Supply and Demand

No, I'm talking about the kind of supply and demand we all learned about in 10th grade Economics class. The kind I'm talking about is directly related to motherhood, and I'm finding that it can be applied to many other things as well. This past week our Bradley class focused on C-sections and breastfeeding (at this point, I need to give a heavy and long disclaimer: I've become shockingly adept at talking bluntly about topics that to others might not seem very modest. I could go on and on about all the miraculous biology that comes with pregnancy because I never really knew much about it. For instance, my body has literally grown and continues to grow an organ that is feeding the baby that is growing inside one of my other organs. I am truly fascinated by how our bodies were created!). Back to supply and demand. And breastfeeding. Because yes, the two go together - or so I've heard several times in the last week from our instructor and various books. So "they" say that the more you breastfeed, the more milk you will provide. I just could not wrap my brain around that, I mean that your body just does this, I almost couldn't believe it. And then something happened that has helped it all make sense: I got a cold. And as the days went on, I soon noticed that the more I blew my nose, the more I had to blow my nose. Supply and demand? Maybe. In any case, it helped the concept sink into my mind - that our bodies are simply capable of producing substances (whether good or bad) and eliminating and producing again. So really, the timing of this cold was a blessing in that it helped me actually believe that I can provide food for our baby (because yes, I've literally had nightmares that I can't give our baby what it needs. But really, lesson learned and the sniffles can go away any time now.

So there's my blunt biology blubberings for the day. Just ask my brother, I have to be stopped at times from giving just too much information.

On to the weekly news . . . in short, it was a wonderful week and weekend. On Friday I called in sick to work, the first time I've ever called in sick to literally any job I've ever had (that I can remember, anyway). Pride-wise, I wanted to tough it out, but I did stay home (for the baby, of course!). Which reminds me, I'm loving playing the pregnancy card - watch out all you out there, I am ready to take advantage of your kind services and offers to carry things, drive me, feed me. The day of rest was a gift, and Baby K must have liked it too because she was kicking so hard I could see her moving through my clothes. Baby K also must really be wearing on my immune system, because I've never had this many maladies in such a short amount of time. Interesting pg symptom.

We spent Saturday and Sunday in Fargo, and got to see lots of family and cram in many good times in just a day and a half. We celebrated Mother's Day with my parents, saw uncles, an aunt, a cousin, some brothers, had good eats, played some Dutch Blitz, and took some refreshing coffee breaks. One of the highlights was when my mom and I went to the Elton John/Billy Joel concert. It was truly amazing, and such a fun thing to do together. I will always remember before the show, sitting in our seats my mom pulled out a packet of my baby pictures and we sat there and just talked all things baby. And the music and entertainment was just phenomenal and is already a treasured memory. Baby K's favorite song was "Benny & the Jets", she pounded me during the entire tune. We also had fun moments shopping for maternity clothes and perusing the infant section of every store we could find that had one. Wow, it could be quite fun to dress this little doll!

Dressing. Staring with . . . cloth diapers. That's next on my research list - any suggestions? I do have to say for the record, because I'll want to remember someday, when I asked my mom if she used cloth diapers her response was: "Yes. And I can still smell the diaper pail." Oh my, all of a sudden that cottage cheese I just ate isn't settling so well. But yes, we're going to try it. And to be honest, not so much because we're "green" but because we are c-h-e-a-p and willing to try something that could save us a lot of the other kind of green.