Post Partum Hotties
 

Getting hotter.....will it be shorts or kaftans this summer?

Hi all. Just thought I would let you know that I bought a very expensive pair of running shoes yesterday. Between the shoes and the stroller I have spent over $500 on this latest quest to lose weight. I have been walking/jogging these past few days, gradually working up to it. I"ll get there eventually!!

Happy Easter everyone, stay away from the chocolate!

Jen, with that investment YOU WILL DO IT! I have faith, good to know at least one of us will be wearing shorts this summer......showing off those runners thighs :)

Geneve, I bet you will make it too. That walk sounds wonderful. I would love to be able to walk like that along the water....even if I was some distance away a sporadic glimps would be good enough for me.

I won't even talk about my status. At least my kids are cute :^: I am trying to make better choices and what sweets I have had have been much less than if I was totally bounding out of control. I just need to find a way and I suspect it won't entail sitting in front of the computer.



Barb

barb, there is nothing wrong with being on the computer now and then. I try to limit my time on the computer too but still sometimes you need some time to yourself do to something that is relaxing and fun. You'll get there, don't worry about it. I know you are thinking a lot about what you need to do and I've seen plenty of studies on how people make big changes in their life and you are in the complentative stage. Eventually you'll move on to the planning and action stage when you are ready.

Went to see the grandmother's yesterday. Talk about a study in contrasts. My husband's mother is the guilt trip artist. I suspect she doesn't even know she is doing it anymore. My mother plays more with the baby but she is so critical of everything I do. Also she is trying to tell me that me and my brothers were content babies who never cried. What a crock! I come away from her place feeling like I am the worst mother in the world but I know that I'm not. One of these days I'm going to ask her if she enjoys making me feel like doggy doo.

Haven't got out with the new shoes yet. Gonna try this morning. Been drinking lots of water and the diet hasn't been too bad. How is everyone else doing?

WHO INVENTED EASTER EGGS THEN?WHAT WAS WRONG WITH CHICKEN'S EGGS? WHY CHOCOLATE?
No, I'm not sitting here feeling sick from eating too much chocolate, really I'm not:devil:
I would have been OK as I only got one, BUT my 7 month old got as many as the 4 year old. By Sunday afternnon, Ted was trying to give his away....we took a load of little ones we were given to friends we knew had kids staying, I hid them in the garden and they had an egg hunt...so we got some back again THEN they gave us a load more. And it's PMT time for me. We still have loads of the damn things left. I never want to look at choclate again.
AND it's the start of the school Easter holidays so almost impossible to get to tthe gym.
SSSO NOW I have to pick myself up, and start all over again,.
I WANT TO BE THIN. I WANT TO BE THIN. I WANT TO BE THIN MORETHAN I WANT TO EAT CHOCOLATE EGGS SO WHY AM I STILL EATING THE EGGS?????????????
:?: :?: :?: :?: :?:
Jen....your folks sound sooo sweet. You and me should get ourselves adopted:lol:

I want to be thin too!!! Hey we'll get there. Just think how long it took to gain all this weight...if we lose the weight in a year or 2 we should be laughing.

Throw those blasted eggs in the garbage!! If people want to give you presents why don't they give your kids a toy or something useful like clothes. Nobody needs that much chocolate, not you or your kids.

Went out jogging/walking today. I'm doing it according to this program in Runner's World. One week you do this, the next you do this and so on. In 10 weeks or so I should be mostly jogging. Today was not too bad though I was beet red for about an hour afterwards. I did a lot better than I thought I would.

Take care all.

I confess I have eaten some of those chocolate eggs. at least I made a vow to only buy the good stuff and buy much less of it. My children are much older and they keep me from eating very much. They even raided out Easter basket and claimed the candy as their own. I have to admit I was ok with that.

I did the Precor today for half an hour. I also went on a walk with Isabelle to the coffee shop where my friend works. She wasn't working so I just had a cup of coffee and left. It is much more fun going there when she is working.

I also watched what I ate today. I am sure I was well within my points range.

