New "Mom's to Be" Thread!

[Tiggerlover91]

I posted this on the new Moms thread too looking for suggestions but here goes. I am pregnant with my 2nd child but they will be 7 1/2 years apart so things have changed alot as far as product choices. I am trying to decide on bottles and breast pumps. Any suggestions on what you have found that works well? I rented a breast pump from the hospital way back then but man it was painful everytime I pumped. Are there any better options now? I was reading about the Avent dual pump but don't know anyone with first hand experience. I used Avent bottles last time too but are there better options out there now? Thanks for some info.

Hi! Welcome!

I started my son on the Playtex Vent Air Wide bottles. He did fine for 2 weeks and no longer liked them. I think the flow in my breast changed therefore causing him to take the bottle differently. I now have him on Playtex Drop Ins and the NUK bottles. He does VERY well with both.

For pumps, I was given the Medela manual pump by the WIC office. I like it a lot. I don't have to pump much, more so for relief when coming home from work and he's already eaten. Frozen breast milk is good for 3-4 months in a refrig/freezer unit and close to a year in a deep freeze unit. I'm getting ready to move all my breast milk to the deep freeze. I'm saving it for when I stop breastfeeding him in a few months. Or whenever he gets teeth.

 

[helenabear]

Congratulations Jenny and Amy!!! I cannot wait to see pics of the new little ones

I posted this on the new Moms thread too looking for suggestions but here goes. I am pregnant with my 2nd child but they will be 7 1/2 years apart so things have changed alot as far as product choices. I am trying to decide on bottles and breast pumps. Any suggestions on what you have found that works well? I rented a breast pump from the hospital way back then but man it was painful everytime I pumped. Are there any better options now? I was reading about the Avent dual pump but don't know anyone with first hand experience. I used Avent bottles last time too but are there better options out there now? Thanks for some info.

Avent is still up there on the top for great bottles. We started off using them, but we switched to Dr. Brown's since Dom has a TON of reflux and gas issues. The Avent were good but Dr. Brown's were a wee bit better. Both are rated as one of the best for preventing colic. I bet we could go back to using Avent bottles, but we only have a few that are bigger than 4 oz and Dom now eats about 4-5 oz every feeding so we can't use them. I am thinking of using the disposible Avents when we travel to WDW this spring.

I'm no help on pumps though. I didn't really produce enough milk (most likely due to my illness at birth) to satisfy him and with his reflux, we didn't get to breast feed for much longer than 2-3 weeks From what my breastfeeding friends have told me though, renting from the hospital is still the way to go. I can't say for sure if that is true or not.

 

[malibuconlee]

Hello ladies!! Hadn't seen our "new" thread yet.

Had an appt with the Dr. on Tuesday. Been fighting a horrible cold all week. Hubby came down with it today.

Scheduled the sonogram for Wednesday 27th and we'll hopefully find out if it's a girl or boy then. I was nervous tho, the doctor had a hard time finding the heartbeat. Guess the baby was bouncing around and not wanting to stay in one spot.

Maybe TMI, but I also have a bacterial infection and have been given the drug they give to alcoholics that makes you violently ill if you have alcohol to take care of it. Neat.

 

[Lisa_M]

I posted this on the new Moms thread too looking for suggestions but here goes. I am pregnant with my 2nd child but they will be 7 1/2 years apart so things have changed alot as far as product choices. I am trying to decide on bottles and breast pumps. Any suggestions on what you have found that works well? I rented a breast pump from the hospital way back then but man it was painful everytime I pumped. Are there any better options now? I was reading about the Avent dual pump but don't know anyone with first hand experience. I used Avent bottles last time too but are there better options out there now? Thanks for some info.

