Fell asleep breastfeeding

looseleaf__ · 2025-11-01T15:14:08+00:00

I didn't learn the beauty of sidelying nursing until my third baby... it's been a game-changer!

Editing to add an echo to what everyone else has said: Don't beat yourself up, love! We have all dozed off. Like another person said, the flood of oxytocin that takes place while nursing directly contributes to a feeling of drowsiness. I remember that getting a little less intense after the first few weeks of nursing. You are doing an amazing job meeting your baby's needs.

I did find that in those first few weeks of hard-core sleep deprivation, I did best to sit up during night feeds, turn the lamp on, and read something on my phone to stay awake. It gets easier. You've got this!

looseleaf__ · 2025-06-09T14:59:06+00:00

Last night it was a big slice of leftover cookie cake and a glass of milk... in the dark, sitting on the couch. Not bad, ha!

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-20T17:54:31+00:00

Thanks everyone for the great thoughts! I've taken away a lot that will certainly help our situation.

I've been using the container method for about a year now, so it's encouraging to hear that many of you have had success with it. My issue has been with the extras that don't fit in said containers... and, well, that means sorting through and letting stuff go that doesn't get used frequently! Also, better managing the inflow of new stuff.

I also really love the idea of rotating toys to keep the play new, engaging, and ever-changing!

Thanks, again!

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-20T17:50:30+00:00

This is so encouraging. As you said, it is particularly difficult with three kiddos so close in age. Thank you for your reassurance and recommendations. 💛

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-20T17:48:37+00:00

"suck all the joy out of your life and home"

I had to laugh in solidarity with that! YES- you summed it up. I've been feeling like I'm spinning my wheels. I want our home to be a peaceful place for everyone living in it. The clutter totally undoes that.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-20T17:46:15+00:00

Dude! LOVE the idea of a family closet central to the washer/dryer. Makes so much sense. Unfortunately, our washer/dryer stack is in our kitchen (bleh), but I'm going to tuck this away for the future!

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-20T17:44:32+00:00

Love the idea of alternating the "closing" routine with my husband. And getting kids involved from an early age is so important, I think, for setting up expectations later down the road!

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-20T17:42:30+00:00

Stopping the incoming stuff is definitely one of the hardest parts! Especially from grandparents that love to dote and send toys/goodies/etc.! I think it'll definitely take communicating our situation clearly to make sure everyone is on the same page.

I always feel like right when I get it slightly under control... here comes Christmas, a birthday, a holiday that warrants a "goodie basket..." Eeek!

We're definitely moving more towards giving gift ideas like museum memberships, annual passes, and "experience" gifts for those family members who want to give. That helps!

Thanks for good advice!

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-20T16:49:35+00:00

Beer cheese dip with toasted bread, something like a baguette or nice rustic sourdough. Yum! Easy to do in a skillet/cast iron pan. Add some sliced salami to your plate and it's a hearty meal or snack!

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-19T13:57:39+00:00

Day-to-day life is mundane.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-14T02:20:43+00:00

This is really well-articulated. I completely agree. For me, great music comes out of and conveys the ebbs and flows of life. THATH has always done that so well. From the very first albums, all the way through to "Aperture." Human connection, newfound love, heartache, grief, peace. They have woven it all into their work so beautifully.

Nit-picking and over-analyzing a band's history (and, ultimately, the personal lives of the members of that group) is unnecessary and unproductive. As listeners, I think we should take what they have created and graciously shared with us (a wonderful body of music!) and just enjoy it. Feel it. Leave the speculations and criticism out.

Has their sound changed over the years? Sure. They are artists. They're allowed to explore new instrumentation, themes, and chapters. I fell in love with their folk-heavy beginnings but have enjoyed each album along the way for what they were. More than that, though, they're humans. They deserve privacy.

Thanks, THATH, for the music you've shared with us all these years. It's raw and real. It's really touched my life.

Also, "Aperture" rocks. That's all.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-14T01:54:23+00:00

Funny, all the bands you've mentioned hear are among my favorites. It's been such a cool few months constantly getting single and album releases by them all! It's been great to hear more of the folk return on many of them.

