Nursing Strike

Just checking in ; )

I'm sad.  My baby is on strike.  A nursing strike to be exact.  He hasn't nursed since Monday morning around 9am.  Two and a half days now!  I was in horrible pain yesterday, but today is better.  It's hard to walk this fine line of pumping (yuck!), but not pumping too much..since at ANY moment, he might decide he's hungry!  But, so far?  Not happening.  I've never had a baby do this before.  I think he's weaned.

I bought formula (I'm feel like such a cow for saying how it stunk..it feels like fate!), juice, yogurt/juices, a couple more sippy cups, and he's taken all my milk.  I might get one more good pumping, but I think that's it.  Pray for me as I come off this crazy oxytocin hormone high.  And start to gain weight!

(Yes, it could've been the different body wash I switched to, the bite *and yelp* from me at the last feeding, the antibiotics I'm on..the list is nearly endless.  I've reshowered, pulled old nursing pads from the trash, been incredibly encouraging..but to no avail.) (It reminds me of miscarriage.  You rethink the last eighty things you've done to find a reason-and sometimes?  ..there just isn't one.)

Ches had a spot on his arm removed last Monday, and it was cancer.  This Monday he had a large section of arm (down to bone, through muscle) removed, and it had to be cut from a blood vessel.  He has a large 2.5-3 inch section of crude stitches.  He's not in as much pain as he was..but it's not good.  He didn't have the best experience, no pain medicine, so he's looking for a new dermatologist.  Like, for this week!  He's had lots of spots frozen or under watch for years, but this is a new category.  You can keep his pain level and healing in your prayers. : )

Mary Claire has now grown 3.5 inches in the last 6 months!  She's within 3.5 inches from me!  (not saying that much ; )  Her a1c was the same as last time, so even with all the puberty-spiked blood sugars, we are hanging in there.  We've nearly doubled the ratios and basal from what they were even two years ago!  We just kept seeing high blood sugars, so I kept raising her basal.  Now we are fine-tuning her bolus ratios for meals, and I'm working on finding the breaking point from breakfast (1 unit: 13 grams food) to lunch (1 unit: 23 grams food).  I have a middle-ground ratio..but it's not perfect.  I think when she sleeps in on the weekend, we get messed up! ; )

She's so sweet and just goes with the flow.  I'm so thankful she takes it in stride.  She is still convinced there are kids who don't know she has diabetes, doesn't want to talk too much about it with strangers, and has begun to hide her pump/pump pouch under her tank top, inside her jeans, with a shirt not tucked in over the top.  Never shall it see the light of day!  Makes me sad for her.  She is special for a reason, and it's brought some of the best friends.  I can be thankful even in the suckage.

Carter is standing alone (ahhhh!), and still has six teeth.  Those last bottom two are taking their sweet time.  He is starting to stick his tongue out repeatedly, kinda like a frog!  Super cute.

Ethan is minus his two front teeth, and it's my favorite sweet look for him.  He's precious.  He got some candy at church tonight, and he was making up games for us to play to win the candy.  I had to not talk, but make him laugh.  I won a Reese's pb egg..YUM!!

Clay had an awesome trip Saturday to the nuclear power plant in Conway, and then got to meet with the forestry commission (and brought home 14 trees to plant!).  Afterwards, he begged to go to the lock-in at church.  He had the longest day ever-but had a blast!  I'm super thankful that he has some great church and boy scout friends and some kids to look up to also.  They are some really good kids, for reals.

We are waiting on a big ice storm tonight.  It's the first time we've waited it out at home.  We usually head for Dallas or Houston (or Birmingham).  The problem is the ice is heavy, and it snaps trees and busts our power lines and/or poles.  We lose power!  It is much more difficult to travel with four, and Carter is not a fan of the car seat.  

We will just weather the storm here, since the ice should only last a day.  Ches has reserved a room at a local Residence Inn for tomorrow night (we can cancel till 4pm!), just in case we lose power.  He looked at generators this morning..but we'd have to store it, keep the gas, buy more extension cords, then move it..just not the best option for our family.  We love the idea, but it's not our best plan.

We have a gas fireplace, and it really heats up one room.  It's just hard at meal time and with a baby!  We'll see how it goes.  We just lucked out that last year we got away without a big power outage. ; )

Our home is still under contract, but we are planning to list it.  We have used this time to pray for some guidance, and we feel like we should definitely move (even if this contract comes to a close).  The new house would just be down the street, but it would fit our family life a little better.  We will lose money, but building prices are lower, so we'll be okay.  This has become a cleaning week, a packing-up-extra-stuff-week (I got a storage unit, so we are *motivated*, and I love the storage manager lady!  I've already given her a bunch of stuff she's taking to the Women's Shelter, and she has a unit she lets us put big trash and old furniture in..bonus!) (and I have a friend who has boxes from her move to share!), a snow-family week, and a planning-for-our-future-week.

So..you who've been to my house.  What do I need to change?  The hot pink breakfast room?  The lime green dining room and bedroom?  The deck furniture?  Can we be honest with one another?  That would just be supremely helpful.  Honesty just doesn't get a fair shake these days! ; )


Hope you have an honest friend or two.  And one to hug as your hormones crash. ; ) Hugs from hog country!