Nightstands, Part 1

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I’m gonna fill you in on a little secret– in all 5.5 years of our marriage, Jesse and I have NEVER had nightstands. I know, right? The horrors. We’ve used two tiny little tables here and there, but they don’t store anything and they hardly hold anything on top.

This is a problem when you are nursing all night, every night. I always have the following right next to me: a burp cloth, a jug of water, a lamp, my phone/clock/alarm, cream, chapstick, plus any breastpump parts. It gets pretty crowded and messy looking.

But here’s the problem– I don’t LIKE the look of more substantial nightstands! The idea of having a matching dresser/nightstand set makes me feel really old inside. I like the more delicate, eclectic, mis-matched look a ton more. But….most of these kinds of nightstands are not practical, seeing as they are small and don’t have drawers.

So, I’ve been scoping Craigslist for months, waiting for the perfect deal to jump on. My criteria– super cheap, unordinary details, able to be sanded down and painted, and close nearby.

This last week, I found all of these in one deal. These nightstands were $30/each, located in our town. Not only that, but the lady even delivered them for us once she found out we’d just had a baby 🙂

Pretty roughed up and "old" looking, right?

Step 2: Thursday, Jesse spent a few hours sanding them down for me. Seriously, it’s amazing how many drawers doors open when you’re willing to buy furniture in any paint/finish, knowing you can just redo it yourself. Or, in my case, knowing that your loving husband will willingly give up an afternoon to do it for you!

In around 3 hours yesterday early evening (broken up twice for feedings!), I was able to paint 2 coats of no VOC paint on them. My mom and I had gone on an “outing” to Home Depot Wednesday night (I got to pick two “outings” this week! One to Target, one to Home Depot!) and picked out a light green/gray that matches perfectly with the new duvet bedding set I have my eyes on. We’ve had the same maroon/beige color scheme in our room since we got married, and I’m totally ready for a change.

Anyways, here they are, Step 3 completed.

The new, more modern hardware I ordered from Home Depot hasn’t arrived yet (mail order, only). Hardware is to furniture as the eyes are to the face, so putting those on will obviously change the look quite a bit. I can’t wait! I’m also considering adding some dark shading in various places to highlight the details, but I’m not sure how…

My Cute Boys

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He's gonna be so handsome!

The chocolate is evidenced by the face, but you can't see the tin foil stuck between his teeth. Yes, he ate it ALL.

After I set up G's new chair, he read to Anthony

Since I am holding down the fort solo today, we headed to the bathroom for a change of scenery.

Trying to get a picture of Anthony's face...he's in there, I swear!

Help/Input, please

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Okay, friends, I officially need help. Despite the fact that I’ve been very obedient to the midwife, sitting and doing next to nothing, I am just 3 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight (please don’t hate me, in all seriousness. This fact is a necessary part of the problem).  If I wasn’t breastfeeding a baby, this would be AWESOME news, but I remember what happened last time with Gregory and I’m really worried. I even just had a bad dream during my nap about it!

This is happening faster than last time, which means that in just a few months I will, once again, be struggling with my milk supply. I love love love how chubby Anthony is looking, and I would hate for him to struggle with weight-gain issues like Gregory did. It breaks my heart and makes me tear up to think about going through that volatile emotional roller coaster again.

My mom and I just had a conversation about “hyper-thyroidism”, and, in her professional nursing opinion, she doesn’t think that’s the problem. I don’t really have any of the other symptoms (insomnia, personality change, jittery behavior). I can ask for them to draw my blood and test for it at my 6 week postpartum appt. (end of May), however, so I’m considering it (although it will be hundreds of $ out-of-pocket).

I’ve googled, “What to Eat While Breastfeeding”, with limited results. Mostly, this turns up articles on what NOT to eat while breastfeeding. My list of those is already long enough, thanks to the two lactation consultants I met with in the hospital.

No, I need to know what the foods with good fat and high calories are. I’m great at pigging out on junk food: icecream, shakes (A+W has this new one now!! YUM!), cookies (ate a pack of Golden Double Stuffed Oreos in 2 days), mac and cheese, and In-N-Out double doubles, but  the healthy stuff we eat is not very calorie or fat dense. The closest thing I have right now are the Odwalla and Naked Juice protein shakes that they sell at the grocery store– 400-700 calories per bottle, along with around 30g of protein! But they are around $2-3/each, so I need to find a cheaper alternative. Making shakes just takes so much clean up!

Also, the list of things I cannot eat, according to the lactation consultant, is kinda lengthy. No chocolate (I was actually eating a Twix bar when she told me this). No citrus or acidic fruits (hard to make/buy shakes that don’t have these). No beans or spicy food. No soda (I miss you, Diet Coke!). It’s not a bunch of hype, because ever since I stopped eating these things, Anthony’s tummy troubles have gotten much better. I had half a soda one night, and he was wriggling around with bad tummy gas for hours!

Also, I don’t feel particularly starving, which means that I need to set a timer and remind myself to eat. This probably has to do with all the bleeding (sigh, yes, still), which makes me nauseous and tired. But I am making sure to eat something iron-rich every day! And my mom is good at making me stuff (eggs, tuna or turkey melts) to eat when she’s home.

So, please, throw them at me— every good meal or snack recipe you’ve got (within the dietary restrictions, preferably!)! Any suggestions for middle-of-the-night-nursing snacks? Do I need to resort to eating liver/onions (the only helpful thing I found on the internet)? I think I’m going to go to the grocery store in the next day or two and just wander the aisles, buying anything that looks appetizing so that I have plenty of food on hand at all hours of the day.

Basically, I refuse to believe that this is “just how my body works”. I want to fight it, and I want to have a healthy milk supply for my baby. I just have no idea how to beat this!