22 weeks Pregnant with a 10 month old.

A lot of the focus of being pregnant again so soon is the end game 2 kids 14 months apart. While that is the part that is going to affect us forever, right now the fact is I have a 10 month old and I’m 22 weeks pregnant and still nursing (it might not be much but it still takes a toll.)

Nursing while pregnant is an energy suck and I would say that is the 2nd hardest thing for me (the 1st being my milk supply reducing so drastically.)  Some days I’m great  and the next I’m dead tired and barely able to function. I’ve used more caffeine this pregnancy than I did with the last and honestly more than I do ‘normally.’ It’s still not much, well under the rules and regulations so I’m not letting that bother me. I would say 2-3 servings per week. I am noticing that keeping up with exercise helps a lot, the weeks I workout I’m much more focused and awake.

Having a peanut of a baby is helpful though. At her last check up Apple was 5% for height, 3% for weight and 50% for head size (just had to include that I think its funny.) Having her be so small and light is a blessing. 

There are some physical limitations though. I’m starting to notice my tummy being an issue, we have her crib on the lowest setting since she stands up and can pull herself off her feet. For now its ok but I can tell bending over that much is going to be harder in the future, we will figure it out. Also things like helping her walk or bending over while I’m sitting on a chair/couch and she is playing on the floor are getting more difficult, but again there are ways to work around that.

Lastly there is just the time aspect, we are planning on making out guest room a guest/play room and repainting and carpeting…there just hasn’t been time to do that with a 10 month old in the mix. I would also like to make a quilt for gummy bear but that may have to come later…. I think I found the fabric though : ) want to see????

Over all I don’t think being pregnant again so soon has been fine, the only true negative is the cut in milk production. However keep in mind that is different for everone. Don’t let that stop you 😉

 

When your milk runs out {An emotional journey}

Disclaimer: There is ALOT going on in my head right now and that will be reflected in this post. However I know at the root of it all I can’t do anything about the facts and they are: I’m 20 weeks pregnant and that has cut my milk supply. However that doesn’t stop the Mommy guilt.  Also know that I truly 100% don’t judge anyone for using formula I just personaly don’t want to.

I’m suffering major mommy guilt I have been off and on but as of yesterday it hit hard. You see I’m only pumping 2 times while I’m at work (because 3 times yeilds the same amount as 2) and from those 2 sessions I only pump enough for 1 bottle….she needs 2-3 a day when I’m at work. I used to pump enough for a full week of bottles after 2.5 days of pumping at work, then I would freeze the rest of what I pumped at work. Typicaly I would freeze 4-5 bottles worth per work week!

That leads to the old guilt, back when I had plenty I didn’t worry about future milk needs. I could have pumped sooo much more, but I didn’t and now my supply is being used much faster than I anticipated.

Plus the new guilt… I can’t pump enough to feed my baby and if I pump too much then there is nothing left for her when I get home. When my supply first decreased I barley pumped enough for her…then it went down to just enough  for 2 bottles so that wasn’t bad. Now just 1 and we are starting to go through the frozen.

At first I was still hoping to make it to a year…now I’m hoping to make it to 10 months (which is only 10 days away but last night I about lost all hope.)  Then comes the next level of mommy guilt, I DO NOT want to give her formula. I understand that some moms have to and choose to and that is 100% fine. But I don’t want to start it for her especially this late in the game. We have worked so hard to keep things natural for her, cloth diapers, essential oils, healthy safe cleaners in the house. I really wanted to give her body a great start where it didn’t have to fight against the environment around her.

We have had great success with only 1 minor cold that was treated with oils.  Our goal is to at least get her thought the 1st year with out any antibiotics and I’m a little concerned that if we bombard her body when new chemicals and such now from formula, right at the end of flu season it might not work out well.

BUT at the same time I don’t want to switch her to a goats milk breast milk mix if it won’t provide all the nutrients she needs….bleh.

