Sore Throats Throttle our Plans

Brooke had her 2 month wellness checkup a week ago. Naturally, there had to be a coughing kid. His caregivers are teaching that sharing is caring, because he cared enough to share it with some of us in the office, including us. How to the receptionists not get sick by the way? Also, please excuse any awful grammar mistakes.

Originally I thought I was not drinking enough water. I easily drink over 4 liters (a gallon) of water a day and it was morning when that little tickle started hitting. A bottle later, problem solved. Or so I thought! This illness has been a gradual onset for me with a sore throat. Robert has been a different story. He got hit hard and fast. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't take time off work so he has not had a chance to really rest.

I think Brooke is getting it too. Luckily my body is producing antibodies in my breast milk to help with whatever funk we all have. Work antibodies! Work! 

All this scrapped plans for an event I have been looking forward to for a while: taking Brooke swimming for the first time. The go ahead was given by her doctor at her 1 month wellness checkup, but those plans had to get postponed. The hurricane in the East Coast of the US gave us very strong waves, preventing us from taking Brooke out. Did I mention her pediatrician prefers us to take her out in the ocean versus a chlorinated pool?

This week seemed perfect now that the storm has died down and waves are nice and calm. It is with the exception of us being sick. We are not the only ones, however. It seems like there is a bug going around.

I am very fortunate that my symptoms are less severe than Robert's. Trying to clear your throat or cough quietly/gracefully in order to prevent from waking a sleeping baby on your chest, is a whole new ball game for me. I kind of have to chuckle about as I write this. Parenthood is everything I hoped for and more, in every aspect.

Things otherwise are good in Panama. Not a whole lot going on outside of the normal ebbs and flows.  Now if only we could get rid of our soar throats and head down to the beach! Hope all of you are doing well. Stay healthy!

Cloth Diapers, Milk, and Photos

I think it's safe to assume that our lives, especially mine as a nursing mother, has been centered around Brooke. Adjusting to parenthood is kind of a strange thing. Brooke gets what she wants, when she wants. She is great at communicating like that. We wouldn't have it any other way.

It is kind of strange to think that a small little being has so much power and control over your life. She is a great communicator if you pay attention. Hungry? Go to Mommy. Tired? Time to figure out what motion (bouncing, rocking, walking, a back rub) will help. Diaper change? Done!

It is amazing how fast she is growing though. Literally! While I cannot say for sure, I am confident that she has more than doubled her birth weight. She loves her dad, mom, and her milk! Her latest thing has been enjoying nursing while being bounced on an exercise ball. Being rocked on the exercise ball or having mommy doing crunches while nursing is also another thing Brooke loves. She however, does not like being nursing in a rocking chair. Although I don't blame her since her feet have to go through the little side bars of the arm rest. I don't like nursing her there anyways, so it is a mutual agreement. If this is not an indication that she is a great communicator, then I do not know what is.

The whole diapering thing has been an adventure. We originally intended to cloth diaper from the start. We have prefolds, covers, cloth wipes...the works. However, Brooke was born smaller than the intended prefold size since I opted out of the newborn size. She is ready to fit in them but now we are at the drawing board trying to figure out what we need to do to prevent the ever dreaded diaper rash.

In a cloth diaper

Disposables (sposies) have been used in the mean time. Those aren't cheap ya'll! We've spent about the same amount on sposies as we have our whole cloth diaper stash that is intended to last Brooke well into toddlerhood and could be used by other future littles! By the way, if you're keeping track, Brooke is not even 2 months old yet. I am also not fond of all the extra waste going into the landfill, but that is a different post.

People ask for pictures of Brooke all the time. If you're friends with me on Facebook then you know that I am not a big social media poster or that I post many photos. Brooke is no exception. I try to limit my screen time when she is awake. Sometimes she will be doing something adorable and cute that is "totally picture worthy." I found myself getting so caught up in trying to get the cutest photo that I missed out on what she was actually doing. Fast forward 5 or 6 photos later and I feel like my focus was on the wrong thing. But hey, at least I have a cute picture now. Right?

The other thing, to be quite frank, is I don't know who is seeing these pictures and what people are doing with them. I already have strange stories I could share, but that is for another time. Want to see her? Come visit! We'd love to see you.

A typical photo now a days so my focus is on her when she is awake

Becoming a parent has been an initiation by fire, for sure. It has been the best and hardest thing. Although she doesn't realize this, Brooke pushes me and makes me want to be a better person, not unlike Robert. Life is a little more crazy, and a little tiring. It's also a lot brighter and better. Life in Panama is good ya'll!