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opie
Nov 28, 2000
Check out my TFLC Excuse Log!
Did anyone here have a VBAC?

I'm trying to figure out what to do this time around. Last time I had an emergency c-section after 2-3 hours of active labor with no progress. While I would like to have a VBAC, I almost want a guarantee that I won't go through the same thing as last time. A scheduled c-section sounds nice if I can avoid all the pain of labor, but with a toddler I don't want to go through the recovery. I definitely don't want to be recovering from tearing as well though. My doctor says he recommends a c-section, but left it up to me.

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legbeard
Jun 13, 2006
Could anyone tell me what kind of restrictions the doctor will put on a pregnant woman for work? I'm single and I found out last week that I'm pregnant. I work in construction, so it is physical work and somewhat hazardous.

I'm just curious what the doctor will let me do and for how long. I gotta work so I can pay for stuff.

bamzilla
Jan 13, 2005

All butt since 2012.


legbeard posted:

Could anyone tell me what kind of restrictions the doctor will put on a pregnant woman for work? I'm single and I found out last week that I'm pregnant. I work in construction, so it is physical work and somewhat hazardous.

I'm just curious what the doctor will let me do and for how long. I gotta work so I can pay for stuff.

Eventually you will be told you won't be able to lift anything more than 15lbs. I think for me it was around 14 weeks. I worked in a bookstore and was constantly lifting things, though. Repetitive lifting is bad, which was why I was given a strict limit early on.

bamzilla fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Jun 18, 2011

legbeard
Jun 13, 2006

bamzilla posted:

Eventually you will be told you won't be able to lift anything more than 15lbs. I think for me it was around 14 weeks. I worked in a bookstore and was constantly lifting things, though. Repetitive lifting is bad, which was why I was given a strict limit early on.

Thanks, I imagine it would be about the same for me then. I am constantly lifting very heavy things.

McStabby
Jun 26, 2007

LANA!!! CRUUUUUSH!
The risk of falling is high due to your center of gravity changing, so they will probably tell you no ladders or stepladders after a specific week. Repetitive bending and twisting is pretty bad as well.

Brown Moses
Feb 22, 2002

Does anyone know if homemade yogurt is safe to eat during pregnancy.

vanessa
May 21, 2006

CAUTION: This pussy is ferocious.

Brown Moses posted:

Does anyone know if homemade yogurt is safe to eat during pregnancy.

I'm not familiar with the making of homemade yogurt, but I would say that if you use pasteurized milk, then it's okay. If you use raw milk, maybe not so much, but you shouldn't be consuming raw milk anyway (pregnant or not, I don't care what the proponents say).

Twatty Seahag
Dec 30, 2007

legbeard posted:

Could anyone tell me what kind of restrictions the doctor will put on a pregnant woman for work? I'm single and I found out last week that I'm pregnant. I work in construction, so it is physical work and somewhat hazardous.

I'm just curious what the doctor will let me do and for how long. I gotta work so I can pay for stuff.

I work in a hospital and had to stop hefting around stacks of charts around 20 weeks, I was also on a 15-lb. weight restriction. I had issues with pre-term contractions in my early 3rd trimester and had to go to desk-only 100% sedentary work, that sucked but I was able to work until the day I went into labor.

Amykinz
May 6, 2007

legbeard posted:

Could anyone tell me what kind of restrictions the doctor will put on a pregnant woman for work? I'm single and I found out last week that I'm pregnant. I work in construction, so it is physical work and somewhat hazardous.

I'm just curious what the doctor will let me do and for how long. I gotta work so I can pay for stuff.

I currently work in construction too (home improvement) and have worked some sort of construction for 17 years or so now. I've been given no restrictions at all at and I'm at 16 weeks, but since I've been dealing with this, I'll give you some restrictions YOU should put on yourself (if you haven't already, this is just stuff that I've thought up for myself)

-Water, always with you. Not on the next floor up or down, not in the other room, within arms reach. I go from zero to parched in about 2 seconds. Also goes with this, know where bathrooms or appropriate bathroom spots are, if there isn't one, make one.

-Food. Keep a variety of snacks packed for you. You'll never know what you'll actually want to eat when you are hungry, and you need to eat.

-Try to stay off ladders. If you can't avoid it, use ladders that are tall enough to reach. Not standing on the top rung, but enough 'extra' ladder that you can grab it to steady yourself. Don't walk the loving ladder, ever.

-Avoid all chemicals, solvents, and pipe sweating. Latex paint is ok, but anything else, stay away.

-TAKE IT EASY. I get winded climbing one single flight of stairs now. If you are anything like me, you'll want to keep the same level of ability that you had before you were pregnant, prove you can 'do this' "I can hang", whatever. Don't. You are growing a placenta and a baby. It takes a lot out of you. A lot.

-Look up your state's pregnancy leave laws/rules/regulations and see what they are, and how to make them work for you. I've heard of people getting 'put on pregnancy leave' long before they planned to, when their state's laws say 6 weeks only or something. Your job might be required to put you in the tool truck rather than send you home or something, find it out so you don't get shafted. Possibly pretty up your resume so if you need to, you can try to find a less physical job, but that is entirely up to you.

bamzilla
Jan 13, 2005

All butt since 2012.


Brown Moses posted:

Does anyone know if homemade yogurt is safe to eat during pregnancy.

As mentioned it depends on the source.

I was bad and ate unpasteurized butter and brie cheese (not all of the time, but I hate a lot of both in a few sittings). mmm delicious Amish butter.

legbeard
Jun 13, 2006

Amykinz posted:

I currently work in construction too (home improvement) and have worked some sort of construction for 17 years or so now. I've been given no restrictions at all at and I'm at 16 weeks, but since I've been dealing with this, I'll give you some restrictions YOU should put on yourself (if you haven't already, this is just stuff that I've thought up for myself)

-Water, always with you. Not on the next floor up or down, not in the other room, within arms reach. I go from zero to parched in about 2 seconds. Also goes with this, know where bathrooms or appropriate bathroom spots are, if there isn't one, make one.

-Food. Keep a variety of snacks packed for you. You'll never know what you'll actually want to eat when you are hungry, and you need to eat.

-Try to stay off ladders. If you can't avoid it, use ladders that are tall enough to reach. Not standing on the top rung, but enough 'extra' ladder that you can grab it to steady yourself. Don't walk the loving ladder, ever.

-Avoid all chemicals, solvents, and pipe sweating. Latex paint is ok, but anything else, stay away.

-TAKE IT EASY. I get winded climbing one single flight of stairs now. If you are anything like me, you'll want to keep the same level of ability that you had before you were pregnant, prove you can 'do this' "I can hang", whatever. Don't. You are growing a placenta and a baby. It takes a lot out of you. A lot.

-Look up your state's pregnancy leave laws/rules/regulations and see what they are, and how to make them work for you. I've heard of people getting 'put on pregnancy leave' long before they planned to, when their state's laws say 6 weeks only or something. Your job might be required to put you in the tool truck rather than send you home or something, find it out so you don't get shafted. Possibly pretty up your resume so if you need to, you can try to find a less physical job, but that is entirely up to you.

I was hoping to find someone else in construction! Thank you for the advice.

I'm not too worried about the hazardous things that I might do. I generally dont walk ladders anyway because it ruins the ladder and I like my neck in the shape it's in. I'm more worried about my enviornment. I'm on an industrial job right now. It's an occupied building so there are a bunch of chemicals around that I'm not directly exposed to, but the workers there have respirators on while they are doing their thing. There's also the forklifts driving inside, with the fumes. Stuff like that. The company makes solar panels so there is a bunch of nasty hazardous stuff around.

The shop I'm working for will probably be laying off a bunch of people pretty soon. I'm not sure if I want to tell them yet. Do you think I should? I'm in California. I think the law says that they can't fire you for being pregnant as long as you can do the work. But I'm sure they can still lay me off for other reasons.

I'm super tired after lunch these days. I can barely stay awake on the scissor lift. It's really annoying because this work is usually very enjoyable. WIll I stop getting so tired, or will it just get worse?

McStabby
Jun 26, 2007

LANA!!! CRUUUUUSH!
People have told me that you don't feel so tired once the second trimester starts, but that didn't really seem to be the case for me. Maybe it's because I had to wake up around 4am each morning. Just try to get as much sleep as you can at night, because lack of sleep feels even worse when you're pregnant. You can have a little bit of caffeine (most literature I've read says 1 or 2 cups of coffee) per day, but it's best to not rely on it.