So here is what I”m trying to focus on, whatever we end up wit hit will be fine. I’ve done as much as I physically can and a new life is well on its way. I need to cut myself a break. If we only make it a little past 10 months then that is the way it is an that is ok. hopefully I can remember that tonight when I have to pull out frozen milk….

Lansinoh Vs Medela {Double Electric Pumps}

This is just a basic comparison between the two brands. I’ll have separate posts about pumping and pumping at work in the future.

I’m not someone who buys based on brand name so when my insurance company would only buy me the Lansinoh pump I was fine with it. However now that I havethe ‘big name brand’  I know why it is so popular. Since have both I would like to do a comparison for ya.

First off I have the Lansinoh Affinity Double Electric Pump and the Medela Pump n’ Style (NOT the advanced the old school one.)

The Lansinoh pump has 5 pieces per breast sheild, the Medela has 3 at most. If you get the knock off brand replacement parts it only has 2! This doesn’t seem like a big deal  but with an infant you have enough to deal with and no less than 3 times in the last 5 weeks I’ve forgotten at least one of these pieces…

The suction doesn’t compare at all to the Medela, the Medela is much stronger. This greatly affects the amount of time it takes to pump and the volume I get while at work.

The Lansinoh is not easily compatible with any other brand of collection containers (snappi, medela), you can make them work but its not easy. I have no problem using the lansinoh containers with my medela.

Finding parts for the Lansinoh is very hard. The only place I’ve found to buy parts is their website and its piece by piece…no complete kits that I could find. This is a problem if you don’t have a back up on hand you can’t go in to any store and find it.

The Lansinoh is much easier to do ‘one handed’ because the tubing is at the very top and you don’t end up kinking.

Bottom line: I ended up borrowing a Medela from my friend and just buying my own tubes and flanges. I will be using that one at work and for traveling.  I will continue to use my Lansinoh but only at home where I don’t have to worry about the time it takes pumping or forgetting parts.

Nursing problems { over active/forceful let down}

A while ago I wrote about my experience starting to pump and relieving pressure from  over producing. The pumping method I was using helped greatly and of your only issues nursing is over production I highly recommend it. However that wasn’t my only issue.

I noticed pretty quickly that Apple was gulping, squeaking, pulling off and seeming frustrated with early and late night feelings. I thought it was just her, but after I started pumping these things got worse and I started doing some research. I found that these are all symptoms of over active or forceful let down. After a little observation I realized that sure enough that was my other issue. It’s fairly common when you over produce to have forceful let down because your body is just trying to relieve the pressure. However tiny babies can’t always handle it.

So after a little research I decided to change plans. I stopped pumping all together (which is scary a week before you go back to work) to force my body into learning to slow down its production a little.  I also tried some new positions during feeding. The ones I had the most success with were the foot ball hold, so she had an easier time pulling off if it became too much for her, and  reclining way back and having her lay on my chest face down. This second position was the best for us because then gravity helped her out. However it’s not always possible to use these two holds so if I do have to cradle hold I make sure her head is elevated above her stomach to help with swallowing.  I also added more frequent burping to help with the air she gulped down so she does’t spit up so much.

This all worked great for about a week and then we had two days that were hard again. I attribute this to me being stressed about going back to work and her being pretty darn tired (I think we are going to have our first growth spurt soon.)  This morning things were good again so I’m sure it will be a cycle of learning for both of us. As she gets bigger she will handle it better and my body will start to figure things out.

Anyone else out there have forceful let down? Any tips for me?

Starting to Pump { I feel like a cow}

Around week 3 (I can’t remember exactly) I started to pump, maybe a bit early but I’m  not doing ‘full pump sessions yet’ I just needed to relieve some pressure. Apple has been gaining weight but my left side overproduces a little in my humble opinion, ouch!

