The Official New Mom Thread Part 2

[Ginamarie]

Hey Ryan! My brother and future SIL got the Wii for Christmas. It was a lot of fun! We played with it on Christmas too. The bowling game was the best, and I liked all the choices for making your character look like you.

nyprincess- glad to hear that everyone is feeling better at your house, and you'll be having your baby so soon!

 

[icebrat001]

Quick post for the Tampa readers.

Stop by Davis Island, Extreme Makeover is taping. Just follow hyde park until you see the water, signs are everywhere.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Ryan~ I am so glad to see you! We've missed you! Do you plan to go to WDW in May again this year? I think we are going to try to go. If you are, let me know and we can compare notes through PM or something.

nyprincess~ I am glad to hear you have a date scheduled for your c-section and I am glad to hear Jose Jr. is feeling better.

Hi to everyone else! Hmmm...I like alternate universes and fraliens. I might have to check out that spaceship!

 

[ryan840]

Hey look, two posts in less than 24 hours- it's a miracle! Thanks for the welcome back and the compliments on my siggie pics- as you can see by the "jumping pumpkin to come" they need updating! I can't believe Jack-Jack is going to be one next month He's still a major pain in the butt, but I think we'll renew our lease for at least another year As I type he is letting me know in no uncertain terms that he didn't appreciate my putting him down

fabumouse- how are the horses and fraliens getting along? not causing too much trouble I hope! Sounds like a fun Christmas!



J&D- Love the abduction smiley, too funny! What is this I read about a new Nemo ride? Am I that out of the loop???

lissawynn- How are you feeling? Is the remodel done or close to it?

icebrat- I think I read that you now have Tess home with you, CONGRATULATIONS! I also saw something about her having trouble adjusting, are things getting any better yet? Hang in there, it will take time but things will all work out and she will turn out to be a great person who can realize her full potential thanks to you and DP.

nyprincess- I haven't "met" you yet, welcome to the thread! How exciting to have your surgery date scheduled! I have an Alex too, Alexander David, and like vald we call him A.D. on occasion. I think that Alex may be the most popular name on our thread, how many do we have now?

vald- Nice motto In spite of recent occurances we've been pretty good on this thread, I must say.

DisneyPhD- Great to "see" you again, I'll be out your way on Tuesday, I have an interview at Beaumont to volunteer for the parenting program- I'm hoping it will help me snap out of this funk (plus if I get in I get to see newborn babies all the time, and what's better than that? ). How nice to have your DH home for a whole month, mine was home for a week and it was heaven! I'm glad to hear Caylen is doing well and that the adoption is finalized, it must be such a relief!


Dizagain-

Ginamarie- The Mii characters and bowling are for sure the best part of the Wii- we had a total of 18 people here on Christmas and everyone had their own Mii, even Jack-Jack. You think that may have had something to do with why everyone was playing the whole time? My DH's character looks EXACTLY like him, it 's a bit creepy.

Tasha- How's school going? We desperately want to go to WDW in May, but unless my inheritance from my grandma comes through by then (they need to sell the house first) we won't be able to. So I remain cautiously optimistic and of course I'm scouting flight deals. If we do go we'll definately have to meet up, we'll be going at our usual time, first or maybe second week in May. Are you planning on going for Kylie's birthday again?

Well, I have to go bail a baby out of the shower, (he's with DH) I'll talk to you all later

 

[fabumouse]

Ryan - "Renew the lease" you are too funny! Wow - 18 people for the holidays - I think I'd need to be medicated after that.

We did have a fun holiday, although the volume of presents from the grandparents went up exponentially with *two* kids. I think next year I'm going to suggest a fun and useful *savings bond*.

 

[poohangel]

ryan, the kiddos in your sig are so adorable. I really like the one where they are looking at each other!!

 

[gottalovethem]

OK, I'm out of the loop, what's Wii??

NYprincess - glad your little guy is feeling better and congrats on the scheduled C-section. It will be here before you know it!

Ryan - how sweet Dh bathing the baby in the shower

Diz, Fab, GM, Icebrat, Disneyphd, poohangel, Val, Tasha & all other DIS moms, Hello!

 

[DisneyPhD]

Ryan, I am (or was) a Beaumont parent program volunteer. I lead a small parent group after Lily was born. It is a good program. I am considering being a lactational support person too (I really should, it is something I really belive in and want to help people with.) I am just a few miles from the hosptial (1 1/2 up Woodward.) I hope it does help you. The women in the program are really great.

