Bronze Boobies

I made it. I made it through three months of breastfeeding.  In the breastfeeding world this is known as "getting your bronze boobies" (I know, I read too many boards and blogs).  As silly as this sounds, it's a very big deal to me because it has been such a struggle, especially the last couple weeks.  I honestly can't believe I made it this far but I kept my eye on the prize and I couldn't be happier.  But, let me tell you, it was not an easy road.

Let's take a trip down memory lane...Mila didn't latch well so at first I was nursing, pumping and then bottle feeding that pumped milk; a process that could take 40-60 minutes at a time....and she was eating every 2-3 hours so this was pretty time consuming (not to mention exhausting). Then I started exclusively pumping, but I couldn't keep that up once Robert went back to work because I couldn't take care of Mila and be hooked up to a machine at the same time.  Plus, being milked like a cow just isn't the same feeling as nursing because you're not bonding with your baby.  When I returned to work not only did I have to make time to pump,  but my supply continued to dwindle. During the last month, however, Mila did latch better so the experience was more rewarding, but she got frustrated the milk didn't flow as fast as it did from the bottle.

No matter what I did my milk production never increased; I tried the teas, supplements, vitamins and oatmeal; nothing worked.  At my peak I was pumping 24 ounces a day; to put this in perspective for you, girls with a lot of milk can pump 50+ ounces a day.  Recently I have only been producing 9.5 ounces on a good day; Mila drinks anywhere from 18-24 ounces a day so I obviously have to supplement with formula (according to "the rules" I still get to keep my bronze boobies though!).  I don't know at what time most women decide to wean but I think my time is a'comin; it doesn't really make sense to spend 20 minutes pumping to get two ounces of milk. From both boobs! (see what kind of lazy milk sockets I'm working with?!).

I can honestly say that I am proud of myself, I gave it my all and my little baby is as happy as can be.  I will, however, miss the bonding, milk snugs and moments like these:

I wonder what kind of present one gets for achieving her Bronze Boobies :)

2012 Christmas Photos

Merry Christmas to all! Last Wednesday Robert, Mila and I went to Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach to have our Christmas pictures taken by the great Patti Prizler; I have used her to shoot our work functions in the past and she is amazing so I knew the pictures would turn out great...and boy did they! I told her she can never retire :)  We just got the link for all of the pictures today and they are amazing!  Here are a few of my favorites:

I had been drooling over this Christmas outfit since before Mila was born. I was so excited for her to wear it!

You can view all of the photos here. You can download the photos by clicking Download and then the password is Mila or I think you can order them directly through the site as well.

Week 10

Week 10 shall now be known as the week of firsts.  First, last Thursday night Mila slept through the night for the first time!  It wasn't as glorious as it sounds because she was a little restless from 4am-7am so I was ready to pounce on her every time she made a noise but she didn't wake up so that counts as STTN (sleeping through the night....c'mon! stay with me).  But then the next three nights she did wake up so that was lame. BUT THEN came Sunday and she slept through the night again and we are on a three day roll (great. now I've jinxed it); keep your fingers crossed for tonight.

On Saturday Mila had her first diaper blow out. Of course she was in her carseat and only wearing a onesie so it exploded out of her diaper, down her leg and all over the carseat. So that was really awesome. I took a picture of it and sent it to Robert, my parents and my sister; be glad you weren't included in that message thread (it was green and gooey in case you were wondering).

And finally, today Mila had her first little giggle. And I missed it :( BUT Robert was here so that makes  it better.  He tried to get her to do it again when I got home from work but she wasn't having it. I'll be with her for the next 96 hours so I am on a mission to make it happen again.

Such a pitiful little cry; some day I am going to be happy I caught her little cry on video.

