The kid thread: Planning, pregnancy & parenting

[Sam_2.0]

Palmetto - they are Huggies boxes at CVS. The deal is buy a box for $19.99, get $3 EB (store-cash) back. I had $2.50 Huggies coupons + a $4/20 store coupon, and other built-up store cash to use. I know stockpiling does not work for everyone, but at $3/box its too good of a deal to pass up for now, and SIL can always use what I don't (since she's having quads!)

CVS is great if you have one nearby. You can check out the Grocery Thread for the details (don't try to read it all, just jump in on the current page & go!). The real trick to making it all work is to wait until there's a good sale, and then pair up coupons with the sale. Doing that gets me a TON of stuff for free.

[soon2bmomof3]

Drama,

If Gwen's going through a growth spurt, it will feel like you're losing your supply, but just be sure to stay hydrated (hard for me b/c I *hate* drinking water) and get enough sleep. When you get to the point where Gwen's spurt is over and you're over supplying again, pump and store the extra.

With DS I was able to EBF for about 7/8 months and continued while supplementing until a year.

With DD, I was only able to BF for 3 months, then I caught a cold from DS and the meds dried me up.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

How long does the growth spurt last? She's going to be 6 months on the 23rd. I am sticking it out but I think adding a single bottle with formula a day isn't going to hurt and might help sanity wise. I am so run down and out of energy trying to pump three times at work and then get everything done at home while cramming in another pump session.

Even with DH's help I am barely able to keep up. He can't breastfeed, he can't pump and at $6 a pop I am not going to let him drink my tea to see what happens.

God I drink enough water that I want to yak any time I think about drinking more.

[telephus44]

Back on today - this sure is an active thread!

Kristi - glad I'll have some else on here trying for #2 at the same time. My IUD is coming out on 1/19 - tried to take it out before Christmas, but the strings are gone and they need to use a camera to go in and find it. Everything I find online says you can try right away, but I probably won't get all crazy with charting and stuff for a month or so. And I had to laugh at what you'll remember from your c-section - I have a very clear memory of the two doctors discussing whether they preferred K-Y or generic jelly for paps. That's what I remember most from my c-section!

dramaq1015 - my milk supply also tapered off about 5-6 months, and I was staying home full-time. I tried pumping around the clock, a couple types of tea, lots of water, and then finally went to formula. What I couldn't stand was that while he was awake, he would nurse every 45 minutes, but only nurse for about 15 minutes (after the first let down was gone). He was just hungry all the time. I finally figured I might be a bad mom for not breastfeeding, but I wasn't going to let him starve. I remember the first bottle I made he drank 8oz and finally slept for a long nap. It took me a while to get over, but I made peace with my decision and don't think I'm a bad mom for doing so. I figured he was 6 months old and he went from 6lbs1oz to 15lbs7oz, so he got about 9 and a half pounds of breastmilk!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

That's what is weird about the whole thing for me. She eats at 4 pm when we get home and has been falling asleep at about 5:30 pm and will go clear till 11:30-midnight before she eats again. Then she's up at 12, 2 and 4.

Then she isn't eating every couple of hours during the day even at daycare.

I am just not pumping enough to meet her needs at daycare. I talked to them about it and she is eating it all it isn't being thrown away. I double check on her report sheet and what she eats adds up to what I pumped. I've been keeping careful track to make sure that they aren't disposing of it.

So it seems like I am producing enough when I EBF, but the stupid pump doesn't have the ability to drain me as well as she does so I am only getting 4.5 oz at a time.

[yogiii]

drama - I went through the same thing, DS will be 8 months soon and I am still EBF. We didn't start solids until 6 months but part of that was due to his colic which lasted until 5.5 months. I think he was ready for solids around 5.5 months and if I had the same exact kid again, I would have started them two weeks earlier, oh well. I was stubborn and did an extra pumping session every night from the time he was one month old until just last week to build up a supply/keep up because I've always been a low producer.

That said, I don't think going to formula is bad and if that is what you want to do and what will make you relax then do it. Giving Gwen some solids might be a good idea too, I'm not sure how much I agree with the 6 months rule, I think as a mom you can tell when your baby is ready. I waited until 6 months but I'm not sure I would do it again given the same circumstances.

