Weight (in jammies) 222.8
I'm probably not going to lose much more weight just on my own; I'm not breastfeeding anymore (more on that in a moment), so I'm going to have to start working out. I'm going to start easy, with those Leslie Sansone walking workouts. It's going to be too hot outside to take Ian for a walk, plus I need to get a new tire for the jogging stroller, so I'll just stick to the videos in the house.
Breastfeeding is going to be a no-go this time around. Ian never has figured out how to latch--he can't even latch to a bottle well--although I must admit I haven't spent nearly the amount of time trying that I should have. Even with pumping during the day, the amount I've produced has decreased over time. The last time I pumped, on Thursday, I pumped probably less than an ounce the entire day. It hurts my breasts to pump, and it just isn't producing anything. So I'm giving up. I was able to give him a little each day over the course of three weeks; that will have to be enough. Hopefully it is enough to give him the stuff he needs for his immune system. I have ordered some probiotic drops that the pediatrician recommended, which are supposedly the bacteria that are found in breastmilk. He recommended them as a solution for colic (which Ian seems to have a problem with), so we're going to give them a try. We got the Enfamil Gentlease formula that Brendan had, but it doesn't seem to have helped Ian with his tummy problems. He cries a lot, and squirms and arches his back. He strains like he's trying to poop really, really hard. Eventually he manages to poop or fart, and then he calms down for a while. Rubbing his tummy and pumping his legs seems to help a bit. But I had really hoped that the formula change would help. Makes me a bit sad, since I think if Ian were breastfeeding he wouldn't have this problem. It's that feeling of failure that I had when I was struggling to breastfeed Brendan. I know that formula can be just as good (for the most part) as breastmilk, but still, it's disappointing.
It's been a rough couple of days. Didn't get much sleep the other night because Brendan threw up a couple of times, necessitating several jammie and bed changes. I kept him home from the sitter yesterday, which was probably a good thing for her because he threw up a few more times that morning. He didn't eat or drink much, other than water, the rest of the day yesterday, and so we thought he was OK. But then Ross put him in the car to run an errand this morning, and Brendan ended up throwing up all over inside the car. Ross doesn't have a good stomach for such things (I think only mommies have the stomach to deal with all the bodily functions of children). We'll definitely need to get the car detailed now! That's the only time he's thrown up today, so far (fingers crossed). I really hope he gets past this quickly. No fun. I also hope he doesn't give whatever it is to Ian, Ross, or me.
Anyway, I hope Brendan feels better soon, Ian's tummy stops hurting him, and my tummy gets smaller. Soon!
Pool Time
Showing posts with label breastfeeding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breastfeeding. Show all posts
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tired
Couldn't even think of a witty title, I'm so tired. Still not sleeping through the night. Still not losing weight. Still not enough hours in the day to get everything done.
Work has taken a toll on breastfeeding. With my class schedule, I can only pump twice, and with grading, student questions, and other disruptions, some days I only pump once. Even with two-a-days, I'm rarely able to pump enough for more than one bottle. I was able to pump about 8 oz when I started, but now I'm down to about 4 oz, even while still taking fenugreek. This slow-down in production is corresponding to the boy starting to push me away after only nursing for a few minutes. I was wondering if it was because he wasn't getting milk fast enough; the sitter said he was doing the same thing to his bottle. So today the sitter used a faster flow nipple on the bottle, and he chowed down. Makes me think that my breastfeeding days are numbered. I've still got two weeks left of work, and I'm sure as long as I keep trying to pump I'll be able to at least make it until then. But I don't know if my supply will increase again after I'm able to stay home for a few days. Maybe I should just call it.
Of course, on the plus side, if I'm not breastfeeding anymore, I can start kicking the hubby awake to bottle feed the boy in the middle of the night...
Work has taken a toll on breastfeeding. With my class schedule, I can only pump twice, and with grading, student questions, and other disruptions, some days I only pump once. Even with two-a-days, I'm rarely able to pump enough for more than one bottle. I was able to pump about 8 oz when I started, but now I'm down to about 4 oz, even while still taking fenugreek. This slow-down in production is corresponding to the boy starting to push me away after only nursing for a few minutes. I was wondering if it was because he wasn't getting milk fast enough; the sitter said he was doing the same thing to his bottle. So today the sitter used a faster flow nipple on the bottle, and he chowed down. Makes me think that my breastfeeding days are numbered. I've still got two weeks left of work, and I'm sure as long as I keep trying to pump I'll be able to at least make it until then. But I don't know if my supply will increase again after I'm able to stay home for a few days. Maybe I should just call it.