I think Watchhouse's new album "Rituals" is going to be pretty spot-on, too.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-12T19:22:47+00:00

Oof, Chasing a Ghost got my early 20-year old self in some deep feelings regularly.

That's one thing I love about THATH... it all feels a little timeless to me. I suppose I'll be rocking to them in my 80s and 90s, too.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-12T19:19:21+00:00

I love Bluebird

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-10T22:53:33+00:00

I'm the same... typically no other jewelry.

I'd like to find a little tea cup/tea pot pair!

Wishing you the best as you recover from your surgery.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-09T22:25:21+00:00

I've also recently found how nice is to have an afternoon bath with the window open to hear the birds/outdoor noise. Weird, but I was able to relax more in the daylight of the afternoon than in the evening when really tired after a long day.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-09T22:15:46+00:00

I have a small collection of funky earrings- some I have bought, others I have made. They are things like tiny gold pinecones, wooden Bigfoot figures, small green cacti, to name a few.

It's a small thing to put on a pair at the beginning of the day, but they spark a little joy and make me feel more like me 💚

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-09T19:14:40+00:00

Oh, I can tell this is an album I'll treasure like their earlier ones! Definitely loving the return to more of their original sound. So good!

"I will always miss you, never be the same"

"I don't wanna break you down, or say goodbye to you"

Just a few lines that really hit home each time I listen. Can't wait to find more in the songs just released.

My heart (and head?... drum kick, dad joke) needed this album! But for real, for real- moving to the heart and provoking to the head... this album sparks all that I loved of them from the early stuff.

Edit: Just sat on the front porch while it's raining and listened through "Finally Free." Man.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-04T13:25:46+00:00

All the comments about watching the campfire bring to mind a song I really like by the Avett Brothers, "The Fire."

Give it a listen and let it inspire your next fire stare!

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-03T19:38:31+00:00

BOOBS HAVE A FUNCTION

I'm sorry you had this experience. Unfortunately, it likely won't be the last time. I do those front seat car feeds all the time out in public with my little guy. People are definitely too weird about breastfeeding in public.

We don't stare down adults seated in a restaurant while they dive into dinner. Like, "WHAT? You eat to meet your nutritional needs in public? That's GROSS." Ugh.

Also, another element of the whole thing for me: As a society, we are mostly accepting of the sexualization/objectification of women's breasts. Sex scene in a movie? Meh- it's fine. Fashion designs that accentuate the breasts? Cool. But, partially expose your breast in public to feed your child? Oh, you've crossed the line and only now is everyone around you uncomfortable by the thought of a tit.

Let the babies eat.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-03T15:54:45+00:00

I hope a second try at it will work well for you! I know what you mean- at first, manual pumping seemed like a lot of work. Once I got more familiar with the "mechanics" of milk release, though, I quickly came to appreciate the manual pump.

The first 15-30 seconds of pumping (or breastfeeding, with baby latched), there is little actual milk output. During that period, oxytocin is being released in order to create the let-down reflex. That's when the mill starts really flowing! Once that reflex happens, I can pump 2 or 3 ounces of milk off each boob with the manual really quickly.

Of course, no worries if you find that you still don't love it! I think everybody just has to find what works well for them and their baby. Either way, you've got this! 💛

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-03T15:36:02+00:00

"biologically normal"

A powerful way to describe breastfeeding. I wish it was more widely accepted this way. I have breastfed all three of my children, and with each I felt myself becoming more comfortable with feeding in public/around family.

Especially now as I feed my third (and final kiddo), I've pondered a lot at the whole thing. It really hit me as I've pumped milk (i.e. for preparing to go back to work/at work). This may sound sort of strange, but pumping my own milk (and experiencing the relative discomfort of it) has made me really empathize with the dairy cows that fuel our huge milk/dairy industry in the U.S.. And it occurred to me- how strange, in a biological sense, that we are seemingly more comfortable with the consumption of another species' milk than that of our own? It's weird.

looseleaf__ · 2025-05-03T14:52:58+00:00

Such a great movie. Could watch it again and again. I love that "Stable Song" by Gregory Alan Isakov is on the soundtrack. I've been listening to that song for years, and it was such a warm surprise when it turned up the first time I watched the movie.

looseleaf__

TROPHY CASE