3 month stats

Makena turned 3 months old 6 days ago. She's already a 1/4 of a year old!!

This morning we had our follow up pediatrician appointment. We brought in 2 poopy diapers like requested and they tested negative for blood. So her Dr said I could start adding back some dairy into my diet and we're going to get her retested in a few weeks. I obviously don't want to cause her harm by my eating milk products, so I'm not going to go crazy chugging milk.

She weighs 14.5 lbs and is 25.5 inches. Still right on track!

We bought her a jumper this weekend and a new toy and she loves them both. It's so fun that she is starting to "play."

I have a terrible headache and I'm going to take a bath. I haven't been sleeping or eating well. :(

Makena is NOT Mario

On February 13th I received a bill from San Francisco General Hospital, where I gave birth to Makena. It says I owe $56 for the newborn hearing test that was preformed on January 20th for Mario Salas.

But Mario is not my baby. So I called and left a message explaining there was a mistake. And I called again a few weeks later when I got the same bill again. And then last week I got a final notice bill. I left 4 or 5 messages (during business hours!) and never heard back from anybody.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to request a copy of Makena's medical records, and the hospital isn't responding to the messages I keep leaving. Her pediatrician was supposed to be faxed a copy of them after her birth, and he still hasn't gotten it. We should have received a copy of them in the mail within 6 weeks of her birth, and never did.

I don't know her blood type, or the results of the newborn screening blood tests they did when she was born.

Today I finally got a hold of someone at the billing department about the mix-up.

The conversation went something like this-

"Hi, I'm calling about a bill I keep receiving but it's not for my baby." I give the account number and the lady says in a quite rude tone-

"Well you still have to pay the bill."

"But it's not my baby."

"But YOUR name and address is listed so YOU'RE responsible for paying it."

"No, you don't understand. I gave birth to a different baby that day, there has been a mix-up somewhere My baby's name is Makena, not Mario. I had a girl, not a boy.

"...I'm sorry, what did you say?"

I explained again and she got quiet for a few seconds and asked me if what I was saying is that I gave birth to a different baby than the one listed on the bill. Yes. Exactly.

She gasped, then in almost a whisper she said, "Ohmygod. This stuff only happens in Lifetime movies, not real life! Omg, I don't know what to say!"

She pulled up the record for baby Mario and said something about him being from out of the country (what?) and then asked for Makena's information. I gave her full name and date of birth and she paused and said "Well. Now that's weird. We have no record of her birth."

Oh really? I spelled her name over again and she looked up my file and confirmed I gave birth to a baby girl and then couldn't find any of Makena's file.

She was totally bewildered and I could tell she had no idea what to do or how it happened. Said she'd have to talk to her supervisor and see if the records department had any information and call me back.

So that explains why we never got her results in the mail. How insane is that?!?! When we got her birth certificate we brought with us the form from the hospital that clearly stated that she was born at their facility. So I think her records are somewhere...but attached to Mario's mom's file! UGH! What a crazy mistake!!!!

Of course they didn't call back but I'm going to be on their case if they don't get back to me tomorrow. Pain in the butt!

A day in our life...at work!

A couple days a week I take Makena with me to babysit two adorable little boys! This is what a typical day is like... (and I must say it was quite a feat that I was somehow able to take notes to piece together the whole day!)

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010.

5:00 am
3 month old Makena wakes up. I feed her, she poops. I change her diaper and feed her again. And then she poops. Again.

7:00
Pam wakes me up. It's time to get ready to leave. I roll out of bed, throw on clothes. We wait until the last second to get Makena up.

7:30
We wake up our sleeping baby, change her diaper, and leave her jammies on. Buckle her in the carseat and Pam drives to work while I sit in the back. I scarf down a gross vegan waffle in the car.

7:50
Pam runs in to the grocery store in the shopping center where she works to pick up a frozen meal for her lunch and some coffee for both of us. I get a soy raspberry mocha with no whipped cream. :(

8:12
I arrive at work and quietly enter the house. Makena has fallen asleep in her carseat. I place her/it on the table. Everyone is sleeping. I drink my coffee and savor every. single. glorious. sip.

