Preparing for #2

At 29 weeks we are pretty much set and ready for our son to arrive. Instead of setting up a nursery we set up nursing stations. The main one is upstairs in our bed room and has my nice new pump along with a boppy pillow, breast pads, a small book shelf, and the most important part a comfy rocking chair with foot rest. The second station is downstairs on the couch and has a nursing pillow and foot stool (I am short, but I still like me feet to touch the floor). Nursing foot stools are great for newborn nursing time because the baby is so small and you are so tired it's nice to have a leg up.
Since I only have 6-8 weeks off this time I am already planning my milk build up. I've decided we'll try building the supply during the day while I nurse instead of at night. This may change if my toddler decides she needs a little mama's milk too, but we'll hit that hurdle when and if it arrives. We've stocked up on breast milk storage bags too, we found them supper cheap at the commissary of all places so every time my husband goes shopping he's on orders to pick up a pack or two.
Next I got a new, bigger sling because to be honest I've gain a lot of poundage and needed a bigger one. This one is going in my hospital bag because I intend to be up and walking ASAP and want to keep my son close. My grandma asked how she could help and I told her I really wanted a couple new nursing tops (the kind that open in the middle right below the breast) so she got me two tops and a night gown (all also going in the hospital bag).
I've read up on proper latch (never hurts to refresh your mind) and kind of role play how our first few moments will go as I drift off to sleep. Sounds very silly, but it's really that important to me so we have two birth plans. One for a natural birth and one incase of a c-section because we have marginal placenta previa right now that hasn't corrected itself. Either way we are prepared.
I feel a lot more confident this time around, I think proper planning does make a difference.

Here's a low down of the "to do" nursing list for before baby comes:
1. Nursing station set up with pump, pillow, comfy chair, stool, books/toys for older kids, milk bags, breast pads, snacks/drinks for you (some things you bring out as you need them after baby gets here)
2. Nursing tops, bras - I would recommend having at least three different tops (I prefer the mid-opening as opposed to the lift your shirt all the way up opening) and of course nursing bras
3. Breast pads - the wool ones are best, but if you aren't sure get a sample of a few and try them all then invest in the ones you like best. For disposable ones I prefer the Lanolin brand. I've also tried cotton reusable ones that breath well, but leak easily so those are for times when I am just as home and when my supply settles and I know I won't be leaking all over the place. The cottons ones are a plus to the disposable because they are cooler.
4. Books - get a couple good books to have around the first six weeks, you can get them pretty cheap used if you shop around online. I prefer the Dr. Sears book The Breastfeeding Book, it's easy to read and use as a reference. Read at least one before the baby gets here, I read the La Leche League one this time and Adventures in Tandem Nursing.
5. Get some breastfeeding buddies or go to La Leche League. I'm not the best as making friends and it seems like no one is into talking about breastfeeding except with the closest of friends so I go to La Leche league. I've also decided that's a must for after our son gets here, at least one meeting to remind me I'm not the only one.

anniversary gifts

My husband and my anniversary is this month and my husband has already spoiled me rotten. For my anniversary he got me a freezer and these lovely wool breast pads (http://www.danishwool.com/products/item/nursing_pads.html). I have to chuckle when I think of these gifts (after I smile warmly and want to hug him again) because they are not your run of the mill anniversary gifts. They are however things I have been dreaming of ever since I became a nursing mom. Now that we are growing #2 I've been talking about them pretty much nonstop since conception so he got them for me and I am so excited to use them and not just wear the pads or fill of the freezer with frozen food, I CANNOT wait till that freezer is busting at the seems with frozen breast milk for my little nursling and those pads are well worn with use.

To top it off tonight I am going back to La Leche League for my first meeting during this pregnancy and I totally plan on joining this group again. We are definitely well on our way to a great nursing start and I am very excited. If only I had known all this stuff before our daughter was born, but that relationship ended well so it's all good.

