My Baby Runs on Rocket Fuel

I'm sure you've all heard the term "Now we're cooking with gas" to describe something that happens the way it's supposed to, or something that happens quickly. In terms of my baby, it's more literal than that. I seem to have given birth to a gas-powered poop machine. I know that this is in large part due to my diet, but there are some things I just can't bring myself to give up. I mean, I've given up coffee, tea, and liquor for my religion. I've given up almost all other forms of caffeine for the baby (except chocolate. I can't give up chocolate) and I only have the occasional half glass of wine with dinner or while I'm feeding the baby, to ensure my body re-absorbs the alcohol before it affects him. No really, that's how it works. Here's the chart.

So, without putting too much of a point on my weight (since you don't need a real number) I can have half a glass of wine between feedings, or during a feeding since it takes a while for my body to begin processing the alcohol, and little E does just fine. And religiously I feel OK about that. The Word of Wisdom is a doctrine that can be interpreted individually. It does not specifically prohibit alcohol, and in the gospel even Jesus drank wine, and blessed vineyards. Excess is the real enemy, and I am trying hard every day to avoid excess.

But garlic and onions and beans, I just cannot see myself giving up. I know that everything I eat, L. Itsababy eats too, and genealogically he's predisposed to being a gassy little man. But COME ON! It's GARLIC and ONIONS and BEANS! How could I possibly give those up and still be happy with my diet? I try to balance it out. I eat a LOT of fruit these days, lots and lots of apples. I drink almost nothing but water (the occasional orange soda or bottle of carbonated water) and a glass of milk every day. I don't eat food that's super spicy anymore. That's actually sad, because I have a love for Thai food that most people would consider unhealthy.  I don't eat a lot of candy or sweets... OK that might be a lie. People keep bringing me cookies! I love cookies. One of my Home Teachers brought me chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and my husband keeps making Tollhouse cookies, and the ladies from the Relief Society who bring us dinner every other night (have I mentioned that I love my church in this entry? I love my church) have included a small pack of cookies or some dessert... OK so I'm eating a good deal of sugar. My body is craving it though.

I was shocked this morning when I did the math for how much L. Itsababy is eating now compared to how much he was eating in the hospital. At first, since the newborn's stomach is only the size of a walnut, he was only taking in 15mL or so per feeding. Now he can put down two to three ounces no problem. For reference, 15mL is half a ounce. So he's eating about 6 times as much as he used to, per feeding. And the feedings are getting closer together, too. Last night, for example, he ate at 11, again at 12, again at 1, again at 2, and again at 3. He passed out around 4 and slept til almost 9. so that's 5 feedings in about 10 hours, averaging roughly 2 ounces per feeding, puts him at 24-30 ounces of milk a day. He used to eat .5 ounces every 2-3 hours, or about 6 ounces a day. I would be shocked my body could keep up, if I hadn't read up on how to make sure it DOES keep up. Since E didn't always completely drain my reserve tanks at every feeding, I made sure to express the excess after he was PTFO. This accomplished a few things. First of all it triggered the refill mechanism in me, and second it allowed me to start a backstock of freezer milk, which is handy for things like date night and when gramma comes to babysit. And also for days like today when mommy couldn't wake herself up because she'd been awake til 4 am feeding and changing diapers, and since daddy had been snoozing through it he got to get up with baby and do a feeding because OMG TIRED.

So E is generally well hydrated, well fed, and I can't keep my hands off the foods that might give him gas. As a direct result of this we have in our hands something we call "The A$$ Cannon." The first time he went off, I thought it was one of the adults in the room. He is seriously that loud. The first time Angela heard it she commented that she was surprised his diaper hadn't been blown clear across the room. And he goes off in a series. We no longer change his diaper immediately. He should be given at least 5 minutes to get it all out of his system, else he is likely to finish on the changing table. I learned that one the hard way. It involved lots of screaming, laughing, and wipes. Hundreds of wipes.

While I'm on the subject, let me express the importance of having an unlimited supply of wipes. Preferably warm ones, if you have a boy. While all children have the capacity to spray, little boys are notorious for their distance and trajectory. And that thing will blow pretty much any time it's exposed to cold air, so having a warm wipe on hand to throw over the hose before it lets loose is a life (and laundry) saver. Wipe warmers cost about 20 bucks on average, and WOW are they worth it. Just remember to close the lid of the warmer when you're done, or else it's completely ineffectual.

So as you may have guessed, a slightly modified version of the pregnancy diet is best while breastfeeding. It ensures that baby doesn't get anything he isn't used to having, and that mommy doesn't go insane eating nothing exciting for the next year or so. Gradually introducing new foods into your system will help, and also give you a good idea of what the little one can stomach. My first "I need this now so we're going to find out if it has an effect on L. Itsababy" food was sushi. Just the cheap stuff you get at Safeway (Vons, if you live in SoCal, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc...) by the deli counter at first, but gradually ramping up to an actual hand roll at an actual restaurant. I don't eat a LOT of raw fish, but I do eat a decent amount of cooked fish and chicken. Red meat upsets my stomach some, and TJs to a greater extent, so we've been phasing it out for a while. And pork is kind of an in-between. In general we eat fish and fowl for our flesh protein. om nom flesh.

I imagine I'll have to lean more towards the vegetarian side with L. Itsababy, but that's ok with me. As long as I can have a diverse field to select from, I'm happy. And with friends like Karla over at the Veggie Noms, how could I ever lack for interesting recipes? Seriously, go check her stuff out. She makes things be tasty.