I recently posted about the fact that my breast milk seems to be dwindling and that my breastfeeding days are drawing to a close. Well, this morning I thought it was a good idea to visually know how much milk I'm actually producing so I expressed before Lily had her routine morning milk. Her morning feed is usually her best feed of the day as my boobs are usually full from a bit of sleep, but, much to my disappointment, my instinct was right, and I barely produced enough to fill a teaspoon.
I can't believe how incredibly emotional I am about the fact that today was more than likely the first day that Lily didn't breastfeed. Instead she gladly took formula in her bottle. I phoned my mom to let her know and I burst into tears! I felt so silly, but as usual, my mom made me feel so normal, telling me that she did the exact same thing when she stopped breastfeeding me. I suppose it's just the end of an incredible, amazing experience that only my daughter and I could share - no-one else could share those moments with her.
I'm so grateful that after all the breastfeeding challenges I faced in those first couple of weeks when Lily was born didn't hamper my efforts to breastfeed. Looking back, I honestly never expected to be breastfeeding Lily at 11 months old. My goal at the time was to reach 6 weeks and after those weeks were done and breastfeeding had become easier, my next goal was 6 months. But here we are at 11 months and 2 days and only now have we reached this milestone. I am proud of myself as well as proud of Lily for learning to latch so incredibly well and for allowing me to feed her for so much longer than I hoped. It has been one incredible journey which we've experienced together - the first of hopefully many, many more.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
1 month left of being a "baby" : (
Once again I'm left thinking "where has the time flown?"... I cannot believe that the tiny little baby that was placed in my arms just yesterday (well it feels like yesterday) is a month away from having her first birthday and advancing into the toddler age group.
I have mixed emotions about this. Firstly, I am elated and proud about the fact that hubby and I have produced an amazing little human being who we love immensely, completely infatuated by her every little motion and gesture, totally captivated by every single one of her milestone achievements. However, I am so extremely emotional (just getting the tissues as I type) that my precious little baby is growing up so quickly. It's strange how nature works making our memories of our babies being so tiny seem to blur. I mean I can remember those first few weeks of having a newborn baby, but how tiny she was, how small her little fingers were, how fragile she felt... all those memories are no longer vivid. I try to concentrate on remembering those moments with as much clarity as possible but I seem to be fighting a losing battle. It is due to this battle that I'm truly grateful for the little invention called the "camera"! Capturing all the memories that our human selves cannot hold on to.
At 11 months old, Lily is still toothless, leaving me to wonder when on earth they will finally make their appearance. She has mastered the "all 4's" crawling technique and very seldom resorts to her sliding method any longer. She has now learned and understands the meaning of "ta" - often handing me a toy or gadget she has found with an accompanied "ta". It just melts my heart! She no longer likes mommy to just feed her her food, she wants to feed herself. I have resorted to giving her a little bit of food to feed herself while I try to sneakily feed her in between the mess she happily makes. She absolutely loves blueberries which I must admit, she feeds herself really well - no mess at all. They are my saving grace while trying to feed her her other food! Lily has also learned how to kiss and every now and then, she will make her "kissing noise" and lean in for a little wet touching of lips - my absolute best!
I'm going to fully enjoy this last month of Lily's official "baby months" (as I do all the months) and take as many photographs and update this blog as much as I possibly can. Because I know as the days pass, so will the memories start to blur and I want to remember every single little thing she does.
I have mixed emotions about this. Firstly, I am elated and proud about the fact that hubby and I have produced an amazing little human being who we love immensely, completely infatuated by her every little motion and gesture, totally captivated by every single one of her milestone achievements. However, I am so extremely emotional (just getting the tissues as I type) that my precious little baby is growing up so quickly. It's strange how nature works making our memories of our babies being so tiny seem to blur. I mean I can remember those first few weeks of having a newborn baby, but how tiny she was, how small her little fingers were, how fragile she felt... all those memories are no longer vivid. I try to concentrate on remembering those moments with as much clarity as possible but I seem to be fighting a losing battle. It is due to this battle that I'm truly grateful for the little invention called the "camera"! Capturing all the memories that our human selves cannot hold on to.
