Reverse Cycling is a Meandering Road

This post was written as part of the weekly Breastfeeding Blog Hop hosted by Slacker Mom and cohosted by The Gnome’s Mom and Happiness Redefined. Visit the links below and link up your own story or leave a comment!

In last week's post, I wrote about tips for breastfeeding a toddler. This week's theme is reverse cycling.

When it comes to breastfeeding issues, if you've taken a class or read a book, you're likely to think that things are either going to go one way or another. Either your baby cluster feeds or he doesn't. Either you schedule your feedings or you don't. Either he nurses at fixed intervals during the day and night or he reverse cycles--he nurses less during the day (especially if you are working) and nurses more at night (especially if you cosleep).

The thing is, babies haven't taken that class or read that book. They do whatever they want to do. And what they do may not follow the textbooks or the general guidelines, which can leave you feeling confused and unsure of what to do.

I went back to work full time three months after giving birth to Baby T. I had an oversupply, so I was pumping 8 ounces at a time. Baby T would take a bottle, but he wasn't a guzzler. In fact, he would often only eat 2 ounces in one sitting. He would nurse well before going to sleep, and he would wake often, but he wasn't nursing all that much at night.

I started to worry that he wasn't getting enough calories. I was building up a huge stockpile in my freezer, I was pumping every three hours at work, but Baby T didn't seem to be eating. I would look at the 8-ounce bottles of breastmilk or formula that the other parents were dropping off for the kids in daycare, and I wondered when Baby T would graduate from his little 4-ounce Nuks. He never did.

Still, Baby T was gaining weight. He was consistently in the 90th percentile for weight. He was chubby and thriving and hitting all of his milestones on time.

I didn't feel like Baby T was attached to the boob when I was home. He didn't seem to be reverse cycling. But he wasn't attached to the bottle when I was away, either. Again, it was a lesson in just going with the flow. Baby T was healthy and thriving, and we were both happy. Even though he didn't eat solids until later than most babies, he still never drank more than 4 ounces of my milk at a time from a bottle. But I trusted that my body was giving him what he needed. Maybe he just nursed very efficiently. Maybe he nursed more during the weekends. I wasn't really sure, but I didn't really mind. Whatever was happening, it worked for us.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: 12 Months

One year ago today, my water broke.
One year ago tomorrow, Little M was born.
I can't believe it has been a year.
Twelve sweet, snuggly, challenging, nursing, babywearing, singing, loving months of this:

Newborn

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

Happy Birthday!

Check out other wonderful Wordless Wednesday posts and link up at:

Pork and Beef: Chops with Mustard Sauce and Philly Cheese Steak Egg Rolls

I posted in yesterday's menu plan about making some fabulous pork chops with mustard sauce and artichokes and philly cheese steak egg rolls. Even Baby T liked the pork chops--that's how you know they are good! Here are the recipes.

Print out the recipes for Philly Cheese Steak Egg Rolls and Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce and Artichokes by clicking on the images below.

Philly Cheese Steak Egg Rolls Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce and Artichokes

For more delicious recipes, check out:

Menu Plan Monday: Go with the Flow

The past two weeks, I've been having a little bit of trouble sticking to my meal plan. Maybe I need to start making the plan before Monday, so I can have my groceries ready to go for the week. In fact, when I cooked in bulk that first Sunday that I started menu planning, it was much easier to stick to the menu because the meals were already prepared. This week, I spent $27 at the grocery store at the beginning of the week on pork chops, sausages, apples, bread, and a few other things. But then at the end of the week, Big T decided he wanted Philly cheese steak egg rolls to eat while he watched the game, so I spent another $60 on fixings for that, lunch meat, and who knows what else... Can you believe I have no idea where $60 went to? Oh, right. Beer. Beer and lunch meat were about $36 right there. Is it bad that that makes me feel a little better?

The Plan:
Monday: Chicken Korma (freezer) with rice
Tuesday: Sweet Potato Chili (freezer) with bread
Wednesday: Pork chops, Twice Baked Potatoes (freezer), green beans
Thursday: Steak, Roasted Cauliflower with Kalamata Olive Vinaigrette, Sweet Potato Fries
Friday: Eat at Mom Mom's
Saturday: Rice and beans with sausage, Homemade bread

The Reality:
Monday: Chicken Tikka Masala with rice
Tuesday: Chicken Tikka Masala with rice
Wednesday: Pork chops with mustard sauce and artichoke hearts, Twice baked potatoes, green beans
Thursday: Fend for yourself day
Friday: French onion soup at Mom Mom's
Saturday: Philly cheese steak egg rolls

