-
@photojane: @lolabee: It kind of feels crazy to be horny again because I wasn't AT ALL while pregnant and I only did it because I felt obligated to, haha. But now I want it!
@lolabee: I don't have one of those bras, but I need to get one. When I first started pumping, I was using my double electric pump and tried to hold the flanges in place by hand, but that proved too difficult. Now I do one at a time and hold it in place by hand. I was thinking of ordering this though: http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Wishes-Hands-Breastpump-Black/dp/B004S8MGGQ/
-
@lolabee: I'm torn on birth control! I don't want anything hormonal or an IUD so that leaves...charting, condoms, pull n pray or abstinence. I doubt DH will be a fan of the last option.
So...I have no idea what we're gonna do! I wonder how long until charting realistically is an option? I suspect we'll end up using condoms.*ETA* With all the talk about pumping lately, has anyone tried using milkies on the boob LO isn't feeding off of at the moment? I know I read a thread on it but can't remember if it was mentioned in this one. Anyway, I tried mine out today and got half an ounce from a 5 minute feed, which took no effort at all, just sticking the shell in my bra! I recommend it since that milk will otherwise just end up in a breast pad/towel/your shirt.
(how long until I can feed LO without dribbling it onto my shirt? we are a messy team and it makes me scared to BF away from home!)
-
@MRS. HIGH HEELS: We have been very "Montessori" with him, in terms of encouraging him to be a part of the household, but I still need to be right.next.to.him most of the time.
When are you finding time to pump? Yesterday I had about 30 minutes when both kids were asleep and I did a little mini pump for 5 minutes, but then I had to get dinner ready...@LADYFINGERS: Yeah it was no fun. And you know what's more not fun? That I am officially on a dairy/egg/chocolate- free diet. Wahh! Pity party for one.
@JESSIBEE: I just tried on pre-preg jeans and I can just barely get them closed with a crazy muffin top. My only glimmer of hope is that last time I lost most of the weight in about 3 months, and all of it by 5-6 months with pretty much no exercise. For now I'm just rocking the yoga pants.
@THATWIFE: I totally agree- I feel like I'm being neglectful of Baby Brother because he hardly gets any attention while awake!
@LOLABEE: No naps for me unless DH is home…The thing is that Little Boy only naps 1-1.5 hours a day, so that's my only potential time and of course Baby Brother decides to nurse during that time.
I'm totally with you about baby sleeping on your chest- it's the best! We co-sleep and if he has trouble sleeping we just pick him up and sleep together. I feel like because of BF I have a sort of sixth-sense about him.
Re: BC- my doc said BF is about 80% effective, but that's still a 20% chance that I would not want to take. I have a friend with 2 that are a year apart and I feel like that's not something I would want, if only because of losing BF supply for the older child.@ADIRA: It is normal to get the most pumping in the middle of the night- around 3 a.m. I did that for a few months with my first because he was such a slow nurser so it didn't really take any longer, and with time I figured out how to bottle feed while pumping. This time I just can't spare any night sleep though so that's pretty much out of the question.
Who else feels like they're running a laundromat? Seriously it's never ending over here...granted I have two in cloth diapers but still.
-
@photojane: Yikes on the sutures and having to get them pulled out! And boo on the sex restrictions, but YAY on fitting your pp jeans!
I forget who asked, but I'm down 12-13 lbs from my ending pregnancy weight, so still 7-8lbs to go, but I have a feeling it'll be stubborn, especially with ALL the Easter chocolates I've been devouring! The tummy pouch looks really weird though... I've been trying to be good and wear the Belly Bandit, but I will forget to put it back on when I take it off for any reason. I haven't ventured to try on any jeans or anything yet, but I have started packing away the maternity clothes! I'm ready to not see those until next time around!
@Mrs. High Heels: We used the K'tan for the first time outside the house today! Walked all the way to McD's with her sleeping in it! I think she is still kind of small for it and/or I should have gotten the smaller size of the K'tan. Her head still seems wobbly in it, even with the fabric behind, so I basically cradled her in it the whole time. I do like the Ergo more for support, but she was already in the K'tan. I hope it will get easier to use each day!
Wow! Cannot believe Jaren is 4 weeks already!
