July Jelly Beans of 2014! *16 pink bumps, 18 blue bumps, 8 yellow bumps** (24 here)

[SassyGee]

Thanks Linny This baby is not slowing me down in my upkeep! haha yes I normally am a list maker and I haven't done that in awhile, so thanks for the reminder. Off to do that now

 

[leash27]

Ah I am so jealous of all you ladies feeling LO move, I still haven't felt any strong movements yet.

I have been to see my GP today as I have been suffering with headaches since First Tri but the last few weeks they have gotten progressively worse. I have had a couple of occasions this week where I have gone really dizzy and my vision has been blurred which kinda freaked me out. GP checked me over and did my BP which was normal but he said I looked exhausted and sounds like I am suffering from stress He wouldn't prescribe anything stronger than paracetamol but he has told me I need to get some rest so he has signed me off work for two weeks. I tried to negotiate for just one but he thinks I will need two. I told him I will see how I feel after a week lol.

I had to call my boss and tell him and I felt awful. Things at work are manic at the moment and myself and my colleagues have been under a lot of pressure for the last few months so me being off work won't help alleviate any of that. I also know that none of my work will be picked up in my absence, it will literally just pile up until I get back to deal with it all.

God knows what I am gonna do for two weeks, I am going to be climbing the walls after a few days!

X

 

[tymeg]

Leash your health comes 1st.
You need to take a break and look after that little one.

Sassy a list is very good........ it really helps I do the same thing.
And how exciting to go look for something cute. .....

 

[Victoriaaa]

Found out yesterday that we are joining TEAM BLUE!!

 

[leash27]

Congrats on team blue!

X

 

[krissie328]

Congrats on your boy!!

 

[tymeg]

Congrats on the boy......
the forum is quiet for the weekend.

 

[tooth_fairy]

Found out yesterday that we are joining TEAM BLUE!!

Congrats on team blue!

 

[BrandiCanucks]

Congrats on Team Blue, Victoria! Updated the front page.

Been out all day. Kidless weekend means BABY SHOPPING!!!!

 

[JackJack82]

Yay another team Blue. Congrats.

Went and picked up our Travel System last night. Love it!!

Today had our 3d ultra sound. He was trying to be shy and hide but we got a few face shots.... soooo cute.

 

[BrandiCanucks]

Awwww so adorable JackJack!

 

[tymeg]

That is so adorable Jackjack....

Yeah brandi I canimagine... I have been shopping all weekend to... LOL
Ive spent R3000 this weekend, and it went so quick.... Oh dear, at least hubby didnt ask for prices... ha ha ha ha ah, he just said its so cute.

I was looking all over for a pink and grey travel system, and then found a few on ebay, and when I eventually settled on one I want, Ty said he doesnt want it to be pink.... Argh....

AFM.... My hands are peeling, terribly.
For the past few days.... Anyone else? What can I use?

 

[leash27]

Ladies in the UK - Mamas & Papas have a 50% off sale on their website!

X

 

[BrandiCanucks]

My friend wants pink and grey too and she's having a hell of a time finding anything pink and grey. But I understand your hubby's perspective too, if you guys are planning more in the future. The stroller and car seat can be used again, and he probably wouldn't want a boy in a pink stroller, lol.

I've spent a good $150 this weekend, which isn't much. Just waiting on my tax return to come back, and then I'm gonna go nuts.

I'm kinda disappointed. The breast pump that I LOVE, the Avent Isis IQ Duo has changed and unless I buy used, I can't get it anymore. They made it now so that there's pre-set settings, instead of being able to set your own rhythm like the old one. Reading reviews, people are saying they aren't able to get as much milk with the new one as they did with the old one, and with the old one, I could get as much as 23oz in a sitting. They say it IS more comfortable, but that the flanges are smaller and there is no size adjustment and I can get pretty big when engorged. Also, it's loud. The old one was quiet, and this one is loud. Overall, I'm seeing that this pump is a downgrade from the old one, and not an improvement. I've tried other pumps in the past and Avent was always my front running favourite. Medela hurt so bad and never got nearly as much milk as Avent. Now I'm not so sure I want to shell out $300 for a downgrade pump. I want the old one. I wish now that I hadn't given my other one away. I gave it to my friend who was struggling to afford a good pump. It was only a year old but used for only 3 months, so almost brand new condition. I gave her all the attachments and extra bottles, EVERYTHING. UGH! But I won't go for a used pump. So, gonna have to either find a new pump to go for or risk it.

 

[Linnypops]

Brandi - I'm really curious about expressing. I've tried to read a lot of different info on how, why, pros and cons etc but it seems very conflicting. Essentially in my head it'd be good to be able to bf during the day but also express enough that my DF can give a night feed and I can maybe get extra sleep that way in the earlier part of the evening. After some reading seems like a lot of women say that expressing like that each day causes problems with milk supply?? Is that right? That you'd end up in an ever increasing bottle feeding situation? Do you express in order to allow others to bottle feed etc? Any problems? Thanks in advance!