McStabby fucked around with this message at 08:31 on Jun 20, 2011

Imperialist Dog
Oct 21, 2008

"I think you could better spend your time on finishing your editing before the deadline today."
\
:backtowork:
Hi all,

Lurked a bit here during my wife's uneventful pregnancy and happy that everything went well for us. But now, I have an actual problem! Our son was born seven weeks ago, and after around 4 weeks we noticed that he had an umbilical hernia. Basically, the area around the umbilical cord isn't strong enough yet to keep everything inside so there's a nice golf ball-sized protrusion. Looks and sounds scary! However, upon reading up on the condition, it seems to go away on its own by the time a child is one year old. So as long as it doesn't cause the baby any distress, don't worry about it and it'll go away.

Here's where the domestic situation comes into play. My wife is Chinese and her family (mother) and friends want her to wrap our boy in in a belt with a coin positioned on it to force the hernia back in. All the medical websites I checked out say this either a) doesn't do anything or b) can actually cause harm, but when I bring it up the Chinese side of the family brings out Chinese sites which say the exact opposite.

We're concerned about the size, too; at first it was about 1cm long but now it's a little over 3cm in length. My wife is very apprehensive about this apparent hernia size increase.

So, any advice? Or should I head on over to the Goon Doctor?

bamzilla
Jan 13, 2005

All butt since 2012.


Imperialist Dog posted:

Hi all,

Lurked a bit here during my wife's uneventful pregnancy and happy that everything went well for us. But now, I have an actual problem! Our son was born seven weeks ago, and after around 4 weeks we noticed that he had an umbilical hernia. Basically, the area around the umbilical cord isn't strong enough yet to keep everything inside so there's a nice golf ball-sized protrusion. Looks and sounds scary! However, upon reading up on the condition, it seems to go away on its own by the time a child is one year old. So as long as it doesn't cause the baby any distress, don't worry about it and it'll go away.

Here's where the domestic situation comes into play. My wife is Chinese and her family (mother) and friends want her to wrap our boy in in a belt with a coin positioned on it to force the hernia back in. All the medical websites I checked out say this either a) doesn't do anything or b) can actually cause harm, but when I bring it up the Chinese side of the family brings out Chinese sites which say the exact opposite.

We're concerned about the size, too; at first it was about 1cm long but now it's a little over 3cm in length. My wife is very apprehensive about this apparent hernia size increase.

So, any advice? Or should I head on over to the Goon Doctor?

What does your pediatrician say? Personally I wouldn't mess with it, but definitely call your ped and ask about it.

Tatiana
Jan 29, 2001
Forum Veteran
My mother told me that they used to send babies home with a cotton belt thing in case of a hernia. Lorelai had a really prominent one, but we didn't mess with it, until a midwife said "Have you tried...pushing it in?" So every diaper change we held it in for a couple of seconds and within a couple weeks it was normal.

I would do what bam says and talk to someone first though. It's not crazy to go to the doctor when something concerns you, especially if it's been growing in size.

Fionnoula
May 27, 2010

Ow, quit.

Imperialist Dog posted:

We're concerned about the size, too; at first it was about 1cm long but now it's a little over 3cm in length. My wife is very apprehensive about this apparent hernia size increase.
Definitely speak to your pediatrician about the apparent increase in size. It may actually just be due to his growth, but it can't hurt to ask. The doctor will want to keep an eye on it, because even though an umbilical hernia can and usually does go away on its own, there are situations in which the doctor may want to consider intervention early.

As for banding it with a coin, just tell the relatives that the doctor said no.

yawnie
Jul 29, 2003
lollerz.

legbeard posted:

I'm super tired after lunch these days. I can barely stay awake on the scissor lift. It's really annoying because this work is usually very enjoyable. WIll I stop getting so tired, or will it just get worse?

I was tired all day and needing tons of naps in my first trimester. Now in my second, I am alert and energetic throughout the day, but mornings are AWFUL for me - If I don't get at least 9-10 hours, I am a zombie for the first hour or two and it's a huge struggle getting out of bed. After that, though, I'm fine. If anything I would say I have slightly more energy now than I did before pregnancy.

