Bicycle The Gas Out of Baby

Anytime Meili starts fussing like she's gassy, I bicycle her.

She loves being bicycled. 

I prop her up on my thighs and grab hold of her little calves. And her face breaks into a huge grin. She knows what's coming!

I sing our bicycling song as I pump her legs up and down, round and round. She smiles and coos - just started cooing a few days back. 

She occasionally punctuates our song with a little toot from her behind. Well it actually is an impressive grown up size / volume toot. 

Bicycling also helps with her bowel movements. 

We like bicycling! 

Medela In Style Double Electric Breast Pump FREE

I ordered the Medela through my insurance not thinking I'd ever use it. It was free so why not? I'd found out about this freebie for moms while lurking on the Babycenter forums. Most insurances provide for a free breast pump in support of a bill that promotes breastfeeding in PA. I got lucky with the Medela In Style - apparently all some moms got was a manual pump. That's $200 vs $20 worth of pump gadgetry.

I actually loved my Lansinoh manual pump and had been using that to keep my supply going while sick and on meds. But having to work it for 30 minutes eight times a day gets old pretty fast so I broke out the Medela. 

As usual I ignored the instruction manual and dove right into the goodies in the tote. I had to pull open all sorts of Velcro to get to the pump. Such poor design, so difficult to access this pump, I thought to myself. The I realized the flap on the front of the tote zips down to allow that. After that I figured I really should read that instruction manual. :)

The hassle of washing the parts and air drying them after every pumping session hasn't been bad at all. Well I'm not too concerned about being super sterile because its me who's drinking the milk haha. So I just swish in hot soapy water then rinse after each pump and let dry till the next session. Easy. 

I made the mistake of pumping on the max setting. Ouch. My boobs get milked just fine on the low now. 

I'm too cheap to buy those special hands free pumping bras. So I just hold the things in place with my left inner forearm and hand, leaving my right hand free to accomplish important tasks like writing this blog post or scratching my ear. 

Twenty minutes goes by okay. You're supposed to keep pumping five minutes after the milk has stopped flowing to stimulate the boob to make more milk. And pump between 15-20 minutes. 

Here's my set up - doesn't that look comfy? :D

Successful Bottle Feeding Baby Tip for Dad: Pretend To Be Mom

It's true and it apparently worked for this dad who put on mom's bath robe and nursing pillow before offering the bottle to baby. Baby was sufficiently deceived by this deviousness to take it. Or maybe felt pity for poor dad resorting to such measures :)

Since being rudely shoved into the world of bottle feeding a week ago, I've devoured any information I could find on how to bottle feed successfully and in a way that supports Meili going back to my boob. 

Lots of interesting stuff out there. Some helpful, some just really funny too. 

I didn't think baby could smell mama from 50 feet away thus refuse the bottle knowing the real stuff, the good stuff, is nearby. Is this factoid for real?

What's been working for us is to offer baby her bottle while she is showing early signs of hunger (rooting, lip smacking, tongue sticking out), before she gets too hungry. 

We get into position with Feeder in comfy recliner and Feedee semi-reclining in Feeder's arm. We touch the nipple to her upper lip. She usually opens wide and takes it easily. Then we let her draw the nipple all the way in to the back of her throat and settle in for the feed with good strong sucks. 

Sometimes she'll squirm and fuss while feeding but we try to keep the nipple in her mouth. The squirming usually results in a loud and fragrant fart after which she immediately settles down to feed some more. If the fussing continues, we try burping her and that also helps. Actually she seems to need a burp break after every ounce. 

If she dozes off we tickle her cheek and she'll wake up half the time to resume her feed. We try to do paced feeding, so her feed takes about twenty minutes like it would at the breast. 

Every ounce we get into her is a worthy cause for celebration haha. Never even thought of any of this when I was direct latching her because she'd self-service. Bottle feeding has given me a deep appreciation for what so many mommies (and daddies) go through every day.

Dr Brown Glass Bottles: Gas & Colic Be Gone

A pair of Special Wonderful Somethings arrived in the mail this morning. I couldn't wait to try them on Meili. I wanted badly for these bottles to live up to their hype. I mean, all these rave reviews by previously sleep deprived desperate baby owners: 'Dr Brown Bottles. Best. Bottles. Ever.' There had to be some truth to what they were saying.

They were right. 

Baby took to them right away and for the first time in days she seemed to be sucking with no trouble, no gulping, no gagging, no fussing, and no frustration. The number one size nipple that came with the bottle seemed right for her too. Two ounces in 15 minutes. 

Oh dear God. Thank you. 

Poppy feeding baby Meili 

Troubleshooting Overly Long Feeds: Is Baby Snacking?

