BFP Ladies from MAY we all be blessed with baby! TTC May '13 and beyond[Closed Group]

[daddiesgift]

I don't think its hunger because I eat most at night. I do really good all day till night then I munch out! I thought it was food but when I burp its the same taste so I'm assuming its these pills. I also took them before bfp while on the pill and I thought the pill was making me sick but again assuming its these pills!

As far as stretch mark cream Ill tell you what doesn't work honestly its all about weight gain and genes. But it won't hurt to try avoid them, I used bio oil, palmers stretch mark lotion and Johnson and Johnson A&E baby oil. I also tried some brand of coco butter body butter. I hate feeling greasy so I'd pour the oil in my bath that way I felt smooth and soft but not slick!

My mother and sister got none but I got a few on my breasts and hips. Then one small one above belly button with #1 I went from a DD to an H! I gained 40 pounds with him most from 20-37 weeks so that probably didnt help. I got fat EVERY WHERE with him. my face, arms, legs ect. After I lost baby weight they weren't so noticeable. With #2 my breasts stayed a DD and I gained 40 pounds with him again mostly from 20-38 weeks. With him I was completely belly. Everything stayed the same but stomach got huge. No new stretch marks but the old ones got much wider and deeper. Now they are dark purple I have tattoos that they even went through! oh well price of pregnancy.

 

[mummy2o]

My mum has loads and I got loads. Tried everything going last time, so I used nothing this time. So far I haven't gotten any new ones, so I'm happy. I do think genes have a part to play.

In first tri, I remember having to eat something every hour or so, otherwise my nausea would kick in and it wouldn't go until I ate. I felt like a fat pig and still lost weight some how. Now I generally fine if I have 4 meals. A normal breakfast and lunch, with dinner split in two so I get one with my son and one with OH who eats later. They are generally the same, unless its something the other doesn't like.

AFM my eye has cleared up more or less so I'm happy. Also I woke up this morning and OH had his hand on my belly. This was so sweet!

 

[KatyW]

Hopeful,

Same as Melann, I do cereal (try to do whole grain, fortified). The carbohydrates really settle my stomach well. I eat it dry and drink a lot of milk with it. I've done all sorts of starchy things too (like bagels, english muffins with cream cheese, crackers and peanut butter), anything like that seems to help me the most.

 

[Kwaggy]

In the begining I had a hard time eating anything at all. Now my appitite is finally coming back, but I still have a hard time with dairy products. Ive been drinking Ensure for expectant mothers...and Ive put on 8lbs in the last month! My doctor was pleased because Ive been having trouble gaining
weight... I have another growth scan on Tuesday, Im hoping my placenta is moving off of my cervix so I wont need a c-section

 

[Hopeful2014]

@melann13 That's a wonderful scan! Thanks for showing me. Happy 30 weeks!! I'll look at the Burt's Bees. I have heard good things about it overall. I don't think my mom has many stretch marks. I'll need to find out.

@daddiesgift You're right; it's the price of pregnancy and I'll accept them if needed. I'm hoping to not get any creams that are too oily/greasy. I'm the same as you. I'll eat good throughout the day and then I eat most at night.

@mummy2o I still need to weigh myself again. I did at the beginning and planned on doing it at 8 weeks, but I was delayed. I don't feel heavier, despite the food, but I'm a little bloated for sure. My husband even remarked on it today when we were talking about my symptoms so far. He was very sweet about it though and understands why it's happening.

@KatyW Thanks! Those are good suggestions. I've been eating peanut butter and toast, but I may switch it up with crackers. I also like dry cereal. I've never liked milk much so I try to get it in meals when I can, but I really like dry cereal. I'll look into different cereals to make sure I'm getting the best.

@Kwaggy Congrats on gaining some weight! I remember it's been tough for you. I love cheese and some other dairy products, but I don't like milk a lot. Let us know how the growth scan goes. I really hope it's moved. How long will they wait for it to move before making a decision?

