Go Alabama!

I've been meaning to post this article. Thanks to a friend who emailed it to me this morning--way to go Alabama! Keep up the good work!

Traveling

Wow. Traveling is a challenge.
Thankfully, Par is a pretty good sport when it comes to going places. He doesn't always fall asleep--but when he is awake, he seems pretty content watching the trees go past.
We were in Asheboro, NC from Thursday to Sunday--this is about an 8 hour drive. On the way there we stopped 3 times--45 minutes each. It may sound like a long time, but it didn't feel like it--they all felt like pretty quick stops--each stop consisted of me first BF Par while Rusty walked Tiffany. Then after Par was finished I would put him in his new favorite toy and Rusty would push him around while I went to the bathroom. Then I would change his diaper and we'd get back in and hit the road. We got gas on one of the stops, ate lunch on another and got a snack on the third--but that didn't really add to the break. The drive up there could not have been more ideal. The drive back to Birmingham could have been ...
As I have said before--Par doesn't have a schedule--more of a routine he has made for himself--but a long car ride doesn't play into it very well and I knew it was going to be a tough ride home. He did better than I expected until we hit Atlanta. Then he was hungry--but we were stuck in traffic--slow moving bad traffic--and he was crying, "Mamamamamama" which is what he does when he is hungry. I was sitting right beside him trying to console him--wishing I could take him out and feed him right then. If that was bad enough, he stopped calling for me and just kept crying really hard--but we couldn't do anything about it. I was able to distract him a few times (and I knew he wasn't really starving--he had eaten really well just 1 hour prior to this event)--but would then start crying again. After an hour and a half, we were finally moving and pulled over to the first safe place. He ate really well again and slept the rest of the way(2 hours) home. (FYI-I did offer him some fruit, but he wanted the Mommy Milk)

I was so glad we were home--at 11:30pm--and Par seemed fine when he woke up and was back to his "routine" by the morning.

Expiration Date?

While pouring my morning cup of coffee I checked the expiration date on the coffee-mate. I ALWAYS check expiration dates and I am hesitant to ingest something if it is nearing or on the expiration date shown. I toss it as soon as I won't eat it anymore--which isn't the best for a family trying to go green--but we're taking baby steps.
Anyway, I noticed the expiration was 10/24/08 (we don't need to discuss what agent is allowing this to stay "fresh" for such a long period of time). This is my husband's birthday and just a week before Par's first birthday...anyway, my mind drifted back to the NICU (it doesn't take much) and my stream of thought brought me to this precious mother I met in the NICU waiting room. Her child was also in the NICU (I don't remember the situation). When I got up to pump she was confused since I had just told her about Par and asked how I was pumping. I didn't understand her question and asked her to clarify. She then told me that when she talked to her nurse about breastfeeding the nurse discouraged her by saying that the milk can only sit at room temperature for a couple of hours and then it "expires" and you have to toss it. I told her that was correct, but that you just put it in the fridge (or in my case, the freezer). She looked very confused. She then looked really sad and I could tell she had just realized her confusion. When the nurse was talking to her she just assumed this new mom knew all about breastfeeding (because we all become experts as soon as conception happens, right?!) and was just saying how pumping is hard because you have to be diligent about not letting your milk sit out- it needs to be properly stored. She hadn't meant to be discouraging, she was just trying to be realistic since this mother obvioulsly had other important issues to deal with (her child in the NICU). What this mother had heard was that her milk would go bad in her breast (room temp) if her baby didn't nurse--and since her baby couldn't nurse, she didn't even try pumping.
It seems impossible to a BF mother to make this sort of mistake. How sad this woman missed out on such an important element of motherhood because of a misunderstanding.
Their are many misconceptions about breastfeeding for the new mom--so encourage your new mom friends to ask lots of questions...
as for my absence...our computers have been down--I feel so lost...we are out of town and I am using my husbands work computer--so I'm not sure when I'll post again...but stay tuned!

Gasp.

I’ve now had 2 people ask me this week if I am still BF. Because Par was in the NICU in Gainesville for his first 2 months—I never went through the “are you still BF” questions that I understand most moms go through—but now I have entered the world of “how old his he? Oh…are you still…?” Thankfully, one of them was so proud of me and very encouraging when I said yes. The other…well, let’s just say I don’t have to worry about her reading this blog.

I think my mother’s generation is still uninformed about BF—when they were having us they were told 3 months BF is enough and then switch to formula because it is better for the mom and baby. Well, this is not so! Slowly it has evolved to 6 months of BF—but now it is 12 months. We know now that breast milk for the first year of life is best—and longer if you can.

So…to everyone out there who isn’t familiar with this info-- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life and continued nursing until one year.

Here are some interesting BF question/answers…enjoy!

Whiny Wednesday

Did Tuesday and Wednesday really already come and go?

Although I am a WAHM- I don’t actually always “work”—I spend a lot of the time loving on my baby boy—and lately, trying to find a gentle way to convey that when he clamps down on me to break in those pearly whites—it really hurts. But most of what I have tried has only been met with a grin and a giggle—and somehow that takes the pain away.