I have a splitting headache and he is about 6feet tall. Seriously my husband is going through some midlife crisis and he keeps laying it on me. I wonder if I will be able to have my own midlife crisis or if I will be too busy deflecting his. :(

Did I tell you about my lotions? They are thick as cream and satisfy my urge to use fat. I have added them to my soapmaking and lip balms. My skin should be very pampered. I guess putting the oils outside of my body is better than inside. :)

Look for a report tomorrow. I want to do the Precor again!



Barb

PS also took my vitamins :)

Souns like you two are doing really well. I am inspired.
Slim fast fro breakfast and everything back to normal. I am going to put all the eggs left into one box and stick them in my sons room. He can eat them, as he is nice and slim and has lovely teeth (Fathers genes) , he doesn't care for sweets that much, so I expect they will get thrown away when he's not looking. i iwll not be eating any more of them.
Am going to go to the gym after DH finishes work.
My friend had a baby last night...4 weeks early!She won't be joining us though...she's very slim, but it will be nice to have some baby company.
must go kids fighting.
I love shcool holidays.
geneve

Hi all. Well a lot has happened since I last posted. The hubby got fired last week. It wasn't a big surprise or anything and frankly I think it is something of a relief. I'm hoping that some of the stress induced headaches he has been having for the past year will now be relieved. We aren't in a bind financially as he got several weeks of severance plus he has 2 weeks of vacation owing so we are good for a couple of months. Also he has been working on the side for this other company that will hire him outright when they have got enough business to keep him employed. Between that and a couple of other freelance things he has picked up we should be okay til I go back to work. By then he should have this other job so everything should be fine. The big issue is whether or not we will kill each other after spending so much time together!

I started my run/walking last week. I ran on Monday, ran 1 min. walked 3 minutes and did this 7 times. Wednesday I started out and my knees were just killing me. I figured I went too fast on Monday. I managed to get through it though. I rested on Thursday, no exercise at all, then Friday I went for a walk, the knees were still sore. I ran Saturday, knees were not too bad. Today I went for a walk, halfway through the knees were ready to give out. I'm not sure what to do now. I'll see how they are tomorrow. Basically I'm taking it day by day though I'm thinking I might have to just take a week off with no exercise altogether to get my knees back to normal. I think I could probably ride my exercise bike. That's not weight bearing so it should be okay for my knees.

Drake has been in one of those whiny/crying moods these past 2 days. It is driving me nuts!:cry: I'm about ready to throw myself on the bed and have a tantrum out of frustration. It doesn't seem to matter what I do, I just can't get him to calm down sometimes. He isn't hungry, his diaper is fine, he won't go to sleep, I move him around from room to room, in his exerciser, in his stroller, in his crib. He's in his crib right now watching his mobile. At least he is being quiet (for now, knock on wood). I know it will pass but does it drive me nuts.:dizzy:

Well take care all, hope things are better with everyone than here!

Jen,Much as I generally disaprove of people who do this I am sending you a hug.....cannot think of anything else to do. Please take care of yourself.
As you may rememebr Andrew was off work 8 months last year, and I do have a handy hint. Get HIM to look after Drake, you'll find he's back in employument as soon as he can!Seriously, I know your husband has been very unhappy and it's good he has somewhere he can work but i do hope all the stress doesn't get passed on to you.
Running is very hard on your knees and shins if you are overweight especially if you run on a hard surface like tarmac. Be careful, fast walking is almost as good for you and much less impact. Enzo Ferrari of the car farme said that a good engineer should always wear shoes with think soles to protect his precious brain from imapct!You need to treat your knees with equal care.
Drake sounds like he's teething, which as I'mSUR you know can drag on forever without anmy actual signs of teeth.
Leo now has 6 and more on the way. He also has conjunctivitis for the second timein his life. Ted has one of those almost colds.
We were going out today but I will make him stay in and watch the Queen Mother's funeral. I am not a great one for the royals but this country does excel at these events. I watched her grandsons mounting vigil by the coffin last night and was moved to tears....msut be my hormones!!!!!!
Look once agin No mention of a diet. I have renewed confidence, the scales are creeping VERY slowly down and people are starting to notice I look thinner, I am going to carry on exercising and try to eat healthily without counting calories, that way I might actually enjoy it. Did I tell you about my brother? He was very big, changed jobs from teacher to postman and has lost it all over 2 years without dieting (so he says ) he never weighs himself (these things seem so much easier for the men) but he was v.fat now looks normal, and he never runs, just walks.
Good luck all of you, if you want my e-mail jen let me know.
Geneve

