Triple Whammy!

Today I took Marlo to her 9 month check up and we got hit with disappointing news.  For starters, I knew Marlo wasn't feeling great since she was extra fussy on Sunday during our flight home from vacation and she barely slept Sunday night.  She was up at all hours with a bad cough and a runny nose.  She was so stuffed up she couldn't even nurse.  I knew we had the appointment today so I held off on taking her in to the doctor yesterday.

 Turns out my girl has an awful ear infection (her first) and has RSV.  Poor thing has to be put on this breathing machine four times a day.  I just know she was miserable on our flight and feel so bad that I didn't see this coming.  Liam got sick for a couple of days over vacation and she must have caught something from him - it seems impossible to keep his germs away from her.

On top of this, Marlo is going to be seeing a pediatric physical therapist for gross motor delay.  She is still not rolling over and this concerns her doctor.  Her doctor isn't worried that she isn't crawling, but says most babies can at least roll over at this point. Additionally, I mentioned that Marlo uses her left hand 9 out of 10 times.  If a toy is placed on her right side she will reach over her body with her left hand to get the toy.  The doctor said that she is either a lefty or is just favoring the left hand for now.  I know everything will be fine with Marlo.  I'm sure the P.T. will teach me some things I can work on with her that will get her rolling all over the place.  But it is never easy to hear your  child is delayed. 

I also know that Marlo is just a very easy going and content baby.  I remember Liam would get really frustrated when he couldn't reach a toy and he learned to crawl at 6 months and hasn't stopped moving since then.  But Marlo is very different.  If she can't reach a toy she'll just move on to something else - clap her hands or look around for Liam and laugh at him.  But, of course, I am over thinking everything and wondering if I dropped the ball at some point.  I mean, Marlo is such an easy baby.  And it's been pretty awesome that she hasn't been on the move - makes my job a LOT easier.  Either way, better to be safe than sorry.  We see the P.T. on Monday and I'll report back with more news.

Here are a couple of pics from the doctor's office.

Marlo practicing "So Big."

Marlo going to town on the sanitary paper table cover.

Okay, not taken at the doctor's office, but I had to show off these ADORABLE leg warmers!!!

I'm hoping to post pictures from our vacation by the end of this week and give a little summary of our adventures!!!  Happy Halloween's Eve!

Holy Cow...vomistop works!!

Earlier this week I posted about using Vomistop to increase my milk supply since Marlo was leaving some nasty battle wounds on me from not getting enough of the good stuff.  I was a bit skeptical of vomistop because the lactation consultant said I would notice an increase in my milk production within 24-48 hours.  This seemed a bit soon from a drug with such a ridiculous name.  But, wow, there is a huge difference.  I'm not engorged or anything, but I can tell Marlo is so much more satisfied when she feeds.  Also the first night I took it, I was able to pump about 7ounces at 10 pm.  Usually at this time there is nothing left in me to pump since it's the end of the day and my supply should be at it's daily low. 

And the lacerations are almost completely healed.  It doesn't hurt to nurse anymore. Vomistop rocks!   I'm so glad I motivated to see the LC since we are leaving on Saturday for our week long vacation!  Having sore nipples is no way to start a family vacay!

I'll blog when I get back and post tons of pictures from our trip!  Leaving you with a cute video of my princess...

Vomistop?? Why not?

On Saturday we leave for our week long family vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  We'll be staying in Rodanthe.  This vacation couldn't have come at a better time.  Joe has been sick for two weeks and my stress levels have hit the roof!  Obviously, I handle most of our life on the home-front, but Joe does help out a bit.  Since he's been sick, he's been of no help to me or the kids.  He's even been sleeping in the guest room so that he doesn't get Marlo or me sick.  I think the biggest help from Joe is when Liam wakes up during the night he will settle him back to sleep.  But with Joe being sick, this is one of my added duties.  For the past two weeks I've been waking up 4-5 times a night between both kids.  I am beyond exhausted.  It is the same kind of exhaustion that occurred right after my kids were born and I was breastfeeding around the clock.

(Spoiler alert...if you are squeamish or completely disgusted by breastfeeding talk - stop reading!)

A few days ago I realized that it hurt when I nursed Marlo.  After exclusively nursing for almost 9 months and this being my second go at it, I feel like I'm a professional breastfeeder.  I know what to do with thrush, mastitis, clogged ducts, bad latching, and the list goes on.  But I had two lacerations at the base of my nipples that were unlike anything I had ever seen before.  So, I decided to speak with a lactation consultant at Milkaclicious, a breastfeeding boutique in Aliso Viejo, to figure out what the nipple issue was.  The LC and owner of the boutique, Jennifer, was awesome.  She examined the ladies, watched Marlo nurse and discussed our feeding routines in depth.  We both noticed that Marlo pulled off really hard after the feeding  was complete; thus, she was creating the lacerations by pulling hard at the skin.  Jennifer said that babies do this when they are trying to eek out more milk.  Jennifer asked if I've been under stress lately and tired.  I jumped at that question and realized that the nursing issues started soon after Joe got sick and I became overly stressed and exhausted at home. 

Jennifer suggested that we increase my milk supply since stress was most likely taking a toll on me.  She gave me Vomistop, generic for Domperidome, an anti-nausea over-the-counter drug.  Well, it's over the counter in every other country, but the United States,  which Jennifer says is all about money and politics.  ERRRR...so she gave me a two week supply and I will be purchasing the rest from some online pharmacy in Canada.  She said unlike Fenugreek (a commonly used herbal remedy to increase milk supply), Vomistop does not enter the blood stream at all.  She used it herself for three years and said that I should notice an increase in my supply within 24-48 hours - awesome!

