Baby Corner

[anya-D 8]

Hi ladies,

I havnt been on for quite sometimes. Sam has double ears infection and his 3rd and 4th teeth are coming. Also my husband is also sick.. poor me, cant get any sleep.

Just stop by to say hi

Anya

[anya-D 8]

Oh by the way. Sam is 20.1 lbs and is about 29 inches so we need to get a new car seat soon. I'm leaning toward Boulavard (sp?) coz eventhough the Marathon can support more weight, Sam is probably get over limit by hight first anyway. What do you think?

[chnst 6]

Anya: we have a Britax Boulevard for hubbys car. I love it. Ben will be 3 in April and he still has lots of room in it although he is big for his age, plus its a lot more padded and comfier than the Marathon.

wow all this formula talk makes me wonder how much money we saved just by breastfeeding. I hope I will be able to stick to it this time again, although I'll have to deal with the hassle of pumping and warming botttles vs having it always "on tap" with Ben, haha.

Kelly are you going straight to the bottle or are you going to try to bf Salma?

Evi: aww Allie is sick again... didn't they just get over the stomach bugs? Hope all the sick babies will get better soon!! knock on wood Ben hasn't had anything for a while. I bet we will pay for it once he returns to preschool... But it was very convenient in that way to have him home during this pregnancy.

[Anna C. 4]

@ Anya: The Boulevard goes up to 65lb forward facing so he won't outgrow it by his first birthday. Jona just hit the rearfacing weight limit (35lb) which is why we got a new car seat so he can remain rear facing. But the Boulevard if turned around will be good for years to come! We need to free up our Boulevard anyways for once the new baby outgrows the infant car seat...

@ Evi: Oh I hope Allie will be healthy soon again.... Poor sick lady....

@ Steffi: Well I have some bottle breastmilk experience since we were instructed to have Jona nurse for 5 minutes with nipple shields, then drink x amount of ounces from the bottle and then nurse again (since nipple shields in most women greatly decrease the amount of suction and hence milk, but that wasn't the case for me!!!!)... So I pumped every three hours for 5 minutes before nursing and after (another instruction we had) and had lots of cleaning bottles and pump parts... We did heat up the bottles in the bottle heater which works with steam, since we didn't want to loose out on the colostrum stage of the milk (it does look very yellow for at least 10 days before it turned white, at least for me)... I didn't like the cleaning and was happy once we did no more than one daily pumping for daddy to feed Jona which we stopped at 4 months. It sure is a pain to clean all the stuff, but I think it makes no difference whether to clean only bottles or bottles and pump parts (it's not a lot, just the shields with my Medela). It all can go in the upper part of the dishwasher... And you don't work every day right? I liked the LAnsinoh breastmilk bags better than the Medela ones - bigger and cheaper...The worst part to clean are the bottle nipples anyways.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Anna C.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Stef, I am going to try BF Salma. Not to be personal but I have very tiny (well you know) lol so the first 3 days with Zaid there was literally like nothing to latch onto. I tried shields with no luck and honestly, just took the easy way out.

This time, my (you know) lol have gotten much larger with being pregnant so im wondering if it will make things a little easier for her. I really want to BF for nutritional benefits (zaid had colic and has allergies) I dont see it as a bonding thing for me, Im weird like that. So if I decide i like it, I will pump and bottle feed as soon as she 6 weeks old and im back to work.

[chnst 6]

Kel: usually size doesn't really matter once your milk has come in. Try to give it some time and get some expert help from a lactation consultant (most hospitals have one). I haven't seen a mom who couldn't do it with a nipple shield yet, so maybe let them show you how to use it again. I feel so bad because a very large amount of mommies give up on bf because the nurses don't take enough time and patience to get the kid on the #######. Or everything goes ok in the hospital and once mom is on her own at home things stop working out so well and there is no help with all the early discharges etc. And you get so insecure (I was even totally convinced I could never figure it out in the first few weeks). It's definitely a learning process and it takes time.

I see it every day, baby won't latch on, nurse says "ok just do some skin to skin and try again later" mommy is totally insecure and when the next bf attempt fails (again with no real help), she is asking for a bottle, because what's a mother to do with a screaming baby?

Sometimes it helps to suck the nipple out with a pump (hand pump or electric pump doesnt matter) before you try to get the baby to latch on and last but not least sometimes it also depends on baby too, some kids are natural feeders and some just don't have much effort.