Would love to hear how much he weighs from your appt.! I get so curious too, and for some reason DH thinks K would be close to 8lbs already, when I think that sounds like a lot to grow so fast!@lolabee: Good job on getting back in those jeans! I can't even begin to think about wanting to DTD or BC yet. I'm still so uncomfortable just sitting, and sit on my donut cushion all the time!
But the PnP method seems scary! Look at Tori Spelling! Ugh - pregnant 4 weeks after giving birth or something like that! I've had too many women tell me that BF'ing as BC did NOT work for them!@tororojo: I'm really curious about trying Milkies too! I think it would get quite a bit, since I do tend to DRIP everywhere and all over the place it seems!
@Adira: How do you just pump on one side with the double electric? Mine doesn't seem to have suction if I only try to pump on one side, unless I close the empty tube by placing a finger over the opening - but even then, the suction is not that good? Maybe I should read a manual or something... ;P
@Baby Boy Mom: We've been doing laundry probably every other day (we use disposables). DH tends to wash everything after one use (like even the baby's towels). It's also because we don't have that many sleepers in NB size with the fold-over cuffs and been changing her about 2-3 times a day because of spit up or usually because she peed in the middle of a change. Oh and we have more laundry from spit up or dripping breast milk all over everything.
I feel like we'll have to change her less as she gets a bit older and we have more clothes in that size. As for us, I breast fed K at McD's twice today!!! It wasn't technically the first time I BF her outside the house, but the first time was at the hospital in a private lactation room. Today at McD's was because I brought a frozen bottle of pumped milk but they didn't have warm water in the restroom to thaw it out. I ended up feeding her standing up in the handicap stall!
Gross, but no choice. What's a mom to do? Later, she was still hungry, so I fed her sitting outside of McD's at a table, but I used a blanket as a shield. Definitely made me think I need to practice using a BF'ing cover ASAP so I can feed her comfortably sitting anywhere! I was also surprised about how I wasn't so worried about BF'ing out and about as I always thought I would!
-
@shopaholic: what kind of pump do you have? I have a medela pis - you can unhook the tube you're not using then stick the little rubber plug (in between the two hose hook ups) into the post that hose would normally go into. But yep the manual is always a good bet
-
@shopaholic: oh and yes I've surprised myself with how little I care what people think about me bf'ing in public. I fed him in the pediatricians waiting room last week because it was mealtime and he was wailing! The hardest part is latch-on because I'm all nips but once he's on I don't care.
-
@ladyfingers: Oh! I will have to look for that! I did try just unplugging the extra tube, but that didn't work. And yeah, when baby is wailing, all I could think about was "get the nipple in now!" lol!
-
Hey ladies! I'm still here! - just haven't posted in a long while. I love reading everyone's updates and issues and commiserate daily. I'm waiting at the Dr's for my 6week pp check and hope to get on the ccomputer later for a thorough post.
-
I had my 6-week checkup yesterday (DD will be 6 weeks tomorrow), and first of all, how has it been six weeks?! I am now cleared to exercise (so bring on the "no time or energy to exercise" guilt), and cleared for sex, but along with the rest of you, I'm just not sure how to find the energy or time...especially with the baby sleeping in our room! (And I had a C-section, so messed up lady-bits aren't an issue for me.) We are getting ready to travel for a few days (also nervous about that, naturally), so I will probably wait until we return to really figure out how to fit in...both of those things. My doctor's advice: take it slow. For both activities.
I'm also still trying to figure out BC. I don't really want hormones of any kind, but I also don't feel so informed about what's out there. I went on the pill when I was about 16 or 17 for awful cramps, heavy periods, and extremely short cycles. I didn't go off of it until we decided to TTC, and I'm 31. I used progesterone supplements, since (of course) my cycles were still so short that it didn't give time for implantation. So I don't know what to do, and unfortunately, while I love my OB, she was in a rush yesterday because she was about to head to the hospital where she had a patient in labor. So...I don't know what we're doing, and I'm reading your thoughts and plans to try to get more ideas of what we can do.
And, another novel from me. Oops. Maybe I should try responding from my iPad/phone to keep it shorter!
-
@Baby Boy Mom: haha, yes! We used to do laundry once a week (IF that) and now we have to do it everyday! It's going to suck when I go back to work and don't have all day to do stuff.
