Our Little Worm: September 2012

feeding time while dad golfs

your pouty face is even cute

little red riding hood

I don’t really consider it a problem, but I thought it’d be worth mentioning and I wonder how many exclusively breastfeeding women had/have the same issue.

feeding time

Just recently I discovered that I cannot leave Alexandra with anyone for any extended period of time ( 2 or more hours). I’ve had couple outings where I was away for 3 hours and both times she SCREAMED without any consolation until I got home (that’s considering she never screams or really cries for longer than the second it takes us to give her what she needs). After the initial feeding in the first hour or two, she’d refuse any more food and just scream and scream and scream. I left her twice with my mom and my husband with plenty of pumped milk and she wouldn’t have it when she realized that mommy wasn’t going to be there for a while. I thought the first time was a fluke, but this second & third time was just as hard on Alex. Let’s just say, I am not leaving her alone ever again until she’s ok with that emotionally ( probably until her main food source isn’t the boob), because the stress that I caused her by being gone couple times just isn’t worth it.
Here’s what I am wondering, for those of you who breastfed/breastfeed exclusively and had to send your babies to day care or leave them with family members/babysitter, are they completely fine being left with someone else Or is it just one of those things: “You do what you have to do”?

Before having you, i never gave breastfeeding much thought.
I figured i would do it for the first few weeks and be done. But 5 1/2 months later..... im still at it and going strong!

I know its not that easy for other moms since work, other kids, no time, not enought milk, and many more factors prevent them from breastfeeding.
I feel extremely blessed with being able to work from home and have my husband provide & take care of everthing else so i could be with you.

Also iv been lucky enough to be influenced by my parents and my in-laws on the importance of breastfeeding (which led me, to research it more).
After that, it was pretty clear to me what was right & i become a huge fan.

So my advice to currently pregnant women, based on my own experience and breastfeeding traps I’ve encountered, for what it’s worth:

DO NOT GIVE UP: it’s to easy to say “I’m done”, but please remember it’s for your baby and it WILL get better
IT WILL GET BETTER: most babies improve their sucking at 6-8 week and believe me it was like clockwork. 6 weeks came and it started getting MUCH better. If you can ONLY get through that time, I promise it’ll be SOOO MUCH BETTER.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE: Peer pressure is real, especially for some people. Do not listen to “well wishers” who tell you that you need to quit, or that you’re making it harder than it has to be. Any good friend will support you regardless of the choice they personally made, breastfeeding or formula. Find breastfeeding role-models!
EDUCATE YOURSELF: maybe it’s me, but reading breastfeeding books and online resources helped me so much. Helped me realize my baby’s behavior was normal, helped me get rid of my fears. And because the fears and doubts are ongoing, I literally had to re-read things multiple times over the span of months so to convince myself everything was ok.
USE GOOD PRODUCTS: My life was made a lot easier by using certain things that helped me get through the first 8 weeks (and some continue helping me).
DON’T GIVE UP: I know I am repeating myself, but it’s THAT important! 60% of women breastfeed less than 3 months ( out of the recommended 6 months) and I can TOTALLY see why. Until I went through it, I didn’t understand why women would take the “easy” way out. But breastfeeding is THAT HARD and THAT FINICKY and sometimes they don’t have a choice, which brings me to the next advice…
DO NOT SUPPLEMENT UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO : Not because formula is bad, but because by supplementing you’re sabotaging your supply (main reason most women give up breastfeeding). It’s so easy to get your supply out of wack and then you’ll truly not have enough milk for your baby.
REMEMBER: DIAPER COUNT AND WEIGHT: Those are the only 2 indications of milk supply and whether your baby is getting enough.
NOT TO MENTION: It burns about 500-600 calories a day!!!! soo anyone needing to lose some baby weight (breastfeeding is key!) Im still losing weight and i actually had to start drinking protein drinks in between meals so i could keep up! ( it was great losing my baby weight so quickly, but now im trying to put little bit back on, since i weight less now then pre baby, .... looking to skinny and boy like is not attractive either!! ) yep us women are never satisfied!

