Tonight I pumped for the first time. I had heard that pumping is difficult in the beginning etc. but I must be blessed. In less than 10 minutes I had an ounce each breast. Incredible! I could have pumped more but I don't want to jack up my supply and end up with engorged breasts. Ouch!
Thanks to Carmen & Betty we were able to purchase a pretty good pump, the Lansinoh Double Electric Pump. Now that I will be buidling up a supply, I'll be able to let J feed Ian now and then so I can get some sleep, and can also take advantage of babysitters so I can go out w/o Ian for longer than 2 hours. Yay!
I also plan to us it at work once I return in April so that my mom can feed Ian my milkies while she watches him during the day. Only the best for my baby!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
The Magical Changing Table
You know how babies always have their "thing"? Example, Jason's cousins Enid and Robbie, who live in NYC and have two boys, told us once that the only way to get Lorenzo to sleep was to put him in his carseat, rock him on the coffee table and turn on a hairdryer. Funny!
Well Ian's thing is the diaper changing table, which we've moved into the bedroom and keep near the windows. He loves it! Actually it's the sun coming through the blinds that mesmerizes him. I lay him down and he immediately turns his head and stares and stares. He smiles and giggles and makes noises that sound like talking. It's incredible! I have left him happily on the table for up to 30 minutes. Of course I stay nearby b/c of the falling hazard.
I wonder what his next "thing" will be...
Well Ian's thing is the diaper changing table, which we've moved into the bedroom and keep near the windows. He loves it! Actually it's the sun coming through the blinds that mesmerizes him. I lay him down and he immediately turns his head and stares and stares. He smiles and giggles and makes noises that sound like talking. It's incredible! I have left him happily on the table for up to 30 minutes. Of course I stay nearby b/c of the falling hazard.
I wonder what his next "thing" will be...
Sheets of Fury
The other night my mom stayed over to give Jason a good nights' rest and help me out throughout the night with diapers, rocking, etc. It was an incredibly explosive evening.
First, projectile vomiting. I mean, Ian would have made Linda Blair (The Exorcist) proud. It was all over the sheets and my pillow, not to mention my face! Blech. We put a towel over the vomit and I switched pillows. No way were we changing the sheets at 3am!
Then, after all three of us finally drifted off for a couple hours, my arm started feeling reeeeally warm. Yup, the baby had whizzed all over my arm and the vomitty sheets. Cue towel #2 over the peed part of the sheet.
Finally, the sun came up and I was nursing Ian for the 3rd time that night/early morning. He pooped, which is very common during a feeding. It's an input-output gastrointestinal type thing. So I thought nothing of it until I lifted him up to burp him and noticed that his poop had exploded out the top of his diaper, onto my pj pants and....yup, on the same nasty sheet.
My mom and I finally agreed it was time to wash the sheets. They had become quite the bio-hazard!
First, projectile vomiting. I mean, Ian would have made Linda Blair (The Exorcist) proud. It was all over the sheets and my pillow, not to mention my face! Blech. We put a towel over the vomit and I switched pillows. No way were we changing the sheets at 3am!
Then, after all three of us finally drifted off for a couple hours, my arm started feeling reeeeally warm. Yup, the baby had whizzed all over my arm and the vomitty sheets. Cue towel #2 over the peed part of the sheet.
Finally, the sun came up and I was nursing Ian for the 3rd time that night/early morning. He pooped, which is very common during a feeding. It's an input-output gastrointestinal type thing. So I thought nothing of it until I lifted him up to burp him and noticed that his poop had exploded out the top of his diaper, onto my pj pants and....yup, on the same nasty sheet.
My mom and I finally agreed it was time to wash the sheets. They had become quite the bio-hazard!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Miracle Octopus
Auntie Jen gave Ian a Baby Einstein octopus toy that plays music and tells colors in English, Spanish and French. Squeeze his head and he plays fun, carnival-style tunes; squeeze his tentacles and he tells the colors.
This octopus has become Ian's miracle distraction on the changing table. Before he can begin to fuss, I squeeze the head and Ian just stares and stares, allowing me to wipe, clean, airdry and diaper my little one with ease!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Cloth Diapers - Hurrah!
Jason and I are loving the cloth diapers we got Ian. His butt rash cleared right up when we switched to cloth yesterday afternoon and he's less fussy when he makes a boom-boom in the cloth as compared with the disposable.
And they really aren't that hard to clean up. We have a spray nozzle that attaches to the comode that we use to hose off the solid stuff. Then, we just dump the cloth diapers into the wash and presto! Super easy. And so much better for the environment and Ian's bum.
Right now he's asleep in the swing. That should last about 3 minutes.
And they really aren't that hard to clean up. We have a spray nozzle that attaches to the comode that we use to hose off the solid stuff. Then, we just dump the cloth diapers into the wash and presto! Super easy. And so much better for the environment and Ian's bum.
Right now he's asleep in the swing. That should last about 3 minutes.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Best News Ever
Confused about when to let Ian sleep through the night, I posted this in the La Leche League forum and also emailed Linda Worzer, the woman who taught our Bradley birth class:
"My month-old baby son is gaining weight well and I think our supply-demand relationship is getting very close to established. I no longer get way engorged at night and can go 4 hours at a time at night feeding him.So how do I know when I can go longer? Do I wait for him to wake us up to feed or do I continue to wake him every 3-4 hours?
