THe BF Thread - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[loveandgarbage]

^^ That's what I did, too.

[odinsmama]

Yep, same outfit here. I had several of the bra camisole things to wear under any of my shirts and did the pull shirt up, pull tank down move. It ends up being very discreet and easy. The tanks tend to be pretty inexpensive so when the elastic in the straps gets loose I can pick up another set of them.

[HouseofPeace]

except the built in shelves drove me crazy and never fit well, so just spaghetti strap tanks under shirts.  worked for nursing for the last 7 years straight.

i've had a nice 4 month break.  it's odd to NOT dress around nursing!!!

sterilizing my pumping gear today!  found a local mama i'm probably going to share w/ and she just had her little one last sunday.  so excited about nursing again.  i've missed it.....

[LadyCatherine185]

I also do the built in bra cami at home, or a sports bra (at home) under whatever top I am wearing. I have some looser fitting (stretchy?), low amount of support/padding regular bras that I wear when in public. A tank under a cardigan works nicely (you can lift up the tank and the cardigan still covers your back and sides) for the winter.

Stay away from anything 100% cotton (unless it is designed to fit loosely), because all the lifting up and down of your shirts really stretches them out (if they are all cotton). Go with something that has spandex built in. Target has long, stretchy tanks that I LOVE, that I've been wearing during pregnancy and nursing for the last 4 1/2 years. I have some from when I was pregnant with DS2 that still look great even after all the wear on them.

I too do NOT like anything that is actually made for nursing.. I don't like clips and snaps, etc.

[mariee]

I had a pretty easy time nursing DS, but since he was born a month early, it was a LONG time before he was able to sleep more than a few hours at night without needed to eat.  By like, 6 weeks old or so, I was starting to feel some kind of angry / negative/ bad juju feelings when he would wake up for the 4th time, needing to be fed.  It was a really disturbing feeling for me.

Eventually, I found that I needed an incentive to feed and take care of him in the middle of the night.  It feels shallow to share this, but if it helps somebody......

Before going to bed myself, I would make a really tasty snack to eat for the middle of the night.  Like graham crackers, peanut butter, a little chocolate, some strawberries, Chex mix and wrap them up on a plate, leaving them next to my rocking chair.  It sounds silly, but I was totally psyched to get up and eat while feeding DS, and I felt a lot less angry :)

[loveandgarbage]

I have a bunch of those nice long Target tanks, too! It's amazing how well they keep their shape.

Middle of the night nursing snacks are such a good idea. I think I might steal that one! I also found it helpful to have not one but two full glasses of water by the side of the bed so that I wouldn't have to worry about getting up to get more.

[typebug]

Originally Posted by mariee 

I had a pretty easy time nursing DS, but since he was born a month early, it was a LONG time before he was able to sleep more than a few hours at night without needed to eat.  By like, 6 weeks old or so, I was starting to feel some kind of angry / negative/ bad juju feelings when he would wake up for the 4th time, needing to be fed.  It was a really disturbing feeling for me.

Eventually, I found that I needed an incentive to feed and take care of him in the middle of the night.  It feels shallow to share this, but if it helps somebody......

Before going to bed myself, I would make a really tasty snack to eat for the middle of the night.  Like graham crackers, peanut butter, a little chocolate, some strawberries, Chex mix and wrap them up on a plate, leaving them next to my rocking chair.  It sounds silly, but I was totally psyched to get up and eat while feeding DS, and I felt a lot less angry

That sounds like a great idea. My mother remembers feeling like i was trying to kill her. i think everyone must reach their breaking point as the 24 hour feeding machine. Honestly I'm a bit nervous of that feeling lurking in my future. I want to be all nurturing and positive all the time but lord knows how i might really be at 4am. I'm guessing not at my best... My husband is the biggest grump when he's low on sleep. Maybe i should put out snacks for him too!

[LadyCatherine185]

Originally Posted by typebug 


That sounds like a great idea. My mother remembers feeling like i was trying to kill her. i think everyone must reach their breaking point as the 24 hour feeding machine. Honestly I'm a bit nervous of that feeling lurking in my future. I want to be all nurturing and positive all the time but lord knows how i might really be at 4am. I'm guessing not at my best... My husband is the biggest grump when he's low on sleep. Maybe i should put out snacks for him too!

it definitely took me awhile to get used to waking at night to feed the baby.. but after the first month or so, they usually stop pooping at night, and you don't have to change as many diapers in the night, and we learned to nurse laying down, so I didn't have to fully wake up to feed baby. If I had to actually wake up and get out of bed, etc I don't think I could have handled that at all!

