So, I have another blog, but I much prefer blogger. So, I haven't posted everything, but I have backdated and posted anything from the last pregnancy and the IVF cycle.
Here is the blog if you want to read beyond that.
http://sezzysue.livejournal.com
The 3 day nursing sabbatical
Was reading this online today, and thought it was good info, so I am re-posting.
The 3 day nursing sabbatical
So… what is a 3 day nursing sabbatical? (Desperate? Skip down to get to the nitty gritty instructions).
A 3 day nursing sabbatical is really the cure-all for most of the common early problems in Bfing. Low supply particularly, but even poor latch, nipple confusion, etc can all benefit. Its really useful if you’ve found yourself in the viscous cycle of trying to get baby to stay interested, nurse more, increase supply, reduce formula, get where you don’t have to pump as frequently, etc. This is also ideal for growth spurts (in fact, its darn near mandatory).
All too often the story goes something like this: wonderful woman meets cute guy, they fall in love they have kids, they have grand plans. Wonderful woman plans wonderful birth. Things may or may not go as expected, but most often NOT as expected. Shes spent 9 months reading all about how to have a great birth, what colors to paint the nursery for the best developmental stimulus, and how to escape it all without too much damage to show for it while still enjoying and tolerating the stretch marks that don her belly. Then – she has the baby and realizes, NOBODY told her the half million things that might come up as she nurses her baby, who seems to be also clueless about what to do. Also news - theres a difference between lactation counselors and consultants, few pediatricians receive any training about breastfeeding, and the ones that did apparently missed that day of class b/c they had a frat party the night before. (Oh come on – you think he was a saint in college?!)
So – here you are – a postpartum mom, trying to figure out nursing in a world where few people you know nurse (IF you even know someone). You’ve been sent home with formula samples out your ears, and maybe you used a few those first few nights (b/c nobody told you that they just happen to discharge you before things really get moving in the BFing department, and that 3rd night is when all babies decide they want to stay up allllllllll night long although they slept like angels the first few nights).
OR maybe you got “lucky” and your baby is sleeping a LOT – and as a result not nursing quite as much. And to get by, or to satisfy your paranoia, or to let dad feed the baby, you’ve given a few bottles of milk (pumped or artificial). And now – youre stuck. Baby never seems satisfied. Baby is constantly hungry. Laundry is piling up and you don’t know what to do? The 3 day sabbatical is for you.
WHAT TO DO:
First things first. Pull out the calendar. The one you used BEFORE the baby came along that organized your life that you can barely keep up with now that it takes an hour to get out of the house from the 2 diaper changes and 3 outfit changes (1 for you and 2 for baby). WIPE EVERYTHING OFF FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS! Soccer practice – gone. Lunch date – cancel it. Drs appt – only if its serious lol. Moms coming over – give her a list of to-dos. Church – God will understand, I promise. Call DH & tell him youre ordering pizza for the next 3 nights, unless hed like to reheat leftovers, bring home Chinese food, or make grilled cheese (unless you were the lucky one that got the DH that could cook, and then I’m jealous).
Find a good book – maybe the BFing book that’s been gathering dust the last 10 months. Have DH bring home all the trash magazines so you can catch up on all the celebrity goodness. Whatever floats your boat. Grab a comforter, a pillow, the remote, some snacks and a lot of water and find a comfy place in front of a TV. That’s your home for the next 3 days. Give up your anxiety now, the laundry will not walk off, it will be there in 3 days and your DH could use another job anyways!
Now – strip down from the waist up. Yes, you’re probably leaking more than the rickety faucet in the downstairs bathroom. That’s ok. Now, strip baby down to just a diaper. Which reminds me – grab a handful of diapers, wipes, and the bathroom trash can to put next to the couch. Turn up the heat if you must, but really – your body heat will do the job.
Your job for the next 3 days is to feed the baby. That’s all. No laundry. No cooking. No cleaning. You can take a shower if you’re one of the lucky ones that has a baby that will sleep when DH comes home. But, really – its not necessary. Baby likes the way you smell
Nurse nurse nurse. The reason this works so well is:
1 – you’ve finally succumbed to motherhood. Priorities priorities priorities. This is your ONLY job. Until you get this down pat, nothing will fall into place. When you have this down pat, everything else will run smoother, including your brain
2 – skin to skin contact. The skin to skin contact, even if baby barely nurses at all the first day, will do more for the baby than just about any other single thing you can do.