 

[Ginamarie]

OK, I'm out of the loop, what's Wii??

NYprincess - glad your little guy is feeling better and congrats on the scheduled C-section. It will be here before you know it!

Ryan - how sweet Dh bathing the baby in the shower

Diz, Fab, GM, Icebrat, Disneyphd, poohangel, Val, Tasha & all other DIS moms, Hello!

The Wii is the new nintendo game system that came out right before Christmas. They have a remote control handpiece that you hold as if it's your bowling ball/tennis racket, etc. It senses the way you move your arm and hand and moves the game accordingly. Pretty high tech!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Tasha- How's school going? We desperately want to go to WDW in May, but unless my inheritance from my grandma comes through by then (they need to sell the house first) we won't be able to. So I remain cautiously optimistic and of course I'm scouting flight deals. If we do go we'll definately have to meet up, we'll be going at our usual time, first or maybe second week in May. Are you planning on going for Kylie's birthday again?

School is going fine so far. I'm just counting down the months till graduation at this point but that won't be here till May 2008. I can't believe Jack is already about to be a year old! Wow! I am betting he has changed a bunch since those pics in your signature, hasn't he?

I hope that you will get to go to WDW again this May but I know what you mean about being cautiously optimistic. As far as I know we will be able to go but you know how that goes. We won't be there for Kylie's b-day this time since my exams aren't over until the 8th of May. We are tentatively hoping to go around May 10-17. We do plan to celebrate her b-day there though since she won't know the difference of a few days anyway at this age. If you by any chance do get to go around that time then, by all means, PM me and maybe we can meet up! It sucks that we just missed eachother last time.

I am out of the loop too. This was the first I really heard of the Nemo ride. I am definitely going to have to check that out. And you know that I can't wait to see the new changes that were done to POTC since we were last there!

 

[bellacam]

DisneyPHD - I just read your post about being a LC. I know from your past posts how pro BF you are and I completely respect that. As a new mom twice over I am pretty sensitive to the whole FF/BFing topic. I had wonderful LC's in the last two years with both my babies. While they were very supportive of bfing, when both my children had various issues with nursing, they were also supportive of supplementing with formula. I have read your posts on how anti formula you are and had to wonder how you would approach that issue. Most new moms are already in a sensitive state and if there are issues with BFing, it only makes it harder. Is it going to be hard for you to be supportive of mothers who chose to supplement or give up BFing all together?

 

[fabumouse]

Bellacam - that's a great question, re - being a lactation consultant. I know when I was in the hospital with my youngest, the consultants there were *very* respectful of my decisions on this matter and asked a lot of questions. Once they realized that I was going to breastfeed and needed to pump because the baby was in the special care unit, they were super helpful, but they never pushed anything on me.

And with that being said, I still use formula to make my life easier - like the yucky dental work I had done yesterday for hours. Dh was more than happy to help me out there by making a bottle.

 

[lissawynn]

PhD - How do you feel about us moms who make a choice from way before the baby even arrives not to bf? I can tell you that I never even considered that as an option for my son. As a teacher who was returning to work after eight weeks, I would not have had the schedule to pump, etc. while I was at work.
From the moment my son was born, the entire hospital staff was completely supportive of my decision not to bf, as was my DH and entire family. Not one of those professionally trained staff persons ever questioned my decision to formula feed. In fact, they were wonderful when the first type of formula we tried wasn't working out too well (Similac). Once we switched to Enfamil, things were wonderful.
I think if you choose to bf your children, that's wonderful. I also think if you choose to use formula, that's great too. From what I've read and heard from many of the regular posters on this thread for the past two years is that's there's a lot of negative emotions and questioning one's self if bf doesn't go smoothly, even after the support of a LC.
I hope, for the woman you may see, that you can separate your personal feelings about bf and what has always seemed to me to be an anti-formula stance, and approach each new mother as an individual who just might not be cut out to bf.
Also, before anyone starts throwing out statistics about the health benefits of bf, etc., I want to say that I've read much of the information (who could read all of those studies?). As an educated professional (I'm gonna throw my credentials out there this morning, B.A. in English, cert. of secondary education, and a M.S. in Education), I did take that information into consideration. BUT my son, who will be 2 in 10 days, has been perfectly healthy. Yes, he's had the occasional runny nose and 3 ear infections, but I bring home a myriad of germs on a daily basis, no matter how many times I wash my hands or disinfect my classroom (and I do that a lot because I'm a clean freak). From what my ped. told me after the last ear infection, allowing a child to drink while lying down is a major cause of ear infections. I'll be the first to admit, we did allow him to do that until we had that information.
When Annabel arrives in a few weeks, she'll be formula fed, too. I have every hope that she is perfectly healthy, just like her big brother.

