September 2004 Mamas February Thread - Page 12

[punkymonkeymom]

Jen- I hope my post did not offend you. I was only talking about doctors and nurses telling people to supplement without even giving the normal few days for a mom's milk to come in. I completely understand that your milk never came in fully. I know that you are a wonderful mom!!!! And you are much stronger than I am. If I had been through all you have, I would have given up even trying to BF. I apologize if my post was hurtful to you in any way.

I also apologize if I came across as judgemental to anyone who uses formula. We all do what is best for our children. What matters most is they are loved!!!!!!!!!!

[JenInMpls]

OK, now I'm ready to

WHERE is it written that *I* am the one who has to get up with him in the morning when he wakes up? Especially on weekends?

The past week I have been doing everything - bottles, sterilizing, laundry, dishes, cleaning the house, cooking, caring for Tristan, getting him down for naps, putting him to bed at night, changing diapers, cleaning the cat box, yada yada yada. Add on top of that caring for Jo on Wednesday and Thursday when she came home sick with this norovirus. I realize it's a nasty thing, and I know how tired and weak she is now. But JEEZ! Couldn't I sleep in just ONE day this week after getting up with him every single morning at 7 AM? I thought that it would be clear when I put him in his co-sleeper with some toys (yes, we have a co-sleeper... does he sleep in it at night? :LOL I can't bear to put him in it at night, he's never slept anywhere besides under my arm!) and covered my head with my blankets that I was not interested in getting up, but obviously 11 hours of sleep are not enough for her, she just decided to roll over and snore. Granted, we went to bed at the same time, but I woke up several times in the night to nurse him, all of which she slept through. Yesterday was the same thing, he would be sitting next to her at the kitchen table and I would have to be the one to come from the kitchen to wipe the spit-up off his chin. I guess I should cut her some slack, she still acts like she's in another world from this bug she had, kinda dazed and confused. But I really, REALLY wonder what would be happening if the tables were turned and I were the one who was sick.

At least it gives me some alone time on the computer. I guess I'll go downstairs now and make me some coffee. Yesterday I had my dinner at 8 PM after coming home from running errands - the cats had no food! - and to be honest, cold chicken for breakfast sounds darn good.

Mandy, I wasn't offended in the least, just have managed to turn a corner with my situation and am pretty bent on letting people know that we are out there and working like crazy to still breastfeed our children. I guess it makes me a low-supply lactivist? I've written letters to LLL and Motherwear, LLL calling them on selling the SNS in their catalog but not indicating that women with low supply could use it to keep their babies exclusively breastfed (they are going to change it in the next catalog!) and Motherwear to see if they might consider including a supplementing mom in their catalog sometime (no response). Wouldn't that be something, to see a mom using an SNS or a Lact-Aid and modeling a nursing bra? Nursing shirts are especially handy for me using the SNS, it keeps Tristan's gropy hands away from the tubes and I can adjust it without flashing people!

Tristan just said "n guv uv". I'm going to take that as "I love you"! he's very chatty, and has returned from the land of grunting and shrieking to a lot of goos, oohs, chas (the ch being like the ch in hebrew and German, in the back of the throat), cuhs, a lot of consonants and double-syllables and his latest favorite: bth.

j + t

[3boobykins]

Jen--Your post made me teary-eyed. You clearly love your guy like crazy, and I'm so sorry you've been through so much, but you've made the best of a challenging situation. I always try to remember stories like yours and others I've read here at MDC when I see someone bottlefeeding or buying formula--it's true, you never know what another mama's story is. And good for you for your continuted lactivisim, or should I say, Lact-Aid-ivsm. That's so cool that they're changing the ad!

Sorry you're not getting thel help you need. I hope that changes soon! We go through times when DH is extremely busy with work deadlines and has little time to help me, and it's really hard to do it all alone.

Cynthia--I'm glad Desi wasn't seriously injured by the orange. That really is kind of funny.

My mom is here today, dh is out with a friend (out in the desert looking for gold nuggets, his very unusual hobby). She'll be taking the older kids out soon, so I get to hang out at home with Bhavani and maybe sleep a bit and clean up some and just relax--my mom is the best, and the kids just love her so much!

I think I just scored 5 Happy Heinys on the TP for $25, postage paid--gotta check email to find out!

[Mama Bear]

Jen, I think what you are doing for your son is amazing. I think the SNS is a great tool to assist with bf! You still get the closeness from bf and the stimulation, plus baby is getting what he/she needs - mommy and food. Most moms would probably give up and just ff only. One friend of my had a similar situation. Her milk never came in fully (I think its b/c she was SO stressed out and the baby didn't latch properly). I gave her all sorts of info for support and help, but she decided to ff - she didn't even try to keep bf!!! She knew she would be going back to work, so she thought she would eventually ff, so why bother bf.

msrog - you had mentioned a few weeks ago a/b your son grabbing fistfuls of your breast while feeding, well ds started doing that this past week - OUCH!!! He is also doing the blowing bubbles thing. And he's been sucking on his bottom lip, which is really cute.

