February Chat - Page 5 « Back to Group Discussions

[Beckily]

Michelle, I'm so sorry! Do you use the oils in her mouth or coat your nipple and let her suck or?

I pumped an oz and a quarter!! So happy! We have milk in the freezer finally. Mostly because he suddenly was willing to nurse my left side for two days and then suddenly wouldn't again. So it was really full.

He won't nurse left in bed anymore. He'll only nurse from my ride side.. sometimes he'll take the left from that side, but not always. Sometimes we go more than a day without him sucking leftie at all. Somehow I still have milk, though. It's so frustrating!

[Italiamom]

Oh Tear, that photo is DARLING!!

And Becky, congrats on the pumped milk!!! That is a big deal, good for you. Although sad face on the over full boob. Those are no fun.

We tried the clove bud oil mixed with coconut oil as the carrier oil (4 drops CBO to 1 teaspoon coconut oil). It seems to provide some short term relief, maybe only 15 minutes. But it takes hardly any at all, I just rubbed it on her tooth bud every once in a while. I tried it in my own mouth, and it does have a numbing effect. But I will take what I can get at this point if it gives her some relief and respite from the orajel. That stuff is icky!

[noorjahan]

Oh no! Sorry that your baby is going through such hard time with teething Italiamom! Hope this passes soon. Eliana is not in major misery yet, and I am hoping it stays that way. I have that amber necklace on her for quite some time now. I am guessing it's helping somehow! I wish I had brought Sophie with us!

Becky, whenever I needed to pump, I always had to stop feeding from that boob (whichever I decided to pump from) and let it get full and then I get pretty good amount...otherwise, I don't get anything either. And not sure if anyone can actually feed and pump on and off without letting it get full? I was wondering about this the other day, just out of nowhere not for any particular reason.

Tear, that's a cute pic!! I recently started offering bit solid, mainly fruits. I tried banana, Eliana seems to like the taste, also she LOVES Orange, I squeezed a bit on a spoon, and fed her that juice...she took about 3 tea-spoons each time (3 or 4 times till now) and really goes for it..almost snatched the spoon from me. She licked a Guava, also seems like she would enjoy that in the future. And her very first solid, Papaya, she really hated it..LOL tried twice, big fail. Second time I think a bit of a hard piece get into her mouth, gagged very badly and then threw up all the milk she was fed before! So, no more Papaya for her! Interestingly, it seems like her choice of fruits would be the ones I like as well.

And I badly need to get a high chair for her pronto! I still didn't get a chance to buy it (it's not common here-use of high chair, babies just sit on someone's lap and eat..I guess). I had her sit on the bed...and the mess was just way too much...and thought of major cleanup makes me not wanna give her any solids...

[SoonToBe]

Carrie, if you still have the yeast infection down below, I've heard garlic cloves work like a charm. They worked for me to go from gbs+ to gbs-.

Oh, and it sounds like you had a milk blister. Painful, but wasn't it kinda neat to see the milk shoot out and to feel the boob draining like an empty water balloon?


Becky, hope all is well with the cyst. I would also be willing to send you milk.

[cat13]

Originally Posted by Beckily 

I think that cyst that we learned about during the pregnancy is becoming and issue. I'm having pretty bad abdominal pain. Hurts to have any pressure on my belly (Oh, hi, hungry baby!). Hurts to roll. Hurts just for fun. Luckily it started before so when I was at the doc (we all share a doc) yesterday for Charles Oliver, I got to say "Eeep!"

So. Wednesday I get an ultrasound. You ever realize just how far Wednesday is from Friday? And then we'll see what's happening and make a plan. Probably surgical - not a big deal if it's not me rushing to the ER because something has exploded. Big deal if it is. If it's just cyst removal, they say I don't even really have to feed him with a bottle.  If it's caused damage, though, I figure I'll be on more drugs. And I can't pump. So this is fun. Fun!

Any update?

[Beckily]

Originally Posted by cat13 

Any update?

No! I forgot to call. I don't track days and I'm not in pain so oops. I will call tomorrow! I kind of thought she'd call me.

[Beckily]

Appointment made, so news next week. Must not be terrible or that would be sped up, I think.

So here's a fun one to try -

Charlie was nursing. As he does quite a lot these days, thus my being REALLY TIRED. I was hungry. I started eating a banana. Charlie started eating bananas yesterday. Hm. So, giving into his interest, I let him nibble a bit. And he was really cute, totally nursing the banana :D But then he watched me enough to see that I took bites, so he took a bite. Note that he is still on me, on my boob. Which is increasingly banana-y. And then he gags up the banana that he'd tried to swallow.

So baby spit, no problem. Baby snot... not my favorite, but getting used to that being smeared on my boobs now. But banana? So regretting that! But I was HUNGRY.

