Finally made it to Bellyfit. It was wonderful and I now have muscles aching that I didn't even know I had. I imagine that will subside after a few classes. I can't wait to go back!

The only thing I didn't like about the class (and this is totally ridiculous, I know) was that I was the chubbiest girl in the room. In my Mom and Baby Yoga class, everyone has a little baby chub on them, but in this class everyone was smaller than me.

I guess I just need to look on the positive side and use that fact as more motivation to get myself back in shape!

Must sleep now. I think I'll sleep better tonight than I have in weeks, provided LB's teeth aren't giving him too much trouble!

So, we're dropping a night feeding! Yay! Unfortunately, LB had major gas last night and we ended up being up half the night anyway because of that, but I'm sure we'll get some more sleep soon!

LB gained 12 ounces this week! Double what the nurses wanted to see, and making his two week growth over a pound! At his age, one pound a month is considered 'average', so it looks like he's catching up! He's moved up from the 3rd percentile to between the 5th and 10th, so definitely on the right track!

I am LOVING my new pump! I actually look forward to pumping now, rather than dreading it.

Anyway, lots to do and I'd still like to squeeze in a nap this afternoon, so I better jet! Take care all!

I am so wrecked right now. I'm really quite surprised by how tired I am, actually. It's only two feedings a night, but for some reason it feels worse than when he was newborn and waking up four or five times. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, but Friday is so far completely unscheduled so I think LB and I will be spending as much of the day in bed as he will allow, so that I can catch up a little. Tomorrow is weigh-in day, and if his gain is good enough I might be able to drop one of the night feedings. So cross your fingers for us!

I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to make it to Bellyfit because I keep unintentionally sabotaging myself! R called today to ask if I had any plans for tomorrow night, and I couldn't think of anything, so he accepted an invitation to dinner with friends for 6pm. So... maybe next week! I think I need to put up a schedule in my kitchen of all the things that I plan to do each week so things don't keep falling by the wayside!

Is anyone else seriously freaked out by what's happening in the stock markets worldwide right now? I don't even have any investments (Bad Chili! Bad!), and the whole thing is making me nervous. The plummeting price of oil is nice. We filled both vehicles yesterday for only $136 compared to the $165 we were spending over the summer. I can't help but wonder how much worse this is going to get...

The good news: LB gained six ounces from last Thursday to yesterday, which is exactly what the nurses wanted to see! We're continuing to feed every two hours during the day and four hours at night, supplementing with pumped milk after most feedings (my Medela Pump-In-Style Advanced is arriving tomorrow!!!). I'm absolutely exhausted from all the feeding and pumping and the loss of my 8 hour stretches of sleep at night, but it's worth it if we can pack some more pounds on this little guy! Current plan is to continue this feeding schedule and weigh in once a week to make sure he continues to gain. Cross your fingers for us!

I fully intended to make it out of the house for a little bit last night to go to the Bellyfit class I want to take, but then I had a blonde moment and invited the in-laws for dinner (home made chicken soup!) and couldn't go. Will have to try again next Thursday...

Definitely time for a nap. Momma needs some shut eye!

Wordless Wednesday - Finally a Big Sister

Find more Wordless Wednesday posts here.

Well, it really seems that I can't catch a freakin' break. *sigh*

So, after my last post, everything went even more sideways. I woke up Friday morning to what I can only describe as a catastrophic decrease in milk supply. Utterly confused and frustrated, the boy and I fumbled through the weekend feeding and sleeping, feeding and sleeping, and me doing everything I could to boost my supply, including starting Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle in combination, and continuing my rigorous pumping schedule (man do I feel like a dairy cow!).

Monday morning, the reason for the decrease became glaringly obvious when I awoke with brutal menstrual cramps. Then a few hours later, cue one of the worst migraines I've had in ages. The good news is that my supply has rebounded quickly (it's too early for the herbs to be making much of a difference, so I don't think that they are the reason) now that I've actually started my period.

So, this morning we trotted off to the Health Unit (after a wonderfully relaxing Mom and Baby Yoga class) for a weigh in, but I knew it wasn't going to be the improvement I was hoping for given the weekend's issues.