Imperialist Dog
Oct 21, 2008

"I think you could better spend your time on finishing your editing before the deadline today."
\
:backtowork:

Fionnoula posted:

It may actually just be due to his growth, but it can't hurt to ask.

Didn't consider that possibility. Will do. I wonder if the push method actually works or was just chance, though. In any case it's doctor time!

Bahunter22
Jul 3, 2010
My nephew had an umbilical hernia also. It wasn't too bad but still noticeable. The doctor just said to leave it and see what happened after a couple of weeks. Thankfully it went away on its own. He also now has a half innie half outie so he got something kind of neat out of it.

Amykinz
May 6, 2007

legbeard posted:

The shop I'm working for will probably be laying off a bunch of people pretty soon. I'm not sure if I want to tell them yet. Do you think I should? I'm in California. I think the law says that they can't fire you for being pregnant as long as you can do the work. But I'm sure they can still lay me off for other reasons.

I'm super tired after lunch these days. I can barely stay awake on the scissor lift. It's really annoying because this work is usually very enjoyable. WIll I stop getting so tired, or will it just get worse?

I stopped getting tired almost exactly on the 12 week 'day'. Same with the nausea. I'm not entirely sure I'd mention the pregnancy to your bosses yet, maybe see what your doctor says? I guess, don't give them another reason to lay you off when you might float through. I would try to hang on as long as I could. I currently work for my dad (I've worked for his construction business since early high school), so really my job is dependent on whether I can continue to work to his standards, but he also doesn't want to have to train anyone else, ever, even for this, are you SURE you'll need time off to have the baby? So, I'm not really sure what I would do in a different situation.

Awesome Kristin
May 9, 2008

yum yum yum
I'm pregnant! I've been lurking the conceiving thread as well as this one for a year now, but I only got off the pill two months ago.

I'm so excited! I guess it's going to be a spring baby then.

Fire In The Disco
Oct 4, 2007
I cannot change the gender of my unborn child and shouldn't waste my time or energy pretending he won't exist
Congrats! Spring babies are great. I loved being pregnant in the winter (here; I live in the desert, and so the winter is just 40-60 degree weather). I never got swollen ankles/feet, and I never got overheated. Definitely hoping we can plan for another winter pregnancy next time around!

foxatee
Feb 27, 2010

That foxatee is always making a Piggles out of herself.
I need an opinion on something. Amelia has grown out of some of her clothes. So far I've just kept them stored away in a drawer because... well, I guess I just don't want to get rid of any physical evidence of when she was a tiny, cute baby. Although I know of someone who could use the garments, I still can't make myself give away the garments. Is this selfish? Has anyone else gone through this?

Now a question: my husband snores loudly. He snores so loud that he often startles Amelia awake. We've tried nasal strips, elevating, and switching his sleep position but nothing helps. Anything else we could try? I'm tired of having to put her back to sleep-- especially since nothing wakes him so it's always me. Please help me, goons. I don't want to kill my husband. :(

Fire In The Disco
Oct 4, 2007
I cannot change the gender of my unborn child and shouldn't waste my time or energy pretending he won't exist

foxatee posted:

I need an opinion on something. Amelia has grown out of some of her clothes. So far I've just kept them stored away in a drawer because... well, I guess I just don't want to get rid of any physical evidence of when she was a tiny, cute baby. Although I know of someone who could use the garments, I still can't make myself give away the garments. Is this selfish? Has anyone else gone through this?

Now a question: my husband snores loudly. He snores so loud that he often startles Amelia awake. We've tried nasal strips, elevating, and switching his sleep position but nothing helps. Anything else we could try? I'm tired of having to put her back to sleep-- especially since nothing wakes him so it's always me. Please help me, goons. I don't want to kill my husband. :(

I'm in a similar place in that my sister-in-law is due with a girl next month. I really can't bring myself to give away Cecilia's clothes. I just keep remembering moments when she was wearing each thing! Plus, our hope is to have another girl, so I really don't want to be rid of them. I don't think it's selfish. They're yours to do with as you please. If you want to give her a pile of clothes, maybe consider joining ThredUp and seeing if they have tiny baby boxes available?

Your husband might consider going and getting a sleep study if your insurance covers it/you can afford it. He may have apnea or another sleep issue. The sleep study really helps to pinpoint problems.