@shopaholic: It probably depends on the pump. Mine doesn't seem affected by me just doing one pump vs two. I don't think the two suction tubes are connected to each other at all.
-
@JessiBee: if you're open to IUDs, mirena might be an option. It has hormones but its a very low, local dose that typically doesn't affect most women. I'm getting the no-hormone iud, paragard, but it runs the risk of slightly heavier periods so you probably don't want that, but I believe mirena makes most women's periods lighter and less frequent.
-
@photojane: thanks for your input! i've never had problems with bad periods so maybe paragard will be ok, but then again.. having only a little spotting sounds really nice too.
@Baby Boy Mom: i only pump once a day and usually i'll do it when DS is down for a nap, or if he's awake i'll have him do tummy time on the boppy while i pump. he doesn't mind tummy time and can last for at least 10-15 min most of the time so that helps.
@Phillybaby2013: hi! glad to hear from you again... looking forward to reading more!!
i just came back from our 4-week well check and DS is up 3 lbs! he was 7 lbs 14 oz at birth, and he's now 10 lbs 14 oz. he's a chunky lil' fella. he also slept a 4-hour stretch last night, and it was glorious! i hope it wasn't a fluke. i can't believe its been a month already. it went by a lot faster this time around.
-
@shopaholic: @ladyfingers: What do you girls wear that makes it easy to BF in public? I have a couple of nursing tanks that I don't like at all, and one nursing bra that I like but can't decide what to wear over it that won't make it complicated to whip out a boob. I am planning to venture out of the house for longer next week so that may be my first try in public! Also, I bet Mickey D's has hot water in their coffee/latte machines?
-
@tororojo: I have a few nursing tanks from
Motherhood and wear a button down or loose shirt over. -
@tororojo: i usually wear a nursing tank under a shirt... then pull up the shirt and unhook the straps from the tank... it leaves just enough skin for the nipple and keeps everything else covered. i always use a nursing cover too though - i don't think i'll ever be comfortable enough to go w/o a cover.
-
Okay ladies, I need to know... is Xander just a super easy-going baby, or is the shit going to hit the fan any day now?
Ever since he was born, he's been extremely mellow. He rarely cries except when he's hungry, and now that we're starting a routine and I am able to anticipate if he's hungry or not, that seems to be happening even less now. When he's awake, I can put him on his activity mat or bouncer and he'll just hang out there, totally chill. We do tummy time and sometimes he grunts a bit, but otherwise, he doesn't seem to mind it. If he's been on his stomach too long, he might get fussy, but in general, he doesn't seem to mind anything I do to him. Even for naps, he's totally easy. I can put him down in his bassinet wide awake and he'll just stare about and eventually fall asleep. Sometimes he'll be a little fussy and want his pacifier, but other than that, he's totally calm ALL THE TIME.
Is that normal??? Is he just giving us a breather until he turns into a nightmare? He's only 3.5 weeks, but I keep holding my breath, waiting for him to start crying the 2-3 hours a day I've heard is normal for babies. Is that coming?
-
@tororojo: My "uniform" since baby and BF'ing has been 1) nursing tank with clip down top part, 2) Button-down chambray shirt, and 3) leggings. I seriously need to figure out BF'ing with regular tops soon and also what to do when the weather gets too warm for the tank underneath. I know a lot of moms on here have suggested nursing tank + cardigan combo, but I'm not happy enough with my tummy yet to just wear the cardigan open with the tank exposed.
@Adira: Sounds like you are lucky and Xander's an easy baby! Count your blessings! K isn't really fussy, but I can't really just leave her in the swing or bassinet if she is awake. She wants to be held for the most part.
-
Ohhh man.. I think it's been over a month since I've even gone onto Hellobee??? I feel like I've desserted my island or something =P haha.
Can't wait to catch up on posts and see what's going on with everyone!
How old is LO? 5 weeks and 4 days!
How much do they weigh? last checkup was at 4 weeks and 2 days, and Mira was 9 lbs. 3 oz. She was 7 lbs. 2 oz at birth, so she's been gaining approximately 1.5 oz per day... apparently it's a lot? She's also grown 3 inches in one month.. from 19 to 22. CRAZY!!
What new thing have they done lately that you love?
