PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[fieryred33143]

Oh wanted opinions:

Do you think it would be crazy for me to think about relactating now at 7 months? I mean, she''ll be on cow''s milk in just 5 months and the LC said it could take a month for me to get my production up enough for her to be satisfied but it''ll never really go back to being the same.

I really miss breastfeeding and want to start again

. She suggested that I pump every 2 to 3 hours during the day and at least once over night and drink more milk plus. I''m seriously considering it. She did mention that I should probably rent a hospital grade pump since it helps get the milk out more effeciently than the PISA.

 

[sbde]

blenheim:

just wanted to pipe in re: george's eyes. i worried that J had a similar problem early on and went to see a pediatric opthamologist as well. they checked things out and diagnosed him with pseudostrabismus, which essentially means that all is ok with his eyes but because babies nose bridges are wider than adults, their eyes sometimes seem to be out of whack. the key thing they asked me to keep a look out for was in pictures, check to see the where the reflection of the light/flash is in their eyes. if it hits at the same position in both eyes, then they are fine. in the 2nd pic you posted of george the flash seems to be hitting the same point in both his eyes, so i hope you get a similar diagnosis and everything is ok.

i've attached a pic here that i found online which should help explain - you can see that the children look a bit cross eyed but the light is reflected at the same position in both eyes.

linky

hope this helps! good luck at the appointment today

 

[sbde]

loving all the adorable pics ladies..

btw cdt, lex totally looks more like you - the resemblance is amazing!

 

[sbde]

fiery, i think you should do what you want to do. you've said you miss breastfeeding so i do think it's worthwhile trying to relactate even if it is just for a few months. sophia will get the benefits and you'll get the bonding experience. fwiw, i'm still feeding J even though he's over a year old now. i didn't expect to keep going after his birthday but i just love the closeness i feel with him and figure that there's no rush to wean him off just yet as long as he's getting a balanced diet outside of the BM.

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Fiery, I think if you want to give it a shot, it can''t hurt. I think the first thing that I''d do is see if Sophia will still latch on, even if she does so in a sloppy manner. Babies can lose that instinct if they have bottles for a while since sucking on a bottle is a different action than breastfeeding.

Even if you can''t get your supply up to what it was, I think you and Sophia could still benefit. Not all of breastfeeding is about nutrition -- it''s also very comforting for babies and such a great tool to add to your bag of tricks for when they''re upset.

You know that it won''t be easy, so if you try but fail, would you feel better or worse than if you didn''t try at all? I''m the type that would rather try and fail than not know what the outcome would have been.

 

[Blenheim]

We''re back from our appointment. The opthomologist didn''t catch his eye drifting, BUT evidently his vision is +0.5 (with some astigmatism) on the left and -2.5 on the right. He said that he very much believed me that his eyes sometimes don''t coordinate, due to the difference in vision. We''re supposed to patch his left eye for 4 hrs per day, to force his right eye to work. Evidently if it goes untreated, the right eye will eventually start ignoring signals and he could lose vision in that eye entirely. We are also supposed to put him in baby glasses (after the snow storm goes away). We have another appointment to follow up in a month and a half.

They put numbing drops in both eyes and dilated them during the appt, and told us to be very careful with him scratching or rubbing his eyes as he may hurt himself without realizing it. And he keeps trying to go after the eyes, and he''s grumpy, and the patch is making everything ten times worse. I don''t want to think about how he''ll take glasses yet.

We also had to deal with random grandma in the waiting room who would not. shut. up. "How old is he?" "Is he walking yet?" "Is he crawling yet?" "Has he had a hair cut yet? We didn''t used to cut hair until they were at least one year old." "When did you first give him solids?" "Is he feeding himself now or just on baby foods?" "How is he sleeping?" What the heck lady. Leave us alone.

I feel guilty about G''s vision, even though the doc said I shouldn''t, but I have terrible vision (-7.0 in both eyes) and I feel like this is my fault. Gah.

I also wasn''t exactly expecting that turn of events, so I didn''t think to ask a lot of questions that I now have - like what it means for his vision in the future, other than making sure that his right eye still has vision.

I''ll be back later to read what else has been going on today and to do a baby pic Friday with the mom/dad theme. This one was G on the car ride home.

