did not get much before becoming so out of it, she was not even sleep-eating.  Will tonight break the streak??? I hope she lasts at least until 5.