what's up weekly. (there's a lactraitor in our midst.)

Oh gravy.  This week has been a wild ride.  Just grab yourself a cup of coffee, settle in, and get ready to hear about how my boob tried to kill me.

Last Saturday, Finneas had some friends over for pizza and hanging out, to celebrate his upcoming birthday.  (He's not the boob who tried to kill me; I'm getting there.  Just let me cook.)  There was a specific moment when I was standing there talking to one of his friends when I suddenly thought, "I do not feel good," but there wasn't much I could do about it at the moment.  The friends went home, I made Sabbath dinner, and I felt like I was getting a cold but not much more.

But by the evening, I had a headache and was feeling less well, so I made the decision to keep the babies and Oey home with me from church the next day, which was good because I woke up with a low fever and I felt like crap.  And the cherry on top was that I had developed a clogged duct overnight, so I even woke up early to pump because it was starting to get uncomfortable.  Through the day, I continued to feel unwell and headachey, but I mostly just felt like I was getting the recurrent chest gunk I've been fighting with all winter. 

By Monday morning, I was pretty sure I had influenza.  I was achey and headachey and had spiked a really high fever - it was up to 105 at one point, and even with Tylenol I was only able to get it down to 103.  I could barely get out of bed or off the couch.  I slept on and off most of the day, and other than feeding the babies and then laying them down for naps, I asked the big kids to watch them because I was so sick.  I couldn't get myself in and out of the tub or shower without my temperature spiking painfully.  I barely was able to eat or drink anything and I puked a couple of times.  I had texted my midwife to ask what I could take for the fever, and she said it didn't sound like mastitis, even though the clogged duct was getting more painful, because with mastitis, fevers don't typically go that high and you don't barf.

But by Tuesday, my fever was still just as high and I was sweating profusely all day.  I was able to smell infection coming out of my pores on my left side, and the mastitis swelling and rash had started.  By the afternoon I was puking up everything I swallowed.  My milk supply seemed totally drained by the fact that I hadn't had much to eat or drink for two days, and everything I did consume came back up.  The babies weren't eating and were crying.  It was all so much.  So Todd ran out and picked up some antibiotics from a nurse friend of ours.

By the time we went to bed that night, just a few hours after taking the first pill, my fever had broken, the pain started to ease off a little, and I had stopped puking.  I woke up at 4:00 a.m., hungry and able to eat for the first time in days.  I chugged a whole quart of water and stood in front of the fridge in the dark, eating cold rotisserie chicken like someone in an ad for depression meds.

By Wednesday morning, I was feeling so much better, I half-jokingly asked Todd if I could just take all the antibiotic pills at once because they made me feel so good.  He half-jokingly compared me to Johnny Cash and said "they make me feel good" is the reason everyone gives for taking too many handfuls of prescription meds.  So we came to the mutual agreement that I'll only take them as prescribed.

Anyway, by yesterday I was still on the mend.  The thrill of feeling better has worn off a bit and I'm feeling tired and still very sore and in pain, though that's improving.  My main concern is getting my milk supply back up for the babies.  Eulalie willingly takes a bottle, but I'm running low on stored breastmilk to give her, and Knox won't even take a bottle.  So it's been a challenging couple of days.  I've tried to increase their table foods, but Knox seems to have food sensitivities, and I'm afraid of giving him the wrong thing or too much of something, which would cause him to vomit and end up emptier than he was before.  Eulalie tolerates cow's milk, but too much gives her a rash, and even a little bit makes Knox puke.  I think I'm going to ask our milk farmer for some goat milk this week and give that a try, but again... risking new things with Knox makes me nervous, and also, I don't even know if I could get him to drink it because again, he doesn't take a bottle. 

I really just need my supply to come back up, but I worry that won't happen.  Prayers would be appreciated.

OKAY.  Now, on to better, less boob-centric, news.

1.  Todd started Academia Latina with the younger crew a couple weekends ago.  He had taught the older two kids the introductory levels back when we lived in Columbia, and they've continued to self-instruct since then.  But it was time for Finneas and Laurelai to jump in, and Rocco was capable of joining them... and then since Todd was already right there teaching, the younger girls decided to join in... and thus was born The Academia.

The little girls paying close attention in class.

2.  Eulalie can now sit.  Yes, that is late.  Yes, I know it's kind of weird she can crawl but she couldn't sit yet.  But anyway, we're all squared away now.

Pretty girl.

3. Laurelai had her half birthday.

4.  AND FINNEAS TURNED THIRTEEN!

To be honest, I'm a little surprised he survived this long.  Or not at all surprised.  One or the other.  

He is quick-witted and funny.  He's competitive.  He's charismatic and always has a little gaggle of followers.  He's diligent at his schoolwork and values doing well.

He told me once that he wanted to get in a fight sometime, just so he could get the chance to feel what it felt like to punch a bully in the face.  When I said that it meant he'd probably get punched in the face, too, he simply shrugged and said, "Oh, that doesn't scare me."  While I think it shows he's still young and a bit naive, it also shows something more deeply true about him: he's genuinely not afraid of things that I assume people must be afraid of.  He's brave in ways I don't fully understand.  He doesn't go along with the crowd, and often gets the crowd to follow him instead.

He's loyal and committed, and he and Rocco have such a tight, unique bond.  He is tenderhearted with the babies and loves helping to dress and hold them.  

As Todd wrote here, it seems like God has singled him out for special work.  I'm excited to see what that is.

The kids dressed up Knox like the Stars and Stripes.  (Or, really, I dressed him like the Stripes, and then the kids got the idea to top him off with the Stars.)

Well, there's the news.  Today, Todd and the boys will be off butchering a hog, and the girls and I have some house cleaning to tackle, so it looks like a great start to a great weekend.  Hope you have a good one, too!