Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
sakon76: (Sakon)
I'm staying well away from politics and their debates because I already know who I intend to vote for, and it's not the candidate who will send us back to the political stone age. And, honestly, my policy of not watching television is affirmed by what I see the times some comes across my radar. The cafe Wonderful Husband and I grabbed lunch at today was showing court TV. Ugh. I'm sure there is good, interesting viewing material out there. I just don't feel any need to have to search for it.

Which is not to say that my own life is so interesting at the moment, or ever has been. Big things going on: as of yesterday, Jazzy now has a bellybutton! And today we went to his first session of Mommy Matters, a group that I took Squiddle to for two years, until he aged out. While we were there, I shopped for maternity bras at the attached store. They did have some of my favored style (the Bravado Supreme, which has been discontinued) in stock... but none in my size. Sigh. I did find a working alternative, however, and bought three.

I also contacted Mother's Milk Bank today to get re-registered to donate milk to them again. I have been pumping and freezing some already, but since I'm on antibiotics at the moment, those particular bags are earmarked for Jazzy for times I need to be away from him.

I'm poking away on various quilting projects, but it's too hot this week (a high of 105 the other day!) to do more than piecing. And I'm vaguely dreading Wonderful Husband going back to work on Monday. I'll be fine, I'll do fine, I know that... it just means I'll need to stop relying on him so much for help with Jazzy in the middle of the night.
sakon76: (Sakon)
Have been running around like mad whittling down the list of stuff-to-be-done-before-we-go-to-England. Thus the radio silence. Most of it is now done, which is good, given that I have about 36 hours left before we leave. Included in the stuff I've knocked off the list is shipping another batch of milk to the milk bank. 302 ounces!

Anyhow, midnight. Bedtime. I'll probably be more chatty once I'm on a different continent. Later~!
sakon76: (Sakon)
This week I shipped another 207.5 ounces of breast milk off to the milk bank. Yay for having freezer room again!

Baby Pix. )
sakon76: (Sakon)
So I got my donor number from the milk bank, and started writing it on the baggies of milk I pumped and then froze. (I was also labelling them with the date and how many ounces.) Then, after the milk bank had gotten approval from my doctor and Squiddle's, they sent me the paperwork for a blood test, so I went down the street and did that. At no cost to me, mind you; they paid for it. And when my test results came back all good, the bank called me to let me know, and sent me an ice chest for me to be able to ship the frozen milk to them. Again, at their expense; they cover the cost of FedExing the chest both ways. The only cost for me in this endeavor is the cost of the milk storage bags, which is pretty minimal. Pennies per each.

Yesterday at my parents', I dug through all the baggies they had in their freezer (they have much more freezer space than I do, so were storing some of it for me). And today, I dug that milk back out of my freezer, along with all the milk that I'd been holding onto. I put it all in the bag that came in the chest, stuffed the remaining space with crumpled newspaper, sealed the chest back up, and called FedEx for a pickup. It'll be express shipped overnight, the cold of the milk keeping everything frozen, and arrive at the bank tomorrow morning for them to process.

Pics )

I have about a dozen bags left in my freezer, and about a half-dozen left in my parents'. They're from dates when Squiddle had a rash, and when I was on antibiotics. The Squiddle being a healthy kid, this milk is perfectly safe for him to drink, but given that the donated milk is going to sick and premature babies, the bank did not wish for me to donate my expressed milk from those dates.

When I have enough milk pumped to make another donation (100 ounces minimum), I simply need to call them and they'll send me another ice chest. Lather, rinse, repeat. Overall, this is an entirely painless process, and it makes me feel good. Anyone who happens to be a nursing mother producing enough milk for their child's needs, and considering this, I say go for it! And if anyone has questions, I'm happy to answer.
sakon76: (Sakon)
Ha. Last year I posted that I'd finally found a jellied cranberry recipe worth keeping. Guess who didn't link to it or put it in her recipe book? That's right, that'd be me. Last night I made up the chunky cranberries from my usual recipe; tonight will be the jellied cranberries from the Food in Jars recipe. Tomorrow night will be pie crust, and then Thursday morning will be the succotash and lots of baking.

I've started up my sourdough starter again, which will be ready to use in a couple days. Wonderful Husband wanted a more historic/official starter, though, so when we found a packet of dried San Francisco starter at Surfas for a little over $5, we got that too. Though the instructions for starting it are just, gah! Must be kept between 80-90 degrees for X hours, etc. The house isn't reaching those temperatures currently, so I'm thinking of getting the foam cooler from the garage, putting that on the counter, and using either hot water or hot/cold packs to get the official starter started. I guess it needs a lot more babying than my wild-yeast one!

Also, I had listed out everything else I needed for my part of Thanksgiving, and got most of it at the Saturday farmer's market. There I ran into Shannon from the mommy/baby group I've been attending. I have a suspicion that the universe may be telling me to make friends. Not a hardship!

And, finally, today I did something I've been pondering for a few weeks now, and called Mother's Milk Bank in San Jose to start the process of becoming a milk donor. While I'm not a super-lactator like some nursing mothers (seriously, did you know that the Guinness Book of Records has a category for "most human milk donated"?), on one pumping a day I'm averaging about four ounces over and beyond what Squiddle needs. And if that can go to a milk bank, to be pasteurized and then sent on to preemies and sick infants who need it, that makes me feel good. God knows I'm not too good at charity; this, at least, is something I can do. There was about a five-minute interview over the phone, mostly about the same stuff that you fill out on the form when you donate blood. I'm being sent an information packet, along with forms for my doctor and Squiddle's, and there will be a blood test to make sure I've not got any diseases that would be transmissable through the milk. News to me if I do, so....

March 2022

S M T W T F S
   1 2 3 4 5
6 7 89101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Most Popular Tags

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Style Credit

Page generated Jul. 13th, 2025 12:55 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios