Ketchup

It's ketchup time! Time to "ketch" you "up" on all that's going on around here!

First things first... I think I gave the impression with my last post that I do ALL the work around here, when that couldn't be further from the truth! I do stay very busy most nights, but Clay definitely does more than just dinner!! He definitely does at least half of the cleaning, typically ends up doing after-dinner dish duty, and takes care of the trash, the vacuuming, and even occasional laundry! I probably do more of Lila's direct care, but that is NOT because Clay's not willing. It's more because I enjoy it so much that I don't give Clay enough of a chance! He gladly bathes, does story times, changes diapers, and anything else Lila needs. In fact, he usually is in charge of storytime and the bedtime bottle. After long days away from her, though, I really enjoy those sweet moments when she's cooing at me on the changing table or seeing that calm relaxed look on her sweet face in the bathtub. When I went back and re-read my last post, I realized that it sounded very negative and whiny, and that's really NOT what I intended. I was just trying to give a glimpse of why I haven't been blogging as much lately. I knew when I signed up for it that taking care of a wee one in addition to regular household duties was a lot of work, but it's work that I enjoy more than anything I ever have before!!!

Ok, that being said, we can move on. Dad, you might want to step away from the computer for this next paragraph.

A few weeks ago, I noticed a knot in my right breast. I read up on the internet and self-diagnosed myself with a clogged milk duct. The suggested remedies for that include massage and heat. I massaged til I was sore, and I took countless hot showers, but the lump remained. It didn't hurt, it didn't change, it just kind of annoyed me to know it was there. Last week, I had an unrelated routine visit to my OB/Gyn, and I mentioned it and asked if she knew of any cures. She told me the standard heat and massage. I told her I'd already tried that, and even after about three weeks of it, the knot was still the size of a golf ball. At that, her eyes got kind of big, and she said, "A golf ball??" Roughly, give or take, yes. So she immediately wanted to palpate it and find out more. Because of the unusually large size, she decided we should probably look into it further. She ordered an Ultrasound, thinking it might be a fluid filled cyst of some sort. I decided that after the 13-14ish ultrasounds I had while pregnant, maybe my body was just craving another and had to pull this fun stunt! Ha!! Anyway, I went this week to get the ultrasound and by this point, I was honestly a tiny bit worried. The ultrasound tech was somewhat uncertain as to what it might be, and couldn't even tell me for sure if she thought it was solid or fluid-filled. She took the scans immediately to a radiologist who looked over the images and decided he felt it was fluid filled. In order to determine exactly what we were dealing with, though, he wanted to aspirate some of the fluid out of it. I filled out the paperwork, he numbed the area, and stuck in a needle. Out came a large vial FILLED with breastmilk! I was right all along!! It was definitely a clogged milk duct that had just gotten very full and hard! He was able to drain it almost completely, and sent me on my merry way. Apparently these are things that can't be prevented, but just sometimes happen. He said it may or may not come back, but not to worry if it does. Just go ahead with the heat/massage regime. The human body is fascinating!! And kinda gross.

Ok, Dad, you can rejoin us now!

Lila is still going and growing strong. With every load of laundry, I toss another couple outfits into the "too small" bin that I'm just keeping in her bedroom. It's getting pretty full! So without further ado, I think it's well past time to add some photos!

First, Lila Jane was NOT impressed with her Valentine's Day present from Mim and Pop. She thought she was going to actually get to see them for Valentine's Day, so a mere gift was quite the let-down. Once I straightened out the misunderstanding (Oh, and fed her), she felt much better.
Clay was taking some neat shots of LJ (but failed to get any of her whole cute outfit! for shame!!):

After bath one night. I always bundle her in two towels, because there's a great likelihood of one getting poo'd on. The layers have saved us on more than one occassion. This night they somehow ended up making Pope-baby!! (Please don't look in the background and make fun of me for my MORE than ample children's book collection.)
The afore-mentioned storytime with Daddy:

Notice her fat lip in this one. The hemangioma in her upper lip is definitely growing. Our appt. with the plastic surgeon is March 8. I'm very anxious to see what they say.
Clay was feeding Lila in our bed, and she was SO staring him down. It was just a gorgeous moment.