Disco Derail! - TTCAL/PAL Discussion and Support!

[Allie84]

Hi Hearty!!

Yes, no one wants to study on vacation!

Hmmm I think I need to give Alistair more constipating foods as well. He also eats a TON of blueberries, just fruit in general, and lots of milk, still, and his diapers can be a bit....not firm...you know...not to be gross lol. But I'm like, you can't be potty trained if you poop like this!! He's also teething a lot, has all 4 canines coming in, so that may be why his diapers aren't great right now.

Thanks for the good luck wishes. My interview is from 8 am to noon next Thursday. I also got a job interview out there. Now Alex just needs to follow suit.....send good thoughts Alex's way that he gets an interview soon! Or all of this will be for nought...

Hope everyone is doing well.

 

[VGibs]

Well I've been away camping for a week and Internet is spotty out here. It's been stressful! My Oma is not well and her time is coming. My best friend found out her Mom has possibly weeks to live so I've been really concerned about her as well. And yesterday aurora went to a camp in a pioneer village that cost me an absolute fortune and I got a call today that she is homesick and vomitted. The councillor was awesom though and said she was going to try and distract her so I wouldn't have to go get her. So I have been trying to "relax". I started knitting Ian some new slippers for winter and all of a sudden my face and hands had hives all over...looks like a new pregnancy symptom is a wool allergy. Which REALLY sucks because I have orders for wool slippers and a wool cardigan. I wish I had paid attention when I helped shear the sheep. I thought the hives were from nettles in the paddock

 

[msarkozi]

the thrush is slowly going away, and I think it has affected my milk supply. All of a sudden I don't have enough to feed Riley anymore. Not sure if it is just from the stress of it all, or what is happening. Yesterday I pretty much sat in the same spot for 6 hours nursing!! It was insane. I ended up crying and googling because that is just not normal. So of course I came to the conclusion that he is not getting enough milk from me, and I was crying a lot when Gord got home from work and talked to him about it. I had to try a bottle of formula and when he started drinking that, I cried more. It was so heartbreaking as I have been working hard and trying to make it work this time, and everything was going so well until now. So I am supplementing with one bottle a day now and we will see how it goes. It seems like by the evening, there isn't much milk left there to feed. Hopefully the supply comes back, but I am thinking probably not. It was probably around this time too with Kash that I noticed the supply was slowly getting lower while pumping. It just might not be meant to be.

I still can't get rid of Riley's bum rash either. It's been a couple weeks, and a week of using prescription cream as well. It's raw and bleeds, and just looks sore. I hope it gets better soon, as I am sure that is causing him discomfort too.

Other then that, I have been trying to wedding plan still. Thankfully I had most of the work done before I had the baby, so it's all smaller stuff to deal with now. And I have a wedding planner, so that definitely comes in handy these days.

I think Riley is waking, so I better go.

Good luck Allie!!

Hello to everyone else

 

[VGibs]

Hey Mel have you tried using fenugreek? It worked wonders for me. He may be at his growth spurt too so he may be feeding more. That first growth spurt is the time when almost 50% of moms give up BF'ing. It's really stressful.

 

[heart tree]

Gibs I hope that Aurora stays at camp. Sounds like you need the break. You never were allergic to wool before? What a strange pregnancy symptom! Is your Oma your grandmother? I'm sorry to hear she isn't well.

Mel, I struggled with low supply....a lot. I cried more than I care to remember in the early days. Mastitis killed my supply. But I agree that Fenugreek is really helpful. I don't know if you can get this, or afford it, but I found Motherlove More Milk Plus tincture to work wonders. https://www.motherlove.com/product/530-More-Milk-Plus.html It has fenugreek as well as some other herbs. It was recommended by my lactation consultant. Domperidone is a prescription you can take to increase your supply. I couldn't get it in the US because of a ban on it due to a study on older adults who took it for another reason in large doses. It caused heart attacks in a small handful of people. But there are no studies saying it is harmful for lactating, young women who take it in small doses. If I could have gotten it, I would have taken it. I know women who have taken it and raved about the volume of milk they started producing. Another thing that helped me was using a Supplemental Nursing System instead of giving her a bottle. The lactation consultant in the NICU started me on this after my mastitis. I would put formula (or pumped milk, or a combo) in the SNS and then have her drink it from my breast. That way I was stimulating milk production by her suckling but I had the peace of mind that she was getting what she needed nutritionally. It's kind of a pain to set up, especially when they are screaming and hungry, but I really think it helped. Here is one on the market, but there are others as well. https://www.amazon.com/Medela-00901S-Supplemental-Nursing-System/dp/B000NEDGB8