This spreadsheet might help you understand the difference Breast-milk VS Formula
~ source links at the end of the blog

NUTRIENT FACTOR	BREAST MILK CONTAINS	FORMULA CONTAINS	COMMENT
Fats	Rich in brain-building omega 3s, namely DHA and AA -Automatically adjusts to infant's needs; levels decline as baby gets older -Rich in cholesterol -Nearly completely absorbed -Contains fat-digesting enzyme, lipase	-No DHA -Doesn't adjust to infant's needs -No cholesterol -Not completely absorbed -No lipase	Fat is the most important nutrient in breastmilk; the absence of cholesterol and DHA, vital nutrients for growing brains and bodies, may predispose a child to adult heart and central nervous system diseases. Leftover, unabsorbed fat accounts for unpleasant smelling stools in formula-fed babies.
Protein	-Soft, easily-digestible whey -More completely absorbed; higher in the milk of mothers who deliver preterm -Lactoferrin for intestinal health -Lysozyme, an antimicrobial -Rich in brain-and-body- building protein components -Rich in growth factors -Contains sleep-inducing proteins	-Harder-to-digest casein curds -Not completely absorbed, more waste, harder on kidneys -No lactoferrin, or only a trace -No lysozyme -Deficient or low in some brain-and body-building proteins -Deficient in growth factors -Does not contain as many sleep-inducing proteins.	Infants aren't allergic to human milk protein.
Carbohdrates	-Rich in lactose -Rich in oligosaccharides, which promote intestinal health	-No lactose in some formulas -Deficient in oligosaccharides	Lactose is considered an important carbohydrate for brain development. Studies show the level of lactose in the milk of a species correlates with the size of the brain of that species.
Immune Boosters	-Rich in living white blood cells, millions per feeding -Rich in immunoglobulins	-No live white blood cells-or any other cells. Dead food has less immunological benefit. -Few immunoglobulins and most are the wrong kind	When mother is exposed to a germ, she makes antibodies to that germ and gives these antibodies to her infant via her milk.
Vitamins and Minerals	-Better absorbed, especially iron, zinc, and calcium -Iron is 50 to 75 percent absorbed. -Contains more selenium (an antioxidant)	-Not absorbed as well -Iron is 5 to 10 percent absorbed -Contains less selenium (an antioxidant)	Vitamins and minerals in breast milk enjoy a higher bioavailability-that is, a greater percentage is absorbed. To compensate, more is added to formula, which makes it harder to digest.
Enzymes and Hormones	-Rich in digestive enzymes, such as lipase and amylase -Rich in many hormones: thyroid, prolactin, oxytocin, and more than fifteen others -Varies with mother's diet	-Processing kills digestive enzymes -Processing kills hormones, which are not human to begin with -Always tastes the same	Digestive enzymes promote intestinal health. Hormones contribute to the overall biochemical balance and well- being of baby. By taking on the flavor of mother's diet, breastmilk shapes the tastes of the child to family foods.
Cost	-Around $600 a year in extra food for mother	-Around $1,200 a year -Up to $2,500 a year for hypoallergenic formulas -Cost for bottles and other supplies -Lost income when baby is ill

first time in a swing

after 6am feeding we both past out,as your dad woke us up taking this pic

hush hush mamma u tell me

lips!!!!

sitting up already

boat time

morning pics i sent to ur dad, while hes at work

maybe this was us in our past lives ( since im pretty sure i was a feline at some point)

Here are some great sources iv found to help me:

http://www.askdrsears.com

http://kellymom.com/

my vampire baby hates the sun in her fac

This is getting serious! You are one amazing curious wonderful determined hilarious fun bundle of energy! I don’t know for how long I’ll continue repeating that it just doesn’t seem like you’ve been here for mere 5 months and yet I can’t believe how much you have grown in such little time.
You’re getting more and more fun to be around. Everything makes you laugh, you’re interested in everything, you want to touch everything, you want to move, move, move. I just love you so much more with each and every day. You are a true joy to us!

I’ve been searching for ways to talk to you and tell you the story of how you grew up and nothing I come up with seems significant or important enough. While this blog is a mix of my journey to parenthood, our life events and discoveries, I still feel there’s something missing. Something that is coming from deep within my heart, that makes it so easy to write and express my feelings about being your mommy. And what I realized is that what’s missing is me talking directly to you, so that some day when I am not even there, you could read these words and know your mommy loved you and did everything to ensure the best life for you.
So I’d like to start Letters to Alex, as a way of talking to you through time. Maybe you will be able to go back to these when you have children of your own, when you’d be able to relate better.

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