 

[vizsla]

fiery - i''m

for you that you have to give your baby meds everyday too. stinks! but i''m glad that it can be controlled with medicine and that she will be right as rain in the meantime. ((hugs)) and TOTALLY you should start BF again! i''m so jealous of everyone''s babies that got the hang of it, and wish so much that i could continue! i rented a hospital grade pump when i first came home... worked like a champ but was pretty $$ - i think $50/week.
a friend of a friend is adopting a baby and really wanted to BF, she started pumping and after 2 weeks had colostrum and then milk! so it''s totally possible. like i said, very jealous of you ... i wanted to BF charlie for at least 9 months to a year. my little supply of BM is GOLD. i''m still pumping 3x a day and wonder how long i can stand it just to keep some ''good juju'' in his belly.

blen - good luck with the doc! so many things to keep a look out for, head issues, eye issues, kidney issues. aye ya ya... but another reason why this thread is so important, especially for first time moms.

mandy - hooray for your boys liking the new formula. fingers crossed this helps with some of their issues. FWIW charlie is pretty LOUD too maybe it''s a boy thing

so i stayed home from work today.. charlie had a dr. apt in the morning and i thought a 4 day week the first week back was good enough. anyhoodles turns out the little guy has an ear infection! i felt awful i didn''t know. he''s been a little more fussy (i attributed that to his cold) and has been all over the place with the amount of oz he has been eating. that was a give away to the doc, not to me

. however.... he gained 2 inches in length since last month! PLUS.. he rolled over (front to back) today for the first time! i called DH and told him good thing i was home today. i don''t think that is going to help my cause any, but it got me thinking.... yep, i''m going to miss things like this if i work those hours.

 

[vizsla]

sorry blen, posted at the same time...

for you, but do not feel guilty! ((hugs)) to you today!

 

[fieryred33143]

Blen-Sorry about the patch but it isn''t your fault and it seems like he''s in really good hands!

Ebree-Is that you? OMG identical photos! Amazing!!

Viz-Don''t beat yourself up over the ear infection. I think that''s one of the things that is really hard to catch if it doesn''t also come with a fever and/or without a visit to the pedi. "They" say that if they start eating less, it could be an ear infection since the sucking motion hurts them but it could also be for so many other reasons. Not your fault that you didn''t know.

Sbde-Thanks for the input! I also know moms that are approaching year 2 of bfing so assuming I am successful, I may just do the same.

RPS-My LC said the same thing re: latching her on. She said to make sure her belly was full so that she doesn''t get frustrated and starts associating that area with comfort again.

There''s really no reason to get her back on since she''s thriving well with the formula but I do miss the bonding a lot, especially now that she''s going 13 hours at night. I see her for 30 minutes when I get home in the evening before she''s in bed. I think the nursing will really help establish that bond again.

 

[Sabine]

Only had time to skim, as dh is bored with all his time off and wanting me to entertain him even more than Jacks does! But I wanted to give a big welcome and congrats to Mara and RPS!!! Wonderfully cute boys!

And big HUGS to Blen and Fiery! Poor kiddos, hopefully all will work out!

And adorable pics everyone!

We''re in danger of having our baptism snowed out, and dh''s brother''s flight was already cancelled (it was supposed to be tonight, but luckily he got on an earlier flight and is now here). I am almost positive my bro. and sil''s flight will be canceled and they won''t be able to make it, and a lot of the relatives who are basically "in town" are not going to want to venture out in the snow at all. But we''ll still get it done, and that''s all that matters. I''m also getting worried about our travel plans home on Sunday. We''re equally worried that dh''s flight will be canceled and that my drive home through the DC area will be quite rough. Please send some good weather vibes if you can!

 

[ChinaCat]

Sabine- I was thinking of you this morning while watching the news. Good luck, hope you have safe travels!

Welcome Mara and RPS!!!