I also pump 3 times at work. About 4 days after starting solids DS went from two MOTN feeds to 1. He stayed at 1 until just a few days ago when he STTN (he also just started on 3 solids meals). There is hope drama!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

We are thinking about trying some cereal in small amounts. My ped said when she drinks 6 oz consistently, weighs 16 pounds or is 6 months. Since I am producing only four with pumping I have no clue what she is eating when I EBF (I am pretty sure it is more) and then I don't own a scale.

DH thinks we should just go ahead since it is only three more weeks till she is 6 months.

[soon2bmomof3]

Not sure how true this is, old wives' tales and all...If you're really tired of water/tea, you can make yourself some pig's feet soup with lots of peanuts. You don't have to use a pig's foot, you can use pork ribs or some other part. Something in the pork and the peanuts is supposed to help/increase your supply.

Like I said, old Chinese beliefs.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I just don't really have a ton of drinking options. Ever since I got pregnant caffiene now makes me jittery, it used to not affect me at all but if I drink a pop after noon I am awake all freaking night. Probably because I didn't drink it while pregnant (gave me heartburn) so I am more suspectible.

Then I don't drink alcohol and shouldn't drink a ton anyhow.

So that leaves tea, water and lemonade. BAH!

[Deleted]

thanks for the congrats everyone!

I just remembered I have to schedule myself for the genetic testing. I'm getting really tired of giving blood though.

[soon2bmomof3]

soup, milk, juice, smoothies...

That's about all I can come up with.

[mommax4]

Is waiting until 6 months the new normal for solids now? I had always been told a range (4-6 months), depending on if your child was showing readiness signs (watching spoons of adults, etc). I think I always started closer to 4 months than 6.

Drama-do you have a normal (adult) scale at home? If so, you could step on it both with her and without her and calculate the difference to see if she is up to 16 pounds yet?

[kristi28]

Drama: Two things. First, it sounds like Gwen has gotten in the habit of taking her longest sleep at a time other than in the middle of the night. Baby girl did that (her time of choice was a 12:30 in the afternoon). It was really hard to go ahead and pester her mercilessly during that time so that she couldn't get good sleep then, but a few days of that and we were able to get her long sleep shifted to night.

It was totally worth it! To be fair, after my first decent night sleep in almost six months, I woke up totally freaked out. I thought that for sure something had happened to her, as she had never let me sleep in the night before.

About the BFing. It is great that you made it this far, and do what you can to meet your goals. Six months a lot longer than many moms can make it, and remember that Gwen also needs a mommy who is physically and emotionally healthy. If EBF is interfering with that, you are not a bad mother if you go partially or exclusively to formula.

Telephus: That's great! I am going off of my BC at the end of this cycle. We aren't going to worry too much about charting for a couple of months, as they say that your cycle can be irregular, but hopefully soon.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I'll talk to the daycare and see what she is doing. She sleeps a lot there but they made mention she is getting up and staying up longer. I'll see how long she is napping htere again and ask them to keep her up if she is going past 3 hours.

We can try keeping her up so she doesn't fall asleep till around 7:30 again. DH thought that maybe she is going to bed too early and that's why she wakes up at midnight and then seems to cat nap.

[econstudent]

I started pumping yesterday so that I can have a little milk saved for when I go back to work and school. I am just going to pump once every evening for now. I will be in class 2 or 3 nights a week for 2.5 hours so DH may not even need to feed her then, and she will be in daycare 2 full days each week.

My questions:

How much milk should I put in each bag? Do I put the whole pumping session or should I divide it if I get a lot? I got 5 oz. last night (in 12 minutes), so I put that in one bag.

When did you all first introduce bottles to your babies? DH has been wanting to feed her one for awhile, but I wanted to make sure that Maggie and I were both completely comfortable with nursing first. We are now, but I hate to give up being her exclusive source of food.

If you have any other tips, please share!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

They say you are not supposed to give them one till six weeks because of nipple confusion, but we gave Gwen a bottle from almost day one and she's never had any issues at all going back and forth. She's refused a bottle on principle, especially if I am around, but I've never experienced nipple confusion with her or anything.

