Pump Pump Pump It Up!

Since I am exclusively breast feeding while attending school and working buying a pump was mandatory, at least this is what Penelope tells me.  Fortunately I was able to purchase a really nice one made by Medela.  Click here to check it out.  While it may seem pricey I cant imagine buying a pump of lesser quality, especially since I use it frequently.  It is completely worth the upfront costs, plus Ill be able to use it for Penelope's future siblings. 

 

I actually started pumping before I was "supposed" too.  They (who knows who "they" are) say you aren't supposed to introduce a bottle until 4-6 weeks to minimize nipple confusion.  Penelope got her first bottle between weeks 2-3 and has never had any problem going between the bottle and breast.  Hungry little hippo.  Originally I did not want to pump and give her a bottle so soon but at the time breast feeding was excruciatingly painful.  At times it was probably worse than labor.  So I pumped every 2 hours for a whole day and Aaron fed it to her in a bottle to give my nipples a break.  I am so glad I finally gave in and did it.  My nipples thanked me.

Pumping has also given me a few extra hours of sleep on a couple of occasions.  On nights when Penelope is up every hour or two Aaron is able to give her a bottle while I lay blissfully asleep.  Plus giving her a bottle takes around 15 minutes and nursing her is usually 40 minutes.  However this rarely happens.  We have a rule that if I am in the house Penelope is not allowed a bottle, unless of course during dire circumstances such as the one listed above.  I prefer to breast feed her as much as possible.  There are already too many occasions in which I am away that the bottle is necessary.

Being a server I don't necessarily get "breaks" during work, I work straight through.  I was a little worried about when I would pump but my friend suggested I pump in the car to and from work.  So I pump and drive.  It may sound weird but I have a system and it works perfectly.  I made myself a "hands-free" pumping bra by cutting 2 holes in an old sports bra.  This allows me to have both hands while driving.  I use my Hooter Hider nursing cover so the rest of the world doesn't see what I am really doing while driving.  By doing all of this I am able to pump on the way to and from work.  It works perfectly.

Update

A lot has happened since I was able to last write a post.  I have gone back to work and today was the first day of classes for the fall semester.  I hope to be able to write more frequently now that we will have more of a set schedule, well as much of a schedule that one can have with an infant.  Our not so little baby is now 6 weeks and 3 days old.  Time has never moved so fast, we can feel ourselves getting older every second.  And by "we" I mean Aaron because I just seem to be getting younger and younger :)

 

I started back up at work 2 weeks ago.  Luckily I was able to start with only 2 shifts per week to ease myself back into it.  Its been an adjustment especially with breastfeeding/pumping but that's a discussion for another time.  I had to buy a new work shirt for my new sleeker figure.  My old one was so stretched out from being a giant pregnant lady.  Somehow I was able to wear the same shirt up until I stopped working which was 5 days before my due date.  It didn't necessarily "fit" but I couldn't find a maternity work shirt so I had to make due. 

 

 

Man I looked ridiculous.

 

 

 

 

Daddy's Girl

Aaron and Penelope have mastered the art of napping together.  She could be crying up a storm and within a few minutes of laying on her Dad's chest she is calm and drifting off to sleep.  It might be the cutest thing I have ever seen.  So naturally while they sleep I take pictures of them.  Sometimes Aaron wakes up from feeling me hoovering over them and calls me a creep.  I cant deny my creeping tendencies.

 

 



6-Weeks Postpartum

While Penelope wont be 6 weeks old until Friday we had our 6 week postpartum appointment at the birth center yesterday.  It was our last appointment.  Penelope now weighs exactly 10lbs.  She is slow at gaining weight most likely due to being such a big baby at birth.  Apparently the big babies don't have much catching up to do.

The birth center and all the midwives that work there were such a big part of our lives for nearly a year.  Everything we experienced at the center was so positive and uplifting.  Sometimes I think back to Penelope's birth and I want to go back to that time.  As cheesy as it sounds it was so beautiful.  It literally was the best experience of my life and I don't just mean the end result.  There aren't many women who would say that.  We are so lucky to have found such an amazing place that uplifts women and believes in their naturally ability to birth without medications or medical interventions.  

It saddens both Aaron and I that we wont be returning.  That is, of course, unless we have another little nugget in the near future.  But as of right now I am enjoying my so called sanity.

(Aaron is going to hate me for putting this picture up. This is what one glass of sake does to him. Hehe.)

New Obsession

Its amazing how quickly a baby takes over your life.  From the minute I gave birth our lives have been dictated by a not-so-little, chubby cheeked little girl.  Everything else seems so minuscule in comparison to raising her.  Everything we do revolves around her.  This is probably why neither one of us has managed to take 2 consecutive showers since she was born.  We are a stinky family.

Ever since July 16th, when we had our three-day nurse home visit I have been obsessed with my milk supply.  Penelope had lost a considerable amount of weight due to my milk not being established yet and her posterior frenulum (tongue-tie) issue.  I cant even begin to explain the amount of guilt I felt not being able to feed my baby.  It was a horrible feeling.  And of course being the new, hormonal mom I am, it led to many tears.  I was really afraid we would have to give her formula.  I am not against formula at all but I wanted to be the one to feed her, I didn't want to rely on something foreign.  Once my milk came in and we had her tongue-tie issue taken care of the pounds kept on adding to our chubby baby girl.  It is an amazing feeling.  Not only did I nourish this little creature from conception but now I am the reason she is flourishing.

My obsession began with researching ways to increase milk supply.  I am trying EVERYTHING! And I mean everything.  I feel like everything I put into my body is to increase my milk supply.  Penelope has gained 2 pounds since being down to 8 pounds 3 ounces so I know my milk supply is adequate but with school fast approaching it is one less thing I would like to worry about.  And besides chubby babies are the best kind of babies.

