K-Bug has been sick for the last few days and I'm afaid I'm finally catching it. I got a few hours of work done this morning and then was hit by the tired stick. I closed my eyes and was OUT for a couple of hours (thank gosh I work from home).

Now my throat is scratchy, I'm getting congested, and my voice is threatening to go on strike.

Not cool, man. Not cool.

Ugh, so many miserable buffistas today! Not ON, Monday!

I have a hip that is easily fixed by my chiropractor, the world's best, but which goes bad again pretty quickly if I'm not getting enough exercise. These days, I'm not getting enough exercise. She does adjustments and cross-fiber myotherapy (deep-tissue cross-fiber massage). The latter, while not particularly soothing, really works to loosen muscles.

The National Institutes of Health did an extensive study that concluded that chiropractic was more effective than traditional medicine low back pain not caused by something like a slipped disk.

My chiropractor is also a professor at Life College and has done some well-designed double-blind studies. She only believes chiropractic is effective on pain related to the back and neck and is the first to send a patient off to a doctor if she suspects anything beyond that. I'm sorry I can't send her to y'all.

Speaking of pain, I may have decided that I can no longer continue breastfeeding (though I'll still pump). Among other problems (mainly low supply), it still hurts enough to make me cry, nearly two months in. And yes, I have seen multiple lactation consultants and gotten almost more support and advice than I can stand. I feel sad and guilty about making this decision, but I think it's time.

Oh man, that's no good. Sad I get, but try to let the guilty go.

Try to let the sad and guilty go, Kate. I, too, had a lot of problems and visited the lactation consultants and felt that guilt, but K and I are here on the other side to tell you that you three will all be better off for doing what works for you.

Oh, yeah, let that guilty go, Kate! If it ain't working, it ain't working, and that's no one's fault. You can't reason with recalcitrant boobies!

Your baby has gotten some of the bennies of breastfeeding, and now will be absolutely fine switching. It's ok.

Thanks, you guys. I keep telling myself I could make this work if only I'd put more effort into it, and maybe that's true, but... I've already put a lot of effort into it! I worked hard but it just wasn't enough, and I have to be OK with that, and with drawing the line here.

Sparky, I'm sorry you had similar trouble, but very glad to have your perspective on the issue. I know that, even though it seems so huge to me now, later on I'll remember it as just one of the many challenges of parenthood, and not The Single Most Important Thing that determines whether or not I love my daughter.

Kate, no guilt. The most important thing for Rose? A happy relaxed mom who's not in pain during feedings. I wound up giving up breastfeeding early on, and I didn't even bother to try with Sara, and she's a happy, healthy, well-adjusted kid who knows exactly how much I love her.

Awww, that's tough, Kate. But know that we had to stop breastfeeding Emmett at about 6 weeks and it made everything so much easier for us. And he never suffered for it.

Breastfeeding shouldn't be torturous. We have other options nowadays. Don't fetishize the process of feeding your kid.

Certainly there's a lot of lovely bonding possible there, but ultimately it's a protein intake system.