OK, so I plan on having the lights on 18 hours/day. My off time will be from 1pm to 7pm. I will keep the shade drawn on my little window so it will be quite dim/dark in there when the lights are off during daylight. I may gradually change the lighting time to be more in sync with nature as the seedlings mature, and the nights are not soooo cold in mid March. Hopefully by April they will be on a regular natural light regimine to star hardening off Thanks guys Brian

Just got back from a short survey after T-storm last night - some broken branches but low and just a couple plants next to each other, I really think it's a rabbit or rodent of some kind b/c they were low branches. Tied up some more tomato plants (going crazy with foliage, maybe it IS too much N!) and picked some green beans. Still no ripe tomatoes but I've got pods (green ones)! Good-sized Hinkelhatz on more than 1 plant, some saved seed I hope are Hot Portugals (may be cross so who knows), and definitely some of those mini-sweets though the biggest one is looking almost bhut-ish so it will be interesting to taste. Flower buds now on Aji Limon and flowers ready to open on Alma Paprika. But last night's low was 56. Will be warming up this week so we should stay in the 60's overnight and 80's during the day so I hope everything (not just peppers, my cukes and melons are behind too) starts producing. I just seeded some more summer squash in the tunnel b/c the SVB is getting my zukes and I've only been picking them for a week. Funds are low (unscheduled brake repairs on truck this weekend) but I've got to get some plastic - even if it's cheap construction grade and not greenhouse grade stuff, just needs to last a couple of months this year. Mike - I was planning on selling at the East Granby market where I was last year. Maybe next week? Don't have enough to bring right now and it's $20/week plus gas money. I hope I can at least hit the last 6 weeks of market from mid-Aug to Oct 1, if the tomatoes ever start ripening.

Here is our current (and, I think, final) kitchen plan. The kitchen is 13'x13' and has 9' ceilings. Our house is a simple sort of Victorian, circa 1918, give or take a year or two. I would really prefer that there be no recessed lights. There is going to be a small table or island somewhere in the center of the room, though I'm not sure of the exact placement. I'm figuring on under-cabinet lights under the cabinets on the right side of the photo, halogen lights in the range hood, a pendant over the sink, and maybe a simple chandelier in the center of the room. The windows over the sink are 5' wide and nearly 3' tall, and let in lots of light during the daytime. Right now, the kitchen is lit by two fluorescent shop fixtures, each of which take two 40 watt bulbs. One fixture is over the cabinet run on the right, one on the left. And that's plenty of light for me. I don't like bright light. I figured that I could either get a 5-light chandelier that takes 100-watt bulbs, which would, in and of itself, be more light than I have now. If it's not too big, I could even get a nine-light chandelier. Anyway, what do you all think? I'm just starting to think about all this, and am very open to changing what I've thought of so far. Thanks for any help.

"He cries to be held all the time, and will only nap in my arms or in the bjourn. How do I fix that?" What's to fix?! This is biologically normal infant behavior! Follow his cues & and you'll both be swimming in milk. Seriously. Nothing increases milk more quickly than staying skin-to-skin and nursing frequently & effectively. One rule of thumb is not to put a willing baby down to pick up a pump! Babies are way cuter than pumps and stimulate milk-making in ways well beyond the engineering capabilities of mere mechanical beasts. If your son nurses frequently (every hour or so if he's interested & you're okay with it), satisfies his suckling instincts at the breast (as opposed to a piece of silicone), and falls blissfully asleep after nursing, you'll have tons of milk. Drink to thirst but don't force yourself to drink more than you want as that's counterproductive. Just don't let yourself "feel" thirsty or you've gone too far. As for sleeping through the night, it's not biologically normal at this age, all "training" books aside. On the other hand, it would be great to find ways you can sleep while nursing, nap by day, encourage his long sleep cycles at night, etc. It's important that you get rest, even if you are gently interrupted by some night nursing. The trick is to minimize the "interruption." As for your math re pumping: If you're getting the same amount each time, while adding pumping, that's an increase! And your first post indicates a lot of milk! Maybe your baby isn't crying for milk, maybe he's crying for you. The big picture is that breastfeeding is all about the relationship between mother and child, it's not a scheme for milk production. Your son wants you, and the more he gets you, the more milk flows between you. Consider new ways you and your son can rest and be together happily. Prolactin levels are highest at night (when mothers typically get more sleep), probably because mothers through the ages made up for lost time nursing while sleeping. Maybe a baby sling will help you feel more mobile during the day when he wants you close but you're trying to putter around. Houseful is right that this time is fleeting -- even if it doesn't seem so at the moment. Surrendering yourself to the nursing and new ways to rest and sleep will pay you back big-time in the coming weeks and months. You won't always be this tired. For me it was tremendously helpful to surround myself with friends who were going through the same things. It normalizes everything and puts the time in perspective. Someday you'll have a lanky teenager on your hands, sweet but will he ever be this cuddly again, and smell so good?!