Tuesday, August 23, 2005

The Shape of Things part II

We took Sylvie to see the specialist again yesterday to further discuss her oddly shaped noggin. We have continued to try positional therapy at home and though the doctor did notice some slight improvement, her head is still wider than it is long and he recommended we go forward with the helmet. We were given a prescription and directed to the "Brace Shop", (sound familiar dad?), to get the exact dimensions of Sylvie's head so that a helmet could be custom made for her.

Thanks to modern technology, the casting process I mentioned in my last posting on this subject is no longer necessary. Instead, a super nice doctor pulled a soft, stretchy bit of material over her head to hold down her "voluminous" hair (his words), and then I lay her face up on a machine which the doctor likend to a supermarket scanner...(I'm sure there is some great quip I could insert here about how she rang up as a 10lb bag of apples or something but nothing good is coming to me). A few seconds later, a 3-D scan of Sylvie's head appeared on the computer screen.

So with no muss and very little fuss, Sylvie was measured for her crash hemlet and has an appointment for her final fitting on 9/6. We were told that she'll most likely only have to wear it for 8-10 wks as she is entering a period of rapid growth which should cause the reshaping to go quite swiftly. This means that we'll have to incorporate the helmet into her halloween costume (astronaut? Evil Kneivel? human cannonball?) but she'll be out of it in time for the 1 billion and 1 Xmas photos that will undoubtedly be taken of her.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Don't pee on my pancakes and tell me its maple syrup

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the amount of freshly squeezed boob juice I was able to pump while at work had lessened a great deal. I understand that there are a variety of reasons why this could be happening, from the impending return of Aunt Flo from her long hiatus to the accumulated stress of house hunting/buying. As I would prefer to continue to breastfeed Sylvie for at least a year, I figured I needed to do something to get my milk production back up to quota. My OB/GYN referred me to a lactation specialist who suggested that I try taking the herbal supplement fenugreek. This herb is a known "galactogogue" which, though it sounds like some sort of fiendish overlord from a sci-fi pulp novel, just means it's an agent that promotes the secretion of milk. I bought a bottle of fenugreek at a local GNC and started popping the prescribed 3 capsules, 3 times a day.

After taking the herb for the past several days, my Maternal Order of Milk Ducts Union is no longer striking. There is an interesting side effect however, one that anyone who has ever eaten asparagus with dinner knows about from the sharp reminder of having done so when they pee the following morning. Turns out that fenugreek is one of those quirky little plants with the ability of imbuing one's sweat and urine with a noticeable odor. In the case of fenugreek, it's maple syrup, which is why I've been smelling like a waffle house lately.

Friday, August 12, 2005

So friggin' CUTE





















I know I'm biased but that doesn't make it any less true!

A new taste sensation!