At 11 months old, Lily is still toothless, leaving me to wonder when on earth they will finally make their appearance. She has mastered the "all 4's" crawling technique and very seldom resorts to her sliding method any longer. She has now learned and understands the meaning of "ta" - often handing me a toy or gadget she has found with an accompanied "ta". It just melts my heart! She no longer likes mommy to just feed her her food, she wants to feed herself. I have resorted to giving her a little bit of food to feed herself while I try to sneakily feed her in between the mess she happily makes. She absolutely loves blueberries which I must admit, she feeds herself really well - no mess at all. They are my saving grace while trying to feed her her other food! Lily has also learned how to kiss and every now and then, she will make her "kissing noise" and lean in for a little wet touching of lips - my absolute best!
I'm going to fully enjoy this last month of Lily's official "baby months" (as I do all the months) and take as many photographs and update this blog as much as I possibly can. Because I know as the days pass, so will the memories start to blur and I want to remember every single little thing she does.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Don't want to tempt fate, but...
Lily has been sleeping SO beautifully the last week! She has been going down so very soundly for all her naps - morning nap, afternoon nap and evening bed time. Even if she has been wide awake prior to me putting her into her cot, she hasn't fought the sleep, she has peacefully resigned herself to the fact that it is now sleep time and she reaches for her "Lily & Jack" bunny and self soothes until she is in "La La Land"!
Even though I've never really battled with putting her down for her night time sleeps, I have battled to get her to sleep through the night. She usually disturbed for at least 2 dummy calls and would then peacefully drift off again, starting her day between 5am and 6am. One morning, much to my shock and horror, she started her day at the ghastly time of 4:20am! Thankfully that was a once off and I hope it never happens again.
Anyway, as of the last week, she has been sleeping through! Funnily enough though, I'm feeling MORE exhausted! Perhaps it's my body adjusting to getting more sleep than I have for 6 months (Lily did sleep through from about 8 weeks until 4 months old). It is quite a strange phenomenon to be honest. I thought I would have boundless amounts of energy with the undisturbed sleep. I'm hoping my body gets more "in tune" with the hopefully new and improved sleep routine!
In addition to sleeping through, Lily is also now starting her day between 6:30am and 7:30am. It's truly wonderful! Now if only the dogs wouldn't wake me up earlier and my husband would stop snoring! Bliss!
On another note, I came across this on another blog and thought it was truly brilliant and so very true. Just had to share:
Even though I've never really battled with putting her down for her night time sleeps, I have battled to get her to sleep through the night. She usually disturbed for at least 2 dummy calls and would then peacefully drift off again, starting her day between 5am and 6am. One morning, much to my shock and horror, she started her day at the ghastly time of 4:20am! Thankfully that was a once off and I hope it never happens again.
Anyway, as of the last week, she has been sleeping through! Funnily enough though, I'm feeling MORE exhausted! Perhaps it's my body adjusting to getting more sleep than I have for 6 months (Lily did sleep through from about 8 weeks until 4 months old). It is quite a strange phenomenon to be honest. I thought I would have boundless amounts of energy with the undisturbed sleep. I'm hoping my body gets more "in tune" with the hopefully new and improved sleep routine!
In addition to sleeping through, Lily is also now starting her day between 6:30am and 7:30am. It's truly wonderful! Now if only the dogs wouldn't wake me up earlier and my husband would stop snoring! Bliss!
On another note, I came across this on another blog and thought it was truly brilliant and so very true. Just had to share:
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Can't let go...
I always knew that I wanted to breastfeed my child... well, at least to give it my all in trying to breastfeed my child. Due to friends having babies before me, I knew that breastfeeding wasn't necessarily going to be easy - in fact, most people had found it rather difficult initially, requiring quite a bit of assistance to get it right. So when Lily arrived and my milk hadn't come in yet, I allowed the hospital staff to top her up with formula but insisted it be done by either syringe or cup, which they did. I was on a mission to breastfeed and didn't want her getting used to a bottle.
On day 2 after giving birth, the infamous "blues day", the pediatrician walked into my room and told me in no uncertain terms that my baby was extremely hungry and that she didn't foresee me being able to breastfeed and that we should introduce the bottle. I was distraught and it was just this comment that sent me into floods of uncontrollable tears. It was the "ugly" cry - the one accompanied by snorts and huge suctioning of air at the same time. Just an incredibly ugly sight!
