Breastfeeding Frustration

Greer is right--breastfeeding is hard, painful and frustrating! My little one is a night owl and I am a morning person, which is not making things any easier. She sleeps all morning and then wants to eat constantly from about 3 in the afternoon until midnight, which is really hard on my poor breasts. To top it off, she gets so excited at the sight of my breast that the first few seconds after she latches on are pure agony. She is so tired from fighting sleep by the time we get to the 11pm feeding that she falls asleep within 5 minutes of latching on. So she doesn't end up eating much and 5 minutes after I get my bra and shirt situated again, she wants to eat again. Last night I finally decided I was tired of being treated like a snack bar and went against the pediatrician's advice to wait 4 weeks before introducing a bottle. Since she is so tired by the 11pm feeding, I gave her a bottle of pumped breast milk at that feeding thinking that since a bottle does not take as much effort for the baby as nursing, she might be able to stay awake long enough to get a good meal so that she would go to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time overnight. So far, so good...she slept much better last night. In fact, the two overnight feedings were only 15 minutes each and she slept like a lamb in between. She was a little offended at the introduction of the bottle and gave me the most horrible look at first, but then she took it fine and has not had trouble nursing today during the day. So...for the two of you that have not had your babies yet, don't be too worried if you have to give a bottle before the recommended 4 weeks (if you are planning to breastfeed), and don't be afraid to go against the pediatrician's advice every once in a while. You know better than they do what is best for your baby!

--Amanda

Things are happening!

I went to the doctor yesterday (Monday) and had my first internal appointment! I also got tested for Group B Strep. I was a little nervous about my appointment but it wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought. Turns out I am 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated! Our midwife said that I am right on track if not a little ahead of schedule!!!!! It's so exciting to know that things are happening!!!

I now start my once-a-week appointments so I'll go back next Monday. I'll let you know if there is anything further to report!!!!

-Emily <><

Total Fluke!!

Adam and I had our follow up appointment with the doctor about my crazy blood pressure and all is right with the world!! It honestly was just a crazy fluke day. My pee test was a huge success and shows that I am no where near having pre-eclampsia, plus my blood pressure was right back to normal today. Maybe its the overachiever in me, but I love passing tests! I've included a picture of the pee jug, since people I've talked to are strangely curious about it. Moving right along with a little over 9 weeks to go! Merry Christmas everyone! ~ Andrea

I take it all back!

In my last post, I grounded Isaac and implied that he was wearing out his welcome in my tummy. This morning, I'm taking that all back! I had an appointment with my ob this morning, and other than having to drink the sugar drink and check for gestational diabetes, I thought it was going to be very routine, just like the rest of my pregnancy has been. I hop up on the table (still happy that I can hop up pretty easily,) and get my arm ready for the blood pressure machine. I've never had issues before and I used to always think it was interesting to see the numbers magically appear. I'm waiting and talking to my nurse about Christmas shopping when up the numbers come... 150/102 !!!! I'm in shock! My nurse immediately tells me to lay on my left side and while she is trying to convince me that it's just a little high, my plethora of books on pregnancy has scared me into thinking otherwise. She tells me to just wait a minute or two and they'll recheck. When they did recheck, it went down to 99/68. That definitely made me feel a little better, but I was definitely getting the feeling something was up. When my ob came in he started going over what I knew was a possibility - preeclampsia. He said they did find a small amount of protein in my urine, and coupled with the wacko blood pressure reading, he was getting concerned that I might be showing some early signs of the condition. So, basically, I have to pee in a jug for the next 24 hours and they'll test it to get a better idea of where I'm at. What does this all really mean ~ well, hopefully, nothing, but if you know me at all you know I immediately came home and started preparing for the worst. That means bed rest until Isaac truly is ready to come out, blood pressure monitoring, and maybe some extra help to get Isaac's lungs and organs really ready (this will only be in extreme cases.) I'm pretty freaked, as this is not something I was expecting at all, and hopefully, I'm worrying for nothing. I just want to take back everything I said about wanting him early. I'll keep him in there as long as he's willing to stay at this point! I'm 29 weeks right now, and measuring 30, so holding off until February is where we're really trying to get. I'll keep you posted! ~Andrea

from my experience...