Jen, I don't know what to say....... I know you will do just fine. I second Geneve's suggestion you get your husband to watch over Drake, not only will it give him a taste of what it is really like, but it will give you a much needed break too.

I think Drake is teething too. They really do fuss and you have no idea why and then a week or two later the teeth make a showing. You know it IS ok to leave him to cry when you are at your wits end. Just make sure he is in a safe place (like the crib) and you aren't too far away (like visiting Geneve ;) ). We all know these things pass with babies, but when we are in the thick of things we can't imagine it any different.

Geneve, sounds like you are doing well! Good.

My kids are off next week, as is my husband. I hope we all survive. :dizzy:


Barb

Hi all. Thanks for your words of encouragement. So far things are okay with the hubby being home. Actually he is keeping busy doing freelance work so we are getting on fine.

Drake was better yesterday. Oh believe me I have left him in his crib for a few minutes on several occasions while I sit and take some deep breaths. I'm sure he's got some more teeth coming in, once they do break the gum he is usually better. That's what happened with the first 2 anyway.

I did go and buy a good pair of running shoes and I'm running on ashphalt not concrete so I don't think it is that. I really do think that I just overdid it the first day. Went for a walk Monday and yesterday and my knees are still very sore. I've decided just to take a whole week off and not do any walking or running. I will go on my exercise bike though, that is not weight bearing so my knees shouldn't get worse from that. So I'll see next week how my knees are and have another go at running but much, much slower this time.

Barb - I know exactly what you mean about not making it through spending so much time with the family. The hubby and I fight a lot if we spend so much time together. I hope he gets this job soon.

Geneve - I watched some of the Queen Mother's funeral. It was quite moving really. Good to hear that the scales are creeping downwards, sounds like you are doing very well. Keep it up!:D

Hi Barb, wouldn't it be nice if we could visit? Long trip for me though!
I have family in New Jersey and Toronto, but no prospect of a trip over the pond this year, I need a bigger car (current model is the VW Polo my Dad gave me when I had Ted, to replace my beloved sports) and as they cost much more over here I suspect all my holidays will be within driving distance.
I have a VERY odd request fro you here Barb, but I'm at my wits end. Do you ever go to, or know anyone who goes to the Crayola Factory in Pennsylvania? Told you it was an odd request, but if you do then can I request a bit of shopping? My son has a T-shirt I bought him there last year and he will not be parted from it, it usually gets washed and dried while he is at school but the holidays have been a bit fraught. I looked on the website to buy another one but they only seem to have adults. I am going to write to them anyway,they were very sweet there (strongly recommend it, Ted thought it was much better than Disney!!!)and I'm sure if I sent them the money and postage they would help me. I think I should buy one every size to adult! I wouldn't mind but it's a really loud tie dye number, all colours...at least I can't lose him in a crowd.
On the other hand, I could carry on with the 2 door polo and go to New York again....would be the most expensive t-shirt in history!!!
Good luck with the holidays, I have my nephew coming to stay from today, so expect to be totally certifiable by the weekend. Have promised London on Saturday and booked a trip to Lego land (UGH! )for later in the month. It will al end in tears. Probably mine.
I want to open a Crayola factory here, or even better one of those climbing exercise things they have for kids (bouncey castles and all that) scaled up for adult use...you could get fit and have fun at the same time!
Baby asleep, i have been rocking him in his pram. He fell off the bed this morning in one of those 'I only turned my back for a minute' moments. They have beoth been really grizzly today, went to see my friend who has had the hysterectomy, not sure who looked more bedraggled, or felt more jealous...she wants kids, I fancy a few weeks peace in a plush hospital full of drugs!