8:30
Makena wakes up. I feed her and she poops. I change her diaper and she laughs! She loves getting her diaper changed!

9:15
Ian is awake, I change his diaper and feed him breakfast and he picks out the best pieces from his cereal then asks for more. I try to encourage him to eat the plain boring flakes but he says "more" about 17 times. He must think I don't understand him so he resorts to showing me the sign for "more" and presses his finger tips together SO hard. lol. Makena is in the swing, she is sleepy but fussing. Ian suggests she needs her mimi. (What he calls a pacifier.) He's right, I go pop it in her mouth and she closes her eyes.

10:00
We sit on the floor and read books about trucks, and then more books about trucks. Makena starts to cry. I pick her up and she naps while I hold her and continue reading about trucks. (I'm learning so much!)

10:45
Makena is wide awake. She sits with me and I help Ian build a very tall tower with Lego's...on top of a car of course!

11:00
Colin joins us downstairs! I put Makena in the Pack n' Play and change Colin's diaper. Makena is fussing. Ian eats more breakfast with his mom.

11:30
Makena is happily sitting in the swing (see her in the background?) listening to music. Ian is sitting in his high chair coloring pictures of cars.
I hold Colin and he gnaws on Sofie the giraffe while we sit and watch Ian. I have to go pee, but it will have to wait! (Makena lets Colin borrow her socks until his mom brings him down a pair.)
11:40
Ian is repeating "piss" and I don't know what he wants. His mom hears him and says he wants pants. lol! I start to dress him and as I'm pulling up his pants Makena and Colin lose their pacifiers at the same time and start to cry simultaneously. Ian is giggling. I get up and pop both pacifiers back in.

11:45
Ian is looking at Makena in the swing. She keeps smiling at him. Her pacifier falls out and he smushes it back into her mouth before I can stop him. He is SUCH a good helper, and insists that the babies have their mimi's at all times! Colin is asleep in the bouncer on the kitchen table, up out of the way of his toddler tornado brother!

11:50
I put on the Baby Bjorn in anticipation of needing an extra set of hands. Ian doesn't have his shirt on yet and when I try to wrangle him into it he grabs it and we laugh and play hide & seek.
I consider taking this moment to go pee, but Makena starts to lose it. I hope she'll fall asleep in the swing, Ian tries to help rock the swing and we say "Shhhh!" to her. He does the Wheels on the Bus hand motions ("the mommies on the bus say shh shh shh!") so we sing the whole song.
12:00 Noon
Still have to pee. Still trying to get Ian's shirt on. Still continually putting pacifier back in Makena's mouth.

12:05 pm
I entice Ian with a drink of water (with ice!) in his cup (with cars on it!) in the kitchen so I can keep an eye on him while I go to the bathroom. Makena is crying, I grab her and put her in the Baby Bjorn, then make my legs into a tunnel for Ian to crawl through while getting his lunch ready. He gets his ride-on car and rams into my feet again. I tell him to stop because it hurts. I start counting and get to 1 and he stops, perfect timing, because it's...

12:20
Lunch time! Ian is in his high chair eating, I sit at the table and feed Makena. Colin wakes up. I'm starving. Ian wants more cheese so I get him another slice while still nursing Makena. I start a pot of water to boil for my pasta.

12:45
Ian is done eating, he goes to play with a puzzle (with all sorts of cars on it!) Colin is crying and his mom brings him upstairs to feed him. Makena has fallen asleep, I swaddle her and lay her on the couch.

12:48
Makena is awake. She fusses while I build a house out of coasters with Ian. I change his diaper and he keeps saying "house!" He hears a cough from upstairs and says "sneeze!" We practice the difference between coughs and sneezes and Makena finds it hilarious.

