The "Newest" Moms Hangout...

[harleyquinn]

Oh and kellymom was one of the only things that got me through the beginning, so that's why I suggest it so much. Sometimes it's helpful to have a LOT of women in the same position as you in one place.

 

[BabyTigger99]

When we started supplementing for Elliott, I felt like giving up nursing. Elliott had problems latching in the hospital, and one side was so sore from his poor latching. He had also developed thrush which hurt so bad!!! It seemed so much easier to just make a bottle of formula and be done with it. But, I kept at it. Even if he is still getting half as much breast milk as he was before, it is still something! Right now, he nurses on one side (the other side is the one that has always been the problem. He doesn't want to latch onto it, so I am pumping and dumping for a few days from that side, in case it is funky tasting), and then gets a 3 ounce bottle. Go with whatever works for you guys, and don't feel guilty!

 

[december]

I LOVE breastfeeding. I nursed ds12 for 18 mos. But I had to put dd10 on formula at 4 days. Long story. I felt guilt for alot of years-still do-and couldn't wait to nurse Katie, but dd10 is fine, and doesn't get sick nearly as often as ds12!

Is there a reason you are pumping? I pump at work because I have to, but nurse at home (I'm nursing right now). I would not love pumping and giving bottles! It is none of my business-just wondering if there is a reason you are pumping instead of nursing?

 

[goodeats]

I've been lurking in this thread since DD was born, just never really posted. Actually lost my Dis login info, but ArielRae's posts have prompted me to post.

If you want to pump exclusively you really need a Hospital Grade pump for the first month or two- your hospital can rent one to you.

Even then nursing your baby is the best way to build up your supply. Those first few weeks I remember nursing all the time. I can't imagine pumping all that time and then having to clean the pump each and every time. Too much work for me. I know there are people who don't feel comfortable with BF, and would rather pump though. I would read Kelly Mom for information on how to get through growth spurts. Your baby will have one around 10 days, 3 weeks, and then again at 6 weeks. Your baby increases your supply by nursing more often around growth spurts. I would imagine you would need to pump more often to increase your supply also.

Good luck!

ETA - 2 oz would have been a big feeding for DD when she was that age. 3 oz would have been huge. There are charts out there that show how much BF a baby should eat based on their weight. I think in the beginning (DD was 6lb 11oz) she only needed 21 oz or so (check the chart though). Divided by 12 feedings, that's less than 2 oz a feeding. BM is meant to be eaten in smaller quantities more often compared to Formula which can be eaten in larger amounts less often.

ETA again! - If you serve a 2 oz bottle of BM and he only takes an ounce you can serve the other ounce within 2hours as long as it's not reheated. DD took room temp/even cold breastmilk all the time.

 

[staley7580]

Need to vent.

I am doing nothing but pumping right now and feeling I am having no time with the baby. Getting fustrated and disappointed in myself. I am pumping when he is awake and sleeping. I am producing just 2 ounces from both breast with no extra if we wants more which is happening alot. I don't want to warm a 3 oz bottle just for him to not drink an ounce and then be short that ounce for a feeding later. I don't want to only give him 2 ounces and let him be hungry if he wants more.

I'm really considering giving him formula now so I know he is getting enough food and not shorting him. I was able to give birth to him without any drugs which I'm proud of cause I was afraid of problems the drugs could have done to him but now I feel I am letting him down by needing to give him formula.

I am in the mind set that I just want to give up on pumping all together just give formula so I can get some sanity back and be able to focus back on him and not having to pump all the time. I can handle making the formula for the day and giving him what he wants and throwing out any extra that he doesn't drink cause I can just make more unlike my breastmilk.

So basically I feel bad by wanting to go all formula with him but also feel that it will be better for us both as I can feed him what he needs and I don't have to drive myself crazy pumping every 2 hours trying to keep up with him and trying not to short him milk. I know I can do both breast milk and formula but if I don't pump regulary I will lose my milk slowly and I rather get it over with all together then slowly so I can focus on him and not have to be concerned about anything else.

