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netally posted:It surprised me too! I'm glad I have six months to stay at home, because sounds like I'll spend most of it with the baby attached to me. It seems the "attached at the boob" phenomenon is why a lot of breastfeeding moms go a little stir-crazy at the start, never leaving the house or spending time with other adults. My feeding schedule wasn't really bad when Bruce was a newborn, but even then I tried to make the most of it by watching stuff off our DVR when I was home, or if I was out in the world I would feed him while at a coffee shop with friends or really whatever I was doing no matter where I was. Once you feel comfortable breastfeeding, please don't stay cooped up in the house! Babies are adaptable and will eat wherever you put a boob in their mouth, and if you stay covered up most people either won't notice or won't care. I've even had lunches where my friends whipped out uncovered boobs at the table to feed their babies, which was pretty fun. And we've only done one-side-at-a-time feedings, which has worked for us. And we only used the football hold. VorpalBunny fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Feb 28, 2012 |
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Feb 28, 2012 19:12
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Fire In The Disco posted:I don't even think you have to melt down in histrionics! I think you could go in and say, "I want to know where I stand right now, and I want to see about not going straight to a c-section on Friday if I haven't gone into labor by then. I would like to discuss my other options." I truly appreciate that. And it helps to feel heard somewhere. I worry about the money, you know? My husband got laid off at Christmas and the COBRAfied insurance still requires a $100+ fee anytime I head into the Birth Center and it isn't scheduled or real labor-- anytime they send me home without a baby, basically. It's one reason (of many) I'd been hoping so much for a naturalish birth-- anathesiologists and surgical assistants are expensive! And obviously we'll cope when it reaches that point. But I get the impression that induction requires a lot of the same staff on hand if the induction turns into an emergency c-section? (if I were not Reproductively Geriatric, gestationally diabetic and gestationally hypertensive, I would have switched to maybe a midwife when the layoff happened. Alas, I am too high risk.)
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Feb 28, 2012 21:20
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Oh man, that insurance situation sucks. I'm so sorry. And as a full time diabetic and gestationally hypertensive 33 year old, I can totally sympathize. I would also be with a midwife in a heartbeat if I could. 
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Feb 28, 2012 21:24
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Having to use COBRA to have insurance must really suck, even if it is a better than nothing option. If I ever get pregnant again, I'll have a midwife lined up. Pregnancy and childbirth seem to be an art form as much as a science, and it seems like midwives are more dedicated to the process. I was really surprised during my delivery at how quickly the doctor jumped to the c-section option when my baby got stuck coming out (because he was huge, it turned out). I ended having a vacuum assisted birth but I don't think even that would have been necessary if I'd had a doctor who was more involved - and I had several nurses tell me that I definitely would have gotten a c-section with any other doctor.
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Feb 28, 2012 22:32
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I'll never get to do the midwife route because of seizures; the OB is willing to let me try a "normal" birth, but seemed very doubtful that I will even last long enough to get an epidural. Pretty sure they all expect to be knocking me out for a C section! Can anyone recommend a good book on breastfeeding? Feel like I should probably read up a bit on it. Only 27 weeks at the moment, but doesn't hurt to be prepared!
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Feb 28, 2012 23:10
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Helanna posted:Can anyone recommend a good book on breastfeeding? Feel like I should probably read up a bit on it. Only 27 weeks at the moment, but doesn't hurt to be prepared! I have http://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-Book-Everything-Nursing-Through/dp/0316779245/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1330467477&sr=8-8 and http://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-Mothers-Guide-Making-More/dp/007159857X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1330467477&sr=8-4 since I had supply issues. They're both pretty good.
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Feb 28, 2012 23:18
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Helanna posted:Can anyone recommend a good book on breastfeeding? Feel like I should probably read up a bit on it. Only 27 weeks at the moment, but doesn't hurt to be prepared! http://store.llli.org/public/profile/414 All the La Leche League leaders recommend The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. And get to a meeting or two if you can before the baby comes. I wish I had.