1:00
I change Makena's diaper and leave her to play in the changing table portion of the PnP. Ian wants to color again so I put him in his high chair. I clean up from lunch and add my pasta to the water that's been boiling for the last 2o minutes. Have to add extra water. Makena is babbling away in the changer.
1:15
Pasta is done. I scarf down my food. Wish I could eat Parmesan cheese!! Makena is crying, I pick her up and hold her while I finish eating. I let Ian down.

1:30
I'm done eating, Makena is drifting to sleep, I put her in the swing. Ian asks for milk so I get him some, and then we read books about...trucks! I change his diaper. His mom is downstairs making her lunch and then Ian "helps" her with her paperwork by placing multiple post-it stickers on her shirt.

2:15
Makena is still awake in the swing and she's SO sleepy, her eyes are red and she can barely keep them open. Ian is getting frustrated at everything and starting to whine. I try to take him up for a nap but he cries for his mama. She puts him down for a wee sleep. :) Makena is crying, I pick her up and nurse her and she immediately falls asleep in my arms. I eat some almonds and sit on the couch.
3:00
Ian is still awake chatting away in his crib. I can hear him on the monitor. His mom heads out to meet with a client, and tells me that Colin is upstairs sleeping on the bed. I take Makena with me upstairs to sit with the 2 sleeping babies.

3:15
Ian is finally sleeping. Colin wakes up and is hungry. Makena is still asleep. I take both the babies downstairs, and put Makena in the PnP (she doesn't wake up!!) while I change Colin's diaper. I leave him in the changer and go defrost his milk. I eat Pop Tarts and drink about a gallon of water.

3:25
Makena is stirring. I put her on the couch and then pick up and feed Colin while sitting next to Makena.
3:40
Colin is done eating. We sit on the couch and make funny faces at each other. Makena is STILL SLEEPING! It's a miracle! Colin is kicking her. We play with baby toys and he is so great at grabbing at them!
4:00
Makena is awake. I hear Ian waking up.

4:10
I put both babies on the play mat on the floor. Colin is grabbing Makena's hand!! I take a little video. Ian is silent, thankfully he fell back asleep.

4:40
Their mom is home, and we ooh and ahh at our babies and take photos of them being super adorable.
5:00
Ian is awake for real and his mom goes to get him. I get ready to leave but Makena screams when I go to put her in the carseat. I realize I need to feed her, so I quickly do.

5:15
I'm late to pick up Pam but I'm glad I fed Makena first! She is happy in the car. I eat an apple while driving.

5:25
We meet up with Pam at the grocery store. Since I was late to get her she walked over and started shopping. I'm wearing Makena and she's a trooper the whole time we shop.

6:00
Time to head home! I drive and Pam sits in the back. Makena sleeps!!!! Usually she screams on the ride home.

6:20
We walk in the door. I put away the groceries and go online. Makena wakes up within minutes of getting home and Pam changes her diaper and swaddles her. She starts her evening routine of crying even though she's super tired.

6:30
I feed Makena. She isn't eating, just crying. I walk her around the dark apartment. Pam is doing the dishes.

7:00
Makena closes her eyes. I sit down to watch TV and hold Makena while still patting her bottom. She opens her eyes if I stop. Pam starts dinner.

7:20
Makena is asleep.

8:00
Pam is still cooking. It smells delicious! I keep hearing Pam get mad when the oil splatters and hurts her.

8:10
Dinner! Tofu with brown rice and broccoli, and fried green beans?!

9:00
We watch Lost.

9:40
Pam holds Makena.

10:30
I take Makena into bed with me. She's still sleeping.

12:30 am
She wakes up and eats then falls right back to sleep.

4:00
Wake up, poop, eat, poop.

8:00
We wake up for the day!

A day in our life...

This was our day on Monday, April 5th. Pam was home, and it's a pretty good example of our typical weekends. Since Pam works Tue-Sat, Mondays are basically our Sundays.

2:00 am
Makena wakes up to eat. First I change her poopy diaper. Then I feed her. (It's a super dark photo but we only had a dim light on!)

And then Pam changes another poopy diaper.