Hi Jen if you're still on line!:)

Geneve, I have been to the Crayola factory about three or four years ago. It is fun and the kids were entertianed. It is about two or three hours for us, something I am sure you would make in a heartbeat........however I haven't got artists for kids and they end up watching me happily do all of the crafts. I bet if they have the t-shirts they will be happy to send you one.

The town I live in is a bit of a hippy town and tie dye shirts abound, even when they aren't the trend. If you want a tye dyed shirt I can oblige..... we could get it VERY colorful. ;)

Jen, what does your husband do? Could he work full time freelancing? It might be good for him to be his own boss, or it might drive you crazy!

The house is quiet right now. I got the kids off to school and Isabelle is still sleeping. I haven't had any coffee and yet, cause of the quiet, I feel all things are possible. Have a good day ladies.



Barb

Barb, I'm feeling all excited about Monday when school starts since I read your post.I can just about remember quiet!
Brighton near us has an area where I might be able to get a tie dye shirt...he might well be happy with that, he could have one for evryday and the crayola one for best. Good thinking Batwoman:D He seems to be determinedto dress like Nelson Mandela at all times, which I guess is OK, but as I only ever wear navy/black/grey with the odd white shirt it's difficult for me to go shopping with him. His school uniform is navy sweater, white shirt and grey shorts and he looks adorable in it, outside school he declines the clothes I choose. Yesterday he had red trousers, green & yellow stripey socks, the T-shirt and a yellow fleece on.What is it about men????Thank God the 80's flourescent stuff isn't still around. I suspect DH would wear the same with the smallest encouragement.

You know I wear mostly black, grey, and olive with some colors thrown in but I love color! My kids have colorful clothes and I think are aquiring a pretty good sense of color in their wardrobe. Of course boys are a bit limited, but there is still much to find. This is tempered with their basic colors of black, blue, olive and tan so they don't really look like circus acts. :lol: I love being able to spot them in a crowd.

The house is still quiet, however I think Isabelle might be up, and perhaps even crying, but I don't hear her so all is right..... actually the guilt has gotten to me and I am on my way upstairs to her ASAP.




Barb

We talked about him started his own business, he does computer drawings of houses and stuff like cabinets. The thing is that this sort of business has a lot of peaks and valleys, right now there is a peak which is why he is getting all this work. Also there might be times where he has to go out and hustle for work which I don't think he would like. I asked him that and he agreed with me. He'd be better off in some ways being his own boss but there is so much more security in working for a larger company.

I vote security too, spread your wings when the babies are bigger.
It appears Leo has not inherited my concerns for a healthy diet. After 8 months of monitored intake he spent the day with Granny and grandad and ate a sausage and that great British artery blocker fish and chips! I saw the fish and chips bit, he was SOOOO happy I could not stop him, he even ate the skin and batter which I cannot bear to. I was pleased about the fish, which I know is OK if you don't eat the batter, but chips fried in God only knows what......lard, I think.
I am leaving him with DH tomorrow but am taking my Mother with me so she cannot get to him!
I may not be here for a while DH is having an operation on his ear on Monday...the appointment came up much quicker than we anticipated. He'll be off work for at least two weeks and I imagine I'll be kept busy.Am dreading it. At least Ted will be back at school.
So if you don't hear from me just assume I'm lurking and cheering you on.
Geneve:strong:

Geneve - hope your hubby's surgery goes well. We'll see you when you get a break from looking after him and the kids! Keep care of yourself too.