[hjohnson]

Hi all! David is 5 months old and boys is he anxious to get moving. He has been rolling over both ways since 3 months old. Last week, he started pushing up onto his hands and knees. Every now and then he tries to crawl and ends up face planting into the carpet. He hasn't figure out yet that he needs to move his hands.

[bendmom]

Jen, my milk this time around is def. lower. I feed him almost every hour so my body will keep producing. But when I have to pump I can only get about 2-3 ounces every 3-4 hours. I went through hell the first two months with Bryn. He had an NG tube that I had to give F down until my milk came in five days later, but then I had one side clogged, I had to try and bf, feed him through the NG tube, then pump, every three hours for two months. The home nurse that we had told me that I would never bf, and that he would def. be a ff baby. It seems strange that I can have such huge boobs and get so little milk

By the way, diaps. and liners are still available, $28

[TudoBem]

It's interesting to read how many other people had the lack of wet diaper issues at birth. My ds was a week overdue. The midwives said that they believed he lost some weight and fluid from this but didn't seem alarmed. What scared me out was all the stupid pamphlets they give you at the hospital to keep record of the number of wet diapers. Ds passed all his meconium within 12 hours but the second day I think he only had 1 wet diaper and we started to get alarmed (looking too much at those stupid pamphlets, I guess). My dh called a friend of his who's a lactation consultant and she came over and instructed us to finger feed him with a couple ounces of formula. We did this and it was awful for me. Then we went to the doctor the next day to make sure he was okay and was told to continue with the formula supplementation for the time being. Instead I brought him to a lactating friend and then my milk came in that night, but I was left wondering how necessary all of that formula supplementation was. The irony is that during my pregnancy all of their instructions such as "make sure the baby kicks this many times within an hour (must be 12 times, not 5!), take the gestational diabetes test, etc., etc." I wouldn't let myself get paranoid over, but when your child is born and you don't know if they could possibly be in danger, you are more influenced by fear. I don't think the formula hurt my son and I had to tell myself that it was fine and not get so worried about it, but it is hard. What actually is or isn't dangerous? Do they "have" to have so many wet diapers initially even if there are no signs of dehydration?
Hopefully by the second we'll have much more confidence and can follow our intuition more than our fear...

[JenInMpls]

Denise you're exactly right. Tristan was 2+ weeks overdue, birth was harrowing and then no milk...? Luckily everyone at the hospital where he was born was very supportive, brought me a pump, the nurse showed us how to cup feed and everyone reassured me that my body was just lagging because it was trying to heal itself from the cesarian birth. I held onto that one and we went for nearly 3 weeks without supplementing and only then was T starting to get dehydrated. Yeah, the number of wet diaper thing is really ridiculous, especially with the chart. T never had as many as he was supposed to but when he did they were "super soakers" - like he had held it!

Off to finish dishes and throw in laundry. Woo hoo!

j

[TudoBem]

Jen- I was thinking about your troubles with the breastfeeding and your conclusion that there must be a reason or at least some meaning that can be taken from the experience. I really think the meaning is twofold. First, your son will never wonder how much his mom loved him as a baby. What your doing for him is teaching him that love is an action, that you do things to care for those you love even if it's not convenient, and that you always gave it your all for him and his welfare. Secondly, you are making an impression on those on this board and I'm sure in your daily life, too. I'm sure there are so many women out there that have gone through what you're going through or will go through it, and your openness to discuss it serves to educate and inspire them.
And even though it's hard to give Tristan the formula and it's not as "ideal" as exclusive breastmilk, he's healthy, adorable and going to grow up to be a healthy, secure, and well-loved man- that's the most important after all.

[bendmom]

Jen, made two loaves of the bread and dh and Aidan ate both in less than 18 hours. Thanks for the link

[Mama Bear]

Question for all you mamas CDing

Which covers do you like best? I am new to cd and have been experimenting. Currently, I am using the Bummis SWW during the day and wool at night. (LOVE WOOL !!!!) The Bummis leave red marks on ds and I am thinking there has to be better out there. I would love to use wool all the time, but what I have is too bulky for day - though I have some wool (Stacinator) on order that is supposed to be trim enough for day.
So what covers do you all ike best? I am using both snappied cpf and fitteds.
Thanks!!!

ETA: I also don't like the SWW b/c it often wicks due to the fabric around the legs and waist.