3 – Being naked will give you an unobstructed view of what is going on down there. Is baby’s latch good (for the answer, pull out that dusty BFing book). Tongue should be slightly visible, both lips puckered out like a fish’s, and you should hear gulping, not clicking.
4 – Interest in the breast – this is why the leaking happens. Baby knows the smell of milk- baby will get interested in the breast, will root around, and will start to get the hang of things
5 – because you have nothing else to do except nurse – baby will nurse probably ALLLLLLLLLLLL day and your supply will increase naturally as a result.
Now – those diapers. Count em. From the time you get up till the end of the evening – count diapers. If baby is under a week old, you should get at least 1 diaper per day of life (3 days old = 3 dirty diapers). For babies over 1 week old, look for 5 – 6 wet/poopy diapers a day. Because you don’t have anything else to do but nurse, change diapers, and keep up with which celeb is in rehab again, you can change frequently and don’t have to worry if that diaper had one pee pee or two. Having trouble determining whether its wet (b/c they don’t dump a gallon of pee when theyre that little)? Well, you could leave them naked but assuming you don’t want to call an upholstery cleaner at the end of the 3 days, place a piece of toilet paper in the diaper when you change the baby. By the next diaper change if the TP is obviously wet, then you know baby peed. The super absorbent diapers can be hard to tell but this makes it easier.
IF you don’t have enough wet diapers, you can supplement an ounce or two (base your judgement off of how many diapers you got).
Check these links for more info:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/04enough_milk.html
This usually works. You can do fenugreek and mothers milk tea if you need, just add that to the pile in your nest on the couch. Fenugreek is usually around 3 – 4 pills, 3 – 4 times a day for a total of 9 – 12 pills (you should smell like maple syrup within a day or two). You should be taking in a lot of fluids as well. But rest assured, if you're getting enough wet/poopy diapers, your baby is getting enough milk.
The 3 day nursing sabbatical
So… what is a 3 day nursing sabbatical? (Desperate? Skip down to get to the nitty gritty instructions).
A 3 day nursing sabbatical is really the cure-all for most of the common early problems in Bfing. Low supply particularly, but even poor latch, nipple confusion, etc can all benefit. Its really useful if you’ve found yourself in the viscous cycle of trying to get baby to stay interested, nurse more, increase supply, reduce formula, get where you don’t have to pump as frequently, etc. This is also ideal for growth spurts (in fact, its darn near mandatory).
All too often the story goes something like this: wonderful woman meets cute guy, they fall in love they have kids, they have grand plans. Wonderful woman plans wonderful birth. Things may or may not go as expected, but most often NOT as expected. Shes spent 9 months reading all about how to have a great birth, what colors to paint the nursery for the best developmental stimulus, and how to escape it all without too much damage to show for it while still enjoying and tolerating the stretch marks that don her belly. Then – she has the baby and realizes, NOBODY told her the half million things that might come up as she nurses her baby, who seems to be also clueless about what to do. Also news - theres a difference between lactation counselors and consultants, few pediatricians receive any training about breastfeeding, and the ones that did apparently missed that day of class b/c they had a frat party the night before. (Oh come on – you think he was a saint in college?!)
So – here you are – a postpartum mom, trying to figure out nursing in a world where few people you know nurse (IF you even know someone). You’ve been sent home with formula samples out your ears, and maybe you used a few those first few nights (b/c nobody told you that they just happen to discharge you before things really get moving in the BFing department, and that 3rd night is when all babies decide they want to stay up allllllllll night long although they slept like angels the first few nights).
OR maybe you got “lucky” and your baby is sleeping a LOT – and as a result not nursing quite as much. And to get by, or to satisfy your paranoia, or to let dad feed the baby, you’ve given a few bottles of milk (pumped or artificial). And now – youre stuck. Baby never seems satisfied. Baby is constantly hungry. Laundry is piling up and you don’t know what to do? The 3 day sabbatical is for you.
WHAT TO DO:
First things first. Pull out the calendar. The one you used BEFORE the baby came along that organized your life that you can barely keep up with now that it takes an hour to get out of the house from the 2 diaper changes and 3 outfit changes (1 for you and 2 for baby). WIPE EVERYTHING OFF FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS! Soccer practice – gone. Lunch date – cancel it. Drs appt – only if its serious lol. Moms coming over – give her a list of to-dos. Church – God will understand, I promise. Call DH & tell him youre ordering pizza for the next 3 nights, unless hed like to reheat leftovers, bring home Chinese food, or make grilled cheese (unless you were the lucky one that got the DH that could cook, and then I’m jealous).
