Don’t cry over spilled milk

I honestly believe this statement was not meant to be for those of us who are breastfeeding because honestly, breast milk is treated like liquid gold in my house and what happened in my household almost brought me to my knees!

Last night after I got done pumping I was unhooking the hoses and accidentally dropped the bottle … thankfully the lid was still intact and I only spilled maybe an ounce or less. Not to detrimental … but devastating none-the-less.

Fast forward to this morning … I had a GREAT pump session and I was so excited that it’s Friday and I can start freezing for later use. I entrusted the full bottle to Brendan’s care and was very adamant about not spilling, blah blah blah! My lovely 10 year old did a great job transporting the goods only to have mom come in behind him 20 minutes later to wreck it all! I was filling the 5th bottle to go to daycare with Shane and forgot to screw the cap on. When I picked it up to put it in the diaper bag I spilled it … all 4 oz of the sweet stuff down the drain. Thankfully I had a great pump session or I would have been reduced to a bumbling mess on the kitchen floor because I would not have had that 5th bottle to send – even if it’s only a partial bottle.

Now … the question you might ask is … does Shane really eat 5 – 4 oz bottles a day? No … he usually only eats 4. BUT I always send that extra bottle “just in case”!

Why is it that this thing that is suppose to be part of life is so damn difficult? I won’t lie … it’s been a lot easier for me than many of my fellow December mommies but each of us has struggled with this thing called breastfeeding in some way or another. Some have had difficulty with latch … others with amounts … some couldn’t produce at all … some have babies who won’t get off the boob … others who are rejecting it … you get the point right?

So my question is this. WHY is it that new mothers have to endure this hell that is suppose to be such a natural thing? I mean we’re already hormonally imbalanced and then nature throws in this monkey wrench? Honestly, I’ve stressed more over being able to feed my child than any other aspect of his care. YES, yes, yes … I could formula feed … he would be just fine … it’s “practically the same as breastmilk” … ya-da, ya-da, ya-da! BUT … if it’s such a natural thing … why is it so damn difficult?

Yes … I’m adding a picture for this one. Yes … that would be my breast. For those of you who are offended I’m sorry but as I’ve chanted for the last 9 weeks – it’s just a freakin boob! Because the picture is a little hard to distinguish let me tell you the thinking behind this picture. Shane was nursing one night with his hands folded, as if in prayer. I jokingly said he was praying to God that the good stuff continue and that the boobies remain his only form of nourishment. Brendan snapped the picture for me and wa-la … it’s here for this special posting!

2 month checkup

1/17/09 - 4 weeks

2/7/09 - 7 weeks

As you can see, Shane is growing like crazy! I still find myself thinking he's so tiny - and really he is - but he has grown so much in the last 8 weeks. But, as all of the moms out there know, our children are always little in our eyes. I had a conversation with Brendan yesterday that to me he should still be the size of Shane and it's hard for me to realize that he's 10. I almost made myself cry because we were talking about how when Shane is 10, Brendan will be away at college. Why must they grow so fast?

Yesterday was Shane's 2 month checkup. He now weighs 12 pounds even and is 23 inches long - which puts him in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. He discovered another baby in the mirror ... but was only briefly interested.

Shane was far to busy being entertained by his big brother who came along for moral support to play with the baby in the mirror.

Yesterday Shane got the first of many rounds of shots and he seemed to handle them a lot better than mommy did. I forget just how stressful it is to have to be involved in the shot process ... you know it's for the best but it's never fun to actually allow someone to inflict pain on your child. We had to wait a little longer in the room than I'd hoped and Shane was hungry and fussy. Then add on the pain from the 3 shots and he was one mad little guy. Poor big brother was ready for lunch and mom was just ready for a nap! We stuck around a little longer at the doctor's office to nurse and calm down Shane. Thankfully Shane zonked out in the car and slept through lunch which meant Brendan and I were able to have a nice lunch where I could focus on him alone - I think he was ready for some one-on-one mom time.This afternoon Shane was playing on the floor with his floor mat. We've had little success with Shane keeping himself entertained on it so today I folded a towel in thirds and made a small pillow for him - he liked that! He also liked the monkey hanging from the tree and he held quite a conversation with him.

Then the monkey must have said something to tick him off because playmat time was quickly over! Bad monkey!

Joining the "cool" crowd!

Well ... I am finally joining the cool crowd and creating another realm to brag about my two boys! Honestly, I can't believe that it has taken me this long to jump on board ... but you know ... life happens right? However, after searching my computer for pictures to put on this page I quickly discovered that I need to spend more productive time while being at the computer - I have not uploaded pictures in a LONG time! I feel like the camera commercial where the people from the pictures are worried about being deleted. I hate to admit I almost miss the old film cameras where you could have a picture in hand after having the film developed ... but perhaps that's showing my age?

To bring everyone up to speed:

Brendan was born over 10 years ago last month ... and it feels like only yesterday that I learned that I was pregnant with him! I had been dreaming of having another child from the moment he was born but had conceded that he would be an only child. So imagine my surprise when I found out I was pregnant in April 2008! Shocked would be an understatement ... but it was quickly changed to joy for mom and dad ... big brother took a little longer to get on board but not much. Brendan was with me the day we had our first ultrasound to determine how far along I was. The smile on his face when he heard the heartbeat was priceless.

Shane Anthony Alberico was born December 16, 2008 at 6:46 p.m. weighing 8 lbs 6.4 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Shane was greeted not only by mom and dad upon his arrival but by big brother as well. To say that Brendan took to being a big brother instantly would have been an understatement.

Big brother was the first to get to hold him!

The past 8 weeks almost seem like a blur. I absolutely cannot believe that I have not only a healthy 10 year old son ... but also a healthy 8 week old one as well. I wonder often what it was that I did to deserve just a blessing and thank God nightly for giving me this gift. I often joke that you should be very careful what you pray for - I prayed for 5 years that God would give me another child by the time I was 30 and then let up on the prayer as life seemed to be taking me down a different path. God really does have a sense of humor - he let me be pregnant before I was 30 even if I'd forgotten about those prayers from before.

Shane - 12/22/08 - 6 days old