Here are some things I have learned/loved/used in the past 5 (!!!) weeks with Laine.

1. I had to use my pump for a few days after my milk came in because she was unable to latch on correctly. It was a huge lifesaver and kept us from having to resort to formula (and kept me from feeling like I was going to explode!). I have just now started pumping once every day (in the morning after I feed her since that it when you produce the most milk) and storing what I pump for future use... mainly when I go back to work, but also for over the holidays and any other time when it might be more convenient to have a bottle on hand. I have the Medela Pump In Style double electric pump, which is awesome but very expensive. I was lucky enough to have a cousin give me hers so all I had to buy was new tubing. I use the Medela bottles that go with their pumps, which aren't too fancy but seem to work fine.

2. Pampers seems to have the best diapers and wipes, especially if you buy in bulk. They also have a good rewards program where you enter the points you earn from cartons on diapers or wipes and then earn rewards (kind of like Coke Rewards). I especially like their thick sensitive wipes... they are nice and thick and soft and smell good.

3. The SwaddleMe blankets are nifty, but we usually just wrap her in a normal blanket even though we have a few of them so unless you get them as gifts I'd say save your money.

4. A friend of my gave me a wrap from Lovey Duds that you use to "wear your baby". At first I was a little iffy about actually using it, but then Joe accidentally took the stroller in the car and I had to run an errand so I watched the instructional DVD (yes, it is that complicated at first) and figured out how to get her in there and she LOVED it. It keeps them nice and cozy and you have both hands free. I highly recommend it.

5. We had lofty ideals about pacifier use, but then when we sent her to the nursery they gave her one anyway. At first we were a little annoyed about it, but once we got her home we realized that denying her a pacifier was not a battle we wanted to fight. Fortunately, she has a very strong suck and hasn't had problems breastfeeding so it has not been a conflict for us and our pediatrician recommended giving her the pacifier if it worked to calm her down. Even the lactation consultant said they were fine if the baby wanted one and still breastfed successfully. The brand that seems to stay in their mouths the best are the good old "Nuk" ones, but even with those you will feel like you spend most of your life replacing pacifiers. Joe refers to them as our "best friend and worst enemy".

6. A bouncy seat or swing is essential in my opinion, as well as a Boppy or some other kind of nursing pillow. Those are probably the two things I have used the most. Also, MYLICON! They are easy to give infant gas relief drops and our pediatrician said that even if they somehow ingested the whole bottle it wouldn't do anything to hurt them. It doesn't always work, but it often does and is totally worthwhile. Another handy item is the "Ultimate Crib Sheet". It snaps on over a regular sheet for easier changing if the baby spits up or has an accident or whatever during the night. It is soft on the top layer but water resistant on the bottom so nothing will soak through.

Hope that helps! Here is Laine on her way to meet Santa a week or so ago...

She was very excited about it, obviously.

-- Greer

practicalities

Hello ladies!

I tell you what, I'm still hoping for a 2010 baby but I don't necessarily feel the need anymore for her to wait until 1/15! Andrea's mother thinks I'm going to have a 'binary baby' (computer programming lingo) and I really think I'd love to have either an 01/01/10 baby or an 01/10/10 baby. I have my first internal appointment on next Monday so we'll see if little girl is starting to make any progress or not yet. She's head down so that's a good sign but we'll just have to wait and see about the rest! I do hope to push for about 7 minutes like Amanda, when the time comes!

So, now that more than half of us are mothers (!!!!!) I thought we might be able to share some practical advice. Who has used a pump and do you like the one you have? If you have used bottles, what brand and do you like them? When/if you have introduced a pacifier? Your favorite brand of diapers or wipes. All that kind of fun stuff. If there are products that you absolutely hate or love, I'd love to hear about them!