 

[Kwaggy]

Thanks Hopeful, I never thought I would be so excited about gaining weight lol. I went the the ER at 18wks for bright red bleeding, it was so scary at the time...after having an ultrasound I was told I have placenta previa. I was on bed rest for a week, and Ive been on a 10lb weight restriction since. I had another scan at 24wks and my placenta had moved some...My OB told me if it has not moved completly off of my cervix by 32 weeks she wants to schedule a c-section.

Do any of you ladies plan on Breast Feeding? Its something I want to try, but being a FTM I really dont know what to expect. I dont know anyone that has breast fed...and I dont have much family support. I had a family member tell me I shouldnt do it because breast fed babies look "starved" and they are "too skinny" and all Her kids had formula and they are just fine.
Im finding everyone has an opinion about everything!

 

[OurLilFlu]

Wow what a terrible thing to say about BF babies. Definitely go for it, I'm a postpartum nurse so I feel pretty prepared but you do need a lot of support and encouragement in the beginning. Start looking at the threads on here and see if there's a la leche league in your area or try to find a friend that has bf it's a lot of hard work but soo worth it in many ways.
I once had a patient tell me her sole reason for FF was that she liked chubby babies better... I was shocked!

 

[daddiesgift]

What's FTM? I still need to learn all the lingo.

Breast feeding is touchy for me. I plan and hope to but I haven't been successful so far! Saying you need support is an understatement!

With #1 I also never remember babies being bottle or breast fed. Just wasn't around babies I guess. So I thought they were just as good and both options a woman could chose. I took a lactation class, I recommend finding a GOOD one or maybe just skip that and set up one on one time with a consultant. That class for me really set up our journey. That's where I heard how magical breast feeding was and how horrible formula was and how easy it is to breast feed. Ill never forget "only 1% percent of women can't breast feed" that's the biggest lie told. So I then decided to Breast feed and thought it would be a cinch! For me it was an absolute nightmare that no one mentioned would be. People say my experience isn't common but the more info you seek out the more you learn it is. Having the support of family and friends, and reaching out for help right after birth and seeing a lactation consultant is key!! I breast fed for 6 weeks and was horribly depressed the whole time, I think because of that stupid class set up my expectations! My sons latch was far from perfect. I had an over abundance so I was engorged and let down for my son was too overwhelming so he would pull off and scream his head off. Then because my nipples were so cracked I got mastitis four times in 6 weeks. It's like it never went away!! When I gave up I felt horrible guilt for giving him this so called poison of formula. But honestly its the best thing I ever did!! He started gaining weight, sleeping better, helping me be happier and that's when our bond started!

With #2 the first time I got mastitis was it for me. I already had a formula fed kid who is extremely smart and healthy. They say formula makes over weight, sick kids, with allergies and breast feed babies are smarter. Not the case with my two! And both of my children were born with food allergies that my breast milk made worse. So for me with #2 when the consultant said I had to do all this stuff to even get him on as his mouth would barely fit your pinky in it I said forget it, wasn't going down that road again! I tried pumping but that just made things worse and I had to pump and dump for two weeks because he couldn't have dairy or soy. I was more attached to the pump than him!

This all probably sounds scary but I just want women to know that breast is best but if its too much for you, your child isn't destined for failure because you bottle feed. I lived with that guilt because of what other people pushed on me and thought.

With #3 I'm going to give it a try and hope the outcome is different. That's all I can do. I have such anxiety over it that sometimes I don't want to try at all but I'm going to. Here goes nothing!

Breast and bottle has its ups and downs and pros and cons. Breast feeding is not easy to begin with. Majority have problems but most overcome them and things get better so don't give up too quick. But if you do chose not to dont let people talk down to you or make you feel guilty.

 

[mummy2o]

FTM I think means First time mum.