Not much new with me. I'm thinking of trying Weight Watchers. Heaven knows nothing else is working for me. In fact I think I have gained weight!! My scale fluctuates so much. I was determined not to use it but that idea didn't last long. I don't know what else to do.:(

Hi, well DH's operation has been postponed until tomorrow, so a bit more tension t enjoy. Today was awful. Leo is teething again and grizzled all day with hardly any sleep. Ted was off school with a cough and was grizzly too.
I spent all day hating them and eating biscuits. I will get to the gym tomorrow no matter what, and before I go seriously off track.
However, i was so hacked off I phoned my Mum up and told her what I thought of her so-called support...she was nonplussed...but at least I felt better. My Mother is a classic victim and I have been the grown up in our relationship for as long as I can remember, so if I say anything to her like 'it would be nice of you came andkept an eye on the kids rather than asking me to help you with your college work' she just retreats into 'Oh but you're so much more capable than I am, I suppose I'm just not vut out for that sort of thing,it's easier for you etc etc etc'.
I suppose that's why I spend so much of my time on here moaning, I simply don't have any9ne else to moan at. So thanks Jenand Barb, I should appreciate you more! I say to you what I would hesitate to say to those who supposedly love me. I never thought of it that way before. I owe you both for listening to me. Big thanks.
You wouldn't believe how many biscuits I ate today. Even I don't.
:(

Geneve, I think of friends (online and not) as sounding boards. We either get to practice -and theoretically perfect- what we want to say........ or we get to get it out and let it drop.

Which ever serves our purpose............. ;)

However, I will add, it is easier to vent to online friends because if I complained about my husband and kids to my friends in person they might look at them differently........online friends don't have to have a relationship with my family.

John took the boys to his parents. So here I sit with Isabelle. She is actually much more work.........which is why he took the boys.




Barb

Open to new comers?
 

Hi ladies :)

I notice it's just the three of you posting here and you all seem to know each other really well, are you open to newcomers?

I'm a new mom, Mya Alise was born 3 1/2 weeks ago, and she is our first child. I've already lost all my pregnancy weight plus about 4# more (depending upon my salt intake... it fluctuates between 2 and 6 #) but I still have a long way to go to reach goal. I have to admit to being absolutely shocked at how fast the weight came off as I have not been dieting. I am breastfeeding though (or trying to) and some people say that that really helps with the weight. :shrug:

Lara
:wave:

Hi Lara, of course you are welcome! There are more of us..............we just end up posting more often. :)

Congratulations on Mya! I always heard the pregnancy weight would come right off and generally mine does, however this time it didn't. I actually gained weight! However I think that was because of my thyroid so I won't hold it against my daughter ;) I too am breastfeeding, but we are down to only a few times a day so I can't really count that anymore.

I have an almost 11 month old and two son's who are 7 and 9. This is, hopefully, my last child. :D she is a joy though.

Oh oh better get her I hear paper ripping!



Barb

Hi all.

Welcome Lara and congrats on your little one. any and all are welcome to join us.

Geneve - I meant to ask you, how many teeth does Leo have? I can't get over that he ate a sausage and chips! Drake is 7 months old, has 2 teeth and still gags whenever I give him anything thicker than puree though he is able to eat those Farley biscuits as they turn into complete mush anyway. What a mess that is.

Well I did go ahead and join weight watchers. I am getting so desperate to lose weight, nothing else seems to be working. I know why I"m not losing the weight I just can't see to do anything about it. Hopefully WW will help. The bad news was that their scale is 10 lbs more than mine, so I wasn't very happy about that. I had my suspisions though as I got on the scale at the vet's when the assistant wasn't looking and it was more than the scale at home. The hubby was also a bit upset that he weighs 10 lbs more than what he thought. he needs to lose weight too but he doesn't want to work for it yet.

Take care all, talk to you soon.

Thank you for the welcome. There are still days when I can't quite believe that I'm a mom and that I grew this perfect little being inside me.