His pediatrician said he can even go 5 hours w/o feeding at night, but he was thinking solely of his good weight-gain. What about my milk supply? I'm scared it will diminish. But if my lo is sleeping so soundly through what used to be a feeding, my instinct is to leave him alone and let his hunger pangs wake us up.
Help!! I'd love more sleep for all three of us, but I don't want to screw up my milk supply or his weight gain. btw - He feeds a ton during the day, about every 2 hours."
Here is Linda's response:
"He is mature enough to wake and let you know when he needs to eat. You can allow him to sleep as long as you wish at night. Many babies "cluster feed" (as you mentioned) during the day to ensure they receive all the calories and nutrients they need.
At 6 weeks of age, most babies experience a growth spurt during which they return to more frequent requests for feedings. After that, it's not uncommon for a baby to sleep longer at night and possibly to nap longer during the daytime.
Your milk supply is firmly established by three weeks postpartum, so no worries there.
Relax, enjoy, and get more sleep - before you know if, he'll be teething and waking frequently at night again ; )
P.S. My second child (who was exclusivey breastfed) slept consistently 12 hours at night from the age of three months and took one two hour nap in the daytime. She topped the growth charts in height and weight."
"My month-old baby son is gaining weight well and I think our supply-demand relationship is getting very close to established. I no longer get way engorged at night and can go 4 hours at a time at night feeding him.So how do I know when I can go longer? Do I wait for him to wake us up to feed or do I continue to wake him every 3-4 hours?
His pediatrician said he can even go 5 hours w/o feeding at night, but he was thinking solely of his good weight-gain. What about my milk supply? I'm scared it will diminish. But if my lo is sleeping so soundly through what used to be a feeding, my instinct is to leave him alone and let his hunger pangs wake us up.
Help!! I'd love more sleep for all three of us, but I don't want to screw up my milk supply or his weight gain. btw - He feeds a ton during the day, about every 2 hours."
Here is Linda's response:
"He is mature enough to wake and let you know when he needs to eat. You can allow him to sleep as long as you wish at night. Many babies "cluster feed" (as you mentioned) during the day to ensure they receive all the calories and nutrients they need.
At 6 weeks of age, most babies experience a growth spurt during which they return to more frequent requests for feedings. After that, it's not uncommon for a baby to sleep longer at night and possibly to nap longer during the daytime.
Your milk supply is firmly established by three weeks postpartum, so no worries there.
Relax, enjoy, and get more sleep - before you know if, he'll be teething and waking frequently at night again ; )
P.S. My second child (who was exclusivey breastfed) slept consistently 12 hours at night from the age of three months and took one two hour nap in the daytime. She topped the growth charts in height and weight."
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Beautiful Boy
I have never loved something like I love Ian. It's incredible. There is a bond that exists that I can't begin to explain.
When we're in the car or alone at home I like to sing to him. He really seems to like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy." I found this on You Tube:
When we're in the car or alone at home I like to sing to him. He really seems to like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy." I found this on You Tube:
Big Scare
Just now as I was showing Jason my new way of putting on a cloth diaper (we've been using a mix of disposable and cloth since last weekend). Ian was on the diaper table and J and I were standing over him. As he is wont to do, Ian threw up his strong, long arm and knocked over a tube of Aveeno butt cream right into his face. It toppled into his eye and he went ballistic. I was scare poopless since I didn't know if his eye-closing reflex was fast enough to protect his eyeball, or if the sharp end of the tube scratched his eye. He was so red and crying so hard that I was really freaked out. Jason, who was way more calm than me, took over and was able to calm Ian. Apparently he'd swallowed a lot of air with all the crying and Jason was able to burp him a few times and stop his crying.
THANK GOD. I was already imagining a baby eye patch and future blindness, etc. You know how it goes. Just the sight of seeing my son in pain and wailing was enough to just kill me. But he's better now and asleep in his father's arms. I'll keep an eye on his eye overnight and see where we're at tomorrow morning. I'm not 100% convinced all is well. We'll "see."
THANK GOD. I was already imagining a baby eye patch and future blindness, etc. You know how it goes. Just the sight of seeing my son in pain and wailing was enough to just kill me. But he's better now and asleep in his father's arms. I'll keep an eye on his eye overnight and see where we're at tomorrow morning. I'm not 100% convinced all is well. We'll "see."
Monday, February 2, 2009
Bathtime!
Footprints
At his 10-day visit last Tuesday, Ian got his footprints permanently added to the walls of the Birth & Women's Center. All babies born at the Center get their feet stamped along the borders of the doors, windows, and floors. It's so neat to see all the footprints when you walk through the Center.
We chose the upstairs birthing room where it all began. That's where I got my first dose of Cytotec and then Jason and I got a nice 2-hour rest in the bed while the drug did its job. Then our second dose there later that afternoon, and another couple's rest together in the bed. Bada bing bada boom - a handful of hours later and the contractions started!
Life with Ian continues to be a glorious challenge. I can't get enough of him and he can't get enough of me and my attention! I'm getting real used to these 3-hour maximum doses of sleep and have already forgotten what a full night's rest feels like. The human body has an incredible way of adapting to just about anything. I plan to begin pumping soon, so I'll be able to leave Ian with one of his grandmas, aunts, cousins, etc. overnight one day soon and get a full night's rest. Of course, if I go too long without nursing, my breasties get engorged and then I'm miserable. Perhaps I can get a full night's rest once Ian is weaned...in about a year!
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