Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and stuffed your faces with plenty of food. My Thanksgiving turned out to be very nice. My side of the family and Dan's side got together. We had plenty of yummy food and dessert. Since this is a Cuban Thanksgiving (well except for my mom, she's a Spaniard), our table had turkey (of course, I made it), ham, pork, stuffing, arroz morro or con gris (it depends on which side of the island you're from), and yucca. For dessert, we had flan, dulce tres leche, and cupcakes for the kiddies. Not too shabby!

Dan and I had our traditional turkey sandwiches yesterday for lunch. These sandwiches are especially made by Dan. They're actually better than the meal. I won't divulge much of the recipe, but let's just say that he uses gravy as one of the ingredients. I wait all year long to eat these sandwiches. They're so freaking scrumptious.

Yesterday, we celebrated our friend's Frank's birthday. He had a little party at his place. It was a potluck dinner, but not just any potluck. You had to make something you've never made before. Several weeks ago, Dan had bought The Cookie Cookbook. So, I figured I'd make some cookies. I decided on the Cappuccino Spice Cookies. I went out got the ingredients I needed and started baking. Oh my god, they turned out to be so yummy! I must have gained ten pounds eating them. The birthday boy loved them too! When you get a chance, get your hands on a copy of this book. I don't think you'll regret it!

Last, but definitely not least, here's my little guy in his turkey outfit:

I'm Sneaking a Post...

I just finished putting William down to sleep. He's not there yet, but he is laying quietly listening to the rain and jungle noises. Hopefully, he remains quiet because I'm pumping now. It's around 12:30am and obviously I'm up. Although, I can't complain. I fell asleep on the couch when Heroes started and woke up at 11. There's nothing like snoozing.

One of the reasons I'm sneaking in a post is that I wanted all of you to know that nursing is a success! So much so that whenever it's my turn, I nurse him. The only times I plan to give him the bottle is in the morning before leaving to work. Nursing takes longer than bottle feeding. I'm already running around in the mornings to add more pressure on myself. Besides, when you're stressed, you don't let down.

The second reason I'm posting is to show you the cutest picture in the world!! Yesterday was Baby Cal's christening. This christening was extra special because Dan became Cal's godfather. He's very proud and honored to take on that title. We were able to get the two little guys to sit side by side on a couch. You could imagine that it looked like the paparazzi had found their celebrity to target. The cameras did not stop flashing. They were so incredibly adorable together! So, I'll leave you with the picture!

It's Sunday Already?

Wow, the weekend flies by when you don't have much free time. Well, I have next weekend to look forward to. Let's see, my little guy is growing sooooo fast!! He's already up to 11 lbs. and 8 oz. Can you believe that? He's outgrown all of his newborn clothes and some of his 0-3. We bought him 3-6 month old onesies and pj's. Hopefully, they'll last him awhile.

Mommy's milk is increasing! I don't know if it's all in my head, which allows me to relax and let down or the tea actually works. My frozen supply has gone up to two days worth of milk and I even have four bottles set-up in the fridge for when he feeds. I am so happy about this. I thought for sure I would have to start introducing formula to him. Obviously, he's drinking enough milk because in a week he gained almost a pound.

Speaking of feeding, I decided that I would start nursing him on weekends and most likely when I get home from work. I had stopped doing so because he was not having it with my boobs. He would cry a lot and become so frustrated and exhausted that he would just fall asleep. So, it's been about 4 weeks that I haven't nursed him (once in a while to soothe him). It didn't bother me at first, but as the days went by, I felt that we were both missing out on something special. Will and I have bonded just fine, but I feel that we need that extra bonding that you only get from nursing.

When I got home Friday night from work, I tried nursing. He fought with me a bit, but eventually drank for close to 40 minutes. I was soooo happy about this. Nursing didn't go well in the middle of the night, but yesterday we did fine. When I had to feed him at 3:30 this morning we did great and he nursed for 40 minutes. I guess since he's older, he nurses better. He doesn't bite or hurt me like he did when he first started nursing.

So, what I started doing as a result of nursing him is that I pump immediately after I'm done nursing (well, actually when I put him down to sleep). I completely drain out the boob he drank from and obviously pump out the other one. I think this is the key to increasing my milk supply. Even after nursing him, I still get enough to make a bottle and sometimes to store (very important).

Even though I started nursing again, Dan and I are still sharing the feeding responsibilities. I do one feeding and he does the next. I feel it's important that he remains involved because it helps with their bonding. While he feeds the baby, I pump out milk. Although, I have to admit that it's very challenging to wake up at night just to pump. There have been plenty of times that I've almost talked myself out of it.

Well, it's time for me to go. I'll leave you with a picture of my sleeping prince (he woke up a few minutes after the picture was taken).

Ahhh, My Weekly Update

I tried. I really tried hard to get some blogging time this past week, but obviously I wasn't successful. This one will be another quick one since Will is about to wake up to eat. Let me get going then.

The baby has been doing fine except for the fact that he has indigestion. Dan ended up taking him to the doctor yesterday because he was projectile for about 24 hours. It didn't happen with every feeding, but it was enough that we knew something was up. Everything is fine and he's not dehydrated in any way or loosing weight for that matter (he went from 10 lbs. on 10/24 to 10 lbs. 12 oz. yesterday). Can you say butterball? The doctor told Dan to get him chamomile tea and give it to him in 1 to 2 oz. increments whenever he seems in pain.

Will is not too crazy about the tea, but it did make him poop like a madman. After the explosive poop, he calmed down. This morning, I sterilized more water (10 mins. rolling boil) and made him 9 oz. of the stuff. Whatever works to keep him happy. I hate seeing him in pain. He does this pout thing with his mouth that totally melts my heart and makes me want to cry with him.

He's probably getting indigestion from something I'm eating. So, I've come to the conclusion that I better stick to chicken, rice, and potatoes. Anything crazier than that, and the little guy will suffer. He's inherited the sensitive stomach from me. I always have stomach problems.

Now on to the breast milk. I've figured out what my problem is. I'm definitely producing enough milk to feed him throughout the day, but not enough to store. This is why my frozen supplies are dwindling. I've been drinking the Mother's Milk Tea three times a day and I'm gradually noticing an increase in the supply. It hasn't been anything crazy, though. My goal for today, is to pump every 2 to 2 1/2 hours to see if that ups my supply.

Besides the tea I've been drinking, I've been having oatmeal and mixing condensed milk with coke (Cuban wives' tale). I've also been drinking as much milk as I can. I don't know if any of these remedies work, but you can't accuse me of not trying. We'll see what happens with this. Worst case scenario, I'll start blending formula with the milk. That's allow me to store more milk.

Well, that's it for today. I do have pictures to post, but I'm not sure when that will happen. Until next time!!!