Weeks 22-25

Alternate Title: I am so very bad at weekly posting.

I've been writing this jumble of a post for almost a month now but never having it polished up enough to publish when a week's end rolled around. So rather than keep it going for ANOTHER week, I'm going to squish things around a bit call it good.

The defining feature of Week 22 was solo parenting as M had a business trip and several evening commitments that left me alone with all three kids for four bedtimes and one overnight. You want to know a good way to make sure you're appreciated? Leave your partner alone for four bedtimes and one overnight. We all survived, but were glad to have M back in the saddle at the end of the week.

Week 23 brought Halloween and I spent upwards of (cough, cough) hours making costumes for all three boys. I have previously blogged* about my irrational need to sew my kids' Halloween costumes. Thankfully, my skills have increased significantly since then, and the sewing itself went much smoother this year. There were many things I could have and should have spent that time on (i.e. SLEEP) but, holy hell, did I ever have three cute penguins come Halloween night. Photo will be over at the annex shortly.

During Week 24 we took family pictures which was pretty much like herding cats but, amazingly, yielded some really nice shots. In Week 25, I was struck down with a nasty flu and C&G gifted me a 9 hour stretch of sleep; a feat they have yet to repeat. (Boo.) I also met up with some old co-workers for lunch which fits well into the "On Becoming a SAHM" post I've been writing in my head for weeks now. If only I could have a few more hours in each day...

In development news, the boys have spent the last month figuring out how to sit! C can do it all on his own for a decent stretch of time before toppling over and Grant isn't far behind. I forgot how funny it is to see them develop a new trick or skill and then do it All! The! Time! for a day or two until the novelty wears off. Other than sitting, they've been loving sucking their lower lips (G went through several days of doing this for hours on end, literally humming with pleasure the whole time. So flipping cute.), experimenting with different vocalizations, playing with their feet (typically in the aptly named Happy Baby pose), and putting anything and everything into their mouths. Both are showing unmistakable signs of teething and we are pretty sure we can see at least one tooth just under the surface of G's gums. I remember things getting a lot easier and more fun with E when he was around 6 months old and staying that way for the next couple of years, and these guys are already so easy and fun, I can't wait to see what the coming months bring. So much to look forward to!

And then there's breastfeeding. Ah, breastfeeding. A few weeks ago, we went back to the chiro and she confirmed that the uptick in BF pain I'd been feeling was not in my head; G's tongue tie has reattached on one side and C's upper lip tie is causing additional restriction. She suggested going back back to the laser doc to have both of these things corrected... but that may be where I draw the line. When I told her I wasn't sure I was open to that, she encouraged me to do as much stretching of the ties as possible in hopes that between my stretching and her adjusting, we could get to a tolerable point, and after two more visits with her and a whole lot of stretching on my part, I think that we have. I'm no longer having the cracks and blisters that I was a month ago (knock on wood) and while I don't think breastfeeding will ever be completely pain-free for me, it has become a lot more bearable lately. The boys seem to be getting a little more efficient and my supply seems to be up a bit as well, so things are pretty good in that department. I'd love to ditch one of our hour-plus nursing sessions during the night, but they seem pretty intent on keeping them both for now, so... Yeah.

I think that's all for now! Time to try to steal a couple of hours of sleep before the nighttime feedings commence. Zzzzzz....


*But, maybe don't read that whole post because it is rather poorly written and cringe-worthy for me to look back on now.