FretforyourLatte
Sep 16, 2010

Put you in my oven!

foxatee posted:

I need an opinion on something. Amelia has grown out of some of her clothes. So far I've just kept them stored away in a drawer because... well, I guess I just don't want to get rid of any physical evidence of when she was a tiny, cute baby. Although I know of someone who could use the garments, I still can't make myself give away the garments. Is this selfish? Has anyone else gone through this?

Don't feel obligated to give away your baby stuff. We kept everything from my daughter, because we planned to have another child eventually, who is now on the way. During this time my sister-in-law got pregnant and seemed a bit pissed that I didn't hand over all of my stuff, but I knew I would need it again and she has a tendency to completely destroy and/or "misplace" things that are borrowed. I did let her borrow my stroller/infant car seat combo and it is utterly ruined, I wouldn't want it back if she offered at this point, so she just completely proved my point on that one.

Bottom line, the stuff is yours. If you want to hang onto it for another future baby or for sentimental reasons, that's your business. :)

Randomity
Feb 25, 2007

Careful what you wish,
You may regret it!
I'm keeping all of Jack's outgrown stuff in Rubbermaid tubs. I have no problem letting someone borrow it, but I will write my last name on all the tags and make sure they know that I will want it back when they're done, just in case for the next baby.

I actually have five pregnant friends right now, but they are ALL having girls, and they're all the type who will want to dress their girls in frilly girl stuff, not hand me down boy stuff. Oh well.

Awesome Kristin
May 9, 2008

yum yum yum
So I'm 5 weeks pregnant right now. Can I take something to help alleviate these weird almost-cramp feelings? If nothing is likely to get rid of the feeling then I'd rather not try anything, but I have no idea if I am ok taking ibuprofen or aspirin.

Revenant77
Aug 28, 2004

Not so sweet

Awesome Kristin posted:

So I'm 5 weeks pregnant right now. Can I take something to help alleviate these weird almost-cramp feelings? If nothing is likely to get rid of the feeling then I'd rather not try anything, but I have no idea if I am ok taking ibuprofen or aspirin.

Call a doctor if you have concerns but do not take ibuprofen or aspirin right now. Tylenol is probably the best you can take at the moment. Wish I had some advice but mine felt like light cramping/tightness for the first trimester and nothing really helped. It does get better though.

Awesome Kristin
May 9, 2008

yum yum yum
Ok, thanks! I think I'll just go with it and accept that I'm feeling my baby grow and I should be glad to feel it. My first OB visit is July 11th and I've never met the dr.

foxatee
Feb 27, 2010

That foxatee is always making a Piggles out of herself.
Thanks for the replies. Now I don't feel so awful for hanging onto her stuff. :)

Kristin: my OB/GYN told me I could take tylenol (acetaminophen) to combat the crampy feelings.

Winson_Paine
Oct 27, 2000

Wait, something is wrong.
Ellie is ten weeks, an UPDATE.

Things she likes: Mrs. Rainbow Bear, her friend in the mirror

Things she dislikes: Fevers from vaccinations, her parents ever sleeping.

Only registered members can see post attachments!

The Young Marge
Jul 19, 2006

but no one can talk to a horse, of course.
What a cool-looking mobile! Where did you get it? I was just going to go with the pterodactyl one that matches the dinosaur stuff for my future kid's room, but yours looks way more interesting for a baby to look at. (You also have a totally adorable baby.)

Awesome Kristin - I had light cramping for the first few weeks, too, but nothing bad enough to medicate. Unless it's really painful, I'd probably just let it ride.

My 21-week-old fetus kicked the crap out of me for 5 hours off and on today; the most kicking I've felt yet. Settle down, Beavis.

Winson_Paine
Oct 27, 2000

Wait, something is wrong.

The Young Marge posted:

What a cool-looking mobile! Where did you get it? I was just going to go with the pterodactyl one that matches the dinosaur stuff for my future kid's room, but yours looks way more interesting for a baby to look at. (You also have a totally adorable baby.)

Awesome Kristin - I had light cramping for the first few weeks, too, but nothing bad enough to medicate. Unless it's really painful, I'd probably just let it ride.

My 21-week-old fetus kicked the crap out of me for 5 hours off and on today; the most kicking I've felt yet. Settle down, Beavis.

