Making food for baby

I hate pumping. There,  I said it. It is 4am in the morning and I am up for the second time since everyone went to bed last night. Why am I up?  Well,  pumping of course.

Like JOE,  JAE also has a problem latching. To be honest,  this was one of my biggest fears when I was pregnant this time around.  With JOE, I pumped exclusively for 11 months to ensure she got the best...breastmilk.  I recall that towards the end of pumping last time,  it became increasingly difficult to pump because JOE  was mobile and wanted to touch everything in sight. It was also a challenge finding time to pump while at work with a demanding work schedule.  Never mind the middle of the night pump sessions which required me to be up for at least 50 minutes per session each night.

Side Note: I know most people say pump for 15 minutes but I have no idea how you do it. I don't even get any real milk until close to the 12 minute mark.  Feel free to share your secret if you have one.

Anyways,  due to the significant commitment, the numerous clogs I experienced, the many doses of fenugreek I had to take to keep up my supply for pumping,  I was determined to nurse this time around.
For starters, I made sure to attempt to nurse shortly after JAE was born. It was semi successful.  Then when I got into my post delivery room,  we made several unsuccessful attempts to nurse. I got to see 2 lactation consultants.  The first one said JAE might have a tongue tie.  The second one said she didn't.  Regardless,  the one commonality was that neither could get JAE to latch long enough to feed.
I left the hospital with instructions on how to syringe feed. And a hospital pump which I rented at the suggestion of the lactation consultant.  The syringe feeding was supposed to encourage nursing at some point in the future.

After I got home,  JAE and I made several attempts at nursing but had no luck.  I reluctantly decided to pump in an attempt to encourage my milk to come in faster.  I did this in hopes that it would encourage JAE to latch on and stay on long enough to feed. I faithfully started pumping 7 to 8 times every 24 hours daily only to get little or nothing at all.  To say it was discouraging would be an understatement. I returned the pump after a week and started using my medela freestyle which I purchased and used for JOE.

In the meantime,  I kept thinking to myself,  here I am with "significant assets" and yet unable to naturally feed my child.
I should add that I also had some other post delivery related health issues I was dealing with so that has  made for a very stressful situation. However,  I was told those issues should not affect my ability to nurse or JAE's ability to latch.

I was still determined to nurse so I made an appointment with a lactation consultant.  I also attended a support group for other moms who had or are having similar issues. Following my attendance of the group session,  it was confirmed that JAE did indeed have a tongue tie.  I made an appointment immediately to get it taken care of a couple of days later.  I was praying for a miracle but sadly,  that didn't happen.

On to the next step,  I met with the lactation consultant and left $200 poorer. I am told I'll get reimbursed by my health insurance.
During the session,  we struggled to get JAE to latch and nurse. By struggle,  I mean JAE screamed like she was being punished whenever she was put on my breast. I felt sad that my child was so stressed out about feeding.  I left almost 3 hours later. But I left with some helpful tips I immediately started implementing. Before leaving,  I recall asking the lactation consultant if some babies just don't know how to nurse but she assured me that all babies are born with the innate ability to nurse and that JAE would eventually get it.
Sadly,  after a week,  I was still unsuccessful. It really is disheartening to see your newborn baby crying everytime you lift your shirt to attempt to nurse her.

I finally have come to accept that I will be a pumping mom this time around again.
I am not thrilled about it and only plan on pumping for the duration of my maternity leave and how long it takes to completely "go dry".
It has been a very stressful 4-weeks trying to get JAE to latch and nurse.
So as I sit here listening to the loud whining sound of the pump while my family sleeps,  I keep thinking to myself,  I hate pumping but breastmilk is best and financially,  it makes sense. Plus all I have to do is look at the beautiful face of my daughter JAE and I feel blessed that even though she isn't nursing,  she is getting fed breastmilk exclusively.

PS: I am not asking for sympathy or reprimand.  I know the decision to breastfeed is mine and I fully accept that it isn't a do or die situation.  I am just voicing my thoughts/feelings :-).

So far so good

Well, it's week 4 of living as a family of 4. So far so good. 

My mom was here for a little over 3 weeks and was very helpful. I can't imagine having to deal with all the changes without her help, support and guidance. She's cooked, cleaned, cared for JAE and JOE and made time to care for me. She truly is an awesome mom.

In the midst of all of the adjustments, our childcare provider had to take some time off for health reasons and ended up being out longer than anticipated. Thankfully, my mom made the necessary adjustments to ensure we had full support. I can't say enough about how her presence made life a whole lot easier. J, JOE, JAE and I all miss her very much already.

