*Dress-up, Sesame Street, Chores, Bath-Time, Pumping, & Pace-feeding*

So, Giulietta seems to think that her new wardrobe is dress up clothes. I am going to have to sneak them out of the way and wash them. Maybe when she falls asleep. If that ever happens (Fingers Crossed). Giovanni woke up smiling and cooing today. I guess the tantrum was short lived. I dislike having Giulietta watch t.v. all day. I guess I am a bad example because there are days I binge watch episodes of my favorite shows. Some of my favorite are JANE THE VIRGIN, EAST LOS HIGH, DEVIOUS MAIDS, FINDING CARTER, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, etc. Giulietta is super cranky today. She has already thrown things at me, woken up her brother from his nap, and screamed at the top of her lungs. These are all attention getting mechanisms. I try very hard to give equal attention to both of my children. When Giovanni is resting, I give all of my attention to Giulietta. My goal is that she uses her creativity wisely. I love watching her mind work. Today she lined up all of her barbies and baby dolls. She covered them with a fake blanket and rested their heads on fake pillows. I introduced her to my favorite show as a child, SESAME STREET. She’s so involved in it. I am amazed. Coincidently, the first episode involves a friend of ours, ANDREA BOCELLI. What an amazing man and voice. He is an incredible human being, who’s voice touches and inspires all living souls. After watching a few episodes of SESAME STREET, I decide to take the kids for a walk around the block. It’s beautiful outside today. The breeze makes everything feel better. I wrap Giovanni in my woven purple sheet and he is instantly asleep. I didn’t even have to feed him. Giulietta picks out her pink bike and we drift around the block. It’s amazing the things you can pick up from your surroundings. Whether it’s the chatter of the fireflies, the lady around the corner bitching on her phone to someone (probably her child’s father), or the woman who is about to embark on a new passage in her life. All of her suitcases are packed and she bids her boyfriend adieu. She is literally crying her eyes out. We make up our own stories for these people. Of course, I make believe like I am minding my own business, but I was always taught to pay attention to detail. Giovanni behaves for a few minutes while I fold laundry and do the dishes. I always feel like this is a SUPER-MOMMY WIN! I start typing and Giovanni starts whining. Naturally, he starts sucking on his fingers, so I plop him on my left breast and shake my knees a bit. He is instantly boobified and starts to drift off in a “milk drunk” world. If only he was like this every time I fed. So, I decided to pull his bottom lip down and he is definitely teething. He most certainly has a little white spot on his bottom gum. He is advancing so much in everything! He’s only two and a half months old and he’s already fitting in 6-9 months. He’s a giant. I rest him on the couch and he manages to roll over a bit. ** I don’t know what it is about my bed. Every time he’s lying there waiting for me to turn the bath water on, he poops! I am paranoid about his poops now. I am always massaging his belly and stretching his legs back and forth. Bath time is always fun! Giovanni always tries to dunk himself under water. He has really grown to love it. His smile and coos after a warm bath and some lotion are priceless. Giulietta loves to help too! It’s extremely interesting to see how diverse their personalities are. Tomorrow, I have an appointment to see the new lactation room at work. I am so excited to explore the new pumping zone. There is a key for it and everything! Hopefully, I will be able to pump for at least a year like I did with Giulietta. I am extremely motivated to feed my baby the very best. No matter what, I will do my best not to give up. Even some people I worked with thought it was strange that I breastfed my baby. Fortunately, it’s personal preference. Breastfeeding takes a lot of work. I don’t blame the mothers that prefer the easy route out. Formula just needs to be mixed and you don’t have to worry about how it will affect your body. Breastfeeding mothers always have to eat a healthy balanced diet because baby eats what Mommy does. There are many times I have wanted to give up. Pumping at work is not fun. You have to do it at least every three hours to maintain a good supply for your baby. Pump parts break all of the time and they need to be replaced. If you don’t have a patient and positive mindset, you will give up. So, if you’re having any difficulties, make sure you keep track of your parts and replace them every three months. Personally, my favorite pump is the AMEDA PURELY YOURS. I love the manual AMEDA as well. At work, I usually pump one side for ten minutes and the other side for five minutes. In those fifteen minutes, I usually get about 3-4 oz of milk, which is plenty. A breastfed baby should always be pace fed while Mommy is away. Some really great videos on pace feeding for the babysitter are: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH4T70OSzGs&t=2s and www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuZXD1hIW8Q.