I was unable to breast feed DS as he didn't latch. I was offered no help what-so-ever to over come this problem, so the choice was keep trying or FF, and I was worried that DS hadn't eaten in 24 hours that I'd try bottle. He wasn't brilliant on that if I'm honest. It was like he had no idea how to fed for 3 months until we started solids at the earliest possibly moment as he was loosing weight weekly. Apparently its pretty common though in autistic children to have trouble feeding, I found out later on a course. But I also know a few other children who have had trouble feeding, were fine later on so don't think just because LO having trouble feeding there is anything wrong as most of the time there isn't. I think for allergies my family from my dad, me and now DS have always got constant allergies going so I think mine is more genetic rather than DS being FF.

This one I'm not sure if I want to BF purely as I will be going back to college to do the course I was meant to do this year, so LO will be 5 months old, unless I have a change of mind and spend a year with her before I go. Lots of things to think about.

 

[want2bemommy]

I'm going to try and tandem BF the girls. I have lots of support and a friend who nursed her twins to 14 months to give me guidance. I'm excited to try and can't wait for the experience ��

 

[chulie]

Hi ladies.

With regards to stretchmarks. I do feel there is not much you can do but all I can say use cream and drink lots of water because being hydrated from the inside is as important as the outside. My sister got bad stretchmarks but I didn't get any except a few on my hips.

Ahhhhhhh breastfeeding. Such an interesting topic!! So many different women who have so many experiences. Here's my 2 cents for what it's worth:

I was against it from the start. Haha. I said I was gonna make up an excuse that my baby was allergic to breast milk :s haha. After my daughter was born, we did skin to skin immediately and as my daughter was lying on my chest, she started moving her head down and found my nipple all by herself. I was so friggen shocked!!!! I thought "ya know what, if my newborn is that smart, it clearly is in me to do" so I vowed to give it a real try.

So I did. First 3 weeks it was really hard. A lot of sleepless nights and man did I wish dh could help. I had a lot of family want me to give up. Not because they were "bad" but because none of them did..I think they just didn't want me to suffer. They wanted to help me so even though it was out of love. They just wanted what "they" wanted. Not what I wanted. First 3 weeks are by far the worst. I had a cracked nipple that hurt like a s.o.b.! This didn't seem natural or beautiful like the pictures depicted!! I was so ready to give up...but something told me to just push through. I did...once I hit a month. Man did things change. Everything got "easier". I began to truely understand the "beauty" of this whole thing!! I loved nursing dd. Yeah she didn't sleep through the night as easily as ff babies...but I got the hang of it. I loved the quiet nights alone with dd nursing her. I loved when we were at a busy family function I could take dd quietly and have our time alone. I loved every amazing second of it!!

Things to know:
Most babies hit a growth spurt around 2-3, 5-6 weeks and women nursing sometimes mistake that with them not having enough milk. Not saying that's always the case...but sometimes. So you feel like your nursing every hour. Thats ok. It's just your baby telling your body "I want more"...

Find a friend whose just ahead of you with a baby and nursing...my girlfriend was my lifesaver and when I wanted to quit she was my saving grace

If you need something to bump up your milk taking something as simple as fenugreek or blessed thistle can do wonders!

Just know..it's friggen hard at first. At first my motivation was just to prove all those people wrong who said it was too hard and I "couldn't" do it..whatever gets you through that first few weeks. IF you want this

End of the day....ff/bf..your baby will be perfect. I was ff and I turned out JUST fine!!!! Lmao!!

 

[RaeChay]

Do any of you ladies plan on Breast Feeding? Its something I want to try, but being a FTM I really dont know what to expect. I dont know anyone that has breast fed...and I dont have much family support. I had a family member tell me I shouldnt do it because breast fed babies look "starved" and they are "too skinny" and all Her kids had formula and they are just fine.
Im finding everyone has an opinion about everything!

Geez, everyone likes to tell you how to raise kids...before you've even had them! I live in an area where you're basically a "terrible person" if you DON'T breast feed. My plan is to try BF'ing, but basically to just see how it goes. No judgments either way.

