Life after fenugreek

It's hard to say how my supply is doing. Kai isn't nursing so much during the day now that he's older, so he does most of his breastfeeding overnight. These past few days, he's been waking up and completely draining each breast* without falling asleep, which means I am not getting a full, uninterrupted nights sleep. I have thus begun to describe myself using a mash-up word I saw on FB the other day: irritired. I am extremely irritired lately.

Still, I don't know that the milkathons are because he's not getting enough milk. He's also not had a decent bowel movement in a few days. Some small, dryish poos, but nothing substantial. So he could just be constipated. (He's recently upped his solid food intake considerably, so a little constipation is to be expected.) We've loaded him with prune juice, so we'll see if that helps. If not, I'll go get some coconut water or something to see if I can't kickstart the boob juice without fenugreek. Or maybe power pumping would help. I hope it doesn't come to that, though...I hate pumping.

Anyway. On the topic of breastfeeding, I saw this great article about extended BFing. (Short answer: No. But read the article...it's fascinating.) Now I am more determined to keep nursing Kai, until he's ready to quit. The comfort and security it brings is worth all the pain and inconvenience in the world.

Just forgive me if I'm a bit irritired from time to time. I'm growing a boy here.

*By "drained," I mean he's nursed until the flow slows down, at which point he starts "milking" the nipple with his gums to try stimulating the flow. It bloody hurts, and is impossible to sleep through. It's usually my cue to switch him to the other breast. He used to fall asleep after draining both breasts, but not this week. This week he has just kept milking both breasts until I take them away, at which point he decides it's play time and smacks his sister in the head.

Artsy craftsy things

I've had a sudden burst of creative energy, and have started a list of projects I would like to do. Mostly small things -- floral arrangements and decor makeovers.

First up is this vase. Mom had it in her office for years, and gave it to me when she retired. I like the shape of it, but the design is not my style.

Too dark, too...birdy.

So Anya and I primed it, and I am currently deciding what color to paint it. Initially I was thinking champagne gold, but that's awfully...neutral. I have the tendency to overneutral.

I feel like I should do something a little more bold -- copper, maybe, or slate blue. (Copper I have; slate blue I will have to buy.) It all depends on where I am going to put the finished product. Which I should have decided before we slathered it all up with primer, I know. I have some ideas, but nothing definite.

Ready when we are.

Anyway. I now have a blank slate for painting, that didn't cost me a dime because the vase was given to me and the primer was left over from another project. (The priming also occupied Anya for an hour on a cold, blustery day, which is worth way more than the cost of a brand-new vase.)

Next up: A couple of photo collages made from frames I already have. (Hoarding does occasionally have its uses.) I think we'll prime them tonight, while I'm deciding on the color of the vase.

Looks like it's the fenugreek

I took fenugreek for the first time in a week Sunday night, and woke up Monday with a mild case of hives. So I am going to take another break from it and see if they go away. If so, I will have some fenugreek capsules and mother's milk tea to give away in addition to the brewer's yeast.

Yes, I'm getting rid of the brewer's yeast. My body cannot deal with that stuff. And as I've proven in the past week, I can finally muster up enough milk to feed Kai without it -- probably because he's eating more solids. Which means there is no point putting myself through all the side effects.

It just figures with the fenugreek, though. I have 4-5 unopened boxes of mother's milk tea and two unopened bottles of fenugreek capsules, plus an open package of each. And the only jar I could find of the brewer's yeast is HUGE. Some mama is about to hit the galactagogue motherlode.

I'm relieved, though, that the trigger wasn't any of the suspect foods. Dairy, wheat, eggs...any one of those would seriously affect my diet. And chocolate? Sure, I could live without it, but what's the point of dessert if it's not chocolate?

I suppose that if I had to be allergic to something, fenugreek is the least painful choice. I'm just glad I didn't develop this allergy until Kai was firmly on solid food. Makes my job a lot easier!

Impromptu cleaning day

R overslept Saturday and missed work. Which means I had a helper, and got way more cleaning done than I had hoped.

Which was good, because it turns out there was mold growing on our windowsills. Not just mildew. Mold. Green, slimy, yucky....yeuggh.

The hives, the congestion, the repeated sinus issues, my red eyes -- it's all making sense. Especially since the worst rooms were the bedroom and my office.

So we scrubbed and washed and sprayed everything with mold control spray. I was still stuffy the next morning, but am hoping this helps.

