Saturday, October 21, 2006

Whew continued

It was so nice to be sitting back against a wedge pillow in bed with Claire resting against me on the new nursing pillow from my mom, and to see Claire sleeping soundly. I read my most recent Everyday Food magazine that just came in the mail ths week. The same magazine inspired me to cook a lot of squash recently.

I think Claire might be starting teething. This afternoon and evening she had some fits of irritability and she had been drooling and gnawing on everything in sight...by the way, she is able to bring things up to her mouth. She even tries to put my finger in her mouth once she grabs it. This may also explain why she hasn't been napping very long lately. I guess today was catch-up day.

I am determined to focus on skin-to-skin, sling time and general closeness with Claire this week. No getting distracted with chores or other tasks. It is very silly, but I keep getting distracted. I really wanted to focus on nursing while my mom was here, but I was hyperactive because I had the opportunity to do some organizing and some sewing that I couldn't easily do without help around here. Then Claire started refusing the breast... My original intention when we brought Claire home was to continue with Kangaroo care. Unfortunately, I had a hard time selecting a sling and my homemade wrap was difficult to get Claire into and out of. Then the sling I ordered online was too big and I had to return it which meant another week delay. Meanwhile I was not used to carrying her since I was always sitting with her in the hospital. I was uncomfortable carying her around the house at first and had to use both hands. Finally I just expected that she would to continue to cling to me and fall asleep like she did in the hospital which was not the case. She became more active and it became less comfortable to try to hold her against me with her moving around the whole time. All this has meant that I lost sight of my original intention and have only done Kangaroo care sporadically. I hope I don't have unrealistic expectations after such a positive experience today.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We really appreciate being included in the day-to-day progress with Claire. It's the next best thing to living next door! I can imagine Claire's smiles, drools, and what fun it is to read and play with her. I'm glad you're able to relax a bit more with Claire too, Jen. You've been through a lot in dealing with Claire's long hospital stay on top of all the regular physical and emotional changes of pregnancy and childbirth. You and Mark are giving Claire the best of nuturing.
We look forward to enjoying time together again. Much love, Nanna Pennie