If the baby is weeks I'd go 3 oz per bag because that is about what she is eating or soon will be. You aren't supposed to leave breastmilk out once it has been sucked on in a bottle, but we personally never had any problems saving the bottle in the fridge till the next feeding.

If you are concerned about it I'd do 3 oz per bag, he can always thaw another one if she wants more.

That's what I do for daycare so none goes to waste.

[gusitarenker]

So this explains why the other board is so slow! Everyone is over here! I need to catch up on everything.
I'm still with child, but I come bearing good news! I had my appointment today, and I am 2 centimeters dilated, completely thinned out, and baby is in position ready to go. I will be induced Monday, 1/10 at 5:30 AM if he doesn't come before then. The doctor swept my membranes, and I came home to a bunch of bloody mucus (never thought bloody mucus would get me so excited!). So, I will get to meet my baby Brett 1/10 if he doesn't come before then! I'm psyched. I do have to go Friday to the doctor's office just to get my blood pressure checked. It was 129/91 today, so still high.

[boosmom]

econ - Since your LO is still young (<1 month), I'd also agree that 3 oz. per bag would be plenty for a feeding. You do want to use the milk within 1-2 months just so that it matches with baby's age, since BMilk changes in nutrients to match the baby's development.

mommax3 - Our ped was okay with starting cereal at 5 months and then fruits/veggies at 6 months. I guess it just depends on your dr.

drama - it was interesting that #2 never drank as much BMilk in a bottle at the sitter's as he did if was just straight formula. During the day, he'd be fine with the 6oz of BMilk. But at night, if his bedtime bottle was formula, he could drink 8-9 oz. I wouldn't recommend driving yourself crazy with pumping (even though I did). I think for me, pumping was a way to soothe the mommy guilt I had that I couldn't SAH with my kids. So, I pushed myself to keep pumping until 1 year (but they still got a little formula too). I think I might've enjoyed that first year a lot more if I had been more flexible about giving more formula and not obssessing about BFing. Also, I second trying to move that bedtime back to 7:30. #2 always wanted to go to sleep early 6 - 6:30 - 7. We kept working with him to make it to 7:30 at the earliest. He's still an early riser though. No matter what time bedtime is, always up early.

[mom2-4monkeys]

Jan 5, 2011 11:31:15 GMT -5 nasagreen said:

omg - i'm 25 weeks and i am living with my in-laws. my parents have a second house that we are planning on moving into 3/1...but i just talked to my mom and she thinks she told the current renters to be out by 4/1...that is only 3 weeks before my due date. i need to try not to break down and freak out until i know for sure what the renters were told, but still...that would mean an extra 4 weeks of living with in-laws, 3 weeks to set up the entire house for the baby, and moving in between.....

Nasagreen
I know just what you mean. I was pregnant with my second set of twins and in the process of moving. It was kind of nice for me only because I was only "allowed" to direct other on what needed to be done. I did do some of the packing, but mostly just told others. We had our beds set up at the new house, ( dh & i, the 2 girls, and 2 cribs for the boys) and some dressers. I had the boys and our familes did ALL the rest while I was in the hospital. By the time i came home (5 days) it actually looked like a house! Of course the garage was full of boxes for about 8 months, but hey whatta ya gunna do? You will be fine! Just remember to ask for help!!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Gwen's always been a 5 am-6 am baby no matter what we do, but maybe I can get her to waking up in the middle of the night back down to once if I keep her up till 7:30 pm.

It's funny when she wakes up because she's started talking ot her self and I'll go over to see what she's doing. She'll give me the biggest smile in the world and thump her arms and legs on the bassinet mattress. It's so cute.

I bring her into bed with me for an hour. I like it because it is one of the few times I don't have to share her and she doesn't want my boobs.

I'll just listen to her chatter or let her examine my face till I fall asleep again, when I wake up she's usually snoozing.

Crossing my fingers for you Gusita, good luck!

[regina24601]

Acckkk!! Gusita - I'm so freakin excited for you!!! Omg...your news just makes it all that much more real for me, too!! I have my appointment tomorrow, so hopefully I've made some progress as well!! Keep us updated!!!

[boosmom]

gusita - glad that your BP is down from the last time, and things are progressing. I'm a January kid as is #1. Hope everything goes smoothly and Brett will be here soon, by choice or eviction.