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Feb 29, 2012 01:36
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Tesla Insanely Coil posted:Having to use COBRA to have insurance must really suck, even if it is a better than nothing option. One of my friends, when I mentioned my midwife on facebook, asked me why I had a midwife, like as if it was some kind of retro crunchy granola thing. But to be honest, I'm really happy with having a midwife. She has been really helpful when I've asked questions about what I want to do. I told her I want to do everything naturally and she agreed with what I want to do while also making sure I know I'm not a failure if I need to have interventions. The one thing that I thought was kind of abnormal is that I'm almost 39 weeks and she hasn't checked how dilated or effaced I am. Her explanation is because it doesn't really matter unless I go late: I could be 2cm and 50% effaced for weeks before I go in to labor and she only really checks at 40 weeks to make sure I'm close and not going to go over.
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Feb 29, 2012 01:53
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car dance posted:The one thing that I thought was kind of abnormal is that I'm almost 39 weeks and she hasn't checked how dilated or effaced I am. Her explanation is because it doesn't really matter unless I go late: I could be 2cm and 50% effaced for weeks before I go in to labor and she only really checks at 40 weeks to make sure I'm close and not going to go over. My midwife was the same though she gave me the option of having her check at 38 weeks, more for my piece of mind than anything. Normally they don't do it till 40 weeks. I got her to check and see and I was 3 cm already and the baby's head was engaged and I still didn't end up going into labour till 40 weeks 3 days. So not checking isn't abnormal for a midwife.
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Feb 29, 2012 02:12
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Kubricize posted:My midwife was the same though she gave me the option of having her check at 38 weeks, more for my piece of mind than anything. Normally they don't do it till 40 weeks. I got her to check and see and I was 3 cm already and the baby's head was engaged and I still didn't end up going into labour till 40 weeks 3 days. So not checking isn't abnormal for a midwife. Yeah, I think it's definitely not really in my interests to have things checked too often. I obviously haven't had it done yet but I hear it hurts and is uncomfortable and I'd rather just go in to labor anyway if it's happening on its own. I guess I should say it's abnormal in comparison to this baby board I read where women are checked by their OBs starting at 36 weeks. But these women are also having an ultrasound every month and their membranes swept (  ).
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Feb 29, 2012 02:25
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Those who had c-sections, what's the recovery time like? I'm getting my stitches out on Thursday, but I was wondering about how long it takes for everything to start to feel normal again. Like the coughing and laughing thing. Right now, I can't sleep on my sides because my stomach feels weirdly heavy when I do, plus the incision burns when I turn certain ways, but I think that's the stitches pulling. I hope. I also was looking forward to sleeping on my stomach but haven't even attempted that out of fear of the stitches. How long until your incision healed completely? Also, did you notice your postpartum bleeding was lighter than everyone said it would be. I would say mine is very light, not like a regular period even. It's more than spotting, but less than the first days of a normal period.
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Feb 29, 2012 07:32
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car dance posted:Yeah, I think it's definitely not really in my interests to have things checked too often. I obviously haven't had it done yet but I hear it hurts and is uncomfortable and I'd rather just go in to labor anyway if it's happening on its own. I guess I should say it's abnormal in comparison to this baby board I read where women are checked by their OBs starting at 36 weeks. But these women are also having an ultrasound every month and their membranes swept ( It doesn't hurt at all, it's a bit uncomfortable but it's like a pap test in that regard, except my midwife didn't use the spreader thing and just used two fingers. You may ending up with a bit of spotting after which is normal. RE postpartum bleeding: The first day after as the heaviest day, after that it was less than a period flow and mine had stopped by 2 weeks. I had a few spots the first time we had sex again at 4 weeks but never got my period back till 9 months, right after I had to stop breast feeding. Hoping the next one I have, barring any nursing problems, I can breast feed longer and won't get my period back for like 2 years!
