Nursing and exercise

I'm very happy that I'm still nursing 7 and a half month old Lucas. I look at him and see how big and fun and interested in the world he is - we're amazed at his brilliant 7 month old self. The one thing I hate about him getting older is that the excuses for what has become of my body are getting fainter.

I was even a little bit proud of my post pregnancy pouch the first few months. I'd just had a baby, my body had gone through pain, stretching, cutting and stitching. It was like a merit badge accompanying the little baby.

7 months later, there is just no excuse. It's OK, I just had a baby. Oh, congratulations! How old is he. Almost 5. Yeah well you look great.

Nursing does help with some of the weight. If only I could keep my greedy little hands away from cookies... To give the body a little help I recently got back into the gym. Also, it is such amazing me time! I always come back re-energized and so much more eager to take on everything.

I was concerned it would affect my milk supply. La Liga de la Leche has a few guidelines for nursing moms who exercise, as well as related bibliography. Breastfeeding123.com has an encouraging little article too. Bottom line is: go for it. It shouldn't affect your milk supply, as long as you rehidrate etc. My ob-gyn was a little more cautious. She believes that exercise and milk supply and inversly proportional. She just said, go with caution. I don't do anything that involves a lot of jumping because the girls are big, and I don't want a sports bra to confine them too much. I am also staying away from heavy dumbells. My milk supply hasn't changed, and I'm slowly but surely getting there. And I stopped buying cookies.

Nursing pads

Nursing for many months is both wonderful (for those who like it) and riddled with varied little inconveniences. For instance, the need to constantly wear nursing pads: solution and new problem. Problem - the outer plastic layer of the disposable pads doesn't let nipples breath enough, which can lead to the dreaded cracked and sore nipples. Enter the solution - the washable nursing pads.

Medela makes lovely cotton pads. Cotton breathes. I've been using pads for several months and they work pretty well; they need to be changed as often as the disposable ones. The pads come with a useful little mesh bag for the washing machine. Plus, it's environmentally friendly I guess.

Obama and my son

Two people that made me very happy.

Lately, Lucas has been waking up at about 2 or 3 in the morning and staying up for about an hour. He is actually sleepy when this happens, but for some reason instead of falling back asleep he rolls around, sits up, falls back very groggy... during all this fun, I try to remember that he really is such a great kid and will eventually fall back asleep, and my husband is not sleeping out of calculated revenge but because he has to get up in a few hours to go to work, and if I were to wake him he would come and hang out with me and we would wonder together why some of us would think it was not the right time for sleeping. But not last night!

And in new mom lingo, "slept through the night" means he only woke up to nurse (twice) and fell right back to sleep. This was my first source of happiness this morning.

The other was when Wynn whispered (not to wake the still sleeping critter) that Obama had been elected. Best morning ever! This is looking to be a very good day.