Breastfeeding Blog Hop Week 11: Starting Solids

Hey ya'll! Did you notice that I am hosting the blog hop this week! SWWWWWWEEEEET.

Unfortunately, since Bug is 7 weeks old, this is a topic I know almost nothing about. And there is SOOOOO much conflicting information out there. (sorry, a little capslock happy today)

DH and I are both overweight and grew up with some pretty awful eating habits, so it's incredibly important to me that we start Bug on the right track early. So what are we supposed to do.

So I have heard that:
• You should never start solids before three months
• You should never start solids before six months
• You should never start solids before teeth appear.
• Starting solids adds no nutritional value until LO is over a year old because they are getting everything they need from breastmilk.

Um.... (hand raised) when do we start?

Also, I have this plan that I'll make baby food, but I have a feeling that could end up in the discard pile along with the plans that I would become a gestational vegetarian, never breastfeed while checking email and never let Bug watch TV. The ideal doesn't seem to be working out so far. What can I say, Bug loves watching B-Ball with her pops.

And, if she isn't really getting any added nutritional benefit from baby food, can't I just give her a piece of my fruits and veggies for awhile and call that good?

I'm excited to hear what everyone else has to say.

Breastfeeding Blog Hop Week 11: Starting Solids

It’s Week 11 of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop

Topic: Introducing Solids

Share your thoughts on introducing solids. Been there and have advice to share? Looking for tips on how to introduce solids with your little one? Confused about things you’ve read or heard about?

(New to blog hops? Check out: "How To Blog Hop")

Hosts:

Life With Levi

The Slacker Mom & Diary Of A Devil Dog Wife

This Week’s Guest
Host:

My Life With Bug

Want to participate in this
week's blog hop?

Here's what you need to do:

1. Find a post on your blog related to this week's topic –
   Introducing Solids. You can write a new post, or use a past post..
2. Link up your post. (Be sure to use the URL for your
   post, not your blog homepage). Have more than one post you want to add? Go ahead and
   link them all!
3. Add the linky code to the bottom of your post, then
   copy/paste these guidelines above the linky. (You can grab the linky code by clicking
   the "Get Code Here" link in the lower right corner of the Linky box below)

Optional:

• 
  
  Show your hosts some love – follow them on GFC. Leave a
  
  comment that you found them through the BFing Blog Hop so they can follow you back!
  
• 
  
  Check out some of the other blogs that linked up – the more
  blogs you follow (and comment on), the more followers you’ll gain.
• 
  
  Grab the Breastfeeding Blog Hop button below and display
  it on your sidebar or in your post.

Each week a Guest Host will be chosen by Random.org from
the participants in the previous week's blog hop.

This linky will be open two
days - Thursday, 03/17 & Friday, 03/18.

</center><center><a href="http://www.LifeWithLevi.com//category/bfing"><img border="0" src=" http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa94/dvanti77/ th_BFBlogHop06.png?t=1299696326"/></a></center>

Breastfeeding Blog Hop Week 10: Product Reviews

Here are my reviews on the breastfeeding items I have used so far:

• My Breast Friend Nursing Pillow.  The Good: This pillow makes the early days of nursing much easier.  We spent A LOT of time trying to nurse in the beginning, and not getting very far, but this kept me comfortable.  The Bad: We only used it for a few weeks.  It takes too much time to pull it out every time Bug is hungry.
• Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads.  The Good: They are comfy and have a sticky side so they stay put.  They are also very absorbent. The Bad: They totally show through my thinner nursing bras and make it look like I'm a 7th grader trying to give myself a little something extra.  Also, each pad is individually wrapped making quite a bit of excess waste and those damn wrappers are EVERYWHERE.  Not because I'm really that environmentally conscious (obviously if I used disposable pads), but because I'm cheap I tried...

• NUK Ultra Thin Nursing Pads.  The Good: They are thin and much less expensive.  They aren't visible, even in my thinnest bra.  The Bad: I don't have super leaky boobies, so I didn't need much absorbency, but if I did, I don't think these would be effective enough.  Also, they don't have a sticky backside, so they slide around a bit.
• Medela Pump in Style (with backpack).  The Good:  So far, it works well.  I haven't had any major issues.  I didn't really want a backpack, but it comes in handy when I am doing some hands-free pumping and I need to wander around my house.  This pump comes with a battery adapter, so I can roam wherever I want to and a car adapter, which I haven't needed to use yet, but I'm sure I will eventually.  

