rocio Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Scarew, if you want to pump alot, it's probably worth your while to rent a hospital-grade pump. they're electric so you just have to sit there. They also go twice as fast since they pump both sides at once. I'm just using the manual pump since I'm moving to another city in a few days so renting was too much trouble. I feel like a cow - sitting here pumping my breasts all day. not fun. They say you shouldn't give baby a bottle for the first4 weeks at least because he can learn to suck the wrong way, or just refuse the breast altogether. But after that you'll likely have established a good supply anyway. btw my supply finally seems to be increasing. I got almost 2 oz from the last pump! woohoo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToResist Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Good luck ladies! Breastfeeding IS hard! I thought I had it down, then, well...mastisitis and pain. But after reading what you guys are going through I had too much milk. I'd pump every couple hours and get 4 ounces each time. Eek. If you have ANY questions, contact La Leche. Seriously. It can prevent any problems and they have the answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikka Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 YAY Dilly! Chloe is beautiful! I am glad you had a quick and healthy delivery. COngratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naughty_jiggidy Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Yayya! Im assuming by now you had your baby! Congrads!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Psychological tip on pumping that helps some moms. Take a picture of your baby and look at it while you pump. It tends to help invoke a let down more easily. My partner had great difficulties pumping, but she only did that to have milk for when we weren't at home. Generally, there's not a big need to pump if you are feeding baby from the breast all the time. It's extemely difficult to tell sometimes if baby is latched and feeding properly. Monitoring weight is a very good thing to do. One thing the doctors of course never mention ... you can always have a willing partner / spouse evaluate your supply first hand (cough, cough). We combined formula meals and natural meals for most of the time our baby was breastfeeding because moms milk supply was never quite enough for some reason. This worked out perfectly fine, we never had a problem with him latching and sucking incorrectly, and it alleviated worries that he might not be getting enough food (that, and of course his weight gain was good). We recorded and graphed his weight gain versus the expected and we can see where things were good, and where he fell behind a bit right after birth most likely due to mom being ill. If anybody is interested, I can clean up the spreadsheet a bit, write a quick description of how to use it, and make it avaiable to you. It actually is handy because you can track your baby's progress and if there is a change in his or her feeding, you'll notice it on the graph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToResist Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 By the way...you can buy a baby scale, but it works just as good to jump on the scale by yourself, then again with your baby and subract your sole weight from you and baby's weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilly Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Second everything you stated!!! Very true!!! Congrats on your increased production since this post - that's great!! I took Chloe in to be weighed at the doctor's (free visit) and she had gained about an ounce a day since the last visit, but not as much as she had been gaining, to be sure (she had gained as much as 3-4 ounces of weight a day). Anyway, she eats for hours on end sometimes so I just got my Avent Isis Duo IQ breastpumpt today and I'm going to do some trial runs on manual pumping to see what my output is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilly Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Dilly, I don't understand why you would be concerned about your supply if your baby GAINED weight. Can you explain? Also, do you mean to say that you are worried that she is gassy because she is swallowing alot of air when you feed? Actually, you bring up a great point. The baby has been gaining weight, but at the time of my last post, I didn't know if she was still gaining. Like Hazey stated with Maya, they can gain, then lose or stabilize. I decided (after a trip to BabysRUs, Target, and Wal-mart) to just use the Doctor's office to weight Chloe since I had a really tough go at finding a baby scale. Apparently they are available at BabysRUs, but sold out. Yes, I worry about her gas because I am not doing a great job of burping her and when she eats, she inhales a lot of air. Seems like frantic feeding at times. And then, it's sort of painful for her I think as she tries to sleep (dealing with the gas). It also makes her feel full when she's not. Doc told me not to bother with the Mylicon drops (that they really don't work). No substitute for good burping she stated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilly Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 By the way...you can buy a baby scale, but it works just as good to jump on the scale by yourself, then again with your baby and subract your sole weight from you and baby's weight. Seems like your production (4 ounces a day) is quite a lot!!! Wow, that's pretty serious!!! As far as assessing her weight, I may try the adult scale method you suggested. Only issue is that she's only 8 pounds 4-5 ounces now and my scale rounds to the nearest 0.5 pound. Lotsa play in that... but it's a general idea, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilly Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 YAY Dilly! Chloe is beautiful! I am glad you had a quick and healthy delivery. COngratulations! THANKS RIKKA!!! Best day of my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilly Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Yayya! Im assuming by now you had your baby! Congrads!!!! THANK YOU!!! I love all the support I have gotten from ENA to bring me to this point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilly Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 You're funny. My boyfriend tried it and said it tasted really sweet. I thought that maybe he was imagining the sweetness as it looks quite dilute at times. Anyway, sometimes when fooling around, mine start leaking so there are definite triggers that bring it on. I would love such a spreadsheet, Ash. I am already using a spreadsheet by the NIH but it's really sort of crude (birth through one year for boys and girls). THANKS FOR AGAIN BEING A GREAT RESOURCE, EVERYONE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarew Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Are you fooling around already? I mean... fooling fooling? I keep wondering when we will be able to fool around again after baby. I heard rule of thumb is no sex for a month, but that doesn't mean we can't fool around! I guess it depends on the labour complications, but you had a good delivery, are you fooling around already??