Food Diary of a Breastfeeding mother

When I was still nursing Sam, I was eating enough for two. I was always eating whenever I was on the phone and one day, Touko (my BFF from childhood) thought it would be funny for me to do a food diary. I was talking to someone recently and she wanted me to post it because she also thought it would be humorous. I only managed to do two days but here they are:

Day One:

One Raspberry Scone
One fried egg with slice of Cheese
One cup Soy Milk Coffee
Two servings Meat Lasagna
One package Spicy Ramen
One cup Chai Tea Latte with soy milk
Handful of cashews
Handful of grapes
Chinese chicken salad with one and one half breast of chicken
Two slices of chocolate chip cookie pie
one bowl of honey bunches of oats cereal

Orange juice, milk and water for beverages

Day Two:

One fried egg with cheese

One cinnamon raisin bagel with plain cream cheese

One cup soy milk coffee

One Carl's Jr Famous Star Cheeseburger

Medium fries

Bulgogi

Rice

Kimchee

Spicy beansprouts

Seaweed

Two pieces of chocolate chip cookie pie

One Bowl of honey bunches of oats

Orange juice, milk, water and root beer for beverages

I have been thinking a lot about body image and having a healthy relationship with food. It really sucks that women in particular struggle with it so much...If you ask any woman what they would like to change about their appearance, 99% of us would be able to tell you in a heartbeat a whole laundry list of things we would like to nip, tuck or suck. I am trying to be careful about saying F-A-T around the girls because I don't ever want themselves to think that way about themselves. But I guess that means that I also need to not think that way about myself too. Easier said than done...

Two down, one more to go...

Elysha is potty-trained. It literally happened overnight. On Monday, she said she wanted to wear underwear. By Friday, she was in underwear all day with no accidents. Plus, she was playing mind games with us for so long that the girl can hold her bladder for 5 hours. What finally got her to go consistently on the potty? A goodie bag from which she could pick a prize each time she went on the potty. The girl was holding out for more than cookies.

To add to my excitement, Sam slept 12 hours two nights ago and only woke up once last night. Despite being sick with bronchitis, I am feeling so refreshed these days. Unfortunately with my sickness, I completely lost my appetite. So my milk has diminished. I am thinking of just letting it go...the thought of eating like a teenage boy on steroids to get my milk back exhausts me. So another milestone, the last time I will ever breastfeed may be closer than I thought. It actually is making me cry. =( Sam made the most adorable sound when he nursed at nighttime. Everytime he swallowed, it almost sounded like a sigh...like the sound of bliss and perfect contentment. I always wanted to record it but never did...and now he doesn't make that sound anymore.

Sam slept through the night!

So this is what it feels like to have eight hours of sleep. Ahhhhhhhhh! In fact, he is still asleep (11:30pm to 9:30am). And when he wakes up, generally, he doesn't cry. He just sucks his hand. I have to go in and check on him to make sure that he isn't awake. So sweet.

He is also becoming a mama's boy. All my babies preferred me while I was nursing them. But at some point, Joey and Elysha became daddy's little girls. Sam is definitely smitten with me and the attachment seems greater with him for some reason. There are times, especially when he is tired, where he will be crying inconsolably when someone else is holding him. The moment I am in viewing distance to him, he stops crying. And when I hold him in my arms, he starts smiling and laughing.

I forget how cute they are when they are hungry and they know they are about to eat. Sam gets all excited--his arms start flopping around and his mouth is wide open. While he eats, he just stares into my eyes (I don't remember the girls doing this as much), and then afterwards, such a look of contentment...

Drunk on breastmilk...

Mommies' Night Out

For the last few months, some of the moms from Joey's preschool and I have been meeting together once a month for mommies' night out. I cannot tell you how much fun I have. First of all, I would have NEVER had a beer while nursing Joey. With Elysha, the first day of nursing freedom, I got a beer. And with Sam, a month after his birth, I enjoyed a Corona, guilt-free. He'll be fine! He'll just sleep better at night and it will help my breastmilk.

Anyhow, alcohol aside, the stories we tell from husbands to kids to illicit drug use make me laugh so hard...my abs actually got a workout today.

The other day, my BFF Touko said something that stuck out in my mind. She said that she doesn't see me as an introvert, whereas I have always felt like one. I realize that when I became a stay at home mom, all my energy gets sucked away from the kids and keeping house. Before marriage and kids, after work or even on the weekends, I just wanted to be by myself, unwind, do my own thing. But now, I love being out, meeting with people, talking on the phone, anything that helps make the day go faster. I feel like all that I write makes it seem like I hate being home with the kids. I love it and enjoy it for the most part. I would feel like I am missing out of my kids' lives if I were sitting in an office and not home with them. But at the same time, my favorite time of the day is after the kids go to sleep!

Sam is three months!

Sam at Three Months!

I feel like my baby was just born yesterday but he is already three months old. How did time pass so quickly? Sam is still in bed with me and Chang has been sleeping in the nursery. I'm so hesitant to move him into the crib for two reasons: a) it's easier since he still wakes up at night and I want to just nurse him back to sleep; b) he's so deliciously adorable that I want to hold onto this baby stage as long as possible. I think there is something in me that wants to delay the growth of my baby because he is my last and that thought makes me sad. Don't get me wrong...I have no desire to have another baby (well, almost no desire, but I just can't go through all this again). But to know that this is truly it? I am coddling Sam more than any other baby. With Joey, I wanted to do things the "right"way. With Elysha, I was just too exhausted to have any method to my madness. But with Sam, he'll probably be in bed with me until he's 100 years old.

So my little linebacker Sam--he is 17 pounds at 3 months! He is 95% in weight. I haven't measured his height yet. He smiles all the time and laughs a lot too. Just perfect.

Sam--all too aware that he has taken the lead in his mama's affections.