| Author | Message | ||
     Soparents Citizen Username: Soparents Post Number: 1369 Registered: 5-2005  |
Merric? (Ruler of the Sea) Merrin (I made it up...) | ||
| Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 4652 Registered: 5-2001 |
I had one or two glasses of wine on occasion while breastfeeding. (C'mon, I did it for 15 months, what's a girl supposed to do?) In the very beginning I avoided it but once they were a little older and went a few hours between feedings it's ok. You can pump and dump if it makes you feel better, or drink a lot of water (which you do anyway). Some people have a glass or two of wine when they are pregnant too, but this is something I never ever ever did. Some people supplement with formula when they breastfeed. For instance, if Notehead wanted to take a feeding in the evening you could pump and give the breastmilk in a bottle or formula. Or if you're uncomfortable nursing in public or don't want to pump when you go back to work— you can have the baby fed formula when s/he is at day care but breasfeed before and after work. I always thought that was a good solution for a working mom who wanted to continue breastfeeding. When I worked one day a week I'd have to sit in the bathroom to pump, not so much fun. (Having my desk in a studio with 5 guys was not so conducive to pumping!) | ||
| SoOrLady Citizen Username: Soorlady Post Number: 3366 Registered: 9-2003 |
Back to drinking - a neighbor's doctor told her to have a Guinness every day. Supposedly boosted the nutrient value of her milk. As an added bonus - Guinness has less calories than skim milk. My husband's Sicilian great-aunt once told me that I "should havea nicea glass wine before I nursea da babe. Den he schleepa alla nighta fa you." Ess is right, by the way - keeping a supply on the side for "emergencys" and for Notehead to bond with M is a great idea. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2422 Registered: 8-2003  |
"pump and dump" lovely I really don't want to pump at work. I find the idea repulsive. I worked in an office with a large bathroom with 5 stalls. There was one woman who pumped forever. The noise of the machine gave me the willies. BUT I am aware I may have to, if only to ease my own comfort if I am feeling "full". But this doesn't happen to everyone. I guess only time will tell. Notehead told me he'll get a pump for me and engrave it with "SooooWeeeey"  | ||
| Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 4653 Registered: 5-2001 |
Hey Ess, I had my first kid while on vacation in Quebec, where no one really breastfed. They put on a video in french, so I learned how to pump by hand! Yes, like a cow being milked. I actually used a manual pump in the ladies room at work and it did the job, plus it was very light. In the beginning though, if you use a high powered electric pump it will make your milk come in faster. My milk came in so fast with number 3 the nurses couldn't believe it. Then I had to pump to relieve them, then I produced more milk...catch 22. Don't laugh, knowing how to milk myself came in very handy at times. | ||
| ess Citizen Username: Ess Post Number: 2339 Registered: 11-2001  |
Oh yeah, you really do have to get over that idea of feeling like a cow! But all mammals do it (not pump, but nurse). You can think of yourself as a lioness. Much more regal. | ||
| Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 4654 Registered: 5-2001 |
I never actually felt like a cow, or is that for Pippi? It's odd for our generation because most of us were formula babies. My mom was so freaked out by nursing at first. My dad would turn away because he was so uncomfortable (and I'm not big, it's not like I was exposing myself). I found it hard in the beginning (though my situation was quite extreme, trying to nurse a preemie in a foreign place) but within a short period of time I felt it was so much easier than bottle feeding could possibly be. And, hubby changed all the night time diapers before handing me the baby to nurse...I never even left the bed. It was the sweetest thing, hearing him talk to the newborn while changing her. Luckily he still treats all of us like princesses... | ||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster  Post Number: 3729 Registered: 7-2002  |
I love nursing, love it-love it-love it Now, after Monster Daughter was born, and wife went back to work, she couldn't always make it home to feed da bambino, so it was left to me to feed miss monster expressed milk via a bottle. Yeah right, it took about a month of me buying and trying every known bottle and nipple combination, eyedroppers, and cloth soaked in milk, little miss monster just wouldn't go for it, and I had to hold a wailing hungry baby for hours on end at times. After about a month, all of a sudden, BAM!, the little Monsterette finally decided she had had enough, and just started taking a bottle. | ||
| notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 3483 Registered: 5-2001  |
I am researching ways to cause myself to lactate so that I can be more involved. I'm hoping that sufficient ingestion of ice cream will be the key. I'll keep you all apprised. Mmmmoooooooo. | ||
| Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 4655 Registered: 5-2001 |
Oh, I hope you realized what the term "pump and dump" means. It means you pump the milk and then you toss it down the drain. From your response maybe you're thinking the other kind of dump??? Notehead, it won't. Mr. Vig tried.  He actually LOST weight and I became lactose intolerant. You can try though by having Pippi suck on your nipples all the time. That MIGHT work. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2428 Registered: 8-2003 |
No, I realized what you meant....it still sounds icky. "You can try though by having Pippi suck on your nipples all the time. That MIGHT work." | ||