Here are the things I am currently trying to increase my supply:

• Mother's Milk Tea- Just like it sounds, a tea that helps with lactation.  I drink 2-3 cups a day.

• Motherlove: More Milk Plus supplement- I originally went in to Whole Foods to purchase Fenugreek (the main ingredient in More Milk Plus that stimulates lactation) but was told many women have had great results with this so I gave it a shot.  However, it is quite expensive.

• Dark beer- We learned in the breast feeding class we took that dark beer helps with milk supply.  The lactation consultant even recommended drinking 1 dark beer per night, preferably an oatmeal stout.  I don't really like dark beer so I have yet to finish an entire beer, I usually get half way.

• Water- Nursing is a dehydrating activity.  Its amazing how thirsty I get just sitting here with Penelope while she eats.  I have a 32 ounce Nalgene bottle attached to my hip at all times.  Wherever I am, the Nalgene is.

• Dehydrated Placenta- Yes I had my placenta dehydrated, ground, and made into pills.  I blogged about it here back in March when I discovered the benefits of consumption.

• Lactation Cookies- Cookies that increase milk supply? Yes please! I haven't made these yet but plan to this weekend.  The ingredient that is supposed to increase lactation is Brewers Yeast.  Here is the recipe I will be using.

• Pumping- At Penelope's most recent visit to the birth center for a weigh-in I asked what the midwife recommended for boosting supply.  She suggested pumping after Penelope had eaten.  Thus fully emptying the breasts and tricking your body into producing more.

News to me

Penelope is now 1 month and 3 days old.  Its hard to believe.  Sometimes I still think it isn't real.  I was pregnant! I have a baby! I am a mother! Weird.  Just weird.  When will it finally kick in? 

The first month was pretty difficult I will admit.  I have never been around infants for extended periods of time so everything was new to me.  I completely misjudged the amount of work infants entail.  I genuinely thought Penelope was going to be this quite little angel baby who never cried and slept through the night.  Boy was I wrong! I was so consumed with having a healthy pregnancy and delivery I never gave any thought to what would happen when she finally got here.  However, I don't think any amount of reading can truly prepare you for the ups and downs of infancy.

At night, our giant Penelope is awake every 2-3 hours wanting to be fed, and by wanting I mean screaming.  So I sleep in very small increments, usually only getting 4-5 hours of sleep per night, broken up between feedings.  There have been nights (maybe 5 total) when nothing we do can subside the screams.  Changing her diaper, feeding, burping, swaddling, the white noise machine, singing, rocking...nothing.  She is inconsolable.  Those are the worst nights of my life, especially when Aaron is at work and I'm left alone with the evil Penelope.  Not only is the screaming extremely frustrating but it makes you feel like a failure of a mother.  I'm not sure who cries more during these nights, Penelope or I.  Thankfully these nights are few and far between.

Penelope, for a few glorious nights, has slept 4 straight hours recently.  Its amazing how good I feel after getting 4 straight hours of sleep.  Its the equivalent of my pre-pregnancy, pre-baby 10 hour snooze fests.  Its amazing how the body adjusts.  Things are getting better everyday.  We are getting the hang of this craziness called parenthood.

The Breast Feeding Hurdle

Breast feeding has been...well... a challenge.  Before Penelope was born we took a breast feeding class through the birth center but breast feeding is one of those things that needs to be experienced before you actually know what anyone is talking about.  All the stuff we learned in the breast feeding class was quickly forgotten as soon as Penelope entered our lives.  Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, or the exhausted state my body was in.  I wish we could have taken the class shortly after giving birth to Penelope...I like to think things would have been a little easier then.  But who knows. 

Getting the perfect latch is the key to successful breast feeding.  I could explain the exact positioning that both mother and baby need to be in but it does no good if you don't have an actual baby to practice with.  It would go in one ear and right out of the other, just like it did with us.  

Up until one week ago I dreaded feeding our giant Penelope.  Every time she cried from hunger I got this sinking feeling in my stomach...why, oh why was she doing this to me?  I heard breast feeding was supposed to be this magical bonding experience between mother and baby yet I usually ended up in tears.  Every time she latched on I yelled in pain while clenching my toes and my one free fist.  This went on for exactly three weeks.  Penelope would cry from hunger and I would cry from the horrific pain.  These were not good times.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore the pain virtually vanished.  Thank you breast feeding gods! Its been a week now, a whole week without tears! I don't cringe at the thought of feeding my baby, I actually look forward to it.  Penelope has also gained 9.5 ounces in the last week.  Coincidence? I think not! 

Bathtime

The day Penelope was born the midwives at the birthing center taught Aaron how to bathe her.  I wasn't aloud to leave the bed so I laid there and watched.  It was adorable watching the two of them interact together.  And surprisingly Aaron wasn't nervous at all.  I would have been, those babies are slippery little suckers.

A few days later we attempted to bathe her little body all by ourselves.  It didn't go as well as her first bath experience.  We filled up the bath tub and Aaron got in to hold her while I washed her.  Well I didn't realize that the water wasn't as warm as it should have been.  I didn't want to scald her delicate skin but instead I accidentally made her freeze.  She screamed the entire time.  It was a race to rinse her off and throw some clothes back on her.

Our second attempt at bathing her went much better.  I got the water temperature right this time.  She just laid there and stared at Aaron.  Adorable.  Washing her belly has proven to be a bit tricky because it floats!  Her giant belly floats on top of the water, Aaron has to gently push it down to rinse it off.