Of course, on the plus side, if I'm not breastfeeding anymore, I can start kicking the hubby awake to bottle feed the boy in the middle of the night...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Super dooper pooper
No official weigh-in for me, because I haven't been working out or eating as well as I should. Haven't done much cardio, although I did crunches and flutter kicks today. I started on the elliptical machine this week, but I haven't done much (seriously; I started with one minute on Monday, two on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, and I need to do four minutes today at some point).
No official weigh-in for Brendan yet either, although he does have a checkup coming up sometime in the next few weeks. However, I did my unofficial "weigh myself holding him and then not holding him and do some math", and he's about 15 lbs. He'll be 15 weeks on Saturday. His weight puts him somewhere around the 75th percentile. Not too bad. Still, I kind of want to fatten him up a bit, and I've been feeling like I'm not producing as much milk as I need to keep up with him, so I've ordered some More Milk Plus, which is a supplement that contains fenugreek, a galactagogue that increases milk production. A good friend is using it and says it really helps. It's also been recommended to me by a number of people, so I figured I'd try it out. I don't have it yet, but I'll definitely blog about its efficacy.
Something unusual seems to be going on with the boy's digestive system. For some reason, he's not pooping regularly anymore. Over the weekend, he went two days without pooping. My husband even came home from the pharmacy with a laxative and a glycerine suppository in case we needed to "grease the wheels", so to speak, but he finally produced on his own (boy, did he. Yikes). But now, he hasn't pooped since at least Monday. He has farted off and on, although not more than usual, so I know things should be able to get through. I did give him a little of the liquid laxative this morning, only .25 ml. It says it should work in 6-12 hours, so I've still got four hours. I hope he doesn't exceed his diaper's capacity; he did move up to the larger size (size 2, 12-18 lbs) this week. If it's like it was last time, it'll be pretty impressive. Ew.
No official weigh-in for Brendan yet either, although he does have a checkup coming up sometime in the next few weeks. However, I did my unofficial "weigh myself holding him and then not holding him and do some math", and he's about 15 lbs. He'll be 15 weeks on Saturday. His weight puts him somewhere around the 75th percentile. Not too bad. Still, I kind of want to fatten him up a bit, and I've been feeling like I'm not producing as much milk as I need to keep up with him, so I've ordered some More Milk Plus, which is a supplement that contains fenugreek, a galactagogue that increases milk production. A good friend is using it and says it really helps. It's also been recommended to me by a number of people, so I figured I'd try it out. I don't have it yet, but I'll definitely blog about its efficacy.
Something unusual seems to be going on with the boy's digestive system. For some reason, he's not pooping regularly anymore. Over the weekend, he went two days without pooping. My husband even came home from the pharmacy with a laxative and a glycerine suppository in case we needed to "grease the wheels", so to speak, but he finally produced on his own (boy, did he. Yikes). But now, he hasn't pooped since at least Monday. He has farted off and on, although not more than usual, so I know things should be able to get through. I did give him a little of the liquid laxative this morning, only .25 ml. It says it should work in 6-12 hours, so I've still got four hours. I hope he doesn't exceed his diaper's capacity; he did move up to the larger size (size 2, 12-18 lbs) this week. If it's like it was last time, it'll be pretty impressive. Ew.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Adventures in breastfeeding...
...or, My new life as a dairy cow.
I had no idea that something that female mammals have been doing since God created the world would be so frickin' difficult.
Nine days after my c section, my milk still has not "come in". I am a mixture of frustrated, annoyed, and emotionally drained by all this.
While I was still in the birth center, a lactation consultant came and talked to me about feeding. The nurses had given me a plastic breast shield to help draw out my nipples, but that first consultant recommended I not use it. She said it made for "lazy nursing" on the baby's part. She told me to use sugar water or drips of formula on my nipple to keep Brendan's attention during nursing, and gave me advice on helping him latch on. Later that same day, a second, different consultant came by to see how things were going. I told her Brendan was having difficulty latching on without the shield. She said she thought I should go ahead and use the shield if it helped. She told me that once Brendan got the hang of feeding I could start "weaning" him off the shield.
