Week 32 baby

Trying these baby rusks this week

Week 32:

Apr 29: I am dying for a full body massage. My shoulders are so hard from leaning forward during pumping sessions and holding the baby and doing transcripts and just general wear and tear. I used to go for bi-weekly massages pre-baby and pre-pandemic. 😫😫😫😫
This week began with another tender and swollen/clog breast. Why?! I thought I escaped last week when I rubbed out that clog (and DH helped me). I guess I didn’t do a thorough enough job because when I woke up yesterday, the left side felt swollen and “off”. I tried to massage it when pumping and it seemed to improve but now by too much. This pumping journey is full of highs and lows.. literally (like my milk supply).
DH actually wants me to quit/wean on breastfeeding. He knows I’ll have so much more free time and be less tired. I really want to keep going, especially because I’ll be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine soon and I want to be able to pass on the antibodies to the baby. It’s my goal to. So I just have to keep on hanging on.
I think we have about 10 bags of frozen breastmilk left in the freezer. It’s time to use those up and make room for frozen goods again. 😌
Why does our baby still sleep like a newborn? She wakes up every 1 to 3 hours at night.. poor DH. I, on the other hand, just pass out cold.
Baby is getting better with her hand-eye coordination. She can put foods into her mouth better to chew, but she’s still got a long way to go to actually eat and swallow food.
She is getting fat. When bathing her, we both the extra deposits of fat on her body. She’s getting baby rolls! (I counted about 4 rolls on her.)
Ever since babbling loudly since last week, she does it all the time now especially in her crib when sleeping.
May 1: She can turn on her arms to pivot herself in a circle!
She can lift her head and torso up really high. Good arm strength.
These days, she likes to roll over and sleep on her stomach so much that she’s constantly doing tummy time. Because of this, I’ve not only been doing less tummy time with her but also not keeping track as often too.
I went ahead and bought a new pump!!!! I mean even though DH wants me to quit pumping soon, I still need it until I get fully vaccinated. Also, I’m intrinsically motivated to continue pumping as long as I’m able to. I got the Bellababy double electric pump! It’s only $99 and it boasts a really strong suction (so strong that some moms say it’s too strong and that the level 2 suction is called the “nipple ripper” 😂). Very curious to see how it is and hope it does work as advertised. I feel like my medela pump, while a workhorse, doesn’t give me enough suction anymore.
The downside to the Bellybaby pump ,I’ve heard, is that the battery isn’t very good. Hope the one I receive won’t be a dud.
Amazon doesn’t have an approximate delivery date for me yet. I hope it comes sooner rather than later..
Hoping that the new pump will be strong enough to rid my occasional clogs too. I have to be so careful these days to always massage manually at every pumping session.
Trigger fingers aren’t as bad as a month or two ago. Phew. I regularly flex my wrists and flick my fingers and wrists to loosen up the joints which seem to have helped. I haven’t had to soak my hands in epsom salt in a while (even though that did seem to help).
Her hair has grown so much it’s like a little canopy of hair over her skull. Her hair is so soft and so fine.
We bathe her nightly before bed now to establish a bedtime routine to help her sleep better (doesn’t really work but it’s a good bedtime routine nonetheless).
May 5: Update on the COVID-19 vaccination is that DH and I both booked our appointments for next week! Yay! It came sooner than I thought. So glad that we will be protected a bit and that baby will be getting my antibodies through the breastmilk!
I called my family doctor to get her opinion on getting the vaccine since I’m breastfeeding. My family doctor was off so I got another doctor on the clinic to speak to me on the phone about it. He recommended it right off the bat. He said that even though we don’t know the long-term risks, it’s still better to take it and that baby will get my antibodies through the breastmilk too. He also wrote me a short note just in case I will be asked on the day of. DH knows a friend who knows somebody who got rejected on the spot because the staff found out they were breast-feeding… we didn’t want to take the chance of being rejected so a note is useful.
Baby actually slept through the night with relatively few feedings and wake-ups this week. I love it when the Nanit shows that she only was picked up *once* during the night. It’s still not consistent though.
She is a tummy sleeper. I’ve gotten used to that now but DH still goes to check on her occasionally throughout the night to make sure she’s still breathing
She can finish a small bowl of oatmeal now. She readily receives the spoonful of baby oatmeal and is used to it.
There isn’t any updated arrival date for my Bellybaby pump yet… so much for ordering it and not even knowing when it will arrive…
My average breastmilk output is now 700 ml in the past month. It was about 740 ml maybe two months ago. It’s steadily decreasing. Maybe it’s to do with the fact that I have decreased my calorie consumption. Or maybe my body knows it’s almost time to gradually quit. I’ve been exclusively pumping 7.5 months now! That’s a long time.
I was talking to a mommy friend last week and I’m not sure if I included this yet, but I mentioned how BLW meals are always pictured to be so picture perfect online. She mentioned that BLW is meant to be easier for the parents and for the baby to eat whatever the parents eat. Thus, it’s not necessary to “create” a full meal just for the baby (and especially not just for photos). How true is that. It gives me less pressure to feel like I have to assemble the perfect plate for her too. Our baby just eats whatever we have on the table during meals.
She can sit up unassisted nicely on her own. She doesn’t lean forward anymore either.
She goes “da da da” so loud and clearly. She’s even said “na na na”. It seemed like she wanted milk. I love hearing her little voice enunciate.
I’ve forgone counting tummy time minutes. She does it all the time in her crib and whenever she’s lying down. She defaults to the tummy when we put her down.
When trying the rusks, we broke it into two for her to hold in her hand. She bit down on it and crushed it with her hands, but it’s still a little hard for her to “chew”. It melts in her mouth but not quickly enough. Either way, she did have some of it. It’ll get better in time for her.