| algebra2 Supporter Username: Algebra2 Post Number: 4126 Registered: 5-2001  |
Pippi (and Notehead)! I just saw this, congratulations!!!!!! For what it's worth, I never breastfed. I think it would have been easier actually. Most important, cheaper. Formula ADDS UP! | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2437 Registered: 8-2003 |
Thanks, Alg! the cost savings is my primary reason for wanting to breastfeed! I've read articles about how expensive a baby is the first year. We need to save some $$. Another potential cost saving idea (haven't really looked at the numbers, so I could be wrong. could be MORE expensive for all I know) We are thinking of cloth diapers. I haven't really looked into the cost of a diaper service, nor do I know if we can handle it. BUT a couple of things I read that are making us lean toward cloth: 1) It takes 500 years for ONE disposable diaper to break down in a landfill 2) Babies go through 6000-7000 diapers in their diapering lifetime 3) A baby who wears cloth diapers is generally potty-trained earlier, thus using fewer diapers overall.(Because disposable diapers are made to be so absorbent, babies tend to not mind wearing them at all, since they aren't uncomfortable, thus wearing them longer.) Thoughts? Any local families use cloth diapers? | ||
| Cedar Citizen Username: Cedar Post Number: 189 Registered: 10-2002 |
Congratulations, Pippi & Notehead!!! Keep the blog alive; you both know you'll get a lot of feedback, support, and more... Now, for the curiosity part. Considering your surname, if Marshall would be kind of alliterative, and Jack and Must would work perfectly, my cramped mind can imagine only one potential surname. The only thing that I can come up with is the present tense of a diminuitive for Maplewood's bagel place....but its just NOT possible!! (Sorry. I am stuck on this!!) Try to savor every minute of the changes in your lives. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2438 Registered: 8-2003 |
Cedar - are you asking if our last name is ••••??  noooo..... | ||
| Cedar Citizen Username: Cedar Post Number: 190 Registered: 10-2002 |
Pippi - We used cloth diapers (without a service) for our son's first year. My friends referred to me as "crunchy"; that's not really derogatory, is it? (Then I had to return to work, and I didn't feel comfortable even asking our nanny to continue...), so the potty training didn't factor in. I loved cloth for the environmental reasons. Also, you need to change more frequently, so rash wasn't an issue, at all. Rinsing the diapers and carrying the bucket to the basement from the second floor was a bit of a hassle, but I grew strong beyond belief! In all, if I had to do it again, I most definitely would. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2439 Registered: 8-2003 |
Cedar - we're not "crunchy" per se ( I don't think it's derogatory, but I know some do - usually the people who say it!) but we drive a Prius and we are getting solar panels on our house and, well, I just hate the idea of 6000-7000 pieces of garbage that will NEVER go away!! not sure I could do it without a service. Did you choose not to use a service for any particular reason? Did you look into services? It hasn't occured to me this might be a child care problem! | ||
| Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 4659 Registered: 5-2001 |
I thought about it for awhile with baby number one. Cloth diapers are not cheap, plus you buy these covers that are really not cheap. Then the service is not cheap. Plus the service uses a lot of water, which i am sure they will say is not that much water, but still. In the end, I went for convenience. And I made all my own baby food, never used formula, and did plenty of other things that were not necessarily convenient. Maybe you could use them at home and at night, but use disposables for childcare and when you're out. Who'd want to lug around dirty diapers??? There are lots of ways to compromise if something is very important to you. As far as potty training, I don't believe it. Some kids don't care about being wet, others do. If a kid is trained at 1 it probably means the parent is constantly asking the kid to go to the bathroom. Now pull-ups are another story. Great marketing, cost a fortune... I believe that's a big problem for potty training. | ||
| sac Supporter Username: Sac Post Number: 3540 Registered: 5-2001 |
Not only cost savings but energy saving (your energy) - You don't have to mess with as many bottles, nipples, etc. and, if you are willing to ignore the naysayers, you can just tuck the baby in bed with you and never really have to wake up all the way to nurse at night. Nursing and rocking my babies is one of my most precious memories. When I went back to work I pumped for awhile, as I had done off and on while home to provide a supply for spouse or sitters to give the baby when I was otherwise occupied or just needed a break. But pretty soon we just adjusted to a routine where they had formula from bottles at the sitter's and were nursed at home. I had long maternity leaves (6+ months), so my children were starting on solid food by that time anyway. However, we didn't give up the bedtime nursing until well past a year for each child and it was a special time I didn't want to give up. Both of my babies decided when they were done ... I never really weaned them. The older one was 17 months old and the younger one was 20 months old. In both cases, we had some rough going at the start, but I was very glad that I stuck with it. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2441 Registered: 8-2003 |
VIG - I think a combination of disposable and cloth is a good compromise, particularly during the day when the kid is being changed by someone else. sac - that's also a good compromise, too. I could just do a little of everything! | ||