Moms, make sure you keep posting pictures cause I'd love to see how your babies grow!!! Maybe we should try to make sure that we at least post a picture of our child once a month, if that isn't too much.

-Emily <><

Does it ever really sink in?

My amniotic fluid was still very low when I went to the doctor last week, so we decided it would be best to deliver the baby early since I was already 38 weeks and considered "full term". I went into the hospital Tuesday afternoon and they gave me Cervadil that night to help ripen the cervix before inducing labor. That was actually probably the worst part of the whole labor process. I was extremely uncomfortable all night because they had me hooked up to the monitors the whole night. Then I started having this really bad back pain in the middle of the night that I thought was just really bad gas, but the nurses told me it was actually contractions. Apparently Cervadil sometimes starts labor even though it is not supposed to. I made it through the night (without a lot of sleep) and they gave me pitocin around 8am on Wednesday morning. I was having contractions similar to the ones I had the night before, enough to make me uncomfortable, but not really too terribly painful. Then, around 10:30am my doctor came in to check on me and I was 3cm dialated, so she broke my water. That was when the real pain started. I was having back labor--no pain whatsoever in my abdomen but my back felt like it was going to explode. I decided I had no desire to suffer through that for who knew how many hours, so I got an epidural, and within minutes I was pain free. Tom and I relaxed, listened to music and talked. By 1pm when my doctor came to check on me, I was 5cm, and by 2pm, I was 10cm and it was time to push. Little Hadley was born at 2:07.

Being a mother is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced, but it is also still so incredibly surreal. I just love her more and more every day--despite the lack of sleep I am getting. She was the perfect baby in the hospital, but she screamed from 6:30pm to 4:30am the first two nights we were home. Last night we actually got to sleep at about 1:30, so it wasn't quite as bad. I think part of the problem the first two nights was that she was starting to get a big appetite, but my milk had not come in yet. Luckily, it came in yesterday so things are going a little bit better. Well, I was number 3, so there are only two more of us to go! Best of luck to you both!

Isaac is SOOO grounded

You read the title right. My little sumo wrestler is grounded until he can learn to treat his mother a little nicer. I know that Emily can still identify with me on this. Isaac is seriously starting to wear out his welcome. Don't get me wrong. I want him to stay nice and cozy for about another 2 months, but we need to set up some ground rules. The first being, do not kick or press your monster head up against my rib cage. I spent about 2 hours last night (starting at 1AM) feeling my monster of a baby pressing up against my ribs. He wasn't kicking; that would have been better because at least there would have been still moments. Isaac would just cozy up and put pressure right under rib cage to point where I almost couldn't breath. I finally got him to move by taking a long hot shower with the water pointed directly at my tummy. Not fun, especially when I had to teach a singing lesson at 7:45 AM. This isn't the first time he's done this, and I'm sure it won't be the last. In fact, I'm pretty sure it will only get worse from here. Hopefully, we can come to some kind of truce where at least he doesn't do it while I'm trying to sleep or teach someone how to breath. I promise, I'll buy you a pony if you stop! ~ Andrea

It's a girl....

but we knew that already! Hadley Elizabeth Redick was born about 2pm. She is 5lbs 8oz. Baby and Mama are doing great! I'll let Amanda post with any more updates as she's feeling up to it!

3 down, 2 to go!!!

-Emily <><

5 1/2 weeks to go!

As for an update on me and my little girl....we went to the doctor yesterday and things are going well. Our midwife, Meredith, felt around and says that the babe is head down and getting comfortable. She said our little girl felt to be about 4-5 lbs and not to worry, I "shouldn't expect a 10lb baby". That was soooo reassuring cause Todd ways 9 lbs and I just kept envisioning this massive head trying to come out of me! Now I guess she could still be 9lbs but we're hoping for around 8 or so.

Anyway, I go back in 2 weeks for the Group B Strep test and have weekly appointments from that point on.

I'll keep you posted if anything news worthy comes about!
I can't believe after tomorrow there will only be 2 of us who are still pregnant!!!!!
Emily <><

Baby #3, sooner than expected!