I had expressed to both consultants that I was concerned that I wasn't producing any milk. At no point during my pregnancy did I ever notice any colostrum or anything. My breasts did go through changes during the pregnancy: they got very sore and sensitive, and definitely increased in size (like I needed that). Both consultants assured me that, while I might not see anything, I surely was producing colostrum, and that newborns don't need much because they still are running off the nutrition they had gotten from momma prior to birth, and that my milk would "come in" soon. Since these were the knowledgeable professionals, I did what they told me to do.
After the first few feedings, we noticed (and the nurses concurred) that Brendan got positively frantic during feedings. One of the nurses compared his attempts to latch with a dog with a chew toy. He cried, he rooted, he flailed. Several of the nurses agreed with us that he still seemed hungry after our attempted feedings, and they suggested that I supplement with formula until my supply increased.
The first night home was a disaster. Of course we were all exhausted just trying to get into a routine, but Brendan couldn't seem to breastfeed at all, and we resorted to full bottles of formula out of desperation. We went back in that next day to talk to the lactation consultant again. She spent a whole hour working with us on all the technicalities of feeding (how to hold the baby, helping him latch, etc.). She told us again to use drips of formula on my nipples to "prime the pump" and encourage him to keep feeding. She gave us a little eye dropper to use and sent us on our way. She again sort of "pooh-poohed" my concerns about my supply, and told us not to supplement with formula.
We went home and tried to stick with the plan the lactation consultant had laid out for us. But after much screaming, flailing, rooting, hand-chewing, and a great deal of crying on both our parts, I broke down and gave Brendan a bottle of formula in the middle of the night. He just seemed so HUNGRY.
The next day we had our first checkup with the pediatrician (Brendan was now four days old). To our horror, Brendan had lost almost a full pound from his birth weight (born at 8 lbs, now down to 7 lbs 1 oz). The pediatrician was extremely concerned; she said that weight loss of more than 10% could be cause to admit him to the hospital. They did a heel stick to check his bilirubin, which thankfully was in the normal limits so they didn't admit him to the hospital. But the pediatrician finally listened to my concerns about my supply. She sent us home with instructions to try to breastfeed him for as long as he'd tolerate on each side, then get on my breastpump and see what I could pump while my husband gave Brendan a couple ounces of formula. Anything I could pump would then be given in a bottle during the next feeding (after the breastfeeding and before the formula). She told us to come back the next day.
Definitely a complicated feeding plan. But I was incredibly relieved, when I got on the pump for the first time, to see that I indeed was producing something. I managed to pump a tiny bit of colostrum, only about half an ounce, but it really was there. I was so relieved, in fact, that I burst into tears. I had just been devastated by the idea that I was not able to take care of my baby's needs. So we went back to the pediatrician the next day and reported what had happened. Just with our formula supplementation, Brendan's weight was back up to 7 lbs 9 oz, after only one day. Poor baby had obviously been super dehydrated. Just in those 24 hours he produced more wet diapers than he had the entire rest of his life. How sad is that?
The pediatrician had been doing a little research. She said that hypertensive mothers (I've been treated for high blood pressure for probably seven or eight years now) often have a delay in their milk coming in. Also, women who had a c section tend to be delayed. And since I had so many anti-diuretic meds during the course of my labor and c-section, I am having major fluid retention issues (my legs, ankles, and feet are horrifically swollen), which probably is also affecting my milk production. She told us to continue our feeding routine--the pump would help Brendan access my milk regardless of how well he was latching, and it would help stimulate my milk production. She said she felt confident that we were still within the window of opportunity for me to be able to breastfeed.
So feeding has been a two-person job. While I start Brendan out on breast, my husband warms up the previous pump-job's bottle of breast milk and then mixes up the bottle of formula. When I'm done, I hand Brendan over to him and get on the pump. I still have not pumped more than an ounce total at one time, but the quality of the milk has changed (not colostrum any more; thinner and whiter), and Brendan is spending more time on each breast which means he's probably getting more from me than he was.
But everyone keeps talking about milk "coming in", and breasts getting engorged, and "letting down" and all that, and it just isn't happening for me. I would really like to be able to stop worrying about the formula (and the pumping--holy crap that thing hurts!) and just breastfeed. I'll be happy to pump enough for my husband to do some feedings himself, but this whole "pump every two hours" thing is exhausting and painful. It takes over an hour to complete the feeding process, and when we're feeding every two hours, it seems like my entire life is spent either breastfeeding or pumping. I'm tired.
