LLL

We just got home from our first late-night outing... a meeting with La Leche League. You know, I never knew what an enormous part of my life breastfeeding could and would be, and I'm really glad to have had the meeting. It was mainly just great to be with other moms who are breastfeeding now or have been before. I met one person in particular that I connected with and want to call sometime. Her son is just 6 weeks older than ND and we are both observant Jews. But also, I learned a lot about pumping, latching-on, thrush, and baby carriers that were major issues on my mind. Who ever thought there could be so much to breastfeeding? And besides that, I was given so much information about EVERYTHING when ND was born, and lately I've felt alone in a void. This meeting tonight was a real blessing.

The rest of the day was interesting too. As the week has progressed since my in-laws' visit, I've had a steady accumulation of not-enough-sleep until today I was just really crabby. ND and I took our first grocery store trip out together without help. I carried her in my sling (which I know now is not the right one for me, thanks to the complaints I shared with the LLL group) while I pushed the cart, and mostly all went well. She cried a little in the beginning but then fell asleep. I felt great with her, but felt like everyone else in the store was in my way, or too loud, or too slow etc. I came home feeling very crabby and called a good friend (who might read this entry) from back home. That too was an enormous help. But finally, the most important thing of all, ND and I took an hour nap together. When we woke up, I was so much happier, and then we spent most of the rest of the afternoon in front of the TV, nursing or just hanging out. Most of the time I'm trying to GET STUFF DONE (I have a desk I've been trying unsuccessfully to clean since even before she was born), but today we took a "personal afternoon" and it made all the difference in the world.

Tomorrow I'm going to tackle cooking for Shabbat. I'm planning on prioritizing the dishes I want to make and just see how much I manage.

Oh, one more thing about today. We received ND's Purim costume in the mail. We'll have to adjust the little chili pepper hat a little better when the time comes.