Thrush update-
PS: The thrush seems to have gone the way of my daughter's nursing...adios for now. The trick that seemed to work best was a breath of fresh air...seriously go braless at night and it dries that pesky yeast right up. (My doctor said do that first and then if that doesn't work try microwaving my bras-unless they have metal clips, I laughed but seriously look it up, it's online as a way to kill yeast...hehe)

Thrush...again!?!

Since we've stopped nursing I thought for sure this would be the end of my thrush woes. Whoa was I wrong...hehe

I've been doing some research and I believe I have found the reason why I can't get this thrush to vanish for good. We wash our clothes in cold water (save energy...be green) anyways, that does not kill the yeast that cause thrush, they say you can freeze your milk and still have thrush in it so I would pump an dump that milk when I was pumping with thrush.

The solution I have found (and will use with our next nursling if I heaven forbid get thrush again) is bleach and hot water on all my bras and undershirts (I wear one under my uniform because uniforms are VERY itchy). I was also amazed to find out that Nystain doesn't work for everyone so on my next visit with my midwife I will be asking for something else to help. I've heard there are a few prescription remedies out there so we'll see which one she gives me.

So this will be my blog experiment; what remedy completely rids me of thrush before next April. I'll keep track of all we do and let you know what works best. For now if you have thrush woes as I do, try using warm water and bleach on all your bras when you put them through the wash and keep that up until your symptoms go away (to be sure you don't let any of that yeast live!).

We're done

We'll after 2 years, 9 months, 1 week, and 2 days we are finally officially done nursing. At least it seems that my daughter has weaned herself. For the past couple of days she has only nurse 1 or two times and then yesterday none at all even though I offered (flashing the good and everything). My daughter just said put juice away, so I did. Adventures in Tandem Nursing says to expect this, especially with the changes the milk goes through so I was not surprised, but I was a little sad at first.
Hey though, we made it longer than most and self-weaned. Two big accomplishments!

It's now time to relax until our baby comes (early April). We've already decided we'll let our daughter nurse again when the baby gets here to if she decides to. Just incase I'm finishing up Adentures in Tandem Nursing so I'll know what to expect and we'll see where this new adventure takes us. It's will be strange not nursing for a few months, I've always had a little one hanging off me multiple times a day, now my breasts belong to me again and it's a weird feeling but also very nice not to have to worry about that. Perhaps I should invest in some regular bras (after almost three years all I own is nursing bras...why buy anything else?).

I'll still be recording my nursing with our next baby so stay tunned, I want to start with different changes and things that happen so you can read from the begining what nursing is really like.

Tandem Nursing...a MUST read

Since I'm new at pregnant nursing I decided it might be good to read up on the subject. My Bradley teacher (http://www.bradleybirth.com/) let me borrow this book from her. So far is it right on and awesome. I'm learning a lot, especially that there are tons of other moms who tandem nurse while pregnant and beyond. There are different things that are very interesting too such as; right now my milk is salty tasting to Emily which is why she hasn't been nursing as much. The books gives you a heads up too; in our third trimester if Emily doesn't mind the sour tasting colostrum she'll probably get the runs pretty good because colostrum is a natural laxative (I would aurgue the most natural of all of them...hehe). It's a fun, fact filled read that has the cutest cartoons that hit right on with different issues we've run into. My favorite so far is a toddler sitting on her mom's lap hitting her mom's chest with the caption, "Can we turn of the volume please?". I intend to invest in this one eventually and suggest any mom even considering the idea read this first, at the very least it has good ideas for weaning and lists pros and cons for both options so you can decide what's best for you.

Pregnant nursing

Today we are officially 12 weeks pregnant...yay! I thought I had experienced all the nursing difficulties, but being pregnant and nursing has introduced some new challenges to our nursing relationship. One, I am exhausted...well, not so much now, but at first I was exhausted and nursing once a night just robbed that sleep I so desperately craved. Two, I am very hormonal and my poor husband and daughter now get the brunt of that. Settling an upset two year old just isn't as easy when your patience got up and left the building months ago.