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Depends on what exactly you mean by fooling around. Other than actual intercourse ... there's no time restriction! My partner actually wanted me to hop into bed with her in the hospital. But you're right, it depends on exactly how the birth went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naughty_jiggidy Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 when caleb was 1st born he was doing about 2oz every 4 hours (i bottle fed.) until he was about umm..... almost a month old or so.. I know my stepmom had to supplment with formula here and there because she wanst producing enough!!! I know through WIC (in the states) if you choose to breastfeed htey will provide you with an awesome pump!!! Sooo heads up if you guys need one.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naughty_jiggidy Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Are you fooling around already? I mean... fooling fooling? I keep wondering when we will be able to fool around again after baby. I heard rule of thumb is no sex for a month, but that doesn't mean we can't fool around! I guess it depends on the labour complications, but you had a good delivery, are you fooling around already??? Honestly, they say until you are seen again aftewards. For my doctor that was at 6 weeks. Just to let everything heal fully. I had a 2nd degree tear soo I needed that time lol. Also thats when I got put on Birthcontrol too again. Ive had a friend that started a week after- I WAS LIKE umm yeah NO things still "hurt" down there... I wasnt lookin for anything else. haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justpaisley Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Careful now... I've heard you're most fertile after having a baby! One of my good friends in California has two kids that are 10 months apart! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilly Posted April 26, 2007 Author Share Posted April 26, 2007 Are you fooling around already? I mean... fooling fooling? I keep wondering when we will be able to fool around again after baby. I heard rule of thumb is no sex for a month, but that doesn't mean we can't fool around! I guess it depends on the labour complications, but you had a good delivery, are you fooling around already??? No, no intercourse (nooky) yet. Still bleeding occasionally and not really interested in doing anything yet. Took a gander at my girlie parts and noticed that while I didn't tear, there is a surface like "abrasion" that the doctor stitched. It travels up from the vagina towards my pleasure button and I just don't really think I look the same. I don't look THAT different but I want to give myself the full six weeks to recover because I just want to be as close to prebirth condition as possible. We fool around in other ways that don't involve him touching me there (especially penetration). I just am not even that interested in it yet. Self consciousness may be exerting its toll in that regard. But yeah, I'd give it time to heal. But I do miss the interaction, even though I don't crave penetration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToResist Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 Uh, that's the worst part (the wound towards the pleasure button, lol). Burns like heck. Ow. I have an aunt who found out she was pregnant at her 6 week checkup. Could you even imagine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophie274 Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 Wow! My dad and his brother are 11 months apart - born in the same (!!) calendar year. Apparently it's called "Irish Twins" - loL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southerngirl Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 My cousin went in for a checkup and to schedule to have her tubes tied. She'd had a baby six weeks before. Well.............. The ONE AND ONLY time her and her husband 'did it' since having the baby had created a new one! She was already pregnant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarew Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Depends on what exactly you mean by fooling around. Other than actual intercourse ... there's no time restriction! My partner actually wanted me to hop into bed with her in the hospital. But you're right, it depends on exactly how the birth went. Lol! Well its good to know that it CAN be done. I am not depending on any quick recoveries though. Dilly, how is it going with the milk production? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope75 Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 Generally the doctor will say that you should refrain from sex for 6 weeks following natural childbirth. The most important thing is that your lochia has stopped. (the bloody discharge after birth that progress in color from red to brown to white and then stops). If you have a tear or an episiotomy than definitely 6 weeks for it to fully heal- to prevent increased risk of infection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilly Posted May 26, 2007 Author Share Posted May 26, 2007 Thanks guys!!! Milk production is good! I counted consumed ounces the other day (Thursday) and she ate nearly 23 ounces with very frequent feedings (every two to 3 hours) during the awake hours (daytime). She rarely eats at night (maybe once). I have 80 ounces of frozen breastmilk in the freezer for daycare backup. I figure I'll need to give them at least 8 ounces each day. A bit nervous. The kid has gained almost 4 pounds since birth. Also, the doc ok's intercourse, but I am still a bit uninterested. Here is something to think about - I had my period and I'm exclusively breastfeeding. The doctor was a bit shocked by that and asked me if I was giving formula. I said, nope, just breastfeeding. Anybody else have that happen with exclusive breastfeeding? Had my period at five and a half weeks post-delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarew Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 Wow you saved up 80 ounces already? Dilly, how soon did you start pumping? I will need to save alot of milk too. Plus I just want extra on hand for when its Daddy's turn to let mommy sleep. Can I start pumping like right away or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.