[bendmom]

I don't know if MotherEase are WAHM, but we used the AIO for 4 yrs with #1 and they worked fantastic. I'm trying to get rid of my Bummis SWW for the same reason...

[3boobykins]

Christine--I like wool, too, but it is a bit bulky and I'm lazy about washing it, even though it's really not that hard. I have a few wool wraps I bought used for 5-7 bucks each and koolade dyed fun colors--Biobottoms and Bumpy, felted wool. My favorite non-wool covers are Nikky poly wraps and nylon pull-on pants, either Bummis whisper pants or Dappi pants--cheap, too, around $5 for the Bummis, 2 for $4 for the Dappis (also sold at babiesrus under the name Especially for Baby.)--they are lightweight, soft, and airdry super fast.

I scored those 5 Happy Heinys off the TP-Yay! I don't know if Bhavani will fit into mediums yet, but Leela probably will. I'm working on building a stash of these.

Wow, that must be some pretty tasty blueberry bread! I'll have to try that out.

[HeatherB]

About CDing: Are the Bummis wicking with PFs or fitteds or both? I use Bummis quite a bit when using fitteds (also use some wool - just got my second wool wrap! - and Bumpy), and I've never had them wick unless he was totally soaked. The fold ever elastic should be "wick-proof." Could it be that you need more absorption from the actual diaper?

Other covers I like: Imse Vimse Bumpy covers, they're PUL but cotton prints on the outer - SO cute and work very well, too. Iain is in one right now - a NB size, no less! I've tried Proraps but much prefer Bummis. My new wool wrap is definitely day-weight. It's a merino wool, two layers, but SO stretchy and thin! It feels like a t-shirt! I got it from Christy at http://www.fussybutt.com/. I haven't actually put it under clothes yet because I love looking at it too much. You might also check Tykies, http://www.tykiediapers.com/ for lightweight wool. I know there are tons others! Post on the diapering board if you want the ultimate list of answers.

Gotta run... Hopefully I'll be back later!

[Mama Bear]

Now that i've washed the pf more, the wicking isn't so much an issue anymore. What bugs me is the red marks the Bummis leaves on his back and legs. It does't seem tight on him, I guess his skin is just sensitive to it rubbing b/c he wiggles so much?
Thank you all for your suggestions!

[HeatherB]

Originally Posted by Mama Bear

Now that i've washed the pf more, the wicking isn't so much an issue anymore. What bugs me is the red marks the Bummis leaves on his back and legs. It does't seem tight on him, I guess his skin is just sensitive to it rubbing b/c he wiggles so much?
Thank you all for your suggestions!

Yes, they do seem to get more absorbent the more they're washed! Especially the unbleached, because they have the natural oils still. I'm definitely guilty of using diapers before they're fully "prewashed" and just switching them a little sooner the first few times. :

I haven't had a significant problem with red marks from Bummis - not that I've noticed, anyway. :LOL But, they'll fit everyone differently. Iain's skin is pretty sensitive (like mine and my older DS's) to getting "imprints" from things that are up against it. So, I don't always think much of any redness he gets if it doesn't seem irritated or seem to bother him. I'd definitely post on the Diapering board to see what others who have had problems with Bummis have had success with. That seems to be the key: find people whose babies are built similarly to yours, and go on their experience.

[hjohnson]

I love my Bummis SWW the best! I also love using the Dappi Diaper pants with a Snappied CPF. I am hoping to get some medium Snappi Fitteds (my newest love) and some Very Baby AIO. David is finally getting close to outgrowing some of his small diapers.

[msrog]

I've not had a wicking prob with bsww either, unless the prefold has been on waaaaaaay too long, LOL. My favorites are MotherEase Rikki and Air Flow wraps. Also I love the PUL wraps from Stacinator that have the fleece cuffs and waistband (So Simple??? don't know the name).

Maybe try putting a doubler in your prefolds?

I made another diaper! It's closer to what I want, but still not quite perfect. I'm managing to have leg holes that are too big and butt area that's too narrow. I need to upload my sewing project pictures to an album for sharing.

Both babies are asleep for now; gotta go sew!!!

Happy Valentine's Day, ladies.

[msrog]

OK, here is the link to my sewing pictures. Have a good laugh... http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAM2TRszcsWzHog

[Almamiel]

I think your diapers look great, Savannah! I tried to sew one on my mom's machine when Mieke was a baby and :LOL - yours are like a piece of art compared to that!

Too early, had to be at work an hour earlier than usual, leaving my poor sick baby in bed with dp, she has a cold - I hate leaving my girls It'd be different, I think, if I actually liked my job...Sigh, I'll quit moaning now...See, working outside the home is my kick in the butt for all the comments I made after Mieke was born about not understanding how moms could possibly leave their babies to work.

Life has a way of teaching lessons, doesn't it?