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Posted by Jane Highley on February 14, 2012
I love lists, especially if it’s not a terribly long one. And 10 is manageable. Inspired by a certain late-night show’s regular segment, I decided to launch a short TOP TEN series (emphasis on “short”) on anything relevant to getting ready for a new baby.
Before reading any further, however, here are a few qualifications about this list (and others forthcoming).
Qualification #1: I am expecting my third child (a boy), so I am compiling this list with some experience behind me, not as a first-time mommy. I’ve had hits and misses with lots of baby products, so my past experiences with babies 1 and 2 (both girls) will largely inform my picks listed below.
Qualification #2: I plan to breastfeed and pump, but I don’t plan on using any bottles until at least 2-3 weeks after the delivery.
Qualification #3: I deliberately omitted the obvious items (e.g., diapers/wipes, crib, stroller, car seat) because I didn’t want to insult your intelligence.
Qualification #4: This is a list specifically for the care of newborns, not necessarily for Mom (or parents), which is why you won’t find a baby carrier or nursing pads listed below. I hope to address that in a separate list.
Qualification #5: This list is a means to an end – I’m sharing mine with hopes that you will share yours. If you have a “must-have” product that I didn’t mention, please comment below! There is nothing like the honesty of other mommies who’ve put products to the real, raw test of newborn-care. (more…)
| 10 CommentsPosted by Zoe Quinton on January 25, 2012
When you’re pregnant, everyone is eager to tell you that breastfeeding isn’t always easy. Books, classes, friends, relatives — they all warn you that it doesn’t come easily for some. Yet somehow you think: not me. I’ll be a natural. I’ll be the best breastfeeder that’s ever existed. Just you wait.
Of course that’s what I thought: How hard can it be? I mean really. The lactation consultant at the hospital murmured things about my “excellent anatomy” and told me I’d have no problems with nursing. Sure enough, the first couple weeks after my son was born were fine. My husband kept remarking, “Look at you! You’re a natural!” as I whipped a breast out at the dinner table or while watching TV. I got this, I thought. No problem.
What no one warned me about though was that when it comes to breastfeeding, it really does take two to tango. And as with any relationship, problems can go both ways. So while my anatomy may have been up to the task, unfortunately my son did not agree. After a strong start, he suddenly decided that he really did not like nursing. (more…)
| 1 CommentPosted by Meagan Church on January 16, 2012
It’s the New Year and the traditional time to make resolutions. I’ll be honest, with the baby a month away, I’m not really looking to set steadfast goals. Would I like to write a book? Absolutely. Brush up on my French? Oui. Drop each and every pound of baby weight? I think that answer is pretty obvious. But, with this being my third baby, I know what lies ahead and I don’t want the pressure of caring for a newborn, while feeling guilty if I don’t have the energy to meet certain objectives. So, I’m not making resolutions this time around. Instead, I’m reminding myself of what I feel is important and desirable. And, so, my New Year’s reminders are as follows:
What about you? Did you set any resolutions or reminders?
| No CommentsPosted by Christiane Williams on January 10, 2012
Today I want to share with you a smelly little secret! It’s a natural cure for engorgement pains that also stops mastitis in its tracks and can help you when you need to wean suddenly while your milk supply is still plenty! It’s white CABBAGE!
I know this sounds weird, but read on and it might help you, too when you need it!
My history with cabbage:
I had given birth to my first baby about 2 days ago, when I fell asleep on the bed. I woke up an hour later and something crazy had happened: somebody had pumped up my breasts to basketball size! They were hard, they were steaming hot and they were HURTING! Engorgement had arrived! I was in agony, just the bra or a T-shirt touching my breasts was uncomfortable and in an ironic twist I now bumped into things with my super-boobs rather than my belly. I thought they sure were going to burst. And while my husband was quite enticed by the X-rated size of them there was NO way he was going to get to touch them! (more…)
| No CommentsPosted by Jessica Crawford on March 15, 2011
The day has come; I am finished breastfeeding.