[typebug]

Originally Posted by LadyCatherine185 

it definitely took me awhile to get used to waking at night to feed the baby.. but after the first month or so, they usually stop pooping at night, and you don't have to change as many diapers in the night, and we learned to nurse laying down, so I didn't have to fully wake up to feed baby. If I had to actually wake up and get out of bed, etc I don't think I could have handled that at all!

Oh yes, I'm totally planning to nurse lying down. ;) Did you need a bit of light to get oriented? I'm doing one last Ikea trip before the baby arrives and I kinda had the idea that I'd get a dim little light for my side of the bed for that... or is that going to be useful?

[typebug]

OK so I'm starting to dream about wine. I ordered a box of breast milk testing strips so at some point I can experiment... however I'm curious at what point this is really feasible or a remotely good idea? I don't want to do anything to crazy but damn, 8 months without wine has not been fun. I'm seriously counting down... but till when?

[loveandgarbage]

I think every woman has a different comfort level with nursing and drinking, but mine (and i've heard this from others) is that if you are okay to drive, you are okay to nurse. So a glass of wine or maybe even two over dinner/the course of the night. Also for me I didn't feel comfortable drinking until the newborn stage had passed but I can't remember when I had my first drink with each. I have a feeling this time around it will be sooner :).

[etsdtm99]

I also prefer to not drink during the newborn phase, babies nurse so oftne and unpredictably and they are so tiny - also there is suppose to be something to do with liver maturity (having to do with alcohol and caffeine and other things in mom's milk)

i also agree with everyone about tanks and nursing,  whether or not you need the clips and all that seems to have to do with breast shape and size, at some points, like when i'm nursing a 2  yr old, i can wear a normal bra but in the beginning there is NO way i could get my boob out of a normal bra without taking it off..  I normally wear a nursing tank during that time, but last time i eventually switched to a regular ribbed tank over a nursing bra, under whatever shirt i was wearing (so tank & bra down, shirt up to nurse)

I can't believe i'm about to do this for the 4th time, i feel like its been a long time since i've nursed a 'baby'  yet i've never completely stopped nursing (almost 7 yrs now! ahh! )

[typebug]

Originally Posted by loveandgarbage 

I think every woman has a different comfort level with nursing and drinking, but mine (and i've heard this from others) is that if you are okay to drive, you are okay to nurse. So a glass of wine or maybe even two over dinner/the course of the night. Also for me I didn't feel comfortable drinking until the newborn stage had passed but I can't remember when I had my first drink with each. I have a feeling this time around it will be sooner :).

The driving comparison makes sense. I don't think I'll be comfortable trying it till I have a sense of our routine. 

[Teles]

My countdown is more about coffee than wine, but I'm looking forward to both. I can't wait to wake up to the smell of coffee brewing in the morning again (decaf just makes me sad).

I'll be waiting until it takes baby less time to metabolize before I start introducing such things, though, so probably once she's out of the newborn stage. Apparently it can take 2.7 to 5.4 days for newborn babies to metabolize caffeine, and it would be hell to discover that she's sensitive to it and just have to deal with her fussing for that long just for the sake of a coffee. I'll probably start introducing it around 3 months, though I suspect that I may have a small glass of red wine now and then with dinner before that time. 

[Chloe'sMama]

I have been bad during this pregnancy..... I have never been one to drink coffee, but I am just so... um.... backed up that I have been having a cup almost every day for the past month or so since the baby has been bigger and pushing on my intestines and slowing things down SOOOOO much.

I also have a drink of DH's beer or wine when he has some.  I very rarely have my own drink, but I don't have a problem drinking a little of his.  I do this with my babies too.  Never really have my own, but will try a couple of sips of other's wine or beer.  My mom tells me that docs back in her time would recommend a nice dark beer to help with milk supply.  I figure as long as I don't overdo it, baby will be just fine.  I am not a big drinker (of alcohol or caffeine) so I never have much cravings.  Even now, I don't crave coffee, but I do like that it helps things move through. 

