Whoops-a-daisy!

So, as per usual I have neglected my blog. That's okay. You don't mind.

Whats new in my life? Well, we recently made the decision (today, in fact) to go ahead and start me back on drugs for my RA. Orencia. This one was chosen as opposed to all the others because it does not need to be taken with MTX, which is dangerous for Evelyn to ingest.

Yes. I said ingest, because she will continue to breastfeed while I am on this medication. We are making this decision against the advice of my rhuematologist, but with the support of Evelyn's pediatrician (Dr.Cox, who deserves her own amazing post). Basically the deal is there is no research on if it is safe, so they reccomend to not, because no one wants to test on babies. And I guess I kind of am.

But for us the possible risks (which may be none) are outweighed by the many many benefits of continuing to breastfeed. Ideally we will continue our breastfeeding relationship until she weans herself (usually happens in humans between 2-6 years old).

Lately I've been struggling with Evelyns birth. But I will post about that later. My baby and daddy are calling!

Baby Led Weaning

Right now I can take the time to post because Evelyn is sitting in her high chair eating. And by eating, I do really mean that. Except right now her version on eating is more about exploring the food with her hands, mouth, face and belly.

Current mess on the high chair? Bananas and yogurt.

She is absolutely loving food. We decided to introduce it in the style known as "baby led weaning" which is just a fancy phrase that means baby gets to decide what happens: what she puts in her mouth, when, how much she swallows, and on and on. We do not put anything into her mouth for her.

Oh no, you think, but how will she get enough food in her to fill her up?? The short answer is: She won't. Breastmilk will be her main source of nutrition until up around 9months, at which point her fine motor and chewing skills will have developed enough to let her eat for nutirition's sake. And even then, "Food before One is Just for Fun!"

There is so much more behind this topic, and if you are really interested, google "Baby Led Weaning" it's okay if they send you to the UK for it. That's sort of where it got popular.

Procrastination

I have, over the last few weeks, sat down to write a new post on here. And then life happens. Evelyn wakes up, or I need to eat, or SHE needs to eat, or the phone rings... you know how it goes.

Currently, Evelyn is sleeping upstairs on our bed. That's not unusual. What IS unusual is that I am downstairs. I'd normally be upstairs with her, reading or doing whatever right beside her. Today I closed the door and turned on the baby monitor and came down here to relax without a baby.

Is it working? No. I am obsessively listening to the baby monitor, and becoming more and more anxious as I sit here away from her. So....

.... I'm going to check on her.