Are you going back to work after 6 weeks already? Man this is the most depressing aspect for me, I am hoping to get some more time from my boss, she seems very understanding but human ressources is sending me threatening mail that my job isn't protected during the 6 weeks and if I don't comply I'm fired. I have to give them a progress report every 2 weeks too because technically they believe that after 2 weeks I am medically cleared to report back to work, the last 4 weeks are just for bonding with baby...

Anna: I have a microwave sterilizer, I was ####### about sterilizing everything including pacifiers for Ben, because I was so worried about the chemicals in the dish soap, haha. I think the medela stuff should be ok to sterilize right? Or maybe thats why I always had issues with the bottles leaking? Nah I don't work every day, but I will be gone 3 days (nights) of the week for about 15 hours each and since I only have the 6 weeks I have to start pumping early, I'm worried that he will prefer one over the other (bf/bottle) but I really hope I will figure it out so I can do both.

I hope you guys are doing good and I can't wait to see who will have their baby first!

[Anna C. 4]

@ Steffi: Yeah I have that Avent sterilizer too. I hate though how all the water gets caught inside the pacis... Well this time I have those Soothie like shaped ones, I don't think water can go in there, we shall see. I didn't sterilize after each use, I rinsed with hot water and soap (7th Gen), the lactation consultant said that's fine - they couldn't sterilize it anyways at the hospital. I haven't unpacked the pacis yet, waiting for breastfeeding to be established first... Hoping for a good latcher!

@ Kelly: Well ditto to Steffi, it really doesn't matter. I'm very small in that department and they were - TMI - super flat too. A nipple shield was wonderful for us (and they gave me the XS Medela shield)... Just the thing about the shields is that you have to know what you are doing, as there is less suction and blah blah the milk supply might not be fully established then. The shield makes it easy though for baby to latch on, your nipples won't be sore from it and do get drawn out. Don't worry, they go back to nearly like they were before. Not completely, but I must say they are still flatter than most women's I have seen.... While you nurse they do get a whole lot bigger, but like I said, once weaned, it goes back pretty quickly....

Well, full moon in the sky... I don't feel lots of contractions at all, but I do hurt a lot. Today it got worse, my thigh bones/hip-joints hurt terribly. Every step feels like my legs are going to fall out of the hip joints like you can take apart a Barbie doll. Ouchie. And the pelvic/hip/cervical/bladder pressure is quite strong, but she keeps balling up and not using the entire fundal height at her disposal, which makes it feel heavier on the cervix I think. She is moving amazingly much, I mean this kid never gives me a break.... I have an appointment on Friday, but I keep watching myself, I have been extremely tired lately, and my blood pressure readings are going downhill (I mean 95/57 this afternoon, yikes). I'm a slave to coffee, without it, I'd fall asleep walking. I even forgot about my MOPS meeting today... Oh well. Can't forget about the car seat inspection tomorrow, the new seat should arrive before my appointment so they can deal with putting it in, haha.

[TracyTN 237]

wow all this formula talk makes me wonder how much money we saved just by breastfeeding.

I physically can't breastfeed so we had to go the formula route. I'm surprised how many people see formula as some horrible thing anymore. Oh well. At least I saved $ by using cloth diapers though.

ETA do any of you watch 'House'? This week's episode hit close to home. It had one of the main character's mothers on there (played brilliantly by Candice Bergen) and she was criticizing everything her daughter did with her toddler. I couldn't help but tell hubby that I see this as our life if his mother decides to come over for our daughter's 1st birthday. Seriously - it hit close to home! LOL

Edited January 20, 2011 by TracyTN

[Missbollinger 1]

Sorry I haven't been on but after a very fast 6 hour labor Miss Serena Jade was born 1/13/2011 11:46pm weighing 6lb 6oz and 19in.

Here she is

[Gemmie 142]

Beautiful, congratulations!!

[tnh9479 1]

What a cutie Miss B! And...wow...what a labor!

[chnst 6]

Missbollinger: wow 6 seems to be your lucky number, eh? Congrats, she is absolutely beautiful, she looks like her brother in the little picture!

tnh: I don't think formula is horrible, however I do believe breastmilk is better in so many aspects (digestion, allergies, immunity, obesity blah blah) it's not a crunchy-granola kind of thing its science. Plus its free and always ready to go. There are mommies who really can't do it for personal reasons or physical reasons (I remember how stressed out I was over this whole thing) but I do also think that a lot of people give up too fast. But that doesn't mean they're horrible parents because most of the time their kids will grow and be healthy too.

