KJandSH

To all of you breastfeeding moms, what birth control did you/are you using while breastfeeding? When I was nursing my twins, I used the minipill and it was fine. Well, I'm using it again this time and I HATE it. I never spotted or had a period while using it last time, but this time (although fully breastfeeding a BIG baby) I am already having a period after being on it for just 5 days. It is exhausting breastfeeding and having a period. I felt horrible today and have had a 2 day headache on top of it all.

My husband is planning to have a vasectomy soon, so I need something until he has it and until his vasectomy is effective. A part of me wants to just trust that fully breastfeeding for the first 6 months will delay my fertility, but we don't want any more children and I'm pretty sure my husband would be uncomfortable not taking some precaution. Plus, I have to go back to work for 3 weeks in May (before my summer break) and will be pumping, so it's not exactly fully breastfeeding then.

Any suggestions?

Kristi

Adults can safely drink breast milk. Some adult cancer patients are actually prescribed breast milk (they usually get it from human milk banks).

I don't really see why this is gross. Didn't Cleopatra take baths in goats milk or something? And I agree that an adult drinking cow's milk really should seem more weird than an adult drinking human milk.

I do wonder how she knows how much excess she is producing though. Maybe she is pumping? Women often produce excess milk in the beginning and then their supply stabilizes around 3 months, but if you express a lot of 'extra' milk you are telling your body to produce more than the baby needs and your oversupply will continue.

And of course the article says it makes the baby's skin white. What is it with this 'white' obsession in Asia?!

can u imagine losing 50? it would be my dream.

I lost 50 or 55 after having my twins. They weighed 14 pounds 4 ounces combined. I had only lost 20 when I weighed myself 5 days after having them, but I was retaining crazy amounts of water. I remember dropping what seemed like 15 pounds overnight when I finally noticed that my ankles had reappeared. The water retention was AWFUL. My baggy pants were skin tight on me.

So at my 6 week appointment I weighed 10 pounds less than I did when I became pregnant. Love breastfeeding for the weight loss!

I was wondering...how are training pants different than regular diapers? Adam can't pull diapers or pants up and down yet so I was wondering what makes the difference there?

That's why I decided to not do pull-ups. We started with Gerber training underwear, but then I moved to just naked bottoms because the girls can't pull their undies up consistently and I couldn't always get up to help them when I am nursing their brother. They have done great with that method, but I also now know that they have enough control to wait a little bit for me to help them pull down their undies before they sit on the potty, so probably next week I will go back to training underwear. We still use diapers for naps and bedtime, but I've decided not to do pull-ups at all.

Good to know that your son adjusted well to a 'big boy' bed. I think my girls will be really excited about them once they are set up. I just worry that they will be bed-hopping into each other's beds, but even if they do I'm guessing they will get over it pretty quickly because they are a bit territorial about their own cribs even though they share the same room.

Happy Birthday to your son!

CONGRATULATIONS KJand SH. Glad to see everything went well. That was a proper sized baby you had . How are the girls doing with the new family addition?

He was a good size. I actually expected bigger because I felt almost as huge as I did with my twins and they were 14 lbs. 4 ounces combined. The midwife said I had LOTS of amniotic fluid though, so that was probably why.

They love him..especially Iseul (the twin I am holding in the photo). She wants to hold him and lay down next to him all the time. Haneul is a bit less interested, but loves to mimic Taeyang. Her cry is so right on that she sometimes makes me think that it is her brother crying.

I had started potty training the girls a few weeks before Taeyang arrived and they are doing wonderfully with that too. I think it helps that now I am home all day with them and they have consistency, but I am really glad that I didn't listen to 'the experts' who tell you not to attempt it when there is going to be a new baby in the house because they seem totally fine with the changes.

The next thing is to switch the girls to toddler beds. Anyone have words of advice on that one? They are getting the beds for their birthday at the end of this month.

Kristi

Wanted to share that our little Taeyang was born on February 11th. He weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces and was 21 inches long. I had a VBAC and am so happy I did. Both my husband and I felt it was a much better experience than the C-section I ended up with for our twins.

