Monday, May 22, 2006

You're Always a Weaner at Pedro's

I'm officially done.

I'm so happy about it, I could do a little dance. [little dance] There, I just did.

I'm not sure if it's technically called "weaning" because Lumpyhead never really nursed, but I'm no longer dealing with that effing breastpump. (Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly nice pump, but I'm glad to be free of the thing.)

So, I guess now I can expect the mood swings, full-on postpartum depression, and weight gain. I'm ready. Bring it. I can drink caffeine with impunity, and no one is dependent on this body but me. Woo fricken hoo.

I'm going to have a guilt-free martini tonight, and not worry about waiting however many hours before pumping again. We're going to a wedding this weekend, and it will be the first time in a year that I don't have to pack the Medela with its power cord and battery pack and car adaptor and shields and valves and storage bags and bottles and wide-mouth converters. It's fan-flippin-tastic.

Lumpyhead still has a huge hoard of frozen milk, but I'm not sure if we'll feed it to him or send it to the milk bank. He's old enough for cow's milk, and I feel he's gained nearly all of the benefits from mother's milk he's going to get. When he was younger I believed strongly that what he was getting from me was best for him, but at this age I'm not so convinced. He's getting most of his nutrition from solid food now. Three-month-old frozen milk may be arguably better for him than cow's milk, but I can't believe it's significantly better. The babies who rely on milk from the bank probably need it more than Lumpyhead does.

I wonder if Lumpyhead has an opinion. I mean, the milk is his, so if he wants it, he should have first claim.

I want him to plump up a little - I fear he's still in the lower percentiles for weight and height because his bottom issues kept him off solid food for a while - so if I could give him melted butter in a bottle I would do it. I'm not sure if cow's milk has more calories than breastmilk, or if we should give him formula, or if his growth is just fine and I should stop worrying about it already.

We'll ask his pediatrician, I guess; the one-year appointment is right around the corner. In the meantime, Peter is busy making plans for all his soon-to-be-released freezer space. He's thinking about getting a side of beef or a whole pig.

I'm not kidding.

Oh, and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a picture of that damn billboard. I googled for a good twenty minutes. I finally stole it from here.

2 comments:

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah said...

I've been wanting to go to South of the Border for years, but nobody (Gabe) will ever stop there woth me when we pass it.

Have a guilt free beer on me.

And let me know about the side of beef. We're huge carnivores over here.

Anonymous said...

number a. congratulations. weaning is a wonderful thing. enjoy that martini.

number b. when my husband and i were trawling the north and south carolina coasts looking for a place to get married, we stopped at SOB. they have accomodations for like 300 people and they have a honeymoon suite. we sat there under the sombrero water tower for over an hour discussing the pros and cons of getting married at South of the Border and came really almost close to doing it. in the end, we did it (hehe, did it) in the nc mountains. not nearly as pedro-y. but still nice nonetheless.