Hiking. And NO. I am NOT going to wean my baby any time soon!!!

Michelle is the poster child for her Bum Genius 3.0 cloth diapers!

We finally got out for a little hike on Saturday to Red Butte. A nice hike up to "the living room", a trail head 15 minutes away from my Dad's house. Ahhh yes. THIS is what we were missing!


















I have worked two 12-hour shifts now. They went great for me, but after Sunday, Michelle totally decompensated that night. I took her to bed with me and she literally was stuck to my boobs all night long! When I would pull away to lie on my back and sleep, she would crawl up on me, pound on my chest and scream. Yes. POUND ON MY CHEST AND SCREAM!!! NOT an exaggeration. NO ONE slept that night. Apparently she suffered a head bonk just before bed on Sunday and with mommy gone all day, that was the final straw. After we got back to the "mommy and me" show on Monday, sleep got back to "normal" again, but since she nursed all night long on Sunday, that signaled my body to produce more milk and by yesterday morning, I was suffering from engorgement and clogged ducts. After a warm shower last night, Ibuprofen and Michelle GENTLY nursing on the affected side last night, we seem to be in the clear this morning.

So many are asking "Why not just wean her now? you are going back to work long days, and she is doing great with solids." Simply this. We are not ready. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least a year and I am committed to that. The World Health Organization recommends until 2 years old! Parenting is not easy. I never thought it would be. My breastfeeding challenges are just that: parenting challenges. Like teaching your kid to play nice, go to bed, share, not throw food, sometimes as parents we just have to suck it up and deal with the challenge and follow through. I work 3 days a week. That gives Michelle 4 days a week to breastfeed direct from the source. We mutually enjoy this time together and neither one of us is ready to give it up. Plus, my work is very accommodating of my needs to pump during the day. There is absolutely no reason to give it up right now. Period.

Salt Lake City, Our New Home

There is an inner peace I feel since driving into the Salt Lake valley with the Wasatch Mountains greeting my arrival. Cory made a quick jaunt on a plane up to Tacoma on April 12th to help me drive to Salt Lake with Michelle. We took two days for the drive and arrived in Salt Lake on the 14th. Michelle performed brilliantly despite the eruption of the much anticipated bottom two front teeth. These are teeth we thought were about to come any minute since she was 5 months old when the massive drooling began. No, they decided it was best to force their way through tender little gums during a two-day road trip with 15 hours of driving. However, at least for now, the teething pain has almost completely diminished and taken a back seat to a host of other things to worry about.

Barry is set to join us on May 1st or 2nd and let me tell you, I am SOOOO ready for Daddy to join us! Dad and Linda have welcomed Michelle and I into their home with more love than I could possibly imagine. I have no idea how I will ever repay the gratitude I feel for my family helping me with Michelle as I go back to work. I have a glimmer of insight now into the plight of the single-working mom and an appreciation that runs deep.

I started work last Monday at Intermountain Medical Center. I am really happy to be back working on a Neuro Medical floor again. The first two days of work I had to leave Michelle with an old friend of mine, a complete stranger to her. Michelle was in great hands and had a wonderful time. In fact, she hardly acted like she missed me when I picked her up! So much for Separation Anxiety. Wednesday I missed my first day on my floor due to a fever and vomiting that swept over me. Thank God Cory was planning to watch Michelle that day as I could hardly pull myself out of bed! Despite Michelle's seemlingly easy take on her new care givers, the days away from Michelle have also made her much clingier in the evenings. Yesterday was my first 12 hour shift and though she went to sleep around 6 PM, she woke up about 30 minutes after I came home. It must have taken those 30 minutes for the scent of my milky boobs to waft up and greet her! And let me tell you, there was NO putting her back to sleep in the portable crib. Which is fine. I have given up the battle since arriving in Salt Lake and simply bring Michelle to bed with me when I go to bed. We all sleep better that way and right now, sleep is a priority. It just makes sense to put off the "sleep training" until Barry is here and we are settled in our new place, whenever and wherever that may be!

To sum it up, despite the stresses and challenges of moving, I could not be happier with where we are right now. The warm welcome of family and friends reminds me every minute of why I will always call Salt Lake City my home.

A Danger Movie