Here is a pic of Taeyang alone

And with our twins, Haneul and Iseul (I'm on the right, my sister is holding Taeyang).

Christina--You are exactly right--we love our twins bunches, but for financial reasons, space reasons (think 850 square feet condo), and not wanting to have another 'high risk pregnancy' reasons, I am so relieved to be having just one baby.

Eveline--I have definitely imagined myself as a mom of 3--that was always the number we talked about. It's being a mom of 4 that I had not imagined. However, I know that it is going to be super busy, especially during the newborn stage.

Re: items to ask for on a baby registry. I don't know if you can register for these at big box stores, but I have an ergo carrier and it is fantastic. It is better than a baby bjorn because you can use it longer and it is comfy. Also, it costs only about $10 more.

Kristi

Hi ladies,

I had my first OB appt. for this pregnancy today. Wow! I was off about my due date, but in my defense I didn't have a last menstrual period to go on, just a date when I thought I ovulated. So I am 6 weeks instead of 9 weeks with an EDD of February 16th. And I am expecting just ONE baby this time, not two.

Kristi

I also had round ligament pain. Mine didn't last my whole pregnancy though and did go away after a while, so maybe there is some hope. I got really big, really fast in the end and gave birth to 14 lbs and 4 ounces of baby and ended up with an overdistended uterus, so I'm not sure how it went away, but it did. Maybe because I really took it easy at the end of the pregnancy.

Kristi

Ok...I thought I would join this thread. I had my first ultrasound today and the babies (yes...plural...we are having twins) are measuring 6 weeks and 3 days.

I have 14 month old twins. I was worried when I found out (we had a 20 week ultrasound surprise), but I love having twins. It isn't as hard as I thought it would be and it really is a lot of fun. Congratulations!

Kristi

TracyLuis and KS7...--I know it is so hard to have to go back to work after baby (or in my case babies). I was also the breadwinner in our family and my husband started law school part time and was a stay at home dad for our twins. It was very hard on my to go back to work, but I made it through the school year (I'm on summer break now).

Some great things that came out of it is that I'm sure that DH is closer to the girls than he otherwise would have been. I think that this has been really valuable for DH as he basically has no relationship with his father. Also, the girls were able to hear more Korean this way and most of their 'words' are Korean right now. Also, my parents helped out with childcare once a week and the girls have developed a very close relationship with them as well.

I know that this is not possible for everyone, but one thing that helped m was pumping for/breastfeeding my daughters because I knew I was doing something important for them while I was at work.

If I had been able to stay home, I would have done it, but I think that things worked out well regardless. I have a strong relationship with my daughters and we chose the option that was best for our family at this time and in this place. I think it also helped to know that my mom was always a working mom and that she did a good job balancing work and family life although things were even harder when she was working.

autumnchik--Thanks. I had a rough start to breastfeeding and supplemented with formula in the beginning. I do regret not getting professional help from a lactation consultant, but I was able to tough it out and fully breastfeed/pump for my girls. I hope that you aren't stubborn like me and have sought help if you need it.

Kristi

Eveline--You are funny. Twins again! Actually, it is true that your chances of having twins goes up after having them. All of the twins in my family were just one set though and then the moms went on to have singletons, so I'm guessing that is what will happen here. Still, I am going to ask my OB to please give me an ultrasound before 20 weeks this time so if it is twins I won't find out so late. It sounds like your pregnancy is going well. Hope you are getting some footrubs and R and R time.

Gosh all of these babies are growing up so quickly. I can't believe that Kavi is 4 months and I totally missed the birth of Drew. Congrats!

Kristi

Well, it looks like we may be expecting again. I took a pregnancy test on a hunch last night and it came back positive. I feel uncertain about it because I haven't had a post-partum menstrual period after my twins, but I do think I know when I ovulated. So I'm guessing I'm about 6 weeks along and the baby will be due at the end of January.

