Milk- cow, human and otherwise

With a new baby, a lot of thought is about milk. Milkies. On one hand, I have been very lucky and breastfeeding Joaquin started smooth and continues to be delightful. He demonstrated his excellent nursing ability when he latched on and started drinking from my right breast at age 45 minutes. Funny thing is the right side continues to be his favorite. He likes to nurse from only the right when he is feeling particularly out of sorts. And out of sorts he was for several weeks because Joaquin is quasi-allergic, more accurately sensitive, to cow's milk protein in breast milk.

How did I know? After a few weeks of life, Joaquin proved himself to be a tremendous spitter. He spit up milk on my shirt. He spit up milk in my bed. He barfed curdled milk onto the sofa. He barfed on to my future sister-in-law's sweater. He was a fountain of aged milk. His sleepers were saturated daily and he reeked of old milk, hence the cat stalking. But spitting up is normal if a baby is gaining weight. And Joaquin AKA Biggie is no peanut. As Dr. Sears says "you have a laundry problem, not a spit-up problem".

However, placid Joaquin started to cry and fuss while nursing. He wasn't enjoying feedings but crying through and right after them. This was a bit confused with him arriving at 7 weeks when babies are known to be at peak fussiness. A few internet searches all turned over the same thing- spit-up is gastrointestinal reflux. The valve between the esophagus and the stomach that keeps stomach contents where they belong is immature in infants. However a known culprit of aggravating reflux in infants is cow milk protein in human breastmilk.

I don't drink milk, it makes my stomach hurt. But I do love ice cream and, as a vegetarian, cheese is a big part of my diet. The connection between Joaquin's spitting up and my milk consumption became clear after a projectile vomit spewed like a geyser from the baby following a very large vanilla milkshake. It took me another few weeks, another few incidents of barf and hard crying to really give all milk products up. Our former pediatrician at Kaiser prescribed Zantac to reduce Joaquin's stomach acid and reduce the burning that is the cause of the crying. Daniel filled the prescription but after getting home, we decided I should try a strict no dairy diet first.
The no dairy diet is working. Joaquin no longer spits up. Lots of drool and spit, yes but bellyfulls of digested milk, no.
Milk, human, cow and otherwise get a lot of thought around here. Only Joaquin is getting any at the moment. I am surviving on eggs, smoked peppercorn salmon, avocados and Coconut Bliss ice cream. The difference in Joaquin is worth it. The joy of breastfeeding is way diminished when my sweet little boy cries through it. Most babies outgrow this sensitivity between 6 months and 2 years.

10 Weeks

This blog needed a good picture of baby Joaquin at 10 weeks.

Tio Quito

My brother and first friend, Quito (also known by his name Carlos) and his fiance Andria came to visit after Christmas. They stayed for 10 days, mostly at a sweet housesit offered by the Fingermans plus a few nights at our place. Its been a long time since Quito has visited me in Berkeley, I had forgotten how fun it is for us to be two sibs laughing it up, away from the influence of our parents.

Susie calls Joaquin Joaquito. So he's a nicknamesake for Quito. It makes sense as Joaquito is the first boy in my family in 33 years.

Joaquin was very cranky the week Quito was here. I was kind of sad about that because I wanted Quito to see him at his best. But he's a real little baby, not some character in a fictional blog.

Adventures in Yosemite

We just returned from a short getaway to Yosemite. Our first family vacation. It took several days of combined Daniel and Claudia brainpower to decide where to go. Granted our brainpower is diminished from 8 weeks of limited sleeping. I like getaways that include an outdoor adventure- cycling, bouldering, all day hiking. These activities don't really mesh well with an infant. What could I do with an infant that would be fun for me? A friend recommended cross country skiing on a flat groomed track. Since Joaquin loves to be worn in a baby carrier and Yosemite is beautiful and has lots of cross country ski ing near Wawona, at the south entrance.

After serious consideration winter camping was out, including the heated platform tents at Curry Village. So we decided to spend our vacation kitty on the Tenaya Lodge. Reviews read that the Tenaya Lodge is family friendly and comfortable.

We headed east to the mountains on Sunday as the rest of the Bay Area was driving back to start a new year of school and work. I was unsure of how the baby would like the drive. We have a plug-in electric Toyota Prius hybrid and the extra quiet drive lacks the baby lulling element. But Baby J was a great passenger, he slept, he cooed at his crinkly frog and he enjoyed our two pitstops at roadside Starbucks.

Our hotel room was a pleasant surprise. Luxury by my standards. Oh, the california-king sized bed! Joaquin sleeps with Daniel and I so the extra mattress space was phenomenal. Check out baby J on the big bed.