The Method:
Monday and Tuesday: The beginning of the week was easy. I thawed out some chicken tikka masala from the freezer and made some rice. I didn't account for the fact that there would be leftovers, though, so I ended up eating this two nights in a row. Not bad--less cooking for me.
Wednesday: On Wednesday, I made the best pork chops ever. They were simple to make and delicious. The sauce tasted great on both the chops and the green beans, and twice-baked potatoes from the freezer rounded out the meal. And this time, I didn't cook the crap out of the potatoes, so they were moist and delicious.
Thursday: On Thursday, I was exhausted. Big T was working late, Baby T ate a peanut butter sandwich, and I ate some bread for dinner.
Friday: Since I had actually promised Big T that I would make him French Onion soup on Thursday (which was veering from the plan anyway) but didn't deliver, I decided to make it for my meal at the in-laws' on Friday so I could bring home the leftovers to Big T. I made it with broth from my freezer stash, and it was delicious.
Saturday: We prepped the meal before the kids went to bed, then ate and enjoyed it after they were asleep.

I'll be adding the recipes for this menu plan tomorrow, so stay tuned!

For more meal planning obsessiveness inspiration, check out orgjunkie.com!

Because You Can't Make This Stuff Up (Part III)

Leaving the grocery store:
Me: Say bye bye to Harris Teeter!
Baby T: I can’t say bye bye to Harris Teeter.
Me: Why not?
Baby T: It doesn’t have a mouth. It doesn’t have a head!

Baby T was playing with a tennis ball in the house and the dog kept wanting to take it from him. Finally, Baby T put the ball on the kitchen counter and told the dog, “It’s time out, Sully. You can’t take ball from me so it’s in time out.”

Baby T: Nice sweeping, mom.
Me: Thanks.
Baby T: Nice vacuuming, mom.
Me: Thanks.
Baby T: Nice crying, Mason.

Baby T: How was work, Dada?
Big T: Um, good I guess. It was fun.
Baby T: I love fun.



One day, the kitchen table was covered with my sewing stuff (as usual), and Baby T said, “I want to do a project. Mommy, clean up your mess.”

Big T was in the bathroom, and Baby T was trying to pound down the door.
Baby T: Daddy!
Me: Baby T, Daddy’s going potty. Give him some privacy.
(Baby T isn’t really familiar with the term “privacy.” He thought I said “surprise.”)
Baby T: (Banging on the bathroom door) Surprise, Daddy! Surprise!

Baby T: Oh my gosh, you’re in my way!

The kids were sick and coughing, sneezing, and sniffling.
Big T: Poor guys!
Baby T: I’m not a poor guy!

Baby T: Mason can’t talk like I do.

Baby T said, out of the blue: Daddy, why did you say dammit? (Daddy had not said anything of the sort. We’re a little nervous that all the swears we have said around Baby T have compounded and are going to come back to haunt us now.)

Me (standing in front of the open fridge): Where are the mason jars?
Big T: They are in the garage.
Me: No, we don’t have any out there anymore. Where are they?
Baby T (pointing at the baby food jars in the fridge): Here!!
Me: No, not those, Baby T. Ty—where did you say they are?
Baby T: Here, mommy. HERE!!
Me: No, I’m looking for different jars.
Baby T: But here are the Mason jars!
Of course. Baby T was pointing to Mason’s baby food jars. Mason's jars. Smart kid.

Baby T: (in the backseat of the car, babbling away. My mind was elsewhere. I get home, stop the car, go to his door, open it.) “So that’s the deal, mommy.” (said with conviction).
Me: What’s the deal?
Baby T: Poop.

Baby T: (out of the blue). Mommy, I want to ride either in a fire truck, or…. (thinks) in a police car.

Baby T: Mom! Stop! That hurts my ears!
Me: What hurts your ears?
Baby T: Your mad face!

Tips for Breastfeeding a Toddler

This post was written as part of the weekly Breastfeeding Blog Hop hosted by Slacker Mom and cohosted by The Gnome’s Mom and Happiness Redefined. Visit the links below and link up your own story or leave a comment!

In last week's post, I wrote about my breastfeeding goals for the new year. This week's theme is Tips and Tricks to Breastfeeding an Older Child or Toddler.

Breastfeeding a toddler can be challenging. You and your baby were on a roll: he snuggled in your arms, nursed to sleep, and nursing was a special quiet time for the two of you. Then, your baby began to crawl and walk. He began to get coordinated, to talk, and to explore. The sweet little sack of potatoes in your arms became a circus tiger, a shark swimming frantic circles around its meal, an octopus with its tentacles everywhere. Your nipples turned into taffy. Or perhaps not, but your toddler certainly thought they did. Nursing to sleep became a thing of the past as your baby popped off every few moments to tell you something.

