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

[daddiesgift]

Looks boyish to me and I have two boys

 

[Buttercup84]

Athena he is so a boy, don't listen to your sister! Neither of my girls' potty shots looked like that, more like a burger with the 3 lines lol!

 

[KatyW]

I agree, trust the tech. Sorry people are being weird. Congratulations on your little boy, and I love his name!

 

[athena87]

His uncle's (dh's brother) was named Robert Edwin and he passed away 2 years ago tomorrow. When he died dh said if we ever had a boy he wanted to name him after him. So shortly after that we started ttc and I started looking at names. I was looking at biblical names and wasn't really finding anything and then I was like why don't I look at E names so they would have the same initials and found Elijah and dh loved it, but he will be called Eli. So his name has been picked for almost 2 years. We are doing a sports theme in his nursery since dh played baseball and is on his 4th year coaching high school football. We have his brothers football jersey and we are going to get it put in a shadow box with his name on it and hang it in the nursery.

 

[melann13]

Would you believe that that exact name is on our extremely short list for boys if we have one?! Elijah because it biblical and beautiful (backup is Elliot) and middle is Robert after my dad. I'm my dad's only child so his last name is gone. He's an amazing man who served his country secretly for a long time. I feel like he has such a rich legacy that no one knows about and I respect him SOOO much. I hope someday we can pass on his name.

 

[ALiKO]

Hey ladies just droppin in for an update!

sorry i've been m.i.a just been trying to adjust to parenthood and soak up everyday with my little lady shes growing up so fast!...

she'll already be 3 weeks old tomorrow and i feel like i just had her yesterday! time really does fly. i've been exclusively breast feeding since shes been home and its been a great experince.

i do have some questions about breast feeding though if you ladies dont mind.

first off breast feeding was going great up until about a few days ago when i started to overproduce milk. i also have a very strong let down. so much so, that poor Hana cant even take it and looks as if shes drowning while eating and can only feed for about 1 to 2 mins when before she'd do 10+ mins on each breast. so for the past few days i've been pumping and giving her milk through bottle at night which seems to help her better control the flow but i want her to be able to feed from my breast without any discomfort to her. any tips?

and when will the pain stop!? for your nipples in particular. i love feeding her but i've been dreading mealtime lately. any tips there?

and her a pic of her

 

[ALiKO]

congrats on your boy Athena! definitely looks like little boy bits to me

 

[ALiKO]

katyW- you had the baby wow congrats!!! i've missed so much...

 

[Hopeful2014]

@athena87 Congratulations on I'll add the name to the front. I'm sure your mother-in-law was touched that you picked that name.

@ALiKO Look at all of that hair. She's cute.

 

[KatyW]

Aliko, thank you. Mine is already a week old! Time. Flies.

Breastfeeding is tough at first. A breast shield can help with a strong letdown and nipple pain, so can hand expressing a bit before each feeding. Also air dry as much as possible. It can hurt, and has both times for me.

Another bit of advive is to grab your boob and hold it while you cram into baby's mouth, so you get as much as nipple in as you can. I also compress my boon while feeding.

It will get easier!

 

[daddiesgift]

I have a strong forceful letdown as well and I was shown and told to not have baby laying down with first latch. I was shown hard to explain but like you would hold a baby on your hip or like babe sitting in your lap with their nose on top of your breast instead of to the side like in cradle hold or football hold. That way they are upright when letdown happens instead of laying down. They compared it to trying to drink out of a hose while laying down or on your side, you're going to choke!

Sore nipples and how long it lasts is different for everyone. A friend of mine said only four days for her, lucky b but for me it's awhile only thing I found to help was switching breasts and positions at each feeding. That way one part of nipple wasn't taking all the pain causing healing to take longer.

 

[daddiesgift]

39 weeks and no end in sight! I've officially been pregnant the longest I ever have!

 

[melann13]

For me it was a few weeks of discomfort with BFing. Putting lanolin on before showers helped. Also putting breastmilk on the nipple after feeding. There was definitely a time of dreading the feedings, but it is SOOO worth it. Just know it does get better!
Keeping baby upright for let down is helpful, or pumping just a little bit before feeding can help too. You don't want to pump too much though as then your body will continue to produce more and more! Only pump enough so that your let down isn't as forceful for her.
The time they feed will decrease as they get older as well as they become better at feeding and more efficient. I have always only had to feed from one side at a feeding and at only a few days old Felicity was only feeding for 10 or so minutes from one side and that was all. The last few days she has eaten from both sides and spent more time, but she is almost four months and I think she is having a growth spurt and so she is telling my body to produce more!