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Feb 29, 2012 08:12
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I'm 3 weeks out and the skin is still sore to the touch like a bad bruise, with an area totally numb. My doc says it's possible for both to last up to six months, but I know I've read on here that sometimes the numbness just stays. I can definitely cough and laugh without pain, though! When I walk, my stomach does feel weird if I think about it, like I can feel the jiggles, but I think that's largely a byproduct of the numbness. I can definitely sleep on my side without pain (for a while now, even), so not too much longer! Also finally able to crack my back again  I did have steristrips instead of stitches, so I don't know how that affects things.Bleeding can really vary a lot. I didn't bleed for 4 or 5 days, then lightly, then clots, then bright red blood. I wish I'd been told that around 2 weeks you often get a resurgence of red blood and not to bother worrying about it, because the on-call doc had me come in for bloodwork and swabbing and an ultrasound, and then when I saw my regular doc a few days later, he was all, "Yeah, that totally happens at 2 weeks, no worries." edit: Did you get one of those belly wraps from the hospital? That was a godsend. I just realized that was probably why I didn't mind sleeping on my side really early on. Ben Davis fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Feb 29, 2012 |
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Feb 29, 2012 10:25
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Bodnoirbabe posted:Those who had c-sections, what's the recovery time like? I'm getting my stitches out on Thursday, but I was wondering about how long it takes for everything to start to feel normal again. Like the coughing and laughing thing. I had to completely stop the painkillers 3 days after delivery (yes when you turn and it hurts it is the stitches pulling), and 10 days after the delivery I had no pain doing normal activities (laugh, walk, sleep on my side, poop). Had the order of not lifting more than my baby for 6 weeks. As for the visual aspect of the scar, it's just a purplish line, no bumps, but I was told by a midwife that my doctor did an exceptional work there. I massaged it for a couple of months with some oil that smells like roses. If I test the scar really carefully I can tell it could be a little numb, but maybe it's my brain playing tricks on me. Post-partum bleeding was heavy the 1st day, then lighter than a period (but I used to have clotty messy periods).
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Feb 29, 2012 15:15
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I wasn't told what I could or could not do after my C-section (or if I was told I was drugged up and didn't remember) so I was up and driving and carrying stuff around within 2 weeks. 15 months later, my scar is pretty much gone. All that's left is a very thin line maybe 6 inches long and as thick as a pen-line. Bleeding lasted maybe 5 weeks, but it tapered off quickly and was really manageable. We breastfed exclusively for the first 8 months and my period came back right after his 1-year birthday, even though we're still nursing. 
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Feb 29, 2012 17:47
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Mine came back the week of my kid's first birthday, even though we were still nursing. Still, that's a pretty long stretch to go. I have friends who exclusively breastfeed and still get their periods back a month or two postpartum. My postpartum bleeding tapered off very quickly and was just spotting for a couple of weeks. It stopped around 4 weeks, came back for a bit at 5 weeks and was totally gone by 6 weeks.
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Feb 29, 2012 18:04
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It's good to hear it's not so long before things return to normal with the body. I think I keep asking everyone how long how long how long because there are so many unknowns anything I can find out and count down to gives me something to look forward to, to have control over. So breastfeeding can stop the period from coming back, but does that mean we don't have to practice birth control? We don't want to have another kid for at least a year to make sure I'm fully healed up. Should I look into birth control pills? Condoms make me burn down there, so that's off the table. Or would it be better to do an IUD?
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Mar 1, 2012 02:08
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I personally wouldn't do hormonal birth control because it can affect supply and also because it took my own body a long time to get fertility back after being on oral contraceptives. I know a lot of people have great success with copper IUDs.
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Mar 1, 2012 02:19
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I know that people have been on the Mirena and still continued to breast feed.
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Mar 1, 2012 02:20
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My OB put me on the minipill at my 6 week postpartum checkup, when she cleared me for sexual activity again. It did not affect my milk supply at all.
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Mar 1, 2012 02:24
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Bodnoirbabe posted:So breastfeeding can stop the period from coming back, but does that mean we don't have to practice birth control? You absolutely need to practice some form of birth control. Breastfeeding often reduces the chances of getting pregnant but it still happens quite frequently. I would inquire about birth control the next time you see your OB. There are lots of options out there for breastfeeding mothers.
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Mar 1, 2012 03:03
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I got a Mirena IUD put in 7 weeks postpartum. I'm still breastfeeding without any problem. I got my period a few days after it was inserted, which was super annoying. I was pleasantly surprised at how non painful insertion was, especially compared to the first time I got one 5 years ago.
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Mar 1, 2012 03:15
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While exclusively nursing, my period came back around 8 weeks. Meaning I could have gotten pregnant at that point. My husband's aunt, while breastfeeding, found out that she was already pregnant again at her 6-week checkup. Breastfeeding is not reliable birth control.