 

[BrandiCanucks]

I breastfed whenever possible, but I also liked to have a backup supply in case I was going out somewhere and couldn't bring Baby with me. I'm going to use my daughter as my example, cuz I had to build up a HUGE supply for her. For the first month, I exclusively breastfed...even if it meant bringing her into bed with me in the middle of the night and latching her, and closing my eyes. I'm a light sleeper so when she was done, I always just laid her back down. We fed in the night using side-laying position. I did this so that she could establish her own supply. Breastmilk is supply and demand, and I wanted to make sure my breasts were producing enough for her to eat before I sat with my pump to get more.

I would NOT recommend too many bottles overnight, especially in the first month or two, as you're going to get seriously engorged, and that can be painful, lead to clogged ducts and mastitis, and it can actually DECREASE your supply.

If you want to build a little bit of a supply, allow your baby to exclusively breastfeed the first month to establish their own supply. After the first month, follow up your baby's feed with 5-10 minutes of pumping, or until a second letdown. This will help increase your supply by an ounce or two and will help you be able to build up a stored supply. Another thing you can do in the first month is feed your baby from one side (once your milk comes in) and pump from the other side after the feed and store the pumped supply. Your breasts will both be empty and ready to feed for next feed session, but do this ONLY on the first feed of the day. That is when you'll have the most milk.

I hope I'm making sense. Sometimes I ramble.

Personally, my daughter fed, and then I pumped til empty for the first feed. If she didn't wake before I was engorged, I pumped, then fed her the expressed milk when she woke if I didn't feel full enough (all after first month).

When she was 6 months old, I went to Florida for a week without her. Just by pumping an extra 5-10 minutes after she fed, or pumping to a second letdown, I was able to increase my supply by a few ounces. I started in July/August of 2011 and by the time I left for Florida, she had 600oz to live off for the week that I was away from her. She didn't receive a single ounce of formula that whole week and actually still had about 75-100oz leftover when I returned from Florida.

So, let's see if I can summarize:

1. Breast exclusive in the first month to allow baby to establish his own supply, or feed from one side and pump from the other.

2. After first month, pump for 5-10 minutes, or until second letdown to gain an ounce or two for storage. After a few days, your breasts will automatically produce this, and eventually, you'll gain more of a supply and produce even more if you continue this (For example, if you can get 3oz, pump for 5-10, which may get you up to 5oz. Eventually, you'll produce 5oz no problem, but if you keep this up, you'll start to pump out 5oz, and if you keep pumping, you can get up to 7oz.)

3. Store any pumped milk in a deep freezer. If it's a top freezer, it's only good for about 30 days. A deep freezer, it's good for 6-12 months.

Those who say it became an ever-increasing bottle feed probably didn't let baby establish their own supply before they started pumping. Baby will ALWAYS get more milk out than a pump will. They also say to do exclusive breast in the first month to establish a proper latch, as alternating can sometimes make them confused and they may shape their mouth around your nipple as if it's a bottle rather than the breast, which can lead to decreased supply, cracked and bleeding nipples, etc.

But yeah, if she was with me, she was latched to the breast. If I was away from her, she had the breastmilk in a bottle.

 

[krissie328]

Thanks for the information Brandi. I plan to breast feed but I will have to go back to work mid-August so I will need to express some for awhile.

Afm- I have been feeling Christian so much this weekend. It is nice to finally really feel him. And as a special treat he kicked so hard on Friday that I felt him on the outside twice.

 

[Linnypops]

Brandi - thanks so much for taking the time to reply. That is really helpful, seems like with a longer term view it should be perfectly possible to have DF do night feeds every now and then without getting myself in a fix. The thing about pumping after bf ing is great! In my head I'd be bfing and then going off and expressing later on which makes no sense really. Anyway thanks very much! X

 

[BrandiCanucks]

It was more difficult with my son cuz he was in NICU. I was determined to breastfeed though and the way it was working out was that I was feeding and pumping every hour and a half once I was discharged from the hospital. It was crazy. They ended up giving me the room down the hall from NICU reserved for parents whose babies are leaving NICU the next day because they told me that at the rate I was going, I was going to end up producing enough for triplets.

 

[tymeg]

I also plan to breastfeed, and will be pumping for when I do go back to work, I dont want her on formula at all, unless I absolutely have to.

I want to get me the tommee tippee breast pump, but at the moment they are out of stock, so im hoping they will have it soon, because i really want that one.

The medella is way to pricey for me.

Here are some of the things I got this weekend,
The other pics is on my work pc.
Will try and upload tomorrow.

This is so exciting...