February Valentines 2012 - We have our first Valentines!

[Jokerette]

Cabbage leaves in your bra? I'm confused LOL

my DH will be home in about a half hour... So I gotta hurry up and finish watching my girly shows on DVR! Haha I am hoping that ones he's a daddy he is very involved... He's great now and does lots of cooking and cleaning! I feel very spoiled! I imagine him being a good daddy... Can't wait to see him in action

Speaking of cleaning... I thinking I want to hire a cleaning service to cine to my house one time between now and when the baby is born to do a deep deep deep clean. Is that crazy? I would do it myself but I get so tired, and I think a maid service might do a better job that me or DH for that one time cleaning. What di you think... Is that silly?

 

[Guppy051708]

aww i love having a husband thats a great dad like that! def blessed.

 

[JohnsPrincess]

I'm so exhausted today I haven't slept a full night in ages. 3 more days of work before I'm on leave. I'm hoping this little girl lets me have at least a week's rest before she makes her grand entrance into the world

How are all of you doing? Do you also feel your energy levels dropping drastically?

I keep saying the same thing...just have to get through this week and then Please little guy, give me at least a week to get stuff done and get some rest!! LOL I'm tired All the time.

 

[nightkd]

I had over-active letdown with DD, so I leaked baaaaaaadly! It varies from woman to woman

I can't wait until DH gets home; he does help out a lot with DD, but he does glue himself to the TV more than I would like and OMG I was pissed at him this morning - he has been using the dining room table as a dumping ground and I had to leap across the room to stop DD pulling a glass and bowl down on her face!!!!

I just miss him when he's not here anyway... He's gone out to get dinner tonight, after making me dinner last night and allowing me to get a (much needed) nap!!!

 

[Guppy051708]

Cabbage helps sooth the boobs

Yeah, i think most women i know leak, but some dont...i never did but thats because i never really had much a milk supply due to the insufficient glandular tissue (3.5oz at my max per 24 hours). Though i may make a little more this time, im not anticipating it to be much, so not worried about the pads at this point.

 

[tiger]

as guppy said cabbage/lettuce leaves straight from the fridge/freezer helps your boobs. they are AMAZING!
swan - please please please dont feel guilty, you sound EXACTLY like me and little aria sounds exactly like jesse ! he was born 11 days overdue but we had such latch issues with his ! he just refused to latch on to my breast, like he hated it. everytime i had a little let down or started leaking i practically smothered him with my boobs but he did the same thing that aria is doing ! just licking my breast like a flipping animal ! the nurses didnt really help me too much , they just kept telling me he will breastfeed because he can latch etc etc.... but he just didnt flipping want to !!! it drove me insane, i was up every hour and a half trying to build my supply and shove my boob in his face for so long everynight that i became so very sleep deprived !
dont feel bad for posting here because i truely think that maybe some of the other first time mums in the group could benefit from seeing what can happen and how to deal with it etc iykwim ?
you are doing fantastically
sapphire - great bump ! you look so pretty , damn you

 

[swanxxsong]

Did he end up latching over time, Tiger? I'm just so terrified she'll have lost again by the time we go Saturday - even though she's drinking anywhere from 20 - 40 mL of BM around every 2-3 hours. They never gave me a go-ahead to wean her off the formula, that was just my choice, so I'm like, "eh... crap." I just hope they don't take her away from me!

About how long-ish does it take for a milk supply to actually establish? I know it sounds stupid and I'm sure everyone's different, but an average? Like, this is day 2 for me of having actual milk and not just colostrum. Every 2 hours I get about 40 mL of milk. I have no idea if that's good, bad, mediocre...? And I don't know if it'll continue to improve as I continue to work with my boobs, the pump and Aria...?

I feel like such a dumb kid.

 

[JohnsPrincess]

testing photo

Adorable!!

 

[tiger]

Did he end up latching over time, Tiger? I'm just so terrified she'll have lost again by the time we go Saturday - even though she's drinking anywhere from 20 - 40 mL of BM around every 2-3 hours. They never gave me a go-ahead to wean her off the formula, that was just my choice, so I'm like, "eh... crap." I just hope they don't take her away from me!

