Educated Nurser

We have sure come a long way in the blogging world. At first this blog was to post pictures and updates on Zacks development so Steven could be involved while on deployment. When he got home it became the blog for our family to stay updated. It has just grown into so much more than just a family blog. It gives me great joy to know that my posts are helping moms out there.

I was browsing through old posts today and came across this gem...

"Well tonight was Zacks first feeding on formula. I'm really in a way kinda bummed about the whole thing. My breast milk is drying up so his pediatrician told me that I need to start weaning him to formula this week. It is such a let down on my part. But then again no matter how much i know breastfeeding is good for him and all that. I really wasn't enjoying seeing him hungry after feedings. He just wasn't very satisfied at all from it. And then pumping was depressing i could only produce an ounce from both breasts together. It just isn't working. I'm just wondering how much hes going to get during the day while i feed him formula at night he will be getting the breast during the day just to get him used to it. And next week i will start taking away another feeding everyday so by the end of 2 weeks he will be only on formula. Gosh why does it hurt so bad? I feel like I'm letting him and myself down. Plus formula is so expensive but he has to eat right?! Right....so i need to do this for him.

Anyways.....well he took the formula great so far. I gave him a bottle of Enfamil milk based formula after his bath tonight. So far so good hes sleeping and no spit up and he burped like a champ throughout the whole feeding. Of course he might have some gas the next few days but his doc said that was normal when switching to formula and to give enfamil a week and if he's still not getting used to it then to call him and he will give another suggestion.

Ill keep you guys (whoever reads this) updated on his formula adventure.
Much love"

This was titled Time For Formula. Not only was my grammar terrible but I was really a very uneducated Mom back then. If you know me you know that I am pro breastfeeding 110% I believe every Mom can breastfeed and if they put in the effort and dedication it will happen. I have friends who will pump for hours everyday just so their babies can get enough. Of course I understand there are certain circumstances that call for supplementation. But with my situation it wasn't like that at all.

As you can read above I talk about him being always hungry after feedings or as I remember it soon after like within an hour. If I had been more educated on the subject I would have known that this was called cluster feeding. My pediatrician immediately assumed my healthy weight baby wasn't getting enough because of his behavior. They put me on vitamins to increase my supply but I was already switching him to formula and cutting out feedings. Again if I had been more educated on "supply issues" I would have known that formula was unnecessary and I should have nurse him on demand. I remember being so caught up with all my friends telling me their babies slept through the night at 3 weeks and I wanted that too.

I regret this decision all the time. I put my little guy through so much for just about 2 months. His little virgin gut did not take regular enfamil, similac, soy based formulas, good start etc. He kept spitting up and it caused his reflux issue to get worse and worse. Every time we switched formulas he would cry and cry for days because his tummy hurt. By the time we found the brand he would take with no pain but still spit-up I was getting ready to start him on solids at 4 months. This is also another thing I won't be doing again. I pumped that little body with artificial foods when I could have been giving him what is natural and best for him. Now that I am more educated I look back and regret a lot. Thankfully now Zack is a healthy little boy but I definitely feel a disconnect with him. If I could turn back time I would build that nursing relationship and keep it going.

If I could give any advice to a Mom it would be to learn everything you need to know about nursing and find a support group. Thankfully this time around I was introduced to an amazing group of nursing Moms who really opened my eyes on a lot more than just nursing. I just went to my last meeting with them and I cried on the way home because I don't think I will find such a wonderful group like them. Lucky for me they have a facebook page so no matter where I am in this world I know I have support right there. If you need any support at all click on the Breastfeeding Mamas link below.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/breastfeedingmamas/

Happy Nursing

Back To Blogging/Elis Story

I'm back and ready to get this blog moving again. The end my pregnancy was by far the most painful part of the whole thing. I don't want to get into it because then I will just sound like a big whiner but all that matters is I am back and ready to rumble. To get this blog moving along like I want it to I will be doing the 365 day blog challenge. In a nutshell I will be blogging once a day for 365 days starting well...today. I will start this off by telling you all a little story about a prince named Eli.

