This post might not appeal to those of you without kids, those of you who have kids and primarily used formula, or those of you who are male (so I've successfully just alienated basically my entire reader base. Humor me and keep going). But I want to take a minute to talk about nursing.
NURSING, I said. Not "breastfeeding," the verb that Vee once prepared to alarm the masses with when my supply was slowing and he felt that everyone needed to know why I had to stay home with Kiddokabiddo. Y'all don't want to deal with the fact that my baby is feeding on my breast; ok, I understand. No one says "feeding" anyway unless you're talking about animals on a farm. I don't really like the verb "nursing" because I am not an RN, but that's cool.
Anyway. Nursing. My baby. She's 8 months old now, and has been eating solids pretty consistently for two months. My littleby! Solids, for you non-parents, are the gateway drug to the end of our nursing. Kiddo starts getting her nutrients from the jars of garbanzo beans, yams, and avocado that we stock up, and she stops wanting to nurse the nutrient-rich milk from me. It's called "becoming a big girl," and I know it's a good thing. But it makes me sad.
The Kiddo and I have had a tumultuous relationship with our nursing. Not as bad as some of the stories I've heard (we haven't dealt with mastitis or thrush), but I had to pump, exclusively, for the first nine weeks of her life because she had trouble staying latched on. Nine weeks, you guys. That meant I was retiring to a room to sit with some machine squishing me for 30 minutes straight. Every 3 hours. Day or night. Setting my alarm clock to get up and pump.
And then, while I was getting squished, Vee was feeding the Kiddo with a hollow syringe (no needle; more like a medicine dropper) and having her suck his finger. Milliliter by milliliter.
But the Kiddo and I practiced every day, and as she got bigger and stronger, we retired the stupid syringe and she nursed with me full-time. Well, mostly. I still pump at night and in the morning so Vee can take care of putting her to sleep and getting her up. But I am so proud of how far we've come--eight months, and my little Kabiddo is still nursing with Mom. Successfully.
Why nursing? Because it's cheap (free), healthiest for my little smallby, and because I love our buddy time. I love our close time together that no one else can share.
I seriously used to roll my eyes at all the pungent sap of "you'll feel this way when you're a parent" and was like dude, stop trying to tell me how to feel, yo. But neither Vee or I can get through reading "Love You Forever" to the Kiddo without tearing up. TEARING UP! To the point where I have to read the last two pages in a whisper or my voice is going to crack--and if Kiddokabiddo looks up at me, like a crazy woman I assure her "Mama's ok, mama's ok" while wiping AWAY MY TEARS and trying to smile to show her IT'S OK. DUDES, IT'S EMOTIONAL WHEN THE DAD COMES HOME AND STANDS AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS BEFORE SINGING TO HIS OWN DAUGHTER! TRY READING IT NOW THAT YOU'RE AN ADULT!
Anyway, I freaked out because my normal pump sessions yesterday didn't yield hardly anything. I freaked out because I'M NOT READY TO BE DONE and I DON'T WANT TO MOVE OVER TO FORMULA. The Kiddo's not ready for cow's milk yet, and I want her to keep getting mom milk, not formula. Luckily, the issue resolved itself when I nursed her instead of pumping, but it made me realize that, at some point, whether it's in four months or in another two years, my Kiddo is going to be done nursing. She's not going to NEED me in THAT WAY any more.
So this blog is my thank you to nursing. Thank you to all the moms who've gone before me and whose advice I read on all the forums and the boards I snuck on, the moms who I hungrily listened to at La Leche League meetings, and all the chapters in the books that are dog-eared from all my referencing. We're not done yet, but I am so grateful for the time together we've had nursing, not formula-ing.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Jon "Tiffany would have married me" Knight. Oh, Jon.
During my regular morning-blog-catch-up reading, I stumbled across a story that, suddenly, made everything make sense.
JONATHAN KNIGHT IS GAY.
("not that there's anything wrong with it")
I don't always jump on board with whatever I read on a blog, but I trust Trent. I've trusted Trent since he was living back in Detroit and back when he was poised to take over the blogosphere (before Perez "I AM A DICK" got his I-am-stealing-Trent's-signature-color-pink hair dyed and got a stupid show on VH1) because TRENT IS NICE. Trent has always been nice and doesn't blog dumb rumors.
So, Jon. After seeing NKOTB with my best friend this last fall (and fulfilling a 20 year old dream of mine), I was TRULY unable to understand why Jon even bothered SHOWING UP for the reunion. It dawned on me that even Danny gets solo time during songs, but Jon NEVER DOES. He seemed sooooo beyond the show and bored with it all. Why, Jon, why? You had a successful real estate career in Southie (on second thought, maybe THAT'S why he agreed to do it. TRY SELLING A HOUSE THESE DAYS). You didn't HAVE to be there. No one would have even noticed if you weren't!