ryan - It's nice to see you again. Yes, the addition is done, for the most part. We've moved upstairs and are enjoying our new space. Annabel is scheduled to arrive on Valentine's Day, but I would be very happy to see her sooner.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Morning all! I have a few minutes while a Sesame Street video is running--poor Luke was really gassy last night, and still fussy on sleeping, so I know he's tired.

We've been having a nice, quiet weekend. We found out the spelling bee is Thursday, so Robert's been asking for words to spell all day and night. I'm glad he's taking this seriously, and he can even spell "hors d'ouevre".

DH ahs the older two skiing today, so they should be nice and tired tonight!

ryan--it's good to see you! My baby is going to be 1 next month, too--I can't believe it! It's a little sad, too, because he's my last.

DisneyPhD--I have to concur with the others on LC's. Our hospital has a great one, she's very supportive no matter what women choose. She helped me so much with my oldest, who simply never got the hang of it. I don't produce much, and a laid-back kid won't demand enough. I was successful with #2 and 3, but then had problems again with (laid-back) #4. The LC was the one who told me to give up with Jocelyn--I was miserable, she was fine on formula. I just think nursing is such a personal decision, and a real commitment on the mom's part, and not every woman goes that route. And even if their reasoning is completely selfish, you have to support their choice. I don't know, I think the number of moms who have picked up on your zeal to promote nursing indicates concerns that your bias may show, even if you don't mean for it to. And believe me, I'm all for nursing, if you can and want to, and encourage new moms to at least consider or try it.

Oops, I thought the video was longer, I have to run

 

[Alice28]

DisneyPHD - I just read your post about being a LC. I know from your past posts how pro BF you are and I completely respect that. As a new mom twice over I am pretty sensitive to the whole FF/BFing topic. I had wonderful LC's in the last two years with both my babies. While they were very supportive of bfing, when both my children had various issues with nursing, they were also supportive of supplementing with formula. I have read your posts on how anti formula you are and had to wonder how you would approach that issue. Most new moms are already in a sensitive state and if their are issues with BFing, it only makes it harder. Is it going to be hard for you to be supportive of mothers who chose to supplement or give up BFing all together?

PhD, I have to admit I was thinking the same thing as Bellacam.

As you may or may not recall, I breastfed my sons until they were almost 2 (Sam) or over 2 (Joshua). However, with Molly, I just was not producing enough milk. The Certified Lactation Consultants at my hospital were MORE than accomodating with formula when they saw Molly was having troubles, and I was stressing out & not producing enough milk. I was told to STOP nursing her by the CLCs, they gave me BAGS of formula to feed her to get her weight up, and I was reassured that formula is perfectly fine and I was trying my best and to not worry how she was going to gain that weight and be healthy, just as long as she was gaining the weight. The hospital I went to is the only one in Oregon to be certified as 'baby friendly' regarding encouraging mothers to breastfeed (I can't remember the organization that deems that title, but Kaiser in Portland is actually one of the few in the country). So these LCs take their breastfeeding seriously, but also realize that it doesn't always work for every woman and every baby. I went on to breastfeed Molly until she was 14 months, but I did supplement with formula daily, as my milk supply was not as good as it was with the boys.

From your previous posts regarding formula here on the New Moms thread, I wonder if you would be able to support mothers who for whatever reason either need to supplement with formula, or who decide that breastfeeding just isn't working for them. I think those LCs who helped me with Molly were godsends, because they were not pushing an agenda; they were supporting me and encouraging me 100% of the way & were delighted when Molly started gaining weight because of the formula.

I was a formula fed baby, and I feel I am a healthy, strong and smart individual. While breast-feeding worked out fine for me with 2 of my 3 children and I encourage every woman to try it because of its benefits, I also realize it's not going to work for everyone. And that's OK.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Hi mommies. I guess I am pretty know for my feelings on this topic here.

Of course here is just a personal chat area, not professional. I am social worker too, if you guys remember and have to work with many a people who didn't make the same choices I would and still respect them and work with them where they are. (Cohlear implants, anti sign language, abortion, just a few of the big ones that come to mind ) so itsn't actually be something new for me.