Thanks for letting me vent. I rather hear your thoughts here then from a mom and baby exclusive website.

Having a new baby is HARD. It is totally normal to feel like giving up pumping. I pumped, breastfed, and supplemented for the first 6 weeks after the twins were born. I have two older kids, and I was just drained. For me, I couldnt be a good mom to all four of my kids like that. I know a lot of people go through it, and get through it. But I couldnt. So I just started giving them formula exclusively. Yes... I felt like crap, because these are my last babies, and I wanted to exclusively breast feed them. But I wasnt doing anyone any good they way I was going. Its a very personal decision, dont beat yourself up about it which ever way you go. You are doing what is right for you and your baby. My twins are turning one tomorrow... and the next day. They are happy, healthy babies. Formula, breastmilk... it doesnt matter what they eat, as long as they are loved.

 

[ArielRae]

I have been using the medela swing for pumping. He refuses to latch on properly and my nipples were sore and a mess so I switched to pumping and that was working great but now he is needing more milk then I can pump for him. I am pumping every 2 hours 4 when I sleep until I have nothing left to pump and it is still not enough. I massage, use warm wash cloths, anything to help but still not enough for him. My mom said she went thru the same thing with me and end up using formula too.

I am thinking of just pumping in the morning as I get the most then and giving it to him. If I where to give him a bottle or two of breastmilk a day when do you think would be the best time to give it to him?

 

[yellowfish78]

Everyone is giving such great advice! I remember BFing those first few weeks and totally wanting to give up. It hurt, I went through laniolin like crazy, and I felt like a cow (I swear he ate off off me one night for almost 3 hours straight!). My cousin EP'ed for 6 weeks and then started BFing again...her baby figured out to latch. (She tried a few times a week to see if she'd eat off her again and it finally kicked in with her.)

I don't think it'll matter when you give him BM... but I wouldn't go down to one pumping session all at once either, maybe cut out every other one for a while? You'll be sore if you go from 8 times a day down to just one time a day of pumping.

I also visit the Just Mommies boards too - they have an EBFing thread might be able to help you out too!

Good luck!

 

[goodeats]

Have you seen a lactation consultant about his latch?

 

[harleyquinn]

I have been using the medela swing for pumping. He refuses to latch on properly and my nipples were sore and a mess so I switched to pumping and that was working great but now he is needing more milk then I can pump for him. I am pumping every 2 hours 4 when I sleep until I have nothing left to pump and it is still not enough. I massage, use warm wash cloths, anything to help but still not enough for him. My mom said she went thru the same thing with me and end up using formula too.

I am thinking of just pumping in the morning as I get the most then and giving it to him. If I where to give him a bottle or two of breastmilk a day when do you think would be the best time to give it to him?

Have you tried a nipple shield? It's kind of like a bottle nipple that fits over yours. It makes things easier on the baby and you are protected. It was the only reason I was able to bf for a long time. Then we were able to wean off of it. It's a pain, but so much easier than pumping or making up bottles all the time. Lactation consultants are a god send, but mine wasn't happy we were using it (the first nurse the taught me how to nurse gave me the stupid thing, so we were doomed from the start, but it works!)

I would give the expressed bm as soon as possible. Freshest is bestest.

 

[harleyquinn]

Page 200! lol

 

[staley7580]

Okay.. I have a couple things. We had WIC, and Dr. appointments yesterday. I am really worried about the twins growth,but no one else is. Here are the stats.
Jasmine is 30 inches long, and 21lbs
Vinny is 30 and 3/4 inches long and 23lbs.
NOW... Neither of them are small. Jazzy is in the 90th percentile for length, 75th for weight. Vinny is 90th for length, and 85th for weight. BUT.. They have only gained like 2 or 3 pounds each since their 6 month appts. It seems like they should have gained way more then that, right? On both babies, the growth chart goes up. up. up... then it just about levels out.

