*Baby Corner*

[BelwinMills 0]

Wow Belwin, thanks for posting that article. Makes me wonder if I am getting enough to eat. I feel full all the time, but just realized that I am taking fenugreek to increase milk supply, which also has a lot of fiber and can act as a bulking agent (making me FEEL very full but perhaps not actually ingesting enough calories). I am really going to pay attention to my eating and see if that makes a diffence. Now, if baby could only improve his ability to latch ...

all the best with the latch part wish I coud help. Do you have a local breast feeding mommy group? I am glad the site could help. Eat lots it works!

[Eveline 9]

Sammy thank you for the pictures. Hayden got so big and still very cute. Why are you going back to England? Best of luck to the three of you.

@Belvin: I 'stopped' making milk after about 2 months or so, I was just empty and Adam was just screaming so I made a bottle of formula. It took me forever since I had no clue how to mix etc. Well, Adam fell asleep while I made it and so he never got to try it in the end. Anyway, I was having a very stressful time at that point, not eating right, not drinking enough so I guess the body just kinda shuts down and starts with the milk. After that I paid more attention to what I was eating and it worked out just fine. I'm glad you're making more milk now. Good luck.

[chnst 6]

I think I finally got the breastfeeding part down. what a rocky road!!! Ben was having green stools and really fussy so I finally checked out that website ->kellymom (sp?) (Eveline, I really owe you for that tip!)

anyways, I found out that I wasn't feeding him long enough on one side (I switched him to the other breast too soon) wich resulted in a formilk/hindmilk imbalance and he got really fussy, gassy and frustrated for a few days.

Now i only let him drink on one side tillhe's done and he's doing a lot better! My milk supply finally leveled out too.

And guess what- I went shopping today all by myself! No more wheelchair/walker (I use the stroller as a walker) and it hasn't even been 4 weeks since my delivery!

The doctors told me that I'd be in a wheelchair for 6-8 weeks. and I haven't been taking prescription painkiller for 5 days now! It's nice to feel like my old ME again

I picked up BPA free bottles from Medela today. ..... how am I going to explain this to hubby??? we just got a whole set from avent... oh well.

@belwin: I'm so happy for you that breastfeeding got better for you! good luck autumnchick!

[Eveline 9]

I think I finally got the breastfeeding part down. what a rocky road!!! Ben was having green stools and really fussy so I finally checked out that website ->kellymom (sp?) (Eveline, I really owe you for that tip!)

anyways, I found out that I wasn't feeding him long enough on one side (I switched him to the other breast too soon) wich resulted in a formilk/hindmilk imbalance and he got really fussy, gassy and frustrated for a few days.

Now i only let him drink on one side tillhe's done and he's doing a lot better! My milk supply finally leveled out too.

And guess what- I went shopping today all by myself! No more wheelchair/walker (I use the stroller as a walker) and it hasn't even been 4 weeks since my delivery!

The doctors told me that I'd be in a wheelchair for 6-8 weeks. and I haven't been taking prescription painkiller for 5 days now! It's nice to feel like my old ME again

I picked up BPA free bottles from Medela today. ..... how am I going to explain this to hubby??? we just got a whole set from avent... oh well.

@belwin: I'm so happy for you that breastfeeding got better for you! good luck autumnchick!

@Chnst: About the breastfeeding part, I did exactly the same. First because Adam was done after one ####### and second because I had the foremilk/hindmilk imbalance too. That is why I pumped at night for a while to get rid of the foremilk and then I let Adam latch on. It didn't work out though cause when I started pumping he was already so hungry that he was crying. So I just let him latch on and run out whatever ran out and the rest he drank. It was messy for a while but worked. Congratulations.

I'm glad to see that you are feeling better, don't overdo it. I started bleeding heavily again after six weeks cause I thought I was doing a lot better and I went on to scrub the house etc...got the result right away, that wasn't nice.

