Nacha

23 Mar 2008

I don’t know where Jake and I are going to end up for good after school is through. I’m not even sure where we’ll end up for his doctorate and my master’s. Jakes asked me about the "long run" place a few days ago - I just instantly said "I want to be somewhere with cicadas and lightening bugs." Realizing that left out pretty much everywhere in the West, I said, "And mountains." I still harbor a definite sentimental attachment to the terrain and memories of growing up in Arizona. Roxaboxen, after all, is still my favorite children’s book. I also really love where we are now, which leads me to believe I’ll love wherever we end up. It’s a pretty deep love considering how five years ago I naively questioned what people did in Oklahoma. That was when I met Jake and found out where he was from. The second he said it I envisioned grassland for as far as the eye could see with some cows in the middle of it. The schools we’re looking at for our next stop are:

North Carolina - UNC/Greensboro
Florida
NYU/Columbia
Chicago/Roosevelt
Berkeley/San Francisco
UCLA

There are a few more, but as you can see, we have a wide variety. It’s exciting, mixed with just a tiny touch of scary.

We’re going to Holdenville for Easter. It’s Cora’s first trip. I’ve been trying to pump for the car ride there, but I have no reason to pump because she’s been eating when she’s supposed to, and my milk supply is perfect for her right now. Breastfeeding is a delicate balance. You always have what you’re supposed to. I could increase my supply by pumping more often, but I don’t need to just for this trip. Even when I go back to work...I want to have a bit stored away, but breast milk looses 40% of all of its good stuff when it’s frozen, so what I pump at work when she should actually be eating will be what she eats the next day so it doesn’t have to go through the freezing process. I say all of this because I just fed her and tried to pump after she ate, but I didn’t even get an ounce. I think I’m stressing about it a bit too, which makes it even more difficult to get milk to come down. I’m hoping we can just leave right after she eats for both "big" rides there and home. I love breastfeeding, but it is hard when things get in the way of our schedule...our schedule being Cora lets me know when she’s hungry which is ever 2 1/2 to 3 hours...that’s from the beginning of one feeding to the beginning of another. Enough of that...

I call Cora by a different nickname almost every time I talk to her. I was on a website/message board with lots of other pregnant ladies. When the were coming up with names they would say the name and the nickname they planned to use...Like Mia for Amelia, and Maddie for Madison, etc. I believe nicknames are something you earn based on a particular trait you posses...like Breezy. Basically, you can’t plan one in advance...one just forms around you. I’ve been jokingly comparing Cora to Nacho Libre because she passes the most amazing gas, like it stuns Jake and I - we are completely amazed by the sounds her little body makes. I’m already completely prepared to be accused of passing gas in public (a stretch, I know...this coming from a girl who used to have farting contests) because no one will believe it was her. Back to my point - Nacho Libre is a gas passer...I even made Cora watch it with Jake and I...and she did, but her eyes were closed most of the time. My nickname for her today, which is now yesterday, is Nacha. Feminine of course. I like it. It suits her for now ;)

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