However, I would not allow the doctor to stop me from persevering. I sent hubby down to the pharmacy to buy me a breast pump which ultimately became my best friend! I loved and was so grateful for my Medela Mini Electric! I pumped and pumped until my colostrum came in and boy did I have a lot. We then fed this to Lily via syringe and cup so by the next day, the doctor actually congratulated me on my perseverance and the fact that Lily was now getting what she needed. I now always tell friends, if you battle in the beginning, get a breast pump immediately and give that "liquid gold" to your baby.
When we got home I started using nipple shields which enabled Lily to drink from me, but unfortunately after a week, my nipples were in such excruciating pain that I just couldn't bare to let her drink. I would stand with my hands covering my nipples while in the shower as the water touching them would be far too painful! I went for daily lazer treatment, expressed milk for every feed and ultimately called a lactation specialist. The lactation specialist was my life saver and after only one feed with her, we figured it out! Mommy learned how to get Lily to latch and Lily learned how to latch on properly from there. My mom always told me that even though it's incredibly difficult in the beginning, it gets easier and easier until you eventually can't believe you ever even had a problem. It was hard for me to believe her, but after a few weeks, it became second nature!
And here we are, almost 11 months later and Lily is still breastfeeding. I am so grateful that I was able to give her such a great start in life and that we could share the incredible bonding experience - just the two of us. But now I've started to notice that my milk is dwindling and I just can't seem to let go. I want to try everything to keep her on the breast for a little longer. Who knew it would be so hard to let your baby move on? We are now down to 3 feeds a day and I'm doubtful that Lily is getting much milk from those feeds, so I am topping her up with half a bottle of formula - something I really just can't seem to get used to doing.
I suppose I should be proud and happy of the fact that she has been on breast milk for longer than most babies, but it is still sad that the time is coming where she is slowly drinking less and will be on my boobs less... Another little milestone that I'm not quite ready to see happen.
On day 2 after giving birth, the infamous "blues day", the pediatrician walked into my room and told me in no uncertain terms that my baby was extremely hungry and that she didn't foresee me being able to breastfeed and that we should introduce the bottle. I was distraught and it was just this comment that sent me into floods of uncontrollable tears. It was the "ugly" cry - the one accompanied by snorts and huge suctioning of air at the same time. Just an incredibly ugly sight!
However, I would not allow the doctor to stop me from persevering. I sent hubby down to the pharmacy to buy me a breast pump which ultimately became my best friend! I loved and was so grateful for my Medela Mini Electric! I pumped and pumped until my colostrum came in and boy did I have a lot. We then fed this to Lily via syringe and cup so by the next day, the doctor actually congratulated me on my perseverance and the fact that Lily was now getting what she needed. I now always tell friends, if you battle in the beginning, get a breast pump immediately and give that "liquid gold" to your baby.
When we got home I started using nipple shields which enabled Lily to drink from me, but unfortunately after a week, my nipples were in such excruciating pain that I just couldn't bare to let her drink. I would stand with my hands covering my nipples while in the shower as the water touching them would be far too painful! I went for daily lazer treatment, expressed milk for every feed and ultimately called a lactation specialist. The lactation specialist was my life saver and after only one feed with her, we figured it out! Mommy learned how to get Lily to latch and Lily learned how to latch on properly from there. My mom always told me that even though it's incredibly difficult in the beginning, it gets easier and easier until you eventually can't believe you ever even had a problem. It was hard for me to believe her, but after a few weeks, it became second nature!
And here we are, almost 11 months later and Lily is still breastfeeding. I am so grateful that I was able to give her such a great start in life and that we could share the incredible bonding experience - just the two of us. But now I've started to notice that my milk is dwindling and I just can't seem to let go. I want to try everything to keep her on the breast for a little longer. Who knew it would be so hard to let your baby move on? We are now down to 3 feeds a day and I'm doubtful that Lily is getting much milk from those feeds, so I am topping her up with half a bottle of formula - something I really just can't seem to get used to doing.
I suppose I should be proud and happy of the fact that she has been on breast milk for longer than most babies, but it is still sad that the time is coming where she is slowly drinking less and will be on my boobs less... Another little milestone that I'm not quite ready to see happen.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Learning so quickly!