About the bottles: Oh well. Here's what I did with the Playtex Bottles my MIL gave me. I handed them over to DH and also told him to go get his bbgun and he was busy shooting bottles all afternoon in the Backyard

[BelwinMills 0]

I think I finally got the breastfeeding part down. what a rocky road!!! Ben was having green stools and really fussy so I finally checked out that website ->kellymom (sp?) (Eveline, I really owe you for that tip!)

anyways, I found out that I wasn't feeding him long enough on one side (I switched him to the other breast too soon) wich resulted in a formilk/hindmilk imbalance and he got really fussy, gassy and frustrated for a few days.

Now i only let him drink on one side tillhe's done and he's doing a lot better! My milk supply finally leveled out too.

And guess what- I went shopping today all by myself! No more wheelchair/walker (I use the stroller as a walker) and it hasn't even been 4 weeks since my delivery!

The doctors told me that I'd be in a wheelchair for 6-8 weeks. and I haven't been taking prescription painkiller for 5 days now! It's nice to feel like my old ME again

I picked up BPA free bottles from Medela today. ..... how am I going to explain this to hubby??? we just got a whole set from avent... oh well.

@belwin: I'm so happy for you that breastfeeding got better for you! good luck autumnchick!

I am glad you are feeling better and nursing is going better.

[BelwinMills 0]

Oh my maybe I am eating to much. Today I am like a fountain squriting out without force. Shot the poor girl in the face with my over flow.

I added some more pics of Jaylyn to my photo bucket site. If anyone wants to check it out.

http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk280/j...nav_album_album

Everyone have a great memorial day weekend!! What is everyone up to? We won't be doing much. Having a little Jamaican cook out at our house on Monday. Hopefully it won't rain to much.

[Eveline 9]

Ohhh I love babypictures. She is so precious and little in that pink dress. It's nice to see mom and baby in one picture too. The squirting story is funny. Happened to me too. Sometimes Adam would latch off and he had milk all over his face. He never cared though. He still doesn't care about stuff in his face (dirt, grass, flies etc).

Kudos to you ladies with all the breastfeeding challenges. I'm glad it worked that easy for me back then and I think that is why I can easily say "Keep your heads up, it will get easier" but I'm sure I would have doubted myself and the whole thing if Adam hadn't latched on. For us it kinda came naturally and I'm wishing every mommy out there that it will work eventually.

[Anna C. 4]

Chnst: Good news is that you can use your Avent system with the Medela bottles... They also fit in the Avent sterilizer (in case you have it).

I'm happy that you can walk again and don't have to take the nasty painkillers anymore!

Did anyone on VJ consider a homebirth??? 2 years ago I would have said that's crazy, but the more I learn about the obgyn system here, the more I tend to pay a midwife out of pocket and have a homebirth. The hospital isn't far in case I really need medical intervention. I'd love to hear if it worked out for some of you!

[Eveline 9]

I have Anna but the TX state won't allow VBACs in a birth center and for a homebirth we live too far off. It would take us about 40 Minutes to get to the nearest hospital and in case of a uterine scar rupture that would be fatal for baby and me. I would ALWAYS recommend to go see a midwife. You can go to a birth center and have baby there. Birth centers are usually located within 10/15 minutes of a hospital so in case something should go wrong, you can always be transferred. I'd say, go for it.

As for a homebirth. I don't think TRICARE pays for it but with costs of 'only' around 3000 Dollar for prenatal, birth and postnatal care, I think that is worth it. SHould have done that with Adam but...oh well...you know the ol' sob story

[Autumnchik 6]

Chnst - Congrats on getting the breastfeeding thing down!!! Good to hear you are feeling better too.

Belwin - She is beautiful!!! Love the pics.

We are going to a Memorial Day cookout at a new couple friend's house .... they were in our parenting class and then coincidentally ended up giving birth around the same time as I did (their little one was 2 weeks early while mine was 3).

