flea

Casper was uncooperative again this morning. We were going along
pretty well, but when it came time to shut the TV off and get cleaned
up things broke down. After my patience was exhausted, I asked her
to chose between the nice way and the hard way. She chose the hard
way and ended up not liking it very much. She cried all the way to
school.

When it came time to drop her off she got really small and didn't
want to leave my side. Just minutes before as we were pulling in she
was going down her list of my transgressions and exclaiming that she
didn't like me. As she clung to me, I explained to her that I love
her very much even when we aren't getting along. We went back inside
because she wanted to be changed into her bathing suit like the other
kids running around this morning. We cooperated and by the time I
left her things were pretty well patched up. Tough morning just the
same.

In double-barreled ARGH news, the rabbits came back and ate the stems that were left in the picture I posted. They HATE me.

And my stupid breast pump motor stopped working. This is the one I just replaced maybe 4 months ago! I guess Ameda has gone down hill. I like their design better than Medela, but I don't think I'll buy from them again, if it comes to it. I was going to cut down to once a day next week and stop the week after that, but I guess I'll just stop. Miss Jackie says the Dillo is drinking well from a sippy (just water so far), he's eating tons for them, and he's had cottage cheese and ice cream enough that I think cow milk won't be a problem at all. I have enough bottled up to last the week, so we can start next week. Now I just have to watch myself and not start leaking like a maniac at 3pm.

So, today I got to work with the pump but without my ID, which I need to get into the lactation room. I called the 4 women who have babies in the building to ask if I could borrow their IDs, but nobody was home at 3 of the calls and at no. 4, she'd been deactivated when she stopped pumping a few months ago. I called the building manager, who I think has access - no answer. I'd normally pump in my office, but my student is here this morning, working in the office, and while I am ballsy about breastfeeding, I could not quite face saying, "James, I know you have never had a cup of coffee, and probably never had an alcoholic drink, and I would bet folding money you have never seen a woman naked in real life. But I need to ask you to leave the office for a few minutes so I can attach a pump to my breasta and make milk."

So I went into my boss' office next door. I put up my do not disturb sign and shut off the light. Why lights off? Well, there is a large glass window in my boss' office, and a student working at a computer about 6 feet away. I sat on the floor in the footwell of her desk and pumped. It felt sort of like what I imagine it feels like to try and have sex in the back seat of a car that is parked in your parents' driveway - they is something important and urgent you want to do, and you do really want to do it, but the circumstances are such that at inoppotune monets you have waves of discovery fear that can be highly inhibiting. (Okay, some people are turned on by discovery fear in sexual situations. For pumping, not a help.)

Anyway, I got my 4 oz and will not be leaking all over the phone interviews that will take up the rest of my day.

In closing I give you The Amazing Adventures of Spit-Up Boy! Now flying, with cape! (Click forward to see the whole sequence.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/299339228/

And ain't he some cunnin', as the cleaning woman (Nettie) my mother hired when I was 6 used to say of my infant brother. His cheeks and legs keep getting fatter and fatter. http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/235181064/

He remains the Spit-up King of Durham NC - just gave out two little gouts almost an hour after we finished nursing. But he's fat and doesn't seem uncomfortable, so I guess it's the not-so-bad reflux. We just do a lot of laundry, between that and the peeing of the Casper.

Went to work this AM and it was fine; got my office half unpacked already. Came home and topped Dillo off after he'd just had 2 oz from a bottle and he proceeded to take a 3.5 hour nap. No trouble getting my 2 hours of work at home done today!

I am a little worried about the pumping. I haven't been getting a lot, and there's not a great time to squeeze another pumping session into the day since he nurses pretty often. Partly I think it is just getting used to the pump again (ah, my old squeaky friend) and partly I have been successful in reducing my oversupply so need to work a little to build up a *small* oversupply, because it's so much easier and faster to pump when you have Too Much Milk.