[GreatBigMonsterMomma]

Yeah, I know lechera means milkmaid, just thought it was cute.

Things are going pretty well here. I have a Body for Life for Women challenge going with some women on another site, which means I'm getting back into my weightlifting and I love it!

I've also managed to get back up to being able to walk 2 miles a day. Wasn't that long ago that I was only capable of one mile.

Esther's nursing is still going great. She's started spacing out her nursing too, which is a relief. Linda is still going strong as well. She'll nurse a good 4 - 6 times a day if I let her.

My seventh anniversary is on Sunday & Linda's second birthday is four days after that. Since we've agreed to go to Chuck E Cheese for Linda's birthday (we haven't been there since last March for the oldest's birthday; I hate the place), I'll have to use my free day for that. No clue what we're doing for our anniversary.

Not too sure if I'm going to manage my mini goal of hitting 182 before my anniversary though. I'm stubbornly at 184. I might have to lengthen it out to hitting that by the time Esther's 3 months old, on the 30th.

[hautbois]

happy anniversary sabra!

still nursing here (8 wks today). the cracked nipple never responded to home treatment, so my ob (who said it's one of the worst cases she had ever seen and couldn't believe i was still nursing) gave me a Rx for this compound ointment. it's $$$ and not billable to my insurance but it seems to be helping. still cracked but pain is greatly reduced so it's worth the money. plan to continue another 4 wks and decide from there.

[GreatBigMonsterMomma]

Wow, 8 weeks in spite of a cracked nipple. You deserve a medal for that for sure! Sucks that your insurance co wouldn't cover it, though. Here's hoping it heals up.

[happy heart]

Hi everyone, just checking in. Can't really post much right now.....I am feeding the baby and its hard to type with one hand. I will try to check back later.....Have a great day!!

[GreatBigMonsterMomma]

Eventually you'll get better at it. At least around here we all know what causes the typos!

[hautbois]

lol...that's the reason my earlier post didn't have upper case letters!

[KimProbable]

Things are going well for me as well. I'm down another five pounds (I'd have been down ten but Christmas was too good to me!) and I'm really feeling the difference.

I've been much better with responsible eating lately. I haven't been following any specific guidelines other than having three distinct meals and snacks each day and not eating outside of that. The weather has been beautiful and I've been able to walk to DS's school each day to pick him up. Carrying DD in a CuddlyWrap gives me a few extra pounds to carry around and makes it more of a workout too!

I've chosen a mini-goal of 15 lbs more by April first. By the way things are going now I should be able to hit it without a problem.

Nursing is still going great too. Lillian is decidedly an all-day snacker so I seem to be open for business all the time, but it works for us and she's growing beautifully. She's got wrist rolls and creases on the fronts of her knees! I spend a lot of time nuzzling her cute chubbyness!

Happy anniversary Sabra!!

[Snoopysgirl]

My 6 month old is on a nursing strike and I have been very emotional about it. The only way she will take my milk is if I mix it with cereal and feed it to her with a spoon. When I put her to the breast she arches her back, cries, and turns away. I took her ear rings out to see if that was the problem..nope. I gave her some tylenol in case she was teething. What finally did the trick after all day.. was keeping her up really late and then when her eyes started darting because she was tired she finally nursed...ahhh relief. I hoped it was over, (the strike), but today is the same old deal. Will try more tonight.

P.S. She sort of fell against the coffee table and there is a small cut right below her nostrel..but she nursed after it happened a few times..only later did she strike. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I hope that my milk supply doesn't dwindle too much. I have been hand expressing my milk but it isn't enough to keep up for too much longer.

[GreatBigMonsterMomma]

Jenni, try posting at MotheringDotCommune to see if they've got any suggestions. The only things that come to mind are maybe she's got an ear infection or you've been eating something lately that doesn't sit well for her. You can also try swaddling her tightly before you nurse her; that used to be the only way we could get Linda to eat.

[KimProbable]

I looked up info on nursing strikes in LLL's Breastfeeding Answer Book and here are some suggestions listed:
- Nurse the baby when she is asleep or very sleepy.
- Use different nursing positions.
- Nurse when in motion (walking, rocking).
- Give the baby extra attention and skin-to-skin contact. Whenever you try to feed baby, undress to the waist and have her in just a diaper. Taking warms baths together can also be soothing.

I'm not sure if any of this helps or not, but I figured that I could at least share the info I found. Hopefully something clicks for the two of you soon and things get back to normal.

[Snoopysgirl]

Thanks for the good advice; Update now.. I was able to nurse her last night around 5 am and then again around 9am..I am walking very tenetively.. just trying to smile A LOT and cuddle A LOT and be very gentle about nursing in case there is something physically hurting her. I did end up just leaving the ear rings out, (just in case it was irritating her) and hopefully this trend of her nursing today continues.

[KimProbable]

Yay! Go baby go!