I am about to go pump again ... sigh. It seems like baby has gotten even worse at latching, which I wonder if it is due to my using bottles to supplement ... although I use a nipple shield so he shouldn't have too much nipple confusion, it is plastic all the time. I am going to try some other techniques tomorrow and then probably call a lactation consultant again. So frustrating.

On the positive side though, we had a 2 week checkup today and Declan had regained the weight he lost plus more. At birth, he was 6 lbs 14.3 oz., then went down to 6 lbs 2 oz. at the lowest. Today he was 7 lbs 1.6 oz.

[Anna C. 4]

Unfortunately, there is no birthing center close to me... The "best" hospital in San Luis Obispo has a c-section rate of 20%... I mean they sound ok but you never know until you actually see the facility and talk to the staff to get the "vibe".

And with Prime I don't have too many choices of care providers - meaning the next midwife that is in the Tricare network is very far away from Vandenberg... *rant* We have to decide by the end of June what we want... There is some sort of birth center in Arroyo Grande, which is close, but we have to figure out how much that all is...

[chnst 6]

About the bottles: Oh well. Here's what I did with the Playtex Bottles my MIL gave me. I handed them over to DH and also told him to go get his bbgun and he was busy shooting bottles all afternoon in the Backyard

OMG! That's a great idea!! I'm getting MY BB gun out tomorrow and hubby and I will have a contest (we are heavily armed after living in the Bronx for 1 year )

Chnst: Good news is that you can use your Avent system with the Medela bottles... They also fit in the Avent sterilizer (in case you have it).

I'm happy that you can walk again and don't have to take the nasty painkillers anymore!

Did anyone on VJ consider a homebirth??? 2 years ago I would have said that's crazy, but the more I learn about the obgyn system here, the more I tend to pay a midwife out of pocket and have a homebirth. The hospital isn't far in case I really need medical intervention. I'd love to hear if it worked out for some of you!

I do have the Avent sterilizer, I didn't try it out yet, but I'm so glad that they'll fit in there, I was worried!

Thanx!

I could never imagine having a home birth! Especially not with number 1... I don't know, just imagining all the mess... nah. Giving birth without an ICU next door- not my thing. I don't know how my grandma did it... kudos to you for considering this!

@Belwin: aww she is so tiny! so cute! Ben seems huge compared to her!

@autumnchick: don't give up, I hope things will get better! Ben doesn't latch on without the nipple shield either but my lactation lady said 'don't you worry'. most important is that he gets the milk. I'll try to wean him off he nipple shield when he gets a little bigger.

[sara535 15]

About the bottles: Oh well. Here's what I did with the Playtex Bottles my MIL gave me. I handed them over to DH and also told him to go get his bbgun and he was busy shooting bottles all afternoon in the Backyard

OMG! That's a great idea!! I'm getting MY BB gun out tomorrow and hubby and I will have a contest (we are heavily armed after living in the Bronx for 1 year )

I hope you guys are kidding! There are battered womens shelters and homeless shelters (among many needy charities) that are in constant need of things like baby bottles.....

[nannygirl82 0]

chsnt...glad you are feeling better!! that is great!!!

[chri'stina 190]

About the bottles: Oh well. Here's what I did with the Playtex Bottles my MIL gave me. I handed them over to DH and also told him to go get his bbgun and he was busy shooting bottles all afternoon in the Backyard

OMG! That's a great idea!! I'm getting MY BB gun out tomorrow and hubby and I will have a contest (we are heavily armed after living in the Bronx for 1 year )

I hope you guys are kidding! There are battered womens shelters and homeless shelters (among many needy charities) that are in constant need of things like baby bottles.....

I agree...heck I will even take them! I understand the concern about BPA but to be honest I think it's expensive to get the special bottles, and many of us grew up on the bottles and seem fine right now. I am not trying to be annoying but I just can't see spending the money for certain special bottles. It's not practical for us.