Did anyone else have any problems similar to this? Do you think my milk will ever show up, or am I going to be doomed to keep up this stupid feeding schedule forever? I'm just super discouraged.
I had no idea that something that female mammals have been doing since God created the world would be so frickin' difficult.
Nine days after my c section, my milk still has not "come in". I am a mixture of frustrated, annoyed, and emotionally drained by all this.
While I was still in the birth center, a lactation consultant came and talked to me about feeding. The nurses had given me a plastic breast shield to help draw out my nipples, but that first consultant recommended I not use it. She said it made for "lazy nursing" on the baby's part. She told me to use sugar water or drips of formula on my nipple to keep Brendan's attention during nursing, and gave me advice on helping him latch on. Later that same day, a second, different consultant came by to see how things were going. I told her Brendan was having difficulty latching on without the shield. She said she thought I should go ahead and use the shield if it helped. She told me that once Brendan got the hang of feeding I could start "weaning" him off the shield.
I had expressed to both consultants that I was concerned that I wasn't producing any milk. At no point during my pregnancy did I ever notice any colostrum or anything. My breasts did go through changes during the pregnancy: they got very sore and sensitive, and definitely increased in size (like I needed that). Both consultants assured me that, while I might not see anything, I surely was producing colostrum, and that newborns don't need much because they still are running off the nutrition they had gotten from momma prior to birth, and that my milk would "come in" soon. Since these were the knowledgeable professionals, I did what they told me to do.
After the first few feedings, we noticed (and the nurses concurred) that Brendan got positively frantic during feedings. One of the nurses compared his attempts to latch with a dog with a chew toy. He cried, he rooted, he flailed. Several of the nurses agreed with us that he still seemed hungry after our attempted feedings, and they suggested that I supplement with formula until my supply increased.
The first night home was a disaster. Of course we were all exhausted just trying to get into a routine, but Brendan couldn't seem to breastfeed at all, and we resorted to full bottles of formula out of desperation. We went back in that next day to talk to the lactation consultant again. She spent a whole hour working with us on all the technicalities of feeding (how to hold the baby, helping him latch, etc.). She told us again to use drips of formula on my nipples to "prime the pump" and encourage him to keep feeding. She gave us a little eye dropper to use and sent us on our way. She again sort of "pooh-poohed" my concerns about my supply, and told us not to supplement with formula.
We went home and tried to stick with the plan the lactation consultant had laid out for us. But after much screaming, flailing, rooting, hand-chewing, and a great deal of crying on both our parts, I broke down and gave Brendan a bottle of formula in the middle of the night. He just seemed so HUNGRY.
The next day we had our first checkup with the pediatrician (Brendan was now four days old). To our horror, Brendan had lost almost a full pound from his birth weight (born at 8 lbs, now down to 7 lbs 1 oz). The pediatrician was extremely concerned; she said that weight loss of more than 10% could be cause to admit him to the hospital. They did a heel stick to check his bilirubin, which thankfully was in the normal limits so they didn't admit him to the hospital. But the pediatrician finally listened to my concerns about my supply. She sent us home with instructions to try to breastfeed him for as long as he'd tolerate on each side, then get on my breastpump and see what I could pump while my husband gave Brendan a couple ounces of formula. Anything I could pump would then be given in a bottle during the next feeding (after the breastfeeding and before the formula). She told us to come back the next day.
Definitely a complicated feeding plan. But I was incredibly relieved, when I got on the pump for the first time, to see that I indeed was producing something. I managed to pump a tiny bit of colostrum, only about half an ounce, but it really was there. I was so relieved, in fact, that I burst into tears. I had just been devastated by the idea that I was not able to take care of my baby's needs. So we went back to the pediatrician the next day and reported what had happened. Just with our formula supplementation, Brendan's weight was back up to 7 lbs 9 oz, after only one day. Poor baby had obviously been super dehydrated. Just in those 24 hours he produced more wet diapers than he had the entire rest of his life. How sad is that?
The pediatrician had been doing a little research. She said that hypertensive mothers (I've been treated for high blood pressure for probably seven or eight years now) often have a delay in their milk coming in. Also, women who had a c section tend to be delayed. And since I had so many anti-diuretic meds during the course of my labor and c-section, I am having major fluid retention issues (my legs, ankles, and feet are horrifically swollen), which probably is also affecting my milk production. She told us to continue our feeding routine--the pump would help Brendan access my milk regardless of how well he was latching, and it would help stimulate my milk production. She said she felt confident that we were still within the window of opportunity for me to be able to breastfeed.
