Catching Up

My best friend from high school made the trek from Michigan to Madison and I'm so glad she did.  We got as close to "catching up" as you can get in less than 48 hours, which meant that we talked non-stop from when she arrived on Friday evening until she headed home on Sunday morning.  We went out for breakfast on Saturday, made an unexpected detour at the regional Pokemon championships, walked around the capitol and down State Street, drove to Joann Fabrics, stopped at Target, got some iced coffees at the 'Bucks, hung out at the house and chatted on the porch, then went out to dinner at the Great Dane.  'Rad was a rock star the entire time even though I deprived him of more than 30 minute cat naps throughout the day.  Maybe he knew how much I needed a good friend in town to hang out and chillax with.  Or maybe he's just awesome.  I vote for both.

Getting back in the swing of things at work after Italy is proving to be more of a challenge than I expected.  Or is this just how life is when you're a working mother?   I'm starting to think it's the latter, where a pattern of ups and downs with being focused from 8:00am-4:30pm every day is the norm, but difficult to deal with nonetheless.  I'll forever be struggling with staying on task at work because Connor is constantly growing and changing and getting more interesting and interactive.  And, lucky you, you'll constantly be hearing about it.  You've been warned.

A few days after getting back from Italy I started leaking, so I thought I'd give pumping the old college try.  One of the biggest reasons I stopped pumping was because I didn't want to be engorged or have to pump when I was overseas, but now that was no longer a factor.  So, for a few days last week I took pumping breaks at work and pumped in the morning and at night.  In about 4 days I probably produced 1 oz of milk. I mixed that little bit with 'Rad's cereal and felt good about it, but that's about where it ended.  My h.s. bestie came up to visit and I've been enjoying my non-breastfeeding freedom too much to really keep at it.  Maybe I would have started producing more milk.  Maybe I wouldn't have.  Of course there's that part of me that feels guilty for not going at it more wholeheartedly knowing that I could be giving some 'Rad "liquid gold," but I feel good that I have a few more containers of b-milk in the freezer that I thought I did.  I will be saving those for special occasions - I feel particularly protective of them.

Connor has been a real mover and shaker lately, particularly on the changing pad.  When trying to wipe his tushie or put on his pants he writhes, reaching for the window or something at the edge of the dresser or his wipes container, practically taking a head dive or rolling off the side of the changing table.  However, put that twisting little baby on his play mat so he can do those same things without fear of brain damage and he decides that that's the perfect place to take a time out and enjoy the view:

He literally put his hands behind his head when Z gave him the space to roll around on.  He might as well as tipped a straw hat over his eyes and started chewing on a piece of wheat grass while he was at it.  That little bugger...