Here are some pics to get the idea of how it works https://www.google.com/search?q=sup...T64APv-4CIBg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1283&bih=747

No matter how much milk you produce, supply always diminishes by the evening. Maybe that's when you try the SNS. How much are you pumping? That obviously can help too, but the more you have him at the breast, the better. I remember well the days of not being able to leave the couch. I felt pretty down due to the supply issue. But I managed to increase it to a point that worked for both of us. I never fully gave up formula, but there were definitely many days when I exclusively breast fed her. I did A LOT of research on the subject, so let me know if you have any questions.

I have no advice on the diaper rash. I'm fighting one myself right now.

Delilah has all but weaned from nursing this week and I'm really sad. She nurses in the morning when she wakes up and that's it. She shows no interest during the day when I try to nurse her. I'm pumping at night after she goes to bed to keep up my supply but I know we're down to our last days/weeks with breastfeeding. I'm not ready to give it up, but I know I need to let her be in control of this process. Given that I'll probably never have another child, I'm mourning this special time we've had together. But it was a good run and I honestly never thought I'd make it this far, so I feel lucky too.

 

[Allie84]

That's exactly how I felt, Hearty. I didn't want Alistair to wean when he did (11 months) but I took his lead. It was just the one morning feed for awhile, and then I stopped all together. When we were in Colorado last September I comfort nursed him in the middle of the night at a hotel and I remember very well that was our last feeing. I can almost cry thinking about it. It is such a special time, but like you, I try to focus on the accomplishment and that I was able to nurse for as long as I did.

That being said, Mel, I had low milk issues as well, but more after he starting eating solids. Well, even before that a bit, and I was always paranoid about how much he as getting! We started giving him formula at night a few months in and it worked well. I still ahd to nurse him in the middle of the night, but it was, like you, in the evenings when my supply would dwindle and he would take formula like he was starving. I went to lactation group every week and had him weighed after each boob....that really helped me know he was getting enough. And even then, he seemed to get less than the other babies there! I never took fenugreek but I ate oatmeal, made lactation cookies with flax seed, etc. Oh, and I did drink Mother's Milk tea which probably had fenugreek in it. Hang in there....and don't feel bad about a few bottles of formula, you can still BF and formula feed like I did!

Gibs, oh man, hope she makes it through camp and you are able to relax. Sorry to hear about the bad news.

 

[VGibs]

Hearty - I really mourned BFìng...we had been going strong until one morning after my work Xmas party she bit me. Then she just didn`t want a boob anymore at all. I was cut off. It was really hard on me because I had gone back to work as well and the abrupt transition was very sad.

Mel - Try Well.ca for the fenugreek. They are Candian and take interac online. I LOVE that site!

AFM...my sister ended up bringing Aurora some meds to combat her nerves and the home sickness. She takes melatonin to calm her a bit and she ended up staying for the rest of the camp. I was so looking forward to bringing Ian there today to show him the village because I used to work their as a kid and it poured rain the whole time and he was miserable. Then we got in the truck and finally came home. Away from home for a week is along time!

 

[msarkozi]

thanks, i will look into the fenugreek

watching house hunters right now, and it's in Fargo...thinking of you Allie

 

[Allie84]

How funny! Is the one where the older lady chooses an old mansion-y type house? Or a different one? I love House Hunters and House Hunters International.

 

[VGibs]

I heart house hunters international. I find a lot fo the time I am screaming at the TV though..."WHADDA YA MEAN YOU DONT WANT A THATCHED ROOF???"

Well, I have officially hit that point in third tri where I cant bend over and I could nap every five minutes and heartburn is ruining my mental sanity. I'm a pregnant zombie who burps.

 

[jenny25]

Hey girls how are you all xxx

 

[VGibs]

My Oma just passed away...