The Dr. said they were great, wic said they were fantastic... Shouldnt they have gained more weight though?

 

[Laura]

They grew in height properly, though, right? Seems to me that when babies start moving around more (crawling/walking), they slim up a bit and aren't so chunky. Are you going back to the doc at 15 months?

 

[harleyquinn]

That sounds totally normal to me.

 

[DannysMom]

I have been using the medela swing for pumping. He refuses to latch on properly and my nipples were sore and a mess so I switched to pumping and that was working great but now he is needing more milk then I can pump for him. I am pumping every 2 hours 4 when I sleep until I have nothing left to pump and it is still not enough. I massage, use warm wash cloths, anything to help but still not enough for him. My mom said she went thru the same thing with me and end up using formula too.

I am thinking of just pumping in the morning as I get the most then and giving it to him. If I where to give him a bottle or two of breastmilk a day when do you think would be the best time to give it to him?

ArielRae (sorry I didn't notice if you used your real name anywhere) I'm Valerie & I have almost 2 years of pumping experience from my older son (26 week preemie) as well as pumping for these twins & now nursing one & pumping for the other. First off, your baby is two weeks old, your nursing problems may well be fixable, if you still want to nurse.

Find a lactation consultant to help you. Call the hospital you delivered at to see if they have one on staff to help "their" moms. Call LLL, they offer moms free help (whereas you will have to pay for a LCs help unless the hospital offers that benefit from delivering there.) Many painful latch problems are fixable & some are just a matter of the babys mouth being small-- fortunately babies grow.

Second, if your desire is to exclusively pump, you *need* to rent a hospital grade rental pump, and pump around the clock 8-12 times a day, with breaks of no longer than 4 hours when you sleep. When you pump, you must pump until "empty" and then another 5-10 minutes after to tell your breasts that more milk is needed. At 2 weeks out you need to be actively building your supply, either by nursing or pumping around the clock. Your supply does not automagically show up, if you do not properly build it now, it will slowly dwindle. BTW when lactating our breasts are never truly empty, just tougher to pump, I can always hand express a little ever after nursing and pumping.

Third, if this seems like too much trouble (and we've all had newborns an know how overwhelming everything can be in the first few weeks) and you choose to formula feed instead, just make the choice and move forward to take care of your little one, no regrets. As long as you feed the baby, in the long run, it makes little difference what (breast milk or formula) you choose to feed. Rule number one: feed the baby. Rule number two: enjoy the baby.

Sorry this turned into a novel. You have a lot of experienced moms here, to offer advice or support, no matter what you decide to do.

 

[justhat]

Staley - Both of mine did basically the same thing. My son was 19lbs by 6 months old and 21lbs at a year. My daughter was 16lbs at 6 months and 19lbs at 1 year. I think the big difference, with my kids anyway, was that they started crawling at 7 months, walking at 10-11 months (depending on the kid), so they were using a lot more calories up. Also, once the walking started, their interest in sitting at the table and eating got much shorter so they ended up taking in less than when they were willing meal participants at 6-9 months.

And in general as they get older they gain less. Like that first year my oldest went from 8.4lbs to 19.8lbs and in the 2nd year she only got up to 24lbs. And since your kids are nowhere near the bottom of the scales I wouldn't be concerned at all. If you had noticed they went from 95th percentile to 25th, then I would be looking into it.


ArielRae - I agree about trying a lactation consultant, or even just ask the pediatrician or your OB for some help. Nursing is, for me, a million times easier than exclusive pumping (as I did that with my first for awhile for several issues) and I know I could never last pumping all the time. And you do need to use the hospital grade pump, but you likely can't go every 4 hours at night yet, you'd probably have to do it every 2 hours. At least I had to. I didn't have a hospital grade pump though (I have a Medela Pump in Style Advanced), so maybe that was difference? But I had to do it every time I fed my daughter. So I'd pump both sides at once, while holding a bottle in her mouth as she was propped up in the Boppy pillow. If I didn't pump while feeding her I never would have slept, overnight anyway, so as crazy a sight it was, that's what I did. I'd save 1 bottle from that pumping session for the next feeding and refrigerate or freeze the other one. I was pumping 4oz bottles and she would eat about 2oz at a meal, every 2 hours around the clock.