I have no clue where it came from, almost all of our stuff came from friends looking to dump gear. I dug out the box, it is the INFANT STIM MOBILE I guess. I will say she prefers the crappy $5 plush mobile we got at IKEA for the changing table, she loving loves that thing and natters at it constantly.

Dr. Octagon
Aug 12, 2008

Ride or Die Bitch, Esq.
For those interested in simple, nicely designed baby items, the things we've managed to find so far are a BabyBjorn Bouncer, a Joovy Playpen, and a Tripp Trapp highchair. As I mentioned, these items are pretty pricey, but will hopefully be useful for longer (and not make me want to claw my eyes out). Most of them probably won't even go on my registry, because I already feel kind of gauche just creating one in the first place.

And now for more questions! I'm planning on breastfeeding, and it's probably the thing I have the most anxiety about so far. Each of my boobs has leaked independently of the other, so I'm hoping maybe that means things are, uh... primed for action. I'm the first on my side of the family to reproduce, and my husband's family doesn't do breastfeeding, so I'm wondering what sort of pumps you folks would recommend. Also, bottles. I probably won't need that many because I'll be breastfeeding, right? My mom breastfed all three of us and then was a lactation consultant back in the day, so I will have plenty of support - it's just that the gear available now is totally different. I'd be grateful to hear any recommendations, and also any breastfeeding success stories to bolster my confidence.

I have to ask for some advice on a sad issue, too. My sister-in-law and her husband have a seven month old son, and were trying for another. After getting positive tests last month, she went in for her dating ultrasound yesterday, and they found that the pregnancy hadn't progressed past 5 weeks (she should have been around 10 weeks). She's going in for a D&C tomorrow. I don't really know what to say to her or do for her - I know this is a very common situation, but people don't really talk about it much. I feel extra bad because we've been talking about a lot of pregnancy stuff together and I am still visibly pregnant, so even though I want to offer her support, I don't know if just being around her would hurt right about now. I know she's also had trouble with fertility/ovulation and used Clomid to conceive both times, so I'm sure she's struggling with blaming herself as well. Has anyone been through this, or comforted a friend going through this? I apologize if this isn't the proper place to ask :ohdear:

Awesome Kristin
May 9, 2008

yum yum yum
I can't sleep, I'm constantly hungry, my boobs are killing me, I'm crampy, and I have to pee constantly. This is only 5 weeks. Some women don't even know they're pregnant at this point.

I am experiencing the crap out of this pregnancy. :(

FretforyourLatte
Sep 16, 2010

Put you in my oven!

Dr. Octagon posted:

And now for more questions! I'm planning on breastfeeding, and it's probably the thing I have the most anxiety about so far. Each of my boobs has leaked independently of the other, so I'm hoping maybe that means things are, uh... primed for action. I'm the first on my side of the family to reproduce, and my husband's family doesn't do breastfeeding, so I'm wondering what sort of pumps you folks would recommend. Also, bottles. I probably won't need that many because I'll be breastfeeding, right? My mom breastfed all three of us and then was a lactation consultant back in the day, so I will have plenty of support - it's just that the gear available now is totally different. I'd be grateful to hear any recommendations, and also any breastfeeding success stories to bolster my confidence.

I breastfed my daughter and plan on doing the same with baby #2, who is due in January. First of all, for the pumps: More than recommending a particular brand, mainly I would first of all look for a dual pump system, so you can pump both breasts at once. Pumping is time consuming and this will cut it in half. Also once you start pumping (or nursing) from one side, usually the other side decides to get going as well, so that way you won't lose anything. Another thing to look for are pumps that are electric or battery operated. They tend to be pricey and you may be tempted to just go with a manual pump, but you'll probably regret it as they are a massive pain in the rear end and your hands will cramp up like nobody's business. The pumps I have are Evenflo, not exactly this but similar: http://www.evenflo.com/product.aspx?id=88 This kind (and I think most others) pumps directly into a small bottle that you can then screw a nipple onto and go to town. As far as bottles, you shouldn't need too many if you're planning on exclusively breastfeeding, but do have them and some formula on hand just in case because nursing does not always work out for everyone, for various reasons.