• Simple Wishes Hands-Free Pumping Bustier.   The Good: It is very good at holding the bottles.  They are DEFINITELY not going anywhere when I'm using this.  Also, its easily adjustable and will fit no matter how much weight I loose, if I ever get around to loosing it.  The BAD: Its not very comfortable and it doesn't look good under my clothes.  I got this because I wanted to be able to pump quickly at work while still being able to answer emails and doing paperwork, but I have to plan what I am going to wear so that it isn't obvious that I'm wearing it.  

Right now I'm looking for a better alternative for hands-free pumping and a nursing tank that doesn't look like a nursing tank.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Breastfeeding Blog Hop Week 9: Tips for New Moms

I don't know if I can be considered a veteran mom since Bug is only 5 weeks old. But there are many things that I wish I would have known and done if I had a big do-over. Here are my new mommy dos and dont's.

DO start trying to breastfeed as soon and as often as possible.

DO ask for help. Even if you have a LO who latches perfectly the first time there are so many people available to help you in the hospital and they don't follow you home. Ask questions and get as much help as you can when it is readily available.

DON'T let them do it for you. In my experience there were many nurses who just grabbed my nipple and tried to put it in my baby's mouth without helping me to do it on my own.

DON'T assume that breastfeeding will be easy. I think most moms will agree that its one of the most challenging aspects of new motherhood.

DON'T panic. Many doctors and nurses will make you feel like you need to be a breastfeeding pro right away, especially if your LO is loosing a lot of weight. You have as much time as it takes. Through my struggles I have found MANY moms who weren't able to breastfeed for weeks. One mom I met was patient enough to stick it out for 8 weeks before having success.

DON'T feel like you can't undo something. I had a meltdown when I had to supplement because everything I'd read made it sound like it would permanently ruin my supply. Not so.

DO know it gets easier as your baby's mouth grows and they become more coordinated.

DO be persistent. There are so many places to get help, but they won't seek you out. Its easy to get lost in the shuffle and not get what you need.

DO pump. It will help boost your supply.

DO relax and enjoy your baby.

Update:  I'd like to clarify on my pumping comment.  I'd suggest pumping AFTER each feeding if you are concerned with your supply.  Or, if breastfeeding isn't working out, you can still give your baby breastmilk by pumping and bottle feeding.  But I wouldn't suggest exclusively pumping unless you have to (like I did for the first 4 weeks!) because my production has increased significantly since Bug has taken to the breast.  Who knew?!?  

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A Few Words About Growth Spurts

Bug is 5 weeks old today.

This morning, my confidence as a new mother was at an all time high.  We had a follow up appointment with our new lactation consultant and personal savior Barbara at 9 am.  Bug weighed in at 10 pounds, 1 oz, an awe inspiring gain of 9 ounces in the last 6 days. A-MAY-ZING!

She was a little breastfeeding champion.  There was no fussing or fighting to get her latched and her latch on both sides was absolutely perfect.  My supply is up, and I have actually been able to pump a few extra ounces a day to save for when I go back to work.  We did so well that we have officially been taken off of the naughty list which has kept us heading to the doctors office or a lactation appointment at least once a week for the past 5 weeks.

But tonight, I feel like I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.

Bug has been fussing like nobody's business, and it appears that there is nothing I can do to calm her down.  She has been sleeping for no more than 45 minutes at a time since 2:00 this afternoon.  Then she wakes up screaming and rooting.  I have been providing the Boobie Buffet, she eats, fusses, spits up, fusses, and falls asleep for a little while and then wakes up screaming and rooting.  She has even had spurts of rooting only moments after spitting up.

I've seen this before.

2 weeks after Bug was born I left her with DH so that I could take a friend to dinner for her 30th birthday (because I was too tired and nothing appropriate fit so I opted out of an appearance at her party that weekend).  I was gone for 2 and a half hours because I spoiled myself with a solo trip to Target after dinner.

When I got home, DH informed me that Bug had screamed the entire time I was gone and he'd like to schedule a vasectomy for the following day.  Thinking he was just being an impatient prick, I told him he needed to put on his big boy pants and put a little more effort into his new role as daddy.