Anyway, I know a few people who used to work on a dairy farm and umm yeah based on their descriptions I now feel like a cow. Its awkward for sure and I feel weird when my hubby sees me (odd I know) but it helps sooo much so who cares!

Source U of Minnesota

Anyway so far I’m blessed with a good little sleeper so I started using it whenever but quickly realized using it as part of the night routine was the best way to get started. She tends to cluster feed and or eat less at night so that was when the pressure started to build.  Here is our current routine (next week I’m going to start transitioning for work.)  Also FYI I’m not a doctor or anything so make sure your child is gaining weight and talk to your doctor if you have any questions. There got that out of the way.  Also I would like to say that right now we only nurse on one side per time. It’s just what works for us, so if that is what you do maybe this will help you out.

• For her last feeding of the night or what I hope to be if she doesn’t cluster feed I let her eat till her hearts content on whatever side is up, lets say the right.  Then if its a short feeding I finish off the 10 min with the pump. Then I switch to the left side and pump for 5 min just to relive the build up but not to stimulate a full feeding (and therefore the need to refill.) Then that amount (around 2-3 ounces) goes in the fridge.
• Whenever she wakes up (nope I don’t wake her, and hopefully never will need to why start that habit?) she will eat on the left side and again I’ll finish out the 10 min with the pump and then pump for 5 min on the other side. This also goes in the fridge.
• I complete the cycle one more time in the morning with her first feeding wait for that milk to cool and then combine  all the milk and freeze it.

Here are my thoughts behind this. First off I started doing full pumps (10 min) on the not used side. This didn’t help AT ALL in fact it made it worse. Then both sides thought they needed to refill ouch! I read somewhere that doing about 1/2 your normal time will help relieve the pressure but not the refill, its worked for me! Secondly when she is cluster feeding I do switch her back and forth to both sides. I know its mostly a comfort thing not a hungry thing, but at least for her if I switch back and forth she ends up eating more ( at least I hear more swallowing ) and that seems to shorten then amount of time she needs to eat. I’ve gotten it down from 3 hours to just 1.5-2 using this method and that is nice since she starts cluster feeding around 10…ish tired mama. Lastly according to my research you should only mix cooled milk, not warm and warm and not warm and cool.  You can read more about that here on the Medela website.  I can’t find my original source though but it was more scientific but if I find it again I’ll add the link.

Lastly remember when you first start  your not going to get the same amount of milk that your little one does when she eats, so don’t freak out if your only getting a tiny bit. Keep trying and hopefully it will work out for you. The fact is pumping doesn’t work for everyone and that is ok. Don’t beat yourself up about it, its not your fault. Try as long as you can and try different helpers but if it doesn’t work out it just doesn’t.  There are some things you can do to help, I’ve not had to try them but I’ll find some links for a future post.

Rambeling Thoughts

Lots going through this crazy brain of mine the last few days….here is just a taste.

I’ve been sappy about commercials and ‘baby things’ for a while now but just the other day, hubby was! We watch all of our TV recorded and the other day while skipping through commercials ( I was photo editing) he stop rewound and told me to watch…it was a cute commercial about a new baby and its dads first ‘responsibility’ of making him safe in his car seat…awww I love that he did that.

How do you pack a go-bag with limited clothing? Umm hello I do not have a huge maternity wardrobe.  I only have 2 pairs of maternity jeans (and a few normal that work with a bella band) I think I have enough shirts I could pack a light weight long sleeve and be ok. Bras and underware…ummm no. Oh and I only have 1 pair of glasses people!

Ahh money what new or soon to be parents don’t think about money?

Nursing Pads…yep not sure what to buy for reusable, don’t know if I’ll be light-med or med-heavy….also how many do you buy so you don’t have to do laundry all the time? Bought a set of 60 disposable to help me figure it all out.

What things MUST I have before she arrives….anything really? I have 2 more showers coming but they are going to be between 2-3 weeks before her due date so want to make sure I have all the actual necessities.