It's April, March Mamas! - Page 5

[kaPOW!]

Originally Posted by Virginia884 

Have you ever listened to the Moth radio hour? It's another NPR favorite of ours. And I believe they have a podcast. http://themoth.org/radio

Yes! It's a good one, though it hasn't hooked me like my boyfriends Ira and Jad have. My husband actually bought me tickets to a live show for xmas, but I had a horrible sinus infection and we lost our childcare and he ended up going by himself :( I figured I'd switch over to the Moth after I got through all the TAL episodes, but... I've got about 10 years left of episodes to listen to lol

I exercised throughout the pregnancy and do hope to get back to the actual gym as soon as possible, but am not sure how/when that will be. I'm pretty relaxed about leaving Geo with my husband, but there will have to be a bottle in the picture for sure. I'll be keeping my eyes pealed around here for tips and tricks on getting that going. speaking of which, I should really get pumping...

NEURO!! and anyone else who has been dealing with childcare... have you gotten the details ironed out? I got a call from one of the waiting lists and they can get us in in October... I need to to go back to work in July... not sure how/if we'll be able to get that to work out, but I hesitate to pass on it. In fact, I told her we would take it and need to send in the deposit check. I figure I can eat the cost if something else comes up sooner, but I would really hate to lose that $700... I frickin' hate the whole process so much!!!
 

[Neuromancer]

Originally Posted by kaPOW! 

NEURO!! and anyone else who has been dealing with childcare... have you gotten the details ironed out? I got a call from one of the waiting lists and they can get us in in October... I need to to go back to work in July... not sure how/if we'll be able to get that to work out, but I hesitate to pass on it. In fact, I told her we would take it and need to send in the deposit check. I figure I can eat the cost if something else comes up sooner, but I would really hate to lose that $700... I frickin' hate the whole process so much!!!
 

I haven't even started trying to figure this out yet.  Bleah.  We can't afford the two day care centers that had openings for us.  The third one hasn't contacted me, and we're on the waiting list, but I'm not sure we can afford that one, either.  I think I have to go back to work in about a month -- maybe I can get away with a little more time off, but I don't know.  And to start out, I think my husband will do the child care (he works from home) and we'll get a part-time babysitter to give him some time to work.  But I don't know.

[StellaNuova]

Virginia884 just wanted to say that I love the Moth too!  Amazing stories...I listen on line as well...

[katroshka]

I also like The Moth, though I haven't listened to it lately. RadioLab and TAL are favorites of mine, too, and the audio podcast of Bill Maher. I like to listen to those while I clean, or do math homework.

Virginia- that's funny about our babes' similar interests!

Today I chaperoned my oldest DD's field trip to the zoo, it was lots of fun. We go all the time, as we have memberships and live only 10 minutes away, but the San Diego zoo just doesn't get old. Today we saw parts I hadn't seen in years, and new parts I hadn't seen yet. What made it really fun was having two of DD's friends, both very nice boys, come along with us. They were all having such a good time and being so funny, it was really entertaining for me. And these boys are just so sweet, they kept saying hi to Freja and saying how cute she is and how they just want to hug her. It was cracking me up. And I like that they are so cool with girls, not weird about being friends with DD. They are much nicer boys than the ones I knew in 4th grade!

[Marissamom]

Katroshka: that sounds like a lot of fun. we don't have a local zoo, the closest one is a 5 hour drive away on the other side of the state. though we're planning on a vacation this summer and will get to go to the zoo, aquarium, and science museum. I really wish we lived somewhere that had those things nearby so we could go more often. DD has never been to one. 

I got Isaac into the Moby, but his legs aren't technically right, he can't bend them into the fetal position like it says they should be because his diaper is too bulky, so they're kind of tucked around my side. 

[Banana731]

I'm in the same boat as many of you. I can fit into prepregnancy pants, but I'm budlging out the sides! truth be told I've been leaving them undone and using my belly band.

My mom is leaving tomorrow, which is freaking me out! I don't know what I'm going to do with all these kids, seriously. And to top it all off I have mastitis. I feel like a zombie. I've done everything I can to get rid of it on my own, but I have to bite the bullet and go to my HCP and get antibiotics. I hate that! I get it at least once every pregnancy, usually I can take care of any plugged ducts I get before it gets serious, but I didn't get this one...