In any case, here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks. 

JOE wearing her dad's hat. Too cute!

Mommy/daughter selfie!

Silly girl!

Yay!!!JAE likes her Rock and Play. Loving this!

I love the way JOE looks at her sister. They really love each other.

Just because... She slept for 5 hours! JAE is an awesome sleeper. 

Grandma (my mom) feeding her youngest grandchild.

First mommy/daughters selfie. JAE didn't want to be bothered. She loves to sleep!

My entertainment while I pump. JOE was showing me how to be a lady by crossing her legs. She asked me to take a picture. 😁

Sibling love! ♥

J and I have tried to ensure JOE still gets her play time. My mom and I took her to the mall here and she had a great time walking around and playing in the kids area. And here is JOE having a tea party with J.

JAE doesn't get the whole selfie thing. Hence her face 😀.

But I insisted and she was having none of that.

Like I days, my mom cooked so many delicious meals! This was requested by J. It is pounded yam and egusi (melon/spinach) soup.

And she made asaro (yam porridge).

And Nigerian shrimp fried rice.

And Nigerian fried fish stew.

This picture was taken almost 2 weeks ago. Thanks to the belly bandit, my stomach has come down significantly!
As of today, I am at my pre-JOE weight. Not JAE, JOE! I love that it helps control how much I am eating and also provides some much needed back support.

Hope you're having an awesome Spring so far. With the exception  of allergy congestion, I am really happy for the warmer weather.

Gift from heaven: Meet JAE

Well, it's been a very busy week. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that we welcomed our newest addition last Friday.
Jenna Oyesade E. (to be known as JAE in the blog) arrived last Friday (04/10/15) morning at 2:28am weighing in at 7lbs 4oz and 19.25 inches long.
We really feel so blessed and words cannot describe how much love we have for JOE and JAE. It is true what they say...your ability to love multiples with each child and your heart expands to accommodate the new addition.

For me, the old wives tale about subsequent labor experiences being much faster than the first also held true. This one occurred at what seemed like lightening speed!

I went to work as usual on 4/9/15 and had no labor pains.
When I got home, I did notice that baby girl was a lot more active and I was having maybe one good contraction per hour. I told J I suspected that baby girl would be here by Sunday or Monday at the latest. Little good I know how right I was.
I went to bed as usual and was woken up at 10:25pm by what I thought was a stomach cramp. But then about 6 minutes later, I had another one. J was in the basement working out so I decided to go to the android store and look for a contraction tracking app.
When J came up, I told him to take a shower and that I was likely in active labor.
I tracked my contractions and to my utter surprise, they were consistently 5 minutes or less apart! We immediately called our neighbor who had agreed to watch JOE should I go into labor at night. Then we contacted J's mom who would relieve our neighbor.
I called my parents and told them my mom wouldn't be here in time since she was scheduled to arrive the next day. They prayed with me and my older brother who happened to be in town also gave me a pep talk. He told me to focus on the outcome and not the process and those words certainly helped during a very PAINFUL labor.

Off we went to the hospital afterwards. I should add that in the middle of all this, JOE was sleeping and didn't even get up once. I was concerned that she would panic when she woke up and we weren't there but she did great from what I have been told.

We arrived at the hospital a little after midnight on 4/10/15. By the time I was admitted and checked, I was told I was at 7cm! That certainly explained what I called "rolling contractions."
By the time we got in the birthing room a little after 1am, I was at 8cm. My water broke shortly after and JAE arrived after ONE push at 2:28am. And if you were wondering, my fear of needles kicked in again. No epidural for me. But ouchie! With JOE, I labored all day so the pain was more tolerable. With JAE, the labor was so short that I felt like I was having contractions on top of each other. It was certainly more intense.
From the start of my first active contractions to the delivery, it was 4 hours!

On to the meaning of her names.
Jenna means "gift from heaven" and
Oyesade means "Crown of royalty".

We feel so lucky and blessed to be parents again for the second time.
JOE loves her sister so much! She kisses on her, talks to her and always wants to carry her. Watching her with her little sister makes me smile.

We are slowly but surely adjusting to life as parents of 2 and even though it's been a little challenging sometimes, it's been more rewarding most times.

I'll try to keep up with the blog but I'll likely post pictures more with brief explanations than full on blogs.

Have an awesome weekend!

JAE's  first picture.

JAE at 8-days...today!

Talk about multitasking. I was pumping, rocking JAE to sleep and catching up on work emails.