| algebra2 Supporter Username: Algebra2 Post Number: 4127 Registered: 5-2001 |
We didn't do cloth. I am a compulsive coupon clipper. I clipped and looked for sales -- clip a "dollar off" Pampers and then search the circulars for who has Pampers on sale. I think cloth can only work if you are staying home FULLTIME. Around to deal with poopy non-disposable diapers all the time. | ||
| red Citizen Username: Redy67 Post Number: 5945 Registered: 2-2003  |
Pippi what you will soon realize is that everyone will give you advice. Some may be good some will be bad. You have to go with your heart and do what you think is best. Most of the time there isn't a right or wrong answer.... | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2442 Registered: 8-2003 |
thanks, red. I am looking for a multitude of options. I expect everyone and every baby is different. We'll tailor plans to work for us. But I do like to know the solutions others before me have discovered! May save some legwork  | ||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1169 Registered: 1-2006  |
Buy powdered formula. Put the appropriate amount into a bottle. Bring bottled water. When you need to feed and can't breast it. This little mix is instant nutrition. No keeping it cold, no heating it up. That's my travel tip. Also, this was our best investment: http://www.strolex.com/product0.html You can go to NYC, throw it into a cab (with the baby) then turn it into a stroller and off you go. That's how I roll. J.B. | ||
| Soparents Citizen Username: Soparents Post Number: 1413 Registered: 5-2005 |
pippi - I second reds comment - you will be inundated by offers of advice - take in what you want and ignore the rest.. You will also find that when the baby comes you will come up with solutions that no-one has suggested! | ||
| MeAndTheBoys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 4074 Registered: 12-2004  |
FWIW, Pippi, I found that the Babys R Us brand of diaper, and most other store brand diapers, work just as well as more expensive brands, but cost quite a bit less. If you register at Babys R Us, you'll be on thier list to receive thier sale circulars in the mail. When thier stuff goes on sale, you can stock up. Yeah, it may be a little inconvenient to go all the way to Route 10 or 22, but if you plan ahead you can probably save some decent money. | ||
| Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 4662 Registered: 5-2001 |
Agreed. I generally bought the biggest case of the least expensive diapers. I think a lot of the store brands are the same, back then some had Muppet babies on them, those worked very well and were sized better for my narrow hipped kids. | ||
| notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 3486 Registered: 5-2001 |
Jersey_Boy, I dig the Sit'n'Stroll. We'll definitely have to check that out. Did you buy it at a shop or online? | ||
| Marina stern Citizen Username: Mern Post Number: 1 Registered: 6-2002 |
Mooses partner here ...Back to baby names for a second...2 really great names are Malcolm and Mason. And I can attest to their ease of use and fine character as names. We would be honored to share them with you. Notehead, Merv just makes me think Nervous Mervous. Sorry....  | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2451 Registered: 8-2003 |
Hi Marina! It is so nice of you to offer to share, we're the ones who should be honored! But your boys are so special and, in my mind, they "are" those names. However, we won't dismiss the names so quickly.  PS - Thank you for backing me on the Merv issue!  | ||
| Mern Citizen Username: Mern Post Number: 2 Registered: 6-2002  |
I forgot my info and somehow my name appeared above. That wasn't supposed to happen. Let's try this again. (I don't MOL very often. Can you tell?!) Glad you won't dismiss them. We took a very long time trying to find them. I think we had the same requirements, actually. Hey, that Jersey_Boy "Sit 'n' Stroll" thingy is very cool. Wish I'd had one. And the tip about the bottled water and formula is exactly what got us through. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2454 Registered: 8-2003 |
Mern - I expect you will have many good tips for us, too! Feel free to offer as much advice as you'd like. We'll digest it all and use what works for us. We are lucky to have so many friends who have had kids before us and who now KNOW ALL the answers (why do you think we waited so long??) PS - is that you in the baby picture? | ||
| Mern Citizen Username: Mern Post Number: 3 Registered: 6-2002 |
We're there for you. Yup, that's me. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2456 Registered: 8-2003 |
I thought it was you, but you look kind of short ...  what a cutie! | ||
| notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 3487 Registered: 5-2001 |
I was gonna say, that looks like Mern when she was only 5'6".  Y'know, Mern is a pretty cool name, it makes me think about people greeting each other in the a.m. in the South. (Mern, Rusty. Mern, Cooter.) One little adjustment could make it perfect... M E R V . | ||
| LilLB Citizen Username: Lillb Post Number: 1857 Registered: 10-2002  |
Ya know, this Merv didn't do so bad for himself http://www.alphahomeentertainment.com/ | ||
| Mern Citizen Username: Mern Post Number: 4 Registered: 6-2002 |
I just had a brilliant revelation. Liberate yourselves from the M name constraints and name the baby Kishmy!  | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2462 Registered: 8-2003 |
Mern - we really like Kismai - very exotic! but, alas, we're kinda stuck with M. | ||
| Soparents Citizen Username: Soparents Post Number: 1435 Registered: 5-2005 |
Micain? Merlin? Mallin? Mevin? Moor? | ||
| BGS Supporter Username: Bgs Post Number: 1094 Registered: 10-2003 |
Pippi- Can you use your Dad's name? I have missed a couple of posts so maybe that has already been discussed. Ciao! B |