[Baby_Cakes]

Becky that image is priceless!  I thought he had sat up or something!  You silly mommy feeding your little monkey banana on the boob!!

Glad that things don't seem to be that urgent, and that the pain isn't as severe!

So - I don't have any yeast.  Hooray!  She gave me a cream to apply and said basically that it's just dryness and irritation.  Phew.  I got my pills but I'm not even going to look at them yet.  I don't feel like taking anything I don't need to take right now.  Once my fertility comes back, I'll revisit the situation.

Bree - garlic does work for yeast!  I did that while pg.  And yes - whatever that blister or clogged duct was was INSANE.  It was fascinating to watch that hard lump just soften and drain!  Crazy how one tiny dot could block off half my entire boob.

Michelle - any relief in the past few days/nights?

I had a crazy crazy dream last night that I looked in DSes mouth and he had almost all his teeth, molars, eye teeth, all of them had mysteriously popped through.  No fussing from him at all. I was devastated, thinking, "I don't pay attention to these things like I should!!" and I showed Chris who was just in disbelief.  I was sad I couldn't record them in his baby book b/c I didn't know when they actually came thru.  Silly dreams.

[Beckily]

Yeah, that would have been smart! The idea was he'd lick it and smile and then nurse. That was my plan. It failed ;)

He had his first solids poo! He didn't poop at all yesterday which is very strange, but did this morning! Banana! :D

[Lynann]

Michelle how is the teething going?

I'm kind of going through this too. Seth only bites me on my right boob though. We've had head colds here for the last week on to top both boys teething. Seth was beginning to get very fussy while nursing. I was putting it down to the congestion, but NO, my period came back this morning and he is even fussier on the boob than he was yesterday. Today he'll take a few sucks then start crying. Its taking forever to get him to eat, and I can't even go near my right side with him or he tries to bite my nipple off. Last night I got up in the middle of the night to pump the right one as it was so painful from being over full, so I had a bottle in the fridge. I just gave it to him warmed up , as he has been so fussy all morning. He gulped down the whole 5oz bottle as though he was starving. So now I feel really bad that he won't nurse but he is actually hungry. I've never nurse on my period before so I have no idea if it is the cold or its my period that is causing the issue. I really don't want to have to pump all his feeds for the next couple of days, but I don't want him to get hungry either.

Becky. I'm glad the doctor doesn't think your cyst is urgent. I hope the pain stays away for you.

[cat13]

Lynann & Becky, I'm so sorry you are dealing with semi-nursing strikes! I don't have any experience with them, but Kellymom has some good links for you: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html#linksstrike

[Lynann]

Fortunately the bottle of expressed milk seems to have worked like a reset button. Seth has happily nursed me dry on both sides a couple of times this afternoon.

Those articles on Kellymom would favor my original assumption that his stuffy nose was the problem. The head colds are almost gone, so hopefully the nursing strike is over. Now to just stop him from biting my right nipple, although he hasn't done it again since last night when he got me so badly I yelled out in pain. I hope overcoming biting is that easy, but I won't be surprised if it happens again.

[noorjahan]

oh my God! I was just going through  a same semi nursing strike yesterday! It was so annoying to be honest. Eliana would take a suck and then roll over, then I bring her back to position, she would take a suck and roll over...and on and on and on.....!!!!! And, so cranky whole day. My mom was suggesting I do that as well, pump milk and then give her. I have some pumped milk in the fridge, but didn't feel like giving her as I need that tonight for an outing. And this morning my left boob was rock hard, and luckily she did feed from it! And she pooped twice today, she is not a everyday poop friendly person. But you know what, I feel like she will be one of those babies, who get the teething thing going on forever!!! I really want those teeth to cut pronto!

[Italiamom]

Becky, glad to hear that it's probably nothing serious, but plz keep us posted.  You know how we worry :)

Carrie, so very glad it isn't yeast!

Noorjahan, I'm sorry about the on and off feeding.  It's such a bother!

Ugh, as for me, HARD 24 hours.  Ellie came down with a cold yesterday morning, on top of the teething (oh Lynn, how awful you're going through the same!).  I'm pretty sure she has a mild ear infection going on, she's been tugging on her poor little ears, and the colds that both DH and I just had had an earache, so I'm sure it's paining her.  But between the teething, the ears, and the cold, she's practically inconsolable.  I wasn't able to get her down for bed until almost 3am, and then she woke crying every 20 minutes until morning.  I had to bounce her in the Ergo all day.  Really, ALL day.  I put her down to go to the bathroom, but otherwise I walked around the house with her from 8am - 4:30 when DH got home.  She doesn't want to be on daddy at all, and while DH is willing to hold her while she cries, I just can't bear it.  My legs are so tired!!!  She doesn't want to even sit to nurse, I'm sure being anything other than upright hurts her ears and nose.  But I will be very glad when she kicks it.