Last Friday my work had their Christmas party so I dressed Mila up in one of her many Christmas outfits and took her with me to the office before the party to get a little work done.  She was the hit of the office and the party and was such a good little girl.   On Saturday morning Allison, her daughter Lindsey and I all went to one of our client's tamale making party (I'm increasing my mexi points as we speak); Mila is getting exposed to all the cultures!

this is my favorite picture yet

One of the benefits of taking her out with me to work functions is that there are plenty of people available to snuggle her so I get a break!

with Allison

I found out this week that my grandma Foley is a little under the weather...Mila wanted to call her to tell her to get well soon but it was too late so she made her a note instead :)

warning: baby on bed is not as large as she appears

seriously, she's not this fat in real life

I have been trying to catch Mila cooing on video for the last couple weeks but everytime I hit the record button she becomes as quiet as a church mouse...it's like she KNOWS.

ho ho ho

One of the first questions people ask me is who Mila looks more like, me or Robert. The near-unanimous consensus is that she looks like Robert but all I see is my husband and a baby: no comparison...in the looks department anyways (ba doom chhh).  My mom showed me a picture of me when I was little and I must concur she has my smile, however, then Robert's mom brought down a picture of him as a baby and it was all over. She definitely looks like him as a baby, see for yourself:

You thought I was lying when I said she hated tummy time but she seriously turns into a tomato as loud as she screams and as upset she gets.

Lately Mila has been sucking on her hands like nobody's business because she just found out they existed.  I also think that she's in the early stages of teething because she's starting to suck on blankets too.  (This is a total guess; I'M A FIRST TIME MOM PEOPLE! Like I have any idea what is going on.)

daddy time

Mila has really started swatting at things lately. She beats the heck out of her Sassy Bugs and all of the hanging things on her activity mat.

Here's a video of her laying the smack down...and daddy encouraging it.

with Robert as your dad, things like this happen on the reg

Week 9

We are getting into the Christmas spirit at the Rodriguez house!  Our tree and all of the holiday decorations are up. Robert even put lights up outside on the bushes and palm trees, it's pretty festive and as Christmas-y it can be in 70 degree weather!  I've taken more videos this week so you will have to watch them below; you will also notice there are way more pictures of Mila on her tummy...we are into tummy time full force! I am determined to make her like it or at least grin and bear it! 

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I took this next picture to show it's not all cute and smiles!

Robert texted me one day this last week and sent this picture and said "he won't stop starting at me."  Roscoe has been so good with Mila but the poor guy isn't getting as much attention as he was before!

I am still so obsessed with my Moby carrier and use it almost once a day when I am home or running errands. It's so easy to just pop her in there and do what I need to get done.  Plus she looks adorable as a "floating head" with a bear hat on :)

Another set of pictures from when I was working and Robert was at home. He said that Roscoe and Mila were being bums all day and neither of them really moved from these spots all day, well, Roscoe especially. All three of these pictures of him are hours apart!

I was trying to capture a video of Mila's dove cry, which I didn't get, but this was still a cute cry.

This week Mila's hands started finding their way to her mouth. I guess this is the first stage of her learning to self-soothe herself.

It may have taken two months but I FINALLY got Mila's hand and footprints!  Her hands and feet still look so small in real life but these pictures makes them look so big!

Mila has also started holding and shaking different items that we put in her hands. It's so cute.

my attempt to take a creative picture with her name on the blanket...

 

Here's a video of her cooing and being  a wiggle worm.

so sad about tummy time

I have been putting Mila on the floor more so she can move around.  I think she noticed Roscoe for the first time since being down there because she can look up at him. It's pretty cute, when he walks by she stops what she's doing and just stares at him.



Sassy bug trying to make tummy time more fun (it didn't work)

All we're missing is Santa!

 I'm back to nursing Mila when I am home with her; it's too hard to watch her, pump and give her a bottle. Plus, I love the bonding time I have with her now that I am gone part of the week at work.  She gets so milk drunk when nursing, it's so cute.



another one of my nightgowns from when I was a baby!

We had our Christmas pictures taken yesterday; they are so adorable I can't stand it. I had been eying this outfit on Etsy before Mila was even born and I couldn't wait to buy it and for her to wear it. Here's a sneak peak!