Jon has always been "the forgotten one" of the New Kids--so much so, that every time I am listening to "Step by Step," when Jon's part comes ("Step Five: don't you know that the time has arrived?") I always interject "NOBODY REMEMBERS THIS LINE BECAUSE JON SINGS IT." (no, really, I do) I was astonished to see a homemade "I Love Jon" shirt at the concert--dude, what's there to love about him? He's quiet, doesn't sing much at all, and NOT that attractive.
HE'S "QUIET" BECAUSE HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN SINGING FOR THE LADIES! NOT THAT ATTRACTIVE BECAUSE HE DOESN'T CARE IF THE LADIES ARE INTERESTED!
Jon, my apologies for dissing you all these years!
Did anyone else hear that STUPID urban legend about the New Kids that was making the rounds in, oh, '92 or something, when they were totally UNCOOL TO LIKE, that (and I quote), "Donnie and Jordan had to get their stomachs pumped before a show, and when they did, they found each other's sperm in their stomachs"?
IT IS PROBABLY THE DUMBEST URBAN LEGEND ALIVE (except for the chain letter I once received, AS AN EMAIL, that had been "unbroken since 1888"--YOU KNOW, WHEN THE INTERNET WAS AROUND).
Why would they be getting their stomachs pumped? Why would they be TESTING THE CONTENTS FOR SPERM? Why would they be TESTING TO SEE WHOSE SPERM IT WAS?
It was totally meant to discredit Donnie and Jordan (coincidentally, my two favorite New Kids). No one would have dared to mess with Joe BECAUSE HE WAS BELOVED BY ALL, it wasn't worth it to make a joke about Danny because no one liked him anyway, and JON WAS SAFE FROM SLANDER BECAUSE HE HAD DATED TIFFANY, and so OBVIOUSLY HE WOULD NOT BE GAY.
WRONG!
JONATHAN KNIGHT IS GAY.
("not that there's anything wrong with it")
I don't always jump on board with whatever I read on a blog, but I trust Trent. I've trusted Trent since he was living back in Detroit and back when he was poised to take over the blogosphere (before Perez "I AM A DICK" got his I-am-stealing-Trent's-signature-color-pink hair dyed and got a stupid show on VH1) because TRENT IS NICE. Trent has always been nice and doesn't blog dumb rumors.
So, Jon. After seeing NKOTB with my best friend this last fall (and fulfilling a 20 year old dream of mine), I was TRULY unable to understand why Jon even bothered SHOWING UP for the reunion. It dawned on me that even Danny gets solo time during songs, but Jon NEVER DOES. He seemed sooooo beyond the show and bored with it all. Why, Jon, why? You had a successful real estate career in Southie (on second thought, maybe THAT'S why he agreed to do it. TRY SELLING A HOUSE THESE DAYS). You didn't HAVE to be there. No one would have even noticed if you weren't!
Jon has always been "the forgotten one" of the New Kids--so much so, that every time I am listening to "Step by Step," when Jon's part comes ("Step Five: don't you know that the time has arrived?") I always interject "NOBODY REMEMBERS THIS LINE BECAUSE JON SINGS IT." (no, really, I do) I was astonished to see a homemade "I Love Jon" shirt at the concert--dude, what's there to love about him? He's quiet, doesn't sing much at all, and NOT that attractive.
HE'S "QUIET" BECAUSE HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN SINGING FOR THE LADIES! NOT THAT ATTRACTIVE BECAUSE HE DOESN'T CARE IF THE LADIES ARE INTERESTED!
Jon, my apologies for dissing you all these years!
Did anyone else hear that STUPID urban legend about the New Kids that was making the rounds in, oh, '92 or something, when they were totally UNCOOL TO LIKE, that (and I quote), "Donnie and Jordan had to get their stomachs pumped before a show, and when they did, they found each other's sperm in their stomachs"?
IT IS PROBABLY THE DUMBEST URBAN LEGEND ALIVE (except for the chain letter I once received, AS AN EMAIL, that had been "unbroken since 1888"--YOU KNOW, WHEN THE INTERNET WAS AROUND).
Why would they be getting their stomachs pumped? Why would they be TESTING THE CONTENTS FOR SPERM? Why would they be TESTING TO SEE WHOSE SPERM IT WAS?
It was totally meant to discredit Donnie and Jordan (coincidentally, my two favorite New Kids). No one would have dared to mess with Joe BECAUSE HE WAS BELOVED BY ALL, it wasn't worth it to make a joke about Danny because no one liked him anyway, and JON WAS SAFE FROM SLANDER BECAUSE HE HAD DATED TIFFANY, and so OBVIOUSLY HE WOULD NOT BE GAY.