I exclusively pumped for nine months. At 10 minutes a session, an average of five times a day, that’s 14,000 minutes, 233 hours, or nearly 10 full days spent strapped to that machine.
Half of me feels like a proud bad-ass. The other half feels guilty that I didn’t continue for longer. Stupid guilt. (more…)
| 4 CommentsPosted by Jessica Crawford on February 8, 2011
Imagine this scenario, if you will.
You’re a brand new mom. You want to breastfeed desperately, but you don’t have enough milk. And/or your baby hates to nurse.
Perhaps it’s just genetics. Perhaps it was the emotional break you experienced after he was born (i.e. not being able to sleep at all for those first six days) that stunted your supply and turned off your baby.
Either way, you’re riddled with guilt. It’s all your fault. Everything.
| 2 CommentsPosted by Amanda McFadden on November 2, 2010
With four weeks until baby #3 is due to make his arrival, I’ve been thinking a lot about what life is like with a newborn. Exhaustion and chaos abound, of course, but there are so many wonderful, sweet things to savor with a tiny baby. I wish I could bottle up the newborn-ness (this is how I refer to all things related to a newborn), and it is such a fleeting time in the life of a baby. I love the way newborns are still folded up like they are in the womb, how their hair is so silky soft, and how they suckle in their sleep. It’s all so cute! But to me, the best part about the newborn-ness, is breastfeeding. I cannot wait to nurse this tiny baby.
Okay, before you other mamas out there throw stones at me, de-friend me from Facebook, and stop reading this post, please note that I am not completely crazy. Nobody likes the engorgement that make your breasts into rock-hard porn star boobs, and the nipple pain in those first couple of weeks is excruciating. I’ve suffered through months of thrush, blocked ducts, and even mastitis. My poor breasts are not nearly as perky as they once were (okay, that’s a huge understatement. They’re pretty deflated and pathetic after two years of nursing babies). But the amazing parts of breastfeeding make it worth the sacrifices to me.
I wasn’t always such a breastfeeding proponent. The first time I had a newborn, Sammy, I didn’t appreciate the beauty of breastfeeding at all. In fact, before I had him, I knew “breast was best,” but I thought the whole process was downright weird. When he was born, I had no idea what I was doing and neither did the baby. Thankfully, my husband went to the breastfeeding class with me while I was pregnant, and he actually latched Sammy onto the breast for me for the first week of his life! Without my husband’s support, I would have quit in the first week. The first day he went back to work, I distinctly remember being terrified that the baby wouldn’t be able to eat all day because I couldn’t latch him on right, even though I had an enormous milk supply. My nipples felt like they were on fire every time he nursed, so I was too busy crying my eyes out to notice how he looked right up at me as he suckled or that he fit perfectly in my arms. I was consulting baby books and hospital discharge instructions constantly to make sure he was nursing at the right times, burping enough, pooping enough, etc. After two long weeks, things fell into place, and we both enjoyed a full year of nursing. It wasn’t until after the difficult start that I could appreciate how wonderful breastfeeding could be.
Nursing was much easier with our second son, Gabriel, although it was still painful in the beginning. Instead of crying through all of my son’s first feedings, I focused on him, and it got better much more quickly. We found our groove in the first few days, instead of the weeks it took with Sammy. I attribute our quick success to me being more knowledgeable and less anxious about the whole process. I wasn’t worried if he was getting enough milk or concerned with putting him on a schedule, I was just trying to be present each time we nursed.
I tried to sit and put my feet up for each feeding, but that wasn’t always possible with a two year old running around. I became a one-armed nursing wonder. I could nurse with the baby in one arm and accomplish almost everything else with the other from cooking dinner, to playing with building blocks, to helping my other son onto or off of the toilet. No matter what else I was doing, even when all hell was breaking loose in our transitioning household, I tried to enjoy nursing. I tried be cognizant of the oxytocin high calming me down and filling my heart with love with each let-down I experienced. It’s cheesy, but it worked.
