Emerson Update: 3 Months

Oh my little baby is growing up so fast!!

At 3 months old Emerson:
-is starting to giggle
-is a pro at rolling from tummy to back
-is holding his head up with more control
-loves sitting up and is getting quite the little abs and trying to pull himself to sitting position
-has discovered his hands and loves to chew on them
-loves going outside
-is so happy and smiley, when he isn't hungry
-loves TV
-loves talking even more than he did last month
-prefers sleeping on his side or tummy
-has started taking naps in his crib rather than his bassinet
-has started wearing cloth diapers!

 Like I said, a pro and rolling over!

I had a thought last night that was actually quite interesting. My thought was "I finally love this kid of mine!" Now before you freak out, let me explain. I have loved Emerson since I knew he was in my womb, but something is different now. Now that I understand his cries, now that he looks for me when others are holding him, now that we are a team working together instead of trying to find our "flow." I miss him when I'm not around him, I'm jealous when others make him giggle, I enjoy him even when he is crying. I love this child. He is so precious and he makes me so happy!!

Whole30 Update: Week 1

Alrighty folks,

Week 1 I felt went really well, minus one huge problem: a huge decrease in my breastmilk. First I want to talk about the good things I noticed.

During week 1 I noticed I am sleeping better (minus midnight feedings), my mind feels clearer, my body feels good, I have energy (despite midnight feedings), and I have been making some really delicious food!

During the beginning of week 1 however, I noticed Emerson getting frustrated during his evening meals and I wondered what in the heck was going on - whether it was just him being grumpy or if I wasn't producing enough milk (which wasn't possible because I was basically a dairy cow -being able to feed him a full meal and then pump 8+ ounces after that!!). One night after feeding him I pumped for 10-15 minutes and got less than one ounce. Of course I started freaking out and researching the effects of Whole30 on breastfeeding mothers. I found a ton of people saying that their milk decreased for the first week, but then went back up after a couple days. Well I tried for 5 days to eat more than I already was...which was actually a lot, and now after doing this for a week my milk supply hasn't gone back up and last night I had to pull out some stored breast milk in order to fill Emerson. I spoke with Jordan and my fellow Whole30-er and SIL Kylie and I decided that I can't do Whole30 the way the program was designed. Having enough breast milk to feed my baby is 1000 times more important to me than this diet. Now, I do believe that for people who do the program they will see results and for some breastfeeding moms it may not be a problem, but for me and Emerson this is not the case. I have to reincorporate some other foods besides meat, vegetables, and fruits. If I dried up because of this I'm not sure I could forgive myself.

After one week I do feel like I've gotten back on track and am eating in a way that supports all my health goals. I'm back to "just" eating clean... and for me that is okay. :)