She is JUST starting to smile (not just in her sleep), and really focus on faces or a toy What's your biggest challenge right now?
Projectile spit up. Yes, it's awful. This girl loves to eat but I've had to deal with projectile (like this fountain of milk sprays out 1 ft out of her mouth!) once every other day for the last week or so. I am trying to burp her more often during her feedings, and it seems to help, but sometimes it still all just comes out. Her doc said though that it shouldn't be serious as long as she's not crying afterwards or anything.Ladyfingers - February 2 - Derek John
Lolabee - February 5 - Zev Jackson Maxwell
Thatwife - February 6 - "M"
Jessibee: February 8 - "Ellie"
Mrs. Lantern: February 9 - Avery
Emilie: February 11 - Mira Josephine
Photojane: February 12 - Sadie Rose
Jerricabenton - February 16 - "L"
Baby Boy Mom: February 18 - "Baby Brother"
Mrs. High Heels: February 22 - Jaren David
Adira: February 26 - Alexander Michael
Shopaholic: March 6 - Kaitlyn Irene
Torojojo: March 6 - Luisa Noelle -
@Adira: sounds like you have an easy, angel baby on your hands!! enjoy it.
DD was not like that at all, but Jaren is a pretty easy baby too. My newborn experience this time around is like night and day from the first time around.@Emilie: welcome back to HB!
-
@Emilie: Yay! Glad to hear from you! I'm sure the weight gain is normal? Did the doctor tell you that it was a lot? 3" is impressive! She'll be tall! I feel like K is a really good eater too, so will be curious to see how much she's grown next week!
-
@Adira: easy baby ftw! I feel like Derek is just now getting easy since we've put him on a loose schedule where he's napping and eating and going to bed at sort of regular intervals. He just thrives on structure and sleep, like his mom! But definitely still needs help falling asleep. Enjoy your easy baby, and don't worry about whether it's forever!
@Emilie: welcome back! Sorry to hear about the projectile vom but good to hear the doc doesn't think it's serious! I've heard that spit up can look like a lot more than it is bc it spreads, so sometimes I've thought his whole meal has come up when really it's not much at all.
How's everybody doing this Friday? What's new? Here:
- Derek was up to 11 pounds at his last doctors appointment!
- the appt was a follow up from the week before - he had funky mucousy stool with blood in it. We feared food allergies but it was so much better and the blood was gone so she ruled out allergies and said he probably just picked up a mild tummy bug.
- I think he's starting to find his feet! He's pulled them up near his hands and almost grabbed for them a few times.
- we have a fun weekend ahead, going to my bosses' annual Easter party where I can see some coworkers for the first time in 7 weeks, and a play date Sunday with my friend and her 12-wee-old.
- my wedding ring fits again after 6 months of not being able to wear it! Totally makes up for having hung onto this stubborn last 12 lbs of baby weight. -
@Emilie: oh and Derek has gained more than an ounce a day since my milk came in. This last appt he gained 9 ounces in 7 days! The pediatrician was not at all concerned (we totally asked at his 2-week-checkup when he'd gained 21 ounces in 9 days). Some babies just have some catching up to do. While he's continued to gain more than ounce a day, the pace has decreased a bit. I'd be more worried if he wasn't gaining!
-
@Adira: It sounds like you got yourself a chill little man! Sadie's pretty much the same. She's 5.5 weeks, and hasn't turned into a terror yet, so there's hope for you and Xander! I wouldn't worry... just enjoy it. Chances are you'll find it gets even easier. Sadie's gotten even better with age, since she's on a pretty regular schedule now. Awake time is so fun with these days!
@Emilie: Glad you're back with us! Aren't the new developments so fun?! Also, I just wanted to add that my nephew had severe reflux, and they caught it because he would projectile vomit. He never really cried afterwards unless he vomited while he was sleeping and it woke him up. He had to take soy formula, and was on medicine until 9 months. Definitely not saying M has reflux, but it's something to watch for! It's so good that she's gaining weight inspite of the vomiting!
@ladyfingers: Glad D is feeling better!
Your weekend sounds awesome. I'm dying for Sadie to have a play date. I really need to find some mommy friends. I have a few, but all of their babies/kids are a lot older. What's going on with Miss Sadie...