I was aware the second time around that before I knew it, I wouldn’t be the most interesting thing in the universe to this tiny creature. He would soon be curious about the larger world around him, and he’d want to check it out and explore instead of gazing into my eyes. I knew that his soft, downy black hair was going to fall out, that his two tiny feet would no longer be able to fit in one of my hands as I fed him. I watched him grow and took pride in the fact that I was 100% responsible for that phenomenon. I didn’t even mind the late night feedings, because I knew then that I was guaranteed to have at least a few quiet minutes with just him. Like Sammy, Gabriel and I enjoyed a full year of nursing.
I know all babies are different, so nursing this baby might not be as easy as you would think it’d be the third time around. I also have two kids to chase after now, whose favorite past times are anything that includes wrestling, yelling, and general mischief. I know that once we find our stride, however, it’ll be great. I hope I can savor those moments of quiet and appreciate the newborn-ness of baby #3, and I hope that other new moms out there can enjoy nursing their newborns more than I did the first time around.
There are countless benefits to nursing for the baby and mom, but it’s not as easy as it looks to get started. I know that a lot of moms either cannot or choose not to breastfeed, and my intent is not to alienate any of these women. Instead, I wanted to share how much I’ve personally grown to love nursing.
For more information on all things breastfeeding-related, check out these PregTASTIC episodes:
Episode 012: What You Need to Know Before Breastfeeding
Episode 013: Latch, Feeding Cues, Duration
Episode 014: Solutions for Common Breastfeeding Problems
Episode 149: Breastfeeding Basics
Episode 150: Healthy Breastfeeding Diet
Episode 151: Breastfeeding Positions and Latch
Posted by Leyna Butcher on October 25, 2010
As I had blogged before, Garrett my now 6 month old had been losing weight. Things got really scary for a little while and I’ll tell you why.
At Garrett’s four month check up he had fallen off the growth chart and it was chalked up to being “an active baby.” But two weeks later, I felt my supply had dropped. After seeing lactation we had his tongue clipped and all seemed to be right with the world since he gained weight when we took him back at month five. Problem solved, right?
Not so much. When we went back at four our 6 month appointment, not only had Garrett not gained any weight but he lost all the weight he put on since month four! I was so glad that I had emailed our doctor and told him that he didn’t look healthy to me. I had taken a diaper photo of him and he broke my heart. I just didn’t want my pediatrician to think I was starving the poor child.
We went in and our pediatrician ordered a battery of tests. We spend the day driving to labs, getting x-rays, stool and urine samples. After holding my little guy down three times that day while he was poked and put through the ringer, I was emotionally exhausted and so was he.
There are other things going on too. Garrett was having a hard time with solid foods. He wanted something to swallow against, like his thumb or pacifier making meal times stressful. Even more stressful now that I knew he needed to eat. We were referred to lactation again and to occupational therapy. I had two weeks of nothing but appointments. Luckily I was able to find childcare for Nolan.
Labs slowly trickled in and thank goodness that there was nothing to indicate a metabolic problem or some other fatal diagnosis. We’ve had to supplement with formula and add coconut oil to his food and work out the problems we had with his shallow gag reflex. I am not completely happy with the idea of using formula but I will do what I have to do at this point. Exclusively breastfeeding is not working for us. I’m not even sure if it is the quantity or quality of my milk that is the problem. (I could write a whole other entry on just pumping. I’ll save that one for later.)
During those two weeks he gained almost an entire pound!
I know this is the best case scenario of all the things that could have been wrong. But I have never experienced so much heartache and worry in my life. It is nothing you can explain. It is nothing you recover from quickly. I know the crisis is over but I feel horrible. Guilt. Terror. An overwhelming sense of relief.
I spoke with a good friend of mine about all of this. I actually spoke with a lot of people. But she had some really kind words for me. She told me I didn’t sit back and let this happen. “You knew something was wrong 2 months ago and it took the doctors this long to figure it out too.” It made me feel so much better than what I was telling myself about my shortcomings in being a mother.
I hope to keep you all updated with Garrett’s progress. He’s still under the growth curve but he’s gaining again.
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