Fiery- Ok I''m going to play devil''s advocate on the relactating thing. I don''t think you are crazy, but it would be a huge undertaking. I am about to wean and I am sooo sad about it, so I totally get it. It''s the only time that is just O and me and it''s so sweet and I am reluctant to give it up. But if I was where you are, I don''t think I would and here''s why: 1) You are working. If you were staying home, I think it''d be a whole different story. But at least for me, I pump most of the day and only nurse O 1, maybe 2x a day if I''m lucky. So it''d be a lot of pumping for you for a small amount of nursing time. 2) Pumping sucks. 3) O is becoming very apathetic about whether he nurses or not. Be prepared for Sophia to not be interested either since she''s used to the bottle. 4) O does much better sleeping when he gets full bottles. When I try to nurse him all day on the weekends, he doesn''t eat as much and is up more at night. 5) Pumping sucks.

Having said all of that, if you are willing to do it, then by all means give it a go! I would be 100% supportive, I just wanted to point out the cons. Once I wean I know I will miss it, but there is also a lot of freedom in being done.

Did you ever try it before? I remember you mentioning it awhile back and keep meaning to ask you if you''d tried it.

Let us know what you decide!!!

 

[ChinaCat]

Adorable pics Mandarine!

CDT- I think Lex is a good mix, I see both of you but he definitely resembles you.
Fiery- Sophia just has the prettiest smile. I see a resemblance, but I don''t know what R looks like.
November- Love how Olivia is looking at your dog, like she''s sizing up the competition!
Ebree- You were such a pretty baby and Henry looks so much like you.

Here''s my baby pic and a somewhat recent pic of Oliver. I don''t have any of baby pics of DH but I will try to get one. The weird thing is he looks exactly like my DH in person and especially as a newborn, but I don''t think he looks like DH''s baby pictures at all.

 

[fieryred33143]

China-all of those reasons, 1 through 5 (especially 2 and 5

) was the reason why I decided not to start up again two months ago.

I don''t know what I''m going to decide, especially if its going to take a month to get everything functioning again. That would put her at 8 months. I''m going to try to latch her on and see what she does. If she''s just not interested, I may decide not to.

 

[ChinaCat]

O at around 4 months.

 

[ChinaCat]

Fiery- It''s a tough call. I would definitely see what Sophia does and then go from there. Good luck!!!

Here''s a few more recent pics of O:

 

[ChinaCat]

And his now weekly swing shot:

 

[anchor31]

Congrats and welcome steph, Mara and RPS! Your sons are adorable!

Inconsiderate guests - RPS, I don't know if it would work for you, but I usually go about my business and schedule no matter who is here; if I have to nurse Jacob then I nurse him, if I have to leave then so do they.

2-week babymoon - That totally happened to me. I did worry about the jaundice and Jacob being rehospitalised sucked, but otherwise he ate and slept. I was tired, but it wasn't hard. Then he hit 2 weeks and went crazy. He would no longer go to sleep at night. He would cry and cry and only nursing would soothe him. After ten days of that I was starting to lose it, so I gave him a pacifier. He's been sleeping really well since.

People asking weird questions - We haven't been getting the "is he sleeping" question, but people don't believe us when we say he started sleeping 5 hours+ straight at 4 weeks. I don't blame them, I wouldn't either haha. We are getting similar to "why is he crying" though. FIL and SIL's FI both asked if he had colic because he was crying. FIL had woken him up so he was pissed off

, and when SIL's FI asked he'd just woken up from a nap and was hungry. I don't know why some people think crying = colic.

Fiery and Blen - Oh no! I'm so sorry about Sophia's kidney reflux and George's eye troubles! I hope they get better soon.

My favourite uncle passed away last Sunday. We used to celebrate New Year's with him and my aunt (one of dad's sisters) every year, but we didn't see him this year because of Jacob's birth (Dec. 29th) and my uncle was hospitalised over the holidays. There's nothing I could have done, butI sort of regret that. He will be sorely missed, New Year's will never be the same.

And I'm sort of angry that we will be introducing Jacob to my dad's family at a funeral of all places.

Anyway, here's my little man at 5 weeks. Time flies... He's starting to smile, it's so sweet!

