Another busy day today. Mommy took me to the mall to get my picture taken again. We were there for a long time. But we got some cute pictures.

Why does Mommy keep taking me to bookstores and libraries when she knows that I can’t read?

Today we went to a library in Virginia where a bunch of mommies got together with different baby carriers. Someone helped Mommy put me on her back with her mei tai. That was scary!

Then, Mommy borrowed this beautiful pouch and put me insde. It looked so nice! And it was really easy to put me in and take me out.

Another big day today. Mommy took me to the grocery store and carried me around in her mei tai. I fussed a little and spat up. I spit up alot.

Also, today was exercise day. After exercise class we went to Borders and Mommy read books. Then Daddy came from work and we all went home.

I’ve discovered some new things. I can grab my toes (that’s fun!) and hum. Oh, and I can squeal at a really high pitch. Mommy says that if I squealed any higher, only dogs could hear me!

I’m three months old today!

Here are some pictures of me and Mommy from last weekend at Grandma’s house!

Today Mommy took me for a walk around the courtyard outside our house. While we were walking, we saw a baby deer between two of the houses. It was really pretty and it stopped to look at us before it ran off.

Today is Sammy’s three month birthday, and what a long, strange trip it’s been. I wanted to take some time and recount my experiences nursing Sammy, the highs and the lows etc.

Things went fine in the hospital. Sammy latched on right away and I made sure to nurse him every 2 to 3 hours like you’re supposed to.

But once we got home from the hospital, he was extremely sleepy, and difficult to wake for feedings. When he was awake, he’d thrash about so violently I couldn’t get him to latch on.

Part of the problem was that my milk was late to come in. Sam was born on a Friday night, and my milk didn’t come in until late late late Tuesday night. When we went to the pediatrician on Monday (2 1/2 days old), he’d already lost slightly more than 10% of his birth weight (down to 7 lbs 14 oz). According to the lactation consultant’s scale, he’d lost even more than that (down to 7 lbs 6 oz).

So in the early days we started supplementing with formula through a medicine dropper. When he became way too efficient at that and sucked the whole thing down in one fell swoop, I switched to bottles. Better to risk nipple confusion than to feed him too fast.

In the weeks that followed, breastfeeding was a hit or miss thing. We had some good feeding sessions, but for the most part he’d latch onto the breast and fall asleep two minutes later. It was extremely frustrating, and any time I tried just nursing him ended up in frustration and tears for both me and him. I had no peace during the day since he was constantly at the breast, and any time I had to eat or go to the bathroom he’d scream because he was still hungry.

So we started exclusively pumping. (Okay, we still “comfort nursed,” but bottle feeding of expressed breast milk was how he got most of his nutrition.) I knew that pumping wasn’t as efficient as nursing, but for this particular baby, maybe that wasn’t the case. After all, how much supply was he stimulating if he fell asleep at the beginning of every feeding session? Pumping, I felt, was the best option for us then. My supply didn’t quite keep up with demand, so we supplemented with formula, but at least I knew how much he was eating since he took the bottle pretty easily and didn’t have the same falling asleep issues.

Epumping worked fine for awhile. Sure, it sucked having to pump every three hours around the clock. But at least Sam was getting breastmilk. After a couple of weeks, my supply got to the point where we didn’t have to supplement with formula anymore.

But then I started having problems with my right breast such as plugged ducts, plugged nipple pores, and engorgement. Every time I had an issue, I’d have Sammy nurse the problem out.

A few days before Sammy’s two month birthday (as I was suffering another bout of engorgement), we nursed pretty much all day. To my relief, the engorgement subsided and to my pleasant surprise, Sam actually seemed satiated. So I tried going with the flow, nursing him instead of bottle-feeding him expressed breastmilk.

Things actually went well. I kept meticulous track of his wet and stool diapers, which all seemed fine. After one day where I must have changed him like ten times, I stopped worrying about whether he was having enough. Since then, he seems as active and happy as ever, and is alert and meeting his milestones. He appears to be gaining weight well, too, and looks as chubby as a baby should be.

Happy birthday Sammy!

The good news: I’m finally wearing regular jeans again. Yay!

The bad news: They’re size 14. Don’t think I’ll ever be a size 10 again. 🙁 Must be the oatmeal cookies. Yeah, that’s it.

Saw “Moebius” (well, part of it anyway. Got the whole thing recorded on the Comcast DVR.) again last night during SciFi’s Stargate SG-1 marathon. I love time travel & alternate universe & everything but there’s one thing about the ep that I don’t get: how did not finding the stargate in Egypt in the 1920’s turn Carter into Felger?

Oh, and while at my mom’s house last weekend, I read TV Guide’s tribute to Star Trek (she’s got a pile of old TV Guides for some reason). Apparently, the cast of “Enterprise” wasn’t too happy with the series finale. I can certainly understand that. But reading the article made me realize just what about the series finale bugged me so much: it was the Star Trek equivalent of the last episode of “Newhart.”

I’m realizing that there are these things on the ends of my legs called “feet.” If I try really hard, I can grab my feet with my hands. That’s fun to do. Also, on my hands there are these things called “fingers” and also “thumbs.” I can put the thumb in my mouth and suck. That makes me feel good.