Genie Alisa

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Squeezing out a few words

The last week has brought on a veritable fountain of baby spit up. Ian is still getting plenty to eat, so we really have more of a laundry problem than any sort of pediatric problem. We're working out some techniques to make things a little more manageable but it just makes everything a little bit more complicated. All of this started as soon as I started pumping and my milk supply increased. I already have plenty of milk to go around (my milkshake brings all the babies to the playpen, it seems), but now it's like a fire hose of sustenance and poor little Ian has a hard time keeping up.

It's timely that all this came about at the end of NaBloPoMo. Many folks lamented the need to write something when they really didn't feel like it. I've found it to be similar to how breastfeeding is going. I have to feed Ian every three hours and even if I have pumped milk on hand for Rich to feed him, I still have to pump at that same time lest my chest explode.

The more I pump or nurse, the more milk I produce. So even if I don't really feel like pumping or if it's really inconvenient to feed him at that time, it doesn't matter. He needs milk and I'm his only source. I don't have the option to take a day off.

Stephen King talks about the art of writing, saying that you have to read a lot in order to write well and that you need to write every day. Just like working out and so many other habits, the key is to make a habit of it. I'm trying to treat my writing like my breastfeeding (or vice versa). The more I do it, the easier it will be and the more I'll produce.

Let's just hope it's going to improve the quality as well as the quantity.