Find a good book – maybe the BFing book that’s been gathering dust the last 10 months. Have DH bring home all the trash magazines so you can catch up on all the celebrity goodness. Whatever floats your boat. Grab a comforter, a pillow, the remote, some snacks and a lot of water and find a comfy place in front of a TV. That’s your home for the next 3 days. Give up your anxiety now, the laundry will not walk off, it will be there in 3 days and your DH could use another job anyways!
Now – strip down from the waist up. Yes, you’re probably leaking more than the rickety faucet in the downstairs bathroom. That’s ok. Now, strip baby down to just a diaper. Which reminds me – grab a handful of diapers, wipes, and the bathroom trash can to put next to the couch. Turn up the heat if you must, but really – your body heat will do the job.
Your job for the next 3 days is to feed the baby. That’s all. No laundry. No cooking. No cleaning. You can take a shower if you’re one of the lucky ones that has a baby that will sleep when DH comes home. But, really – its not necessary. Baby likes the way you smell
Nurse nurse nurse. The reason this works so well is:
1 – you’ve finally succumbed to motherhood. Priorities priorities priorities. This is your ONLY job. Until you get this down pat, nothing will fall into place. When you have this down pat, everything else will run smoother, including your brain
2 – skin to skin contact. The skin to skin contact, even if baby barely nurses at all the first day, will do more for the baby than just about any other single thing you can do.
3 – Being naked will give you an unobstructed view of what is going on down there. Is baby’s latch good (for the answer, pull out that dusty BFing book). Tongue should be slightly visible, both lips puckered out like a fish’s, and you should hear gulping, not clicking.
4 – Interest in the breast – this is why the leaking happens. Baby knows the smell of milk- baby will get interested in the breast, will root around, and will start to get the hang of things
5 – because you have nothing else to do except nurse – baby will nurse probably ALLLLLLLLLLLL day and your supply will increase naturally as a result.
Now – those diapers. Count em. From the time you get up till the end of the evening – count diapers. If baby is under a week old, you should get at least 1 diaper per day of life (3 days old = 3 dirty diapers). For babies over 1 week old, look for 5 – 6 wet/poopy diapers a day. Because you don’t have anything else to do but nurse, change diapers, and keep up with which celeb is in rehab again, you can change frequently and don’t have to worry if that diaper had one pee pee or two. Having trouble determining whether its wet (b/c they don’t dump a gallon of pee when theyre that little)? Well, you could leave them naked but assuming you don’t want to call an upholstery cleaner at the end of the 3 days, place a piece of toilet paper in the diaper when you change the baby. By the next diaper change if the TP is obviously wet, then you know baby peed. The super absorbent diapers can be hard to tell but this makes it easier.
IF you don’t have enough wet diapers, you can supplement an ounce or two (base your judgement off of how many diapers you got).
Check these links for more info:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milk
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/04enough
This usually works. You can do fenugreek and mothers milk tea if you need, just add that to the pile in your nest on the couch. Fenugreek is usually around 3 – 4 pills, 3 – 4 times a day for a total of 9 – 12 pills (you should smell like maple syrup within a day or two). You should be taking in a lot of fluids as well. But rest assured, if you're getting enough wet/poopy diapers, your baby is getting enough milk.
20 questions
What is the best decision you ever made?
To marry my husband
The one thing I most regret not doing is
Having more fun
What would you consider to be your dream job?
I have it, photographer
I wish I was more assertive when it comes to
listening, I used to be but I can't seem to pay attention anymore
The top three things I like abut myself are
Eyes, the way I care about people, and my photography
An area of my life that I am still working on is
my self esteem
The best vacation I ever took was to
Niagra Falls
Who was with you on that vacation?
Dad, Sandie, and Laura
If you could go to any restaurant right now where would you go?
Applebees
What would you order?
The apple walnut salad
Do you know what country/countries your ancestors came from?
Yes, Ireland, Scotland, and France
Would you rather live in a rural area, small town, or big city?
Small town or on a farm
How far do you live fom the town you grew up in?
2,212 miles
What circumstances led you to live were you are now?
The military then my husbands job
If you could get in the car right now with 3 days off, where would you go?
Michigan, but its too far
If you could go back and spend the day with one person from your past who would you choose?
Grandpa Burke
What do you think is the greatest invention ever?
Ofy asked me and I can't decide, but I think the car is a pretty awesome one, but so is the phone
What do you think was the most life changing moment in history?