So feeding has been a two-person job. While I start Brendan out on breast, my husband warms up the previous pump-job's bottle of breast milk and then mixes up the bottle of formula. When I'm done, I hand Brendan over to him and get on the pump. I still have not pumped more than an ounce total at one time, but the quality of the milk has changed (not colostrum any more; thinner and whiter), and Brendan is spending more time on each breast which means he's probably getting more from me than he was.
But everyone keeps talking about milk "coming in", and breasts getting engorged, and "letting down" and all that, and it just isn't happening for me. I would really like to be able to stop worrying about the formula (and the pumping--holy crap that thing hurts!) and just breastfeed. I'll be happy to pump enough for my husband to do some feedings himself, but this whole "pump every two hours" thing is exhausting and painful. It takes over an hour to complete the feeding process, and when we're feeding every two hours, it seems like my entire life is spent either breastfeeding or pumping. I'm tired.
Did anyone else have any problems similar to this? Do you think my milk will ever show up, or am I going to be doomed to keep up this stupid feeding schedule forever? I'm just super discouraged.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Feeding time at the zoo
Didn't weigh in this morning, but I've been sticking between 206 and 208, so I'm guessing I'm probably still there.
Have two doctor's appointments scheduled in the next few weeks. The first is an "ultrascreen". This is a combination of an ultrasound and a blood screening, both to find possible genetic problems (Downs, fragile x, stuff like that). Unfortunately, we won't be able to tell the sex of the baby, because it's too early, so we'll probably have to have another ultrasound later on down the line (assuming we're going to find out the sex). But we will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat, which will be pretty cool. That's coming up a week from today. Then, on the next Monday, I have an appointment actually scheduled with the doctor herself (finally). That will be for the pelvic exam (oh joy!) and whatever other assorted things she'll do. So, lots of excitement coming up.
Hopefully, after I've had these appointments, we'll go ahead and start telling people the good news. This way, we'll know if there's anything wrong before we start talking to people. I just don't want to tell people prematurely, in case there is a problem.
Read an interesting article on CNN.com today, about breastfeeding. It suggested that a lack of breastfeeding in the United States contributes to a number of infant health problems, including SIDS and other fatal illnesses. Basically, women should breastfeed ONLY for the first six months, according to research. But because some babies have trouble breastfeeding, and women are busy in the home and the workplace, and there are so many formulas available, many women just opt for formula feeding. Apparently, after three months, only 33% of mothers are still breastfeeding exclusively, and after six months, only 14% are still using breastfeeding only.
So I guess I'll need to talk to the doctor about breastfeeding, and see how breast milk can be stored, so I can stock up. Guess I'll need a breast pump at some point. Sounds like fun.
Have two doctor's appointments scheduled in the next few weeks. The first is an "ultrascreen". This is a combination of an ultrasound and a blood screening, both to find possible genetic problems (Downs, fragile x, stuff like that). Unfortunately, we won't be able to tell the sex of the baby, because it's too early, so we'll probably have to have another ultrasound later on down the line (assuming we're going to find out the sex). But we will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat, which will be pretty cool. That's coming up a week from today. Then, on the next Monday, I have an appointment actually scheduled with the doctor herself (finally). That will be for the pelvic exam (oh joy!) and whatever other assorted things she'll do. So, lots of excitement coming up.
Hopefully, after I've had these appointments, we'll go ahead and start telling people the good news. This way, we'll know if there's anything wrong before we start talking to people. I just don't want to tell people prematurely, in case there is a problem.
Read an interesting article on CNN.com today, about breastfeeding. It suggested that a lack of breastfeeding in the United States contributes to a number of infant health problems, including SIDS and other fatal illnesses. Basically, women should breastfeed ONLY for the first six months, according to research. But because some babies have trouble breastfeeding, and women are busy in the home and the workplace, and there are so many formulas available, many women just opt for formula feeding. Apparently, after three months, only 33% of mothers are still breastfeeding exclusively, and after six months, only 14% are still using breastfeeding only.
So I guess I'll need to talk to the doctor about breastfeeding, and see how breast milk can be stored, so I can stock up. Guess I'll need a breast pump at some point. Sounds like fun.
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