-We're on a pretty regular schedule now, and it's been great for both of us. She's going down at 8:30, waking for a feeding at 4, back to sleep by 4:30, and then waking for the day at 8am. Though I don't mind it, since hubs wakes for work at 4am, I'm hoping in the next couple of weeks she'll drop that 4am feeding.
-She has been so much fun lately. Her awake time is full of babbling and dancing. She is a crazy mover when we lay her down on the floor. She's definitely going to be a ballerina!
-She has turned from belly to back 3 times now. I know that she doesn't really know what she's doing, and it will be a while before she can do it consciously, but I still love watching her explore and develop! -
hi ladies~
so DH and i went out tonight to celebrate my bday while my MIL watched the kids for a couple hours. it was so nice to get out of the house. then when we came home, DH told me to sleep while he took care of jaren. i slept from 11-4 am! i skipped one feeding, but i don't think it'll affect my supply and that sleep was GLORIOUS. i feel like a new woman!!
so what's jaren been up to? we went to our 4-week well check on friday and he's up 3 pounds from his birthweight (from 7 lbs 14 oz to 10 lbs 14 oz). he's getting chunky. he grew out of nb diapers and nb sleepers at 3 weeks, and i think we're about to retire his nb onesies too.
we aren't really on a schedule yet, i'm still just letting him eat and sleep based on his cues, but i'd like to get more structured soon. at how many weeks did you guys really get serious about their schedule/routine?
-
@photojane: your schedule sounds awesome considering sadie is still only 6-weeks right now! i can't wait til i can drop to even 2 wake-ups a night - right now we're still waking up 3x. does sadie sleep in her crib? at what age did you start firming up on her schedule?
i can't believe she's already doing so much - how fun!! our feb babies are growing up so fast!
-
@shopaholic: LOL at your McD's story! I breastfed at a food court. There was a family next to me who commented to themselves on me breastfeeding, but in a positive way. I thought I was being all discreet and ninja about bf'ing. I guess I need to work on being more discreet too!
@photojane: WOW! That's a seriously awesome sleep schedule! Way to go Sadie and mama! This gives me hope. A is up a lot for feedings at night. She goes right back to sleep but I cannot wait for them to go down. I probably nurse 3-4x a night.
@Adira: My baby is also pretty chill too, unless she's hungry. That's why I nickname her little miss hangry because she can be one angry hungry baby! Xander will be going through a growth spurt soon which means he might start getting a little fussy, but hopefully nothing nightmarish
http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurts/
-
@photojane: holy crap that is an amazing stretch of sleep! Derek has been giving us a 5 hour stretch with 2 night wake ups (8-1, 2-4:30 or 5, 5:30/6-7:30 or 8 then up for the day) but his night nursings are an hour which is killing me! Hope he tightens up soon
@Mrs. High Heels: we started around 4 weeks, which is when he started to seem to need it. He'd gotten through his 4-week spurt and was having more awake periods but would just stay awake and get crankier and crankier. We had a few days of trying to put him down once he was way too cranky before realizing he needed to go down around an hour or upon that first yawn!
-
@photojane: wow! I'm jealous of Sadie's sleep schedule! K is crazy cluster feeding again when we had a 2 day break in between. My hardest challenge is letting her completely call into deep sleep before transferring her into the bassinet. She will wake up within minutes of putting her down if not.
@Mrs. Lantern: Hangry!!! I admit I get like that too so I can't even blame baby if they get all Hangry. Awesome on the food court BFing! Did you use a cover? I finally opened my Bebe Au Lait cover yesterday and going to try practicing with it today.
We took K out to the outdoor mall near us yesterday. I just planned to go out for an hour and half but my ILs wanted to stay out longer and ended up eating dinner. I was so stressed but even my FIL was like, "can't you feed her under a cover like I see a lot of women do?" Yeah, if I had brought a cover would be nice. Now I know I always have to bring it with me even if I wasn't planning to stay out that long.
-
@Mrs. High Heels: I'm so glad you were able to get some sleep! It's so important these days when our patience is constantly tested - especially with two little ones! Sadie still sleeps in the Rock n' Play beside our bed. She's taken a few naps in her crib, but I'm not brave enough to move her there for night sleep yet. I think once she starts STTN, I'll TRY to move her to her crib. I just love having her there beside me... even if it's not good for her future sleep habits. We've actually just been following her lead when it comes to a schedule. We loosely follow the EASY schedule, since it's her natural pattern. I tried feeding her to sleep at night, and tried doing a dreamfeed to see how they affected her night sleep, but she does best sticking to Eat-Awake-Sleep. We never let her awake time go longer than an hour and a half, though she usually will fall asleep on her own before then.