About how long-ish does it take for a milk supply to actually establish? I know it sounds stupid and I'm sure everyone's different, but an average? Like, this is day 2 for me of having actual milk and not just colostrum. Every 2 hours I get about 40 mL of milk. I have no idea if that's good, bad, mediocre...? And I don't know if it'll continue to improve as I continue to work with my boobs, the pump and Aria...?

I feel like such a dumb kid.

im going to be honest.... no he didnt, he refused to latch,BUT! i also gave up. i feel really horrible about it and thats why im so determined to make it work this time. i was so unbelievably sleep deprived and getting absolutely no help from nurses other than being told he can latch etc, they never tried to help me, just got up me because he wasnt latching. i ended up expressing instead, but i really wish i had stuck with trying to get him to latch.
stand your ground and tell them you want help. i felt that i had no idea what i was doing as he was my first.

 

[Guppy051708]

Swan-Have you had an "eat and weigh in" with the LC? That is where you take the baby in, weigh her naked, nurse on one side, weigh her again and see what amount she gained, nurse the otherside, weigh her again and see the amount increase. If you have not done this, you could be making way more than 40mLs (which by the way, i think is plenty for the baby at this age Just make sure you follow her ques so when she has a growth spurt she increase your milk supply ) anywho, many many women do not take to the pump...in fact a lot of good milk supplied woman dont output as much with the pump as they do with the baby...some woman do very well with the pump, but many do not because its tough for the body to "warm up" to a machine iykwim. What im getting at is if you havn't done an eat and weigh in with the LC you could be making plenty more...and even if you have done that to know if the pump is true to your supply, 40mLs (at this point) is fab

and yes, as tiger pointed out-stand your ground!
i went to my LC for SOOO much stuff-IGT isn't easy and not something that can really be overcome, but they can help make the best of any situation. Keep pressing them until you feel confident, thats what they are there for. Also you LL leader will be a big help too. You can do this, just gotta press through the tough stuff

have either of you girls had your babies checked for tongue tie? I could be wrong, but based off both of your experiences, i would wonder about that.

 

[Guppy051708]

as guppy said cabbage/lettuce leaves straight from the fridge/freezer helps your boobs. they are AMAZING!
swan - please please please dont feel guilty, you sound EXACTLY like me and little aria sounds exactly like jesse ! he was born 11 days overdue but we had such latch issues with his ! he just refused to latch on to my breast, like he hated it. everytime i had a little let down or started leaking i practically smothered him with my boobs but he did the same thing that aria is doing ! just licking my breast like a flipping animal ! the nurses didnt really help me too much , they just kept telling me he will breastfeed because he can latch etc etc.... but he just didnt flipping want to !!! it drove me insane, i was up every hour and a half trying to build my supply and shove my boob in his face for so long everynight that i became so very sleep deprived !
dont feel bad for posting here because i truely think that maybe some of the other first time mums in the group could benefit from seeing what can happen and how to deal with it etc iykwim ?
you are doing fantastically
sapphire - great bump ! you look so pretty , damn you

i totally agree!

 

[Junebugs]

SWAN- I'm sorry for all the trouble you are going though!!! Keep with it hun, i wish i could give more advice but i have never BF before....

Jokerette- I was thinking the same thing about the maid service.. i have been going cleaning but i just would like a service to come in and do a really good clean

 

[suzzle]

I'm the total opposite end of the spectrum! I've been leaking for weeks & weeks. I've went through 1 box of disposable pads, plus I have re-useable ones :-0

I was the same with DS1 & DS2, even when I started feeding
once my mill came in. I literally didn't have to pump when he was feeding on one side - I could collect 4 oz in a bottle without pumping & if I wasn't storing it I had to put a nappy in the side he wasn't nursing from because breast pads just couldn't cope.

