Okay, maybe not so much with the writing more often.? But it’s a whole new week and I’m hoping that I can turn over a new leaf.? After all, I got a WHOLE lot more design work done last week, just like I’d hoped so I think there’s a chance. I have high hopes.
I’m really trying to resist the whole “bullet-style” post.? I want to step up my blogging here.? So instead, I’m gonna go by the whole “random snippet style” post.? That’s much better, right? 
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I’m SO SICK of cleaning bottles.? HOLY HELL, ya’ll.? The fact that I was able to get some design work done simply amazes me because my days are primarly made up of pumping, cleaning bottles, storing milk, cleaning pump parts, feeding Liam, trying to settle Liam when he’s doing through his uncomfy/gassy/fussy period…? and then it’s time to clean bottles again.? OMG.? Of course, it’d be better if we had more than four 4oz bottles.? We have a decent number of collection bottles, but since Liam seems to have ramped up his breastmilk consumption lately, we burn through the four bottles much quicker.? Which of course means I’m cleaning them about twice as much now.? Oh, and I’m running frighteningly low on freezer storage bags.? I have some Medela ones left, but I’ve really developed a preference for the handy ziploc-style Lansinoh bags so I’m sad that I’m almost out.
Pumping?? Kinda sucks.? I mean, it beats the heck out of formula.? But I wish we could just do breastfeeding and be done with it.? I’m starting to wonder if maybe he has the “tongue tie” thing I’ve heard about.? I just keep hoping that some day he’ll just GET IT, and that’ll be it.
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Nights are… interesting. I have a unique sleep-style.? I have a hard time falling asleep at night, then staying asleep.? And if I’m woken up in the middle of the night, my sleep-adled brain is very resistant to being awake.? I think it’s because of the whole hard to fall asleep/hard to stay asleep thing.? I get very possesive of my 40 winks.? I wish I were more like Kile, who can fall asleep at the drop of a hat and in the middle of the night it can be VERY difficult to wake him up.? Wouldn’t that be delicious?? God, I wish I could do that.? He can also fall asleep in the car, sitting up in the chair downstairs, etc and so forth.? I can’t even come close.
As a result, we had a hard time working out an acceptable schedule at night.? I was expecting before Liam was born, that I’d be breastfeeding and therefore dealing primarily with Liam at night.? But with the bottle thing, Kile is more than able to chip in so he does.? Plus, breastfeeding is different.? Once I perfected it with Harry, I’d just wake up enough to stick the boob in his mouth and go back to sleep.? Even when he was moved to a crib in his own room, he had a bed in his room and I’d just lay down with him there and voila.? With the bottle, you actually have to sit up.
So we finally discovered that getting up, and actually going downstairs to feed Liam in the night worked best.? For both of us.? But we had a hiccup when trying to decide who got what shift.? Liam generally wakes up sometime from 1am to 3am the first time and then again somewhere from 4-5:30am.? I thought maybe myself having the second shift would work best since Kile gets up at 6 or so and by 4 or 5 I’d be mostly rested up.? NO.? When we tried that, the second shift came at 3 and after Liam had been awake fussing for an hour after Kile had been up with him at 1.? And I sorta was psychotic and Kile got mad and it wasn’t pretty.? So I have the first shift.? Last I expected it to be rought because we didn’t get to bed until 12am and Liam woke up at 2.? But it was okay.? I get up, come downstairs and with the lights on low, sit in the recliner and feed Liam.? I also see what’s on TV.? Mostly it’s infomercials, but so far I’ve gotten lucky and found some great shows and movies to watch.? Last night I watched an hour of “Executive Decision” and the other night I saw a great A&E Biography show about J.K. Rowling.? I even caught a couple episodes of “Angel” the other night.? Awesome!
Anyhow, it takes at least an hour because? I feed Liam, then burp him and change his diaper.? If he’s still hungry, I feed him some more.? Then he’ll zone out on his “milk drunk” thing and I’ll put him in the bouncy seat on the “brain melting” vibrate setting.? While that’s going on, I’ll pump and then clean those parts, store the milk, wash some bottles, yadda yadda.? Usually by then, he’s ready for a nip or two off the bottle again.? Then, he’s OUT.? So I wrap him up tight as a tick in a recieving blanket and voila.? Works for me.? It’s a good system and I’m just SO glad we finally got it becuase I was gonna die.
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We got some pictures done at the mall today.? We wanted to have them done last Sunday (the infamous Sunday that I lost my wallet at the mall), but they were busy so we scheduled for today.? Ironically, we forgot we’d made the appointment until we were walking through the mall.? D’oh!? It seemed, on the surface, it was a horrible day to do portaits.? I was dressed pretty nice, as was Kile.? But Liam wasn’t wearing the cutest of outfits and Harry’s outfit was sketchy at best.? Then Liam spit up all over my shoulder.? Then Kile’s.?? But it worked out really good.? Liam was awake and cheerfully alert and the pictures, for the most part, turned out great.? Liam looks a little goofy in one, and Harry has an awful smile in another (which is an awful shame becuase the rest of the picture turned out so great).? But the rest are awesome.? They even wanted to enter the one of Harry kissing Liam’s head in their portrait contest so woo hoo for that.? Anyhow, you can check out the pics below.? Just click on each pic to see it larger.
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