[Jenny01]

Originally Posted by Chloe'sMama 

I have been bad during this pregnancy..... I have never been one to drink coffee, but I am just so... um.... backed up that I have been having a cup almost every day for the past month or so since the baby has been bigger and pushing on my intestines and slowing things down SOOOOO much.

I also have a drink of DH's beer or wine when he has some.  I very rarely have my own drink, but I don't have a problem drinking a little of his.  I do this with my babies too.  Never really have my own, but will try a couple of sips of other's wine or beer.  My mom tells me that docs back in her time would recommend a nice dark beer to help with milk supply.  I figure as long as I don't overdo it, baby will be just fine.  I am not a big drinker (of alcohol or caffeine) so I never have much cravings.  Even now, I don't crave coffee, but I do like that it helps things move through. 

I only stopped coffee when I had bad MS in the beginning and it didn't appeal to me, so only for a couple of weeks, and since then I've had one cup a day.  It used to help my constipation but not anymore  lol.  I also have the occassional sip of DH's beer.  Definitely missing my wine though like you Teles!

[waywornwanderer]

Originally Posted by Teles 

My countdown is more about coffee than wine, but I'm looking forward to both. I can't wait to wake up to the smell of coffee brewing in the morning again (decaf just makes me sad).

I'll be waiting until it takes baby less time to metabolize before I start introducing such things, though, so probably once she's out of the newborn stage. Apparently it can take 2.7 to 5.4 days for newborn babies to metabolize caffeine, and it would be hell to discover that she's sensitive to it and just have to deal with her fussing for that long just for the sake of a coffee. I'll probably start introducing it around 3 months, though I suspect that I may have a small glass of red wine now and then with dinner before that time. 

I haven't abstained completely - I know docs say you can have a cup or two of coffee a day, and my last two weeks of work, I absolutely felt like I *needed* a cup each morning before my 10 hour days. So I gave myself the go ahead to have it for those two weeks, as long as I stopped drinking it once I was done with work (a week and a half ago). It has been pretty brutal since then, though- my husband's morning coffee smells SO good to me. I usually drink an herbal tea or teeccino instead, and maybe a mug of hot cocoa in the afternoon, but it is most definitely not the same. 

I plan on having a really invested "lying in" period, just having my mom/husband/mother-in-law care for me and baby for the initial month post-partum, and I don't plan on having any sort of normal schedule of sleep. I'm hoping I won't really *need* coffee, then! Just homemade smoothies + juice + lemon water. But believe me, after six-ish weeks, I am ALL ABOUT THE COFFEE. 

Ditto for wine. I miss having an evening cup or two, but I plan on waiting out the newborn phase and have a $60 bottle of red with my name on it. 

[loveandgarbage]

That's  great idea to get a special bottle of wine for when the time comes! As much as I love good wine, I always feel guilty spending over $10 a bottle. This would be a good excuse to treat me (and a girlfriend or two) to something super fancy.

I drank coffee during my first two pregnancies and didn't feel bad about it. With my first I was working sometimes 60 hours a week and if I didn't have my daily latte I thought I would die. For the record DS1 is fine . This time around, due to GI stress, I can't stomach coffee. So I drink a cup of green tea in the morning, or sometimes treat myself to a chai. The chais make me feel WIRED so I save those for especially tired days when I really need a pick-me-up!

[typebug]

Oh coffee... Yes i've only had the occasional decaf though sometimes i throw a tsp of real grounds in with the decaf for a little boost. I'll kinda treat that like alcohol. Keep it minimal in size and try to time it so I'm not BFing right after a latte.

[Brambleberry]

With both my first pregnancy and this one I've continued to have one cup of coffee a day.  I figure if it's good for my mental health and the effects on baby are minimal, baby benefits more from having a sane Mama.  First pregnancy I cut my daily cup back to 8 oz (instead of 12), but this one I just couldn't do it - plus I've got two in there so that means I could drink twice as much, right? ;)

Even as a newborn, DD never reacted to that one cup of coffee at all - she was pretty mellow.  And I figured, if anything, it would help her keep her days and nights straight to have a little cafe' con leche every morning :)

I've also treated myself to half a beer occasionally during this pregnancy - about every other week or less, although I totally abstained during first trimester (as well as when we were ttc).  With nursing, I feel uncomfortable drinking more than a few sips for the first several weeks, but after that I'll have one drink directly after nursing.  We don't drink more than once a week anyway, if that.