Lily is truly coming into her own and developing her own little character. She absolutely loves attention and whenever we go shopping, she happily greets people, waves at them, laughs and even tries to have conversations with them. I am often stopped by random people who want to have a chat with her, or want to tell me how gorgeous my child is or to just admire her. I obviously love this and feel very proud, but what makes me even more proud is the fact that I know that she will take the opportunity of the attention and will give her admirers a cute giggle, huge smile or even a cute batting of her eyelashes!
Of course she isn't all cuteness all the time... Lily has now learned to show us what she does NOT want! She will arch her back if she doesn't want to sit in her car seat or her high chair and she hates being put onto her back to have her nappy changed. I have to constantly distract her with a toy or mommy's horrendous singing voice to stop the mini tantrum. She also protests if I take something away from her that she's happily playing with. Gone are the days where you could just easily take an object away - now she knows what she wants and she has no problem letting us know that.
It's so cute to hear how she mimics some of the words we say. The other day I was doing a puzzle with her and asked her where the "clock" puzzle piece was. I repeated the word "clock" a few times, without even thinking she would try to repeat it, when all of a sudden out popped the word "cock"! Obviously not the desirable first few words you want your child learning to say, but I was happy with the fact that she was at least trying to copy what mommy was saying. Her vocabulary has now increased to include "Dada", "Mama", "Cock", "Ta" and "Hello". Hello doesn't quite sound like hello, but it is definitely her own way of saying it just like she has her own unique way of saying "clock"!
Lily has also mastered the art of waving which she has been able to do for a while, but now it is most definitely a deliberate movement when people say hello or goodbye. It's too cute and receives many "oohs" and "aahs" from people on the receiving end of her gesture.
My angel is really growing up so beautifully and I fall in love with her more and more every single day.
Of course she isn't all cuteness all the time... Lily has now learned to show us what she does NOT want! She will arch her back if she doesn't want to sit in her car seat or her high chair and she hates being put onto her back to have her nappy changed. I have to constantly distract her with a toy or mommy's horrendous singing voice to stop the mini tantrum. She also protests if I take something away from her that she's happily playing with. Gone are the days where you could just easily take an object away - now she knows what she wants and she has no problem letting us know that.
It's so cute to hear how she mimics some of the words we say. The other day I was doing a puzzle with her and asked her where the "clock" puzzle piece was. I repeated the word "clock" a few times, without even thinking she would try to repeat it, when all of a sudden out popped the word "cock"! Obviously not the desirable first few words you want your child learning to say, but I was happy with the fact that she was at least trying to copy what mommy was saying. Her vocabulary has now increased to include "Dada", "Mama", "Cock", "Ta" and "Hello". Hello doesn't quite sound like hello, but it is definitely her own way of saying it just like she has her own unique way of saying "clock"!
Lily has also mastered the art of waving which she has been able to do for a while, but now it is most definitely a deliberate movement when people say hello or goodbye. It's too cute and receives many "oohs" and "aahs" from people on the receiving end of her gesture.
My angel is really growing up so beautifully and I fall in love with her more and more every single day.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Poor baby!
I didn't think that my precious baby could get bitten any worse than the bite on her arm that I posted about a few weeks ago, but I was very wrong. A week later I woke up to a smiling happy baby, but with a very small swollen eye. My poor angel had been bitten not once, but twice on her right eye! One bite on the top of her eyelid and one underneath her eye. It looked so very sore, but as usual, Lily was her bright, cheery, happy self.
I had officially had enough of trying all the natural and organic products - I was now all for the chemicals! Anything to stop those blood sucking monsters from hurting my precious baby! I went out on a mission to eliminate the buggers and purchased the following: Mortein Target spray, Mikes Mozzie spray, Mikes Mozzie patches, Peaceful Sleep mats and a very bright pink cot net (given to us by a kind friend that most certainly does not match Lily's room's decor, but at this stage, I don't give a continental!).
I am happy to say that at least one of the 5 things listed above are working as Lily thankfully hasn't had another bit since then and I'm hoping and praying it stays that way! I have never wished for Winter's arrival quite as much as I have this summer!
 | |
| My poor baby's swollen eye. |
I am happy to say that at least one of the 5 things listed above are working as Lily thankfully hasn't had another bit since then and I'm hoping and praying it stays that way! I have never wished for Winter's arrival quite as much as I have this summer!
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