Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Update on the Trivial Things--Wednesday, June 22

Two months ago I was only concerned about diapers, breastfeeding, and our physical well being.  Now of course, those things are fairly mundane issues of no interest, despite still being critical to newborn care.  Time for a quick upate:
Nursing/Pumping:
Jesse randomly asked me a few days ago if it still hurt when Jackson latched.  Due to thrush, I had stinging pain up until a few weeks ago.  Now there is nothing eventful about breastfeeding.  Jackson eats and I feed him. 

I make a batch of lactation cookies every week and a half.  (Between toffee and chocolate chips, I definitely prefer chocolate chip.)  I pump daily and also keep two 4-oz bottles of milk in the fridge at any given time.  We gave Jackson a bottle of frozen milk a few nights ago just to make sure there were no issues with the bags leaking or Jackson refusing to drink it.  I took inventory on my frozen stash this afternoon.  To date, I have frozen 155 ounces (31 bags) of milk.

Diapers:
Jackson obtained a nasty rash/allergic reaction when we switched to the BumGenius diapers.  We put the diapers through an extra rinse cycle after each wash to eliminate any lingering detergent, along with an occasional vinegar rinse.  We also used 0.5% hydrocotisone cream.  His diaper area looks SO much better. 

Now that Jackson is sleeping longer stretches we just throw a doubler in his diaper.  Eliminating middle of the night diaper changes means we only have to wash every three days.  The only problem is that our diaper pail cannot fit three days worth of dirty diapers (but the pail liner can).  Jesse found a cheap trashcan at Ikea that can easily hold up to 24 dirty diapers.  It's nice not having to wash diapers every other day, especially since we are using more water with extra rinse cycles.


Eczema/Cradle Cap:
Jackson's skin feels much better, but no where close to the baby soft skin that it should.  We cut baths down to twice a week, use eczema cream, and apply lotion daily.  Thanks to Cradle Cap Lotion, his head looks significantly better.  The downside is that my poor baby is losing all of his hair.  His hair falls out every time we brush it, give him a bath, or simply hold his head. 


Unlike his parents, Jackson isn't grieving his hair loss.  On the contrary, he is quite the happy baby.  He's easily amused and has just recently begun giggling.  Jesse was even able to get Jackson's sweet smiles and giggles on video this morning, which I promptly posted to Facebook.  The kid gets so excited when we talk or sing directly in front of him. 

30 Day Challenge
I'll do a real update next week after the 30 days have expired.  Obviously I failed my self-imposed challenge, but I am okay with it.  Within a week of me working out and eating less, my milk supply had decreased.  I've been working out a few times a week, but not daily.  I took a ridiculously intense Zumba class yesterday where the instructor literally kept us moving the entire hour.  In between songs we did 150 push ups, ab exercises, mountain climbers, etc.  I felt like I was going to pass out.  I want to get in better shape, but I am not mentally devoted to the commitment and discipline that it takes.  At least not yet. 


I think that's all there is to update...

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