That's how much time I have spent pumping, cleaning and sterilizing pump parts and putting extra milk away in the last 6 months. Yes, that's right folks, in the last 6 months, I have spent a month and half-straight- JUST PUMPING. This does not include how many times I have washed cloth diapers, changed diapers, put Penelope to sleep, played with her, fed her, etc. This is the time I spend just being able to feed my child my breast milk.
I got to that number by stopping to think today, that not only is Penelope six months old, but I have been pumping for 6 months. I am very proud to say that I have made it this far. I am now apart of the 12% of mothers who breastfeed longer than 6 months.
Here's the breakdown of how I got my number. I was actually pretty conservative. Sometimes my pump sessions can be as long as an hour, especially in the morning. And in the first few months, I would "power pump" sessions in the early evening hours to simulate a "cluster feed" like a newborn would do.
month 1: 12 times a day for 25 minutes: 300 minutes (5 hours)=9,000 minutes (150 hours) a month
month 2:10 times a day for 30 minutes: 300 minutes (5 hours)=9,000 minutes (150 hours) a month
month 3: 8 times a day for 35 minutes: 280 minutes (4.6 hours)=8, 400 minutes (140 hours) a month
month 4: 6 times a day for 40 minutes: 240 minutes (4 hours)= 7,200 minutes (120 hours) a month
month 5: 4 times a day for 45 minutes: 180 minutes (3 hours)=5,400 minutes (90 hours) a month
month 6: 4 times a day for 45 minutes: 180 minutes (3 hours)=5,400 minutes (90 hours) a month
740 hours. 31 straight days of pumping. 44,400 minutes
all 6 months: 1.5 hours a day cleaning/sterilizing pump parts and putting milk away: 270 hours.
Total: 1,010 hours. 42 days.
Having a fat and healthy baby who has never had a drop of formula: PRICELESS!
oh and all that pumping yielded an average of 35 ounces a day, so total in the last 6 months, I made 6,300 ounces of milk!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Homemade Baby Legs Part 2
Here is Miss P modeling them. It's getting too hot around here to wear them for warmth, but the plan is pop them on her when she starts to crawl and protect her little knees from rug burn or bruises as she learns.
Homemade Baby Legs Part 1
On my week off from school, I got a bit crafty and made these super cute baby legs. I got the idea, where I get all my recent crafty ideas from, Prudent Baby
I did mine a tad differently, one, because I don't have a serger and two, because I couldn't figure out to sew the knit fabric without my stitches coming out like I was sewing drunk.
I ended up hand sewing the other three and they came out much cleaner. It took longer, but hand sewing ended up being an easy and relaxing thing to do while I pump.
I got knee high women's socks from Target for a whopping $2 each! A new pair of baby legs would cost you about $12, not including tax or shipping, so it turned out to be a pretty awesome steal. You could do a toddler version of this by buying thigh high socks.
Here's the lowdown:
First cut off the foot of the socks, right where the heal ends.
Then turn the socks inside out and take in the bottom sides a bit, where your baby's ankles will be. You can skip this part if you want, but when I did on the first one they were too loose, and Penelope is not lacking in meat-on-her-ankles department.
Then turn the edges over and hem. You can serge the raw edges or use a zig zag, or so the website says. I have never done either. I had read that using pinking sheers will have the same effect, so that it what I am going to try next after my trip to Joanne Fabrics on Tuesday.
Turn back inside out and...
Ta Da! Cutest baby legs ever for $2!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Pregnancy Blog Posts from MomsLikeMe.com Uploaded
In case anyone is interested, I uploaded all my pregnancy blog posts from when I wrote for MomsLikeMe.com, back when I was working for the United Way of the Big Bend/Whole Child Leon.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Eight is Great!
Happy 8th Birthday Sky! It's been a rough 6 months for poor Sky, Penelope came into the world and dethroned him. He got kicked out his bed, I don't take him on walks anymore because I can't handle the stroller and him, we don't make his food as much anymore and in general he gets less love and hugs from me. But that said, he is still our baby and we love him to pieces, we are just too tired these days to show him!
