Corn Fed Kansan: Milk Run

Lorena continues to grow like a weed! Last week on 1-24-13 she weighed 12 pounds 3 ounces. She is finally getting some fat rolls and a double chin. She is moving into size 2 diapers and is almost too small for her 3 month clothes. We had her 4 month shots several weeks ago as she remains on the same vacination schedule as a full term baby. As always, she takes her shots like a champ! Only cries for 5-10 seconds and then falls asleep. She is also doing really well at sleeping through the night. She goes to bed about 11 and usually doesn't wake up until 6 am. Once in a while she will still wake up for a middle of the night feeding, but sometimes she will sleep until 7 am. She is also getting so much stronger. She is much better at tummy time, can hold her head up for several minutes when we put her in her Bumbo seat, and can move her head freely from side to side. She is also starting to smile, coo, and be much more interactive. Dan and I really couldn't ask for a better baby. She is such a blessing to us and has done far better than I imagined.

The 2012 claims season is coming to a close which means I have some time off from work. I have a few goals for February which include exercising 4 times a week, spending more time with Lorena, and writing my thank you notes for all of Lorena's gifts. Work will pick back up in mid-March. After such a busy claims season due to drought, my co-workers and I are looking forward to some slow work weeks.

Lorena and I traveled to Illinois last weekend to see my family. Even though we are 6 1/2 hours away, I really want Lorena to know her Illinois relatives. She is such a good traveler too, thank goodness. She falls asleep once the car starts moving and we make one stop in Missouri for diaper change and food. I think she loves the car because I drove so much when I was pregnant.

I also had a special reason to head to Greene County. If you have read my past posts, you know that I am plagued with low milk supply. I make about a 1/3 of what Lorena eats and the rest of her diet is supplemented with formula. I had heard of women using donor milk before but I had never really sought it out because I thought it was rather odd to give my baby someone else's milk! However, I do believe it was divine intervention that I met Lori Ballard. Lori lives in Roodhouse, IL with her husband and two children. One day when my Mom was at the post office (where Lori works), they were talking about Lori's newborn Ruby, and about how she had an oversupply of milk. Lori has donated to an adopted mom and NICUs in the past. I had never met Lori, but her husband Wes has known my family for a long time. I sent Lori a message on facebook and she agreed to be Lorena's donor! I met Lori last weekend and I feel very blessed to have found her. She takes extra time out of her busy day to pump milk and help provide for Lorena. I can tell she is a very generous and genuine person and truly cares about keeping Lorena healthy. I am slowly introducing Lori's milk into Lorena's diet and things seem to be going well. And I no longer think its weird to give Lorena another woman's breast milk...I actually think its pretty neat.