In our 30s with Our First Babe - December - Page 25

[nylecoj]

Yeah, I hear that. I would be really frustrated too. Seems like it's especially hard to pump since she only wants to sleep ON you.

I wonder if going back to work might help with the mastitis issue since you can pump without distraction. Hopefully that will be your silver lining.

Good luck. So sorry.

[JenInO]

I've been lurking...

Hi, everyone.
I've been lurking and thought I'd say hello.

I was on MDC a lot before I had my babe in June, but since then have not been on at all! I'm finally getting back into it, and I'm glad I found this thread.

I'm 35 and had my first Babe in June. A little girl. She is the best - very easy going, happy, healthy. I couldn't ask for more. I had planned on staying home with her after she was born, but I haven't yet been able to quit my job. We have the best nanny, and we don't have any family around, so it is such a relief to have someone I can rely on. I guess I'm thinking that if I quit my job (and therefore we wouldn't have the nanny), then if we needed someone to take care of her, we wouldn't have that. So, I'm sort of floating in between somewhere right now of "I'm a working mother, trying to AP in the evening and on weekends," and "I'm quitting my job tomorrow." :

Since going back to work (when LO was 4-1/2 mos. old), my milk supply decreased drastically (I had also gone on the South Beach Diet at that time. I lost a lot of weight in 6 weeks, but also lost most of my milk. ) So, we've been struggling with that. I still pump and nurse her, but I'd say she only gets a total of 4-6 oz. from me a day, the rest is formula. I've had a hard time dealing with that.

And, we're starting to think of TTC #2, and with that comes thinking about VBAC, since I had to have an unplanned c/s with my DD. I'm not ready to put the research time into it yet, but I also don't think I'm emotionally ready for a VBAC (or a birth in any way, to be honest.)

Lots of other stories, too, but those are my big ones in a nutshell!

Happy New Year to you all.
Jen

PS - LipGloss Mama - I'm in Long Island, too! Where are you?

[nylecoj]

Hi Jen!

I had a c/s too, and at 4.5 mos there was no way I could have thought about having another.

I am looking into VBAC's now and we are planning on TTC sometime in the next 9 mos or so. (We change our minds a lot)

We'll see what happens.

Just wanted to welcome you!

[Grace24]

Jen! I had an unplanned (but NOT emergency) C-section too, baby flipped to frank breech during our homebirth. I'll research VBAC someday but it's too soon to even think about it!

Haven't been on as much lately, my mom's here visiting which has been really nice. She's really good with him and having lots of fun. DH is also back to work so that leaves me with less online time

Baby's waking up, bye!

[Grace24]

CJ... I'm with ya! I'm starting my Bikram yoga again New Year's Day (a girlfriend is going with me so I can't chicken out). I was a total yoga addict before pregnancy but the heat was too much after that, so it's been a long time. The McD's runs need to stop, it's just that it's so convenient, YK? I cut myself some slack during pregnancy and after babe came (so did DH actually) but I'm tired of being... um... well, bigger. (I resolved to stop calling myself fat cuz it's just not nice and my body just did this amazing thing for me, having a baby, so I have to be nice to it ) I'm so tempted every time I see a diet ad but the thing is, ever since I started just eating what my body wanted (during pregnancy and after) my tastes have become quit healthy and I no longer binge at all. So I'm afraid to "diet" per se because I feel like I'll create the diet/binge weight gain/loss cycle all over again. But, I'm all for avoiding junk more and increasing exercise now that I'm feeling more healed from my c-section (it'll be 5 weeks tomorrow). So yeah, I'm with you on that!

Elizabeth I'm so sorry, it's just not fair. I love BFing too. DH gave Ollie his first bottle (first since those chumps at the hospital convinced me to formula feed him anyhow) this a.m. so I could sleep longer, and he drank it down and was able to latch no problem after that, but I still felt a little sad to miss the bonding time, and that was just one feeding, YK? I hope it clears up again and you get some answers.

Pie... mothers! Augh! I'm glad you got to ski though. I used to cc ski as a kid in MT. Such great exercise!

We're meeting a babysitter tomorrow who might be able to come around for a few hours a day next week to help me out so I can nap, and practice, once mom leaves and DH is at work 40 hours/week. She has a family of her own too, so isn't looking for evenings but at least there's a solution for next week, if she agrees and we like her. $17 an hour, yowza!

[nikkihoi]

s s s Elizabeth
I totally understand what you're going through! My supply is all over the place. I can't pump enough. DS isn't patient, it's either too fast or too slow. Today my left breast really hurts and DS was all fussy with it and the pump can't drain it
The only saving grace for the day is DS gained 9 ounces in 10 days which puts him at 11 lbs. 3 ounces! Yee Haw! Of course, the ped wants me to keep doing what I'm doing which includes supplimentation with the Nutramigen and half the day at the pump. But whatever keeps the weight up and the spirits high.
Again more s Eilzabeth. Hang in there mama!

