The longest week (and month)

It's been a long week over here. I keep meaning to sit down and write about it, but the time! It's seems to always run out.

Last Friday, Amelia blessed me with a full night's sleep, not waking to eat until 6:00 AM. I also slept on my stomach. These two random things put together led to a clogged milk duct. I knew it right away and tried to massage it out after feeding her. That morning, we had planned on shopping with my parents and then getting lunch. By the time we had finished that, I was sure I had a fever because of the chills and my lack of appetite. Sure enough, I had a 101.5 temp and felt absolutely miserable. I reached out to other mama's on facebook and got some great feedback. After expressing as much milk as I could, feeding her, and pumping the rest out, I felt slightly better. I used a heating pad when she wasn't eating (although with the constant crying if she was awake, it was hard to get this part done without someone else around to help). I slept as much as I could (minimal during the day, but hard at night). I really wanted to avoid the doctor. We've had a bunch of large hospital bills due to her birth, and it just seemed like a waste of money. 

I'm so glad I didn't go in! The clot managed to clear up, the red skin disappeared within hours, and I felt back to normal by Saturday afternoon. That was an awful 36 hours though. 

Feeling miserable, hoping for a tiny nap before the big kids woke up (which didn't really happen)

In other news...

Amelia's crying escalated to a high (or low?) point this week. I felt like I was losing hearing (and my mind, too) from holding her close while she wailed away. If she wasn't sleeping or eating, she was screaming. I vaguely remember saying that she was a happy baby after my milk came in, but that seemed like years ago. This has definitely been a long month.

After doing everything I could think of on Monday to no avail, I called the chiropractor to get her in. They had an opening for Tuesday, which was much earlier than I was expecting. I jumped on it and got her in at 11:00. She screamed all morning before her appointment, napped a little in the car, woke up somewhat happy (shocking, it was) and then got adjusted. I guess she had a spot that was twisted in her mid-back and neck. He adjusted her ...drum roll please...and she seemed like a completely different baby. Immediately. I had hoped this would happen, but also didn't want my hopes to be too high. In my head, I was prepping myself to have to try other things, but thankfully, this seemed to solve whatever was wrong. 

The rest of the day was like none we've had since she's been with us. She barely fussed at all, slept more than usual, and was cooing and smiling at us all day. The chiropractor pointed out how babies are curled up in the womb so laying on their backs is kind of foreign to them at first. Tummy time is important for more than their neck strength. Their back muscles also need to get used to being straightened. This especially made sense when I thought about Millie's behavior. She slept great if we held her all curled up against us, but the second we put her down it was like we'd just dropped her. She would almost immediately wake up screaming. We never really did tummy time (hello, torture for us all) and she was never happy laying on a blanket or the play mat. Since being adjusted, she will happily lay either way for long stretches. She doesn't mind the swing for a longer period of time, and if I set her down while sleeping, she will stay asleep! Seriously, it's amazing.

We have another appointment today to make sure it "sticks" and then we should be good to go. Yesterday was also a great day, with me getting the house back in order and food prepping while she power napped. My sanity is restored! All the exclamation points over here. I feel like I can breathe again and maybe even be productive. 

Speaking of being productive, I've been making a pretty big effort to eat healthy the last few weeks. As I mentioned in this post, I've been counting macros to keep my eating on track. I've lost about 5 lbs, which is a little slower than I want but still progress. The goal of eating much more protein has kept me from eating junk throughout the day. I have a lot more energy and I'm getting the hang of it for sure. 

Right away, I spent a lot of time tracking my foods, figuring out how each food fit in, trying to find alternatives, etc. Now that it's been a couple of weeks, most of the foods I use on a regular basis are in the tracker, ready to be added. It makes it so much faster. 

My favorite alternatives  by far  are greek yogurt for sour cream (think: ranch dressing veggie dip) or ice cream-like desserts and zucchini noodles in place of pasta. For the dessert, I take 1/2 cup of nonfat vanilla greek yogurt, chopped walnuts, strawberries, and a little hershey's chocolate drizzled over it. So amazing! I usually get just enough protein to complete the day, and I can alter the toppings if I don't have a lot of carbs left. 

For the zucchini noodles, I bought a spiralizer that makes long noodles out of vegetables. After frying them up in a little oil, they have a pretty similar texture and pick up the taste of the toppings. I've never been a fan of zucchini, but I'm a huge fan of these! What a great alternative to high carb pasta.

I'd love to hear other alternatives that you've picked up if you have any to share with me. :)

I also just ordered a fancy schmancy sports bra in a much bigger size (these sisters are much bigger than normal...ah hem) in hopes that there will be adequate support without being too tight or uncomfortable. The last thing I want is another clogged milk duct because my bra is too tight. I also don't want to have to hold them in place while working out. It's a fine line... Now that Millie is generally happier, the idea of working out actually seems possible. Just a few more weeks til I have the all clear from my midwife, and I plan on jumping right in.

As for the rest of us, the girls are doing pretty good. Audrey has been potty training for the last month and has consistently only had one or two accidents a day. I think we've had two days with no accidents. They almost always happen in the morning so I'm thinking we'll have to have some kind of motivation to get her thinking about it right away, maybe a sticker chart or chocolate treat if she makes it through the morning. She does fabulous when we are out and about. Nap times are good, too. I'm so proud of how quickly she's picked this up. She's really proving to be a completely different kid than Josie, in almost all ways. 

Hubby is gearing up for busy season to start. Springtime really brings changes around here. He gets all excited for possibilities for his business, the girls get more energy from the extra sunshine and fresh air, I get a huge attitude adjustment and motivation to actually be productive. It's a good time of year.

They look about the same size, but I assure you that they are not. Cousin Clara has a solid 4 month head start and looks like it! Plus look at that head control and huge smile. Give them a few years, though, and you probably won't be able to tell which is older. 

Grandma Annette with her youngest grandbaby.

Lunch with auntie after a successful Chiro appointment (Millie slept the whole meal!)

My mini me. I really need to do another comparison shot of her vs me and this age.It's still pretty spot on.

Millie is awake. She's not screaming. She's not grimacing. Must be after the magical Chiro appointment! Josie wanted to share her puppy that she just decided to love again. We watched a show about dogs being helpers to people in need, and now she's all about loving her helper dog.

Tummy time, finally. She tolerates it for at least a few minutes now.

And she's spent.