I'll keep you posted. And Haneul and Iseul are doing great. Walking all over the place--even trying to run sometimes. They are a joy and I am home with them all summer as of today!

Kristi

We have twins and they turned one year old yesterday. They were born about 3 years after DH came to the U.S.

Kristi

The original article is good and thought provoking.

She should look into some of the stuff marketed for twins. Ridiculous!

I've heard people say 'kids like the box more than the toy that came inside it' so many times that I expected it. I try to buy our toys second hand if possible. I check out books from the library rather than buying them. When people have asked me what our daughters favorite toys are, I always reply that they have no favorite toy. Their favorites are whatever we are doing with them. And they love to go out and see the world with us more than sitting at home in front of their toys. One advantage we have with twins is that our girls always have a playmate if we need to be doing stuff around the house.

But it's good to read articles like this from time to time because their are so many marketing forces which try to make you believe that you need to buy the latest and greatest for your kids.

Kristi

I have heard of EC but for me it was just too much of a hassle. I did cloth diaper but could never really get myself into having my hand in baby's diaper to see when he peed. Anyway, Adam is not interested at all in his potty. I do put him on there whenever I go to the bathroom (and I don't forget about him) and he sits there and has a good time listening to me peeing but he never peed on it yet. I guess that will still take a while.

Congratulations on your potty training though. It's amazing how you handle the twins like it's no big deal at all. I guess you grow into it eventually.

I don't know that I handle twins like it is no big deal all the time. It was very hard in the beginning so I think everything since has seemed easier because of that. I have one baby that is what some would call an 'easy' baby and the other is pretty easygoing--maybe a medium need baby.

I wanted and still want to cloth diaper, but my husband is totally against it. I work full time and he's the stay at home dad now, so maybe I will try partial cloth diapering in the summer when I have my summer vacation.

Kristi

We've got walkers too! Haneul takes about 5 steps tops and Iseul can do about 7 or 8.

I do some signing with the babies. Our babysitters sign with them quite a bit because they have two deaf sisters, so they are the real experts. The girls do signs for milk, bath, please, and mine. I also want to teach them them the signs for potty, etc.

Speaking of the potty, is anyone trying elimination communication? Haneul and Iseul are very interested in the potty and I try both of them on their potty chair when I do diaper changes. Both have peed on their little potty several times. Every time I say 'potty' they blow raspberries--it's pretty funny. I didn't teach them that, they just decided on it. I say pssss or shhhhh when they are on the potty to cue them to pee.

My Korean mother in law is the one who turned me on to elimination communication. In Korea in the days of cloth diapers, it was just the way things were done. She told us to start at 3 or 4 months, but we started at 10 months. I'll do more with it when I'm on summer vacation and I'm home and also I think it will be a lot easier with fewer layers of clothes.

Kristi

I also had terrible swelling after the C-section for my twins. I was swollen during pregnancy, but it was really horrible afterward. 15-20 pounds worth of swelling as I recall...

One tea I had said that it helped with swelling. I think it was marketed by Yogi teas. It was dandelion or dandelion root than took the swelling down. If you have a local health store or whole foods, ask one of the employees because it did help some as did keeping my feet elevated.

Breastfeeding also makes you retain water. So even though I am almost 11 months post-partum now, I still wake up some nights and find that I am sweaty, but nowhere near as sweaty as when I was getting rid of all of that water they had pumped me full of from the C-Section.

Kristi

I haven't been here in a few days and it was great to catch up and read everyone's posts.

Kristi and Russian Girl - Thank you so much for the feedback on breastfeeding. Definitely helped put me at ease. I am signed up for a breastfeeding class, but it is not for a month or two. As for pumping, I do have a condusive work environment. I am a therapist and can just go into my office, shut the door and not be disturbed. How often do people pump during the day? I am thinking I can try to allow for some "pumping" time when I set my schedule (luckily, I have a lot of control over when I see clients and such).

b_weeks - Congrats and welcome to the thread

Stina and Lyuba - Your babies are ADORABLE!!!! And Stina, I watched the video and have to say, I LOVE the bedding. Very cute

Ace - CONGRATS! He is precious, looking forward to reading more details.