Anyone know how long it takes ear infections to run their course?  I'm quite sure it's viral (accompanied by a cold), so antibiotics from the doctor wouldn't do much good.  I'll take her in in a few days if she's still pulling on her ear, but in the meantime, anyone have any tips to make her more comfortable?  DS has never had an ear infection, and I don't quite know what to do for them, especially in a little baby.

[Tear78]

italiamom, oh poor baby and poor mommy! Squirt some breastmilk her ear, I've heard. Can anybody confirm this? I hope it runs its course quickly!

[Baby_Cakes]

Breastmilk is good, or I've had good experience with earache drops.

http://www.hylands.com/products/earachedrops.php

I don't know if you have a whole foods near you or HFS, but I've found them at both near me.

Oh you poor thing!  And poor baby girl!!  I truly hope she finds relief soon.  I wold dose with ibuprofen as well.  Earaches HURT as you know, and if she's in so much pain, and cannot sleep...well, I know myself and I would do baby Motrin in a heartbeat. 

Honestly if it lasts longer than 3-4 days I would take her for abx, regardless.  Sometimes if the fluid is too trapped in the ear, bacteria can grow making matters worse.

Take care, and take care of YOU.  I know it's hard to think of yourself, but seriously.  Have that hubs rub you down with some kind of wonderful scented lotion and get you a pint of your favorite ice cream.  And he can pick you all up dinner!  Just get thru this, it will pass.  

[Lynann]

Michelle so sorry to here that your sweet baby is in so much discomfort.

On the earache thing:

I've had a few bad ones since moving to Florida and the stuff from the doctor didn't shift it properly. Then my BF in New Zealand told me how to make garlic oil for earaches. She even uses it on her little ones. Crush a clove of garlic, mix in a couple of table spoons of EVO, let sit for about an hour, then strain it and put on a clean container (I use a washed out ear drop bottle) and store in the fridge. Use it 3 times a day, just 1 or 2 drops in the ear and you can use a little cotton ball to stop it draining back out if needed. It clears my earache up in just 2 days. Also because it may be due to trapped moisture my doctor recommended using a hair dryer on the cool setting to make sure my ears got dry, that might help too.

I do hope little Martha feels better soon, and you can get some rest too.

[Carlyle]

Originally Posted by Tear78 

italiamom, oh poor baby and poor mommy! Squirt some breastmilk her ear, I've heard. Can anybody confirm this? I hope it runs its course quickly!

Originally Posted by Lynann 
On the earache thing:

Then my BF in New Zealand told me how to make garlic oil for earaches. She even uses it on her little ones. Crush a clove of garlic, mix in a couple of table spoons of EVO, let sit for about an hour, then strain it and put on a clean container (I use a washed out ear drop bottle) and store in the fridge. Use it 3 times a day, just 1 or 2 drops in the ear and you can use a little cotton ball to stop it draining back out if needed. It clears my earache up in just 2 days.

I can confirm both of these---breastmilk and garlic oil work WONDERS on earaches.  For adults and kids.  I don't know what EVO is, but we make our garlic ear oil by gently heating a clove or two of crushed/finely diced garlic in olive oil.  Don't boil, just gently heat for a few minutes (in summer, leaving it out in the sun for a week or so is great).  If you have access to mullein, throw some of that in the mix too (but it also works without it).  If you can drop it in warm (NOT hot), it is less uncomfortable than dropping cold drops in there.  I have had this reduce pain for my daughter almost immediately.  Like MAGIC.  She woke up screaming in pain (at about 3-4 years old), I dropped the ear drops in, and she went back to sleep.  She slept through the night and by morning, no pain anymore.  Magic.  I keep garlic oil on hand always now!  If only I could get my husband to let me use it on him when his ears hurt!

And breastmilk is magic for everything.  Recently helped us out of some mild potential pink-eye like symptoms (and has helped for ear-aches in the past, before I found out about the wonderful garlic ear oil).  Gone.  Magic.  Awesome stuff.  What will I do when I'm no longer nursing???  "Fortunately" (?) my 5 year old claims that she will still be nursing when she is our neighbor Dominic's age.  He's 17.  (gulp)
 

[Lynann]

EVO should have been EVOO aka Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I'll blame that one on mama brain. Garlic is such a wonderful medicine.

I've also found breast milk to be a great cure for pink-eye type symptoms. Makes me want to never run out of a fresh supply.

[Beckily]

So good news is that my ovaries look good. Bad news is that the left one is in a weird spot - on top of my uterus. Along with a large mass of we-don't-know-what.

All together, now - NOT CANCER PLEASE.