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Mar 1, 2012 03:16
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Bodnoirbabe posted:So breastfeeding can stop the period from coming back, but does that mean we don't have to practice birth control? We don't want to have another kid for at least a year to make sure I'm fully healed up. You could always try latex-free condoms to see if those work better for you. Some people really like IUDs. Some people like birth control pills. If you can reliably take them (same time every day, not with antibiotics, etc) they seem fine. Some types work better while breastfeeding than others. I think kellymom.com has some information about birth control. Using breastfeeding as birth control is not a good idea though, like everyone else said. 
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Mar 1, 2012 03:33
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Bodnoirbabe posted:Condoms make me burn down there, so that's off the table. It might be worth checking to see if you're allergic to spermicide in condoms, or the latex itself. I have horrible reactions to nonoxynol-9 which is a spermicide, but can use condoms without spermicide with no problems.
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Mar 1, 2012 03:37
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I have been on the mini-pill for about a year with no side effects, no problems with supply at all! I also had to take Plan B once and my supply only dropped slightly the day after. You absolutely have to use something though, I personally know 4 women IRL who got pregnant with babies under 4 months old.
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Mar 1, 2012 04:11
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The wikipedia page for breastfeeding infertility has some information. It's not just breastfeeding that causes longish term infertility but breastfeeding in a certain way. I always thought that ecological breastfeeding sounded interesting, but more for the bonding - it was the first time I'd heard about not using pacifiers.
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Mar 1, 2012 04:48
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I never knew there was a term for that outside of "attachment parenting." I know quite a few people who "ecologically breastfeed," then. I guess I almost counted as that myself, except for the fact that I had a low supply due to breast surgery. But all supplementation took place at the breast, so idk, that might make it count or something.
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Mar 1, 2012 04:54
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Bodnoirbabe posted:So breastfeeding can stop the period from coming back, but does that mean we don't have to practice birth control? We don't want to have another kid for at least a year to make sure I'm fully healed up. Breastfeeding as a form of birth control, that's how I got pregnant the 2nd time  Had a c-section with my first, they'll have 18 month of age difference, VBAC may not be an option, but my OB/GYN wants to wait until the end to tell. I know 2 ladies who had a first c-sec, and then 15 months later another baby, 2nd c-sec, everything's fine. I think the major issue is caring for a toddler while having morning sickness. Poopy smelly diaper? Blearchhhh!
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Mar 1, 2012 13:57
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Fire In The Disco posted:I never knew there was a term for that outside of "attachment parenting." I know quite a few people who "ecologically breastfeed," then. I don't think AP is anywhere near as strict as EB.
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Mar 1, 2012 15:13
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EB, not by choice. It was horrible. T___T
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Mar 1, 2012 15:41
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I got a mirena about 12 weeks postpartum, and didn't notice an effect on anything. I had it removed about a year later, and got pregnant with my second right away. I also had a c-section with my first, and had no issues with the second other than a retained placenta, which had to be removed via d&c about 10 weeks postpartum.
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Mar 1, 2012 17:00
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Yeah, my baby never used a pacifier and we coslept and fed on demand day and night and I went ahead and had regular cycles anyway.
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Mar 1, 2012 21:04
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bamzilla posted:I don't think AP is anywhere near as strict as EB. I think there's a wide range of what fits into the umbrella term "AP" as well, but I also didn't think there was a separate name for EB, which seems like it fits under AP pretty well.
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Mar 1, 2012 22:08
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Beichan posted:Yeah, my baby never used a pacifier and we coslept and fed on demand day and night and I went ahead and had regular cycles anyway. Same here. I tried so hard to get him to take a pacifier when he was nursing non-stop for comfort and it didn't work. My period came back like clockwork. Don't be stupid and expect to use breastfeeding as birth control. That way lies madness (and more pregnancies).
