Monday 5 January 2015

Microblog Mondays update



I really should be showering or getting some breakfast while AJ sleeps, but well, that would take effort and initiative and I'm enjoying the sensation of not having to move right this instant. Leave from work should feel like a holiday at least sometimes, eh?

So, I thought I'd update how I'm doing re: the Things on My Mind:

1) Pumping and bottle feeding

After my last post I seemed to get the hang of pumping. On a good day when I find the time for it, I can pump up to 200 mL of milk. Ideally that means AJ takes about 100 from the bottle and I freeze another 100. There's only been a couple of ideal days, of course. But the pumping has not been much of a challenge after all. Although if I thought I had no modesty left after giving birth and starting to breastfeed, pumping has proven otherwise (as in, I have no standards whatsoever!). When Mr. Turtle came home from work New Year's Eve, I greeted him at the door wearing a pair of yoga pants, a bathrobe open at the front with nothing underneath, and a pump hanging off one teat. Sometime I will get my mystery and sexy back on. I don't know when.

The bigger challenge is bottle feeding. Mr. Turtle has been taking the lead on this, and he is wonderful with AJ. I don't know know if he always feels patient, but he always acts patient. Sometimes she will drink 50+ mL quite efficiently, but generally she needs a lot of coaxing. He will let her suck on his finger (she's been doing that since birth) then offer the bottle. This usually works but not all the time. Out of the 4 times we've tried, she only refused the bottle once (we both tried and tried for an hour but she wouldn't swallow, just played with the nipple, got some milk out and spat it out.) I think she is coming down with a cold (we all are) so perhaps she did not want to try anything new that evening. She has even been having a bit of trouble at the breast, although not enough to stop her from feeding. Yesterday we were at my inlaws and she was quite fussy so we didn't even bother trying a bottle. But we will keep offering one a day and hopefully she will get comfortable with it.

I still think we are long way from having a babysitter (which would only be one of the grandparents at this point) feeding her from a bottle. Since this was the condition for me/us doing more activities outside the house, we may have to postpone those plans. But at least there is some progress.

Any bottle feeding tips from people who have had success? We are using a Medela bottle. I have a couple of other bottles (Avent and Nuk) which I got free as part of corporate promotions, but I haven't tried those.

2) Car

Last week I planned to take two trips on my own with AJ. One, to my step-mother in law's fashion store to buy a couple of pairs of non-maternity jeans that fit me. Two, to my parents' to spend time with them and my brothers. That didn't happen. I fully intended to make it to the store Tuesday. I dressed AJ in her "Grandma's Favourite" onesie. She was especially cute that morning. She is in a very cute phase, and is a perfect size for cuddling. So I cuddled her and all I could think about was how I could get into a horrible car accident and this might be the last time I see her alive. At one point in the afternoon I did make it into the car, adjusted the seat, started engine, looked at controls. Then freaked out thinking, I haven't driven this, I don't know the features, I haven't read the manual, is the registration even in the car? (it wasn't).  And I decided not to go anywhere. Then I felt terrible about myself. I read an article on overcoming driving phobia. That helped, as 1) after reading that I don't think I actually have a phobia, just an aversion based on lack of experience and 2) I did get some good ideas from it, like taking things in small steps.

So the past few days I've taken the car out with Mr. Turtle and AJ to go on errands and visits, and everything has gone fine. Tomorrow AJ has a doctor appointment and that will most likely be first solo trip, but I feel a lot more confident after having driven with a wingman. Mr. Turtle has no plans to nominate me for Canada's Worst Driver, so I think I'm doing OK. Also, stepmother in law was very sympathetic and offered to do a one-on-one fitting with me on a day she is closed. I am so lucky to be surrounded by supportive people. They are easier on me than I am on myself a lot of the time!

3) Weight

...is stable and I'm not concerned about it. Mainly I miss my dance classes and regular physical activity. And some of my favourite pants. I have registered for a post-natal yoga class, so I am looking forward to that activity. It's a mom and baby class so I don't have to worry about finding someone to watch AJ.

4) Child Care

Two email inquiries out, at the daycares that would be ideal location-wise (I don't know anything more about them than location at this point).

5) Birth control / Reproductive health

Appreciated hearing people's feedback. Still not totally sure what direction we will take.

I thought I was getting my period for the first time a couple of days ago; I had some cramping and then spotting that resembled the beginning of a period. But then the spotting stopped, so I guess not. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I would love a break from it (breastfeeding can cause period to stay away). On the other hand, I wouldn't mind being reassured that the lady parts still kind of work.  (Oh, and we have been using the one birth control method that is 100% effective, so I am definitely not pregnant!)

Wishing every a good week!

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8 comments:

  1. I think it's a good idea to keep her used to the bottle. Paloma won't take one and it definitely complicates things! So I pump for the Calgary Mothers Milk Bank....

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    1. We will keep trying the bottle! I think it is so cool that you donate milk. I've thought about doing that too, but have enough on my mind for the moment. :-)

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  2. I *hated* pumping. And my son took to bottle feeding right away, but my daughter took much longer. It was a matter of trial and .... well, trial (different bottles, different times of day, and never by my hand). :) Hang in there! (And enjoy your yoga class ... that will be fun for both of you!)

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    1. thanks! I'm reading a few things about bottle feeding on the internet and it says similar things...be patient, try different things, don't force it...Don't want to get "performance anxiety" as a parent!

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  3. Impressive progress with the pumping! I found Pickle would only take the bottle if the milk was warm enough. So she might start off okay but push the bottle away after a few minutes when the milk cooled. We now give her about 30 mls at a time so she's being replenished with warm milk and that seems to work.

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    1. thanks for the tip! it is hard to keep it warm as it cools so fast

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  4. My only advice with the bottle is to find a nipple that mostly works and STICK TO IT. Our problem was that we'd switch bottles at the slightest sign of rejection, and ended up with lots of different nipple shapes/types. We finally got the advice to choose one and stick to it no matter what. And the kids finally came around to it when they started to associate X = food.

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    1. Thanks for the tip! I really don't want to spend a lot of money on tons of bottles and nipples anyway, so I'll use your advice as my excuse LOL!

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