Anna: my hospital is going baby friendly right now and I just had an in-service today about pacifiers... 1.5 hours long. We are only allowed to hand out pacis for painful procedures (like blood draws or circumcisions), they are now stocked in the omnicell (like a medication!) and they are to be taken away right after the circ or heel stick. Also no more formula for supplementing, (alimentum if any) and they are totally pushing rooming in (no more than 1 hour/day in the nursery). I think that's great to a certain point, but some mommies from other cultures are really getting angry because instead of a bottle they now get a lecture about bf and if they want a paci they need to buy their own at the gift store... so much for patient satisfaction. I sometimes think we are making the choice for them.

Well, I already have a paci in the diaper bag for worst case scenarios. Ben had one the second night at the hospital and he was nursing just fine.

ETA: the full moon definitely filled up my units nicu & OB are crowded... That's so funny, I normally don't believe in that stuff but it was like that even back in Germany. You could totally plan staffing by the moon cycles.

Edited January 21, 2011 by chnst

[Jenn! 918]

Baby Serena is beautiful!!!!

Speaking of breastfeeding, Adam had his 15 month appointment today and his pediatrician encouraged me to wean. I couldn't believe it. I just nodded and will proceed to totally ignore her.

[Anna C. 4]

@ Steffi: Paul stuffed a paci in Jona's mouth as soon as we were home, but with little success, he kept spitting it out. He never was big on pacis... He hasn't had one in forever. I was a huge paci kid, but that might be cause my parents dipped it in soda and nutella... As for the hospital, can't parents who don't want to breastfeed choose a different one? Most hospitals aren't baby-friendly-certified... I don't know the exact protocol of the WHO certification... But I agree that people shouldn't be pushed if they are dead-set against it. To hear a polite lecture (well nto lecture but info session maybe) and pamphlet why breastfeeding is better for baby is not a bad thing - if the parents don't care they can just not listen and toss a brochure... I was so happy with the baby-friendly hospital as they had those IBCLCs there... I mean they helped me so much, I really was very discouraged when Jona was so little and not latching for 3 days.

As for the full moon: not this time for me, yeah! I did have lots of Braxton Hicks last night though, partially painful, but they subsided by 2am... I have never been this pregnant, 37 weeks and 4 days, woohoo!

@ Jenn: Ignore him

@ Tracy: I don't think anyone bashed formula, just pointing out how much it is (I frankly had no idea I never bothered to look at prices since we didn't need it). I know a mom personally who wanted to breastfeed so bad, but due to a brain tumor she can't. Formula isn't the end of the world, and breastfeeding doesn't always work out, especially in such medical cases. I do believe though that moms who try get very little support in American hospitals... What I hear from friends and American family compared to what my sisters experienced in Germany there are worlds in between - they had people at the hospital helping all the time and then home visits by their midwives to help out with nursing (they had both midwives and obgyns, and the midwives regularly do home visits, to see how mom recuperates and does with nursing). I was so lucky to be at a great small hospital in San Luis Obispo.

@ Miss Bollinger: Congratz! What a beautiful picture, and I do agree with Steffi, looks like her brother!

I had Jona's new car seat installed today, the Radian XTSL. It does take up more space, but we got it installed pretty upright (it tends to overrecline in the rear-facing position). The ladies at the inspection station were awesome. They also re-did the bucket for me since it seemed so upright to me, they knew how to adjust the base and such. I'm glad that's all sorted out!

Edit: Ok preggo brain is getting scary... I keep typing different words than I was thinking... How weird is that?!

Edited January 21, 2011 by Anna C.

[Eveline 9]

@MissB: Congratulations. She is beautiful and that is a BIG flower on her head . Very precious.

@Anna: See I fell it's differnt in Germany. I feel like even more moms than here in the US 'don't have enough milk'. Heck my friend was instructed to feed baby every 4 hours...no wonder she didn't have any milk two months later. I personally don't know any of my german mom friends who breastfeed, they make fun of me for nursing so long and keep on complaining how hard it is to get up at night. I'm sure most of them would have been able to nurse if only they wanted to or had a little more support.

@Tracy: I agree...nod, smile and keep on doing what you're doing

@Chnst: with Adam I asked for a paci a few hours after I got to see and nurse him. He always nursed super fast, never more than five minutes and then he still wanted to suck so the nurse brought me a paci...what a difference. With Allie I wanted to be smart and brought a paci...well she didn't care for it. She was more interested in her hand and later on her thumb (still going at it...sounds like she's chewing it off at night ). I as a mom who nursed think there's nothing wrong with a little information but I can see where bottlefeeding moms (for whatever reason) get annoyed with it. Wherever you look or whoever you talk to they ask "are you going to nurse?" and everytime you say no you still have to bring an explanation and be nice about it.