 

[imaginary8x]

Forgot to update here...

I had my little boy Dexter on 26/04/14 at 21:55pm.

 

[pathos]

aliko oww so cute mash&subhanallah again.

me and my next weird question , does pumping hurt as well? any difference between hand vs. electro pump (in terms of pain and comfort)?

 

[pathos]

ow congrats magicwhisper!

 

[melann13]

pathos, pumping doesn't hurt. if the nipple rubs on the breast shield too much (pumping frequently right away) it can get a little raw. Putting a little olive oil on the nipple or on the inside of the shied where it rubs can help tons and doesn't affect baby. I just did it this morning (I've only had to do it a couple times) because LO clamped down a few times yesterday and one nipple is a little sore.
I used a manual pump for about a month before my double electric one came. I wouldn't say there's a difference in comfort because both have a lot of control. I have the Medela Harmony manual and the Medela pump in style advanced double electric. I haven't used my manual one since I got the double electric as it's much more efficient once you get used to it and I can work while pumping which means I can pump longer or more frequently without it affecting my work as much (granted I'm fortunate to pump at my desk as I have a private office or today I'm working at home so I just pump at the kitchen table while working
My let down reflex is a little painful but that's true with baby or the pump. The manual pump you're in complete control of the strength, the electric they tell you to find where it just starts to become uncomfortable and then go just below that. If it's still uncomfortable you may need different size breast shields than the average that come with the pump. It has less to do with the size of the breast and more to do with the size and shape of the nipple/areola.
Any other specific questions? Insurance here is required to provide at least the base model which is how I got the single manual, and a special program through my insurance that keeps up with pregnancy and post partum provided the big fancy one after I attended my post-partum appt, so both were free of charge for me. I will say that I had an issue (at least I thought I did- in retrospect I may have been crazy) with my electric after a month. I contacted Medela, they were SUPER helpful, overnighted a part and then ended up overnighting a brand new pump. It's considered a medical device here and therefore you're entitled to have a new one ASAP.

 

[athena87]

I know some things have been posted before but I'm wondering what are some must haves for baby? We are making our registry soon so I'm just trying to compile a list. Also what bottles do you like with breast feeding? I'm liking the tommee tippees but open to suggestions.

 

[kksy9b]

Congratulations magicwhisper on baby Ella's birth! I hope you are enjoying her sweet baby snuggles and looking forward to hearing from her soon!!

Athena- the biggest thing I wish I would have had sooner is a vibrating chair. SIL gave us her old one but the vibrating poart had broken. It took us until he was almost a month to replace but I wish I had done it earlier. I just got a cheap one- 30 from amazon-but it has been amazing and lets me actually put him down in the day for him to sleep in or keep him occupied while I cook or told laundry etc. Several times he has been fussy and I turn it on and he calls right down! Not every baby takes to them but I thought 30 was better to be out if he didn't like than 150 for the big swings.

The other one is Dreft stain remover. I cannot tell you how many countless clothing/fabric items have been saved... Just spray the item, rub it in and throw in wash and comes out stain free! Amongst the most useful gifts we received.

As many wipes as you can get. Whether you use cloth or regular, you will go through more than you think. I thought I had a 6 month supply but really only have about a 2 1/2... You use a lot!

For breastfeeding- lanolin... Don't try to nurse without using. I also really like the soothie gel pads by lansinoh... Has helped with cracked nipples. If you're pumping, the stream sanitizer bags for parts and bottles. Saves a lot of time IMO for cleaning. A good nursing cover with boning in it so you can cheek on baby. We have only given him a bottle a couple times and have used the medela one and they've been fine but someone else could probably answer that better.

Finally- aden and anais muslin swaddle blankets. I never used the cute receiving blankets that I got ( the kind that come from the store in a 4 pack.) They were too thin and small.. Wish I had taken all of them back. But the muslin blankets are amazing. Soft, breathable, stretchy... My LO loves them and I love them because he stays cool against me when wrapped up. Other blankets seem to turn into a sweat fest. They get softer with every washing and so far I haven't seen any signs of wear. They are pricy (35 for a 4 pack) but worth every penny!

 

[KatyW]

Congratulations, Magicwhisper!