So I'm a little angry at blogger at the moment. I had written one post, waited to long to post it, scratched it, wrote another heartfelt one, only to find out it didn't save or publish. Boo. So here I am attempting again.
I know say things get hectic rather often in the beginning of my posts when I haven't written anything in a while but this time it's true!! Really really true!! Life with a baby is kind of crazy. I knew things would be different but in the way they are has surprised me in some ways.
I knew that I wouldn't sleep much to begin with but I didn't expect breastfeeding would be so tough. In shows, movies, books, and other people's stories, breastfeeding is depicted as this beautiful, simple, and sweet thing between a mom and her baby. Picture lots of cooing, cuddling, and all around love and happiness.
Now cut to me, 3am, and me wincing and crying because it's been 6+ weeks of this nightmare of breastfeeding and it still hurts like crazy. They (meaning the experts) say if it still hurts after 2 weeks seek help. Sometimes it takes longer to work things out. Let me tell you a little secret (which is totally not a secret!)-6 weeks is too long! At this said 3am wincing fit, I googled "why does it still hurt to breastfeed after 6 weeks." No joke. Oh the things that pop up! But the one helpful thing that did show up was that there was a possibility of James having a tongue tie. So off to boob group, aka, lactation consultation mom's group at the hospital, I go. There the lactation consultant confirms that he does have a slight tongue tie and a high pallet. Those two factors made it tough for him to latch on properly and to suck. Oh joy. Happily, after that talk and some new techniques we were on a better road. Now, he eats quickly and efficiently.
With one problem figured out another arises-typical eh? After another few weeks I noticed he wasn't super happy to be laid on his back, especially after eating. He was also spitting up more, fairly gassy, and some other things. So after a few nights of blood curdling screaming, I called the dr. Sadly it was a Friday and I didn't get to talk to anyone so I had to wait the weekend to call back Monday and after calling 3 more times, I finally get to talk to the nurse. After explaining what was going on, she tells me she's going to chat with the pediatrician (who we LOVE!) and get back to me. When she calls back she confirmed my suspicions-James was showing signs of having reflux AND an aversion to dairy. So on meds he goes and no more dairy for me. Now, as you know, I LOVE dairy. I actually don't feel that love is an adequate enough word for my feelings when it comes to dairy. Ice cream. Chesse. Creams. Butter. The list goes on and on. Being dairy free has become a great challenge in my life but he's totally worth it.
The latest in the health saga is I had emergency gallbladder surgery 2.5 weeks ago. I was having these "episodes" in which I was in terrible, awful pain in my back, around my ribcage on both sides, and into my sternum. Apparently that is classic gallbladder issues. Good to know. I had a few of these "episodes" since James was 4-6 weeks ago. The last time it happened it lasted so long and I couldn't get any sleep that Matt took me into the urgent care where they promptly told me they couldn't help me and they had no idea what was wrong with me. Go to the ER they said. So off to the ER we went. There, they immediately drew blood, took urine, and ordered an ultrasound where it was confirmed that I had gallstones. Off to an MRI to make sure they weren't in the ducts. We also spoke to a surgeon who said it was better to take it out sooner than later and since the OR was free that night why not give it a go. Matt and I looked at each other and said since we're already here might as well. It didn't give me enough time to freak out and stew on it so I think I handled it pretty well. Recovery was quick and relatively painless. They did the procedure laparoscopicly so I have a few small scars on my belly but other than that not too worse for wear. I need to be on a low fat diet for a little while so my body can adjust but other than that I'll be just fine.
Parenting is hard work. Especially if God blesses you with a kid who doesn't think sleep is important, like mine. I have no idea how I grew a person who fights sleep so much-I freakin' love sleep! So does Matt. We had almost a week of eating every two hours (yay growth spurts and developmental leaps!) which meant I was getting like an hour or so of sleep. I am not a pleasant gal to be around with so little sleep. My husband is a saint for helping me out and putting up with me. We decided to put James on a schedule a few days ago because the demand feeding thing was not working out well for us. It's been a tough few days but his night sleep is getting better! He is definitely a sleep begets sleep kind of kid so the better he does in the day, the better we are at night. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers that he keeps it up!
Now on a much happier side, James is freaking adorable. He is so smiley, on the verge of giggling and rolling over, and is just a happy dude. He loves his daddy and his puppy (aka Samson) so much. But, I'm still his favorite for the time being.
We took him to the pool over labor day for the first time and it was hilarious. He doesn't like to be cold so the chilly pool water was not his forte. He's been a little clingy at times the last few weeks, I call him a clinging monkey when he does it. With those big (probably) brown eyes peaking up around the world, he looks like a little monkey clinging to his mama, minus the red hair! I joked with Matt that I suspect our child will be much like his daddy-a slow introduction to new things and lots of time to think it over! After he got over the initial cold shock, he seemed to warm up to the idea of being in the pool. I'm thinking we're going to have a water baby next summer.
In horsey news, things are rolling full steam ahead around here. The arena is 90% complete-it just needs fencing around it and we're done! Rui now how has his own paddock so he's not living in the round pen anymore. I don't know who is more pleased-me or him! Matt started barn construction this weekend and I am STOKED!!! It's going to be amazing!!! It definitely is a labor of love from him to me, as James was mine ;) I'm working on taking pictures so we can see the process all along the way. I am so, so, so thankful for the man I married and all of our friends and family who are helping out. Lots of guys are wanting to help out and be manly ;)