But I do work—I have a few “jobs” other than taking care of my son and my husband—and yesterday and today have been consumed with my real estate career. My precious baby’s non-scheduled “feeding on demand” was more like “feeding when I have time”—or at least that is how I felt by the end of the day. Don’t worry—he ate—and he ate frequently—but I hated that I felt “obligated” that I had to stop what I was doing or excuse myself from a client or business associate I may have been meeting with to feed him. It doesn’t happen often (that I feel this way) and when it does, I spend the rest of the day beating myself up.

But as I look back on the day—Par was always cheerful and playing and easily soothed. When he was hungry, he wasn’t bashful about letting me know—and usually my exit to feed him was welcomed since he was asking for mommy milk so loudly. BF my little one is nice on days like today because it reminds me to not get so caught up in what I am doing and to take a break every now and then during a hectic day. BF allows me to sit and collect my thoughts and regroup—who knew BF could be so mentally healthy for the working woman!

Everyone needs a BF break.

Ouch.

I almost let the day get away without a post…I’ll admit, the holiday with the family was nice and I have been looking forward to today for a while—the season premier of The Bachelorette! I was on pins and needles just hoping DeAnna would choose Jesse—and she did!!!!! But it was so painful to watch…
You see, as I was watching with my mom and sister, Par wanted to eat and I wasn’t giving him the attention he needed—(I know, I’m just terrible!) I was feeding him and he was gazing up at me and just as I turned the television up he bit me. At first I didn’t realize it—but he clamped down and just stared at me. Lesson learned, believe me.

Funny—because I had planned to write about how the BF act is part of God’s design for creating families. Seriously, I had already written something—but I wanted to share the biting incident. But what I wanted to convey was how I do think BF enhances the desire for more children—I know my desire is enhanced and I have other BFF who feel the same way. Of course we all know that some hormone is released while BF that creates a sense of pleasure and well-being, and I am sure this has something to do with it—but I also feel like the bond formed from extended BF paired with the unlikely chance of getting pregnant immediately for those EBF creates a desire for more—sort of like, we want what we can’t have right away. So--I love my baby and I can't wait to do it again! Thankfully I get to enjoy my BF relationship for many more months.

Well,I’m sure it doesn’t help that my dog Tiffany just returned today from “Love Camp”—we are breeding her—and we’ll find out if she is pregnant in 3 weeks…Oh, by the way- Tiffany does plan to breast feed.

Engorgement or leaking…

One is painful and one is painfully obvious. But which would I rather have?

I could kick myself for touting “I don’t wear breast pads anymore…”—well, I should.

I was doing a good thing—buying balloons to welcome my sister home from Mongolia. I was holding Par in line at Party City. I knew it was time for him to eat—I thought it was a little strange he wasn’t diving for my breast as he usually does. Did you know it takes 20 minutes to blow up 12 balloons? Anyway, it took a while and Par was such a good boy—but he was scratching me on my collar bone over and over again. I guess his scratching caused a let-down because before I could do anything about it—I had a giant milk ring around my left breast.

I tried to strategically hold Par in front of the left breast—but I am left handed and needed to sign my credit card receipt—I know I looked so awkward!

I’ll be taking a break for the holiday weekend—look for a new post on Monday!

Getting Dressed

Par is my only child—so the BF is very new to me. I look at my closet in a completely new way. Before I would look for the outfits that were the most flattering and I never wore low cut tops. Now I’m looking for shirts that make it easy to feed Par—and for the most part—they are all low cut. Seriously, all of my tops seem to be borderline offensive now that I’m full of mommy milk—but they are so easy to BF in. I do have some BF tops that were made specifically for feeding your child easily and discreetly—I save those for church, parties and other outings.
Easy access is important—but fast access seems even more important. The best think I’ve found is just wearing layers—a tank top underneath and any shirt on top.
But, if you are looking for some BF clothes…these are some good places—

Motherwear

Expressiva

One Hot Mama (she was on A Baby Story)

But what if you don't have the option...what if you are in...a wedding!

A scary thought for some--myself included! I was asked to be a bridesmaid in a close friend/family member's wedding before I knew I was pregnant. The wedding would be after I gave birth--yet they needed measurements around the time I gave birth. I was so scared--bridesmaids dresses are already a different species all together--now I was having to guess at my size. Yikes.

Thankfully, I loved the bridesmaids dress-- it was two pieces and very easy to feed him in (in the lady's room, of course). But I did have to deal with some pretty intimidating cleavage.

I've heard from some people that their breast size goes down after they quit BF all their children--and from others it stayed the same. I wouldn't mind a little reduction by mother nature...but we are a long way from that.

The Pacifier?

I don't like pacifiers. Regardless of intent--they are a pain. We used one in the NICU to develop and encourage the sucking reflex to enhance our chances of him latching on once he was well enough. In my case, it was helpful and I am thankful for them in that regard. But now, our pacifier is more of a chew toy now that Par is teething. We've never used it for crying (and my biggest pet-peave are people trying to stick it in when he is crying)--instead, I like to figure out why Par is crying and go from there--he is yet to cry because he wants his pacifier--usually it is because he is hungry, wet or just wants his mama.

But this past week, I found myself reaching for the pacifier to pull the switcher-roo on Par after he had fallen asleep. Obviously the sucking soothes his little gums--he wasn't actually drinking--and so I would slip the pacifier in there and he would suck away on it! I don't know how I feel about it--I hate to develop a pacifier habit after avoiding one for 8 months--does mommy know breast?

Curious what you all think...