All in all, nursing while pregnant isn't bad. In fact it has actually started helping me sleep a little more and gives me some one-on-one time while my daughter while just sitting (more like laying) there doing nothing but looking at her and tell her how wonderful she is and how much I love her. Plus there is the added benefit of a little extra time with her. My husband and I very much want her to be a part of the pregnancy (she is after all a member of the family too) so she comes to all our prenatal appointments and we are even taking a private birth class (Bradley method childbirth) so she can come and be involved...although she plays more than she pays attention to the teacher. So anyways all in all, I completely recommend breastfeeding while pregnant, but be prepared for new challenges and remember sometimes it's ok to distract your toddler or offer a cup of apple juice instead when you are just so exhausted the thought of making even a little milk drains what energy your growing baby didn't already suck away...hehe

Here's the best information I've found on breastfeeding while pregnant http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/pr2.asp (let's face it, there isn't really that much out there). If you come upon a time when you are facing a pregnancy and still nursing at least give it the first trimester, now that we're onto our 12th week my energy and most of my appetite has returned so I'm glad I stuck it out. Although I still find myself limiting my night nursing now, for the emotional well being of the entire family...a tired & hormonal mom is not usually a happy mom...hehe

I just Want to Nurse All Night...

I saw this little poem in a reader's note to Mothering Magazine (http://www.mothering.com/) one of my favorite magazines and really other than the La Leche League one the only parenting magazine I take serriously.

Iene Miene Minie Moe
I want the one with the best flow
I don't care, left or right
I just want to nurse all night!

This made me chuckle because just a few days earlier we were dealing with this in real life (which at the time was NOT funny).

Anyways, our daughter uses a pacifier (gasp...I know!) and has since she started day care, something I sincerely regret. This Monday we tried to take it away cold turkey and it completely backfired on us. I think she just couldn't deal with loosing it completely, she needed sometime to say goodbye and part with her friend on her own terms. Monday night after we took it away it wasn't too bad, but Tuesday and Wednesday I became the pacifier back-up. Now there was a time when she was about 3-9 months old that nursing to sleep was the only way I could get to sleep too, those wonderful hormones were running through my blood and it was so relaxing. Now that she is almost 3 years old her suck is much stronger and more than enough to keep me up for as long as she is nursing, which for two days in a row was pretty much ALL NIGHT LOOOOONG. Final in the wee hours of Wednesday morning I told my husband I couldn't do it any more, we needed to purchase a new pacifier and find a more gentle approach to weaning her off it. What a difference that made. She doesn't use it at all during the day and will take a nap without it, but after dinner she still requests it and we allow that (no pacifier until after dinner is the rule) and then about bed time she asks to nurse once and then falls asleep without it. I'm pleased with this progress and can see a time soon when she will be giving it up altogether, but we know it has to be on more of her own timeline. Dr. Sears talks about how to tell if a change is too much for a toddler and she was showing all the symptoms; clingy, whinny, iritable, just a very unhappy child; so we knew something needed to give and we feel it's important to acknowledge our daughters needs so we comprimised.

I think the lesson we both had to be reminded of is that she has her needs too and while they are different from ours (and we may not feel they are important) they are VERY important to her and we need to recognize those needs and work to accomidate them when it's reasonable.

One change we have made successfully is moving her to her own bed. We followed the Dr. Sears baby sleep book very closely and this transition has been a good one, she actually prefers her own bed now (except for when she needs a night time nurse).

Tips for easy change:
- Start slow - we first talked about getting her a "big girl bed" then we went out and bought one with her, she got to try it out and everything
- Expect two steps forward and one back - the first week it was hard for us all to sleep, we missed our daughter in our bed and she missed our bed, so we tried different tactics - laying with her in her bed, letting her fall asleep in our bed and then moving her
- Listen to your child - we recognized her need and desire to be close to us and would take breaks from trying the new bed when she seemed to need it, now she wants her own bed and sleeps much better in it
- Be patient - change takes time for everyone, eventually things will work out, remember there aren't any students in college sucking on pacifiers, nursing, sleeping in their parents bed, or still wearing diapers (at least eventually you can use peer pressure if nothing else works...hehe)