 

[Mara]

just had to pop in and say YAY i pumped 4.5 oz of milk this morning! i am so excited.

question for moms, what does the ''let down'' feel like? i don''t think i felt anything special and i am not sure if 4.5oz is a ton yet or what but yesterday i was only getting like 10-15ml so i feel like it''s huge progress. and last nite my right boob leaked so i guess it was ready...it was coming along a little more slowly than the left previously.

i know i asked this in another thread, but i need to get some nursing tanks, i totally have put it off since i did not feel like shopping for anything the last few weeks of pregnancy. but i don''t have any nursing items at all and while at home i can just pull my shirt up, if we are out that''s obviously not going to work haha. if i wear a tank, can i still fit a leak pad in there? i guess if it has a shelf bra kinda thing right? i really HATE HATE bras in general but one of my friends said she thought i''d HAVE to get a bra, even if it''s like a stretchy kind of workout bra thing. i really don''t want to wear anything like a bra, so if i can get away with a comfy tank that can hold the leak pad, that is ideal. i was going to go to target today to see what they had so if anyone has ones from target let me know so i can check them out, TIA!!

i also might just bite the bullet and get the medela freestyle from target today too even though it''s $350 and i can get it online for like $280. we have a $100 gc to target and while i hate to ''waste'' $100, the idea of having it immediately is nice, if i bought it online i''d have to wait for it to come. RPS how long did yours take to arrive from that website? on the flip side the hopsital pump is doing pretty well for us and it''s weekly rental so i can easily do another week after this one is up (monday) so maybe i don''t need to rush the freestyle.

re: weird questions...it''s a little irritating to me, i don''t know why. and no PG these people don''t have kids (though my grandma asked why he cried and she had 4 kids, but she is having a hard time remembering things so i don''t fault her). yes we also have gotten the ''is he sleeping'' and ''are you totally sleep deprived yet'' like 100 times too. i guess people just don''t know what to ask other than things that are negative haha!

re: two week babymoon, yep we have been warned from multiple sources on that one. right now he is doing the basics: eat, sleep, pee, poop, cry, rinse and repeat. i read that in the first few weeks the babies sleep as many as 18 hours per day, so we are fairly well-rested for now. i am sure that will change.

blen, sorry that george had to get a patch BUT he looks so rakish, like a little cute pirate!
mand, those shirts are the cutest thing ever!

 

[steph72276]

Mara, please report on the nursing tanks you find at Target. I have a nursing bra I was wearing, but it was such a PITA to snap and unsnap and fold over to get it out of the way. I took RSP''s advice and am wearing a sports bra, but I don''t think that will look very good under my clothes when we actually make it out of the house.

 

[fieryred33143]

China-O is soooo adorable

. I see a little of you in him!

Anchor-I''m really sorry about your uncle

. Big hugs.

Mara-the way let down feels depends on the mom. My let down felt like my nipples were going to explode. It didn''t hurt at all but it really did feel like milk was just going to burst out of it. What''s funny is that when I was pumping, I would read a magazine and instantly knew when the let down occured. However, in those first few months I had no idea. Sometimes, and this is probably a mommy confession, I would think my milk wasn''t letting down, remove the boob, and squirt milk all over Sophia''s poor little face

. But I could only feel the let down when I was either pumping or nursing. My boobs would leak out of nowhere and I couldn''t feel the let down then.

As for the pads, which ones are you using? I used the lanisoh pads (sp?) and was able to use it under a tank with no bra because they''re reall wide. I could not do that with J&J pads.

 

[ChinaCat]

Mara- I didn't feel the let down at first. I definitely feel it now- for me it's like sharp needles or a small sharp tingling. It sort of hurts, but in a hurts so good way. I know that sounds weird! It took me awhile to feel it. And I can fit a nursing pad in my nursing tanks. I wore the nursing tanks almost exclusively the first 3 months. Occasionally I would wear the nursing bra to bed when O started sleeping longer stretches just b/c it has more support and was more comfortable if I got engorged. '

Anchor- Sweet Jacob! Aren't baby smiles the best?

ETA: I don't always feel the let down either.
Anchor- So sorry about your uncle.
I use the J&J pads, but I am not well-endowed so that could make a difference.

 

[Blenheim]

I love all of the pictures! DH's baby pics are saved on the other computer, but I swear I will get to it in a bit.

