From An Awakened Eye

Sunday, September 8, 2013

What your momma didn't tell you about breast feeding

After having our first born and living the traumatizing nightmare of "am I starving my baby", I decided that with our second child I would not live in that nightmare ever again. As a nurse and educator, I took every class that I could to prepare for our first child and for the breast feeding to be successful. I expected it to come natural and be like second nature. After all it is how God created our bodies and theirs, right?
  I exclusively nursed my first until he was 6 weeks. My supply was lousy and he was loosing weight. I had a pretty tough labor with pitocin and an epidural that left my milk coming in on night 4.  I remember after the first 24 hrs he "introduced us to his lungs" and cried all night! It was horrid! I would nurse for an hour and be in tears from the pain and he would still scream. So I figured it was from his circumcision that left him ticked off and screaming. No one told me what was going on.  Now I know. 
 I was sent home from the hospital with a nipple shield and told my baby "has a high arch and he will train with the shied on how to latch". So I went with what the lactation and doctors told me "because they should know", right?
  At my sons first doctors appointment when he was 4 days old I explained to the doctor that the baby was sleeping 4-5 hours at a time and should I wake him or feed on demand. The doctor told me that if he was sleeping 4-5 hours to let him sleep. {horrible advice} Being the exhausted mom that I was I let him sleep. {insert milk supply going down here}. 
  I say all of this to include that you will get advice from every angle and some from the professional ones, but you will live and learn the in's and out's of breast feeding. My lessons learned are below. Every breast is different and every baby is different. I hope that you will take away from this post what you need to help make your breast feeding experience successful. 

Breast feeding 101

1. Baby's can't lie: they know how to root, suck, poop and pee. However latching perfectly is an art they are not born with, it is a learned skill taught by mommy. Once she learns of course. 

2. The first 24 hours after birth are critical for breast and areola development. Stimulation of the breast directly after birth is important. Some babies latch right away and some are too pooped to latch from the stress of birth. What ever the case I encourage you to do skin to skin immediately after birth and for the next few hours until the baby wakes up for the first feeding.  Attempt to latch the baby, if he doesn't immediately latch after birth, every 30 minutes or so. You want stimulation of the breast at least with in 1-2 hrs after birth. This tells your body to start contracting that uterus and producing colostrum. I highly encourage you to wake the baby up and nurse every 2-3 hours with simulation to one side (breast) with a minimum of 15-20 minutes of stimulation per feeding. At this point your baby only requires nursing from one side each feeding. The baby may root to the other side, but that doesn't mean there is more "groceries" in there than the one your trying to latch him too, he only feels a hump and is rooting to the top of the mountain. It is critical for the remainder of your milk production days for this stimulation of the breast. Just prepare your self for the exhaustion and know that the glimmer of light has floods of milk at the end of it!   

3. Latching baby does not come natural to mom or baby. It is a learned skill by both. You can read more about latching at kellymom.com but I am going to talk about the basics later. Just know that there is nothing wrong with you because you don't know how to latch your baby... It's not natural in our society. We dont carry our babies tied to us to nurse at their leisure all day.   Instead we are forced to become proficient and have a freezer full of milk in six weeks before returning to work.  It is a learned skill and you will get the hang of it. If you latch baby and it hurts to the point your toes curl then unlatch with your finger in the corner of his mouth to break the seal.  Relatch and try again. The first few days after birth or growth spurt you will be tender but if there is pain something is not right...relatch. 

3. What is colostrum? It is the first fluid that comes from your nipples once baby is born. You may have noticed it several weeks before your baby was born or maybe not. It contains the building blocks for your baby's digestive system. It actually programs the digestive system for the rest of your baby's life on how it will absorb nutrients.  Isn't that so awesome! It also provides the first defense of immunity and probiotics to get that tarry black meconium stool out of there. Which is what you want to help decrease the bilirubin level. Remember when you were 37 weeks pregnant and couldn't breath because your intestines, lungs and heart was shoved up your throat? Well I'm gonna tell ya that it was for a good reason. Your breast tissue was so close to your intestines that it soaked up probiotics to share with your baby.  Wasn't that nice of them to share at your expense! Totally cool though, probiotics coat the intestines with "normal flora" or good bacteria that helps digest and boost immunity. Sorry, but formula doesn't do the same thing. It isn't specifically made for your particular baby, but your colostrum and milk is!