Nursing a toddler or an older child isn't the calming gratification that is nursing a newborn, but it has its own set of sweet benefits. If you expect it to be the same as it always was, you may get irritated or impatient. Instead--and this is usually my advice for every parenting obstacle, although I often need to be reminded of it myself--throw out all of your expectations and go with the flow.

Tips for Breastfeeding a Toddler or an Older Child:

1. Accept that things are changing - If you don't accept the new patterns or routines, you'll begin to feel like you're forcing your child to do something he or she doesn't want to do. This could make your breastfeeding relationship strained. It is hard to accept change, but doing so is your first step into throwing away your expectations.
2. Be willing to establish new routines - Let's say you could always count on your baby to nurse to sleep. All of a sudden, he nurses next to you in bed, then pops up and pokes your eyes, honks your nose, and tries to crawl off the bed. (Can you tell I've had some experience with this?) It may be time to change up the routine. Instead of nursing in bed, can you nurse in a rocker? What about nursing in a quiet room and then wearing your baby down in a baby carrier before bed? It may not be as easy as lying next to your baby and dozing off, but avoiding a struggle will make both of you happier in the end.
3. Think about your NIP (nursing in public) MO - I am not shy about nursing in public. I've shocked a few people by pulling out my huge nipples wherever and whenever and latching my baby on. Most recently, the nurse in the ER said, "Whoa!" when she walked into the room and saw me nursing Little M. It doesn't bother me. My kids were never able to nurse under a blanket or nursing cover, and they certainly aren't going to start now. I use my hand to cover myself up. When Little M gets distracted and pulls off over and over and over again, I just cover my boob with my hand. I think the trick to being discreet is to be nonchalant about it. Maybe you change positions: let your toddler nurse standing up while you sit on the floor instead of cradling him. That may be easier for him to come and go without it feeling like a struggle.
4. If all else fails and your child won't stop doing acrobatics while nursing, try a distraction - Baby T stretched out all of my camisoles when he was a nursing toddler. He would stick his foot in the strap. Even if I was wearing a shirt, he would stick his foot in the neck and push it out the sleeve. That's what breastfeeding toddlers do. They try to go about their daily life while continuing to nurse. If it's driving you crazy, gently remind them that you don't like it. Toddlers can understand "like" and "dislike" pretty early on. If they continue and you really can't stand it, try moving on to a different activity. Snuggle and read a book together, or have a snack. Sometimes there is nothing you can do...I resigned myself to letting Baby T stick his feet in my shirt, because I'm lazy and prefer to avoid tantrums, but that's just me.

Having said all that, I never found nursing a toddler particularly terrible. In fact, there were many more benefits to nursing a toddler than their were drawbacks.

Benefits to breastfeeding a toddler:

1. Breastfeeding is an instant tantrum tamer - Your toddler is writhing around on the floor, won't settle down, or is exceptionally needy? A good session of snuggly breastfeeding can stop this behavior in its track, comfort your child, and return him or her to his regular, sweet self.
2. Breastfeeding provides antibodies and nutrients - If you toddler is a picky eater or gets sick, breastfeeding can ease your worries. Even though Baby T would go without eating much of anything for a day or two, I always felt better knowing he was nursing. I knew he was getting a lot of the fat and nutrients he needed, not to mention live antibodies that could help him kick all the boogers he was getting at daycare.
3. Breastfeeding gives you a chance to relax - Even though breastfeeding a toddler isn't quite as relaxing as breastfeeding a baby, it still gives you a chance to sit back and relax. During the whirlwind day that is wrangling a toddler, this was often a welcome break.

I often heard that it was necessary to limit a toddler's nursing sessions. Even my La Leche League leaders talked about limiting sessions in duration, in number of sessions per day, or when nursing in public. What I found in my experience is that limiting a toddler's nursing sessions is only necessary if it's something you need. Nursing a toddler never really bothered me. (It was tandem nursing that got under my skin).It didn't feel right to limit Baby T, but I did because I thought I was supposed to. That ended up being detrimental to our nursing relationship (and to my sanity) in the end.

So I'll leave you with this: When it comes to nursing your toddler, just do what feels right. 

Wordless Wednesday: Satchel Paige

We have a baseball book that we bought for Baby T because he liked looking at pictures of baseball players. In it is a picture of Satchel Paige. He was a baseball player. That's all I know. And he stuck his leg up and way out when he pitched. Baby T thinks this is funny, and he likes to imitate Satchel Paige's pitching pose.

It goes something like this:

Just like ol' Satchel himself:

Photo credit

Check out other wonderful Wordless Wednesday posts and link up at: