Routine

Could it be? Could we be finally settling into a ROUTINE?

Ever since N was born, things in the way of routine have been a little outta whack...especially in the way of naps.

B is getting to the age where he can manage (sometimes) without a nap but then other times - like when we have exciting places to go such as..oh to see the Lion King 3D - he needs a nap.

N has never been much of a long napper or a napper at all. He's always way too interested in what his brother is doing. So much so that I sometimes have to ask B to leave the room while I'm feeding N.

WELL. I have perhaps found the solution to both dilemmas:

A short one hour nap in the afternoon takes the grumpies away from B and he still goes to bed easily at night by 8pm.

Two crib naps for N does the trick for him which has led to longer nighttime sleeps! He is so good for me these days allowing me to lay him in the crib awake and he happily rolls over himself and goes to sleep without protest.

Finding a routine that works for both children has been a real challenge since they both have such different needs. I constantly find it to be a balancing act to figure out what is in the best interest of each child individually, as well as for the family collectively. Also, sometimes all B needs is a little one on one time. He loves riding his bike with training wheels alongside dad on the rollerblades. He was also tickled that I took him out to see his first movie at the theatre on Friday. Another one of his favourites..sitting by the fire in the backyard with mom and dad and roasting marshmallows after little brother has gone to bed.

The Great Regression

So far so good! I'm happy to say that I'm getting the hang of this pumping on the go thing and would highly recommend the Avent hand pump for occasional pumping on the go.

I've been trying to pump every 3-4 hours while I'm away which means I don't have to pump much and it coincides with natural breaks like lunch, class breaks, etc. Thank god I'm not gone 5 days/week. Although I am able to pump a decent amount, it still isn't enough to fully cover the time I'm gone.

There seems to be a regression trend in my household this week. Yesterday N decided to go into formula acceptance regression. We thought we'd found one he'd eat after an unsuccessful run with an "allergy sensitive formula". After he had motored through the milk I left (as he usually does), my sister offered him formula. He became hysterical and refused to take any of the formula for the rest of the time I was away but happily ate some rice cereal. Luckily I've been pumping like mad and he shouldn't have to have the formula today while I'm away. I guess I'll have to try harder!

B is going through a bit of toilet training regression and has been having accidents all week at night and during the day. He was sleeping on his top bunk which he was thrilled about, however after a couple accidents, we've had to move him back to the bottom so he can make it to the bathroom in time in the middle of the night.

Nursing and "working"

So - I've returned back to my graduate studies program with nearly a full-time course load. N is 4 months old.

I'll give a bit of a brief history for me as this is my second time around being a somewhat "working mom" while nursing. B was the same age as N when I resumed my coursework after he was born. That being said... B did not need to have formula much at all until he stopped nursing when he was around 8 months old. With him I was only gone for two 5 hour time slots/week. Also, with B being a preemie we invested in a super duper double electric pump - the Medela - which I HIGHLY recommend to any moms that need to pump a lot or that have preemies that are not able to latch on effectively for the first while.

This past week was my first go at it and I hadn't yet gotten out the hand pump (Avent) I borrowed from a girlfriend so it was a couple of somewhat uncomfortable days followed by a slight dwindling of my supply. Also... N seems to pound back the milk I pump when it comes in a bottle so both days he motored on through all the milk I left (even my frozen supply). Since I feed on demand, it is hard for me to pump out large quantities. Consequently we were forced to supplement since I just wasn't producing enough when I pumped to meet his needs while I was away. With my own allergies, I didn't want to take any chances so we settled on a soy-based formula which doesn't seem to give him stomach troubles. He also started on rice cereal - just as his brother did when he was the same age.

I really wanted to hold back on starting his solids since B has so many allergies and I do as well. But when given the choice of a formula feeding or rice cereal I feel a little more comfortable with the cereal option. I just don't understand why there are so many fillers in baby formula. A girlfriend of mine weaned her daughter onto goat whey - when she was closer to a year though. I'm going to have to do a little more research on this one.

In the mean time... I have gotten the hand pump and cooler pack out for this week. I'll just have to find a quiet corner of the bathroom on my short breaks to keep the supply going!