 

[Hopeful2014]

@Kwaggy I really hope it moves. I plan on breastfeeding. I plan to pump so my husband can feed as well. I think you should try it if you want to as well. There are a lot of great benefits baby can get from being breastfed and it has benefits for mom as well. I'm sure when we tell people we will get all the opinions too.

@OurLilFlu Does formula really make babies chubbier? My sister-in-law breastfed her daughters for a while and then used formula and only used formula with her son. I can't remember if it made a difference. Her son is very chubby, but I didn't know if it is because he is a boy and already bigger than they were. I know a lot of people don't want to breastfeed because of what it entails, but I've never heard of someone wanting to use formula just to have a chubby baby.

@daddiesgift I totally agree. It's up to each woman and no one should make her feel bad about her decision.

@want2bemommy I'm so glad you have a friend who had twin experience! You'll have to let us know how it goes.

@chulie That's some good advice. I'm so glad you enjoyed the experience and bonded with your daughter. I was against it when I was growing up, but I think that was just because I was young and couldn't imagine doing it at that point.


Ladies who have breastfed, can you use certain creams to help with cracked nipples or soreness?

 

[chulie]

@hopeful...yes. There are some great ones out there. There is one my dr prescribed called the "Jack Newman cream". They call it that because it's a concoction mixed together first by the world renowned Breast feeding expert Jack Newman (how a MAN is the expert..well...your guess is as good as mine) but it does work. And there are others out there as well.....I was just an idiot and at first thought I could "tough it out" hahahaa.

I think ff babies "can" be chubbier but that's not to say they all are. I know some bf babies that were chunky monkies!!! Hehehe. My dd was not at all....she was very very petite and was always in the 5th percentile for weight. But even now she's not a big girl. She's still on the smaller side because my in laws are little people. Hahahaa. So if she takes after them I never expected her to be "big".

The reason ff babies are bigger sometimes is...babies don't really know the difference between "I want to suck and I want to eat"...so..if you put a bottle in their mouth. They just keep drinking....because something is coming out..they suck more. Hahaa. Until it's all gone. Even if they were full 2 ounces ago. Not a bad thing at all!!! Just that's how they put on weight a bit easier and faster...because a bf baby can suck for milk or just pacify....so when they're done eating then they stop suckin for milk...(hurt like a mofo by the way hahahaha. Don't let them!!) so that's sorta how it's possible. But again. When it comes to babies.....getting the weight on is never bad! Haha.

 

[daddiesgift]

I think it matters more of the build of baby then what they are fed. My friends daughter is huge and she's strictly breast fed but her mom and dad are tiny. My oldest was born 7 pounds and ff fed and was never over 15% in weight. Now he's incredibly tall and very thin. Our baby was born nearly 2 pounds more so he's always been chubby. They are 15 months apart and as of now our 2 year old is only 3 pounds more and 3 inches taller. Daddy is tall and skinny while I'm tall and thicker. So one boy took after daddy one took after me. I think genes play apart more than anything. Oh was cows milk fed and he is never sick and can't gain weight to save his life. I was breast fed 6 months and cows milk fed 6 months and eat a piece of toast and I've gained 5 pounds I'm not sick much either.

It's easier to suck down milk in a bottle but babies know when they are full. Even at a young age they'll just turn their head away when you try to feed them or they spit nipple back out.

I think since I oversupply so much once I get the pain and nursing regulated ill pump to save a bunch so if I feel like quitting I can just use already pumped milk in bottle. For me it was more than the pain and sickness I felt like my skin was crawling every time I nursed and I would cry each time not from pain but just feeling like a milk maid and that I'd never do anything but nurse. I guess since I only bf till 6 weeks I never got past the pain and the hourly nursing sessions! I hope it gets better or bottle it is.

