Open Pre-School; Rainbow Edition

Once in a while I try to get myself and our unstructured days together and head over to the open preschool with my social son.
There are many open preschools in Stockholm; but only one for Rainbow families. Unfortunately I lost my sense of direction, along with my balance, during pregnancy, so we usually have a hard time locating it. (Also I gained vertigo and can't look out of windows higher up than 3d floor any more, there goes a room w a view...)

The first time we went we counted on the other mothers to be better equipped (e.g. with smart phones). Still we ended up lost and walked around for about an hour before we found the right place. We managed to get there before it closed but missed the big event; baby song.

The second time we headed out in good time to make it to the baby song. I even thought that baby J would have time to eat his lunch before it started. Ha!
We didn't get lost, but it sure was farther off than we remembered.

We actually made it in time for baby song. But as soon as all the babies and mamas got organized in a ring and started singing, baby J needed to nurse. Then he needed to poop. Then he needed to nurse some more. Then baby song was over.

Baby Js love interest, baby F, had better stamina and attention span and participated for about 2 min in the song session. Then she needed to throw up, on her mother, who then needed to clean up herself and baby F. Then she needed to poop (baby F, not her mother). Then baby song was over.

Oh well. Maybe next time.

After all the nursing, pooping and eating, baby J did a very successful solo performance on the baby guitar and rainbow xylophone. Excellent start of a career as a successful musician who can support his old mamas in style come the winter of their lives.

Mother's Best Friend

Out goes sugar, in comes coffee! My dear old friend. Banned since before trying to concieve and in the first months of breastfeeding. Now a regular guest just to keep alive through the days and semi-nights.
Baby J is a joy but also a handful. I promised many things before actually having a baby. Never let the child watch TV, never be unfocused when the child wants attention (which, by the way, is all waking hours for you non-parents out there), never distract the child when crying, never be online when the child is awake...yadi yadi ha! (For those of you thinking of calling the child protective services I can assure you the little angle is fast asleep as I write this).

Last night was wifey's office christmas party. Baby J thought he'd make a night of it too. He had quite the party going here for about 3 hrs past his bedtime. Then he fell asleep. For 20 mins. And then he started all over again.
Atleast he was happy.
There are a lot of exciting things to do in the middle of the night for a 7 month old; suck on your big toe, tickle yourself, try to rip off your diper, dismantle the household telephone, eat the cell phone, chew on wrapping paper, pinch mama's double chin, refuse to breastfeed, sound like a parrot on crack etc etc etc.

I don't know how we will get through this day. But somehow, with a cup or 5, we might even get some christmas shopping done. But for now, I'm just gonna let him sleep while I stare into space and enjoy the silence.

The Miracle of Mama Love

This made me cry;

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Christmas...

...is getting closer by the minute. Due to endless colds (wifey and I) and teething (baby J), a lot of the christmas shopping is yet to be done.
Sunday is the 4th of advent, Lucia has come and gone. Wifey, I and baby J are going to fight our way through the stores on Sunday to do some shopping. Hopefully baby J won't remember what we buy him by Christmas Eve.
Also the shopping will be brief, since living on maternity leave is like living on student loans. Except that you need to repay your student loans at the same time, and have lots of baby expenses. I read in the paper that Christmas shopping was down 15% this year. Possibly due to my maternity leave.

Atleast the freezer is full of lussekatter (Swe. christmas buns) and knäck (Swe. christmas toffee).










Wifey and I have been very good and not had any sweets since September. We're gonna wait until the day before Christmas Eve.

I have been too tired and wrapped up in breastfeeding/pumping/not getting any sleep to get rid of my pregancy weight. But I thought that eliminating sugar from our diet would be a good first step.
After the Christmas holidays baby J will be about 8 months old, and eat even more solids, not be so dependent on breastmilk and I might be able to eat less and exercise more, without freaking out over it affecting milk supply.

And by the way; don't believe the myth that you will mysteriously lose all your pregnancy weight due to breastfeeding. This might work for some women but it sure didn't work for me!
And let me tell you I breastfed for hours on end. For a period baby J nursed for about 5-7 hrs straight daytime with short breaks.
I couldn't even go grocery shopping with wifey but had to wait in the car, nursing, while she did the shopping.
Instead of losing weight I actually gained weight after pregancy.