4. The 48 hour beast: just when you though you had birth the most angelic being on earth with dreams of sleeping through that first night home, you meet the 48 hour beast. The first 24 hours are typically the quietest you will ever experience as long as your baby lives. Next comes the period where baby is more alert and may want to nurse non stop. Insert extremely sore nipples here. This is where you nurse on demand and watch for cues of wanting to nurse such as lip smacking, rooting, head bobbing and you guessed it, crying. What ever the case, if you have an alert or sleepy baby, just roll with it and make sure those breast are getting the stimulation they need to switch into making milk. 

5. Cluster feeding: when the baby wants to nurse hours upon hours. Welcome to day 2 of life, or the second night in the hospital where you fear your neighbors are going to think you are starving your kid! The answer to cluster feeding= just nurse. Nurse on one side for an hour then change to the other for an hour and repeat until the baby passes out from exhaustion. ;). And your nipples feel like they are going to fall off! No I'm kidding on that part. They will be tender but they should not hurt to the point you feel they will fall off. The key to that is proper latching and changing positions of how you hold the baby each time you change breast. The pain should only last time enough for you to count from 10 backwards. If it still hurts to the point of your toes curling, then unlatch the baby by placing your finger in the corner of the baby's mouth until the seal is broken. If you continue to nurse in a painful latching position you will experience nipple trauma. Trust me you don't want to experience cracking or bleeding. You can damage the nipple in one feeding and it may take around 2 weeks to completely heal. I don't want that for you friend and I know you don't either.  If your baby wants to nurse for hours on end then do it. I found that changing breast every hour and making sure to change the hold helped the nipples to not be as sore as long as I had the baby latched on well and I saw jaw movement from the cheek to the ear I knew there was effective sucking. This is a critical period to listen to your baby and nurse, nurse, nurse.  Your baby can tell a difference in the taste of colostrum and know that sucking will cause the milk to come in.  The earlier the milk comes in the happier the baby will be and of course mommy too!

Remember each baby is different so do what's best for your baby and you. The information above is from my experience as well as tidbits from kellymom.com. That is a solid site you can trust for advice. I found that googling "Kelly mom latching issues" found what I wanted better than searching on their site to find info.  I hope this helps and you can email me with questions at jailen2000 (at) hotmail (dot) com. Or leave a comment below. 
Blessings on you and your baby and I pray that your experience is a successful one so that you can enjoy that precious miracle God has given you. 
💜 Jenny H

Friday, August 16, 2013

Family day out

We started off the day with snuggles and smiles in bed. 


 
The first thing you say is "where's baby sister" next comes, " I wanna hold her". 
Then we had pancakes with blueberries  and raspberries and egg. They were yummy. Eden had milk from mommy's "buttons" 



Playing tunnel with daddy 
 


 

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Ready and waiting for you baby girl

Sweet girl we are ready for you and your dainty little room is ready too.



















Monday, July 29, 2013

Favorite toddler must haves- gear style


We have absolutely loved this stroller! 
I can fold with one hand and even put it in the car with one hand. It has a nice big canopy that actually shades my little man 
It holds up to 40 lbs and is soft and comfy with easy to use harness. My mom originally bought one for her to have and it folds so small in her Camry trunk. I decided to buy one for us and retire the bulky, heavy Chico cortina travel system stroller.  I love that I didn't loose any features with the transition.  I have a place for a drink and my keys. My purse or diaper bag fit nicely in the mesh basket or over the handle.  It's small but not short.  I am 5'5" and it's the perfect hight for me and my husband who is 6'1".  I have never liked the typical umbrella stroller... To hard to fold and tips over easily. And the bikini canopy's are a joke.  
I'm not exactly sure but I would guestimate that it weighs 4-5 lbs and folds to possibly 10-12 inches. 
Here are the specs from Walmart website:

Jeep - Cherokee Sport Stroller React:

  • Recommended for a child up to 50 lbs
  • Easy one-hand and self-standing fold
  • Folded dimensions: 18"L x 11.5"W x 33.75"H
  • Multi-position reclining seat
  • Lightweight frame
  • Locking rear wheels
  • 3-point harness with quick-release buckle
  • Large storage basket
  • 2 removable cargo bags
  • Parent tray with 2 cup holders
  • JPMA certified
  • Assembly required
For 50 bucks you can't beat it! 
I've seen it in the react=red
And siren= pink.  
The red is gender neutral and easy to clean.  I can't speak for the pink though. 
I have not been endorsed by WM or any other company for this post.  It's just my honest opinion and a product I use almost every day and makes my life easier so I thought I would share with you.   
Here us the link: 
http://mobile.walmart.com/m/phoenix#ip/Jeep-Cherokee-Sport-Stroller-React/15754207?type=shop-by-department

Our little family is growing!