I also had a lot of nipple soreness in the beginning with every one of my kids. With my daughter I was pumping which eliminated the pain, but with my 2nd and 3rd I only pumped when I was engorged and the pain took 1-2 weeks to totally go away, so I think some amount of pain initially is normal, even with a good latch. My son was an expert latcher, but my 3rd had to be trained, but I had the pain with both.

 

[DannysMom]

Okay.. I have a couple things. We had WIC, and Dr. appointments yesterday. I am really worried about the twins growth,but no one else is. Here are the stats.
Jasmine is 30 inches long, and 21lbs
Vinny is 30 and 3/4 inches long and 23lbs.
NOW... Neither of them are small. Jazzy is in the 90th percentile for length, 75th for weight. Vinny is 90th for length, and 85th for weight. BUT.. They have only gained like 2 or 3 pounds each since their 6 month appts. It seems like they should have gained way more then that, right? On both babies, the growth chart goes up. up. up... then it just about levels out.

The Dr. said they were great, wic said they were fantastic... Shouldnt they have gained more weight though?

Did you see their growth plotted on the charts the doc keeps? It seems like weight gain does slow after the first 6-9 months. You can see growth charts here: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/growthcharts2/Childrens_Growth_Charts.htm

They sound like they are great weights to me. Not undersized by any means. Try not to worry, I think you've done a great job mom! Ohand I agree, babies often seem to first gain weight & then sort of stretch out to fit that weight, so weight comes first & then height.

 

[Piecey]

Staley (did you tell us your name once? Is it Heather or is someone else on here Heather?? I know people shared names and the only ones I remember religiously are the people I am Facebook friends with.)

It sounds right to me. My pediatrician told me that he expected to see lots of weight gain from Lucas until he started moving. At his 6 month, he wasn't even crawling yet so he was pleased with the weight gain. He told me once he starts moving they expect it to go down. Plus, he said solids have less calories than bm/formula. I think he told us that, maybe I read it somewhere?! So the more solids, the less calories in general the kiddo is getting compared to what they used to get. Of course, when he told me that Lucas was only eating veggies (carrots, peas, green beans, etc.) so that might only be true of vegetables.

Maybe you can attibute it to the fact that it's a bigger apartment so they have more room to roam!


*Eta* Has anyone ever done the MOMS club thing? I found a local chapter. They don't have a website with anything very informative, just e-mail addresses to send a message for more info. I'm tempted. Now that I don't go to class anymore I think it'd be something good to do to get out of the house and for Lucas, too. I'm just not really sure I want to do it by myself... might wait for my friend and try to do it together.
I'm so ready for it to warm up! We live a few blocks from the park and we're definitely going to take advantage before I get too swollen this summer I need to get out of here!!!

 

[harleyquinn]

So we had an exciting adventure last night. I got home and DH and I had the same idea to go out to dinner. So we all get ready and go. On the way to the restaurant, we hear her poop and DH tells me to turn around and go home. I lol and say, "I am capable of changing her at the restaurant, I've done it before."

