Baby Corner

[TracyTN 237]

Evi: no please don't stop posting! People are just way too sensitive sometimes because things just get misinterpreted way too easy here. I don't think anyone here is judgemental and I don't think you meant to offend anyone when you replied to on that baby monitor. I'm actually with you- and I am probably the most paranoid mother on the planet. It's just another electric device and a lot of parents do get freaked out over false alarms. I think it's much more important for mom and dad to take an infant cpr class because even the most advanced gadget can't help your baby if it stops breathing and you have no clue what to do.

BUT if it makes you feel better about your baby's safety then why not. Didn't Tom Cruise buy his own ultrasound machine when his wifey was pregnant? I think people have to do whatever works for them but when you ask for an opinion then be prepared to get a lot of different answers.

I thought Evi's post was pretty straightforward. She said what she meant and that's fine. But when you do that, you have to be prepared for people to disagree with your characterizations. Bailing from this thread as some kind of solution to that seems a bit dramatic to me - but to each his own.

[Autumnchik 6]

While that may be true (Always better to cuddle with your baby, compared to a cold plastic pump!) my birthing club from the babycenter board has (or had? haven't checked that in a while) a group for "exclusively pumping mamas", and it was filled with succes stories from moms that went on to feed their babies pumped BM exclusively for as long as 11 months, so anything can happen!

Another pumping tip: (sorry, it's been a while, so it's coming back to me in series)

If the flow starts to slow down, you can try to switch back to let-down mode on your pump, and that may help keep things going. Do not try to skip the let-down phase of your pumping session to save time.

Saludos,

Caro

I do agree that anything can happen, and I was not trying to discourage Kelly from pumping. For me, when I struggled so much, I kept reading all the success stories and tips and NOTHING was helping, which actually brought me down. I felt like I had failed at pumping and that something was wrong with me. Not saying Kelly necessarily feels that way, but just that sometimes it can be disheartening to try so hard with no change. I was just trying to present a different perspective.

BTW, the reason I was given that babies tend to get more milk than a pump is that babies are much more efficient at sucking than the pump is

[JVKn'CVO 11]

I do agree that anything can happen, and I was not trying to discourage Kelly from pumping. For me, when I struggled so much, I kept reading all the success stories and tips and NOTHING was helping, which actually brought me down. I felt like I had failed at pumping and that something was wrong with me. Not saying Kelly necessarily feels that way, but just that sometimes it can be disheartening to try so hard with no change. I was just trying to present a different perspective.

BTW, the reason I was given that babies tend to get more milk than a pump is that babies are much more efficient at sucking than the pump is

Oh no, please don't think that I thought you were discouraging - I was just contributing to the conversation. I guess I'm feeling chatty today

Something else that I remember reading (and I don't know how true this is or not)

While babies grow, BM changes to adapt to their nutritional needs. So while at some point formula fed babies may be taking 8 oz of formula, breast milk changes so that all the babiy's nutritional needs are still met with 4 or 5 oz, so don't expect to pump 8 oz.

Something I read, maybe someone else has some information about this?

Saludos,

Caro

[Anna C. 4]

@ Kelly: You can also try fennugreek pills, they sell them at health food stores like Wholefoods or Natural Grocer's... I don't know how much Eloise is eating, but when I had crazy oversupply with Jona I pumped 5oz in 5 minutes from one side, but note it was oversupply and he would gag while nursing cause it was so much. I always had a bib and burp cloth underneath him as half of the milk poured out of his mouth, and he spit up quite some amounts as well later on, so I doubt he ate all of what I had...

[Missbollinger 1]

Ugh all this talk about pumping... Serena is going on 6 weeks old now and I haven't started pumping yet. I don't envisage myself away from her for any length of time but it was handy to have a stash for cereal and mixing in with solids. DS2 never took to a bottle he had maybe 2 bottles ever and completely EBF the rest of the time. I initially wanted to pump at least enough so I can get away for a few hours shopping or whatever but now I'm in a funk (blame cabin fever) and either I am too lazy to pump or I am too tired to even consider leaving the house!

[anya-D 8]

Hello! I finally found this thread again - was reading this before I arrive here/being pregnant. Now we have a 6 mth old baby boy Ihsan. There's just me and my hubby and Ihsan in this town, and I went back to work but now half time after 8 weeks of maternity leave. We dont send him to day care, just the 2 of us, shifting our work timetable around (we work for the same org). It's been good but very very tiring that our apartment looks like an episode of "Hoarders". Now that Ihsan is 6 months old, we'll have to start feeding him solids - pureed food n all. he has only tried ricemeal a few times, not really a fan.... im really stressed out about this next stage. can you share your experience on introducing food to your babies?

thanks, Far

Hi Far, I think I remembered you, you had a very pretty wedding Anyway, dont stress about solid!!! I didnt give my son rice cereal becasue he hated it. And also becasue the rice ceral is likely to give him constipation. I started him on just a ripe banana. Just a plain ol banana, spoon (or fork or any baby food mill) and he loves it. I started my son on solid since almost 5 month and gave him banana a lot coz he didnt like other things much and it's easy. Now he has 4 teeth and can chew a bit so I made apple sauce, pear sauce and also vegetable (boiled then throw in blender or something like sweet potato, put it in the oven until it's super soft and can use fork to mesh it) Now he eats almost everything I gave him and love table food. It was just out of the blue one night he just wanted to eat everything we eat lol, before that he only eats banana hehe. Banana is pretty easy to swallow so I think it's really good for the first food. Also ripe one helps him poop

Dont force him to eat though. the solid at this stage should be an addition to the milk, not replace so if he doesnt want to eat, you dont have to worry, just try later.

have fun mama!