Then she did the same thing every night for the next week and I got to do a lot of apologizing.

Apparently, this was growth spurt number one.

I've been mentally and physically preparing for the 6-week growth spurt since then.  But I assumed we'd have another week.  I think I'm wrong again, a trend I am noticing is common in early motherhood.

I now find myself lusting after that bottle of wine that I have had in my fridge since September, left over from our fancy-shmancy wedding, but feel too guilty to pop open and enjoy.

I am also feeling an overwhelming need to buy this onesie.

  In conclusion, growth spurts suck and Mommy needs a drink.

Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Milestones

This is perfect timing for this post.  I am beyond excited to announce that by some miracle, my Bug has decided to breastfeed.

How did this happen?

I had tried many times, to no avail, to get help from Kaiser.  They'd continued to schedule me with a nurse practitioner, who was nice, but wasn't getting the job done.  She'd taught me how to use a nipple shield (TERRIBLE) and promised to help me to get Bug to breastfeed without it, but never followed through with scheduling an appointment.  Bug was able to use the nipple shield well at first, but within days, she was gumming the end of my nipple causing quite a bit of pain.  I quit using it and went back to pumping and bottle feeding.

After reading everyone's posts on support last week, I realized that I needed to push a little harder to get some support for me and Bug.  I attended my first La Leche League meeting last Thursday in hopes that I'd be able to find an LC that could help us out.

What ended up happening was the group went around discussing the benefits of breastfeeding and I burst into a big teary mess.  I didn't just cry, I broke down into hysterics to the point where I couldn't even explain why I was crying.  I finally managed to get out a few sentences explaining the problem, and was met with overwhelming support, which of course made me cry more.  Stupid post pregnancy hormones.

They suggested an LC who worked with WIC, a program that helps with the nutritional needs of low income pregnant and breastfeeding women.  I never thought to look to them for help because I don't qualify as low income.  However, they provide lactation support to all women, regardless of income.

The minute I got home, I called and requested to speak with this LC who I was told could help anyone and found out that she could only provide service to people living within the county where they are located.  I live 2 miles over the county line, and therefore, didn't qualify.

More tears.

Apparently, this was the perfect time to call Kaiser.  I cried to the advice nurse who helped me get in touch with lactation support.  Within an hour, someone called me back.  I was scheduled for the first available appointment the following Tuesday.

And guess what?!?!  Within minutes of meeting with Barbara, my new LC and personal hero, Bug had latched.  She showed me how to recreate the latch.

And she has done it every time since.  HOOOORRRAAAYYY!

I don't think I've ever been so proud, relieved, excited, you name it.  I can't tell you how wonderful its been.

Don't get me wrong, its incredibly awkward as she refuses to open her mouth wide enough most of the time.  We have a long way to go, but for the first time I feel like we are well on our way.

Four weeks after Bug was born, to the day, we learned how to breastfeed.

Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Support ~ Week 7

My mom has been my biggest supporter and advocate through this breastfeeding journey.

It started as soon as she found out I was planning to breastfeed.

It wasn't until then that I found out that my mom was never able to successfully breastfeed me.  I remember my mom breastfeeding my sisters, at least for a little while, but I guesss I never really gave it much thought.  I'd always just assumed I was breastfed. 

I was born in 1981, a year when just over half of new moms breastfed.  Neither of my grandmothers breastfed because it just wasn't what you did at the time.  They weren't able to provide support to my mom.  I had difficulty latching, and I quickly lost weight.  She became self-conscious of her decision to breastfeed and felt that everyone was blaming her for my weight loss, which could easily be rectified by switching to formula.  Over time, she reluctantly gave in and switched to formula.  She had more success with my sisters, but only nursed my sisters for the first 6 weeks or so because it was too hard.  She promised that when I had my baby, she would be there to support me, no matter what I decided to do.

But I wouldn't need support.  I was prepared. 

I attended prenatal breastfeeding classes, read everything I could get my hands on, and adjusted my birth plan to make sure that latching on in the delivery room was a priority.  My baby would do just fine.

And then she didn't.