The Story of Eli

Elijah Rafael graced us with his presence on September 2nd 2011 at 5:36am weighing 7Ibs 9oz and was 21 inches long. He had quite a procession the 2 weeks before with the East coast earthquake and Hurricane Irene hitting us. I thought for sure during the whole hurricane he was going to come because this mama was stressed but nope he wanted to have all the attention. This is his birth story I hope you enjoy.
After we got settled back in after the hurricane I made an appointment for Tuesday the 30th of August. I was supposed to be seen that Friday but rescheduled because my midwife was going on leave for 6 weeks and I wanted to see her one more time. She checks me and tells me I am 3.5cm and 75% effaced at a -2 station. Totally fine by me because I had been this for about 2 weeks so I didn't think much of it. Everything was going perfectly aside from all my icky pains and discomfort. Eli was perfect and I had made it to 39 weeks. We said our goodbyes and I went on my way home. Wednesday came and went with a few contractions here and there. Then came Thursday I woke up feeling very heavy and my mind and body were just not feeling normal. Somehow that morning I had a feeling I was going to have the baby real soon. After lunch my contractions got to about 10 minutes apart. When Steven finally got home I really wanted to go and do something to take my mind off of possibly being in labor. So we went and ate then drove down to Yorktown for some ice cream and to walk on the beach. On our way back the contractions got down to 5-7 minutes apart. We decided to go to the hospital.

By the time we dropped Zack off at the sitter and parked we were in triage at 9pm at Riverside Regional (Langley was full so we were routed to another hospital). They hooked me up to the monitors and of course my contractions slowed down. They decided to have me walk around the hospital for an hour. So that's exactly what we did. I walked and walked and walked telling Steven that this baby was coming tonight whether he liked it or not. I was NOT being sent home like I had been with Zack. Finally the hour passed and they checked me again I progressed to 5cm!!! WOOHOO!!! We were being admitted!!! Praise the Lord I wasn't going to be pregnant anymore! Well at least that's what was going through my mind. Not sure about what Steven was thinking but by the looks of it he was having a mini panic attack on the inside.

Once in our room I got hooked up to monitors again and they started on my IV which because of my tricky veins took some time and made the husband angry. I on the other knew what was coming and some minor pricks in my arms weren't compared to what I was about to feel in a few hours. We waited and waited. I can't say what time my contractions got bad because I honestly don't remember. It felt like I was in pain for hours when they came and checked me and I was at 7cm, they decided to break my water. After more labor I finally asked for an epidural which I think made Steven very happy. After receiving my epidural I was able to relax and even almost fell asleep. My nurse came in to try and find the babys heartbeat because kept moving away from the monitor. After trying to find the heartbeat for 20 minutes they decided to put in a while on his head. But when they checked me to put it in I was 10 cm and he was ready come out. They got me all set up and ready to go. Again I am sure Steven was having a panic attack at this point. After a few pushes Elis heartrate started dropping the doctor told me they were going to use a vacuum to ease him out quicker. It took one push and he was out.

When I saw him he was blue and steven said the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. I didn't get to hold him right away. They had to take him to the warming table immediately to get him to cry. I was very nervous because with Zack he started crying immediately and he was put on my chest before being rushed away. All I heard at this point was Steven asking them why wasn't he crying. Then we heard him and his little cry sounded so sweet and perfect. Eli was here and we were a family of four.

"It's cold out here put me back in!!!"

Big boy 7Ibs 9.9oz

Daddy got to hold me first.

Finally meeting my Mommy

31 weeks!

Well here we are again....:) we are down to the final 9 weeks. I have been waiting to say a single digit for quite some time. So here I go...
I HAVE 9 WEEKS LEFT AND NOTHING READY!!!!!!!!!!
Now don't freak out just yet it's not like we haven't bought
anything we have it all from Zack. It's more of a let's get the energy on our much awaited weekend to get our room ready for what's to come. Do you understand how hard that really is? We both do so much during the week. Steven wakes up at 5am, busts his butt at work and gets home around 4pm. I am up at around 6am chasing around a toddler, cleaning a house that seems to get messy within 30 minutes of cleaning it and then making dinner so my two men aren't fending for themselves by eating cereal and cookies for dinner. So I guess it would be easy to say that we cherish our weekends. When Friday evening comes around we are so ready to just become beach/pool bums that I think Steven is wearing his swim trunks under his NWU's. I know everything will be done before Eli gets here but I can't help but worry that I will be fresh out of labor making Steven go home and decorate. I may even have him send me pictures so I can micro manage his work. So I guess I should stop complaining and just light a fire under my prego butt and get the ball rolling. Oh that is easier said than done.

