Mmmm...

White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino

One of a kind and forward looking, you're the first to introduce a wacky new trend to your friends. And even if your ideas seem weird, they get adopted pretty quickly.

What Flavor Frappuccino Are You?

First Anniversary

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary on November 26th. Here is a list of the events of the past year, in no particular order:

• 9 months of sickness (AKA pregnancy)
• Found out at 20 weeks that our gorgeous baby boy had bilateral club feet.
• I moved from MN to WA permanently, big road trip across North Dakota, Montana, to transport my car etc.
• We moved from G's apartment to a rental house. Various weekends spent looking for houses and lots of time spent packing/unpacking.
• Purchasing new furniture/electronics for the house.
• I traveled twice to Minnesota to visit my parents
• G went to China twice (work related)
• Trip to Cancun, Mexico (last vacation before baby)
• G went to California for work twice, I joined him once and we visited my best friend in San Jose and his cousin's family.
• Lots of dinner parties & outings with various friends.
• I worked from home (on a contract).
• A trip to Vancouver with friends (G's work related)
• Weekend road trips to Cascades, Leavenworth, Lake Chelan, etc.
• Baby shower weekend, two of my close friends and brother visited.
• Baby Om arrived. My Mom visited for 2 weeks and then G's Mom came to stay for a while.

G took the day off Wednesday to hang out at home. In the morning I gave G his anniversary gift. Later, we had dinner at an Italian place in Snoqualmie, WA and then we went to Roaring River Bed & Breakfast in North Bend, WA. It was nice to get away from baby duties, especially since G's Mom is here to take care of Om so we did not have to place him with a babysitter. Nevertheless, I missed Om. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

I've been seeing them all over Facebook and the internet...reasons to be thankful. Made me start thinking as well. It's time to make another wonderful fantastic list! I am thankful for: (in no particular order)

• My parents and brother, who have supported me, give me freedom to be myself (this is the most important...I can't stress how crucial it is to be yourself at all costs!), and lots of laughter, even if we don't agree most of the time.
• My friends, who give me courage to stay strong, vent my feelings, and express myself.
• My husband, for his love, affection, support, and patience.
• My baby, because not everyone can have children and not everyone has the joy that comes with seeing your baby change and grow.
• For acquaintances, for quietly helping me enrich my life and give me moral support at random times in life.
• Ex - friends / boyfriends, for teaching me lessons and letting me make mistakes to help me get a better understanding of myself and what is important in life.
• The health of my loved ones, my pets, and myself.
• Always having something to eat, that tastes GOOD, place to sleep, bed to sleep, blankets, and enought money to pay most of my bills.
• Laptop, cell phone, internet, TV, electricity, heat, good soap/toiletries, car, clothes (you get the idea)
• My education
• BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS...libraries.
• privilege to vote, apply for any job.
• SLEEP.

The End. :-)

P.S...in the above picture, isn't a little creepy that Snoopy is serving turkey (a bird) while his friend Woodstock, who is ALSO a bird, hovers above him? WEIRD.

Magic Shoes

"Momma said they was my magic shoes, they'd take me anywhere"

--Forrest Gump

Reglan Sucks

Reglan, or the generic version metoclopramide, is sometimes used in nursing mothers to increase the prolactin levels and thereby increase the milk supply.

I hate this medication. Don't get me wrong, it really works...compared to all the herbal products I've tried, this is the one item that will show results in as little as a 1 day. However, while it may help increase milk production, but it may do so while increasing the incidence of anxiety, depression, headaches, stomach cramps, diarrhea and sleepiness in the mother.

A depressed mother who is continously going to the bathroom and is so drowsy she falls asleep while doing normal chores (driving, feeding baby) is not a healthy thing for the baby (or for other family members), no matter how much milk he is getting out of the situation.

It took me about a month to find the pattern. When I took Reglan, I was so unhappy. At first I blamed it on general post partum blues, but then I found that when I was off of the medication I was in a better mood overall and didn't fret needlessly over Om. And when I say fret, I really mean FRET...I would imagine all sort of wild scenarious of what could possibly happen to my baby. Om falling off the bed, suffocating, getting burned, tumbling down the stairs with me, getting overheated, too cold, getting smushed, drowning, you name it. And I know these worries are normal, especially with new inexperienced Moms, but I was REALLY worried, more so than was normal. Constantly dreaming of these situations is not healthy. And then Reglan made me more emotional & tired overall so the crankiness factor also played in.

Anyway I'm tempted to take it again once in a while to get the milk going, but I am warning Moms who decide to take this medication. There is another medication called domperidone that is not approved by the FDA but widely used in Canada, but I have no experience with it.

Another breast feeding post

I am not going to get into it too much, because 1) It's depressing; and 2) I feel so guilty.

But, I have learned a great deal in the past three months about breast feeding. How come no one ever told me it would be so difficult? I've sort of comes to terms with it now though...at least my baby got SOME b-milk the first 3 months of his life. And he will continue to get a little bit more each day until Mom can't take it anymore.

There are so many foods and herbs to eat, so many ways of pumping and latching, such specific "techniques" to encourage milk flow and have the baby suck properly.

I took it for granted that it would just work. My baby would come out of my womb and magically grab onto the breast and suck like there was no tomorrow. Little did we know!

I can't even blame my Mom or Mom in Law. They had no advice because in their time everything worked so smoothly. They had no idea of the concept of pumping, or Le Leche Leagues, or that a baby can have a weak sucking reflex and the Mom can have inverted nipples.

Okay, anyway. In the next post I'm going to get into the horrible medicine called Reglan.

One Good Thing

Is there ANY positive aspect to your baby having a bar lodged between his stiff leathery shoes 23/7?

The diaper changes. It is SO much easier to hold both feet together when we wipe his little tush. Just grab the bar and lift!