Operation Golden Slumbers, parts 3 and 4

Last night we had swimming lessons. They end at 7, which is already our getting-geared-up-for-bed time, so I was totally spacing it when we got home and gave Isaac his bath before his bedtime boobie. Dad tried to jostle him awake a bit before we put him in his crib for the night so Isaac would know what was going on, but he still woke up at 12:45 and then again at 4 to eat. I suppose that's not too bad -- the first stint was nearly 5 hours down for him. Quite respectable. And both times, I successfully nursed him in the glider next to his crib and then put each of us back in our respective beds. This is a big feat for me because a) he is so cuddly that I sort of miss sleeping with him (though Dad is warm over much more surface area, an important quality on these chillier nights); b) I managed to not fall asleep while nursing, which is very very difficult -- I think there are actually sleepy hormones that course through your body as you nurse your baby; and c) I didn't break my ankle or my baby on my way to and from the crib, a real feat considering that I was basically sleepwalking.

Tonight I resumed the new routine with boobie then bath. After donning his jammies, I turned off the lights in Isaac's room and we rocked in the glider for a bit. He fought me and wiggled like a little baby-worm. We stood up and swayed back and forth. He wriggled some more and squealed with glee. I put him down in his crib and wished him a good night and assumed my position outside his door. He proceeded to scream like he was being chased by an axe murderer. I went in and patted him, reassured him that everything was okay, but obviously my baby-ese was not so fluent because he kept bawling. I picked him up and he stopped, so I put him down and went back outside. Repeat this process three times, for a total of 20 minutes, before I finally figured -- maybe he actually needs a boobie? Maybe he didn't get enough milk before? So I gave him one, and he was insanely happy and drank deeply before falling asleep.

So this brings me to a new worry -- that his mom-cow is drying up. This may be a little TMI, but dear readers, after all my poop stories, surely you also yearn for breastmilk stories. Anywho, not so long ago I used to be able to pump almost 14 oz, in two pumping sessions, for Buddy while I was at work. Last week in my mad rush to accomplish something at work, I pumped only once a day. At first this was fine, and I was able to glean at least 10 oz in this single session. Today I could only get 8 oz from two sessions. He easily eats 8 oz each day at daycare, leaving really nothing for us to make our evening cereal meal here at home. I don't quite know what to do, except try to ramp up the pumping schedule as soon as possible -- I really don't want to have to start supplementing with formula. Have you ever actually stood in a store and looked at the enormous numbers of different kinds of formula? How do you ever pick one? To make it worse, I have heard awful stories about formula recalls where they, oh, forget to put a nutrient in that's, like, essential for your baby's growth. No THANK you. So please send all your milk-producing vibes my way, like now.