getting out of the house

I met my friends at Mission Burrito for lunch. It was such a great, wonderful and relaxing lunch! It was worth every bit of preparation and aftermath.

Here's what it's like to get out of the house with a newborn:

3:30 - 4:30 wake up to feed*
4:30 - 6:30 sleep
6:30 - 7:30 wake up again to feed
7:30 - 8:30 brush teeth, take vitamins, eat eggos, change diaper, say bye to dad, give Bella a bath
8:30 - 9:30 feed
9:30 - 10:30 take shower, try on clothes to find something that fits, sort/start laundry
10:30 - 11:15 feed
11:15 - 11:45 dry hair, put on lipstick, change diaper
11:45 - 12:15 feed (again just to make sure she's full and comfortable)
12:15 pack up to leave and drive to lunch
12:30 LUNCH!!

*Bella is a slow-eater. It really does take about 45 minutes to an hour to feed...20 minutes one side, burp, 20+ minutes on the other side. If I restrict to 10-15 minutes per side, she screams afterward because she's still hungry or I have to feed her again in an hour. She doesn't always fall asleep (just sometimes), she just takes her time. Breath, breath, suck, suck, suck, suck, breath, breath, pause... breath, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, breath, breath and it goes on... Who knows if this is "normal" or not. Maybe I should consult a lactation specialist? Maybe Bella is just going through a phase or a growth spurt?

Fortunately my parents were still in town so they read stories to Bella while I was in the shower. Ordinarily, she'd be in her swing screaming until I was finished. Whenever I was doing something for myself, they'd hold and entertain Bella. Having them around helped tremendously!! Bella is so much happier when they're here!

We lunched for a long time! Bella slept for the first 2 hours then got hungry. My friends were encouraging of me breastfeeding in public... so I did! It was a first! It's still pretty awkward for me but we survived.

On the drive home, Bella spit up all over her clothes and screamed because she was hungry again. We arrived home at 4 pm and she nursed for an hour and a half. She was fussy after wards and we rocked until dad got home at 6 pm. Whew! What a day! When dad gets home, he fixes dinner and Bella and I feed at 6:30, 8:30 and 10:30. We all fall asleep around 11:30 or midnight.

[Note: No nap for me so we can't keep up this kind of schedule everyday. Usually I forgo the shower and Bella doesn't get a bath so we can take a good morning nap to recover.]

Everyone says it gets easier so we're definitely waiting for that to happen!