LB gained 2 ounces in 5 days, which while low is still a heck of a lot better than a loss and not too too far off the mark considering how challenged my supply was this weekend (stupid hormones!).

So, the nurse took my feeding/peeing/pooping diary, and she's going to fax that off to my doctor along with their notes from my last two visits so that I won't have to go over it all again on Friday at LB's four month checkup. Hopefully, he will have started to gain better by Friday. If not, hopefully this doctor will listen to me and start looking for other reasons other than low supply.

In other news, I think LB might have a bit of a stomach bug, because over the weekend his poops turned from the lovely yellowish orange they usually are to this brown and green toxic sludge. I asked the nurse this morning if that might be due to my low supply over the weekend, and she felt it was more likely an intestinal bug. Hopefully that will clear up quickly as well!!!

I just really really want this all to be resolved. I'm so nervous all the time that there is something seriously wrong with LB. He's technically in the 'failure to thrive' category now, having dropped below the third percentile for weight and length.

Another poster on another blog (sorry that I can't remember who - I have a lot of blogs in my reader! - let me know if it was you or if you know who it was) asked recently if moms who have gone through IF worry more about their children than fertile moms, and having been on both sides I can say that we certainly do! I mean, I worried about M too, but it wasn't this same gut wrenching terror I feel every time something is not going well with LB. Everything feels much more precarious with him, for some reason.

Okay, he's going to be waking up for another feed soon, so I better end this here. Thanks for 'listening'!

I'm am so flustered right now that I doubt that half of this post is going to make any sense, but I need to vent so here it is anyway!

I mentioned before that I had some milk supply issues, but they are under control. It had been a bit of a problem off and on, but for the last month and a half things have been a lot better. I've been doing all of the 'tricks' to ensure a good supply, including pumping between feeds, drinking (horrible tasting) milk boosting teas, 'super-switch' nursing, etc. all to make sure that my supply stays good. And it's worked very well.

The bad news is that LB isn't gaining well. And not only isn't he gaining well, but after a few weeks of 1-2 ounce gains, this week he lost 4 ounces. He's dropped from the 31st percentile for weight at birth to the 25th percentile at 2 1/2 months to the 5th percentile today. That's a huge drop!

So off to the doc we went. Not my regular doc, as she is on maternity leave, but another (apparently VERY old school) doctor in her clinic. Who despite my insistence that he is eating plenty and peeing and pooping like a champion, said that it sounds like a supply issue and that I should start him on rice cereal (!) and come back for another consult in two weeks. Now, I know there are a lot of people who start rice cereal early, but I am one of those people that goes with the recommendation of WHO, and the AAP, and Health Canada when they say solids should be delayed to at least six months. One of the nurses suggested another doc (a certified lactation consultant) for me to see, who happened to be working a walk-in clinic, so they called ahead and I rushed on over.

Only by the time I got there, the doc they had sent me to see had to leave, so I ended up seeing someone else. Who then told me that even though I *think* I have a good supply, I'm probably wrong (!), and I should supplement with formula and come back in a few days and see if that's helped.

So, then I headed off to the Health Unit, where I had a great little chat with a public health nurse who agreed with me that I seem to have a perfectly adequate supply and there is probably something else going on. She gave me a log to fill out - feeds, wet diapers, dirty diapers, behaviour - so that if he continues to lose/not gain I can take that to the doctor as 'proof' (based on his output) that his intake is in fact sufficient.

Both of the doctors did give him a fairly thorough physical checkup, and didn't find anything out of the ordinary, so that is good news but still not terribly reassuring.

I'm really really hoping that this is just a little hiccough in his growth, and that everything will sort out soon. He doesn't 'seem' ill at all. He's happy and active and just an all around wonderful little guy. But I'm scared. This whole thing just doesn't seem right, and I'm not sure what to do next. I'm of course going to fill out the feeding/peeing/pooping log, and go back to the Health Unit on Tuesday for a follow-up. I just don't know if there is something more I should do in the mean time.

To end this post on a happier note, here's my happy little guy!

P.S. to lisalou - I think we were at baby group together this morning. I didn't want to say anything, just in case it wasn't you, but I'm sure it was as Ruby is pretty unmistakable! She's even more of a darling in real life!