[crayfishgirl]

I don't fit into anything either...some of my pre-pregnancy jeans "fit" (my "fat" jeans) but the muffin top is so unattractive and even more demoralizing than still wearing maternity clothes.  I may break down and buy a couple of pairs of jeans though....my mat jeans won't stay up even with a bella band so I'm constantly tugging (and if that wasn't bad enough, they pull my underwear down too).  Pre-preg jeans unbuttoned with a bella band is a great idea!  I'm so pathetic for not having considered doing that.

We've had 10 days of back-to-back visitors staying with us.....my husband's entire family the weekend before last, then my friend stayed from Monday-Thursday night, and then my mother and mother in law arrived Friday morning (my mom lives on the least coast) for four days.  It kicked my ass and I was so looking forward to a break on Tuesday only to wake up to mastitis!  I was feeling crappy Monday and really tired but I've had a cold and we've had visitors...and I have a newborn and a toddler!  I'm so glad I knew that I wasn't dying because I really felt like I could be dying.  Boob seems to be closer to normal already and I don't see/feel any indication of a plugged duct.  I'm so glad to be living in an age of antibiotics because I feel like a new person today. 

Simon doesn't smile much either and I don't know if its coincidence, but on Saturday I peeked at him in his little chair and said hi and he gave me a huge grin.  It made my week!

[kaPOW!]

meh. baby is 13 days old. went from crying only when hungry, to crying 90% of the time that he's awake. he's also been spitting/puking up a lot. at least once, twice a day. sounds like he is choking when he's breastfeeding - and when i pull off i'm usually squirting. this happened with my first son too, but we just powered through it. wondering if i should try to do something about it this time, but what... any ideas? not sure if he's crying a lot from the overactive let down, not sure if he's puking from it either.

[Banana731]

sara- you can try block feeding

[Banana731]

camille- the walking dead is an apt comparison, no? it was all that crazy visiting! stress or doing too much early on can definitely bring it on. with #2 i got it after walking around at ryuku mura (think williamsburg, but okinawan...) for a few hours at 2 wks pp (wtf was i thinking?!). i hate hate hate it. i so feel your pain. i should have been taking lecithin, i know better...

[Lyss]

Sara, can you feel the letdown?  Block feeding didn't work for me.  If you can feel it, maybe pop him off and let it spray onto a tissue or into a cup?  I spray too.  Hope it gets better soon.  How are his poops?

[Aliy]

sara have you tried chiropratic for him. it really helps my little guys.

if it is a let down issue i had to express before my first son would even latch

[jcregan]

KaPow - Hugs!  Sounds like you might be having a rough time!   I know I have strong let down and when he lets go I keep a thick cloth/blanket under him and I will let it spray for awhile into that.  I don't feel let down but can tell by watching him.  I have a simple hand pump as well and that helped a lot earlier when I was more engorged and he was tinier and had even more trouble.  I would pump a bit first for a better latch and a bit less spraying.  www.kellymom.com has some tips related to this as well.

With the crying/spitting up and especially crying while eating you might want to consider looking into GERD and other possible issues like that!

I am pretty sure that the www.askdrsears.com website has some pretty good tips related to dealing with fussy / colicky babies and not just soothing but really trying to figure out what might be going on.  I know he has a lot of that in The Baby Book as well.

--------------------------

I did my first "real" PP workout yesterday!  I have been intending to do a ton of walking the last couple weeks but here in MN the snow/cold/rain just won't go away!  So I finally decided to do the level one (with the easier modifications) of my 30 day shred DVD.  It actually went fairly well... Except it took an hour instead of 20 minutes cause I had to stop for some baby care a couple times.  Oh, and the first level has tons of jumping jacks - I thought that my pelvic area was doing pretty well but I obviously need to do some more kegels and wear a pad next time.  Kind of annoying!

I am sore today but it felt good and even though I had to do the easier stuff and had breaks I think I feel I can improve fairly quickly.  =)  Hopefully then it will be nice out and I can get to walking and maybe even some wogging (spelling intentional - walk+jog).

[kaPOW!]

thanks ladies!!! there is one breast that is way worse than the other. when he's feeding on my more normal breast, the overactive one will start gushing and i've normally just been stoppering it with my finger. sounds like i should probably just let it run into a pad a or something. or maybe try to catch it in a bottle?! i read up on block feeding and i suppose that would work, but it sounds like you really should't pump when you're doing it/or if you have forceful let down issues. :/ that's not good, since i was hoping to start stocking the freezer with breast milk in preparation for going back to work. in any event, i can feel letdown so i'll try popping him off when it seems like the worst of it is coming. he doesn't cry while he's breastfeeding, but sometimes he acts kind of panicked. like real squirmy, and making weird panicked noises that i only hear when he's breastfeeding. it's not always when i've got a heavy stream going, sometimes it's when i've been pretty drained. :/

thanks for the ideas! i'm glad to have some stuff to try.

