Baby nursing during my belly binding treatment

Week 171 motherhood with 3 year old and 1 year old: 

December 21 to 27, 2023:

• Dec 21:  I signed up the toddler for another Creative Chefs class, this time at the Markham main site.  Their creative chef classes at this location are always more detailed with more instruction.  (Last time, we did the ice cream making class which was splendid.)  However this time, I felt like there was a lot of waiting time.  The kids made holiday fruit tarts and holiday drinks.  I think the facilitators should have just handed all the kids what they needed on their tables instead of asking each table of kids one by one to come up to the larger table to gather their items.  Their small hands can’t carry everything and it’s not hygienic to have them touch everything either.  There was so much waiting and down time.  Some parents also didn’t wait in turn and their kids jumped ahead of the line (their parents didn’t say anything).  I think it’s so unfair.  Also, the facilitators in charge didn’t even explicitly tell us each step of the cooking process.  I only knew what to do by looking at the kids in front of me (as their mom was the EarlyON facilitator so she guided them and knew what to do already).
• The toddler rolled the dough by herself (with instruction) and then after it was baked, decorated with the grapes and strawberry that she cut up by herself.  She really has improved on her knife skills.  She was able to cut the green grapes into small quarters all by herself.
• I really liked that the facilitators actually made the whipped cream in the classroom too.  The kids got to see the blender in motion.  I loved that they gave each child the opportunity to squeeze the whipped cream into their tart too.  Very neat.  They gave each child a piping tip for the whipped cream (put in a plastic piping bag).  It was my first time using a piping tip too.  When it came time for cleaning up, they collected it back (one parent tried to bring it home but the facilitator asked for it back lol…)
• The toddler had the holiday punch (made of half cup of water, 1/3 cup of Yakult, and a splash of cranberry juice).  She put 3 cranberries on a toothpick too with the small candy cane hanging off the side of her cup.  She tried the cranberries which were very sweet and then said to bring the rest home for DH to try.  Lol.  (It’s like how she gives the toys she doesn’t play with to her sister.  In this case, it’s something she doesn’t want to eat, so she gives to her dad…)
• The toddler was one of the quiet and more “well-behaved” kids in the class.  The kids around us were running around and jumping everywhere and couldn’t really sit still.  A parent commented on how my daughter was so “quiet” (like last time how a parent commented on how “serious” she looked when making the fruit crepe rolls).
• My 8th day of belly binding and I was able to sit in the chair with the toddler at the EarlyON class and drive too.  It wasn’t comfortable but I did it.
• This was only one of the few times I brought the toddler to an EarlyON class by myself.  It was nice and peaceful and easy.  She cooperated with me and didn’t make any fuss when we were getting in and out of the car.
• So funny that the baby would nurse on me while I was kneeling or sitting up straight while on the carpet.  She would stand and nurse on me lol.
• We had a winter solstice dinner with my in-laws.  The toddler was triggered when her aunt tried to initiate contact with her and cried nonstop for the first 30 minutes or so.  There was a lot of people in the room at once and she didn’t feel comfortable.
• The toddler continues to build interesting things with her magnetic tiles.  But now that we have her play mat area smaller than before (because the baby has the bigger play mat inside of the play pen), the toddler doesn’t play as well as she used to.  This is just a temporary phase though.  Once the baby starts walking, we’ll open up the play areas again.  This means we have to help the toddler reset her play space daily otherwise her mess from the previous day will hinder her play.
• We had another winter solstice dinner with my side of the family.  The baby was interactive and loved looking at the people around us.  The toddler actually fell asleep on the way to the restaurant so DH stayed with her in the car while the 3 of us were in the restaurant first.  The toddler, when she woke up, didn’t want to do anything with the people at the table.  The baby, on the other hand, was waving to people at the other table when they were leaving lol.  She’s such a hoot.  So nice to see our other cousins who are 5 years old and 13 months old.
• The baby won’t let other people hold her (will cry and squirm to get out of their hands) but will be happy to look at and wave at others.
• Grandma bought the Grimm’s large stepped pyramid for the kids as a Christmas present this year!  Why does it feel so light still?  Did we buy the official correct one?
• Baby is so good at holding things in her hands to eat.  She did really well at the Touro steakhouse dinner too.  She had some cheesy bread and steak.  She “read” some menus with her uncle too.
• The toddler likes to sit in our laps when we’re out to eat.  The baby can sit independently in a high chair for a while before she needs to be held.
• Christmas time for the two kids.  The 3 yo opened the wrapping paper of the presents and did it for her sister’s behalf as well.
• Dec 22:  I finished the 9 days of belly binding treatment.  I’ll blog about it separately.  After the 9 days, I did feel like my waist and hips got smaller and more trim.  I don’t have as big of an appetite either, but I’m sure it’ll go back to normal once I resume eating large amounts again.
• The baby took 2 steps by herself this week when I was with her in the play mat area.  I of course couldn’t catch it on video but this means that she’ll be walking independently soon!
• She is loving to stand instead of sit now.  She is also very vocal of the things she wants like a toy that was out of reach or a lid that she wanted me to open for her.
• We had some 3.8 milk fat milk for her this week.  We’re hoping to transition her to more full fat cow’s milk so she can rely less on my milk.  I know she’ll still want it for comfort but at least she can get her nutrition from more food sources now.
• She has been sleeping longer stretches but still needs me beside her to sleep that long.  I think she had 6 hours of sleep in one go and I was too tired to get out of the bed by then otherwise I could have slept independently too.
• DH and I were able to watch one episode of What If (30 minutes) at night before the baby cried and needed me.
• We went to the park on Boxing Day.  The toddler loves the playground.  Simple joys like this is all it takes for a child to have fun.  It was a mild day and not cold at all.  Where is the snow this year?
• The baby can spend a long time playing at her sister’s kitchen area where there are so many small toys and blocks and knickknacks for her to pick up and move around.  The toddler doesn’t allow her sister to go there, but I’ll sneak her in when the toddler isn’t around. 🤭
• It’s so cute in the mornings when I go downstairs and the baby is in the high chair and she will squeal and wave to me to say hi.
• When I left the house for a dinner date with G, the baby saw I was putting on my shoes and coat and started waving to me.   She knew to say bye.