7:00 am
Makena has been awake for about 15 minutes, but we've been just laying in bed and cooing at each other. She wakes up full of smiles! Oh how I LOVE co-sleeping, this is the best thing in the world to wake up and see!

I feed her and then we get up out of bed to start our day, but first, another poopy diaper needs changing.

8:45 am
Breakfast time! I eat some cereal over her as she's breastfeeding. She drifts to sleep on the Boppy in my lap.


9:20 am
She's up from her cat nap, and it's time to play! Makena spends 10-20 minutes on her play mat. Now she knows how to grab at her toys!


I jump on the computer for an email/facebook check. Pam changes Makena's diaper and takes off her jammies. Time to get dressed for the day!

10:00 am
Laundry laundry laundry...the cloth diapers need to be washed, they are starting to stink!

10:30 am
Makena has fallen asleep on the couch while Mama watches TV.

I take photos and post ads on craigslist to try and sell the size small cloth diapers that no longer fit.

11:30 am
Makena is awake and as Pam changes her diaper she tries to get some laughs out of her.

12:00 Noon
More booby juice time! I try to beat my Sudoku high score on my cell phone.

12:30 pm
I eat lunch (quesadilla with fake cheese, black beans, and corn) and watch TV while Pam gets down on the floor with Makena for some tummy time! (She doesn't understand while we make her exercise!)

1:00 pm
Makena swings in her swing for a bit and keeps scratching at her face so we put her mitts on. Then she wants to suck on her hands and slobbers all over her mitts. We take them off and she promptly scratches her nose and makes it bleed.


2:00 pm
More breastfeeding. I grab a pillow and she takes a little nap in my arms.



2:30 pm
Makena wakes up and we take pictures of her being adorable.

Then her face gets red and we hear the squirting of a poop in progress! So we try to capture her intense expression as she puuuuuushes!!

3:00 pm
Clean diaper is on, and Makena chews on Sofie the giraffe.

3:30 pm
Pam swaddles Makena and they take a nap together in bed.

5:00 pm
They wake up, Makena nurses, and then she takes a short walk with Mama while she carries her in the Baby Bjorn.

6:00 pm
Makena naps propped in the Boppy on the couch and Pam and I quietly make pasta for dinner while constantly checking on her.
6:30 pm
Makena wakes up, and we undress her for a little naked time until...

7:00 pm
Bath time! We take our first family bath together so there are no photos. ;)

8:00 pm
Makena eats one last time before bed. She's in her jammies with a pacifier in her mouth and swaddled up tightly. We take turns rocking/swaying/bouncing her in our arms as she cries and fusses and fights sleep. This is an unfortunate nightly routine. She is exhausted, her red eyes want to close so badly but she arches back and thrashes her head back and forth and makes such a commotion! (No photo because this is our stressful time of the day and we're not in a picture taking mood...) She drifts in and out of light sleep and if we stop moving she wakes up.

10:00 pm
Makena has been sleeping for about 1.5 hours, and she's FINALLY fallen asleep deep enough for us to put her down. I get into bed with her and it's lights out until 2:00 am when it starts allllll over again!

And that's a day in our life!

One day I'll get around to posting what a day looks like when she comes to work with me. It's vastly different, of course!

These are a few of my favorite things...

I've been keeping a note on my cell phone with my favorite things about Makena since she was just a week old. I keep adding to the list when I'm spending hours rocking her to sleep. I tried to import the note to the computer, but I can't figure out how to so I'm just going to type it up here before it gets even longer!

So far, my favorite things...