I think the reason I haven't started it yet is because I do feel so strongly about it I want to make sure my feelings and info are in check before I do decided to go ahead with it. The points made are good ones.

Also our hospital has a pretty intensive program for becoming such a volunteer and guidelines to follow. In fact many of the consultants I have encountered actually are so sensitive as not to offend mothers that I have meet some mother's who went to them for help, and ended up stopping breast feeding because the consultant didn't really encourage them and support on how to increase milk supply or get over issues, instead just give them formula. Then felt they gave up too quicky after the fact. When this happens I think it really is a mater of the consultant not listening to the mother and exporing her reasons for set backs and giving info too fast. It can really be a difficult line to balance as a professional. I know a few of moms who actually felt after the fact they were given a disservice in not being supported enough or given all the info (like how to increase milk supplies or about nursing strikes.) They feel they would do things differently the 2nd time around (and often did).

Then again I know many more who like fabumouse who felt hospital staff and volunteers were supportive and no mater what their decision was. My experience as a therapist and social worker will also be helpful in casses when the barrier the mother has is about their own personal conflicts with breast feeding.

In addition my contact will only be with mothers who are interested in breast feeding and want support, not ones who like Lissa have already made their decision on the subject. Just Mothers asking for help and infomation. I am also thinking about working with women who's children might be having allergy issues or mother's who are deaf and hard of hearing and need assistance.

I don't think it is hard for me to support mothers who chose to supplement. In Lily's case a little formula was actually harmful, (something you can only know after the fact) but in the great majority it is not at all and giving some formula and some breast milk really better then no breast milk at all. Formula is always better choice then not getting enough to eat. As fabumose said it doesn't have to be an all or nothing choice and many women aren't aware of that. They feel they have to do one or the other and not use what works for them. I admit I am a little sad when I know of women who do stop or don't breast feed (both those who do stop willingly and those who really had no choice in the mater). Then again there is professional distance, it isn't my choice, life or breasts I know how to walk those lines, espeically in a professonal relationship.

Thanks for helping me think this over guys. I respect your opinons on it.

 

[nyprincess]

I don't want to start a riot, but when I had Jose Jr., my LC was very nice and encouraging whatever my decision was going to be. She didn't try to push anything on me. I had first decided to try BF. I'm assuming its because I'm naturally large (44DD pre-pregnancy) or because he's such a laid-back child, but he couldn't get the hang of latching on. The LC stayed there for almost an hour trying to help both me and Jose try to figure it out. Needless to say, he never caught on so I switched to FF (Similac) after about an hour and a half of trying. He's 13 months old, over 22 pounds, and took Similac until he turned one.

 

[ryan840]

Hi moms, I see we all have strong feelings about BF/FF here! I'm happy to see that we can all be civil about it, that's why I love it here. My stance is that BF is best, but not worth being miserable if for whatever reason it doesn't work out for you. When I was pregnant with Andrew (my first son) I was very uncomfortable with the idea of breastfeeding, probably because I was only 19 and still a bit immature when it came to breasts. I never had to make the choice as he was stillborn, but my thinking was that I would try pumping exclusively and if it didn't work out switch to formula. When I became pregnant with Alex I was still uncomfortable with the idea but promised myself that I would at the very least try it and if I was still uncomfortable I would stop. I had support from my family and friends, as well as the hospital so it worked well for me, although he had trouble latching on in the beginning and was supplememted with formula all along, weaning himself at 9 months because he prefererd the bottle. Jack also recieved formula for a little while because he wasn't gaining, but he is very much a b**by man and couldn't wait to give up the bottle. With both of my kids I have used formula in place of pumping when there just wasn't time, and it can be a real sanity saver. I don't judge any one for their decision to FF or BF as it doesn't say anything about one's parenting abilities (I'm reminded of a case where a 5 month baby died from the cocaine in her mothers breast milk) but it does make me sad when people don't have all the information or support to make their decision. Anyway, that's my story

DisneyPhD- I have thought about being a breastfeeding support caller too (like she said, it is for mothers who have already made the decision to BF), but I'd also like to do individual family support, so we'll see.

lissawynn- I can't believe Jimmy is almost 2! I guess I'm still stuck back in my last regular posts thinking he was like 17 or 18 months old Did you share pictures of the addition? If so I'll have to go back and look for them. Enjoy your last few weeks as a family of three, it goes by so quick!

fabumouse- A savings bond is an excellent idea, we were just talking about what we were going to tell people when they ask what to get Jack for his birthday next month since we have enough toys to run a 350 kid daycare. I'm serious about renewing his lease too- with Alex we were totally ready to buy (he was such an easy baby) but I don't know about this one yet, but he is pretty cute so we'll give it another year

poohangel- Thanks for the compliments on my kids, Faith looks like quite the little princess!