I have no idea how much S weighs these days, but she's still in her NB clothes and diapers. In fact, a few of her NB pants are still too big! ha. She has gotten some arm rolls though, which I love!
@Mrs. Lantern: @ladyfingers: I think nursing babies feed more frequently, so that is probably why Sadie's down to one already, while all of the nursing babies are still doing a few. Plus, she just really loves to sleep... she's so lazy.
-
@photojane: i know what you mean... jaren sleeps in the rock 'n play next to me too, and he sleeps so well in there that i haven't taken the plunge to the crib yet... but at the same time i'm worried he's going to get too used to it. i know he can sleep flat though bc sometimes we'll let him sleep on our bed too.
J grew out of his NB sleepers and diapers at 3 weeks, and at 4 weeks i'm about to retire his NB onesies too. they grow so fast!
@shopaholic: i always keep the cover in my diaper bag no matter what! i always get nervous that i might not make it home in time for a feeding and i'll be left stranded somewhere without a bottle or a cover. if that happens, i go and nurse in the car. i've never been able to nurse without a cover in public unless it's at my pediatrician's office - those women are brave.
-
@ladyfingers: J just turned 4 weeks and i'm hoping to get him on a schedule by 6 weeks. thanks for the feedback!
-
@ladyfingers: 5 hour stretches sound amazing, but yikes on the 1 hour sessions. Hope it goes down! Do you BF on both sides at night?
I'm wondering if that's why A doesn't stay asleep for very long since I only do one side at night and she drinks about 15min before she does the lazy non-drinking suck/falls asleep.
-
@photojane: Derek sleeps so well in his rock n play I'm scared to transition him to his crib too. And even though its just across the hall, it feels so far away! The advice I got was, wait until he will not sleep, even in the rock n play, and transition him then when you have nothing to lose!
@Mrs. Lantern: yeah he gets sleepy and it takes him forever.
I do feed on both sides, so he'll stay asleep longer and also to keep me empty. Especially after that 5-hour stretch - I'm so afraid of mastitis because I have recurrent clogged ducts so I want to make sure I'm not suddenly going so long between feeds!
-
Okay, I need sleep advice! Xander's almost 4 weeks and during the day, he's usually pretty predictable and goes 3 hours between nursing. We wake up around 8:00, feed, have activity time, and then he'll nap for 1 - 1.5 hours, and we'll repeat at 11:00 and 2:00. Then when he wakes up at 5:00, he's usually awake for HOURS. If I can get him to nap, it's only for 30 minutes or so. I've been trying to cluster feed during the evening in order to get him to sleep longer stretches, but the last couple nights, he still only went 3 hours between eating, and sometimes only 2! I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong - why is he so perfect during the day but then in the evening he won't sleep and he's more hungry in the middle of the night??
-
@ladyfingers: At this rate I'll be cramming her in there when she's four.
@Adira: Most babies have a "witching hour" at night where they either refuse to sleep or get really fussy. It's something that adjusts with age, but it's really common. I know it sucks for your sleep, but breastfed babies usually feed every 2-3 hours (sometimes more frequently) for the first couple of months, so it seems like he's in the normal range. From what I've read exclusively breastfed babies don't usually sleep through the night until they're several months old. Breast milk digests pretty quickly, so at 4 weeks I would expect to be feeding every 2-3 hours even through the night.
-
@photojane: Damn, I'm jealous of your sleep schedule! That's a definite perk!
L is 5 weeks and still nursing every 1.5 - 2 hrs. She has been giving us a 4-5 hr stretch for the first portion of the evening - which has been awesome, and then it's back to every 1.5-2 hrs. She is really happy and calm all day but definitely has her 'witching hour' fussiness from about 8-10ish. We've been getting out of the house 3 or 4 times a week, which is great for my sanity. I've been carrying her in the k'tan in stores and she loves it! We even do it in the house when she's fussy and she calms so quickly.
