nearly to six weeks

Pip's Cuteness

Pip is sooooo cute. He's growing so fast that we've taken to photographing him whenever he puts on a new outfit. In the photo above, he's wearing a vintage outfit that originally belonged to his Poppa. Pip is smiling more and more now, and he's cooing a lot more, too. We spend a lot of time kissing on him.

Pip loves playing with his Poppa when he's awake and alert. Pip doesn't imitate me much except for in his singing, but he loves to mimic the faces and actions Andrew makes, at least in his small newborn way. Even though the imitation isn't consistent yet, it's a great forecast of the fun learning and playing those two will have in future.

Feeding Update

Well, now Pip is really great at breast-feeding. Yay. But I only have 1/3 to 1/2 the milk he needs every day. So we're desperately trying to find a way to supplement him that he'll tolerate well (he doesn't like the bottles we used for therapy to improve his suckling). But it's a better problem to have, and there is an expensive system called Lact-aid that just might work for us. Also in good news land, my milk production has increased a little, and the LC says it may keep going up. I think it may have to do with the discovery that I had an extreme iodine deficiency.

Apparently lack of iodine makes thyroid hormones not work right, and thyroid regulates milk production or some such. At any rate, I'm taking kelp supplements and eating Nori as well (they're both types of seaweed, basically, so no need to look it up if you didn't know), and I feel much better, whether I wind up with enough breast milk or not. Low thyroid makes you tired, you know? Since galactagogues lower my blood sugar, the low iodine was really overdoing it. As if I needed help being tired right now.

Other

Anyone needing loads of bottle nipples that just didn't work for Pip after all will be glad to find an abundant supply at the next Kidstuff Exchange at church.

I think that because I talk high-fallutin' sometimes, that I come across as an idealist. Really, Andrew is one, but I'm just sort of blunt and stubborn and an extroverted thinker (which makes things I like sound as though they are my "ideals" because: bluntness = sometimes oversimplified ideas, stubborn = if I am convinced of something, I have a hard time letting go of it, and extroverted thinker = I accidentally give introverts the impression that I've fully developed and am committed to what I say, when in reality I don't know what I think till I say it, maybe argue with it, revise, etc. I have to hear a thought before I've really thunk it. Not everything sounds the same in my head as when I say it.) Andrew's adjusted really well to stepping down our granola baby-raising ideals, because he's able to keep them in perspective. But I have had a really hard time with all the emotional adjustments of having a low milk supply, because it sort of blind-sided me.

Other adjustments haven't been so difficult. Like, we no longer use cloth diapers because the diaper service is disorganized right now and took three weeks to pick up the first pail. Okay, so we started buying the chlorine-free disposables in bulk from Amazon (yay free shipping). Great compromise. Yeah, I was thinking that there were other big compromises, but I don't think there really are now that I've come to write about it.

I really like wearing Pip in my Moby wrap and co-sleeping with him. We're still training him to sleep in his crib for naps so that we can transition him to his own bed when he gets a bit older. But for now, Pip and I just feel better being near each other (Andrew also feels happy about the Momma-baby bond). For most of Pip's life, he was totally connected to me, and holding him a lot now makes the transition to life outside the womb much more comfortable.

I like to teach Pip a few country words & phrases. He has his drawers changed several times a day. From time to time he gets burps stuck in his craw. When he gets older, I declare, he will probably hug people's necks.

Pip's favorite lullaby seems to be "Fix me, Jesus."


He's just barely starting to notice his hands, but I notice them a lot because they are so cute.

Cuddles and Milk

Pip is going to be baptized at the end of September, so we're treating him like a little catechumen. Andrew pointed out that it's a positive way to think about why we have to sit in the narthex during church (like the ancient catechumens would leave the Nave for Eucharist). We teach Pip about theology in terms he understands. What Pip loves most are cuddles and milk, so we tell him about Jesus Cuddles at the Eucharist. It's pretty nice to sit and feed a sleepy baby in the middle of the night, explaining the Nicene Creed in terms of our baby's life. Sure, he probably won't remember the specifics of how God redeems what He created or how all of our experience and knowledge of God and ourselves begins and ends with Christ, but maybe the gist will sink in: God loves me and gives me cuddles and milk.

Books

I finally finished reading the most recent Artemis Fowl. I liked it far better than the last installment, which seemed poorly edited. These books are satisfying in the way that Jane Austen's novels are satisfying: they tie up loose ends right well. This book in particular did a great job of connecting the dots. Fun read. If you're a fan, too, now we can talk about it.

Just started Spirituality for Extroverts, which already seems fun and relevant. Maybe we'll use it for Adult Xn Ed sometime.

Gotta go feed the little fellow.