WRONG!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Why I Actually Do Love my Work
The Kiddo is currently going berserk-o jumping up and down in a Rainforest jumperoo that some friends of ours were kind enough to loan us, so I don't know how long this post will be (it's almost feeding time for baby elephants: homemade garbanzo beans are on the menu).
I know I complained recently about how much I don't like working 3/4-time. But I need to STFU sometimes, because I really, really love my lifestyle. Kiddokabiddo and I met Vee at our local art museum over the lunch hour, and as we meandered through the beautiful Beaux Arts/Art Deco architecture and just hung out in the green-and-blue thunderbird-style tiled courtyard (which gave me GREAT IDEAS for our kitchen remodel), Vee said something which is so true:
We are so blessed to work somewhere that allows me the flexibility to take off in the middle of the day and allows my husband to take his lunch hour whenever he needs to so that we can get in to an art museum for free (another benefit of working where we do) and be together as a family in the middle of the day.
It's truly amazing, and something I often take for granted.
I love my employer.
I know I complained recently about how much I don't like working 3/4-time. But I need to STFU sometimes, because I really, really love my lifestyle. Kiddokabiddo and I met Vee at our local art museum over the lunch hour, and as we meandered through the beautiful Beaux Arts/Art Deco architecture and just hung out in the green-and-blue thunderbird-style tiled courtyard (which gave me GREAT IDEAS for our kitchen remodel), Vee said something which is so true:
We are so blessed to work somewhere that allows me the flexibility to take off in the middle of the day and allows my husband to take his lunch hour whenever he needs to so that we can get in to an art museum for free (another benefit of working where we do) and be together as a family in the middle of the day.
It's truly amazing, and something I often take for granted.
I love my employer.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
On paying $20 for face wash
I swear, I am not a cosmetics girl. I am a pretty strict mascara-and-that's-it kind of person, and that's only if I'm leaving the house. Lip balm? Use it before going to bed, and occasionally during the day if I find myself biting my lips.
No eyeshadow/eyeliner (Well, not anyMORE. In high school, you could have found my nightmarish self wearing navy blue eyeshadow [applied with my fingertips, I'll have you know--NOT WITH A BRUSH] and gray liquid eyeliner...oh my GOD, next time I wonder why the boys weren't lined up outside my door, all I need to do is look at my 10th grade school picture).
No blush/lipstick/foundation (Sorry to be all "I'm only in my mid-20s," but do people under 40 wear this stuff on a regular basis? I mean, I've got blotchy-ass skin and, in the winter, my natural lip color resembles my sunless calves; not a pretty sight. But I can't even type the word "blush" without feeling like it is either 1988 or I am a middle-aged woman).
My "makeup bag" is a hilarious jumble of crap I've gotten from drugstores in the 75% bin over the last 10 years (and yes, I said TEN YEARS. I know most of this shit has gone bad/discolored, but I BOUGHT IT ONCE, and considering that I've probably only used <5% of the stuff, I can't bear to throw it out yet). And it's all pretty cheap crap. We're talking Maybelline, Cover Girl, Wet n Wild (no, actually, I think I tossed out the black Halloween Wet n Wild lipstick that I bought when I was SERIOUSLY in fourth grade). I once had an expensive $27 lipstick that I bought on my wedding day at the salon where my mother-in-law paid for me to have my makeup done.
And lost it that day, somewhere in the abyss of wedding ephemera.
So, MY POINT is that I don't pay money for cosmetics. Not real money, anyway. And I don't really use them.
But last night found me at JC Penneys (HA! HA! I said "JC Penneys!" Yes, folks, it is still in business), snaking around in the Sephora sub-store, looking for philosophy purity face wash.
Sephora is apparently suffering for business (? ? ?) and has teamed up with still-relevant Penneys (? ? ?) to use up some of that 90%-off holiday clearance rack space to create a separate little enclave, WITHIN Penneys, to peddle their overpriced cosmetics. They have their own salesgirls (who are much more attractive than your typical Penneys employee) and, NATURALLY, you can't use all those "$10 off $10" coupons Penneys ships out to drum up biz.
My mother-in-law, TWO YEARS AGO, got me a sample kit of philosophy stuff for Christmas. The purity face wash had been bumbling around in my travel bag for months and I finally started using it. And blotchy old me suddenly found A NEW BEST FRIEND! Bye bye, Dove and Neutrogena! I'm a BIG GIRL NOW!
Of course, since I DIDN'T BUY THE SAMPLE FOR MYSELF, I had no idea how expensive my new buddy was. $20 for 8 ounces. TWENTY DOLLARS! Y'all, I used to make my face wash selections at Target based on whether or not I felt "flush" enough to spend $6.09 rather than $5.50.
Gateway drug!
