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Monday, November 26, 2007

4 month appointment

My poor little baby's fast asleep on the floor. She had to get three more shots today and she was not very happy about it. She did a lot better than last time and stopped crying when I picked her up and cuddled her, but when the nurses pricked her she screamed louder than I had ever heard her scream. I almost cried myself.

As the doctor said, Rachel's going to be "a tall, skinny momma!" She's 26 inches tall, which is in the 90th percentile, and she's 14 lbs. 3 oz, which is between the 60th and 75th percentile somewhere. Her growth is right on track, since she's staying in about the same percentiles at each check up. She's just the picture of health.

Doctor Olsen and I also talked about my weight. I just can't seem to keep it on. He said that a lot of moms lose weight when they breastfeed and then asked if I was worried about it. So I told him how much I weigh and how much weight I've lost since Rachel's been born and he said, "Oh, yes, that is a problem." He then offered to give me a fat transplant. How considerate!

So we discussed a lot about diet and nutrition. Making milk is a lot of work. Doctor Olsen said that it burns approximately 1600 calories per day, which is equivalent to running 15 miles a day. I should be getting at least 1600 calories above and beyond what I normally get in a day. That's certainly enough to feed another person, which is basically what I'm doing. I just don't know what to do because I already eat as much as (or more than) Andrew does. I guess I'll just have to eat even more.

Ew...and the doctor said that he wants me to drink eight glasses of milk a day in addition to the eight glasses of water that I should be drinking. I wrinkled my nose and then he said I can take eight calcium tablets instead. I think that's a better option for me. Not only is milk rather disgusting, it's also rather expensive.

I'll post more about our trip later, but if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to have a hearty lunch and then have a nap. My normally active and non-sleepy baby is rather drowsy from her shots, allowing me a little leisure time.

8 comments:

  1. I didn't have your same problem of losing too much weight, but I do remember the joy of breastfeeding = basically unlimited calories. I could just eat and eat and eat, no problem.

    Then when I stopped breastfeeding, I gained about 4 pounds pretty quickly. Luckily, tonsil surgery took care of that :).

    Good luck!

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  2. Besides just eating more, make sure that you get enough of the right foods in your diet. Plenty of whole grains lots of fruit and veggies, you know.

    If you were in Korea, you could get your source of calcium from the small dried anchovies that are eaten a lot here. or from tofu. Not a lot of people are big milk drinkers here. Good luck with everything!

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  3. Wow you don't normally hear moms having a problem losing TOO much weight after baby! ;D It is hard though eating enough calories when nursing... glad the appt went well for Rachel!

    And hey I wanted to say I like your new format!! Nice job!

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  4. If you want a fat transplant donor... You know my number ;P

    I can vouch for the fact that Nancy eats all the time, however, I seem to remember her eating all the time before Rachel too. Quite often when everyone else was done, Nancy was dishing out yet another helping, or sneaking bites while putting the food away... hahahaha! (Mom did that too, I seem to recall a story about a lasagna....)

    Anyways, so good to see you all I love and miss you all sooo sooo sooo much especially Rachel! She'll forget who I am by the next time I see her and it will be harder to win her over I fear!

    Thanks for coming up I love you!!!!

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  5. I love you, too, Abbi! I think Rachel got a little spoiled at your house. There was always someone to play with--now she's just stuck with boring old mom!

    And you know, I think that my life is just one big meal. I don't think I ever stop eating...sad, I know.

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  6. I would be more than happy to donate some of my fat to you. Nursing hasn't made me lose a lot of weight, I am still waiting for that. I have to take Maggie in on Friday for her 4 month check and I am worried about how she will react to the shots. I hope Rachel is feeling ok from them.

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  7. Nancy I think you have your supper high metabolism + the breastfeeding to thank for the trouble. I was always hungry when I was nursing. Of course I didn't have any trouble with weight but I can relate to that feeling. I used to drink 2% milk at that time. I know that totally sounds disgusting, it does to me to but at the time I just couldn't stand that "stomach eating itself feeling". Since you are not a milk fan, kick up your protein, cheese, yogurt (normal, not skim), and ice cream consumption. I know you like ice cream Nancy :) You need more calorie bang for your buck!

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  8. While I didn't have a problem with losing TOO much weight, I do seem to remember how easy it was to loose the weight those first few months...even while I was eating anything and everything I wanted. I hope it works like that again this time! Just remember: ice cream is your friend. I used to eat it every night; now I usually have hot chocolate instead. ;)

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