Three steps

Great day today!

Good sleep last night. 

Body no longer aching, mastitis isn't nearly as sore, headache gone.

Went to another bfdg clinic with Alexandra from our prenatal class and she really helped!  Amazing the difference the latch makes and how so many lactation consultants can see the same thing and yet 'see' so differently.  Got more from this visit than all the others put together.  Riley is now drinking from the tube-at-the-boob (an engineering feat!) *three times in a row*, and much progress on getting him drinking directly from me.  The last few weeks have been one step forward one step back.  Today was three steps forward.  We'll have more backs, and she said it will probably still be a few weeks till we ditch the tube alltogether, but this was real progress.  I've been waiting for this.

Went to trout lake park after the clinic with the dogs.  Tenge was ECSTATIC!  I can't stop smiling thinking of it.  There were so many goofball dogs to play with, hyper Zozoes to attack, ducks galore (heaven!) and fields of gulls and geese to chase.  He was overwhelmed with joy, his default reaction with so many exciting things going on was just to sprint in big circles, grinning ear to ear.

Dogs make us so happy!

Tired pointer

Poor guy is even lower than Tiger on the totem pole.  At least she agreed to share his house with him

(Louise, I know all the flash settings are wrong - I changed the ISO when taking his hand pics and forgot to change it back.  Still figuring out the camera settings so we can get pictures half as great as yours!)

Random thought - babies apparently focus on and smile at faces, even 'fake' faces like eyes and a mouth drawn on a paper plate.  They also apparently smile at faces associated with a voice they recognize from pregnancy first.  Since we have public (talk) radio on all the time at home, I realized that he would probably have heard Lakmie Singh or Carl Castle more than my voice in the womb.  However, Tenge's bark is unmistakable (and fortunately, Riles doesn't even flinch/wake/anything when Tengs goes nuts).  And since Tenge is infatuated with Riles and stares at him all day, he's probably seen his face more than mine.

I recon Riley is secretly smiling at Tenge when we're not looking :)

Another random - I've had lots of questions on why I'm so determined to breastfeed - mostly from our parents generation where they weren't considered 'bad parents' for doing the formula thing (or was there equal pressure then?).  Honestly, while we value the health benefits, it's really convenience and practicality (I'm disorganized).  I want for our family to go camping or traveling in africa without a pump or sterile bottles/water. I'll forget formula or pumped milk when we go shopping or to visit someone and will get stuck with a screaming starving bubba.  The idea of traveling with frozen milk makes me cringe.  Can't beat the convenience of having the perfect stuff with you, can't forget your boobs or neglect to plug them in.  So yeah, that's the biggest motivator.  Selfish?  Maybe.   But it works to bring along all the healthful benefits too, so I'll work with it.

Simon continues to be fantastic.  I am so lucky for such a great support.