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Mar 1, 2012 23:22
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So Andrew's a month old, and has started doing something new - some of the time when he's done nursing, rather than unlatching he'll pull his head back as far as he can until the nipple pops out of his mouth. It really, really hurts when he does that, but I'm not really sure what I can do to discourage it, besides noticing that he seems to be done nursing and breaking his latch with my finger so that when he moves his head the nipple doesn't go with it. My mom suggested gently tapping his forehead, but I'm not sure that he's old enough to connect that to what he just did, or that a forehead tap would count as discouragement if he did understand that it was connected. Also, on the breastfeeding-and-pregnancy thing - has anyone used the fertility awareness method to avoid pregnancy while exclusively breastfeeding? I'm not doing "ecological" breastfeeding (we can't cosleep and sometimes we give Andrew a pacifier), but I otherwise meet the LAM criteria, and I used FAM for four years prior to (purposefully) getting pregnant so I'm not new to the method, just to using it with a baby around.
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Mar 2, 2012 01:15
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I would just keep doing the break latch via finger in corner of mouth method. As far as FAM postpartum goes, my own experience was a lot of irregularity with regards to fertility symptoms. Basically, I had a lot of variety of symptoms on and off during the first year, and then when I got my first period back the week she turned one, that was it for another four months. Now, for us, it wasn't a big deal because we would have welcomed another pregnancy if it had happened then, but if you're trying to go for a certain spacing between your kids or no more kids at all, I would be really careful. Fire In The Disco fucked around with this message at 01:31 on Mar 2, 2012 |
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Mar 2, 2012 01:29
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zonohedron posted:So Andrew's a month old, and has started doing something new - some of the time when he's done nursing, rather than unlatching he'll pull his head back as far as he can until the nipple pops out of his mouth. It really, really hurts when he does that, but I'm not really sure what I can do to discourage it, besides noticing that he seems to be done nursing and breaking his latch with my finger so that when he moves his head the nipple doesn't go with it. My mom suggested gently tapping his forehead, but I'm not sure that he's old enough to connect that to what he just did, or that a forehead tap would count as discouragement if he did understand that it was connected. I would absolutely NOT "tap" your kid on the forehead for doing that.  I would keep trying to pay attention to his cues and put your finger in to stop him from doing that before he does it. Another thing I have done is to pull the baby IN to the breast to break their suction if they start clamping down while pulling backwards.I would use a backup birth control method.
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Mar 2, 2012 02:55
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zonohedron posted:So Andrew's a month old, and has started doing something new - some of the time when he's done nursing, rather than unlatching he'll pull his head back as far as he can until the nipple pops out of his mouth. It really, really hurts when he does that, but I'm not really sure what I can do to discourage it, besides noticing that he seems to be done nursing and breaking his latch with my finger so that when he moves his head the nipple doesn't go with it. My mom suggested gently tapping his forehead, but I'm not sure that he's old enough to connect that to what he just did, or that a forehead tap would count as discouragement if he did understand that it was connected. It seems to be a stage babies go through, I remember when Connor was about 6 weeks he would hold my nipple in his mouth and shake his head about so it was like a dog worrying a dead bird. Sore and annoying but something you just have to grin and bear really if the unhooking latch and holding them in closer suggestions don't wor. Putting aside the 'is a month old baby old enough to understand cause and effect' debate (which I'm pretty sure they aren't), the thing with negative reinforcement is that you would have to poke him hard enough to hurt him, and it would probably just end up giving him a nipple complex. I wouldn't want to rely on Fertility Awareness while breastfeeding because your cycle can be pretty screwed up. As far as breastfeeding being a contraceptive I think using a dummy is an automatic disqualification.
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Mar 2, 2012 11:58
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zonohedron posted:So Andrew's a month old, and has started doing something new - some of the time when he's done nursing, rather than unlatching he'll pull his head back as far as he can until the nipple pops out of his mouth. It really, really hurts when he does that, but I'm not really sure what I can do to discourage it, besides noticing that he seems to be done nursing and breaking his latch with my finger so that when he moves his head the nipple doesn't go with it. My mom suggested gently tapping his forehead, but I'm not sure that he's old enough to connect that to what he just did, or that a forehead tap would count as discouragement if he did understand that it was connected. 1. Don't physically hurt your baby, especially your one month old. Your mom is giving you bad advice. 2. I said it in my last post, but expecting to be able to track your cycles properly while breastfeeding is why there are people with kids that are less than 18 months apart. If you're ok with that, more power to you. If you're not, be a grown up and use some kind of birth control.
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Mar 2, 2012 14:44
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