I'm sure it sounds great if you have low milk production, but it was so awful. I felt like I was soaking wet all the time (well I was). I had no confidence to feed in public or even in front of anyone but DH really. Hopefully it won't come to that this time - well I'm more confident now, but it was a horrible time for me. Plus all the hormones made it worse; as they do! Didn't help that I had ALL that milk & the baby was constantly feeding - he was 9lb 7oz when he was born & he hasn't stopped eating since

I can't decide if it's better knowing what to expect or not with subsequent babies IYKWIM? It's nice knowing all the sneaky little short cuts like dream feeding & not changing them during the night unless they are wet or dirty, etc. With my first baby I had no idea what I was doing. I'd wait for him to wake or wake him once I was a bit more confident for his last feed before our bed time, but then he was awake for ages & we were shattered. Also stripping them & using cold wipes, etc. to change them when they were dry 'just' because they got up to feed, rather than just feeding them in the relative dark & putting them back down....

Honestly, the closer it's getting I'm getting more & more nervous, but excited too.
I'm rambling now because I can't sleep, it's 2am & no-one else is awake except the cat. Even LO has gone to sleep!

 

[Guppy051708]

actually i have been able to pump qutie a bit prenatally.i dont leak but i can express. Apparently colostrum is not produced the same way milk is, and so even women with IGT will produce colostrum. Not all women can get it out though, in fact i know women who EBF and have a huge supply that couldn't get any out while pregnant, but apparently all women can get colostrum....just wish having milk was the same process.....and yes being drenched in gold all day is highly desirable...i wouldn't wish IGT on my enemy...it really is the worse of the worse when it comes to BFing....you cant overcome it...so i would give anything to have your problem! lol

 

[Guppy051708]

if you are leaking you should consider collecting it and storing it up. a little extra is always nice

 

[tiger]

guppy- yes, jesse has slight tongue tie, and i tried asking them about this when he was first born and they said he wasnt. found out at his 6 week checkup that yes he is infact tongue tied.
jonno is tongue tied quite badly. i wonder if its hereditary ?

 

[Guppy051708]

interesting. im not surprised though, by with what you were saying...i dont know the science behind it, it could very well be genetic (amongst a plethora of other reasons). i would def. have a trustworthy professional check out Hollys tongue. get a second opinion too. thats terrible they just wrote off his tongue tie like that! so much could have been prevented with a clip....it sounds horrible to put a baby through that, but its actually best in the long run because then they can feed easier and are not as at much risk for speech issues later in life.

 

[suzzle]

actually i have been able to pump qutie a bit prenatally.i dont leak but i can express. Apparently colostrum is not produced the same way milk is, and so even women with IGT will produce colostrum. Not all women can get it out though, in fact i know women who EBF and have a huge supply that couldn't get any out while pregnant, but apparently all women can get colostrum....just wish having milk was the same process.....and yes being drenched in gold all day is highly desirable...i wouldn't wish IGT on my enemy...it really is the worse of the worse when it comes to BFing....you cant overcome it...so i would give anything to have your problem! lol

if you are leaking you should consider collecting it and storing it up. a little extra is always nice

I can't help but feel that I have offended you Guppy by talking about my experience, which was not my intention at all. I was just trying to say that it's the kind of thing that some women are like, ''what are you moaning about'' But it's worse than it sounds. According to a Dr. after one of many breast exams for cysts & non-pregnant leakages I have 'dense glandular tissue'. Wonder if that's what makes it so bad?

As for storing colostrum, I've decided to start pumping from Monday to see if it will help ripen my cervix before my cervix is checked, so I was thinking about storing the results in the freezer instead of wasting it.

 

[Guppy051708]

oh no way hun not offended at all....jealous yes not offended lol sorry, i was more trying to be humorous but tone of voice is a challenge to convey online.

the dense tissue probably is why. im sure that being wet all day long is not pleasant, at all...and sticky too...so i get ya sorry if that came across differently.

if you have that leaking problem again, have you ever considered donating? do you have oversupply then?

 

[AmaryllisRed]

I think getting a maid before the baby comes is an awesome idea.
I would do it, except that a) DH would never go for it and b) I would feel like I had to clean before the maid came, thus defeating the purpose.

I don't know why I didn't leak much with DS... and the engorgement was actually pretty bearable. But yeah, you should have a head of cabbage in the fridge waiting for you when you come home from the hospital, especially if you're NOT going to BF.

(I didn't with Ds and I'm not Bfing this baby either.)