No eyeshadow/eyeliner (Well, not anyMORE. In high school, you could have found my nightmarish self wearing navy blue eyeshadow [applied with my fingertips, I'll have you know--NOT WITH A BRUSH] and gray liquid eyeliner...oh my GOD, next time I wonder why the boys weren't lined up outside my door, all I need to do is look at my 10th grade school picture).
No blush/lipstick/foundation (Sorry to be all "I'm only in my mid-20s," but do people under 40 wear this stuff on a regular basis? I mean, I've got blotchy-ass skin and, in the winter, my natural lip color resembles my sunless calves; not a pretty sight. But I can't even type the word "blush" without feeling like it is either 1988 or I am a middle-aged woman).
My "makeup bag" is a hilarious jumble of crap I've gotten from drugstores in the 75% bin over the last 10 years (and yes, I said TEN YEARS. I know most of this shit has gone bad/discolored, but I BOUGHT IT ONCE, and considering that I've probably only used <5% of the stuff, I can't bear to throw it out yet). And it's all pretty cheap crap. We're talking Maybelline, Cover Girl, Wet n Wild (no, actually, I think I tossed out the black Halloween Wet n Wild lipstick that I bought when I was SERIOUSLY in fourth grade). I once had an expensive $27 lipstick that I bought on my wedding day at the salon where my mother-in-law paid for me to have my makeup done.
And lost it that day, somewhere in the abyss of wedding ephemera.
So, MY POINT is that I don't pay money for cosmetics. Not real money, anyway. And I don't really use them.
But last night found me at JC Penneys (HA! HA! I said "JC Penneys!" Yes, folks, it is still in business), snaking around in the Sephora sub-store, looking for philosophy purity face wash.
Sephora is apparently suffering for business (? ? ?) and has teamed up with still-relevant Penneys (? ? ?) to use up some of that 90%-off holiday clearance rack space to create a separate little enclave, WITHIN Penneys, to peddle their overpriced cosmetics. They have their own salesgirls (who are much more attractive than your typical Penneys employee) and, NATURALLY, you can't use all those "$10 off $10" coupons Penneys ships out to drum up biz.
My mother-in-law, TWO YEARS AGO, got me a sample kit of philosophy stuff for Christmas. The purity face wash had been bumbling around in my travel bag for months and I finally started using it. And blotchy old me suddenly found A NEW BEST FRIEND! Bye bye, Dove and Neutrogena! I'm a BIG GIRL NOW!
Of course, since I DIDN'T BUY THE SAMPLE FOR MYSELF, I had no idea how expensive my new buddy was. $20 for 8 ounces. TWENTY DOLLARS! Y'all, I used to make my face wash selections at Target based on whether or not I felt "flush" enough to spend $6.09 rather than $5.50.
Gateway drug!
Monday, February 2, 2009
zootooth
It was a BIG WEEKEND at our house!
We woke up on Saturday morning to SUN, SUN, SUN and the promise of 50 degree weather! So I did end-of-the-month finances and found that we had some extra money, and we went on KIDDOKABIDDO'S FIRST TRIP TO THE ZOO!
Our zoo is awesome, and Vee and I haven't been since sometime in 06. The first time we ever went to this zoo was almost seven years ago to the day--we took a Valentine's Day trip back in 02 to our current hometown (our FIRST TRIP TOGETHER AS A COUPLE--we'd been together for 4 months. This was A BIG DEAL.) and, although it snowed like mad, we went to the zoo anyway. Kinda cool to be back there now, married, with our little daughter!
Kiddokabiddo loved it. She really likes her little penguin buddies at home. We have a soft terrycloth penguin ("Penguina") who's just the right size for our little 8 monther to carry around like a little buddy, and she frequently chews on Penguina's beak (in a loving way). One of Kiddokabiddo's favorite bath buddies also happens to be a penguin ("Pengy"). This is all hilarious because Kiddo's godmother has always been an avowed penguin hater (she's scared of them because THEY CAN'T BEND IN THE MIDDLE and are silent; two facts I never really thought about, but which are actually pretty scary).
We hung out downtown afterwards and got some ice cream (it got up to 58, y'all!) and then went grocery shopping. On Saturday night. These are the things you do when you are a parent, and it seems like a perfectly reasonable "Saturday night adventure."
On Sunday, I trapped Vee into washing our filthy cars even though it was only 40 degrees outside (it was SUNNY!), and then we went to our friends' house to watch the Boss crotch-slam us at half-time. ANYONE ELSE WANT TO WEIGH IN ON THAT?
We also discovered on Sunday that Kiddokabiddo's FIRST TOOTH IS COMING IN! Sharptooth is here! Bottom left incisor! Big girl! She also fell down and bumped her nose, so she got her first boo-boo on the same day. At least she didn't break her tooth!
Anyway, all in all, it was a big weekend for sure, and surprising because I usually get stuck in the winter doldrums in February. NICE WEATHER WILL ALWAYS BRING ME BACK TO MYSELF!
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