So, here's to hoping the Vomistop will do the trick and keep Marlo from her fierce pull-offs.  Sigh.  I've got to admit that I can't wait to be done breast feeding.  I remember feeling this way with Liam.  And then when I weened Liam and was pregnant with Marlo, I missed nursing and couldn't wait to start again.  I suppose it's a healthy cycle.  But man, the breast feeding exclusively road is a LONG, LONG road. 


Any other moms ever try Vomistop or Domperidone to increase milk supply? Please let me know how it went!

The Pumpkin Patch is always fun!

On Saturday I took the kids to Pumpkin City Pumpkin Patch for some fall fun.  Nothing puts me more in the mood for fall and the winter holidays than going to the pumpkin patch.  Joe has had a terrible flu for the past week so he's been down for the count.  According to his doctor, he is still contagious and just needs to rest.  So the pumpkin patch was a great activity for us and it got us out of the house.  I was really hoping to take the kids to Tanaka Farms, which I've heard so many great things about.  But it is farther away and I just didn't have it in me to make the longer day trip.  (We already had plans to head up to San Pedro later in the day for a good friend's wedding.)  Here are some cute pictures from our day! ( I wish I took some of Marlo, but she's still too young for most of the pumpkin patch fun.)

Tractor ride!

Train ride

Pony ride

Boat ride (this ride actually went pretty fast)

Motorcycle 

 

And Liam going down the Goliath slide!!!

Pull my finger, plus the big city versus the burbs

Last weekend, Joe and I went to New York City for his cousin's wedding.  We took Marlo and left Liam with my mom.  The wedding was beyond incredible.  It was held at the Mandarin Oriental, an exquisite venue.  It was a classic New York wedding with plum colors and a cocktail hour that overlooked the grandeur of the city lights. 

Here is a picture of Joe's cousin and her husband under the chuppah.  

Let me start off by stating the obvious: it is 1,000 times easier to fly with one child and it is awesome to fly with a child that isn't on the move yet.  (With Liam I always wanted him to be ahead of the game, but with kid number two, I could care less.  I am actually stoked that Marlo isn't crawling - my life is SO MUCH EASIER! I actually hope she never crawls and just figures out around her first birthday how to walk.)  So, the flight was pretty good.  Marlo napped most of the time and played nicely on my lap when she was awake.  I took care of Marlo while Joe watched two movies.  The guy needs a break so I didn't mind taking the brunt of the parenting duties on the flight.  But by the end of the flight I did have to have a word with my husband.  On our descent I asked, "Do you know that the only time you took out your ear buds and engaged me in conversation was when you asked me to pull your finger so you could fart?"  Those of you who read this and think I'm kidding...I'm not.  This was the only conversation my husband made with me during the entire five hour flight.  Joe laughed, I laughed, and he apologized, and then we laughed some more because it is pretty ridiculous and hilarious.  I reminded him that I am his wife and not some loser frat brother of his.

Here's a picture of my cutie pie waiting for our flight to take off.

I have to admit that being back in the city made me nostalgic.  I miss the city.  I know that I wouldn't be as happy as I am now if we lived there, but I still miss it.  There is a LARGE difference between New York City and the burbs.  Again, I am stating the obvious.  Sometimes I wish that I got to live a bit more of my life before I had kids.  I became a mom at 25, well, I was almost 26, but still it is pretty young.  Joe and I never got a chance to be married without kids.  I sometimes fantasize about all the fun we'd have if we didn't have kids. I'm not trying to be ungrateful because I love our life.  But, I do think about our lives without our little cutie pies.  I guess we have our retirement to look forward too!

Here is a pic of us getting drinks - Joe's sister babysat!

Oh, and one last picture.You aren't in New York City unless you find a roach in your hotel room!  Credit card placed strategically to show size.

To work or not to work...

Every once in a while I'll log onto Edjoin (a major teaching job website) and see if there are any middle or high school Language Arts position openings.  I even did this when I was teaching and happy at my school.  It's always good to keep your options open in my opinion.

This morning I looked on Edjoin and noticed  a teaching position opening up in January at a private school in Laguna Niguel.   The position is for middle school Language Arts and fills a maternity leave position with the intent of keeping the person on after the maternity leave ends.  Part of me really wants to apply.  This is a job right up my alley.  And I already know what it's like starting a teaching job mid-year so I have that going for me. And I have 7 years of middle school teaching under my belt - I'm sure I'd be a great candidate for the position.

I love being at home with the kids, but I do crave my professional life back.  Marlo will be a year old in January so it's not like she's a newborn anymore.  But the other part of me thinks going back to work is a silly decision.  We'd have to find childcare for Marlo which would add stress, I wouldn't be able to keep up the house as much as I do and we'd probably have to have our cleaning lady come more often.  I'm sure I would feel like a "bad" mother because I wasn't spending enough time with my kids.  And I'd miss out on a bunch of stuff like going to Liam's school functions that happen in the middle of the day. And I wouldn't be there for so many of Marlo's firsts.

I suppose I want to go back to work for selfish reasons.  It would be different if we needed my income as well, but we don't.  Joe works hard so I can be at home with the kids and make our home life as good as it can be.  But I miss having adult conversations.  I miss having to get dressed to go some place.  I miss my own paycheck, as small as it was.  I miss getting told that my classroom looked good or I taught a great lesson.  No one gives me a pat on the back at home.  I'm more likely to get spit up on or shat on.  Go figure.

Any other parents out there who have dealt with this dilemma?  Would love to know your thoughts!