I pump twice a day. You should pump every 3 to 4 hours, depending on how old your little one is when you go back to work. I couldn't manage to pump every three hours because I am a teacher and had to work it in around my classes and breaks, but every 4 or 4.5 hours has worked for me.

How old will your little one be when you go back to work? My babies were 5 months old when I went back to work, so my milk supply was well established. If your baby is less than 3 months old when you go back to work, you may want to rent a hospital grade pump rather than using your own (electric) pump. There are some great double electric pumps out there now (like the Medela Pump in Style and the Ameda Purely Yours), but a rental pump has an even better motor and it is important to use the best pump you can when you are establishing milk supply. When your baby is 4 or 5 months old, you should be able to use an electric pump of your own.

Kristi

I just had to add my comment that Kavi is adorable. I also love his name!

Mason is precious as well.

Babies are just the best. They are all so sweet and beautiful, but there are definitely some exceptional ones here!

Kristi

Kristi, Russian girl,

Thank you again. I do have Pump in style Advanced. I hope things will work out better for me. Right now my milk isn't enough for him, after nursing he cries and cries and it breaks my heart. But I still nurse, and then pump and supplement.

I love the idea about hands-free pumping! Thank you again.

Have you talked to a lactation consultant or a La Leche League leader in your area? It would probably help to have a person come and observe you in person and help you figure things out that way. You might also ask a lactation consultant if she thinks that a hospital grade pump like the Symphony would work better at establishing milk supply. Even though a Pump in Style Advanced is a good pump, I still think the Symphony would be even better for you right now.

I just really feel for you. I went through a very similar time with my babies where I would nurse and nurse and nurse and they would cry for more. I was exacerbating my problem by the way I was supplementing. A lactation consultant could also advise you as to how to supplement so you won't negatively affect your supply.

Russian girl is right about hands free pumping. Here is a link to the hands free pumping bra that I have. I love it! http://store.babycenter.com/product/hands-...true&page=1

Kristi

Kristi, I agree!!!

To those who are/have breastfed:

What are your thoughts on giving the baby both breastmilk and formula? My initial thought is that I would like to try to solely use breastmilk for the first 6 months or so, but I am wondering if that is realistic. It seems I have talked to many mothers recently who began introducing formula as well because they found it easier to be back at work or take the baby in public and give formula.

YES! It is very realistic!!!! You can definitely do it if you produce enough milk!

I may sound like some crazy breastfeeding lady, but I am not. I see nothing wrong with using formula. If it is easier for you, then it is your decision.

Please visit the LLL and Kellymom forums (I posted the links in my previous posts). Many women there exclusively breastfeed/pump for 6 months+ Many of them are working moms.

I guess it is easy for me, since I am a SAHM (stay at home mom), but if you have to work, you can still do it! Good luck!

You can exclusively pump and not formula feed your babies, even after you go back to work. I went back to work when my twins were 5 months old and I have been pumping for them since that time, and plan to continue pumping for them until they wean. I work full time as a high school teacher.

When my twins were very young, I was one of those mothers who gave their babies formula when we went in public because I found it to be easier (I also had a rough start to breastfeeding with one of my daughters who had been in the NICU). Around the time that my twins were 8 weeks old I decided to stop doing this because it was my goal to exclusively breastfeed my babies (I was motivated by both cost and health reasons). Also, formula feeding was affecting my supply. What had seemed like it was making my life easier was actually making it more difficult. I had to work hard to get my supply back up after supplementing with formula, but it was absolutely worth it. I got to the point where I could breastfeed both of my babies and make them happy at the same time--I was never able to easily bottle feed them together and even when I tried, it caused a lot of tears and felt very impersonal because I couldn't hold them both in my arms and feed them.