 

[jenny25]

oh v im sorry to hear that im sending love to you and your family xxx

 

[Sassy_TTC]

So sorry to hear that Gibbs, thinking of you.x

 

[heart tree]

Oh Virginia, I'm so so sorry.

 

[Allie84]

So, so sorry Virginia.

I have just arrived at my hotel in Denver. I'm all alone here until Friday for my interview tomorrow. Those of you who have been away from your babies overnight, how did you manage? I've never been this far away from Alistair. I feel so sad and lost. I miss him terribly I trust Alex, but I'm also just worried because I trust myself above anyone ya know? He's also at daycare during the day while I'm gone...

 

[jenny25]

allie i have just started letting kieran stay over at pauls mums house its hard i miss the poor bugger but its nice to have some me time good luck for your interview xxxx

 

[LucyJ]

girls

Sorry I've been missing in action things have been a bit up and down I've been reading but haven't been able to engage my brain. I've copied from my journal what's been going on the last week had a rough weekend but all seems calm now and baby is still cooking thank goodness.

Spoiler

I've been a bit up down to be honest its why I haven't been around much been reading but haven't been able to get my brain in gear to post. Had a good week last week felt strong and confident that baby would be staying put. We travelled home Friday for my parents anniversary party had a quiet day Sat just helped mum do a few last minute things had a gentle walk into town with Steve Benjamin was kept very entertained by his cousins. Apart from wanting to swing for two of my brothers at different times for different reasons everything was good. Then I started to get period type cramps and lower black pain then the tightening's came so got a bit worried decided to lie down and take it easy but felt worse and worse luckily things eased of and I decided that all was ok baby was very active so figured I just needed to rest. Got ready for the party and had a lovely time but think I may have over done it spent to long up on my feet as on the Sunday I felt awful. I passed out in the morning (think it was my blood pressure which has been very low) my tummy was off (to much rich food I guess) again the period pain the tightening's so I spent most of Sunday in bed hardly managed to eat had to make the decision whether to stay at my parents or go home with Steve. Things settled down as the day went on as I didn't want to be away from Steve we went home with him not leaving till late. Since then although I have felt a little weak and wobbly things have settled down completely. Baby has been very active and no more tightening's. I'm taking everyday as a good sign but its scary not knowing what is going on or when things will happen if they happen early. It seems things get worse if I've been busy or on my feet for too long so doing as little as possible which means poor Benjamin has been stuck in the house. Apart from his climbing he has been as good as gold.

V I am so sorry thinking of you and your family

Allie I've only been away from Benjamin once and that was when I was in hospital it was really hard I kept texting Steve as I was so worried about him I trust Steve 100% but it was so odd not being there for him. I'm not much help but you'll seem him soon and remember he's safe with Alex.

Mel sorry to hear about the thrush I had that with Benjamin once I got the right stuff for him it cleared up quickly but man does it hurt when your feeding. I always found the best time to express was early hours of the morning in the evening I got nothing. Hope the fenugreek helps your supply.

Hi Jen how are your boys?

Amanda studying on vacation is so hard the last thing you want to do. Sorry to hear about D's peanut allergy I haven't tried Benjamin with peanuts yet I think I'm worried he's react and didn't want to be on my own and at weekends when Steve's around I just forget.

Sorry girls cant remember what else I read my brain is fried at the moment and baby is in a weird position so going to lie down hope little one moves think I have a foot in my ribs.

Always thinking of you all.

 

[msarkozi]

it was that one Allie and it's hard the first time you leave them. Kash and I were both crying on the phone to each other. I went shopping and bought him a couple things to give him when I got home, and just got through it. It wasn't easy, but we both survived.

sorry to hear Gibs

oh Luce....hopefully everything goes good for the remainder of your pregnancy

 

[vickyd]

Allie ive been away from Hero many times and actually went to China for 7 days when she was like 5 months old for work. To be honest i was never worried because everytime my mom had her rather than Alex hahaha!!! Alex is great with her but he is such a heavy sleeper that we both wouldnt want him to be the only adult with her at night. I always miss her loads but I dont freak out or something haha!! Ill be leaving her again end of the month to go on a buisness trip to India. Skype is my best friend haha!!!