So we park and DH pulls her out and says, "I thought so, she pooped through, I told you to go home." *sigh* I brought her an extra onsie, but not pants. At this point we decide to run into target to buy pants and change her. WORST DECISION I have ever made in my life. lol

I run in while DH is getting her out of the car. I find a pair of pants and checkout. Go up to the restrooms where DH is waiting. Take her in and set her down to change her and what happens next will haunt me forever. lol She just screamed and screamed like she's never screamed before. I got her clean and naked and picked her up to comfort her. Meanwhile like 5 other women have come in and out of the bathroom, looking at me with sympathy or condesencion depending on the person. As soon as I put her down she screams again. SO I work as quickly as possible, picking her up 4 or 5 more times in the process. Finally we are done...the stupid pants are way too small, even though I got 12 months. lol

I take her out and DH looks at me and says, something like, "what did you do to her?" Not mean really, but at this point I need to take my emotions out on someone and I'm just waiting for him to say just about anything and I'm going to blow up (I have a horrible temper). He takes her from me and as were walking in the parking lot, he said something (I have no idea what, I can't remember through my uber upsetness), and I lost it a bit (really not too bad on the normal 'Sarah has lost it scale.' I said something mean back.

Luckily DH loves me and is probably the only person on the planet that knows to respond to me in a positive way and he diffuses me right away. By the time we get to the car, we decide to just stop for Chik-fil-a cuz that always makes us happy. As DH is driving over I ask him about the comic shop (he ALWAYS goes to the comic shop on Wednesdays, so that was part of the plan for this trip) and he says he'll come back after dropping us off.

I almost lose it again. There is no way he's going to drive all the way home (about 4 miles? lol) and leave me with the still upset (but sorta okay) DD, so he can drive all the way back to where we were right then, when he can just stop there now. He gets a little mad, but turns around and heads to the shop.

We manage to survive the trip and get food and get home. Lily is still upset/tired/cranky, so we spend the next hour and half trying to get her to sleep and I just crashed with her. We slept great! Yay!

Got up this morning, and she is totally not herself still. She SCREAMED again when I changed her. I had to take her off the changing table and go to the couch and that still didn't work wonderfully. She barely let me put her down to get ready for work.

My mom brought her a new toy which she was entralled with when I left.

I've never been so happy to be at work.
Thanks for letting me get all of that out.

Oh and BTW her original pants were clean, she just soiled the onesie. lmao

 

[harleyquinn]

*Eta* Has anyone ever done the MOMS club thing? I found a local chapter. They don't have a website with anything very informative, just e-mail addresses to send a message for more info. I'm tempted. Now that I don't go to class anymore I think it'd be something good to do to get out of the house and for Lucas, too. I'm just not really sure I want to do it by myself... might wait for my friend and try to do it together.
I'm so ready for it to warm up! We live a few blocks from the park and we're definitely going to take advantage before I get too swollen this summer I need to get out of here!!!

I found 3 local groups. One of them I absolutly love and actually knew a few people from the library that are part of.

One of them meets when I work, so I can't be a part of them, but they are super well organized and have speakers come in to talk to the moms while the babies are watched elsewhere (I'm speaking to them next week).

And the third just rubs me the wrong way for some reason. They have lots of playdates at our mall and things.

SO I say go for it! If they rub you the wrong way, you can leave, but if they are great you and Lucas will get so much out of it!

 

[hotveggy]

Okay.. I have a couple things. We had WIC, and Dr. appointments yesterday. I am really worried about the twins growth,but no one else is. Here are the stats.
Jasmine is 30 inches long, and 21lbs
Vinny is 30 and 3/4 inches long and 23lbs.
NOW... Neither of them are small. Jazzy is in the 90th percentile for length, 75th for weight. Vinny is 90th for length, and 85th for weight. BUT.. They have only gained like 2 or 3 pounds each since their 6 month appts. It seems like they should have gained way more then that, right? On both babies, the growth chart goes up. up. up... then it just about levels out.

The Dr. said they were great, wic said they were fantastic... Shouldnt they have gained more weight though?

Allison only gained 1 pound between 6 and 9 months and I was VERY concerned but the pedi wasn't. She grew an inch or so I think (can't remember). She had been sick twice and started crawling during that time so that is what he said was expected. We go back in about 2 weeks for her one year so I am intested to see how much she has gained. She definitely eats more solids and less milk now a days.