The few extra long hairs on the top of her head.
The content sounds she makes while nursing.
The shape of her lips and how the bottom lip juts to the side when she sleeps.
Her sweet milky breath.
How she works so hard to poop and it's mostly just liquid!
The tiny imperfection on her left ear.
That her eyelashes have started to grow.
Her huge gummy open mouthed smile.
When she grabs onto me and softly kneads my boob while eating.
How she turns and smiles at me when she wakes up and sees that I'm right there next to her.
Her little dimple on just the left cheek.
How her toes curl when you touch her feet.
The sound of her breathing.
The rise and fall of her chest as it slows and she enters deep sleep.
How she frantically tries to get the pacifier into her mouth.
The squeals of delight!
When she tries to get your attention if you look away after talking to her and she kicks her feet and flails around and tries to make eye contact so badly, then you look at her and she smiles.
How she falls asleep while nursing but the second I try to pull her off she starts vigorously sucking again.
The little bits of lint that get stuck between her tiny toes.
The slurping sound she makes when sucking on her fingers.
The many different expressions she makes.
Our morning nap we take together.
She is always wiggling around, just like when she was in my belly.
When she takes a bath and her skin feels the way it did when I first held her- warm, slippery, and so soft.
That she brings her hands up to her face when she does her huge happy smile.
That she smiles at strangers when they talk to her.
She loves getting her diaper changed and will stop crying as soon as you expose her bottom to the nice cool air!

I meant to update about her 2 month milestones, like the fact that she can hold her head up so well during tummy time and she has such great neck control. Hopefully I'll remember to do an update about all the new things she can do when she turns 3 months old! We're having a little 1/4 of a year birthday party for her next weekend, a Makena Meet & Greet for anyone who hasn't yet met her.

Yesterday was our 2 year wedding anniversary. After picking up Pam at work (and Makena cried the whole car ride home) we came home, she settled down, I fed her, and we took a walk to our favorite Italian restaurant. (She wasn't tired, she slept from 3-5 but woke up when I had to put her in the car seat to drive us home. It is SO AWFUL to hear your baby screaming while you have to just keep driving.) So we decided to risk leaving the house during her fussy time. It's only a few blocks away, and we didn't want to put her in the car seat just to have her cry again. So Pam wore her in the Baby Bjorn and I pushed the stroller just in case we wanted to use it. And it holds the diaper bag, our hoodies, Pam's purse, and an extra blanket as an added bonus. :) We got to the restaurant and by the time our food came Makena was starting to get bored and fussy. I was quickly scarfing down my food (dairy free, but very tasty pasta with olives, broccoli, artichoke, and a garlic lemon oregano sauce) And Pam stopped eating to stand up and bounce around with Makena. Then a huge party of college girls were seated next to us, and they were all the entertainment Makena needed! We finished our meal (spent every second worried she'd flip out though...) and then walked back home. It was lovely. Makena especially loves to look up at trees when you stand under them.

I also have an ongoing list of "Things I Never Knew Until Having A Baby" but that will have to wait because right now I'm going to bed! Pam was rocking Makena to sleep and I just went to check on them but found them both sleeping in bed. :)

P.S. Donte has a new favorite place to hang out...
We have an extra changing table pad and he's decided it's his new spot to sleep. He used to be afraid of her room because we had balloons from the baby shower in there and he's terrified of balloons, but I guess he figured out that they are gone now!

Easter!

Yesterday was Makena's first Easter! We woke up in the morning and went to look for her basket... I helped her search behind the cereal boxes on top of the fridge.


She sure got lots of fun goodies from the Easter Bunny!

We put on her pretty Easter dress and went to Grandmo and Grandpoppy's house for her first party!
She started to fall asleep right when we had to get going, so she missed her nap and cried the entire 15 minute car trip. It was pouring rain, so Pam pulled up really close and I hopped out of the car and rushed inside with Makena while Pam parked the car. We didn't stay too long because Makena just wasn't sleeping well with all the excitement, and she started to lose it a couple hours later so we headed back home.

And after she had a little sleep she woke up in a great mood!

Pam was changing her diaper and getting her into some pajamas. They were being silly and babbling to each other. Meanwhile, I was sitting on the couch eating dinner, and then I heard a loud giggle. "Did she just laugh??" Pam turned around and said "YES!" I grabbed the camera and went over to the changing table. The video is dark, but about 28 seconds in you can hear her laugh! :)



It was a great first Easter!