[Neuromancer]

I have one faster (and way bigger; ugh) breast, too, which sometimes seems to overwhelm my little guy.  I find leaning back while nursing on that side seems to help him stay latched without choking.  If he's been feeding for a while and then grunts and squeals and squirms while latched, I think it's usually gastrointestinal.  If he pulls off then, I rub his belly.  And if he acts panicked, bobbing his head around but fighting the nipple and not latching on, I give him a burping break or let him sit reclined against my knees until he's calmer.  Sometimes he's even gone right to sleep when I burp him, which makes me think he was more tired than hungry.  When he gets really grunty and "poop-faced" I put him on his belly and pat his back.  He often falls asleep quickly and takes a farty but contented little nap! 

It's all guesswork, but at 5 weeks old I'm sort of starting to figure him out.  Of course, I'm sure that means he'll change all his patterns soon!  ;)

[Virginia884]

Originally Posted by Neuromancer 

I have one faster (and way bigger; ugh) breast, too, which sometimes seems to overwhelm my little guy. I find leaning back while nursing on that side seems to help him stay latched without choking.

be careful with this, as I read somewhere that making them nurse 'uphill' is more likely to cause a plugged duct. Don't remember where, either kellymom.com or womanly art of bf

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[Virginia884]

Jcregan, you are my hero! Does bouncing DD on the exercise ball count as part of a workout?


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[Neuromancer]

Originally Posted by Virginia884 

Originally Posted by Neuromancer 

I have one faster (and way bigger; ugh) breast, too, which sometimes seems to overwhelm my little guy. I find leaning back while nursing on that side seems to help him stay latched without choking.

be careful with this, as I read somewhere that making them nurse 'uphill' is more likely to cause a plugged duct. Don't remember where, either kellymom.com or womanly art of bf

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Interesting.  Kellymom was where I got the idea.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html
 

[katroshka]

The last few posts sound pretty familiar... luckily our situation doesn't sound as problematic as some others, but Freja often coughs and chokes a bit when I let down. It's been getting a little better, seems like my boobs are starting to regulate themselves more. I'm not having nearly as many let downs when I'm not nursing, and let downs don't seem as intense.

So I finally heard from my friend who recently had her baby, and I just feel so awful for her. She really struggled through her last trimester, with high blood pressure and lots of swelling. She planned a homebirth, labored at home for 3 days before going to the hospital. There she pushed for 4 hours, the head would start to crown but then slip back every time, for hours! Finally she had a c-section and then ended up with a fever, probably from an internal infection from surgery. Her baby had trouble breathing, they weren't sure if it was a respiratory infection or fluid in his lungs that wasn't squeezed out like it would have been in a vaginal birth. Either way, they both were on IV antibiotics for a week, in the hospital for 8.5 days, and he spent a few days in the special care nursery. Now they are home and the baby is very fussy and doesn't fall asleep well, I guess. She seemed pretty traumatized and wiped, and says her baby will not have any biological siblings.

I feel so lucky to have had such an easy birth and such an easy baby, I hate to even talk to her about it.

Oh, and my cousin had his first child a few days ago, and they had a really rough birth, too. Her water broke early Sunday morning, they went in but she had no contractions so they sent her home to wait. By the evening there was still nothing happening so they started her on Pitocin, and I guess by Monday still nothing was happening... eventually she went into labor and pushed for 6 (!!!) hours before finally having a c-section on Tuesday morning. Her baby was 9 lbs 6 oz, and 22.5" long! At least she seems very happy, they are both posting lots of pics and sound thrilled, and that's what matters.

[Virginia884]

Originally Posted by Neuromancer 

Interesting.  Kellymom was where I got the idea.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html
 

It's on that page; I was thinking of the "laid back nursing" pose that is touted as the best way to nurse in WAoBF. Here's the quote from Kellymom-

"Australian position (mom is "down under", aka posture feeding) - in this position, mom is lying on her back and baby is on top (facing down), tummy to tummy with mom. Avoid using this positioning frequently, as it may lead to plugged ducts."

Sorry for the confusion!