So I dont have time to chime into anything previously posted but I need help...gaaah. Im 7 days into pumping and I pump every 2-3 hours daytime and 4 hours at night and im still only getting 1.5oz per pump session. She is eating every 2-3 hours but she is eating 2-3ozs. I started eating quaker oats today, ive been drinking a ton of water, i also continue to pump about 5-10mins past when my breasts are empty. Im massaging halfway thru a pump, i just dont know what else i can do. I am not giving up, even if i give her half breastmilk and half formula I am ok with that, I would just like to get to a point where I dont have to give her any formula and I was hoping it would be sooner then later.

I found eating curry helps my supply.. actually what helps is tumeric. Any hurb that's spicy such as Thai basil, ginger also helps with supply.

When Sam was about 2 month old one night we went to Indian restuarant for dinner and I woke up with my bed soak with my milk, and I was wearing nursing pad. I was never had that problem before until that day. Then I found out tumeric help increase milk supply and that's great coz I LOVE Indian food If you dont like Indian food, they sell tumeric pill at health food store. (Tumeric will also make your skin beautiful Good luck!!

Edited February 21, 2011 by anya-D

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Kelly, I second the fenugreek capsules. I had a noticeable milk increase after taking them. A side effect is that your armpits smell like maple syrup.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Im gonna go get fenugreek this week. Thanks Guys.

3 positive things to note...

Salma slept a 5hr stretch last night. I felt guilty but I just couldnt wake her up. Much needed indeed

I got Salma to latch this morning to the shield after 10 days of trying. She did good, but she would suck and break off, and kept doing that. How can I encourage her to not break off once she is on?

Lastly, Im pumping like 3ozs steadily per session (sometimes close to 4oz) so I havent had to supplement formula in almost 24 hours! yay!!!!

[Staashi 371]

Congrats!

[Jenn! 918]

That's awesome, kelly, wtg!!!

[Anna C. 4]

kelly that's great! keep relatching her and somewhat aggressively pull her head towards the breast when she opens her mouth wide. the more she can get in there, the better the latch.

[Ontarkie 14,383]

Way to go Kelly that is great

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Im gonna go get fenugreek this week. Thanks Guys.

3 positive things to note...

Salma slept a 5hr stretch last night. I felt guilty but I just couldnt wake her up. Much needed indeed

I got Salma to latch this morning to the shield after 10 days of trying. She did good, but she would suck and break off, and kept doing that. How can I encourage her to not break off once she is on?

Lastly, Im pumping like 3ozs steadily per session (sometimes close to 4oz) so I havent had to supplement formula in almost 24 hours! yay!!!!

That is great Kel! Congrats!

Sebas would break off from the breast the first 3 days of nursing, not much you can do, just help her latch on again and have patience. He would squirm and cry in frustration, but eventually he got it. We didn't use shields, we did the "nipple sandwich" (flatten the nipple at the areola between your fingers), tickled his bottom lip until he opened his mouth (big open mouth, like a yawn), and go in aiming for the top palate.

Saludos,

Caro

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

So a couple questions...

Ive read that when EP you should pump everytime the baby eats to mimick her behavior, but most BF babies eat every 2-3 hours. Well now im pumping and nursing and wondering if I need to be doing a pump during the 5 hour stretch she sleeps at night? That 5 hour stretch is my sanity at this point due to the demand of pumping and nursing all day lol

Also, do I need to wash my pump parts every single time I pump or can they just be rinsed? Washing parts at 2am is a hassle. If they do need to be washed everytime Ill prob just go buy an extra set.

I will say pumping and nursing is getting easier everyday. I have nursed each feeding today and pumped the opposite breast bc she is getting full just off one. So I have about 8ozs of BM in the fridge now It feels so good knowing I have worked so hard at this the past 11 days and seeing it pay off. I have managed to pump without spilling everywhere and nurse without leaking everywhere, triumph!

[chnst 6]

So a couple questions...

Ive read that when EP you should pump everytime the baby eats to mimick her behavior, but most BF babies eat every 2-3 hours. Well now im pumping and nursing and wondering if I need to be doing a pump during the 5 hour stretch she sleeps at night? That 5 hour stretch is my sanity at this point due to the demand of pumping and nursing all day lol

Also, do I need to wash my pump parts every single time I pump or can they just be rinsed? Washing parts at 2am is a hassle. If they do need to be washed everytime Ill prob just go buy an extra set.

I will say pumping and nursing is getting easier everyday. I have nursed each feeding today and pumped the opposite breast bc she is getting full just off one. So I have about 8ozs of BM in the fridge now It feels so good knowing I have worked so hard at this the past 11 days and seeing it pay off. I have managed to pump without spilling everywhere and nurse without leaking everywhere, triumph!

OMG, I'm so proud of you!! Sounds like everything is going really well!!! I'd definitely skip the 5hr pumping, you need rest, a tired and worn out mommy=decrease in milk supply! Look at you for even nursing! that's awesome Kel, congrats!

As for the parts, I'd recommend wash with hot soapy water after each use and then let it air dry on a paper towel. That can def be a hassle at 4am so I'd just get another set of the flanges (sp??) since it looks like you'll be doing this for a while and it's definitely worth the investment (and your much needed sleepy time).

So I am officially 5cm dilated and 70% effaced, now just waiting for enough contractions before I can head to the hospital. I am so excited, finally finally!! Today is my calculated due date! (the due date by the first ultrasound said march 4th).