Comments on: The People’s Choice.

By: Kristy

Kristy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:09:51 +0000

Just a hint on the night feedings…. expressed breastmilk is good at room temperature for at least 4 hours, so if Simone is still getting up pretty often at night, you could try just leaving your last pump session’s output in a bottle on your nightstand. When she wakes, it’s ready to go!

Pumped for twelve weeks here, used the nipple shield until he learned to latch full-time. (30 weeker) As long as you’re not using the preemie sized shield and your nipple isn’t getting squashed in it, you can keep on using it as long as you need to. Simone’s big enough now that that shouldn’t be a problem.

Good luck!

By: another julie

another julie — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:10:39 +0000

Egad…it’s that the Lindbergh baby?

I have to take myself out of this vote…I can’t vote against Simone, but I also can’t vote against that poor behbeh.

(So glad it worked out well. And in case no one has yet mentioned it — TRIPLE PASTE. My kids are prone to awful diaper rashes, especially in the wake of GI things.)

By: Brockgirl

Brockgirl — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:40:02 +0000

I am glad you are feeling better…pychologically anyway. Babies can be exhausting!!! I had the worse time taking my twins off the nipple shield! It was painful and took a long time…but we finally made it! The lactation nurse wanted me to use the tubes taped to my breasts, blah blah blah….but it just took time and patience. We did lots of pumped milk in between. I am happy to say they will be 2 in September and the nursing seems like it was never a problem…until I read other posts and start to remember all the challenges. Just keep telling yourself it will be okay…but if you want to do the bottle…either breast milk or formula…don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it. The biggest hurdle was to get your sweet baby home from the NICU…and you did it. No matter what…your baby doesn’t know if you are messing up or anything….just that you are the best mom and your hugs and kisses are the best. I get all kind of weird questions from people about my babies and the NICU and crap like that…I want to write a book and just have a bundle with me and tell them to read about it. Glad you are feeling better.

By: catherine

catherine — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:23:54 +0000

glad to hear things are looking up for both of you– in yoga i always think– what needs to stay tensed or I fall over– and what can give– and relax– and it sounds like you are figuring that out per feeding your little dumpling

By: Betsy

Betsy — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:43:02 +0000

Hey I’m glad you sound better this post. You’re doing REALLY well with everything that’s been thrown at you. I just wanted to say, the nipple shield gets a bad rap. My son is now almost 16 months and we’re still nursing a little bit, and it’s still with the shield! He never would wean off it. It’s annoying now because he wants to play with it and bite it, but it has allowed us to have a nursing relationship and I wouldn’t trade that experience. best wishes to you. Whatever you ultimately decide with nursing will be the right decision for you both.

By: Meg

Meg — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:04:48 +0000

Alexa – I have just quit pumping and have a crapload of domperidone left over. Would you like me to send it to you? Email me back if you do. x

By: Mary Helen

Mary Helen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:52:13 +0000

I’m so relieved that Simone is ok and you’re doing better, too. I agree with the folks who say breastfeeding is a beautiful thing — sometimes. It has its moments. But it’s hard.

With my first daughter, I had supply problems from the beginning and everyone who told me that it was simply an issue of supply and demand drove me further into the postpartum depression I had been ignoring. I stuck it out for a year, but until I finally started supplementing with formula and stopped stressing about it, it was much better.

With daughter number two, the supply has been better, but she had the screamy-arm-flailing thing early on and I honestly was convinced she hated me. Just the sight of my boob would make her scream. Does wonders for the self esteem. We’re past that now, but I’m now fighting my second round of mastitis. Now taking a ton of antibiotics, using the special cream my OB/GYN recommended and trying to ignore the fact that it feels like shards of glass rather than milk coming out when I nurse. Gah.

Thanks again for posting an update about Simone. A faithful reader, I was worried about you both.

By: punchanella

punchanella — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:33:14 +0000

how did A, D or F get any votes? I mean, even if you were completely blind, the answer is always “C”, right?

Gawd.

By: TheHMC

TheHMC — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:56:37 +0000

I am laughing at Laura(above me)… I thought the exact same thing.

That’s all I did this last time around. I was too tired to jump through all of the hoops that I did with my previous child(with the pumping and the nursing and the pumping and the pumping and the nursing and the pumping and the pumping and the… well, you get the point) so pump away I did, and baby to boob contact was cut short! I still felt like I was doing something for her even though she wasn’t hanging off of my nips 50 hours a day(and yes, when you’re as exhausted and sleep deprived as I’ve been for the past 4 years, it really does feel like there are 50 actual hours in a day. Non-productive hours, of course, in where zero loads of laundry are done, no one actually gets fed at any point during the day and somehow you still manage to never get a shower… but hey! 50 hours in a day! Rock on, right?)

I’ve once again forgotten my point.
Screw the nay-sayers.. Simone is allowed to win at least 16 consecutive weeks worth of baby cuteness.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:22:19 +0000

Poor old baby E. Nobody loves Baby E.

By the way, Domperidone sounds compellingly close to Dom Perignon. Or maybe that’s my sleep deprivation talking.