I also cleared out some of the knick-knacks from the bedroom, to make it easier to dust in there. I had almost all of them put away anyway, but I have since put up the rest. And I washed up the curtains, pillows, and other infrequently cleaned things, just for grins. I still have Anya's room and the kitchen to go, but the house is in pretty good shape otherwise.

Dealing with my allergies is a top priority this year. Not just for me, but for my kids, as it seems they have each inherited at least some of my sensitivities. I don't want them to go through what I have. I want to get a handle on things early, so they don't spend half their lives sick.

Again with the hives

A new day, a new rash. This one starts at my hips and spreads downward, mostly ending at my knees but with a few intrepid explorers reaching the tops of my feet.

What the hell am I reacting to?

Last night we had green bean casserole and mac & cheese for dinner. (Yes, I know...terribly nutritious. It was fast and easy, okay?) I paired mine with unsweetened applesauce and Ovaltine. So tomatoes are apparently exonerated, but wheat, dairy, and chocolate are still on the chopping block. And I am left with the decision to either take Benadryl and drag all day or skip it and suffer.

Actually, that's not entirely true. There's a third option. I just took some Allegra. Allegra tends to give me migraines, but you know what? Today that doesn't sound so bad.

I am so very tired of itching. But I am also tired of being tired. I have things to do. Also, it's supposed to be warmer today -- I'd planned on taking the kids to the park.

More than anything, I'm tired of my allergies.

Earlier, Anya pointed to a picture in her coloring book. "Can I have a pet?" she asked, enunciating carefully.

"Oh, honey, you know Mommy is allergic to dogs and cats," I told her. "Their fur makes Mommy sick."

"I know," she said. "But what about a lizard? Do lizards make your nose itch?"

"Well, I don't know. I don't think so. We'll talk about it when you're older." (I'm not really a fan of lizards.)

I can always tell when she really wants something when she takes extra pains in her pronunciation. The only word she didn't say perfectly was "lizard"; it came out more like "lih-ard." Pretty darn close, especially for her. I'm not really a pet person, but when she tries that hard, I wish I could be.

With the way my allergies are going, though, I'm really not willing to take the chance.

Welcome to the doldrums

Anya is bored. Never mind that Santa lavished her with gifts not quite a month ago, and that Mimi the Good keeps giving her additional "prizes" for things like breathing and smiling. No material thing is going to do; she wants to play with someone.

In a year or so, Kai will do nicely, but right now he's a baby. He's cute, but not the best playmate. Her friends are older, and thus in school. I have to work. Mimi and Poppy are at the doctor's office. And Daddy is cleaning up the carnage in the kitchen.

Usually I am good at coming up with things to alleviate her boredom, but I still have the Benadryl Stupids. My rash is better, but better is not gone, and I'm starting to break the skin where I scratch. So, Benadryl. I'm only taking a dose or two a day, but that's enough to knock my IQ back 50 points.

I am also highly lacking in motivation. Christmas is easy; there's always something fun to do or look forward to. January is more about hunkering down under a blanket and watching Netflix. Anya is tired of Netflix. (I know!) And my brain is sputtering. I'm trying to come up with a fun activity for a 4-year-old that doesn't involve leaving the house, but what sounds most fun to me is a warm bed and a long nap.

I've been trying to talk her into taking a dance class, both to help her make friends and to give her something to look forward to, but she is resisting thus far. She wants to take swimming lessons. Which don't start until April, and are thus no help in these doldrums.

Itchy scratchy

My allergist decided against testing for food allergies right now. Which I'm fine with; I wasn't really looking forward to that, and I'm not sure what they could give me if they triggered an allergic reaction during testing.

By the same token, though, I still don't know what caused my reaction last Friday, so I am still afraid to eat.

I'm also itchy. The rash has abated considerably, and applications of Vanicream and hydrocortisone cream are keeping the itching in check, but it's not gone. I'm taking Benadryl when it gets unbearable; so far I have not noticed any ill effects on my supply, but Kai seems to be kind of spacey after I take it, so I'm not taking any more than I have to.

I'll be checking back in with my allergist Friday, and treatment will proceed from there. I can say I am extra motivated to resume shots now; it's kind of a pain to have to drive out there every week, but being sick is more of a pain.

In the meantime, I'm concentrating on cleaning my house and (slowly, carefully) testing the suspect foods to see if I react again.