Zoe-Zo

Seth already has a nickname for Zoe. When he came home from school the first day after we got home, Nana Koko opened the door and he said, "How's Zoe?" It tickles me how all the kids come home and just look for her. They want to touch her and hold her and play with her (which doesn't always bode well for a Guamanian grandmother who takes her job seriously). They jump at the chance to help change her or watch her, and I imagine that Zoe will grow up always having a crowd around her watching her every new move.

And then just the other day Seth was talking to Zoe and calling her Zoe-Zo. I think it was when it was bedtime and he said, "Goodnight Zoe-Zo." The name has stuck in my head. Now when I try to wake her up to eat (because breastfeeding is the only self-inflicted pain I am motivated to engage in) I sing silly songs to her and that's what I call her.

Come to think of it... I use other Sethisms with her. Seth used to come into my room to wake me up and say, "Mommy, wake up. It's gebbup time." I tell Zoe the same thing now when it's time for her to get up. "Wake up, Zoe-Zo! It's gebbup time!" And then I follow that with pleas to help Mommy and deep breathing exercises just before she latches on.

She comes through for me most of the time. We've almost got the boobs trained... and hope that they get a clue to calm down because they're only feeding Zoe and not an army. Zoe has got the latch on thing down pat and it doesn't hurt so much when we do the football hold on one side and then regular hold on the other. Still, if I were a cartoon, you'd see me hitting myself over the head with a giant wooden hammer at the start of each nursing session. And then I do it all over again every 2-3 hours. That's true love, people.

Now a minute for my commercial sponsor... (not really, but it's going to sound like one). My Mom found a bracelet in the stash of things that she brought from Guam from my Auntie Bobbie Bobo. She's the auntie that has brainwashed all my kids to answer her name when they are asked, "Who's your favorite auntie?" Anyway, she's delighted to add another victim to sing her praises... and lucky for me, she has had two grandbaby girls in the last year... so Zoe scored a lot of stuff... Thanks Auntie Bobbie! (And cousins Nicole and Corine.)

OK, so back to the bracelet. It's called a milk band and it's made of rubber. There are two sets of holes running down it and one side is labeled from 1 to 12 and the other 5 to 60 (by fives). There are two pegs to place into the holes which look like little barbels. You have to pull and stretch the bracelet to get the pegs in. One side of the bracelet says "RIGHT" and the other says "LEFT". It helps you keep track of when you last fed baby and what side you ended on. I LOVE this thing!

Pre-bracelet, at practically every feeding I had to ask my mom what side I was on. Both boobs are equally engorged, but if given the wrong one first and Zoe decides to sleep, then I'm doomed. It's an important thing to alternate them accurately. Now I just look at the bracelet like it's a watch (and it's probably the only time I really care about at this stage of the game) and I can see how long it has been since I last fed baby. So when I work up the courage to feed baby again, I just flip the bracelet after one side, move the pegs and then I don't have to think about it anymore. It's great! The less things I have to think about under the influence of pain medication is a load off my back.

I checked out the website: www.milkbands.com and if you go there you'll see that they have improved on their design and they now use sliders. I guess it got to be a pain replacing pegs... so they got something that just stays on the bracelet. But half the challenge for me is making sure I don't drop the peg. It's like having a built-in game... and so far I'm winning. Anything to help improve post partum morale is a bonus. So my bracelet is vintage. I think mine is more decorative, too, with the pegs sticking out like cloves in a ham, only prettier.