Back on track with domestic adoption

We decided to update our paperwork for the domestic adoption out of Georgia, and thanks to the homebuyers tax credit, we didn't have to wait longer to do it! I mailed in the updated lifebook on Tuesday and last Monday we had our homestudy visit with our social worker to get that updated for our new house.
Now, the waiting begins again.......But this time it's not so bad. I feel like we've been able to survive this past year of plan changes, so now we can just relax and wait for the call. In the meantime, there's the fence to finish putting up in the backyard. This weekend is staining and sanding. :\

One year ago today

Today, April 3rd, is the one year anniversary of when we first started waiting for the Ethiopian adoption to go through. Alot has changed since then, and part of me is sad that we took our names off the list, but I know that we will still have a family one day, however that is meant to happen for us. If we were still on the wait list, we would prob. not even have a referral yet. It is taking people about 13 months for one, then three months to travel after that. Knowing that their courts close sometime in August, and that we would have gotten a referral around May 3rd, there would be a very good chance that we would have had to wait through court closure, and out child would be about 6 months older than they were at referral time by the time we got them. So, maybe we were guided in the right direction when we changed our minds. I am eagerly awaiting the day that we have our money saved up again for the adoption in Georgia. Am also watching for infertility treatment studies that let you try free cycles. We almost got into a free IVF trial last year, but they had too many people. I guess we are just waiting to see what happens with our lives in the next year and will go where we are led. We are at the point now where we will have to re-do ALL the adoption paperwork again, including fingerprints, since they all expire around May. We are kind of starting all over again deciding between IVF and adoption. Crazy, I never thought that would happen. For now, though, we are going to enjoy our new house and get it ready for whatever happens in the future.

New House In Mazomanie!!

We put in an offer and the offer was accepted on a new house in Mazomanie!!! We are very excited and move in two weeks!!! ahhhh!!! Now we have to pack non-stop. The nice thing is that it is a spec house and is brand new. There is nothing we have to update or change, except to finish the basement eventually. We just bought all new stainless steel appliances for the kitchen, and will be taking our washer and dryer, so that is all covered. Now, time to buy curtains! (my least favorite thing to buy) ;)

What's New?....Um...Alot

After meeting with our financial advisor last week, Eric and I realized that we would be stupid not to try to buy a house with the deals that are out there right now. All we need to do is put the adoption on hold a year, and we will have our own home and not be renting anymore. So, that is what we decided to do. :)
We start looking at homes tomorrow (very excited) :) We are being very conservative and looking at a very low price range since Eric may have to take a pay and hour cut, so we want to make sure it will be affordable after that.
We are pretty much looking everywhere, so this may take awhile (depending on how much our real estate agent wants to drive us around). Tomorrow we are going to TRY to go to Roxburry, Sauk, Mazomaine, then Mt. Horeb. We'll see...he only has 1 1/2 hours with us. I think Mt. Horeb is the most appealing right now since we have friends that live out there, and my mom and stepdad live only 5-10 min. away. Hey, I gotta make sure someone is nearby to help me with lining the cupboards. I HATE doing it and always cut uneven and end up throwing it across the room in frustration.
Well, I'm trying to decide between sleep right now or enjoying the sun, so I'll sleep in the living room and have both. :)

Decided to stop inducing

After much thought this weekend, I decided to stop inducing lactation today. It was time for me to buy more domperidone and herbs, and I am having a hard time justifying spending that on just a few ml's of milk/day. I am currently making about 1.5ml's per pumping session, and I know it would slowly increase, but I think that money is better spent on the adoption expenses at this point. I do have 45ml's of milk in my freezer, so at least I was able to get something!

Lots of pumping, not as much milk

Well, it's been almost two weeks of using the pump now and I only get 1/2 ml each time. I keep waiting for it to increase, and I even tried eating oatmeal. Oatmeal is supposed to increase your supply. I maybe get 0.8 ml when I eat it, but that could be wishful thinking. I am going to keep this up until my meds run out in two weeks, then stop if I haven't made any more. It has been hard to pump at work since I get a half-hour for dinner, and 15 min of that time is spent pumping, with 5 min to clean up. Also, since I don't make that much milk, I can't let it go into the collection bottles since most of it is lost in the filter. So, I have to hold one side on with my arm while I take the other side off, leaving the shield against my skin. I then hold a plastic collection bottle under the shield to collect the drops. Then, I draw it up into a syringe. It is exhausting.
In the end, if I don't make more I will be left with a feeding and a half of my own milk for our baby. I guess that is better than nothing, but really wish I knew this wouldn't work so well before I spent all this money. Oh well, I learned my lesson. ;)

Milk Drops

Yay! I am getting milk drops with pumping. They started on Saturday, only one day after I started pumping. That is way sooner than I thought it would happen, and am sooo excited! :) Now, if only I had enough to save, but I know that will happen soon.
As for the comfort of pumping...IT HURTS! Apparently the soft fit shields that came with my pump are not for me. (I actually have bruises and an open wound on one side). Got a smaller hard plastic shield today to try, so we'll see.