Week 4

Isaac was baptised Saturday June 5th. It was simple and quiet. Hyrum and his family and Mom, Dad, Sage, and Grandpa Volkman came up. Grandpa Johnson was visiting from Arizona and had brought cousin Tyler. The only other person besides family in attendance was the Bishopric member. I suppose that is what happens when you are too quiet and miss church for the couple of weeks prior to the event. I loved it though. Joshua received his name and blessed afterward. We then came back to our house and had dinner together.

Joshua had his 2 week check-up on Monday the 7th. His weight was back up and he is amazingly healthy. I made an appointment with Dr. O'Hara for Thursday the 10th. She is the Seattle area's breastfeeding specialist and speaks at Le Leche League conferences and such. So I had to last until then. She assessed him, acknowledged that yes, this is what he is doing, but she could not figure out why. She suggested I go to an orthopedic specialist in infants. The best in the region happens to be on Whidbey Island, so I made that appointment. I had to last that long. When I saw her she assessed him and gave him a gentile adjustment. It could be because of the tension in his jaw or at the base of the skull (where the skull meets the neck. There are some nerves that pass through there that affect the tongue) but she can't be sure. She worked those areas and asked me to come back in a week (tomorrow). If after 2 appointments if things do not improve they are unlikely too.

In the mean time I am trying to nurse him. He is just so frustrated. When he does seemingly latch on, he is not actually transferring the milk and swallowing. He is still hungry. I have reached my limit. I can't ask him to try anymore. After 4 weeks, I am tired and the rest of my family needs me. If he was my only child, I could probably keep trying and maybe he would eventually catch on. But I need to put my house in order and be a wife and mother.

So I will pump and bottle feed. I am mourning the loss of the breastfeeding experience. Not only is it easier and healthier, but I like it. It fits my lazy, less-to-think-about style. But he is a beautiful baby and I love him dearly. The other kids adore him. I knew that home births can create a closeness among siblings, but it has been fun to experience that as a mother. I did experience that when Sage was born. Jennifer and I just adopted her and loved taking care of our youngest sister; she was ours. Now I have had that experience as a sibling and as a mother.

Things I have learned through this experience:

• Avoid breast pumps made by formula companies. They have ZERO incentive to make a good product
• Volunteer organizations are wonderful. After dealing with LLL and the other volunteer organizations like the one that gave me my pump, I am just about convinced that everything would be better run by passionate volunteers.
• Fenugreek is a fabulous herb for milk production. The stuff is magic.
• I have an amazingly patient family. I am so blessed.

I have learned more than this and may share more later. I was hoping to give you a wonderful success story. But I do have a healthy baby boy and he is loved by his big brothers and sister. I am so blessed.