[PiePie]

Originally Posted by Grace24

17 an hour, yowza!

more thsan manhattan!!

[PiePie]

Originally Posted by nylecoj

Seems like it's especially hard to pump since she only wants to sleep ON you.

my problem

[PiePie]

elizabeth, u r doing great! don't quit! last night i was dying of another plugged duct, dh had to tell me over and over that i was a great mommy, i swear the pain was worse than labor bc it was in the aereola again. today fine. my mw says i'm jusy one of those women who r prone 2 plugged ducts/mastitis. my aunt had lots too. i take soya lecithin to prevent per lll, not helping tho.

[nylecoj]

Originally Posted by Grace24

CJ... I'm with ya! I'm starting my Bikram yoga again New Year's Day (a girlfriend is going with me so I can't chicken out).

Please move to Sacramento so I can start Bikram again? I need to get back into yoga, especially bikram, but I make excuse after excuse after excuse.

My entire back and neck were doing so great when I did Bikram. (Not to mention how strong the rest of me was)

Good for you. Maybe I'll be your virtual bikram buddy. We can talk about poses and stuff.

[acp]

Hi Jen! I had a June baby too, and she's also happy, healthy, and easy going. And she just keeps getting more fun every day - she crawled (really crawled, not just belly scooted or lunged) yesterday, which was exciting! And a little terrifying, since we're not so much with the babyproofing yet.
I also went back to work at 4 1/2 months, and so far it's been going ok, though I'm lucky in that I work from home a lot with my job.

Elizabeth, . I'm so sorry to hear about your BFing issues! I had one friend who finally had to stop BFing because of repeated mastitis. It just doesn't seem fair, when you work and try so hard to make it work. I think you just have to know that whatever you decide, your LO will be fine. Even if it means that breastfeeding isn't the right thing at this point. And she'll benefit so much from the milk you've already given her.

Pie, I'm so glad you got to ski at least a little bit! That would drive me nuts if I were in a beautiful place with snow and couldn't get out to x-country. I'm hoping to go tomorrow, in fact... My mom is the opposite - always encouraging me to get out, and to get Willa used to being with other people. It also helps I think that she's as comfortable with DH as she is with me (he's home a lot since he's an actor, and is REALLy good with babies), so while we're out in Colorado, for instance, we've been swapping baby-watching duties and letting each other get out to ski or enjoy the mountains. Tomorrow I'm hoping the two of us can maybe get out for a x-country or downhill ski together while my mom watches Willa.
My mom is so into natural parenting in some ways - she had natural home births with my brother and me in the 70s, did babywearing with her own homemade backpack, cloth diapered, did all homemade babyfood and was into organic before most people knew what it was, breastfed both of us, etc. But she is definitely into the importance of the mother being able to have a life and get other things done while looking after kids, and tends to be an advocate of playpen time, a sleep schedule, occasional CIO if the baby is waking up too much, etc. We don't agree on everything, but I like that there's so much she does understand about my parenting. She's also the opposite of MIL when it comes to giving "things' to the baby. She's anti all plastic, annoying, loud baby toys, and at this age, really doesn't think many toys are necessary at all - she's way more into cardboard boxes, measuring spoons, homemade things with pockets, found items, etc. For Christmas she gave Willa a couple books and a couple cute finger puppets of realistic field mouse and owl, and that's it - she did a lot to try and avoid "stuff" overload with us, and feels the same way with her granddaughter - she's more into just having good, creative interaction with her.

We finally made it through the trip from hell - we got to the house in Colorado after 3 am (5 am the time we were coming from). Willa did great, all things considered - she slept on me in the ergo, in the carseat on the drive here - but she REALLy wanted to be in a bed, and she kept waking up and having a hard time getting back to sleep. And DH and I were wiped the next day, since, of course, Willa woke up ready for play at 6:30 am. But she's adjusted, as have we, and it's fun being out here. Back home, and back to work, on Monday....

[Grace24]

Nylecoj... you do Bikram too? Are there classes near you? I am in love with that yoga, it helped me so much when my body felt so broken down from old injuries that I couldn't do any other exercise... when I'm not doing it I have to take ibuprofen for my back all the time. Did you know Bikram now has an advanced series? They teach it at my old studio, but you have to be able to do every expression of every pose in the original series to be admitted, so I have to work on my standing head-to-knee (I look down at my knee and just fall over), and toe stand which is hard cuz I have bad knees and toes. Sigh... maybe someday...