 

[melann13]

@Kwaggy, definitely trying BFing here. (I see you're also in WI!!). I study neuroendocrinology, so I think I'd be fired if I didn't at least try (kidding of course), but it's definitely something that gets a lot of traction around here. My hospital has lots of LCs, plus DHs aunt is the head of the LLL on the west coast, so while long distance, I know I can call on her for support. My mom BF me for 9mos. I have friends that BF for longer. The World Health Organization recommends BF soley til 6 mos and then supplemented BFing until 12 mos, so that's what I'm shooting for. I will be returning to work at 6 wks (not quite full time), and will be pumping. The recommendation I've received is to start giving one pumped bottle per day around 2-3 weeks to prevent nipple confusion or bottle refusal. I have my own office at work, so I will be pumping here (apparently there's a lactation room down one floor that I will check out, but if I can just stay in my office I probably will- unless it's super fancy

 

[OurLilFlu]

Ya I think partly with FF it's the ease of feeding that might make them gain but I know some ppl because they can see how much there is, they want them to finish the bottle so they try to get them to eat as much as they can. Where bf you can't really do that you can try to get them to relatch but if they're done they're done. And the other thing is that breast milk is very different from formula in its make-up, formula has the same amount of calories etc all the way through. For breast milk there's the fore and hind milks... With the hindmilk ( near the end of the feed) is chock full of all the calories etc. whereas if the baby just wanted to suck for a few minutes rather than a full feed in that instance they are satisfying more their thirst rather than getting a full meal... If you catch my drift.
With creams, lanolin ones are usually the go to... I've heard of jack Newman, very good videos, but never knew he made a cream either!

 

[chulie]

Ya I think partly with FF it's the ease of feeding that might make them gain but I know some ppl because they can see how much there is, they want them to finish the bottle so they try to get them to eat as much as they can. Where bf you can't really do that you can try to get them to relatch but if they're done they're done. And the other thing is that breast milk is very different from formula in its make-up, formula has the same amount of calories etc all the way through. For breast milk there's the fore and hind milks... With the hindmilk ( near the end of the feed) is chock full of all the calories etc. whereas if the baby just wanted to suck for a few minutes rather than a full feed in that instance they are satisfying more their thirst rather than getting a full meal... If you catch my drift.
With creams, lanolin ones are usually the go to... I've heard of jack Newman, very good videos, but never knew he made a cream either!

Yeah...it's a not a bottled cream you can buy in the store....it's something your dr gives you.....

The Recipe

•The antibiotic: Bactroban (mupirocin) 2% ointment (not cream): 15 grams. You'll need to get a prescription from your doctor for this ingredient.
•The anti-inflammatory: Betamethasone 0.1% ointment (not cream): 15 grams. You can get this over-the-counter.
•The anti-fungal: Miconazole powder, so that the final concentration is 2% miconazole. You can get this over-the-counter.


It's very good for preventing baby from getting thursh because when mommy has cracked nipples it's bad news...so yeah...i suffered SO badly...then caved and used the cream and then within a week my boobies were all better!!!! and they'd toughened up so I no longer felt like crying every.time.I.nursed!!!!

 

[daddiesgift]

I tried getting that with #2 and doctor wouldn't give it to me! Do they give it a lot in America or no? Do I just ask for that one ingredient that's not over counter than go buy the over the counter and do it myself? I didn't feel lanolin helped really. I think I was given Mothers Love? Ointment. It was okay. I tried coconut oil too but didnt see a difference.

 

[RaeChay]

Thinking just any OTC triple antibiotic ointment would work just as well?
Also, I don't think I've seen betamethasone OTC here, but again, thinking that OTC topical steroid ointment should also be fine... Always best to CYA and ask OB though.

It's funny; this recipe from Newman is very similar to a med Rx'd to my dog via the vet called Quadritop. I asked the vet "think you can get me some of that too?!" Lol she said she uses it for herself sometimes, very versatile med.