The first encounters with breastfeeding were difficult, but I wasn't too worried.  The day after we left the hospital, I took Bug in for a weight check.  Her weight had dipped from her birth weight of 8 pounds 11 ounces to 7 pounds 9 ounces, and her Pediatrician recommended I supplement.  I'd pump to maintain my supply, and it was a temporary solution.  She'd have her tied-tongue clipped, and it she'd be a breastfeeding baby in no time. 

I called my mom every night to update her on Bug's progress and told her everything was going just fine.  And every night she told me that if it ever wasn't fine, she'd be there for me.

The night before Bug's surgery, I told her that I wasn't expecting much, but I was hoping that there would be some noticible change.  My mom said that if there wasn't, she'd be there for me.

I was worried about the surgery, but Bug slept through the whole thing.  The doctor numbed her tongue and then held it up with a tongue depressor and clipped her frenulum with a tiny pair of scissors.  And just like that, it was done.  Later that evening, Bug experimented with her new tongue, rolling it around in her mouth. 

I decided to give breastfeeding a try.  We'd been given a nipple shield by a lactation consultant at our last appointment.  I placed it on my nipple, positioned Bug, and tried to get her to feed.  She gummed the nipple a few times then burst into hysterical tears.  I cried with her. 

DH supported me the best way he new how.  He told me that it was okay if she was never able to latch on.  He told me we could use formula, or I could continue to pump and everything would be fine.

But it wasn't fine with me. 

I called my mom for our nightly check in, and told her that the surgery had gone well, and everything was fine.  And she told me that if it wasn't, that was okay too. 

Once again, I burst into tears, and so did she. We spent a long time crying on the phone together and sharing this mutual heartbreak.  I don't know what I would have done without her support.

We are still struggling, and I am reaching out in every way that I know how.  We've been to support groups, lactation consultants associated with our insurance company, outside lactation consultants and tomorrow we are heading to a La Leche League meeting.  I am hoping that at some point, Bug will be able to latch consistently and I'm doing everything I can to make that happen.

But if it doesn't, I know my mom will be there to support me.

Success!

I had intended to write about the ups and downs of breastfeeding in the order that they happened, but today we had a huge breastfeeding victory and I couldn't wait to share. 

This morning I couldn't find my stupid nipple shield and decided that I would try to get Bug to latch without it.  And it worked!  She breastfed all by herself... and I know she got plenty of milk because she had a little spit up after. 

Its taken two weeks and five days, and I know this rollercoaster ride is far from over... but we did it!

Crying Over Spilled Milk

Breastfeeding is natural.  I've seen the videos of babies, only minutes old, crawling from their mothers stomach to the breast and latching on.  And it looks so easy.

It hasn't been that way for me.

The nurse in the delivery room attempted to get Bug latched on as soon as she was cleaned off and assessed.  This relative stranger, who would later help me put on underwear and watch me pee, grabbed at my breast, manipulated my nipple and tried to shove it into Bug's mouth.  She didn't show me how to do anything, and quickly proclaimed that we'd try to get a latch later.

The next nurse, who met me in the recovery room, did the same and then told me my nipples were just too big for this newborn baby.  She then instructed me to try to get her to latch on every 1-3 hours and write down how long I spent trying.  She returned one time during her shift to take Bug's temperature, but didn't offer any more help.

Not all of the nurses were the grope and leave type.  A few did show me how to hold Bug myself and how to yank on my own boobs, but nothing was happening in the latching department.

Bug, however, was doing quite a bit of work.  She peed, she pooped and she spit up a ton of amniotic fluid.  When the nurse weighed her that evening, it was no surprise to me that her weight was down, but her weightloss alarmed the staff.  She'd lost over 7% of her body weight before her first 24 hours of life.

 The next morning, they had me meet with the verbally abusive lactation consultant, or VALC.  Okay, maybe she wasn't verbally abusive, but she was abrupt at best and I might have been a little hormonal.  She assessed Bug's latch and proceeded to tell me everything I'd been doing wrong.

Then she dropped the big bomb.  According to the VALC, Bug was born tongue tied.  This meant her lingual frenulum (the thingy under your tongue that holds it in place), was short and preventing normal movement.   I tried to get a picture of Bug's, but getting a baby to hold her mouth open long enough to get a picture is virtually impossible.  Hers looked a little like this.