This is a picture of Sky as he was watching Penelope be born.
Checking out the new baby, he has been uber protective ever since.
The faces begin. After the first 12 hours of Penelope's life had passed, the realization had sunk in that he was no longer numero uno.
Just one of our favorite pics of Mr. Sky. Happy Birthday! We love you and look forward to at least 8 more birthdays!
This is a picture of Sky as he was watching Penelope be born.
Checking out the new baby, he has been uber protective ever since.
The faces begin. After the first 12 hours of Penelope's life had passed, the realization had sunk in that he was no longer numero uno.
Just one of our favorite pics of Mr. Sky. Happy Birthday! We love you and look forward to at least 8 more birthdays!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Let's just call this a learning experience
So, I bought a pattern for the first time in my life. The bottom picture is what the dress was supposed to look like.
As you can see, I stopped following the pattern after I cut out the dress pieces. I couldn't understand it. Not sure if its because I am just so exhausted that my brain functions as if I am drunk or if I am a visual learner and need someone to show me how to do it. I am just glad the damn thing is done. I think I will stick to pillow case dresses after this. But then again I just found this site: www.littlebeanshop.com and was lusting over all the little dresses and have already decided to try a halter dress next for Miss P.
During this project, I did manage to learn how to do a few new sewing skills: a French seam, and then was told that since I fully lined it and the fabric was thick, I didn't need to do it (thanks, Julie!), so the second side didn't get one. A basting stitch, which really pissed me off. Apparently, my machine only goes to a 4 as its longest stitch, so it made the ruffle super tight. I also think that because it was fully lined and a thick fabric it made it more difficult as well. I ended up doing a hand basting stitch for the front and it worked much better. For the third thing I learned, I am not even sure what its called. I think its called bias tape? Anyone know?
I really enjoyed making the little bow for the front, and have visions of many different fabrics I can make them in, I think I will make a few for myself next time too! I got the free tutorial here, from my favorite new website: http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/02/diy-fabric-flower-hair-clip.html
Oh, and the purple fabric is organic! I found it at Joanne Fabrics a couple of months ago. They have all of four bolts, white, black, brown and this purple.
As long as you don't look at my stitches real close, its not half bad. Especially, considering the only sewing skills I am going off are from a 7th grade Home Ec class.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
End of the 4th Trimester
End of the 4th Trimester
I can tell things are changing in my body as the end of this trimester has come to an end. For one, my skin is breaking out like it did when I first became pregnant and was adjusting to being pregnant, but now I am adjusting to NOT being pregnant. My brain is a bit more clear, I can focus on more things ( but not much more) other than when my daughter ate last, when I pumped last and how times she pooed in a 24 hour period. Even though I haven't slept a 3 or 4 hour stretch in three months, except for once when she was 5 weeks old and she slept for 6 hours and I woke up like a whole new person, I am less tired than I was in the early days....I must just be getting used to the lack of sleep. I read once that a new mom gulps sleep like a fish out of water gulps for air-it is exactly how I feel. Most days, all I can think about is when I get to lay down next.
Penelope arrived on 11.11.09 at 2:46a. I started labor at 7:30p on the 10th, so a 7 hour labor total. Not bad right? Well, if you count the three previous stints of labor that lasted about 6 hours each, its a grand total 25 hours.
When it finally started on the 10th, it STARTED.
There was no early labor for me, no walking around the house and baking cookies. The first contraction came right after I had settled into the couch with dinner on my lap (or rather my huge belly) to watch a movie with Peter. After a couple of them, I started to have a conversation with my body...it went like this: "ok, body, no more messing around. If you are gonna give me painful contractions again, you better mean business. I am not doing another 6 hours of contractions only to have them go away again. I am sick of this shit."
Another 20 minutes go by and I decide to go take a bath. Previously, when I had contractions, as soon as I would lay down to go to sleep or take a bath they would go away. So I thought might as well get them to go away now, so I can finish my movie. I get into the bath and get nice and relaxed, but they are not going away, they are getting stronger. I stay in the bath about 45 minutes and then I need to get out, I need to move, I need to change positions because they really hurt. So I go to the toilet and sit there for awhile.
Then it gets nuts.
I feel as if I am having an out of body experience. It was kinda scary. So I yell to Peter and say I think its time to call the midwife!!! He comes running in and gives her a page. Twenty minutes go by and she still doesn't call. Now I tell Peter that I feel like I am dying. Obviously, I wasn't dying but everything was so intense and overwhelming it was the only word I could think of to accurately describe how I felt. He calls again and finally gets a hold of her. She said she would be over soon. Then I felt the urge to move again. I stand and start walking, but oh, man it hurts SO bad. I make it to the end of the bed and hold on tight.
That contraction rocked my world.
I manage to yell to Peter, who is off filling up the birth tub, that I am going to puke before the next one hits. He was able to get the trashcan in place just as I explode. At the exact same moment that I puking up my dinner, my water breaks. Inside, I was so excited! There was no going back now. I was so happy it broke on my own. Somehow I am able to calmly say, "oh, look there's my water" and ask Peter to get a towel. What does he bring back? Several clean sweaters that were on our dresser that I hadn't gotten to putting away yet.
So now I am screaming,,, NO!!! I! Said! A! TOWEL!! So now what does he bring back? My FAVORITE towel, the one that was my grandmother's, of course. Now I am really screaming... NOT THAT TOWEL!! He finally brings back an appropriate towel to have my water leak onto.
The towel was kinda white, so I am able to see very clearly that my water is kinda green.
I think, shit, shit, shit. I hope everything's ok.
Then I needed to go back to the toilet. Sitting on the toilet, I look at my sorta green amniotic fluid and I think of all the births I have seen where the water was a bit green but everything was just fine and I calm my self down. Peter finally notices it too and says is that normal? And I am able to respond that its fine. Even in that fearful moment, I always had an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be just fine. Even so, in the next moment when Missy, the midwife's assistant arrives, the first thing I ask her is if the color is ok.
Layla, our midwife, finally arrives and I want to be checked. I am thinking I must be 8 centimeters. Layla checks me and I am 5 and half, then 6 by the time the exam is over. I holler, 6!?! I am only 6?!? Uuugggghhhh!!! Missy calms me a bit saying "uh, we JUST got here!" By this time the birth tub is ready and I needed to get in asap. I didn't want anyone touching me or talking to me I just wanted to get in the water. I don't know how long I was in the water, but it really got me relaxed and I was able to rest in between the contractions. It got to a point where I felt like I was too relaxed, coping too well, and things were slowing down, so I thought to myself, "I can stay in here where I am coping just fine and be here for several more hours or I can get out, get up and make the contractions more painful and get this show on the road."
So I hurl myself out the of tub and get to the bathroom. Just from walking from the tub to the toilet and sitting down makes me feel like pushing. It was a sensation I couldn't ignore.
I wasn't actively pushing, it was like my body had completely taken over and had a mind of its own. I was pushing whether I wanted to or not.
Missy, hollers from the couch at that point and says " that sounds like a push, are you pushing?" So I ask to be checked again. After Layla checked me, she announces that I am 8 centimeters. I reply the same... "8!?!...I am only 8!?! Aahhhhhhh. I walk around for a bit. I want this baby out of me! I get back in the tub at some point and it's getting close. I can feel Penelope moving down my pelvis. I keep telling Missy that I have to poo. I am still liking being in the warm water, but I feel like I can't get grounded enough to really bare down so I stand up during several contractions and get into a deep squat then submerge back into the warm water after the contraction. I finally get into a hands and knees sort of position that works. At this point, Penelope's heart rate has dropped a bit, nothing to be alarmed about, but combined with the slightly green amniotic fluid, Layla thinks its best to put the oxygen mask on. Its super annoying and I want to rip it off my face, but I focus on breathing for Penelope. Her heart rate stays good for awhile and I am able to take it off.
At this point, Missy tells me to see if I can feel my baby. I put my hand down and my fingers in a bit and there she was! I think to myself," holy crap! pushing is working!" She is coming out!
She is going to be here soon!
I look Peter in the eye and smile for the first time. I ask him if he wants to get in and catch her like we talked about. He shakes his head and smiles. I am actually relieved, because I really wanted to catch her myself. Later he told me it was because he didn't want to get in the water. The water was bloody and poopy and he was not about to get in it!! Now I am really pushing. I tell Layla, I feel like I am tearing!! She said GOOD! Go with it! I am like, no really, I think I am tearing!! She said, that is what you want! I don't really believe her but in my head, and I felt like she was dismissing me, but I am like:
ok, here we go, even if I tear, here we go. It burned SO bad. Ring of fire is no joke. But then her sweet head was out! I kept feeling her head and feeling her squishy skin and wet hair. I could not wait to hold her.
Not sure how many more pushes it took, but out came the rest of her. I caught her with my own two hands and pulled her out! At the same time I sat back on bottom and leaned against the side of the birth tub. From here on out its like I am in a dream. At first it was hard to get her in a good position to hold her on my chest because her cord was wrapped around her neck once. Layla helped me unwrap it. Then I held her close and looked her straight in her eyes. I could not believe she was here and that I managed to push her out. She was so perfectly alert and peaceful and oh so beautiful. I kept looking up at Peter to look at him and make eye contact but he was entrained on her. She fussed for a moment and I sang the song to her that I sang to her every day while taking my nightly bath when I was pregnant.
Then the contractions start coming again and I wanted the placenta OUT!! It wasn't very long but I wanted to be done and get out of the water. I pushed for a little bit and then decided to stand up and out it came with a PLOP! At this point Peter has Penelope and we walk to the bedroom so I can lay down and nurse her or as it turned out, attempt to nurse her.
From the very first moment breastfeeding, or lack there of, has been difficult. She sort of latched on but not really since my nipples are flat and she was having a hard time. She passed out a few moments later anyway. At that time I didn't think anything of it, I thought I am not going to stress about it, I will just let her lay her skin to skin and let her smell me for now. I thought flat nipples were our only problem and I knew that was easily overcome with enough support and guidance from IBCLC. She ended up pretty much sleeping for the next 12 hours. And I just started at her in absolute amazement. I couldn't believe that I MADE her and that I PUSHED her out myself. Finally the lactation consultant came over and helped us get her latched on. It was quite a production. Peter had to actually squeeze my nipple and then between the both of us, with all four hands, we could get her on. Little did we know then that even though she was on, she wasn't transferring anything. Only when she stopped pooping and we went to see the LC again later that week did we realize she wasn't transferring any milk and had to start pumping and finger feeding...but that leads us to a whole other story, one that is not yet complete and ready to be told.
In the end it was a perfect and beautiful birth, just like I always hoped and dreamed. However, I would give it all up to be able to breastfeed. I would have rather of had a cesarean and been completely under than to have breastfeeding taken from us. But Penelope is healthy and beautiful and I love her more than anything else in this world.
I can tell things are changing in my body as the end of this trimester has come to an end. For one, my skin is breaking out like it did when I first became pregnant and was adjusting to being pregnant, but now I am adjusting to NOT being pregnant. My brain is a bit more clear, I can focus on more things ( but not much more) other than when my daughter ate last, when I pumped last and how times she pooed in a 24 hour period. Even though I haven't slept a 3 or 4 hour stretch in three months, except for once when she was 5 weeks old and she slept for 6 hours and I woke up like a whole new person, I am less tired than I was in the early days....I must just be getting used to the lack of sleep. I read once that a new mom gulps sleep like a fish out of water gulps for air-it is exactly how I feel. Most days, all I can think about is when I get to lay down next.
Penelope arrived on 11.11.09 at 2:46a. I started labor at 7:30p on the 10th, so a 7 hour labor total. Not bad right? Well, if you count the three previous stints of labor that lasted about 6 hours each, its a grand total 25 hours.
When it finally started on the 10th, it STARTED.
There was no early labor for me, no walking around the house and baking cookies. The first contraction came right after I had settled into the couch with dinner on my lap (or rather my huge belly) to watch a movie with Peter. After a couple of them, I started to have a conversation with my body...it went like this: "ok, body, no more messing around. If you are gonna give me painful contractions again, you better mean business. I am not doing another 6 hours of contractions only to have them go away again. I am sick of this shit."
Another 20 minutes go by and I decide to go take a bath. Previously, when I had contractions, as soon as I would lay down to go to sleep or take a bath they would go away. So I thought might as well get them to go away now, so I can finish my movie. I get into the bath and get nice and relaxed, but they are not going away, they are getting stronger. I stay in the bath about 45 minutes and then I need to get out, I need to move, I need to change positions because they really hurt. So I go to the toilet and sit there for awhile.
Then it gets nuts.
I feel as if I am having an out of body experience. It was kinda scary. So I yell to Peter and say I think its time to call the midwife!!! He comes running in and gives her a page. Twenty minutes go by and she still doesn't call. Now I tell Peter that I feel like I am dying. Obviously, I wasn't dying but everything was so intense and overwhelming it was the only word I could think of to accurately describe how I felt. He calls again and finally gets a hold of her. She said she would be over soon. Then I felt the urge to move again. I stand and start walking, but oh, man it hurts SO bad. I make it to the end of the bed and hold on tight.
That contraction rocked my world.
I manage to yell to Peter, who is off filling up the birth tub, that I am going to puke before the next one hits. He was able to get the trashcan in place just as I explode. At the exact same moment that I puking up my dinner, my water breaks. Inside, I was so excited! There was no going back now. I was so happy it broke on my own. Somehow I am able to calmly say, "oh, look there's my water" and ask Peter to get a towel. What does he bring back? Several clean sweaters that were on our dresser that I hadn't gotten to putting away yet.
So now I am screaming,,, NO!!! I! Said! A! TOWEL!! So now what does he bring back? My FAVORITE towel, the one that was my grandmother's, of course. Now I am really screaming... NOT THAT TOWEL!! He finally brings back an appropriate towel to have my water leak onto.
The towel was kinda white, so I am able to see very clearly that my water is kinda green.
I think, shit, shit, shit. I hope everything's ok.
Then I needed to go back to the toilet. Sitting on the toilet, I look at my sorta green amniotic fluid and I think of all the births I have seen where the water was a bit green but everything was just fine and I calm my self down. Peter finally notices it too and says is that normal? And I am able to respond that its fine. Even in that fearful moment, I always had an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be just fine. Even so, in the next moment when Missy, the midwife's assistant arrives, the first thing I ask her is if the color is ok.
Layla, our midwife, finally arrives and I want to be checked. I am thinking I must be 8 centimeters. Layla checks me and I am 5 and half, then 6 by the time the exam is over. I holler, 6!?! I am only 6?!? Uuugggghhhh!!! Missy calms me a bit saying "uh, we JUST got here!" By this time the birth tub is ready and I needed to get in asap. I didn't want anyone touching me or talking to me I just wanted to get in the water. I don't know how long I was in the water, but it really got me relaxed and I was able to rest in between the contractions. It got to a point where I felt like I was too relaxed, coping too well, and things were slowing down, so I thought to myself, "I can stay in here where I am coping just fine and be here for several more hours or I can get out, get up and make the contractions more painful and get this show on the road."
So I hurl myself out the of tub and get to the bathroom. Just from walking from the tub to the toilet and sitting down makes me feel like pushing. It was a sensation I couldn't ignore.
I wasn't actively pushing, it was like my body had completely taken over and had a mind of its own. I was pushing whether I wanted to or not.
Missy, hollers from the couch at that point and says " that sounds like a push, are you pushing?" So I ask to be checked again. After Layla checked me, she announces that I am 8 centimeters. I reply the same... "8!?!...I am only 8!?! Aahhhhhhh. I walk around for a bit. I want this baby out of me! I get back in the tub at some point and it's getting close. I can feel Penelope moving down my pelvis. I keep telling Missy that I have to poo. I am still liking being in the warm water, but I feel like I can't get grounded enough to really bare down so I stand up during several contractions and get into a deep squat then submerge back into the warm water after the contraction. I finally get into a hands and knees sort of position that works. At this point, Penelope's heart rate has dropped a bit, nothing to be alarmed about, but combined with the slightly green amniotic fluid, Layla thinks its best to put the oxygen mask on. Its super annoying and I want to rip it off my face, but I focus on breathing for Penelope. Her heart rate stays good for awhile and I am able to take it off.
At this point, Missy tells me to see if I can feel my baby. I put my hand down and my fingers in a bit and there she was! I think to myself," holy crap! pushing is working!" She is coming out!
She is going to be here soon!
I look Peter in the eye and smile for the first time. I ask him if he wants to get in and catch her like we talked about. He shakes his head and smiles. I am actually relieved, because I really wanted to catch her myself. Later he told me it was because he didn't want to get in the water. The water was bloody and poopy and he was not about to get in it!! Now I am really pushing. I tell Layla, I feel like I am tearing!! She said GOOD! Go with it! I am like, no really, I think I am tearing!! She said, that is what you want! I don't really believe her but in my head, and I felt like she was dismissing me, but I am like:
ok, here we go, even if I tear, here we go. It burned SO bad. Ring of fire is no joke. But then her sweet head was out! I kept feeling her head and feeling her squishy skin and wet hair. I could not wait to hold her.
Not sure how many more pushes it took, but out came the rest of her. I caught her with my own two hands and pulled her out! At the same time I sat back on bottom and leaned against the side of the birth tub. From here on out its like I am in a dream. At first it was hard to get her in a good position to hold her on my chest because her cord was wrapped around her neck once. Layla helped me unwrap it. Then I held her close and looked her straight in her eyes. I could not believe she was here and that I managed to push her out. She was so perfectly alert and peaceful and oh so beautiful. I kept looking up at Peter to look at him and make eye contact but he was entrained on her. She fussed for a moment and I sang the song to her that I sang to her every day while taking my nightly bath when I was pregnant.
Then the contractions start coming again and I wanted the placenta OUT!! It wasn't very long but I wanted to be done and get out of the water. I pushed for a little bit and then decided to stand up and out it came with a PLOP! At this point Peter has Penelope and we walk to the bedroom so I can lay down and nurse her or as it turned out, attempt to nurse her.
From the very first moment breastfeeding, or lack there of, has been difficult. She sort of latched on but not really since my nipples are flat and she was having a hard time. She passed out a few moments later anyway. At that time I didn't think anything of it, I thought I am not going to stress about it, I will just let her lay her skin to skin and let her smell me for now. I thought flat nipples were our only problem and I knew that was easily overcome with enough support and guidance from IBCLC. She ended up pretty much sleeping for the next 12 hours. And I just started at her in absolute amazement. I couldn't believe that I MADE her and that I PUSHED her out myself. Finally the lactation consultant came over and helped us get her latched on. It was quite a production. Peter had to actually squeeze my nipple and then between the both of us, with all four hands, we could get her on. Little did we know then that even though she was on, she wasn't transferring anything. Only when she stopped pooping and we went to see the LC again later that week did we realize she wasn't transferring any milk and had to start pumping and finger feeding...but that leads us to a whole other story, one that is not yet complete and ready to be told.
In the end it was a perfect and beautiful birth, just like I always hoped and dreamed. However, I would give it all up to be able to breastfeed. I would have rather of had a cesarean and been completely under than to have breastfeeding taken from us. But Penelope is healthy and beautiful and I love her more than anything else in this world.
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