In other news...
Today marks the day that last year I found out I wasn't pregnant. I had some cramps and felt like there was no chance we'd be lucky enough to have the IUI work on the first try. I woke up in the morning and got my period as I expected (but dreaded.) It was a tough day, and a tough 2 weeks until we could try again. I literally flushed all that money and hope down the drain. My days were filled with sadness, mourning the baby that I wasn't going to have. I felt like I'd never get to see those 2 pink lines.

We feel so blessed that we got lucky on our second attempt. Now we have our dream come true baby and she's so much better than we ever imagined!!

Waking up to check that she's still breathing

I've noticed something. I think I've finally stopped being paranoid every time Makena sleeps. For the first 2 months or so of her life I checked on her compulsively to make sure she was okay. I had horrible thoughts of SIDS. Sometimes all I could picture in my mind was my baby laying cold and alone and not breathing. :( Even in the early weeks when she was sleeping in my arms I'd look down and watch her chest move with each breath. During the night I'd wake up all the time just to check on her. I talked with lots of other new mommies about this and found it's pretty common, and that the intense fear will gradually fade with time. It won't ever go away, but it won't be so consuming.

Last night I woke up at one point for no reason, and I quickly turned over to stare at Makena's chest. I couldn't see it rising and falling in the dark room, so I turned on the nightlight next to the bed. I still couldn't tell if she was breathing, she wasn't making a sound. I leaned in and put my ear up to her nose and still couldn't tell for sure. So I felt her cheek, and it was cold and my heart skipped a beat. I poked at her side and she didn't move. I was a fraction of a second away from sheer panic when I placed my hand on her chest and shook her a little. She let out a huge sigh and turned her head to the other side.

And I could breathe again. I'm sure it was only about 10 seconds, but during those 10 seconds I realized a few things-

1. I can not function if she is not okay.
2. She is okay. She's sleeping like... well, like a baby!
3. I can't remember the last time I woke up to check on her like that.

It's kinda a milestone that nobody mentions. One day you won't be so crippled with fear that your baby has stopped breathing while they are sleeping. I don't know when that day was, but I must have passed it without even noticing. Of course I still worry, I was a worrier before having a baby and I've just been catapulted into a whole new league of worrying. But this one issue has gotten better. I now trust that my baby can fall asleep and then she'll wake up. Seems obvious, but until you have a newborn I don't think you can fully understand what I mean.

bloody poop, eating giraffes, and new diapers

For the past week or so Makena has had some really messy poops. It's clearly diarrhea, but she's been eating fine so I wasn't too concerned. Poop is messy to begin with, but these were very watery and each time she pooped it was exploding out of her diaper, right up the back, front, and even sides sometimes. We've been going through 3-4 outfit changes a day!! I've gotten poop on me, she's gotten poop in her belly button, it's just been a disaster. Good thing she likes taking baths!

On Wednesday morning she had 3 poopy diapers and an outfit change before we even left the house at 7:30am. The last diaper had a little tiny bit of red in it. Blood. She had it once before but it was such a small barely there amount that I pretty much chalked it up to her bottom being irritated from lots of pooping and bleeding a little. I was getting more concerned about the diarrhea though, and a quick online search suggested that if your baby is under 3 months to call the Dr right away. So I did, and the off-hours nurse told me if it was serious Dr. Wally would be calling me back. And then the phone rang right away. I mentioned that she just had another explosive diarrhea and there was a bit of blood in it, and he said "Well, I don't think you need to bring her to the hospital. but I would like to see her today." (The hospital?! I wasn't thinking that it was all that serious?!)

So we dropped Pam off at work and when the office opened at 9am I called and made an appointment for the soonest he could squeeze us in, at 11:45. They asked me to bring in a poopy diaper to do a test on. She was weighed and the nurse said she was 13 lbs. 3 ounces less than she was 9 days ago. But Dr. Wally said that he wanted to double check that and she weighed 13.2 lbs. Still less than her last visit, but he wasn't concerned. He was concerned about her poop testing positive for traces of blood. He thinks she has a cow milk protein allergy. And one way to find out is for me to eliminate all dairy from my diet, and at our next visit we'll test her poop again. (He referred me to a nutritionist and I called to set up an appointment but haven't heard back.)

