Little fish little fish swimming in the water

[nanila]

Hello, hello, journal friends. I've not been able to sit down and write a journal entry for two and a half weeks. Feeding Humuhumu takes up nearly all of my time, and in between her feedings I rush around like a mad thing trying to feed myself and keep up with the washing/laundry and even occasionally sleeping.

I've...I've also been cheating on my journal with Facebook. (I am so ashamed.) And Twitter. (Less ashamed - I'm nanila if anyone would like to connect there.) The reason for this is purely that there are Android mobile clients for these, and I can update one-handed. Also, I've been writing daily missives with photos to the grandparents on the little one's behalf, which takes about all the creative energy I can muster.

I won't say that learning to breastfeed is the most difficult thing I've ever done, as that will probably always be my doctorate. I will say, though, that it's the most exhausting, physically and emotionally. I've cried more in the last three weeks than I did in the last three years. Probably more than I did when I was writing up my PhD thesis. But we've gotten good at breastfeeding, Humuhumu and I, and she can now latch without hurting me. She's still working on setting my milk supply - generally this means spending 6-7 hours straight feeding her, with only very short breaks in between. I've even fed her in public a couple of times, in car parks, but I think when it comes time to feed her in, say, a restaurant or a cafe, I'll be able to do it without making too much of a scene.

It's so satisfying watching her grow and start to take an interest in the world. She gained an entire pound in her second week. Her little wrinkly fingers have filled out and have dimples at their bases. Her cheeks are fat and pink and her chin is double. She smells divine. And she smiled for the first time this morning, while we were dancing around to The Specials' "A Message To You Rudy".

I hope everyone's doing well and best of luck to those currently beavering away on their NaNo projects.

Comments

[wordweaverlynn]

SO glad you're both doing so well.

[nanila]

Thank you very much! I'm hoping she'll settle into a more regular feeding schedule once the first forty days are up...

[kake]

Lovely to hear from you, and glad to hear Humuhumu is getting on well.

[nanila]

Thank you! She's growing like mad at the moment. I feel her head gets a little bigger in my hands every time I feed her.

[sfred]

This is lovely to read.

[nanila]

I'm glad! It was very satisfying to have a bit of time to sit down and write it.

[qian]

I'm glad breastfeeding is getting easier and that Humuhumu is doing well!

[nanila]

Thank you! I'm hopeful that she'll settle into a regular pattern once her tummy has stretched enough to satisfy her for a few hours between feedings. Supposedly this takes about forty days, so we're over halfway there now.

[capri]

Oh I love this post so much. :) So glad to hear you and Humuhumu are doing well.

[nanila]

:D Thank you. She's being a little angel today - I've had almost two whole hours to myself! (Cue: dishes, laundry, Christmas shopping online, frantic e-mail replies)

[azurelunatic]

Hooray for growth and learning!

I've got http://www.dreamwidth.org/mobile/post bookmarked and set as a shortcut on one of my home screens, because that's really the closest there is right now. Alas.

[nanila]

Oho! That is handy, thank you!

[ironed_orchid]

I think anyone would smile dancing around to the The Specials.

Lovely entry, good to hear from you. I'm sure the feeding thing will settle down, as you say, in the next 20 days or so.

[nanila]

With any luck, it's the first step toward becoming a person of taste and discretion. ;D

She's being a little angel today - I've had two whole hours to frantically tidy, Christmas shop and reply to e-mails!

[lark_ascends]

*hugs you hard*

[nanila]

*grins*

*hugs back*

It's so much fun watching her develop. Now she's trying to roll over!