Hello lovely ladies!

I wanted to give y'all an update on Amanda and her daughter. As she posted the other day, she had an appointment today to recheck her amniotic fluid level. Turns out fluid is even lower at this point. As I type, Amanda is checking into the hospital. They plan on giving her Cervadil tonight and then if things haven't moved along, she will start pitocin in the morning. The good news is that she's already 50% effaced and 1.5cm dilated.

I should get a text when the baby arrives and I will let y'all know, but I'll let Amanda share the name and details when she's feeling up to it!

Say your prayers!!!
Emily <><

Third Trimester Woes

First of all, congratulations to Melissa and Greer on their new babies! I haven't posted in a while, so I had not officially congratulated them yet. I'm so glad to hear both of your babies are healthy and that the mom's are doing well!

The first two trimesters of my pregnancy were really easy for me, but I have been having a bit of a hard time in the third trimester. My baby was breached during the first two trimesters, and she has now finally turned head down, but the process was agonizing for me! She was pressing on my spine and hips so much that I was having sciatica and hip pain. And let me tell you, that is no joke. I could not walk, sit, stand or sleep. I used to be on a swim team when I was younger, but I had not swam laps in about 9 or 10 years. I finally broke down and got a pass at a gym that had a pool and swam some laps just so I could tire myself out and get some sleep. And even then, I could not really kick my legs, so it was basically my arms doing all the work.

I finally started feeling better after about 3-4 weeks, and now the pain is completely gone, thank goodness! As soon as I started feeling better though, the nesting urge kicked into full gear. We have been working hard on the nursery and finally finished it last week, except for a ceiling mobile that is arriving in the mail next week.

Turns out it's a good thing we finished. Last time I went to the doctor they were a little concerned because my belly was measuring a little small. So I had to get an ultrasound this week. Our little girl is about 5 lbs. 15 oz. now, so the good news is that they are not very worried about her size since my husband and I are both relatively short and not very big people in general. The bad news is that my amniotic fluid was low, to the point that they want me to come back on Tuesday for an ultrasound and if it is still low they may induce on Wednesday. It would only be 2 weeks early at that point and I am full term now, so she would not be considered a premie. I've been getting so impatient to meet her, but when they told me it might be in less than a week, I got a little panicky! They've told me to drink lots of water and get lots of rest--I actually drank like 84 oz. of water on each of the past two days, plus juice, plus milk. And...I have also been living in the bathroom. Think I might just take my pillow in there tomorrow night so I don't have to get in and out of bed so much!

Anyway, I will keep you guys posted on what happens on Tuesday. If my fluids are back up, then we will just sit and wait so she can grow a little bit more. But if not, then we'll be a mommy and daddy a little sooner than we thought!

--Amanda

Immunizations

Let me preface this by saying, I trust doctors. I think they are incredibly well informed and really do want what is best for me and my soon to be little boy. That being said, I'm scared! It is hard to find a doctor (at least around here,) that isn't some crazy homeopathic quack to give you some kind of flexibility on the whole immunization schedule. I want a doctor who maybe doesn't want to stick my son 23 times before he is 5. Doesn't that seem like a lot? I've done my research, and yes, there are no reputable sources out there that say these immunizations will do any harm (I don't count Jim Carrey or Jenny McCarthy as reputable since, for most of their adult lives, fart humor is how they made a living,) but I don't think a little caution would hurt. I think Adam and I are set on the doctor we want to use. He comes very highly recommended by my OB and his wife (also an OB.) It's in a very small private practice that specializes in personal care, plus I could literally walk there in case of a true emergency. Their policy, however, is that they refuse to accept patients who don't allow them to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics' vaccine guidelines. I really do think I'm ok with this, but it doesn't mean I'm not a little nervous still. After doing some research into other offices, it seems like this is common practice unless I want some quack who doesn't believe in vaccines at all. Any guidance is of course welcome!!!
~ Andrea