Well... I have an appt with a lactation consultant for this afternoon. And I rented a hospital grade breast pump. And I'm taking these homeopathic drops that taste horrid but are supposed to increase your milk supply (as mine seems to be drying up :( ). So far (since yesterday when I rented it), the pumping is still majorly frustrating... but the drops do seem to be working... I woke up this morning feeling the need to pump rather than just knowing I should to keep at least some milk coming. I'd like to feel that need on a regular basis, like every 3 or 4 hours or so. If this works, even if I haave to continue to pump I'll be happy. I'd like to get so that Mya is getting more breast milk than formula rather than the other way around.

gotta go... I hear her waking up... will type more later...

Lara

:wave:

Lara, Just keep drinking and put Mya to nurse as often as you can. If she just lays there and nurses it is fine, cause that will help you make more milk. If you try laying down to nurse that might be the easiest to relax and let her go. :)

I know a woman who thought she was drying up and had to suppliment she followed what the lactation consultant said and everything improved.


Just remember drink!!!!! you can have some serious problems if you don't stay hydrated. Go to the store and find lots of drinks with no caffine that you would be interested in drinking so you don't get bored with one or two drinks.

Good luck!!!!


Barb

Lara, there is a medication called Domperidone, I don't know if it is available in the US, that is wonderful for milk let down. I pumped for several weeks as well, my little darling refused to nurse no matter how many consultants I saw. It was just too frustrating for both of us.

Thanks for the advice :)

I really like this woman, she seems really down to earth and wasn't going on and on about attachment parenting, or berating me for having given Mya a bottle. She just said lets deal with this. Really down to earth.

I'm drinking a TON of water... I go through about a gallon a day. And I drink Juice as well. Mostly only 100% juice types, although I will admit to drinking some that have added sugar but I try to keep those to a minimum.

So I'm going to be pumping every 2 -3 hours and only taking off 5 hours at night... I had been letting it go a full 8 hours at night but I really do want to build my milk back up so I will do as she says. At least the electric pump is faster... and I can do both sides at once. so instead of an hour it's going to be more like 15 to 20 minutes total. :) Hopefully this will cut down on the frustration.

Lara
:wave:

Had my first weekly weigh in since I joined WW, I've lost 6 lbs. :)
That's great of course but a lot of it is water but still I feel a lot better about myself.

We are going through a nap thing with Drake. I made the mistake of using the bottle to get him to sleep. I know it was a bad thing to do but I was getting so frustrated that he wasn't napping during the day unless he was in the stroller or car seat. He won't take a pacifier anymore and the crying is driving me nuts especially when I know if I give him a bottle he'll be asleep in 10 minutes. I can't stand to listen to him cry because he really gets going. Any suggestions?

Hi Everyone,
Just a quickie as I'm knackered after a week nursing DH. Good news is the bone they removed was infected but not malignant, bad news they took his ear drum away, and that area of his head is a mess. He has long very curly hair and it's murder washing the blood out. OK a bit more info than you needed I'll stop now!
Lara, the thing about breast feeding is to persevere. If it helps then just think that every drop to Mya is really helping her get the best start. The only advice I can give is to make sure you are getting enough rest, that your blood count is OK and that you are nursing enough during the night. My midwife friend told me we are designed to feed more at night because it's natures way of keeping us and the baby inactive during the day. Cruel as it seems you produce better milk at night and feeding then stimulates more milk production than in the day. It's supposed to be why new born babies wake so often at night. It means you and mya can stay dozing in the cave while your other half goes out and kills mammoths, while you are safe and sound away from sabre tooth tigers...or something like that.
Jen well done on the 6lbs. It's brilliant news and I'm jealous. i am not weighing myself until my birthday in mid may, I'm going to try very hard (second day of that so far) and hopefully give myself a nice birthday present.
Oh and Leo has 6 teeth right out and 2 more at the bump stage...he is 9 months on May6th. I have abandoned baby food altogether, he's much happier with whatever we are eating (within reason) as as I'm generally a very healthy cook and dion't use salt he can join in. He's really into pasta...I made pesto tonight with a load of fresh basil and garic and he loved it. Very messy though.
Off for a can of diet ginger beer. yum yum.
Geneve.

Geneve, now I'm jealous!!! I would give anything to give up on the baby food. drake is not taking anything more textured than puree and acts like he is going to vomit everytime I try something thicker. Oh well it will come with time.