It's not a rare issue in infants, and he is confident she'll outgrow it within a year or so. But for now, I'm just trying to figure out what to eat to get enough calories in me. Now I'm a vegetarian who can't even have dairy. No cheese is the hardest part. (It's only been 2 days so far and it's already been a struggle.) There is a chance it's not just the milk protein that she's sensitive to, and if that's the case I'll have to eliminate other common allergens until we find out which one is upsetting her tummy. I told him that she's been fussier than usual, since about 7 weeks, and asked if that could be the reason why, and he said maybe. I also mentioned that I've noticed her belly making lots of gurgling noises and he listened with the stethoscope and said, "You've been paying great attention to her, you're right, she has quite a lot of borborygmus." Which apparently is the fancy medical term for growling tummies.

So Makena has been sick and we had no idea. :(

He said some babies go months with this problem and don't give any clues, so we're lucky we happened to see the tiny bit of blood. (I feel terrible that we didn't mention the bit we saw a few weeks ago.) It takes up to 3 weeks for all the dairy to be out of my system, and I'm just really hoping that she starts to feel better. Today she's been nursing every 2 hours, which is more frequent than usual, and my milk supply has been low for the first time ever. Usually I leak all day long and have to change my nursing pads about twice a day. But today they didn't have a drop in them. And when Makena has been nursing she's been angry at my boobs and sucking very hard and then screaming. There just isn't enough milk coming out. Luckily I had 2 frozen bags of breastmilk and tonight Pam fed her almost 6 oz and she gobbled it all up. Meanwhile I pumped and got less than an ounce total! I'm freaking out about it. My breasts haven't felt full all day. I'm pretty certain it has to be related to my eating. I'm surely not getting enough calories in me, let alone the extra 500 you need while breastfeeding. It's so distressing. Today I started taking Fenugreek pills which are supposedly great for milk production. Some women see results in 1-3 days. I hope it works.

In other news, Makena is amazing. :) She is still a happy smiley baby. Yes she has her moments, for the past 3 days she has cried the entire car ride home. She fights her sleep in the evenings. We have to swaddle her tightly and rock her in our arms and really work at it to get her to fall asleep AND stay sleeping. When we put her down she wakes within a few minutes. So we take turns holding her so she can sleep. When she wake around 9-10 pm I take her to bed with me and nurse her and lay down and we both fall asleep with no problems. She wakes around 3-4am, and again around 6am. But she smiles these amazing open mouthed smiles that just melt us into a puddle every time-
The mitts are because she keeps scratching herself. The other day her face was just covered in red scratches. :( We clip her nails but she loves to grab her face, especially her eyes. She loves to suck on her hands and we recently introduced her to Sofie the giraffe. It's a popular teething toy. She smells so good, made from natural rubber. But she does an awful squeak like a dog toy.
I can't wait for Makena to be able to hold her better!



Lately when she gets super happy she'll pull her hands up around her head or to her mouth. It's so adorable! Here she is looking at Mama upside down-

In super exciting news, we just received 12 wonderful BRAND NEW Goodmama diapers from The Cloth Diaper Foundation. They are super soft, made from natural cotton and bamboo velour. I am jealous that she gets to wear them and I can't! lol! These diapers would normally cost about $30 each but thanks to being approved for the awesome low income cloth diapering program, I get a whole set for the low price of ZERO DOLLARS! That's right, I only paid $15 for shipping and get to cover Makena's tush in great quality dipes! 12 diapers at about $30 each is over $300. The diapers are just on loan, I have to return them when I'm done with them, but oh how lucky I feel!

And Makena is pretty stoked too!

I admit that I feel a smidgen awful about her pooping in these pristine diapers!! But I suppose that's what they are for! They don't have a waterproof outside, so technically they should be worn with a cover, but they are so darn absorbent and have so many layers that she can go a few hours in one before they start to feel wet. I'm picturing hot summer days spent at home with just these diapers on...