This past week has brought us to a new phase. I have come to a place of acceptance that perhaps the breastfeeding is as good as it is going to get. I continue to work on my supply in hopes of getting her to mostly breast milk (perhaps even exclusively breast milk???) but I think she will probably never get off the shield and will only breastfeed during the early morning feedings. So she gets bottles during the day and I am okay with that. Pumping is a pain but if it means she gets more breast milk, it is the best thing I can do.
In the meantime I am working on focusing on what life is going to look like from here forward. Settling into routines, discovering how to function in "real life" with a baby, and remembering who I am before baby and with baby. She is a wonderful little being. Her disposition is fiery and sweet. Strange combo I know but makes perfect sense knowing her parents! =) She can go from laughing and cooing one second to screaming the next. And yes, I do mean screaming.
Some milestones happening at the moment make each and every day a new adventure. Currently she is really discovering her hands- grabbing things, sucking on them, and enjoying them altogether. She really wants to sit up and frequently crunches forward and up when she is sitting in her car seat or other reclined positions. She is also SO social. She really loves people and checks them out with intensity. She stares you down looking deeply with her eyes and usually ends with a coy smile. She is also really interested when we are eating. I suspect once "solid" foods are introduced she will be very excited about eating. She absolutely stares me down every time I eat in front of her, following the fork (or whatever) with her eyes and laughing whenever I make "yummy" sounds.
She is a wonderful little girl and I am loving getting to know her. It is still hard work and challenges me daily, but the rewards are like nothing else I've experienced.
Here is a family photo from the pumpkin patch last week!