I know that you are not having twins, but I just want to offer my story up so that it might be a source of inspiration for some. I was not very knowledgeable about breastfeeding before I had my babies, but I did know that I wanted to breastfeed. I ended up supplementing with formula because I had a baby who was tube-fed formula in the NICU and was told that my other twin needed a formula supplement because she lost too much weight while we were in the hospital. Had I been more educated, I truly believe I would have had an easier start to breastfeeding and probably would never have experienced the supply problems that came about from supplementing with formula.

In the short run it can seem that supplementing with formula is easier, but in the long run it really isn't. I was not comfortable nursing in public at first, but I eventually decided that I wasn't going to stay cooped up in my house and I wasn't going to drag around bottles and formula or expressed milk for two. I found places where I could nurse in public comfortably and went there a lot. These days a lot of malls have nursing mother areas and you can use blankets or nursing shawls to help you be more discreet when a nursing room isn't available.

It is unfortunate but true that women might find it hard to pump milk for their babies when they go back to work. Some jobs aren't supportive, but women do have the right to have a comfortable place to pump and to be provided time to do so. In addition, people in public spaces can be offended by the sight of a nursing woman.

I have been very lucky to have a supportive working environment and I have never had an issue with someone being offended when I nursed in public. On the contrary, people have been very supportive.

The websites that Russian Girl has directed you to are great. Another great resource is 'The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding' which is put out by La Leche League. I checked it out from my local library after I had my babies and I wished so much that I had read it before I had given birth.

Some people think that La Leche League is a militant breastfeeding group, but I have not found them to be that way at all. All of the members I have come in contact with have been extremely supportive and non judgmental and I also find that the literature they put out is not preachy or over the top.

Best of luck with the remainder of your pregnancy. If you have an opportunity to take a breastfeeding class, I would jump at the chance. I was too cheap to spend the money on a class, and it ended up costing me in other ways, but as they say, all's well that ends well and I have had a great breastfeeding relationship with my babies. I just can't say enough good about how it has saved my time, sanity, and makes me feel proud of mothering my children.

Kristi

The Pump in Style is a good pump for maintaining a well established milk supply, but is not strong enough for someone who is trying to build up milk supply.

I would suggest that you rent a Medela Symphony or Medela Classic or other hospital grade pump because they will be better at helping you to establish a good milk supply. I know that it can seem pricey, especially after paying for a Pump in Style, but it is worth it to be able to pump more quickly and spend time with your little one. Also, you won't have to rent it for the duration of the time you are breastfeeding. You can probably just rent it for a month or so.

Fenugreek is good to take for increasing milk supply. More Milk Plus (which contains fenugreek) is said to be good too.

The best thing for establishing a good supply is your baby though, so keep working with your baby at the breast. My poor nurser suddenly started nursing well around 6 weeks, so it may just take him a little longer. Just keep in mind that sometimes bottles can make things more difficult because babies get milk immediately rather than having to wait for let down like they do at the breast.

That being said, one of my twins was mostly bottle fed for 6 weeks and then she became a great nurser. I went from having supply problems for my twins to having more than enough milk for both. What helped me more than any pump or herbal remedy was just sitting with my babies and nursing on demand, even though it was every hour or 1.5 hours during the day sometimes. Frequent, short nursing sessions are the best to build up your supply.

Best of luck and congratulations on your sweet baby boy!

Kristi

I haven't had much problems with my Playtex sippy cups. The only real problems I had were that my daughter would chew the tops off the Stage 1 cups and then they would leak and with the Stage 2, one day, I hadn't screwed it on tight enough and she taught herself how to unscrew things. I have been mostly satisfied though. Both the problems were kind of my own creation.

Unfortunately I can't give any advice about the bottle. I just threw it in the trash at about 13 or 14 months and that was the end of it.

You might try doing a google search 'weaning from bottle to cup'. Here is one page I came up with: http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_wenbotcu_pep.htm

I think you just have to keep offering the cup. I use diluted juice as an incentive to use to cup right now. I give them the cups in the bath sometimes so they can get used to it and I don't have to worry about it making a mess.

Kristi

That is so scary. I'm so glad I didn't hear that story before I had my twins.