Oh well, in a previous life this might have felt disastrous. But all considering, I'm so happy over my baby the weight issue is only a small set back.

2012 will be the year of Lesbo Fitness Mama!

I need to get around to working out anyway. Baby J is getting heavy and I want to be able to carry him around in our Baby Björn without getting back problems.

Other issues concerning Christmas is if I will still be allergic to the Christmas tree now that I'm not pregnant anymore.
We're gonna get a small tree this year. In case we have to throw it out like last year.

Top 3 Things To Do With Your New Tooth

1. Bite your mother's nose
2. Bite your nursing mother's boob
3. Look completely adorable when you smile so they forget the pain of child rearing

Tiny Tooth... and more on Mama Milk

Like a small grain of rice nestled into baby's lower jaw is now his first tooth. We had a night or two of very cranky baby. But now he seems to be back on track. He is drooling a lot, so I suspect another tooth might be on it's way.
Other than that we have been very lucky, so to speak.

Since birth baby has been a sound night sleeper. In a way it's easy for us, no need to introduce night routines. By 7-9 o clock he's fast asleep and sleeps until morning.
However, I would rather have had him nurse all night through and gained better weight and me not getting any sleep.
I've been up at night pumping so I haven't gotten much sleep anyway.

All the things I now know about breastfeeding I wish I had known back then... Oh, well, if we ever dare to try for another baby we will be so much better prepared.

In hind sight, we DID get some good advice at the hospital. But we got so many DIFFERENT advice, and were so in shock after the birth we had difficulty sorting through and know which ones we should listen to.
And maybe it would have been all the same even if we've done differently, since no one saw that J was tongue tied.

One advice I can give though is; if you have a baby that have trouble nursing, and your milk doesn't come in; no matter what people or hospital staff say; PUMP!
It's the only way to get the milk going if baby can't do it on his/her own. And don't get one of those lousy hand pumps (they told us to get);





But demand to get an electrical pump. Buy your own or rent one at the hospital;



















I don't know why, but a lot of the "experts" say you shouldn't pump. My mom said I shouldn't pump either.
When I was born, in the 70s, all mothers were told to pump at the hospital, and my mother had difficulty with too much milk for the rest of my infancy.
From what I read, how much you stimulate milk production in the first week after birth is in someway determining how much milk you will be able to produce at all.

If you have trouble getting your milk production up, this is the best advice I have found online
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/milkproduction.html#autocrinecontrol

I so wish I would have found this straight away, and believe me,the pump and I would have started our intense relationship much, much earlier...

Mama milk

Well, hello there. Erradic mama blogger here. The baby is asleep, who knows for how long. He is not a man of routines my little bundle of joy.

He is almost 7 months now. And no, we actually did not return the breast pump. And yes, I am still pumping and nursing.
Though not as feverent as before. Baby J is a very unpredictable nurser, and my milk supply seems very sensitive and needing routines. Plus we have the issue of J being tongue tied. Though partially fixed, I suspect he still has some trouble nursing as efficiently as other babies.
Thus, I'm not giving up the pump after all.
Milk supply has dropped dramaticially since I stopped pumping every 3 hrs around the clock. But there still seems to be enough for baby J to live off of, plus the lunch and evening meals he gets.
I try to get atleast 4-5 hrs of sleep every night, and sometimes it goes up to 6-7 hrs between pumping and nursing sessions.

The reason I want to keep the milk flowing, or rather dribble in my case, is that there are still so many benefits for a baby to get his/hers mother's milk.

Last time we went to the pediatric, for his 6 month's check up, they asked if he still breastfed. As if breastfeeding is to stop after 6 months.
Hello? Have you read the WHO's recommendations?
Breastfeeding is preferable continued to atleast 1 but rather 2 years of age.

Among other things, recent reserach has shown that breastmilk contains stem cells (try to copy that, formula factories!), awesome, right!? And that Swedish children are much more likely to be gluten intolerant due to introducing gluten too soon and ending breastfeeding (which protects against gluten intolerance, and other allergies) too early.
So, no, I'm not done nursing yet.

And besides, both me and baby J love it. Most of the time. When there is something exciting going on, he has no patience for the old boob.

Well, someone is awake over here. Blog you later!