I think the revolutionary war was HUGE
Whose life do you think you have had the biggest impact on?
My little sister Anna or Ofy
What are the top three things you hope to do before you die?
Publish a book of my photography, have a family, and to say I truly enjoyed life
To marry my husband
The one thing I most regret not doing is
Having more fun
What would you consider to be your dream job?
I have it, photographer
I wish I was more assertive when it comes to
listening, I used to be but I can't seem to pay attention anymore
The top three things I like abut myself are
Eyes, the way I care about people, and my photography
An area of my life that I am still working on is
my self esteem
The best vacation I ever took was to
Niagra Falls
Who was with you on that vacation?
Dad, Sandie, and Laura
If you could go to any restaurant right now where would you go?
Applebees
What would you order?
The apple walnut salad
Do you know what country/countries your ancestors came from?
Yes, Ireland, Scotland, and France
Would you rather live in a rural area, small town, or big city?
Small town or on a farm
How far do you live fom the town you grew up in?
2,212 miles
What circumstances led you to live were you are now?
The military then my husbands job
If you could get in the car right now with 3 days off, where would you go?
Michigan, but its too far
If you could go back and spend the day with one person from your past who would you choose?
Grandpa Burke
What do you think is the greatest invention ever?
Ofy asked me and I can't decide, but I think the car is a pretty awesome one, but so is the phone
What do you think was the most life changing moment in history?
I think the revolutionary war was HUGE
Whose life do you think you have had the biggest impact on?
My little sister Anna or Ofy
What are the top three things you hope to do before you die?
Publish a book of my photography, have a family, and to say I truly enjoyed life
Ruth Pregnancy Stats
Dec 18 - HCG Beta 29,
Dec 21 - HCG Beta 114,
Dec 29 - HCG Beta 1000, Prog 15.58,
Dec 31 - HCG 1615. Prog 40.53
January 8, 2010 - Ultrasound, 5mm baby and HR 90 BPM,
January 15 - HB 141 YEAH, ordered doppler
February 1 - U/S looks great 174 HB
March 4 - Heard HB on doppler for the first time
April 18 - Ruth born 21 weeks
Dec 21 - HCG Beta 114,
Dec 29 - HCG Beta 1000, Prog 15.58,
Dec 31 - HCG 1615. Prog 40.53
January 8, 2010 - Ultrasound, 5mm baby and HR 90 BPM,
January 15 - HB 141 YEAH, ordered doppler
February 1 - U/S looks great 174 HB
March 4 - Heard HB on doppler for the first time
April 18 - Ruth born 21 weeks
Angel Sayings
Some people only dream of angels, I held one in my arms
If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a lane,
I'd walk right up to Heaven
And bring you home again.
Last thing at night, send them love,
and with the dawn more again.
for the bonds will never be broken,
and that love will remind you
they still exist
God gave the most precious gift to me~ As He did so he whispered so tenderly, "This child I give you is not yours to keep, When I call her Home, please do not weep.
For I will take her by the hand, across my bridge of love, Together we will fly to my Golden Gates above, Where she can play in the sand, as soft as a sigh, The sun will always shine on her, in a summer blue sky, Her playmates will be Angels with gossamer wings, Her own spiritual mother, a sweet lullaby sings, I'll welcome home, this child, so precious in my sight, She'll be safe at last, a child of Gods light.
So do not grieve when the time comes, she's forever in my care, Behind Heavens Doorway, she'll wait for you there"
An angel in the book of life wrote down my baby's birth. Then whispered as she closed the book, "Too beautiful for Earth."
Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it
If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a lane,
I'd walk right up to Heaven
And bring you home again.
Last thing at night, send them love,
and with the dawn more again.
for the bonds will never be broken,
and that love will remind you
they still exist
God gave the most precious gift to me~ As He did so he whispered so tenderly, "This child I give you is not yours to keep, When I call her Home, please do not weep.
For I will take her by the hand, across my bridge of love, Together we will fly to my Golden Gates above, Where she can play in the sand, as soft as a sigh, The sun will always shine on her, in a summer blue sky, Her playmates will be Angels with gossamer wings, Her own spiritual mother, a sweet lullaby sings, I'll welcome home, this child, so precious in my sight, She'll be safe at last, a child of Gods light.
So do not grieve when the time comes, she's forever in my care, Behind Heavens Doorway, she'll wait for you there"
An angel in the book of life wrote down my baby's birth. Then whispered as she closed the book, "Too beautiful for Earth."
Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it
Back on Topic
So I started this blog to have a place to "get it all out" about our troubles starting a family, but I also want to keep this after our family comes along. I want to document our life ana have our far away family feel as though they are apart of the everyday life stuff. I haven't given my blog address to anyone yet, but eventually I will. I still have a lt to update.
Anyway, I haven't been posting about our struggles yet, so I think its time I get back to the topic of the blog.
I have recently taken all of our baby clothes up to one of the spare rooms here. It is the ?Mirror Room" as we have labeled it. This room is the only one that touches our room, but it also doesn't get direct sun in the morning. I have already decided (for now anyway) that this is the room I want to be the nursery. In our last house here in CA, I didn't bring any of the baby stuff in. But it didn't help much. I just spend many days looking through it all in the garage instead. So this time, I am not holding back. I brought it all in the house. That WILL be my babies room one way or another, so why not put it in its place now?
But when it comes to baby things, I have an obsession. I can't help but looking through it all and thinking about my little girl or boy wearing that dress, or that pajama set. I will admit, its mostly dreams of a little girl though. Our first pregnancy I thought it was a girl, our last one was a girl, and well I have a TON of little girl clothes.
We have already chosen when we will be starting our next round of IVF, so now I look at each piece and think, will she fit in this one at the right season? If she is small this one might fit. I can't really help it, but it makes the days a little easier. Occasionally I will pull something out to donate to good will but for the most part the stash just grows. I also love looking at different coordination's of outfits to see what I like together. I even have been known to look at them and see which ones would be cute together, if we had twins. Obsession, I know.
But I really can't help it, its the only way I know how to look ahead at the future.
Anyway, I haven't been posting about our struggles yet, so I think its time I get back to the topic of the blog.
I have recently taken all of our baby clothes up to one of the spare rooms here. It is the ?Mirror Room" as we have labeled it. This room is the only one that touches our room, but it also doesn't get direct sun in the morning. I have already decided (for now anyway) that this is the room I want to be the nursery. In our last house here in CA, I didn't bring any of the baby stuff in. But it didn't help much. I just spend many days looking through it all in the garage instead. So this time, I am not holding back. I brought it all in the house. That WILL be my babies room one way or another, so why not put it in its place now?
But when it comes to baby things, I have an obsession. I can't help but looking through it all and thinking about my little girl or boy wearing that dress, or that pajama set. I will admit, its mostly dreams of a little girl though. Our first pregnancy I thought it was a girl, our last one was a girl, and well I have a TON of little girl clothes.
We have already chosen when we will be starting our next round of IVF, so now I look at each piece and think, will she fit in this one at the right season? If she is small this one might fit. I can't really help it, but it makes the days a little easier. Occasionally I will pull something out to donate to good will but for the most part the stash just grows. I also love looking at different coordination's of outfits to see what I like together. I even have been known to look at them and see which ones would be cute together, if we had twins. Obsession, I know.
But I really can't help it, its the only way I know how to look ahead at the future.
I made baby legs
I have always thought baby legs were just absolutely adorable, so today I finally decided to make a set. I am obsessed with knee high socks, so I bought two pair today at Target, and I made my first two sets of baby legs. I did have a couple mishaps while sewing, but no biggie, you can't even tell. I really hope they fir my little cousin I am testing them on. I made one pair with a full cuff and one with a much smaller cuff. Not sure yet which I prefer.
Here they are. Aren't they just the cutest?
Here they are. Aren't they just the cutest?
Got out of the House
Lately I have felt cooped up in the house. For our Anniversary Tim bought me a couple new lenses for my camera. One happened to be a macro lens. This lens isn't for my business, but for fun. So I was pretty excited. So Thursday I decided to go out and have a little fun. But when I left the house, I ran into some bad weather. I didn't want to drive all the way out there for crappy weather. So I went shopping instead. Well after a few hours of shopping I decided to give it a go. I drove the extra 40 minutes to get to The Arboretum in Los Angeles, CA. I have to say though, I was a little disappointed. I couldn't believe how many of the plants and flowers were dead. So I walked around for a bit, struggling to get into the swing of things with my new lens.
I wandered the grounds for a bit snapping pictures but struggling. I couldn't seem to get the focus on and with the wind, it just made it harder. I didn't walk very far, and I looked at the map to see that the place was HUGE compared to where I had walked. So I think I will want to go back, but with better shoes for walking next time.
So at first glance, these are a few of my favorite shots.