We can't wait to meet our sweet girl and give her a name! Ready to fall in love with her and meet her sweet face! 

Friday, February 15, 2013

Stitch Fix



So I wanted to share with you the awesome idea of stitch fix.  I feel that I am in desperate need of a personal stylist and KA posted several IG pics of her stitch fix and I loved the idea. No gathering everyone up and out to the mall or store. I am very much over the disappointment of target and other chain stores. The boutique stores close by are hit or miss. Plus I honestly never get the time to just go shopping for myself. I'm lucky if I have the grocery shopping done and laundry done. Is it just me or am I the only one that hates grocery shopping with a toddler?
 On to my fix. KA had warned me that it took several tries for the stylist to nail her style. However when I explained to the stylist my style or "wanna be" style, since I feel I have lost it all since becoming a mommy, I thought I gave her a pretty good picture of what I like. I shared my pinterest board and my blog with the latest pictures of me on there. Plus you rate different polyvore boards.
  I will post pics and let you decide which was a fix and what was already in my closet. Keep in mind that they send accessories too. Let's see how bad my style differs from the "fix".

A) fix or no fix?
B) fix or no fix

Back of B...
C) fix or no fix
D) fix or no fix
E) fix or no fix

Back of E

F) fix or no fix
G) fix or no fix


H) fix or no fix





My belly shot at 14 weeks!  I feel huge, but I have to remind myself that this is my 3rd pregnancy. I have gained 2 lbs. Probably from all the lemonade! I am carrying this child differently. I think it's higher than Eli was. Time will tell.




Now I will share with you the results of what was in my fix box and what was not...

A) Ivory and navy striped long sleeve...fix....too short and too plain. J gave it a thumbs down. I did too because I feel chubby in it. Earings...no fix, those are yours truly.
B) Black sleeveless shirt...fix... very cute and I love the sheer shoulders but it very oddly was shorter in the front and longer in the back. Would be okay if I wasn't trying to cover a baby bump. Necklace...no fix.
C) Coral tunic..No fix... favorite shirt right now because it's long and I feel it can grow with the bump...it's not maternity. Earrings and necklace are no fix too.
D) Fix, cotton 3/4 length teal shirt. Thumbs down too short and over priced. Plus it's frumpy and wide. Earrings and necklace... no fix
E) Black Cardigan... fix, slimming and comfortable, but I already have several black cardigans and would love color and pattern.
F) Gold circle earrings...fix....too small, thumbs down.
G) Ruffle neckline poncho....no fix... I wear this poncho at work in the call center when it gets cold.
H) Taupe sweater with gold snake print detail and zipper back...no fix, a quick pick up back at the holidays for a casual party...you can totally see the bump and so I don't wear it anymore because it doesn't flatter the bump.


  All in all I sent the whole fix box back with detailed feed back of why I didn't like it. I have promising hopes for next time.

If you would like to try Stitch fix enter this code http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?referrer_id=3042081 and I will qualify for a credit of $25.


 Blessings,

Jenny





Monday, February 4, 2013

Baby Moon plans...

I am so very excited to be able to plan another baby-moon. With Eli we celebrated our 5th anniversary in Aruba. This April we will celebrate each other in Nevis, West Indies. I am thrilled and could not be more excited!  We really enjoyed our baby-moon with Eli. It was a much needed and this trip will be even more needed with baby # 2 arriving in August.  I checked out the place we will be staying today and I squealed!!! I'm even more excited now! I will be about 22 weeks which is exactly how far along I was with Eli. Although we will not be doing any crazy water sports or hang-gliding we will be able to enjoy the trip and explore the island. The lady at the resort informed me that to rent a beach house for the day it would be $610 for a half a day it is 50% of that. Each 10% added tip for your house attendant.  I think we will skip that part and buy a crib, but wow that sounds amazing!  I wanted to post some pics of what we have to look forward to. Any of you are welcome to join! 




  Tell me why I didn't get married here?  How amazing is this....


 The resort....

 Isn't this decor amazing!...

8 weeks until my bags are packed and the maternity swim suits are ready to hit the beach!!!
I can't wait to have pictures of our own to share. These are from the Nevis four seasons resort web page. 

cheers!

Jenny H