It has been a crazy life I have been living for the past 4 months since Calysta came into my life. Well, crazy life in a meaningful & rewarding way!!
I have been so busy & tired that I haven't had a chance to write on my blog (p/s: I'm writing this while Calysta sleeping on my achy arm)
Calysta:
She's almost 4 months old and she's still a tiny little one! She was 3.2 kg, 49cm at birth. At 1 month old, she was 4.1 kg & 55cm. At 2 months old, she was 4.9 kg & 58cm and at 3 months old she was only 5.6 kg & 61cm. She gained 900grams, 800 grams & 700grams respectively.
It seems like she's gaining lesser as she grows older & to be honest, I'm concerned! Because she's a fully direct latch breastfed baby and there's no way I know how many ml she's drinking per feeding session. Could it be my milk quality or could it be my milk supply?
As much as I'm concerned about her weight gain, she's otherwise growing well in terms of hitting her milestones. At 3 months old, she was already able to flip over (where other heavier babies at the same age weren't able to do so). She smiles a lot, she's super interactive and has good neck control. Her PD wasn't worried because she hit her milestones fast despite being light & small! She's in her 40-50% percentile which is fine!
Breastfeeding her peacefully is still a big struggle to me. Other blamed it fast flow or could be reflux possibility but the truth is I don't know what's wrong! Milk is dripping from what I see but every latching session is a big battle to us, she cries, turns her head to opposite direction other than nipples, would rather suck on my arms. Many times, I have to rock, bounce, dance, walk around the house while breastfeeding her and oh with the 50-50 chance for her being latched on peacefully despite my effort walking & dancing around like a mad woman! (Latching in dark room didn't work either).It's a big struggle I don't enjoy however it's a process I'm still holding strongly into. Breastfeeding is such a funny yet unique experience. Feeling like giving up yet pressing on and on!! Sometimes I do feel jealous seeing mommies who can sit down & breastfeed her babies peacefully. I really hope it's just a phase that soon we will pass through it!
Other than breastfeeding struggle, Calysta is pretty nice to be taken care of.
There were times when Calysta was very clingy, only wanted me to carry for so many hours, put her down and she cried, my legs & arms were achy as I kept walking nonstop.. But funnily although physically I felt tired but mentally I felt okay, tired but not frustrated, maybe because I'm a second time mum? I know baby being clingy & cranky is nothing compared to baby being sick..
Somehow I just feel grateful given such situation. Very different with my #1, when he was clingy & cranky, I felt tired, frustrated & wanted to complain non stop hehe.. That's the thing about being 2nd time mum, I am more easy going and calm
A lot more to go in my motherhood journey. Baby being clingy and cranky is just one very small part. There will phase like teething, baby falling sick thus making me can't sleep & eat well, countless trips to PD when they are unwell, baby falls down during crawling, standing up & walking phase. Also a phase when feeding porridge is like a battle field. Then here comes tantrum. Really a lot more to go!
Just think about this when I feel frustrated and I feel so much better. In my almost 2 years of motherhood journey, so experience told me it's when baby is sick, motherhood is real tested! So when they are healthy, whatever it's is I'm grateful
Being grateful will make us complain less thus less frustrated, right?
To me, as long as baby is healthy, whatever situation I'm facing, I'm fine, always remember what's worst than this? There's always worst than worst than worst.. That will make us feel more grateful :)
My little baby doll
EJ:
My no longer baby boy is now 23 months old & it's just one more month to his 2nd birthday!
He's a wonderful cute little toddler except his tantrums. He's pretty talkative now although no proper sentences came out of his mouth yet but conversationally, he does improve a lot. He can speak about 100 words now and combine 2 or 3 words together when he's trying to express his feelings
"Buy buy buy car.." (When he requests you to buy for him)
"Find find find car.."
"Stop plane.." (When he sees an airplane passing by)
"Big big fish" "baby fish"
"Baby sit sit.." (Asking his baby sister to sit down)
And quite many more & we are trying so hard to understand him as many words are not very clear yet and he gets frustrated when his message is not conveyed well.
Will update more about his simple 2nd birthday soon!
EJ is obsessed with cars & more cars
Siblings love
Loving his sister and a gentle touch on Calysta's hair
Too excited for his Aquarium trip
Me:
I'm stuck with 7 extra kg baby weight! Please teach me how to lose it fast without affecting breastfeeding!
First time in my life I have been eating extremely well. I guess I'm too obsessed in fattening up Calysta & milk boosters have been my new obsession. Just say 1 milk booster, reckon what? I have tried it!
Despite boosting here & there (supposedly good diets) I still fell sick!! (there was time I ate too much lactation cookies & I fell sick with fever & cough, yuck!)
Maybe to share a bit with you my breastfeeding daily diet plan: (hope it's useful for breastfeeding mommy although my baby girl doesn't gain much despite all these booster foods but I still continue eating it anyway)
Morning:
9am: breakfast ~ a bowl of oatmeal cooked with fresh milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of flaxseed & 1 tablespoon of chia seed and sweetened with half tablespoon of honey (1 egg is added sometimes) accompanied with 2-3 glasses of plain water
10am: 1 cup of lactation tea
1pm: healthy lunch with rice (rice is mixed with 1 tablespoon of virgin coconut oil, meat & vegetables and soup. Not forgetting an apple!
4pm: snacking time: brown rice tea with oatmeal bread or any warm dessert like red bean soup, a piece of cake or a cup of warm cereal, avocado milkshake, etc
6pm: healthy dinner (pretty much the same as my lunch, rice is still mixed with 1 tablespoon of virgin coconut oil) but for dinner, I have 2 slices of salmon fish
Virgin coconut oil & brown rice tea are believed to thicken milk and oatmeal & other foods mentioned are believed to boost milk production. Barley water does support lactation too!
Being a mum with 2 kids below 2 years old is super challenging. Lots of dirty diapers. Lots of crying. Lots of screaming. One cries, the other one follows. EJ & Calysta is only 19 months apart, as challenging as it can be to handle both but I do believe they will grow up together & be best friends and always there for one another!
It's really a long post & one quote I like: "motherhood is swimming and learn to swim at the same time"
Nursing in public
~mommy of 2 little sweetie~
Netty
Dear, Netty! I agree with you. As long as our children are healthy, there is nothing which is worth complaining about. Crying, diapers changing, being cranky are just temporary challenges which we can overcome. :)
ReplyDeleteYour kids are adorable and you look very happy despite the challenges of being a mother of two. Calysta is such a cutie and she looks very healthy and strong although breastfeeding is difficult. I also have difficulties breastfeeding my second son, no idea why but sometimes I would nurse him and he would be very calm and quiet and then, there are also those times, when he would turn his head in the opposite direction and would refuse to be fed. In such cases I would pump my breast milk and give it to him in a bottle or I would prepare a formula milk. He loves this one https://myorganicformula.com/collections/holle-organic-formula and usually, when he refuses to be breastfed he would drink a bit from the formula, even if not the whole bottle. I noticed, however, that with each week breastfeeding becomes easier, so my advice would be to keep on trying. Maybe you both need time to find the best way to do it.