At least last night I managed to knit a newborn baby in hat in get ready for it....3 HOURS! It was actually a very easy pattern and since newborns heads are so small it explains why I did it so fast. I am so proud of my work that I am posting pictures and the link I found the hat right now!
Pattern for hat: http://themakeyourownzone.blogspot.com/2011/03/knitting-newborn-hats-for-hospitals.html
The great thing about the make your own zone is well she's amazing to say the least. All of her posts are pretty much little things you can do at home instead of spending money on them. Like laundry detergent, which yes I will be trying soon.
Back to the hat...since I made it so quickly I will be making many many many more. I plan on donating them to CHKD (Childrens Hospital of the King's Daughters. I will also be revising the pattern in other sizes to fit preemies to teenagers. Since CHKD is a childrens hospital they treat a lot of cancer patients and I think a nice beanie or stylish cap for the kids will be my good deed for this year. Check how you can give back to this wonderful hospital at this link http://www.chkd.org/Giving/

That is all I have for now. Of course I have more to talk about, this is me hellloooo! It's just 11:30pm and as I said earlier I wake up way too early for this none morning person. I love you all and hope your weekend has gone well. More posts coming actually tomorrow. As Z would say it NIGHT NIGHT!!!

Lina

P.S. The picture in our header is my lovely maternity shot. I figured why would I spend hundreds on maternity shots when I have a fancy pancy camera at home. So I made Steven take a picture that I have wanted for awhile and I did some editing. It's purty isn't it?

It's the final countdown!!!!

I always consider the last 10 weeks of pregnancy to be the final stretch (no pun intended) to a very long road. If you thought you were uncomfortable before the 30 week mark then boy oh boy! You are in for a LOOONNNGGGG 10 weeks. That's why I take all my pregnancy symptoms with a grain of salt. I know that it won't last forever and it's all for a good reason to be going through them. I think this pregnancy wasn't that bad aside from the morning sickness at the start things have been going pretty smoothly. They have also been speeding by WAY to fast. With Zack it felt like everyday second of everyday was an hour. I was so anxious to have things done for him and to meet him. With Eli I could honestly wait just a little longer (knock on wood) since I am busy all day doing other things with Zack. But like I said this is the last stretch for things and before we know it Eli will be in our arms. Every week from here on out I will be updating how things are going with the pregnancy. In new updates with things we got our 3d/4d ultrasound today. ELI IS FINALLY HEAD DOWN!!!! Thank you dear Lord our chances of c-section went down today. Unfortunately he is also extremely low already and the tech had a really hard time getting a good shot of his face. Below are the best ones out of the bunch. I hope you enjoy them!

Little chunky cheeks

He looks so much like Zack did when he was born

Yup still for sure a boy.

His big foot! Just like Daddy

Do you see the ear?

This was when he was being difficult but take a look at those neck rolls

Another face shot...so handsome

And here is just a reminder of what Zack looked like in the womb and a few days after birth. I think there are some similarities between them. The U/S pic for Zack was done at I believe 24 weeks. He wasn't as chunky but here you go.

Everyone have a wonderful 4th of July weekend. We will be at Busch Gardens for their firework show and then home. We really don't have much planned but I know we will have a great 4 day weekend. Love you all!
Lina, Steven, Zack and Eli

Come on mom, 5 more minutes!

Is it just me or is time going way too fast lately? I feel like Steven and I were still in New Mexico playing wii with his parents not knowing the next day was going to change EVERYTHING. We really need to get a move on preparing for the baby. I just really feel weird getting things "ready" because it still feels too soon but I am just about 18 weeks. Before I know it we will be doing everything last minute and I really don't want that. I don't think anybody wants that but unfortunately it happens to the best of us. Tomorrow I am going to start packing up things from my desk and all the unwanted books we have piled all over it. These of course are all mine because I have a hard time getting rid of books. I gives all my thanks to my mom for that trait. My nightstand is going to take over as my desk because we will be selling it to make room for the baby. Then I plan on getting all my arts and crafts junk out from under my bed and organizing it in my closet. If you know me and my artsy self you are probably cringing at the thought of the mess I have ahead of me. Our furniture will be rearranged to make room for the changing table, co-sleeper/pack & play, and glider. I think we are going to brave it and put our coffee table back in the living. Let's pray Zack won't hurt himself too bad on it, he has to learn at some point right? Let's just say I want this all done before we find out what were having so I can totally jump into the decorating process especially if we are having a girl. Oh yeah did I mention I am STILL decorating Zacks room.

To put all this simply I have a lot of work ahead of me and I wish I could be that kid again so I can just say "5 more minutes!" in my whiniest voice ever. But in my case I can't because since these first 20 weeks have gone by waaaaayyyyyy to quickly I can only imagine how fast the next 20 will be. Wish me luck! Have a great night!