At first I thought she might be. Her feeds from the bottle with the Dr Brown preemie nipple were taking nearly 40 minutes each time and I'd have to keep waking her to eat.

I blamed her non preference of the Similac Alimentum formula because after finishing her 2 oz, she would quickly suck down another 1 oz of breast milk with no problems. 

So yesterday I tried mixing her probiotic powder into her allotment of breast milk and offered it to her. She sucked and sucked but just couldn't get any. Turns out the powder couldn't pass through the preemie nipple hole. 

Hmmm that got me wondering if the powdered formula was also facing difficulties squeezing through the nipple. That, combined with the negative pressure from the vacuum created within the bottle when extricating the formula, could be why baby was taking so long to eat. My poor darling was exhausting herself trying to fill her belly. And to think I called her a 'snacker'. She'd gamely attack the nipple with her usual gusto and have at it for about ten minutes before passing out with the nipple still in her mouth. Just like she would on my boob (she'd become a very efficient feeder). And this horrible mommy would keep forcing her to wake and chew at that nipple for teeny drops at a time. 

I got out a pin and mangled the brand new preemie nipple. I upgraded it to a level one nipple and gave it a few test sucks. Oh yeah. Pre-mangle, I could barely get anything with my suck while after that my suck was rewarded by a decent baby-appropriate (or so I'd like to think) sized squirt of formula. 

This time Meili took 10 minutes for her 2 oz. 

Sorry it took so long to figure this out baby girl. :S

Here's a pic of Meili trying to communicate her needs telepathically to mama. Would you ask mama 'ma why are you so clueless?'

Bottle Feeding instead of Breast: Conflicted

Today was the first time I have been out and about and had to feed baby from a bottle.

And I was surprised at the emotions this evoked in me. Conflict, confusion, awkwardness and briefly, shame, even. 

Shame?

Having breastfeed baby since birth, I'd gotten used to whipping out my boob in public (discretely, not 'in your face' exhibitionistically :)) to feed baby. 

So what was I doing here in the hallway outside the waiting room at Magee Women's Hospital, slouching around and sneaking Meili her bottle? I'd never give a second thought to pulling a boob out. It felt natural. The bottle doesn't. 

After a while I realized I felt silly. I processed my myriad emotions. I'm proud to be able to feed baby. So what if its formula? Maybe I feared some militant breastfeeding person would yell at me. Maybe I feared putting myself in a position to be judged. Why would I, when I would never judge another mom who wasn't breastfeeding? 

I guess I felt all this because feeding Meili like this is so far from what I had envisioned in my breastfeeding journey. (And no, my breastfeeding journey has not ended yet). 

Anyway, I took a breath and stepped back into the waiting room and sat down with the other ladies there. 

And all I received were compliments on how precious my baby is. 

I love you baby girl don't you forget that. 

Thrush is Terrible, Nasty Nystatin

About two weeks after baby was born and two weeks of an unbelievably awesome breast-feeding journey, thrush reared its ugly head.

Could it have been because of the antibiotics I was put on for Strep B while in labor?

The skin on my nipples burned. Into week four I developed sharp shooting pains deep in my breasts. Meili on the other hand didn't seem too bothered by the white coating on her tongue. She just fussed a little more at the boob which I attributed to gas and her immature digestive system. 

We started treatment at the same time. Miconazole Cream for me and nystatin drops her. The nystatin drops have to be squirted in her mouth every six hours and it was very difficult to comply. You're supposed to swish it around your mouth then spit it out. Try telling baby that. She'd cry inconsolably after each application and end up on my boob thus swallowing that nasty stuff instead of leaving it to coat the inside of her mouth. And I'm not kidding when I say it's nasty. It is bitter. It is also 50% sugar. Which totally does not make sense to me as a supposed treatment for thrush because thrush is a yeast and guess what yeast feeds on? Sugar. Ahuh. 

Poor baby became so gassy she stay awake all night crying and fussing. Neither of us got much sleep!

After six days of this my boob pain worsened and she wasn't any better. She was worse off than before in fact. She was a gas bomber and wailing fart machine. 

Enter gentian violet. 

(To be continued)

The K'tan Carrier Me Like

I stumbled across the K'tan When looking at Moby wraps. The gushing reviews on Amazon for the K'tan and the same reviewers complaining about the having to drag the ends Of the Moby through the dirt in parking lots around the country kind of swayed me. 

I had trouble getting Meili in it at first and it seemed really snug, but now it seems just right. It's a learning curve using this carrier. I'm 5'6"and 115 pounds and the size extra small fits me very well. I also got the size medium for my husband. His organic cotton one is thinner and cooler while my black one gets hot and sticky especially now in the summer. 