Fiery, I think that she does look a lot like you! Aww. I don't think you're crazy for wanting to relactate - it is a great bonding thing, and at 10 months (what!?) G is still a milk fiend. But it sounds like it would be a lot of work, especially with you working.

Ebree, you look just like each other as well.

Mandarine, those onesies are hilarious.

November - Olivia is gorgeous!

Sabine - dust!! Hopefully the roads will be clear by then, at least.

Anchor - awww! I love when they start to smile.

China - oh the swing shot looks like so much fun. Awww.

Mara - let down feels very tingly and hot, although I'm not quite sure that's the best way of describing it. I think it took a while until I felt a distinct let down. When I was at the stage you're at, I think I just leaked a lot. 4.5 oz is a bunch of milk, especially if you're doing it in addition to regular feeds and not in place of them. You can put the leak pad in the shelf of a tank. Ok, my mommy confession of the day, just for you - I have worn a bra (not counting when working out) only about twice since George was born. I'm not even sure what bra size I am right now. I live in stretchy shelf tanks and nursing tanks, still. It's doable if that's what you want and if you're not so big that you need the add'l support from a real bra. The Target nursing tanks fit is wonky on me, btw - I'd check one out before buying a bunch.


Thanks to everyone who chimed in about eyesight and strabismus. I'm feeling pretty positive about the strabismus being corrected, but I just feel crappy that his vision is already so bad. To those who didn't get the numbers, take a quick look at this picture (if you feel like it). If George were to look at the left-most chart with his right eye (ETA - pretending he was in an exam room, not looking at a monitor 2 ft away), he'd see something between what you'd see looking at the "2D" and "3D" ones. Given his age, his vision in his left eye is pretty normal. As a result he's relying mostly on his left eye. So we're trying to correct the vision with the glasses, and use the eye patch to force his right eye into developing the nerves and muscles it needs to work properly. Hopefully that makes a bit more sense.

 

[Blenheim]

DH at 9 months.

 

[Blenheim]

This is me as a little baby.

 

[Blenheim]

And this is someone who may or may not be me, at an indeterminate but young age. It''s definitely either me or my brother though...

 

[Dreamer_D]

Blen Yup, it is probably your fault he has bad eyes

C''mon woman! We can''t help our genes! Hunter will most likely battle the bulge because of me. It sucks. But he will also be smart because of me. I bet you passed on *some* good qualities to George too

.

Fiery I would relactate. I really like BFing. And you don''t have to wean at 12 months. I plan to continue until Hunter is about 2 years, or until I get pg again. It is good for me and helps reduce the risk of cancer, and we both like it. Anyways, if you wanted to keep going you could, so it isn''t "only" for 5 months.

ChinaCat I think I mentioned this before, but you don''t have to totally wean if you don''t want to. You can stop pumping at work and O can have formula then, and then you can nurse him when you are together. Your supply will just adjust! And if O needed a top up, then you could give him some more formula after nusing. Anyways, just wanted to point that out, if you wanted to keep going. It vaires by woman, but many moms I know kept nursing their kids for a long time even after they were not nursing in the day or night, just morning and evening and on weekends.

Mara That is a lot of milk from the pump! Unless you are trying to build a stash for some reason, you can actually stop pumping and EBF now if you want. I recommend it, makes life easier and it is nice not to worry about pumping anymore. Just watch J''s pees and poos. He should have as many heavy wet diapers in the day as he is days old, up to a week where it should be six in a day. And he should have one or more poops each day that are nice and yellow/green/browny. Input equals output. re bras I highly recommend the Bravada brant. They are wireless, soft and like a sports bra. I did not like nursing tanks at all. Too revealing to pull it off when you are out.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Date: 2/5/2010 9:54:21 AM
Author: fiery

Date: 2/5/2010 5:05:53 AM
Author: Mrs Mitchell
Fiery, just popping in to say sorry to hear about Sophia''s diagnosis. It''s the same diagnosis that Amelia has.

We''re now a year and a half down the road and we haven''t had any problems, no breakthrough infections. The dose of antibiotic increases to keep up with her increase in bodyweight, so she sees her doc for that and a general check over every three months. Amelia loves the taste of the antibiotic, so we''ve had no issues with getting it into her.