I had my 6 week appt (at 4 weeks because of my thrush situation) and everything was fine but I am so torn on birth control...I know my husband doesn't really want to use condoms for 2 yrs (I had a c-section too, so it's more important we don't have an oops too soon) but I'm afraid to go on hormonal bc because sometimes I wonder if it's part of the reason it took us so long to get pregnant the first time. I've also liked not being on BC. I can't wait to get back to the gym! I've definitely been pushing it more than I should, because I've felt so good but my dr. was adamant about no gym for until I'm 8 weeks out.
I want to start pumping a little bit so we're ready when I want to give her a bottle but I don't really know where to start. I have a manual medela pump and bottles and all that but it's intimidating to me. Does anyone have a good resource with the basics? I think I have a bit of an oversupply so I don't want to make it worse...and I still have thrush so should I wait 'til it's totally gone to pump?
About the thrush, I took a dose of oral medication but I still have it! Have to call my doctor again tomorrow
I still don't think LO has it, or if she had a mild case the liquid medication knocked it out, so that's good!
-
@photojane: "witching hour" ?!?! Miss K definitely has a couple of those! Seems to fall between 12-5 am somewhere every single night! After that she'll sleep a good 3.5 - 4.5 hrs after that. Glad to know its normal!
-
@Adira: Yep, you are right on track. Derek still nurses every 2-3 hours during thee day and at 7 weeks has only just now started giving us slightly longer stretches at the beginning of the night. A couple of weeks ago and into last week he was going about 3 hours at the beginning of the night then every 1.5 hours after that! It's totally killer, but Xander might also be finishing up his 4-week growth spurt so he needs the extra calories more than the sleep. Don't worry -- it won't be like this forever!
@photojane: LOL do it. And send me a picture.
@JerricaBenton: I would wait until the thrush clears up to start pumping, otherwise you'll just keep reinfecting yourself -- it'll get in your pump parts and bottles and back in LO through the expressed milk, who can give it back to you. Sucks but I wouldn't introduce anything that comes into contact with your LO's mouth or your milk until the thrush is taken care of!
When you are ready, I'd recommend a double electric pump over a manual. The manual is handy for pumping off small amounts before and after a feed if you need to - engorgement, clogged ducts - but I never got a lot of volume from it. Plus it's a pain to chug away! Of course, you might try it just to see -- some people can get a ton of milk quickly with it, and you might have more luck than me since you have an oversupply.
From what I understand, if you're adding pumping sessions to nursing sessions -- like pumping in between nursing sessions -- you might increase your supply, so you might want to pump just enough for a couple of bottles and then pump in place of a nursing session. Just so you don't make the OS situation any worse?
I'm no expert, but Hellobee and Kellymom are good resources for pumping. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do it, so I can't help much with advice there, except to say I was intimidated to and I just pumped a couple of times after his morning nursing session so I'd have enough for DH to give him a bottle, then I'd pump while he's feeding him the bottle. But I'm only able to pump enough for one bottle at each session so it's not enough to build a stash, just enough to keep up and allow DH to give him a bottle a day. I'm going to need to pump once after nursing and during his bottle feed to get ahead at all.
-
@ladyfingers: thanks for the advice! Yeah I figured I'd have to wait til the thrush clears up. That stinks. I can't wait to get rid of it! So do you think I need an electric pump even if I'm staying home? I just want to be able to pump a bottle or two so I am able to go out every once in a while. I can't see a reason I'd need to build up a big stash.
-
@JerricaBenton: Oh! If you're not pumping at work or needing to pump a day's worth of milk every day, then I think you could totally get away with the manual!
So...I have no idea what we're gonna do! I wonder how long until charting realistically is an option? I suspect we'll end up using condoms.
But the PnP method seems scary! Look at Tori Spelling! Ugh - pregnant 4 weeks after giving birth or something like that! I've had too many women tell me that BF'ing as BC did NOT work for them!
I feel like we'll have to change her less as she gets a bit older and we have more clothes in that size. 
I do feed on both sides, so he'll stay asleep longer and also to keep me empty. Especially after that 5-hour stretch - I'm so afraid of mastitis because I have recurrent clogged ducts so I want to make sure I'm not suddenly going so long between feeds!
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite3
311 comments