Lara, whatever happens, don't feel guilty about breastfeeding or not breastfeeding your baby. My son wanted no part of it, he screamed and pushed away and everytime I tried to feed him it was an ordeal for both of us. Breastmilk is best of course but there are plenty of kids that have done just fine on formula. I'm a formula baby and I think I've turned out okay. Breastfeeding is something that both mom and baby need to learn how to do. It isn't something that you both should instinctively know how to do. Anyone says that has never had to do it!! Do the best you can and if it isn't working out at least you can always pump for awhile and she'll get the benefits of having the breastmilk and a mom that isn't frazzled.

Take care everyone.

Jen is so right Lara. If you want to do it, persevere and it will probably be OK BUT the main thing is that you are both happy. My first son wouldn't breast feed, he was raised on formula and is perfect (OK I may be slightly biased there) Leo took to breast feeding straight off. Luckily we have the option to choose. Whatever, don't beat yourself up about it. Having done both there are adavntages with either option.
Better go, Ted has a school friend here and I can tell by the noises above they are bust trashing his room. Little :devil: s

Here's the thing. I am VERY pro-breastfeeding for the first year. I never intended to give my baby formula at all, I figured I would breast feed and then pump for when I was at work or have the baby have water from a sippy cup. Then she was in the NICU and the nurses told me I should be supplementing as my milk hadn't come in yet and she wasn't latching on very well. So they had me feed her a bottle, and since then we've had even less luck latching on -- she gets frustrated and gives up and just whimpers until I feed her a bottle.

I've been pumping every 2 - 4 hours since then. (Almost 5 weeks now.) And my milk supply is disappearing, and my breasts are so painful even wearing a bra hurts at times. Now I've found a pharmacy that will fill prescriptions for domperidone, and I just have to get my Dr to prescribe it (I'm hoping she will do it without too much hassle). So I will try taking that and see if it helps. Otherwise I'm definitely considering giving up. This whole thing is just too frustrating for both of us.


Jen... regarding the nap thing... are you giving him formula in the bottle or water? If formula maybe try giving him just a little bit of water in it instead to wean him off it. My mum had to do that with my younger sister, finally giving her the empty bottle to just rub the nipple against her cheek. (My sister got in the habbit of using the bottle to fall asleep at nap time while in the hospital just after she turned 1.)

hth
Lara
:wave:

Well Lara, ,I suppose I too am pro breastfeeding. I nursed three kids now and didn't use any formula after the first day or two. I diligently pumped and had my husband feed the oldest a bottle, however the other two never really learned to use a bottle. I was lucky, my milk would come in and I would nurse. I also tried to do all the things I was suppose to do for it to be successful, you know making sure the baby was latched on properly, drinking liquids, nursing on demand, and centering my life on the baby.

Having said that I agree with Geneve and Jen and as long as your baby is growing and getting nutrition that is what matters most! Honestly, I think we put too much time and thought into these very early issues and later more important things come along and we have worn ourselves out with what really amounts to small stuff. If you can nurse great and it will be great for the baby and good for your bonding. If you can't don't knock yourself with guilt because believe me somewhere down the line something much larger will come up and you will need that guilt then. :smug: :)


Barb C. (who has downloaded more WW stuff onto her Palm and now feels equipped with renewed ferver in this eating healthy thing)

I haven't heard yet if my dr is going to prescribe the domperidone for me or not, I'm not sure if I even want her to at this point, I'm so confused. I want to do what's best for Mya, but at this point I'm not certain that continuing in this vein is what's best for her. She needs a Mummy who isn't frazzled and I'm feeling frazzled. Although maybe if I were actually getting more than 1/2 an ounce or so when I pump for so long I wouldn't be quite so frazzled. So I guess I just answered that question. If she will prescribe it I will try it. I don't mind pumping as long as I'm getting something for the effort and pain. Otherwise, I'll probably give up pumping so often and just slowly allow my milk to dry up.