I haven't pumped yet, but I did purchase the Avent Isis Duo pump. It's gotten some great reviews and I think it will be great. Also, the cushions in it are supposed to make it comfortable, although I've read some people get a more comfort by using it without the cushions. Once I start using it, I can let you know how good it is or not. I got an amazing deal on it from Amazon ($163) and couldn't pass it up. I'm planning on freezing the milk and nursing since the baby will be going to daycare. I am going to use Medela breast milk freezer bags (pump in a bottle, dump in the bag). As far as bottles go, we haven't decided yet, but probably Avent or Dr. Brown's, but since this is my first child, I know NOTHING about anything!

Other pumps I looked into was the Ameda Purely Yours (aka Lasinoh pump at Target) and the Medela Pump in Style. Due to the closed tubing nature of the Purely Yours and the lesser cost, I was going to go with that over the Pump in Style because I couldn't afford the Isis Duo.

Congrats on your pregnancy! When are you due?

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Ok, I'll spare you guys all the long boring details and give a quick birth story.

I woke up Tuesday (1/29) around 9 am to a gush! My water broke right in bed! Dh had been taking the kids to school since I was on bed rest, so when he ran back home to get a shower before heading to work, I was able to tell him to sit tight because it was finally time!!! I actually felt relief when my water broke, as the past few days the pressure had been increasing and making it harder for me to sleep or get comfortable. Since the contractions weren't really coming very close together, I decided to just go back to bed. I was up and down a few times during the day, but by 3pm, I still was barely contracting. A friend picked up the kids from school and DH and I decided to go for a walk before heading to the hospital. The Dr said I could come at any time, just to keep watching my contractions and come no later than 9pm. The walk did help, and the contractions were starting to come hard enough to make me stop walking, so we packed the car, and headed in. I was admitted by 7pm, at 5cm, and baby was -2. I took a shower and thought I'd walk some more, but was starting to feel some real pain, so asked for the epidural. By 9pm I had my epi and was 7cm and baby was -1. Epi wore off, I got another one, and things were pretty slow from there. The Dr. checked me again around midnight, I was 9cm, but he was STILL -1. I went to 10cm pretty quickly, but they told me to hang in there until I felt the urge to push. Well, that never really happened, so sometime after 3, I started casually pushing every so often, until the pressure really came. The last few sets were pretty intense, and then he was out at 3:50 am on Wednesday, January 30th. Overall, it was a great birth experience- so much easier than the first two.

We had been going back and forth up until the last minute about whether or not the kids would attend, and since they really wanted to, ultimately decided to let them, and we are so glad we did. They did awesome, DD hung in there all night, DS took a couple hour nap towards the end there. They are completely in awe of their little brother, and it was a wonderful experience for them.

He's such an easy baby so far- of course I say that while I still have DH home and haven't attempted to leave the house. He's just about 3 days old and my recovery has been great, too. I was up and completely unplugged from IV's within a few hours of having him (they won't unhook you til you've peed twice). Other than feeling a little sore where I have a tiny tear/stitches, I feel GREAT! So much better than at the end of my pregnancy. BFing is going really well and I'm just hoping my milk comes in really soon because he's seemed unsatiable today!

He also had no name until birth- we were toying with a few names, but he came out looking more like a Grayson than the other names we were considering, so Grayson Joseph it is.

Ok, it took hours to get this much out in between doing other things, so I'll have to upload pictures later!

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Oh how fun and sweet of them. Do you know what your having? Sorry I can't remember from your previous posts...

Tink~ Any word on getting our list retrieved from the pit? I have one week to go and want to know who's ahead of me and who's coming up.

Amy- How are you doing? Still hanging in there w/ me?


Today was my 39 week appointment. The baby is doing good and she said that the baby's head is quite low (although I didn't have an internal exam). I talked to my midwife about when she is on call vs. the OB and if I go into labor next week during the day I will have her and also anytime after the 9th (OB is going on vacation). So say a little prayer this girl comes before the 9th. I would like to have the midwife there and if there is a complication, my OB, not some stranger OB. How awkward would it be if I had the OB from the office I left at 20 weeks...

I also got a freebie at my visit, an overnight bag and coupon for a free Olan Mills session for the baby. There was supposed to be formula too, but they took it out, since they know I don't want it. I really appreciated that they are taking my feelings into consideration. I would rather it go to someone who can use it.

Glad your appt. went well and I hope you have that baby way before the 9th!

It always annoyed me when they took the free formula out, LOL. I don't plan on supplementing for a while, but would certainly use it before it expires! I can't tell if they took mine out or not. There is a very small sample, not a can like there used to be in the diaper bags.

DH couldn't find the thread the other night so he didn't get to post. Anyway
Noah John
10lbs 7oz
23in long
born at 12:43pm
on 1/28/2008

Mother and Baby are doing well.

All is going pretty good. The last two days I've gottens sick after breast feeding. They think its my blood sugar going too low so now I get to drink a soda and was told to snack more through the day. Has anyone else had this?

We are hoping to go home tomorrow and I'll try and read back through the threads then. Hope everyone is doing good.

Congrats! What a big boy! I can't see your pictures.

Congratulations Jenny and Amy!!! I cannot wait to see pics of the new little ones


Avent is still up there on the top for great bottles. We started off using them, but we switched to Dr. Brown's since Dom has a TON of reflux and gas issues. The Avent were good but Dr. Brown's were a wee bit better. Both are rated as one of the best for preventing colic. I bet we could go back to using Avent bottles, but we only have a few that are bigger than 4 oz and Dom now eats about 4-5 oz every feeding so we can't use them. I am thinking of using the disposible Avents when we travel to WDW this spring.

I'm no help on pumps though. I didn't really produce enough milk (most likely due to my illness at birth) to satisfy him and with his reflux, we didn't get to breast feed for much longer than 2-3 weeks From what my breastfeeding friends have told me though, renting from the hospital is still the way to go. I can't say for sure if that is true or not.

FYI, Target is getting rid of so much of their baby stuff. There is a TON on clearance. Anyway, I grabbed the last 3 8 oz. Avent Tempo bottles my store had- they were 50% off.

 

[jennyL]

Yes I had a planned c-section since they knew he was going to be big just not this big. LOL We came home yesterday and I'm doing pretty good so far. DH and my mom are here so they are doing alot to help out. We are still working on the breast feeding. Noah is having issues with latching but we're working on it and the lactation consultant was showing us different tricks to try and get him sucking but I am able to pump and he's been drinking that when he just doesn't get enough from me or gets to frustrated to keep trying.

He has some jaundice so they sent us home with a billyblanket. He hates it so we are back to the doctors this morning to see if its still necessarry or what else we can do. He was doing ok with the one at the hospital but the one they sent home is different and he just screams whenever we turn it on. His levels were on the way down yesterday so hopefully they are far enough now we won't need it anyway.

Hmm I'll see what happened to the pictures. DH was getting them set up for me so he may have done something different then I usually do. I'll try to get some new ones posted later too.

 

[DVCsince02]

UGH!

I know headaches are normal in pregnancy, but my gosh. It seem like all day every day. I just can't shake them. Anyone else having or had this issue?

 

[Mickeyluver37]

UGH!

I know headaches are normal in pregnancy, but my gosh. It seem like all day every day. I just can't shake them. Anyone else having or had this issue?

I did when I was early on like you, but I think it was just caffiene withdrawal on top of normal 1st trimester tiredness!

 

[HollyJoy]

Hi ladies! I haven't been around much lately.. I don't seem to get too much time to get on here. Basically, I feel like a milk machine! Nursing is going great! Amanda is a champ, and quite the little piglet. We actually bought a pump yesterday, so hopefully that will work out. I need a break from feeding! We're still trying to sort out the whole day/night thing, though the other night, the little princess actually slept for 6 hours! I didn't know what to do with myself when I woke up. I felt very rested! I can hardly believe she's now 2 weeks old! Welcome to all the new mommies-to-be, and congratulations to all the new moms.