The VALC explained that this would prevent her from being able to breastfeed until she had surgery.  She also pointed out that I had been starving my newborn baby and we'd need to get her started on formula immediately.  All I heard was starving baby and surgery.

DH had also been tongue tied, but since he's so freaking old, he grew up during a time when women almost exclusively bottle fed.  He didn't have surgery until 2nd grade, when one of his teachers noticed a speech impediment.  He remembers the surgery, in detail, and said it was awful.  After his tongue was clipped, they had to sew it down to prevent tearing and several days and he was unable to eat, drink or speak.  It sounded like torture to me.

VALC didn't explain how simple the surgery is for newborns or do anything to put me at ease.  Instead, she hooked me up to a breast pump while she retrieved formula.

Now, by design, you only produce very small amounts of colostrum in the first 48-72 hours after childbirth.  I now realize that even if Bug had been able to latch, her weight loss would have been the same because no one produces more than a few teeny tiny little drops per feeding.  All babies are "starving" until their mother's milk comes in and a more understanding, less abrupt lactation consultant would have explained this in detail to a frightened, sleep deprived new mom.

Instead, I was conviced that 1) I was the worst mom ever and 2) I was starving my baby and 3) she needed major surgery and 4) she'd never breast feed.  And aside from the worst mom ever thing, DH pretty much thought the same thing.

After pumping for 10 minutes, I was able to fill a 1 mL syringe with colostrum and feed it to Bug.

Definitely not enough to do anything about her weightloss.

There was still a teeny tiny bit left in the bottle, so I returned to get it and somehow managed to knock the bottle over.  There was a teeny itsy bitsy puddle of colostrum on the counter and in that moment I think I thought that the little itsy bitsy puddle would make the difference between my baby thriving and starving to death.

And I started to cry.

DH came over to see what I was upset about, saw the little puddle, and said, "What did you do that for?"  Not good timing.

I sobbed.  And sobbed.  And sobbed.

This would be the first of many times that I would cry about breastfeeding.  For me, this has been the most challenging aspect of being a new mom.  It has been 90% terrible and 10% wonderful, as each day Bug and I are hopefully moving forward to becoming a breastfeeding team.  The good news is that she hasn't starved to death, and though her weight did drop to 7 pounds 9 ounces (down 1 pound 2 ounces from her birth weight), she's gained back 14 ounces.  The bad news is that we are mostly pumping and bottle feeding, but we are still working toward breastfeeding.

I am going to continue to fill you in on the major ups and downs, including Bug's first surgery, the even more terrible lactation consultant from hell, and the things that we have done to make this who process a little easier.

If you have a similar breastfeeding horror story, share a link below.

Mommy and Daddy Never Agree ~ Breastfeeding

DH and I discovered very early on in our relationship that we are polar opposites.  He's clean, I'm messy.  He's organized, I'm chaotic.  He's conservative, I'm anything but.  However, we have somehow managed to always find a way to get to a middle ground and come to terms we both can live with.  (ie, there will be no discussion of politics unless someone really wants to sleep in the guest bedroom)  Why should anything about raising this child together be different?

Take breastfeeding.  I just assumed this is something we would do and didn't even really discuss it with DH because I assumed he felt the same way.  Why wouldn't he? 

I should start by saying that DH is 12 years older than me, and his mother is no longer with us, so the ideas that he has about how he was raised and the things his parents did are completely from his memory.  Based on when he was born and from what he remembers about his family, his mother didn't breastfeed and the idea seemed a little weird to him.  He didn't know the benefits and in his own internet research, he learned from who-knows-where, that there are no benefits to breastfeeding over formula feeding... what?!?!?!   Where he found this, I don't know.

My OB recommended a list of more reliable internet resources for him to look up the benefits of breastfeeding, and after looking them up, he decided he was on board.  Until I registered for a breast pump.

"Why do you need that?" 
"So can still breastfeed when I go to work." Duh!
"You're still going to breastfeed when you're working?"

Really?!?!

He hasn't been unsupportive in any way, but every time we talk about it, it is obvious that we are coming from two very different directions.  When we talked about how long, he'd only pictured that I'd do it until I went back to work and the idea that you can send breastmilk to daycare completely baffled him.

Please remind me to keep breathing!