Here's Meili at six weeks in the K'tan 

Got Milk (Still)

When I started relapsing two weeks ago my milk supply seemed to plunge. It was hard to tell at that time how much I was producing because I was direct latching Meili, but my boobs weren't filling up nice and firm as before. They looked kinda sad.

So I worried that my milk was drying up. And I would lose the ability to breastfeed peanut. 

Now I know that milk ducts don't actually dry up until months after breastfeeding or pumping has stopped. And even then, it's possible to relactate. 

And I'm still making some :D

A little breast milk pumped with my Medela In Style Double Electric Breast Pump

Dr Brown's Preemie Nipples Support Going Back to Breast

I had to learn how to bottle feed baby and baby had to learn to get used to these imposter nipples but after a day and a half of drama and stress she is doing great with them.

I love that she takes about 20 minutes to finish her feed on these nips. It mimics the pace at the boob. 

Also, the nipple doesn't leak or drip into her mouth in between her frequent breaks (which she does at the boob). So she doesn't gag or choke. 

The nipples fit on my Evenflo glass bottles too!

Funny how little things like this just make my day. 

Love you baby girl.

Baby doesn't like Similac Alimentum

And who can blame her? That stuff tastes nasty and smells pretty bad too. It didn't even come from a human mama. Instead it came from a cow. Probably a couple thousand cows. 

So I came up with this bright idea to get her to drink it. She'll take it if she's really hungry. I offer her 2 ounces of that stuff and then when she's finished with that which takes about 20 minutes I burp her and offer her another ounce of delicious breast milk from a donor friend. Just like dessert. She loves breastmilk. 

You  gotta do what you gotta do. 

Drank my own breast milk

As I sat down in a semi conscious dream state pumping my breast milk with my Lansinoh manual (now that's a good pump), it suddenly came to me that I needed to be drinking it instead of dumping it!

I'm currently doing the pump and dump because supposedly 10% of the hydrocortisone that I'm taking for my kidney relapse, is being excreted into my breast milk, and we didn't want baby getting that much corticosteroid into her wee system. 

Now, that seems like a waste of perfectly good medication if you ask me. Not to mention breast milk aka the 'liquid golf'. 

Ok fine you didn't ask me. :)

In my belly right now is a good 8 oz. it tastes like watered down Lactaid or diluted sweetened condensed milk, if you ask me. 

Ok you didn't ask me that either. :)

Burppp.

Awesomeness Review Medela Supplemental Nursing System

So, I was thrown a curveball last week. After over a month of wonderful breastfeeding of baby Meili, a relapse brought on by lack of sleep battling thrush caused my milk production to plummet. I was abruptly cast into the scary new world of bottle feeding, nipple confusion, supplemental nursing, milk-sharing and formula. I'm not forgetting this anytime soon, and have much in mind that needs written down at a later stage. How much later I can't say now, but don't hold your breath ha!

I logged on specifically to rave about the Medela Starter SNS that I ordered off Amazon for $18. It's a teeny tiny feeding tube taped to the boob on one end and connected to a tube filled with formula or breastmilk at the other end.

By sneaking the tube into baby's mouth as she opens wide to take in my nipple, she got 2 oz of my previously frozen milk while her suck-suck action continues to stimulate my breast to make milk. Meili's nursing is a whole lot more efficient at telling my breast to make milk, than any pump in the world, methinks.

This disposable SNS is supposed to be used for only 24 hours then thrown away, but I'm planning to rinse it out and reuse it for a week or two until I'm recovered and my milk (hopefully) comes back.

It came with a little instruction booklet that was very well put together. However, as always, I didn't read it first. Instead I referred to the nice illustrations alone. I managed to waste about 1/8 ounce doing that before wisely settling down to read the instructions that accompanied the illustrations. After snapping the white membrane into the disc, the whole thing worked perfectly. It took 5 minutes and a little bit of cussing (I don't cry over spilt milk ha).

I didn't bother with taping the tube onto my nipple. Nah that's for amateurs ;). I clipped the container to my sleeve at nipple level and put Meili on my chest in preparation for her feed. Somehow baby didn't even notice the tube placed surreptitiously at the end of the nipple, and latched on without much ado. Whoa. Sweet.

I experimented with raising and lowering the container above and below the level of my nipple to see how she would react. Raising it increased the flow and she was sucking it down way too fast. So I kept it below my nipple and let her work harder for the milk. She nursed like a champ - always has. I brag but I can't help it. I felt SO good knowing that she could still be at my breast while ensuring she got supplemental milk during my period of drought.

Now I'm down to my last 3 oz of frozen milk stash. What will I do when this runs out?

Stay tuned if you like, but no bated breath :)