Here's a picture I took on Friday, when she turned 2 weeks...

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Hi ladies! I haven't been around much lately.. I don't seem to get too much time to get on here. Basically, I feel like a milk machine! Nursing is going great! Amanda is a champ, and quite the little piglet. We actually bought a pump yesterday, so hopefully that will work out. I need a break from feeding!

Holly, I could have written that myself! I was very blessed to get a brand new, still sealed in the box Madela Pump in Style for $100 (instead of the retail around $300) from a friend who didn't need it, and we've been giving it a workout. Owen wasn't gaining weight during his 2nd and 3rd weeks the way he was supposed to, so the lactation consultants at our HMO had me pump after every time I nursed him, and while I was pumping, DH would give him the bottle from the last time I'd pumped. It was to try and increase Owen's demand at the same time as increasing my supply. It was very successful, but a ton of work! DH didn't go back to work until we got off that schedule.

Now I try to pump two or three times a day just to have extra bottles around, and it's AMAZINGLY wonderful to have a little break every now and then. We've been able to have a date night again and left Owen with DMIL with a bottle...so nice to be out and not worried about the boy or having to rush back to nurse. One of our closest friends lives just around the corner, and she's volunteered to take Owen overnight sometimes for us to let us both get a solid nights sleep, now that we've got some extra bottles stored up. Her boys are both teenagers now, but she still loves babies and has been taking care of new moms and new babies in our neighborhood for years. DH is more hesitant about taking her up on the offer, but then again, he's not the one up nursing the baby every couple hours!

Here's Owen's 6-week-old picture with his dragon, "Bywater" (DH named it - it's a Lord of the Rings reference). He'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow, and I can't believe that 7 weeks ago today this little guy was still inside me, digging his feet into my ribs!

My pregnancy was so uncomfortable, but I just love the end result! Hang in there, all you mommies-to-be!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

UGH!

I know headaches are normal in pregnancy, but my gosh. It seem like all day every day. I just can't shake them. Anyone else having or had this issue?

Yep, have had the migraine type headaches with both pregnancies. Had it early in the first trimester with my dd. This time I didn't have them in the first trimester at all (but did have awful morning sickness that I never experienced with my 1st pregnancy so I didn't get off scott-free either) but I started getting the headaches in the 2nd trimester and still get them some. My pregnancy has been nothing but normal so far and doc says it is just pregnancy related and nothing more. It isn't fun though. I was told I could start taking Tylenol when I hit 12 weeks along but I honestly don't think it helps much.

Congrats to all the ladies that just had their little ones! I am enjoying all the pictures!

As for me, I have my BIG ultrasound on Friday, the 8th, and can't wait! I will be sure to let you guys know the results after I find out. I'm thinking boy right now but dh and dd really want a girl. I don't honestly care what it is but just feel like it is a boy. I have school that day so my u/s isn't till late that afternoon. My dh and dd are going as well and my dd is pretty excited. She loves hearing the heartbeat and seeing the image on the screen. We have kept her very involved with this pregnancy and she has really enjoyed it and understood a lot of it, much to my surprise.

She has been going around the past couple weeks rubbing my stomach, giving it a kiss, and talking in a baby voice to it. Her favorite thing to say is, "Hi, baby! I'm your big sister!" Of course lately she's been saying, "Hi, baby girl!" She is convinced it is a girl. She has told her daycare teacher that we are having a girl and naming it Big Bird. She has quite the imagination. And THIS is a perfect example of why I am more than willing to go through all of it again. I love being a mom!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

She has been going around the past couple weeks rubbing my stomach, giving it a kiss, and talking in a baby voice to it. Her favorite thing to say is, "Hi, baby! I'm your big sister!" Of course lately she's been saying, "Hi, baby girl!" She is convinced it is a girl. She has told her daycare teacher that we are having a girl and naming it Big Bird. She has quite the imagination. And THIS is a perfect example of why I am more than willing to go through all of it again. I love being a mom!

I love it! Your DD sounds very cute!

She reminds me of my friends' DD, who insisted that they were going to name their new baby "Jello". For most of the pregnancy, this 3 yr. old girl was going around telling everyone that her mommy was going to have a new baby girl named Jello! They did end up having another girl, but did not name her Jello, and their DD3 is still miffed. She continues to refer to her new sister as "baby Jello", and her parents are trying to get her to use the baby's real name, but are starting to get used to the idea that this poor child's nickname is probably going to be Jello!

 

[candeeapril]

I can't believe how big the "new' babies look already!! They grow up so quickly. I'm in such a hurry to get mine out and yet I don't want him to grow up?! have a good week mommies

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I LOVE this picture of the two of us!

Somebody had previously peed while mommy was changing him thus the lack of clothes! Look at that bellybutton!!!!!!

How about these two FABULOUS pictures my friend photo shopped for me!! LOVE THEM!!!!

The top says NOTHING LIKE THE LOVE OF A FATHER

Does this picture look familiar??!!

 

[Villain-lover]

Denise..the pictures are so cute...I am sooooo lazy about loading my pics on the computer and posting them!! Sams belly b is just like Mo's, but Zoe has an innie!!

Meredith

 

[Freyja]

I just love this thread and all the cute baby pics. Your babies are all adorable
I´m home with the flu today. Nothing too bad, but definately not feeling well either. Hope I´ll get over it soon. There´s a lot of stuff to do in this 6 1/2 person household.

 

[Bashful in TN]

Sorry it has taken me so long to give an update, but things have been pretty busy! Leo Phillipp was born on Monday, January 28 @ 6:16 pm. He was 7 lbs 10 oz and 20 3/4 inches long.

I woke up at about 5:30 am with contractions. Around 8:30 am I called the doctor because they were 5 minutes apart and lasting about a minute long. They told me to come into the office. By 9:30, I was in a room in labor and delivery and was 4 cm. I got an epidural shortly after that. At 4:00 pm I had finally reached 10 cm and started pushing. The epidural started wearing off around 5:00 so they gave me another dose. It didn't take! The anesthesiologist that did the epidural was now in surgery so he couldn't come in to check it. Another one checked it but wanted to go get the one who had done it to come look at it. Finally, the ob doctor on call shows up and suggested that since the baby's head was so close to coming out, that he could help move things along faster by using the vacuum. We agreed and soon after, our son was born.

We are having problems breastfeeding. He won't latch on because of the way my nipples are shaped (TMI?). The lactation consultant at the hospital suggested I pump and hopefully he would soon be able to latch on. If not, I will just continue to pump.

I'll try to get pictures posted later.

 

[goudaman40]

Hello everyone . . . sorry, I've been away for awhile. I started back to work last Wednesday and have had Abigail in daycare. The first day was so hard for me. I cried and cried while Abigail was laughing when I handed her to the daycare worker.

Hubby was with me for this hand off and helped me alot. As far as the Aunt flow thing, Denise, I am so off the charts with this. I have been nursing since day one and have already had 4 cycles since her birth. My doctor told me "that's so strange", that's when I reminded him that I am the odd one and I surprised everyone with my pregnancy, so why wouldn't I do the same with my cycles.

I'll have to post some pictures later of Abigail.

Tif

 

[Tricia1972]

Hey I was just over here reading around and I didn't know there was a thread for Mom's to be!

Mind if I join you? I am 26w 6 days today with boy number 3. He's a surprise for us, being that I went for fertility treatments for the first two.

DH and I trusted my infertility as birth control and I never really questioned my lack of AF's because that's part of my problem. Imagine my shock when I took a HPT on Sept 16th that came back positive!!

We have two boys (5 and 2), and this will be boy #3 for us. At first we were a little bummed to not be getting a princess at last, but having another beautiful baby got us over our bummed-ness very fast!

Looking forward to getting to know everyone else.