So Monday morning, we got a late start and headed out to Badger Pass to do some snowshoeing. Cross country skiing was determined too ambitious for our first snow outing with baby. A light snow was falling. We opted for a short 3 mile walk to the Badger Pass overlook where the weather obscured all views.

Joaquin was snuggled in a snow suit inside a front chest carrier and covered with a down jacket so he slept peacefully through the whole hike.
After the hike, we decided to make the hour drive to Yosemite Valley to see the grandeous sights.

Here is our family at Yosemite Falls.


On Tuesday, the sun was shining making the snow glitter all around. We drove the few miles to the park's south entrance and parked at the beginning of the two mile road to the famous Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. In the winter the road to the grove is not plowed so to visit the grove you have to walk up the gentle grade.

Snow cave on the road to the grove

As always giant sequioas astound me. Sequoias are a marvel of the world. They are named redwoods for their cinnamon colored bark. Somehow, that cinnamon bark seems to radiant light and each giant sequioa looks as if it is pertually framed in a beam of sunshine. The other species of tree literally pale in comparison.

Also sweet was the juxtaposition of our bitty baby and the giant, ancient trees.

Joaquin cozy in a snowsuit from Grandma Susie.

The getaway was a long time coming. Something I have wanted to do since I had to cancel my week of Burning Man partying in the desert due to pregnancy. Honestly, I gave attending Burning Man 7 and a half months pregnant serious thought. I would take good care of myself, go to bed early, sleep in a RV. But then I considered the odor of the port-a-potties and realized I would never make it through one day. A snow trip to Yosemite with luxe accommodations and my new family was a nice treat. I definitely appreciated the clean mountain air.

Soothing Sounds

Baby Joaquin is a mellow baby. He seems to take after Daniel in most ways. But more about that later. He does a lot of sleeping. From what I hear, that's like finding out your in-laws own a place in the Caribbean. Funny thing is that he sleeps best when there is loud background noise. So we have taken to taking the baby out to parties, restaurants, breweries where we know the roar of the crowd will make him conk out.

At the Jupiter Pub last Tuesday, he slept like an angel. At Kate and Luka's Christmas party, he snoozed like a pro. At Friday's couples-with-baby dinner party, he was the picture of well-behaved napping in a bouncer chair as Daniel and I leisurely enjoyed our meal. Yet when we take him home between nursing and spells of complacent observation, he squawks. "Wah!" (translation "I am a baby and my stomach hurts!)"

We need some white noise at home. Daniel and I talked about a white noise machine. But reports from the public say those machines become additive for the whole family. We've heard dishwashers make baby lulling sounds. But how often can we run our dishwasher? We tried putting Daniel's Norelco electric shaver next to Joaquin. He calmed down but the shaver motor isn't designed to be on for hours at a time.
Daniel had the brilliant idea of a baby CD of Soothing Sounds.

Soothing Sounds for Babies
Track 1: Blender
Track 2: Washing Machine
Track 3: Vacuum
Track 4: Fan
Track 5: Car idling
Track 6: Radio Static

I think Daniel is on to something here. When we get some spare time, we'll head to a recording studio with a mess of motorized appliances. I predict it to be a hit, up there with "Happiest Baby on the Block" Dr. Karp's method of soothing crying babies (which we ordered off the internet at 11 p.m. last Wednesday.)

Thank you all

Time out from descriptive writing on pregnancy and new babies.
I want to say a sincere THANK YOU to everyone who sent good wishes or a gift or delivered a meal to me, Daniel and Joaquin. I truly feel loved. Perhaps more so than ever in my life.
I am working on thank you cards but in the meantime please know I appreciate you all.

Love,
Claudia

On the pursuit of milk

Baby Joaquin loves milk. He indulges easily 12 times a day. He slurps, he gulps, he sucks. He also spits a lot of milk back up. The milk goes into his belly. The milk goes into the deep folds in his neck where the sun never shines. I try to wipe it out regularly but nevertheless he makes cheese under his chin. The milk also encrusts daily on his clothes and mine. He's a baby.

Last Tuesday night, walking the six blocks home from our BART station after a visit to the Jupiter Brewery, I notice a cat behind me. When I stop and turn around, the cat stops and ducks quickly under a juniper bush. I walk again and the cat walks again. A few steps later I stop and turn and the cat hides behind a car tire. It appears when I walk, the cat walks and when I stop the cat stops too. Weird, I think. After a block the cat drops from our trail.

Another block towards home and suddenly I notice another cat is following us. A different cat. Again the creeping and hiding. This calico cat stalks us to our doorstep. Should I be frightened? These cats must smell the milk on the baby and me. And are in hot pursuit. Another creature that loves milk.

Suddenly the half heard fishwives-tales of cats sucking the breath of newborns come to mind. In the dark misty night these superstitious tales seem just possible.