Gosh...starting over. I forgot how disappointing it feels to spend 30 minutes on the pump (15 minutes per boob) and barely getting anything. This was at day 6. We are also experiencing latching issues with JAE so for now, I am primarily pumping and we supplement with formula. I do know supply increases over time so that's my consolation. I am hoping we resolve it relatively quickly because I don't want to primarily pump for 10.5 months like I did with JOE. That was a lot and would be near impossible with 2 kids.

If this picture looks familiar, it is because I have a similar one with JOE.

JOE and JAE. They are going to be best of friends. I already can see the love between them.

"Milk coma."

Her first carseat ride!

Our first picture as a family of 4.

JAE's going home outfit. The hat is the same one JOE wore home.

Pregnancy update @ 40-weeks

We are finally in our 40th week of pregnancy! I feel like as soon as I hit 39-weeks, I suddenly got really really tired! I felt a lot bigger and felt like I had to "carry" my belly at night whenever I got up. Does that even make sense? Needless to say, the discomfort has kicked in. Its no longer easy to get in my car and bending down to pick up something I've dropped can sometimes be a challenge. 

As of my appointment on Tuesday, baby hadn't dropped and I wasn't dilated. I guess this baby is taking her time. 

Anyways, I am skipping right to the at home maternity session we did.
J took the pictures and I think he did a fabulous job.

So here they are!

My next post will likely be about baby's arrival. Stay tuned!

Catching up! Last week and Easter Weekend.

We had a lovely week and weekend. On Thursday, Jordan's child care provider had an emergency which required that I leave work early to relieve J since he had an important meeting he couldn't miss that afternoon. 

While it was a bit of a pain, it was also nice for me to savor my last few days with my baby as an only child. She will be getting a sibling soon and soon, she'll have to share my time. It was definitely an opportunity to enjoy my baby and see how much she's grown/changed. 

Anyways, here is my little Ms. Sunshine in her tea party outfit. Fit for a princess :-). We made several practice Easter egg hunts around the house to get her ready for Easter Sunday. She is actually pretty good at it. I just love the squeal she makes when she finds an egg.

Then it was time to select a book to read in the glider J put together for me. Funny story about the glider, I figured it would be a good way to get JOE to sleep. So we got on there and while I rocked, I read her a couple of books. 

After the 3rd book, she turned to me and said "momma, I don't want to sleep! I am going to build blocks!"

Clearly, she was on to me. 

And off she went to build her blocks. Yeah...we're still working on her smile when I say "cheese!" :-)

My very thoughtful "baby" sister sent us a beautiful and delicious Edible Arrangements in addition to a gift for baby. She thought of everyone in the house and got each person something. It definitely made our day on Friday evening to have some yummy treats.

And here's JOE's style for the week. I wanted her to only get 2 braids but she insisted on 4. Since we don't do 4 often, I obliged her. Her hair is growing so much! I love that we now have a mostly peaceful time doing her hair. It has truly saved us time, energy and tears.

Since we're still working on the smiley face, I figured I'll get one of her crying face. I asked JOE to pretend cry and this is what I got. How cute!

For Easter, after Church, we took JOE to McD to play around for a bit (aka...burn off some energy) and then we came home and J placed the Easter eggs around our front yard for JOE. Here she is all excited about going out.

But before heading out, JOE got to open her Easter basket. 

JOE likes to play pretend jump rope so we got her one. It serves a dual purpose. As her jump rope AND her lasso. Score!

The Easter egg hunt was a success. JOE had a great time. Pardon my sniffling in the video. I am having serious allergies which has me fully congested. Ick! 

JOE and her loot. She really enjoyed it.

Smiling with her dadda who helped place the eggs around and also helped her along the way.

JOE's "masterpiece!" 

JOE's child care provider worked with her on this piece below. I love that her child care provider is teaching her some biblical lessons. 

J thinks I am nesting and he may be right. It was another weekend of cooking multiple dishes. I made some Nigerian beans and rice and topped it off with fried stew and chicken.  

 

Then sauteed some broccoli for JOE. She loves it.

And then finished up with some macaroni and cheese. I figured if the baby arrives this week, JOE and J won't starve :-).

Overall, it was a blessed weekend. Now, we're just taking it one day at a time as we await the arrival of little miss sunshine...aka "baby sister." 

I know we need to come up with a blog name for her. She'll likely share the same initials as JOE so that's out. 

Do you have any thoughts/ideas? If so, I'd like to hear them. 

Have a fabulously blessed week!