Hair Do

I just bought a new hairbow for Julia because Julia's hair is always sticking straight up in the air. I try to tame it by putting water on it and combing it down but doesn't seem to work though. It looks pretty cute on her. What do you think?

Amazing Race Burnaby 2010

After spending 3 weeks to plan this event called Amazing Race Burnaby 2010, the race took place today. We had a total of 12 teams participate and everyone was eager to outrun all other teams and wanting to finish in first place.

We were able to leave Jasmine at home while this race was in progress but Julia hung onto me the entire time. Here are some pics from the race:

5 months - Julia

Julia just turned 5 months. We don't see the doctor this month (Phewf, Julia should be happy about that) so we don't have any stats to report. But because of her nursing strike a couple of weeks ago, I think she lost some weight. We are making good grounds now so hope she adds a pound by the next check up.

Rolled Over

I had a weird feeling this morning, that something special was going to happen. Didn't know what so shrugged it off.

In the afternoon, Julia just awoke from her nap and while I made my way into her room, I could hear slurping and lip smacking sounds. I quietly peered over the crib and saw that Julia was sucking on her toes! She looked back at me with a smile (toe still in her mouth). Wish I had a camera right then and there but I didn't.

This totally brought back memories of when Jasmine sucked on her hands and feet all the time. I think they were the same age? Anyways, this was a special moment, because she can now suck on something so toe-ee.

Later that day, when Julia was playing on her mat on the floor (we were doing tummy time), she suddenly rolled from being on her back onto her chest. I don't think she meant to do that because she really doesn't like being on her chest that much. She got stuck there for a few minutes and then decided to yell for help. I was sitting next to her. I guess she's now starting the rolling stage. Let's see how long it takes her to roll back and forth and back forth, like when Jasmine was young.

Eating Normal Again

Julia was on a nursing strike for 10 days. And then on Monday, she just decided that she was hungry and wanted to feed. She fed fine all day and since then, it's been pretty regular. I still feed her on demand so there is no schedule of when to eat, when to sleep; I just follow her cues.

The problem I have now is milk supply. Sooo, to increase supply, I pumped and pumped and pumped all day long.

After every feed, I pumped another 15 minutes. After she slept at night, I power pumped twice over 6 hours. To power pump, you pump both breasts at the same time for 15 minutes, then rest for 10 minutes, then pump again for 10 minutes, then rest again for 10 minutes, then pump again for 10 minutes. It takes about an hour to do 1 power pumping session but it works. I did this for 4 days straight, until my breasts hurt and I couldn't do it anymore. On day 5, my milk increased significantly.

I should have known it would take 5 days for more milk to come in, because that is how long it took for my milk to come in after giving birth. I'm a late milk person. Most people get their milk by day 3 or 4.

Things are good now. It was so stressful the past week but it's behind me.

Yummy Udon (video)

Jasmine still hasn't quite mastered her eating skills using a spoon or fork yet so in the meantime, her favorite way to eat is...with her hands and mouth. Jasmine loves eating pasta, noodles or any other carb (even rice and potatoes). I just had to record this when she was eating udon. It looked so funny. Her jaw muscles must be super strong.

Note - she is learning to control her forehead muscles as well.

Lots of Tummy Time (video)

I meant to upload these new videos last week but my time was consumed by other worrisome things.

Julia is now into her fourth month so she must do daily exercise and tummy time regularly. (the first 3 months, I let her sleep as much as she wanted and play on her back). It's time for her to get into shape, gain muscle strength in her upper body so she can learn to crawl. Here are some pics and video of Julia hard at work (by the way, her hair is all natural...no spray or combing needed):

Nursing Strike - Continues

Unfortunately, I was too quick to say that the nursing strike was over. After one day of wonderful breastfeeding on Monday, Julia refused to breastfeed again on Tuesday. She didn't feed at all during the day and woke up 6 times to breastfeed in the evening.

Problem 1 - It is now Friday and Julia continues to act this way. It is as if she does not like the boob when she is awake and conscious, but hunger takes over her mind when she is sleeping. What am I going to do? I'm up all day taking care of her and up all night feeding her. I feel like a zombie now.

Problem 2 - To make things worse, my milk supply is diminishing quickly. This is because during the day, I offer and offer my breast to Julia to feed. I want my breasts to have milk for her so I don't pump when she is supposed to feed. But because she doesn't feed and my breasts become very full, my body thinks that I no longer need the milk and is slowing down the production of milk.

I used to be able to pump 5oz from one breast every 4 hours. I can now pump only 2.5oz every 4 hours. That is a very drastic decrease. I am pumping and pumping like a maniac now to try to increase milk production.

Problem 3 - Julia has not taken the bottle since she hit 3 months. She's decided that she doesn't like the bottle or the breast. I tried giving her fresh breastmilk with a bottle today but she refused. I don't want her to get dehydrated so I've given her some milk thru a dropper into her mouth but most of it dribbles out of her mouth. At least she got a couple of gulps.

I am very, very upset. It's already been a week of this. I don't know if I can continue this much longer. I do not plan to stop breastfeeding but if my milk supply dips even more, this may be the end of it. Anyone have any suggestions? Please HELP!