TTC and Beyond!

[jury3]

Sandy-I was thinking maybe a little bleach when you clean it? idk...I don't want ti to burn my poor babies' noses either lol I guess you could replace frequently, they aren't expensive.

IDK if you can see this pic, but this lady's twin bump is huge! She was 38 weeks.

https://rs227.pbsrc.com/albums/dd301/britterbug84/Week374.jpg~320x480

Waves, that sucks about the insurance...I know they aren't the only company doing it. That's so many people losing insurance.

 

[Cowgirl07]

Yeah I see it, all belly.

 

[wavescrash]

After reading more it's actually a good thing for those losing their p/t insurance because they'll now qualify for subsidies offered by the government for affordable & likely better insurance plans under Obamacare ON TOP of getting $500 severance from Target so in the end, I guess I'm getting the short end of the stick since I likely will get to keep mine for having over 30 hours lol. But once I return to work, it'll be under part-time hours so I'll lose my insurance but likely won't be offered the $500 for it since it'll be a few months after all this goes down.

 

[wavescrash]

Saw this, figured I'd share.

 

[frsttimemama]

Julie, I thought about bleach.. but I wasn't sure if it was safe. I'd imagine a little bleach would go a long way though.

Am I the only one considering not breastfeeding? It freaks me out so much! I don't know why. I wasn't going to last time.. and I'm not sure, but I'm leaning towards not again this time. Having ginormous engorged leaky disgusting boobs was NOT an enjoyable experience for me. Maybe part of it was the circumstances. IDK. Just seems like all of the rest of you are planning to?

 

[jury3]

Waves-Where did you find that?

I am planning to bc it's the healthiest choice for babies and bc it's free! lol I'm not looking forward to the ginormous breasts by any means, but they say it's great for bonding with baby too. I'm not opposed to formula, but if I got it I might was well use it!

 

[HWPG]

I registered for whatever bulb has a cap you can take off the end. I will probably still gag. A lot. Weirdly, I can do drains clogged with hair and stuff, and I've watched OH almost hurl when having to clean one of those. We make a good team, ha!

 

[HWPG]

Omg, is that picture for real!?!! Whoa.

 

[clynn11]

Im definitely planning on breastfeeding. Its one of the things I look forward to most! Lol. I just feel like it's such a unique bonding time I can't wait to experience. 2 of my 4 baby dreams have been of me breastfeeding. The other 2 have been ultrasound dreams.

Julie that pic is insane. She's so huge it looks fake!!! Lol

 

[Disneybaby26]

Lol @ the booger talk!! I need to show DH the booger mouth pipette when he gets home from plowing, he'll die! I'm thinking bulbs, lots of bulbs!!

Julie-did you ever find out if the electric pump is covered for twins??

 

[jury3]

Lol yes it's real! Google twin bump pictures and look at some of them...scary! I don't know how they walk/stand with those bellies! Some of them are like bullets!

 

[wavescrash]

Julie - The breastfeeding thing? Pinterest.

I didn't BF my first because I knew nothing about it, knew nobody that did, had no support and felt weird about it. No big deal really. I tried with my second & it lasted a month at most because we had latch issues and I didn't feel like I was getting the right help to correct it. I felt weird asking someone to show me and the lactation consultant at the hospital (well all the nurses were trained so every nurse I worked with during our stay) was of no help. She just shoved the baby on my boob and said, "hold her like that." When I came home we struggled so much. It was painful because of our latching issues but this time around, I'm going to try even harder and go out of my way to find someone to physically help with the issues that arise. I don't mind formula feeding as I've done it twice and the help with nighttime feedings is great but I figure I'll pump so OH can help and we can have a babysitter. Hannah didn't have any nipple confusion, just latching problems. You get used to it, I think.

 

[jury3]

Kara-Nope, not covered. They cover a manual, but you need a script for the electric. My doc said she'd write me a script for it though. Plus a friend said she'd give me her's, so we are covered one way or another!

 

[Disneybaby26]

That bump is outrageous!! Are the babies like stacked on top of one another? Goodness that looks like that hurts!!

I ordered my pump tonight. I plan on bfing, mostly for the health benefits. My boobs have never really been "sexual" to me so I might as well put me to good use! if it doesn't work put I'm totally cool with formula. I might switch over when I go back to work anyway!

 

[wavescrash]

As far as breastfeeding goes... even if you give it a go from the beginning and only last a week or whatever and decide it's not for you, your baby has already gotten the most important/vital part - the colostrum. So even if you breastfeed in the beginning just to get them the colostrum, that's awesome too.

But nothing wrong with not wanting to BF at all... not every parenting method/technique/thing is right for every single parent.

 

[jury3]

I'm not gonna lie, I am totally weirded out and curious about how I will feel about a baby sucking on my nipple. Like Kara, my boobs are not a sexual thing for me so that part isn't weird. However, I have never liked to have my nipples touched or played with. Right now they are so sensitive I REALLY don't like them touched. So, at this point it's hard to picture them being sucked on a good portion of the day...lol

Sandy-Have you considered exclusively pumping? And I second what Waves said, you could try it out and if it isn't for you then at least you gave it a shot.

Side note, DW and I registered for a Mama To Be Tea at Cotton Babies this weekend. We get a free bum genius newborn diaper just for going and I'm super excited bc we don't have any cloth diapers yet! They also have a cloth diapering 101 class that day that we signed up for. Is it weird that I'm really excited about cloth diapering? lol I just think they are so cute! I hope I don't end up hating it...

 

[wavescrash]

It really is a weird feeling but you get used to it. The worst (besides cluster feedings... Google it and prepare yourself, because I was unaware until I breastfed Hannah and was in for a shock) is when they first latch on. It's worse when you don't have a good latch and I'm sure it goes away as you BF for longer than we did but when you first put them on for each feeding, the initial pain really gets you in the gut. Like, teeth-grinding, fist-clenching pain lol. But it goes away pretty quickly.

I had horribly bloody nipples for awhile because of her bad latch but using nipple shields helped us BF a little longer than we would have otherwise. Having been through it before and knowing what to expect, I'm hoping to last 6 months this time but even if I only make it to 3... I tried lol.

And now my boobs tingle thinking about the feelings from before. Awesome lol.

 

[wavescrash]

Sandy-Have you considered exclusively pumping? And I second what Waves said, you could try it out and if it isn't for you then at least you gave it a shot.

If you can manage exclusively pumping, I seriously will worship the ground you walk on. I contemplated it when I realized I couldn't physically BF Hannah much longer (she was pulling away and screaming at the start of each feeding) and sought lots of advice. My cousin did it with her first born and didn't last more than a few months before switching to formula because exclusively pumping is SO demanding. SO SO SO demanding. You are constantly attached to your pump in between caring for the baby and sleeping. There are a ton of people who can make it work and I admire the hell out of them but it seems like such hard work that you have to be so dedicated to it.

 

[jury3]

Not a huge difference but you can see my belly starting to show at the bottom...

 

[brunettebimbo]

Breastfeeding is amazing. Before I got pregnant I wasn't going to but during pregnancy I dreamt about it and decided to give it ago. You get used to it. I actually began to really enjoy it. The bond is something very special. (Not saying bottle isn't) I ended up feeding Tristan until he self weaned at 18 months. It's so much easier than endless sterilising and waiting for bottles to heat whilst your baby screams TTC.