Lounge Beavers and Flutter Sucks (by Jenn)

FLUTTER SUCKS:

Rian and I attended breastfeeding "how to" class last Wednesday, and it was an engorging good time! (hahaha) You can imagine Rian and I in this class I am sure, but let me help you paint a little picture. First of all, there was one of those annoying class-attenders who shows up early to ask all of her important questions of the teacher before anyone else gets there. She also wanted to prove how much she already knew about the subject, so she could be deemed the best student in class. I know how these people work, I am a teacher and I see it every day. Second, class starts. It is about five minutes into class and Rian and I are both laughing so hard (but trying not to look like we are) that I am crying and Rian and I both are shaking with glee. What were we laughing about so hard? you may ask yourself, well...after the first "incident", Rian and I kept a list of all of the topics that could potentially make you cry laughing. Here is the list that I kept, get out the Kleenex. (Sidenote: If any family members are reading this, I am truly sorry about the grossness of our minds on this day in particular. I promise that I will try not to teach little BK this type of stuff in his life.) I will leave it up to you and you alone to try and figure out why Rian and I decided to put these things onto our list. Everything I am typing is strictly "medical".

1. Air-E-o-la or A-REE-o-la.
Has anyone ever heard the pronunciation of areola as A-REE-o-la? Because I haven't. Rian and I have this big thing about words that people like to pronounce differently and they always think their way is the right way. Here is a very brief sublist of words that people do this to, try to figure out the two different pronunciations on your own (what a fun game). Rian and I are always open to new words to add to the list as well:

• Caribbean
• data
• cafe
• refinance
• areola

2. Flutter Suck
The good old flutter suck is what the baby does at first to try and get the milk to "free flow" or let down.
3. Flutter Suck vs. The Suck/Swallow
You want your baby to not just play around by only flutter sucking. You want baby to start sucking and swallowing as soon as possible.
4. C-Hold
This is when you hold your breast like a "C" and squeeze so that it is more comfortable for you and the baby. It can also sometimes help to let you milk down.
5. You have to squeeze it down before you fit it in.
Sometimes babies have very small mouths and you need to squeeze the nipple to fit it into baby's little mouth.
6. You just got a little bit off!
At the beginning of breastfeeding, no milk is coming out, but just a weirdish yellow substance called colostrum. You should be very excited if baby gets a little bit of the colostrum because when baby is first born, it's little stomach is the size of a small marble. So if you just get a little bit off, celebrate!
7. Ding Dong It
When you know it is time for baby to feed, you just need to slightly rub you nipples on the bottom of baby's lips, or just "ding dong" the baby. "Hello baby, I am ready to feed you." This will help stimulate baby's feeding reflexes and willingness to latch on to your breast.

This is officially the end of my editorial on breastfeeding. If you have any questions, feel free to write an email to Rian's Sack....of Mail and I will get back to you!

LOUNGE BEAVERS:

Rian and I travelled to Phoenix, Arizona a few weekends ago to see my friend Becky and her husband John. It was my last official airplane ride before BK comes, and we wanted to go somewhere. Becky is pregnant too (with a baby girl) and she is exactly four weeks ahead of me. So, we wanted to compare bellies, and get some good warmth in before the babies come.

It was an action packed weekend. When we got there, the first thing we had to do was eat of course. We hit the local In-N-Out for some major cheeseburger deliciousness. We then headed to Becky and John's house where we had ourselves a four man baby shower. We weren't able to make it to each others baby showers, so we had a mini one that night. You can check out the pictures on Becky's blog, you can get to it on the right of my page or just click on the underlined section and it will take you right there, her blog is entitled "Operation PAKO" (stands for Operation Pop A Kid Out). We ended up playing a game of mad libs. They were "adult" mad libs, so we were trying to make things gross. Well, there was a particular mad lib where the term "Lounge Beaver" came up. (We came up with the Beaver, the book came up with Lounge). Rian and John thought that it would be cool to have Lounge Beaver as another name for the more appropriate "Cougar." If you don't know what a cougar is (and I am not talking the wild animal here people), again, I strongly urge you to write to Rian's Sack....of Mail. He will give a full description I am sure.

The next day we went to the Phoenix area Swap Mart, where we proceeded to cross paths with a few Lounge Beavers and criminals. One man made sure to tell Rian the only way to get around the law of not allowing brass knuckles on the airplane, is to buy his steel knuckles. Then you can definitely get on the airplane! Becky and I ate the most glorious Sno-Cone of all time (which has of course become a craving for me everyday because they are not readily available to me). That evening we hit a nice Mexican food restaurant with the most serious sized portions of all time, and then we went to the Diamond Backs game. I have a picture from the game that deserves a separate blog on it's own, so I will get to that on a later date. That night Becky and I ate our baby shower cakes and took pictures of our bellies. Again, you should check out Beck's blog, because it has a nice picture of our comparison shots. Although, there is not much to compare. I am bigger than her. (Remember she is ahead of me by four weeks). Oh well, I guess I am cooking a Whopper of a BK! (hahahaha)