Thanks for all the support.

Lara
:wave:

Don't give up Lara! It sounds like you are a wonderfully committed mom. If you have perservered for this long, then I'm sure that the medication will help and you'll soon find that milk a-flowing.

My first was not very good at latching on. I pumped every 3 hrs for the first week and fed him from a bottle. For the next 2 weeks I used a nipple shield - its like a big nipple that you put over top of your breast and it gives the baby something to latch onto (I had flat nipples). After two weeks of that and lots of visits to the lactation consultant we were able to go "natural" from there on. Ironically, when I went back to work at 6 months, ds wanted no part of the bottles!

My second and third were WAY better at getting latched on. My third (almost 8 months old now) was also in the NICU. He was an awesome awesome feeder, but he had blood sugar problems; so the nurses insisted that I supplement w/ formula while he was in the NICU. Luckily he didn't get any nipple confusion, but it sounds like that's where you ran into problems. Totally frustrating since you had no control over it.

My sister has had supply problems and found fenugreek and mother's milk tea to work wonders to help her supply. Ask your LC about these (I'm surprised she didn't mention them already?). Also, try eating real oatmeal (not instant) every morning - helps with the milk supply.

Best of luck to you. You've come so far and are probably way closer than you think to getting that baby latched on and ready to go.

Amy 237/145 (ww lifetime member since July 99)

p.s. as others have said, you should not feel guilty at all about deciding to formula feed. I just wanted to give you some ideas that might not have been given to you yet. Good luck!

I'm taking a homeopathic blend called more milk plus which is supposed to be even better than the tea, and it has fenugreek in it. Also, we've tried the nipple shield as I have rather flat nipples as well as huge breasts, but she still got really frustrated after trying for only a little while. I should try that again though, maybe with the sns feeding tube thingy it might do the trick.

I'm going to try and just go with the flow so to speak and try not to beat myself up over the whole issue any more.

Thanks again for the support and ideas, all of them are welcome.

Lara
:wave:

Lara - get the domperidone. I promise you that it will make a huge difference in your milk output. You'll be able to pump 4oz in 10 minutes with your electric pump. You'll have enough milk for triplets!! The downside (if you are anything like me) is that you will leak in between if you don't pump often enough and/or you might become engorged. That happened to me once and it wasn't very nice. You will definately have to pump at least every 4 hours. What I would do is the second the baby was asleep I would pump until I was empty and then go to bed until he woke up again. But something good that comes out of it, when you decide to stop pumping you stop the medication but keep pumping for a week or so but not as often. So you pump long enough to get the medication out of your system and you don't get engorged but not often enough to build up a large milk supply which probably wouldn't be a problem since like me you aren't getting much milk anyway. By the end of the week you can quit pumping and you won't get engorged. this is what I did anyway when I gave up pumping. Try and see what happens, you might not want to put in more than a couple of weeks because it is very arduous. Also thanks for the advice about the formula before bed and naptimes. I am going to start diluting the formula I give him at these times and gradually work it down to plain water. Maybe he'll give up wanting formula by then.

Anyway not much going on with me. still doing the WW thing and I think it is working well. We'll see on Monday (my weigh in days). take care all.

aaarghh . flu. me , not baby yet, am trying not to breathe near him.
am going to move somewhere hot and dry.
in supreme maternal devotion mode did Leogland with ted all day sat with flu. now regretting it.
still, eating MUCH better....how many calories in Night nurse I wonder?
You all seem to be doing great. Reading this makes me want to breast feed again and I'm sure I didn't find it all that uplifting atthe time.
Really ladies, i think I'm broody. I keep putting off having the coil put in and I just know I'm waiting for the year to be up to see how I feel when I can try again. I know DH would go for another baby but I'm 37 soon and I have the post partum depression thing to worry about , and we have less money than we have for years already, and I'm sure it would be another boy anyway...so why have I just changed the skin on my PC to one with a baby on it? I must be delirious!
Anyone else hear the old biological clock ticking????:?: