Sleep Well Stella Bean

Previously before going into the hospital to be induced Michael and I set up the bassinet in our room. A lovely co-sleeper style by ArmsReach http://www.armsreach.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_1&products_id=19 we got from a group of college friends in October, and she has slept in it every night since we've brought her home. It is honestly the one thing I have used on a daily bases and that I’m so happy about getting and would totally recommend to anyone about to have a baby.

We have toyed with the idea of the crib, putting her down for naps on the weekend. There were a few talks about moving her to her room for night time here and there. Of course I read tons of articles, blogs, and books. Talked to several reliable mommies who had good opinions on sleeping arrangements. Michael thought it would help us get more sleep, ironically he’s able to sleep through anything and isn’t the one missing sleep. Other mom’s would say they weren’t able to keep their baby in there room long at all, others said their seven month old was still sleeping with them. So it was an up and down world and I realized I had to do what was best for me, Michael, but most of all Stella.

This was one thing that was truly personal and neither I nor Stella could be rushed into.

So here we are tonight, Feb 26, 2011 and I’ve put Stella to sleep in her crib for the first time for night time. Its bitter sweet, but I think she is more ready for it than anyone and that’s what makes the situation more comforting than anything. My baby girl, though young, is growing up; becoming independent. It makes me happy to think she’s starting to develop into this littler person, one that can be on her own. It’s melancholy to know that we are no longer attached, or need to be next to each other all the time.

But that’s life. My baby will grow up but hopefully we won’t grow apart.

Sleep well Stella Bean, sleep well.

Lazy Breastfeeder...

Breastfeeding to me was one of those things I didn’t think much about. I was going to do it, I figured it was nature’s way of providing for the baby so it would work just fine. Thankfully for me it did just that. Day one of Stella’s life she was latching right on, with the help of a nipple shield, and we were making milk. I stayed in the hospital long enough with all my blood pressure problems; I was making more than enough for her by the time we left.

*Nipple Shield – my breast are rather large and with the engorgement of the milk my nipples stretched out so they weren't a good shape for her to latch on to. The shield basically suction cupped over my nipple to form a shape Stella could suck. http://www.amazon.com/Medela-Contact-Nipple-Shield-2820mm-2e-29/dp/B000YQMWLU I recommend them for anyone who might have latching on difficulties.

With my ample supply of milk and only getting six weeks of maternity leave you think I would have taken advantage of it and pumped like crazy. Only I didn’t. The first time I pumped I cried. It seemed weird to have some machine sucking on me when it could be my own daughter. It wasn’t a bonding experience and it wasn’t a loving nurturing thing to pump. So I put it away and didn’t think much about it.

A few doctor visits, pediatrician visits, and collaborations with other moms later I realized what a gift I had in this supply. So I started the pumping. I was getting about 4oz from each breast at a time. The only thing I was only pumping about once a day, thinking that would be enough.

The first week I went back to work and Stella stayed home with my mom I thought we were in business. I was still pumping about 9-10 oz total through the day and that’s about how much she was eating. The second week was just the same; however, we started to see how quickly the frozen milk was being used up and by the end of the week we didn’t have much left. So Michael and I made the decision to start supplementing with formula.
*Supplementing means to use formula when breast milk can’t be used, but to focus on breast feeding as the primary source of food.

The formula made it an easy way for me to turn lazy. I had the supply there of formula and didn’t need to maintain the milk, because I knew we had made the decision to use both. But I didn’t like being lazy and I wanted to keep nursing. I would put Stella to the breast and started to realize she would hardly get anything. Then I couldn’t remember the last time I had pumped. I was getting lazy at the expense of my own daughter.

So this week I’m back on the wagon. I’ve been nursing when she’s hungry, though she doesn’t get much and still needs a bottle afterwards, we are getting there. I pumped today at work and realize the more I nurse, pump, drink water, and eat nutritious foods, the more milk I will make. Also Michael is so supportive of breastfeeding and that makes a world of differeance and is very encouraging.

I love breastfeeding and would recommend it to everyone having a baby. It’s such a great experience, such and amazing joy to get that close to your baby, to let you body do what nature has intended it to do. I’m a big supporter and truly believe in the benefits of it. Wish me luck, my goal is to keep breastfeeding through the school year and exclusively through the summer!

CIO

I hate acronyms, I always have. I especially hate this one. I quickly realized between all the baby blogs and websites that acronyms are a common thing among this community. I would spend hours Googling them only to find out DH meant “dear husband” and other stupid stuff people could just as easily type out then come up with an acronym for.


So when I first starting researching ways to help Stella “self sooth” so she can learn to fall asleep on her own, CIO was something I came across. CIO stands for cry it out. Again no need to shorten it, not even for a text message in my opinion, but nonetheless they did. Michael and I both agreed at this young of an age Stella wasn't ready for many self-soothing methods, especially CIO. . .

We’ve enrolled Stella in a daycare, I won’t disclose which one as I’m about to bash on it rather hardcore. And I guess they really shouldn’t take it personally, I would bash on any place we take her because it’s impossible to find quality care up to my standards.
The first week Stella only attended two days as the rest were snow days. We both got the pleasure of sleeping in and snuggling. So this week was her first full week there. (Disclaimer: this week in general was a rough week. She had a cold, got her first round of shots, and developed a fever, so anything on top of that was going to cause me to breakdown).

Wednesday was the roughest night of the week. Her fever was highest, she was really stuffy, and she seemed to be going hoarse. Michael dropped her off on Thursday morning and the infant teacher mentioned that she sounded hoarse the previous day. Michael agreed and told her we thought it was because she was sick. My baby was still hoarse the next night, again still thinking it was the cold.

Friday night I picked her up and the teacher in the infant room was from another room, subbing, but she was young and talked a lot. (A good thing for a mother looking for information other people might not tell you.) I saw Stella was sleeping in the crib and asked how they were able to get her in there (as we still haven’t put her in the crib at our house, and the last I heard from daycare she was “spoiled” and would only sleep if someone held her or was in the bouncer). Well come to find out they’ve been leaving her in the crib and letting her “cry it out” until she falls asleep.

Now will someone please tell me how long a baby has to cry to make their voice hoarse and why in the hell did they let her cry that long. Momma ain’t happy.

CIO-WTF!

Advice from the best Momma I know (mine)

As I'm discovering how to be a mom myself who better to get advice from, than my own mother, personally I think she did a kick-ass job of raising her own children! And she's always full of it (advice that is :-) So when I received this information from her recently I thought it was the BEST piece of advice I've received so far and something I wanted to share with all those mommies and mommies-to-be out there...

To being a mommy—here’s something you might be figuring out—what Stella does one week most likely will be different the next week. So it would be more correct of you to say, “Stella has slept through the night the past 3 nights in a row” rather than that it is how she does it forever and always. You’ll be saying “Stella is sleeping in her crib now” when she in fact she decides she doesn’t like it at all for the next week after that. Same thing with solid food—likes it one day, doesn’t like it the next. Likes the swing, doesn’t like the swing. Has a few good days at the daycare, then she doesn’t. So it goes.

You’re good to accept how she is in this moment and go with it. And that’s pretty much the best tip I can give you as a mother. One day you’re best buds with your child, the next day, she’s a pre-teen and driving you ever-loving nuts. But—you never stop loving her. No matter how much you argue over whether or not she should empty the dishwasher. That’s the magic of mothering and children. :-)

Clearing my Mommy Karma

I've told people for some time now that Stella sleeps through the night and the truth of the matter is she did, she just doesn't now. It was hard for me to realize this, because when she was tiny she was sleeping through the night, like nine hours a time. So when she started getting up in the middle of the night, recently, I thought it was just a fluke. Michael and I would take turns rocking her, stuffing the paci back in her mouth, she would get frustrated, I would too, Michael didn't know what to think, then I would reluctantly give her a bottle, thinking she really didn't need one, because she use to not...

So her schedule has changed and my mommy karma/ego, whatever you want to call it, got a bruise. But once I realized she's not ready to sleep through the night now, we have had much easier restful nights.

She goes to sleep every night between 7:30-8:30, such a good baby and loves her bedtime routine. She will wake up at 1ish for a snack, and then again at 4ish for another snake. Like I said now that I've accepted this, it's a lot easier, for everyone.

I'm breastfeeding through the night, because it's easier and its sort of a fun time to bond with her, quite, peaceful, and Michael's not hovering over me asking what he can do (love him). We wake her up about 6:45, change her, and feed her, she's down for another nap in about an hour if it's the weekend, and off to daycare the other days.

So there, my mommy karma is cleared: no my baby doesn't sleep through the night, but I'm OK with that!!

The Last Two Months...

have been a whirl wind, to say the least… As I sit here in my classroom, during my plan break, breast pumps hooked up, I realize how far I’ve come and how much I’ve already learned.

Stella’s birth (my labor) was what one would call “less than ideal” and after my five day stay in the hospital following the labor, due to my high blood pressure, things were getting a little unsettling. We finally made it home on the Monday afternoon following the birth. Blood pressure problems are a funny thing as you don’t realize there’s a problem and it’s frustrating to be “held against your will” in a hospital room because of something you don’t realize. Needless to say my emotions were ramped. I wanted to stay to get the right treatments, but I also wanted to go home and start my new life as a mommy. (They dared tried to release Stella before me too, don’t mess with a hormonal women people!!)

I only got six weeks off, including my Christmas break, no, it doesn’t sound right to me either, but I’m not in a position to argue. So my six week maternity leave started out late, as I was in the hospital for the first week. The second week I developed a breast infection in my left breast. It was hot, swollen, and red. I had a 102 fever and called my momma. She came up and took care of me and Stella, as it’s a whole new challenge to take care of a baby when you’re sick. Michael took a day off too, bless them both. I got antibiotics, and it took a full three days to feel like myself again.

The month of December was a fast one (not that any of them seem slow lately). My brother graduated from college, about an hour and a half road trip, Stella’s first, and she did wonderfully. The following weekend was Christmas. All our family came to us, which was nice and convenient. And the weekend after that was New Year’s and we hung out with Paul and Julie (fellow parent friends), watch the Hangover and toasted midnight with a small glass of campaign, while our babies all slept in the next room.

The rest of January was spent with me fretting about picking the right childcare for Stella when I returned to work, Michael and I having “strong” discussions about schedules, feeding, care, sleeping, me Googleing everything from ‘La Leche League’ to ‘normal poop smells’… and January 13 I was back to work.

My mom came up and stayed those two days and the following week with Stella. It was hard to leave her, though guiltfully I say it was nice to be back to the real world and have some adult interaction. The week my mom was here I got two snow days, so it wasn’t too bad. Michael spent the following week with Stella, which was good for him, nerve-racking for me. And here we are into the daycare week of it all. Which is going well as she’s only been there a day an a half due to the blizzard of 2011, makes it easier on me, but hard that next week will be the full week. It’s kind of like I got my full eight weeks with her after all.

That’s was a catch up in a nutshell, I will be posting more, at least for my sake.