The plan for Amelia is to run the tests again when she''s talking more and is ready to potty train. If she hasn''t outgrown the reflux by then, it''s possible to stop the antibiotics and rely on her being able to tell us if she''s in discomfort that would indicate an infection, then use antibiotics only if that happens.

Hope you aren''t too upset by this, I know I was knocked sideways when it was first diagnosed, but life has gone on as normal and I can breathe again! At least we both caught it early.

Jen

Thanks so much again for your input. I was actually thinking about you when he told me. I get a lot of comfort knowing that Amelia is doing well.

And thanks to NovemberBride for sharing your experience too!

She is doing just fine, she really is. I forget all about it most of the time, just remember when I give her the antibiotic at night. Level 3 isn''t too severe, so it''s really just a case of being vigilant for the early signs of infection.

I got her Dr to put the diagnosis in writing and I keep a copy in the car. If she ever gets sick or I''m worried out of office hours for her regular dr, I can take it with me to the ER or ambulatory care here. It would save time and mean I don''t get any of the neurotic mother suggestions...

 

[Dreamer_D]

Let down I never feel it. I also rarely leaked (only if I slept on the boob in the night) and never felt engorged. But I nursed a big boy exclusively for 6 months and still nurse Mr. Bottomless pit now. Anyways, my point is that feeling let down or leaking or being engorged does not always correlate with supply apparently!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Sabine, good luck with the weather for the baptism. Stinky timing, but I''m sure the family who can''t make it will be thinking a lot about you.

Anchor, I''m very sorry to hear about your uncle. I''m sure knowing that Jacob was two days old made up for not seeing you on New Year''s.

Mara, at first, BFing would hurt a ton until letdown, so that was how I knew when it had occurred the first time -- the pain stopped. Now I know because I can feel a tingling in the boob that she''s not on when I let down, but I don''t feel it when I pump -- I only know then because I hear the milk sloshing around in the pump parts. And I like the Target tanks -- keep your belly covered and warm in the winter when you don''t want to have your belly exposed all the time. I wear pads in them. And yeah, that''s a great amount to pump. I have never pumped that much in one go and Claire is 3 months old. It''s nice to use that milk to skip an overnight feeding if you''ve got someone willing to take it over for you!

Fiery and Blen, sorry to hear about the bad news on the health and eye fronts, but you should know that I am inspired by how you mamas with a little more experience than me take things in stride. We haven''t had any issues to deal with yet, and I know I''ll be a mess when we do.



We''ve now owned the Bumbo for one week, and Claire''s head control has improved a ton! I''m really glad I got it (no, I am not a paid Bumbo spokeswoman, if only because the name is too stupid to get on board with).

 

[Pandora II]

Blen - I''m glad you got the diagnosis early as it''ll make a big difference in the long run. Honestly it''s not your fault so don''t beat yourself up (heck Daisy is in for some rotten genes here!). Eyes can change a lot with growth, especially at puberty. I have a sister who had terrible eyesight until puberty and now doesn''t need glasses at all, my brother went the other way and now has glasses. I have perfect vision and my youngest sister (the one who was patched) still wears glasses now. The kids ones are very cute these days and somehow they seem to manage to wear them - get insurance as they break them all the time, and be as pro-glasses as you can as that really helps: one of my sister''s friends was really jealous that she DIDN''T have them and it made my sister really want to wear them.

Fiery - I don''t think that you are mad at all. Daisy is still getting 90% of her nutrition from me - she still feeds every 3 hours or so, and I use it as a distraction/band-aid which is very useful. You might find taking her to bed with you helps get your supply up - Daisy will often fall asleep on the boob and then use it as a pacifier for much of the night which helps keep mine up as much as possible.

Mara - let-down feels like a tingling sensation. I tend to feel it more in the breast that I''m not using. It will also cause milk to leak from the other one as well - if you press down firmly that will stop it. I got fed up with nursing bras as they take too long to undo and most babies go from 0 to 60 on the screaming if you don''t get the boob out pronto, so I just have soft-cup bras and fold the cup back on itself when I want to nurse. I''ve always fed on demand rather than to a schedule and I don''t know if that is why, but I''ve never needed to use breast-pads at all.