It's been a while....

It's been a long time since my last post!

Actually, it's been a long time for a lot of things... feeling fully rested, staying up past 10, being up to date on my TIVO, going out to dinner or a movie, reading a book about anything other than baby development. Not that I'm complaining, these activities have been replaced by some pretty wonderful things!

Aysia is now pretty reliably sleeping 7-9 hours straight. Then a quick feeding and another 2 hours. We put her to bed around 8, she wakes around 4 to nurse, then back to sleep until about 7. We get to have a nice dinner and conversation at night, which I really enjoy. Unfortunately I'm so tired, I usually go right to bed after dinner! I have found that with work and Aysia, I'm so much more tired than when I was on maternity, even though she was sleeping a lot less.

One thing we don't have down is the nap situation. I find it very hard to get her to nap during the day. So does my mom. At daycare, though, she usually naps pretty well. And the more she naps, the more she sleeps at night. Strange how that works!

Speaking of daycare, I am amazed at how well behaved she is. I think she's really just mesmorized by all the activity, and they tell me she only cries when she needs to be fed or changed. At home, she gets fussy a lot more and wants to be held and walked and bounced, whereas at daycare, she's happy to sit in a bouncy or swing and play with toys or just watch the other kids. I LOVE that there is a live video so I can watch her from my laptop. It's so reassuring. And the girls at daycare love her. She is the only girl in the Infant room of 8 babies, and she is definitely the favorite. And I'm all for anything that gives her more attention and cuddles!!

Today was picture day at daycare, so I dressed her in the cutest pink taffeta dress (and then quickly put her in a sleep and play right after - she does not like the dresses, tights, etc.). I think the photographer got some smiles out of her. I can't wait to see the pics.

On the breastfeeding front, she is still going strong. Much quicker at feeding, which is great, and I haven't gotten a blocked duct in a while, which is also great! She has developed this weird habit, though, that's killing me. Only on one side, she nurses for a little while, then keeps rotating her head so my nipple slides out. Then she quickly turns back and re-latches. Over and over. It's painful like a rug burn type of pain. I've checked to see if there's still milk, and there is. I've tried to burp her thinking it might be gas, but it's not. I'm really struggling with this, and it's so strange because it's only one side. So I end up just switching her to the other side, but then the breast doesn't get fully depleted (which could lead to a blocked duct...).

Otherwise, the pumping is going well. As long as I'm in the office and not traveling, it's pretty easy. I just had to rotate out all the frozen milk and re-freeze freshly pumped milk, as I was nearing the 3 month deadline for frozen milk. I'm slowly losing ground on keeping up with what she eats, but I'm not going to stress about it (yeah, right!). I figure, if we get a rainy day on a weekend, and I'm stuck in the house with her, I'll try to pump between every feeding to boost up my frozen supply.

We've been taking her outside a lot more, and I have to say I'm surprised she doesn't love the outdoors or even the stroller walks. I think she's surprised by the breeze, probably because she was inside so much as an infant, being born in December. I hope she gets used to it and starts to enjoy it more, because I want to be outside a lot now that it's nicer weather.

Anyway, life is good. Real good. There are new little things that happen every day, and so much to look forward to. And yes, I'm exhausted, and yes, it's hard to be away from her. And yes, my social life has completely changed. But it's all good and it's definitely all worth it!