Tasha- Our tentative dates are around May 5-12 so we should overlap, fun! You KNOW we can't wait to see the new POTC, it'll be our first (and second, third and possibly fourth) stop! I'm pretty sure Kylie won't know that you're celebrating her birthday a few days off, and even if she did I highly doubt she'll complain- "Mom, by birthday was LAST WEEK! Why do we have to go to WDW and celebrate it?"

BnB- Good luck to Robert in the spelling bee, sounds like he's pretty prepared. Do you have any big birthday plans for Luke? All I have for Jack so far is the theme (Blues Clues- it's the only thing he even remotely cares about ) and the place (my in-laws). I'm new to the winter party so I have no idea what to do for indoor entertainment for the other kids.

Hi Robin, GLT, bellacam, ny princess, Ginamarie and all the other moms

PS- I like how slow things are now, can we keep it that way? I can actually stay caught up!

 

[DisneyPhD]

Ryan, I just had to give you a hug about your 1st son. Stillborn is such a difficult thing so rarely talked about (as it is so tragic.) My friends 1st baby was stillborn and it still touches my heart. This was 2 years ago shortly after Lily was born. The good news is she is pregnant again and due in March. A little girl. We are all very excited.

We will be down in Orlando early May too. We are doing the DCL Wonder May 6th to the 10th (I think those are the date) and plan to be at WDW a few days before and after. Our AP expire May 6th though and I don't know if we will renew them, so we might just do other things around there or water parks. We are going with family so it sort of depends on them. May is a great time to be Orlando. Really it is my favorite time, good weather low crowds.

Tashsa you will deserve a break after a long semester. I can't imagine going to school and being a mom. So glad I got it over with before. However I am thinking about taking a sign class to brush up this fall before going back to work. We will see. Sometimes education never seems to end.

So here is too all the student moms!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Ryan~ Yes, it would be great if we did overlap. I plan to ride POTC as many times as the little fam will let me of course!

DisPhD~ What I found interesting while reading your post just now is that it seems that my family did some things that go against several things you believe in. Who knew? My brother has a cochlear implant and is doing great with it! I am all for sign language though since I have had a lot of interaction with deaf people. I would also like to take a sign language class or 2 since my skills are pretty rusty at best. My neighbor actually teaches it but right now my time is just too limited.

I also chose to ff Kylie. She has never had any major illnesses other than a cold. No ear infections or anything else. I truly attribute the colds to her going to daycare as the only time she has ever had one is when she has gone there. She only goes 2 days a week and just started going in August so she was pretty healthy up till then. She did have one cold before that but it was when she started going into a nursery at church so pretty much the same reasoning in my mind. Last month she didn't have a single cold and she also didn't go to daycare. She went to daycare last week and was sent home Thurs. afternoon with a 104 fever. I took her to the dr. and he said it was just another cold (thankfully!). Sure enough, Friday morning her fever was gone.

I was also formula fed and I think I am an intelligent, healthy individual (like Robin said) so I think sometimes it depends more on the person than whether their mom bf or not. I have known some people who were bf that did get sick a lot and did not do well in school or couldn't spell to save their life, etc. I have also known those who were ff that were the same way. So I truly think it has to do with the person more than anything but that is JMO. And I am not saying there aren't benefits to bfing since I know that there are of course. I'm just saying I don't feel it is the end of the world if the child has formula. I think whatever a parent decides is best is truly best.

That being said, I totally support bfing. It just wasn't something I wanted to do at the time. I may give it a shot with our next child but who knows? I am seriously considering it at this point but I am not even thinking of getting pregnant at this point either so I should have plenty of time to make that decision. I certainly hope that you are right and that you will be able to separate your feelings about formula if you become a LC. Many mothers feel like failures already if bfing doesn't work out and I am sure a completely anti-formula LC would make it much worse. I am sure if you could separate your feelings like you hope to do then it would go just fine. It sounds like you really are taking it into consideration so I am happy to hear that. Good luck if you do decide to do it! A good LC can be a huge help to mothers struggling with bfing!