As far as the leakage, I had a slight leakage while I was pregnant starting at 5 months IIRC, but once my daughter was born it still took the usual 2ish days of attempting to nurse before the milk really came in. I believe it was our first night home from the hospital when it happened. And hoo boy, when it comes in, you will know it! You think you're leaking now, just you wait. ;)

Do yourself a huge favor and make sure you get yourself a Boppy pillow, especially for nursing but even if you bottle feed, those things are a godsend.

Most of all, just keep at it, but don't beat yourself up if you can't handle it. It's tough and it hurts at first, but it does get easier. Once you get the hang of it, you'll love the sense of pride at nourishing your child, not to mention the massive amounts of money you'll save (formula is outrageous) and the convenience of not having to mix or warm bottles in the middle of the night. Good luck!

VVV That's also a good point, very true.

FretforyourLatte fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Jun 23, 2011

Fire In The Disco
Oct 4, 2007
I cannot change the gender of my unborn child and shouldn't waste my time or energy pretending he won't exist
The only thing I disagree with in regards to FretforyourLatte's post is having formula on hand. This is something my lactation consultant told me. She said that formula's easy to get if you really need it, but having it on hand is not advisable, because it can become a temptation. Breastfeeding isn't easy in the beginning for many women, and having formula on hand means it's a lot easier to give up and go to formula. For the most part, breastfeeding issues are resolved by about six weeks out, so if you can make it that far, you've got a much bigger chance of being able to successfully breastfeed for as long as you want to.

Fionnoula
May 27, 2010

Ow, quit.
Check with your local hospital before you buy a pump. Most hospitals will rent you a pump, and mine also had a health supplies store where they sold pumps. I ended up with an Ameda Purely Yours double electric (which I loved), because the hospital pumps were the same brand, so I got free collection bottles and tubing from pumping while in the hospital (extra tubing and collection bottles really add up - I ended up with like 6 sets for free).

The bottles that you end up using really depend on personal preference and your baby's preference. You will have some time to make a decision on that before you stock up, since you're usually recommended to not introduce a bottle until about a month in to breastfeeding. I agree with Fire In The Disco on the formula thing - it takes 10 minutes for someone to run to the store and buy formula if you REALLY need some, but breastfeeding can be really hard and frustrating at first and if it's right there in the kitchen, it would be really easy just say "just gently caress it, I'll try tomorrow, get the formula" and then you're just sabotaging yourself.

As for your sister-in-law, just tell her how sorry you are for her loss. Hearing things like "I don't know what to say, I'm just so sorry" is exactly what she needs to hear. I appreciated that a lot more than people pretending they knew what to say or they knew what I was feeling. Whatever you say, don't tell her she can try again soon, or have another - she doesn't want "another", she wants the one she just lost. Let her lead on how much contact she wants to have with you - it may hurt to see you, but it may also help her. I lost friends when my son was stillborn because anyone who just avoided me without even asking if I wanted them to stay away can just gently caress right off out of the rest of my life too - I needed support and love and they took away my choice of how I got it (as if I hadn't already had enough taken away at that point, right?) by just absenting themselves from it. Yeah, seeing their children would have been hard, but not seeing them at all felt like I was being ostracized.

Janelle
Apr 5, 2004
I breastfeed and bought a thing of formula before I had him. My reasoning being, it will be difficult to pack up a screaming, hungry newborn (and siblings if you have them) to go to the store to grab some if you don't have someone who can do a quick run to the store. While it's been tempting to use, especially at night or during the day when I'm trying to get cleaning and such done, I have yet to use it. It's there 'just in case'.

Hope it helps. Also, to the person who wants to keep all their baby stuff, keep it. I gave ALL my girl stuff away except blankets, and kick myself every day, even though I had a boy.

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Winson_Paine
Oct 27, 2000

Wait, something is wrong.

Janelle posted:

I breastfeed and bought a thing of formula before I had him. My reasoning being, it will be difficult to pack up a screaming, hungry newborn (and siblings if you have them) to go to the store to grab some if you don't have someone who can do a quick run to the store. While it's been tempting to use, especially at night or during the day when I'm trying to get cleaning and such done, I have yet to use it. It's there 'just in case'.

If it makes anyone feel any better, we were sent home from the hospital with a four pack of ready to serve formula, and it is still untouched.

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