[veganone]

Thanks for the support. you guys are awesome. typing 1 handed - dd is nap/nursing on my lap. i'm so glad she can nurse with me just holding her on my lap with one arm finally!

saw the np today - she's doing a milk sample and suspects a lingering mastitis and something other than candida. she suspects switching to mostly bottles when i go back to work may help, too, since i'll pump longer at regular intervals vs. dd snacking all day. i have thyriod issues that are minor, but may also be contributing to the crazy supply issues. she basically promised me that we'll figure this out - i'm SO happy we found her since she's basically my doctor and dd's ped at this point!

she was horrified our ped wanted to put dd on reglan - she upped our zantac and will call in prilosec if that doesn't work.

the good news is that dd's poop was blood free and looked much healthier to her! i'm relieved, but freaked about the possibility of a gluten-intolerance. That would be so hard long-term...

[veganone]

Originally Posted by nikkihoi

s s s Elizabeth
I totally understand what you're going through! My supply is all over the place. I can't pump enough. DS isn't patient, it's either too fast or too slow. Today my left breast really hurts and DS was all fussy with it and the pump can't drain it
The only saving grace for the day is DS gained 9 ounces in 10 days which puts him at 11 lbs. 3 ounces! Yee Haw! Of course, the ped wants me to keep doing what I'm doing which includes supplimentation with the Nutramigen and half the day at the pump. But whatever keeps the weight up and the spirits high.
Again more s Eilzabeth. Hang in there mama!

great job on the weight gain! nylecoj was so right about how hard pumping is with a baby who wants to be held... if it makes you feel any better we were able to stop supplementing after a few weeks. your lo is almost as big as dd!

[nikkihoi]

Originally Posted by veganone

great job on the weight gain! nylecoj was so right about how hard pumping is with a baby who wants to be held... if it makes you feel any better we were able to stop supplementing after a few weeks. your lo is almost as big as dd!

Thanks!
Although, DS was born Aug.4 due Sept. 1st, it's crazy to think he'll be 5 months and is just getting to be 11 lbs. BUT I say to myself, he's gaining and after trying Sooooo hard to ebf, I was thinking that maybe this is everyone's happy medium. Some nursing, some pumping and some supplement. Not the perfect serniero but if it keeps DS gaining, happy and at the breast half the time... The other combos didn't seem to work and exclusively pumping isn't nessary since DS can suck better (and I can't even pump what he needs now, part time). So yes, perhaps this will be the road, not perfect but better than not bfing at all.
By the time all of this works out, he'll probably start grabbing for our food. He's already watching us closely when we eat:

[To-Fu]

Hi! I'm new. I'm not a mom yet, but will be next month. I'm 31.5 years old and my first baby (a boy) is due 1/26.

[veganone]

Originally Posted by To-Fu

Hi! I'm new. I'm not a mom yet, but will be next month. I'm 31.5 years old and my first baby (a boy) is due 1/26.

Welcome and congrats! Did you also check out the pregnant in our 30s thread? Several of us "graduated" from that one and ended up here! Don't let us scare you - motherhood is wonderful!

[veganone]

Originally Posted by nikkihoi

Thanks!
Although, DS was born Aug.4 due Sept. 1st, it's crazy to think he'll be 5 months and is just getting to be 11 lbs. BUT I say to myself, he's gaining and after trying Sooooo hard to ebf, I was thinking that maybe this is everyone's happy medium. eat:

Whatever works!!! And doh - how did I forget that you were here first?! What is it with the near-term babies and eating??? It's like the one thing that they seem to have in common - they just don't get bfing! DD still has a horribly weak suck, which seems to be why she's refusing to eat once the foremilk stops pouring into her mouth and she won't keep working for the hindmilk.

Guess my overactive letdown is why she liked mommy better than bottles, so maybe it's not an all around bad thing...

[Grace24]

Question to all of you who have crossed this bridge before me: How much breastmilk do you give to a baby for a missed feeding? We've introduced a bottle and it seemed like 2 oz. wasn't much but 4 oz. was a lot... it held him for a few hours (and I slept! )

How much do you give your baby?

[preemiemamarach]

Originally Posted by Grace24

Question to all of you who have crossed this bridge before me: How much breastmilk do you give to a baby for a missed feeding? We've introduced a bottle and it seemed like 2 oz. wasn't much but 4 oz. was a lot... it held him for a few hours (and I slept! )

How much do you give your baby?

generally, my DS only takes about 3 oz max EBM, and he's 5.5 months old. He'll eat every 2-3 hours, though, so I think it's more akin to directly BF that way. He's taken as much as 5 oz if it's a sleep feed (I try to feed him before we go to bed on work nights so he doesn't wake up at 4 when we need up at 5), and when he's feeling well, sometimes he'll take 4 oz.

I read about FF babies taking 6-7 oz bottles (or more) at my son's age and wonder if I'm doing something wrong, but since he's a refluxer, I don't like for his belly to spend any time empty- it hurts him.