#1 had a birthday party she went to over the weekend, and then she told me she wanted a birthday party. Unfortunately, that was pretty much no notice, so I said it would be late if she wanted a party. She changed her mind the next day and said she just wanted to invite one friend (the birthday girl from the weekend) to go out with us rather than a bigger party. I guess I will have to check with her next year, if she wants a party. Most of the parties kids around here have are out and about, not at their home with simple games and cake. It gets expensive fast, so a party every year is not an option.

[boosmom]

nasa - I hope for your sanity, it's not 4/1. Maybe you can get a lot of volunteers to help you guys move in. I think I have learned to stress a little less. Baby will come whether you're ready or not (thank you #1) and you just figure it out as you go along. Good luck!

[econstudent]

Thanks for the pumping/bottle introducing tips. I had also heard the 6 week guideline, but we really can't wait that long because I start classes back when she'll be just over 5 weeks old, and DH has to be able to feed her if she gets hungry. She won't start daycare until about 7 1/2 weeks though. I'll start just putting 3 oz. per bag. Good point that we can just use another bag if she's still hungry. I think by just pumping once a day for now I shouldn't get too far ahead with the milk--I do want to make sure that the milk she is eating matches her current age pretty well.

Gusita!! You are really almost there! I hope you go into labor naturally soon. It's sounds like it could happen any time, especially with the bloody mucus and if his head is low. I hope the last few days of your pregnancy are easy.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I never had any problems, from talking to the LC she said if baby has a good latch already on your breast you shouldn't have any problems with nipple confusion. Usually what happens is the baby learns to suck on the bottle one way, but that is not how the boob works. So baby gets a poor latch when going from bottle back to boob.

If you aren't having problems latching there is no need to wait 6 weeks before introducing a bottle.

Depends on the bottle too I found. Gwen had trouble with Dr. Brown's she was able to get it too far down and would choke. Playtex Drop Ins have become our standard bottle of choice, plus I like that I can just drop and toss the bags, I don't have to worry about washing the bottle every time I want to use it again. I just have to wash the nipples and give the bottle a brief wipe down.

A good idea for introducing the bottle is make sure DH does it first. We had troubles with me doing it because Gwen knew my boobs were underneath my shirt and she wasn't going to suck on a bottle when she knew that boobs were available.

Start doing bottles BEFORE you go back to school. She may decide at first she doesn't want the bottle and you don't want the first time to be when you are in class and DH is stuck at home with a wailing hungry baby.

She'll take it eventually if she gets hungry enough, but it is a PITA and a lot easier to do when you can do it as a team rather than having it dumped on you.

[econstudent]

Thanks, Drama. I wondered about the types of bottles...I got some tommee tippee bottles because they are supposed to be good for breastfeeding babies, and I have a few other types of bottles that people have given us. I guess it will be trial and error. We did want to start trying the bottles soon so that she'll be used to the idea before I won't be here. I figured that I'll go in another room and DH will be "alone" with her, but not so alone that I won't be able to help him if he needs it at first. I'd like to make this as easy on all of us as possible!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

We went thru Dr. Brown, Playtex Ventaire (Stupid dog ate the seals!), another one that was supposed to mimic my boobs exactly (Forget the brand and no it did not). We finally settled on Playtex Drop Ins.

[econstudent]

It would be nice if we could get the platex drop-ins to work without nipple confusion. I have used those to feed my nephew and they are awesome...so much easier to clean.

[kgb18]

Hi ladies!! How is everyone? I only have a few minutes, but I wanted to drop in and say hi. My new/old job is going great. I'm so busy, which is actually good because the day goes faster. I'm winding down my shift. I'm just waiting for a phone call with some more details about an attempted homicide. Fun, fun stuff!

Meg, I hope you're ok!

Drama, Avery goes through growth spurts where she eats a ton and sleeps a lot. She's in one right now. They seem to last for a week or so.

Gusita, How exciting!! It's so exciting that you're going to have your baby soon.

[boosmom]

kgb - glad that the job is going so well!

I did ask Virgil to copy over the other thread for reading pleasure. But, we may as well continue using this thread for current posts.

Thank you Virgil!!!