New Baby in the House and Same Old Concerns

I have been taking care of the new baby non stop for over 16 weeks now.

First topic  - Diapers

While cloth sounds lovely (and we have an affordable diaper service in the area), I definitely would not use them overnight because should baby ever actually sleep 12 hours (as the Ezzo's - whom I love love love - or Suzy Giordano seem to say all baby's are eventually capable of) then I would want no leaks and no need to wake baby just to change a diaper.

We tried out the honest company's diapers and while I do believe the best use for corn and wheat is infant waste absorption, I did not enjoy learning that the company is owned by a celebrity and she surely makes enough money without my giving her some so my baby can pee and poo.

Second topic (and this will be LONG) - Nutrition in the first 6 months

I personally get so tired of the best milk for infant arguments.

I was nurtured on similac and I am not obese, rarely have even a seasonal allergy (and when i do have a seasonal runny nose, one dose of chlortabs and i'm good for the season), thankfully have not been prone to catching every common cold (which I believe has to do with taking care of self to stay healthy), and made straight A's at Colorado Christian University, a college that requires tons and I mean tons of writing to prove understanding of subject matter (in other words there were no multiple choice, fill in the blank, or true/false question tests).

My first son ended up formula fed because my body did not make milk (2 years later "diagnosed" with a metabolic disorder that can render some moms unable to produce milk). That baby is now 13 and he also is definitely not obese, he rarely catches a cold, and he is smart (even if he doesn't show off) but tends to be lazy (no reflection on choice of nourishment, rather a case of the nut not falling far from the tree on his dad's side, and his dad has admitted that his son gets it from him so I'm safe in writing this).

"I can scare the stupid out of you, but the lazy runs deep." -- Paris Geller ;)

My sister, who projectile vomited formula, was nourished on milk fresh from the cow and not even diluted because the doctor who told my mom to feed my sister that way did not mention that the protein content is too high for a baby's kidneys (something that moms a decade older than my mom knew because a good friend of ours sat on my loveseat a couple weeks ago and said she raised all 5 of her kids on fresh cow milk to water 50/50 plus dark karo syrup). My sister is alive and well, married to one of my favorite brothers-in-love, and they have given our family a beautiful set of twin girls.

On my husband's side, they all wholly endorse goat milk as a choice when there is no momma milk or momma milk is low. Many success stories in the family.

With this son, because of planning a home birth, I knew I was going to be forced to breastfeed in order to birth the placenta. I did inform the midwife up front of my metabolic disorder (genetics not due to similac as my biological paternal unit was diabetic and many women on my mom's side struggled with fertility problems) and that I made no promises that my body would produce milk.

Baby came via what I now know is termed precipitous labor. First contraction around 830pm and baby out at 10:15pm. That being the case, hubby and I did not know what to do should baby arrive before our midwife could get to us, and so hubby said we were going to the hospital (who decided my check in at 9:55pm warranted a $6,700 labor charge and one day for me stay plus 2 days for baby total bill was over 19grand).

The midwife was able to arrive at the hospital just prior to baby's arrival and for that I was grateful because she was able to inform the staff of what I wanted and didn't want as I was only able to ride the constant contractions and try to make my body stop forcing the baby out as I was told not to push. Once baby arrived, he was not breathing as well as the head nicu nurse would have liked and she wanted to take him to the nicu. My midwife kept repeating to let the mom hold baby and finally the head nicu nurse conceded so I held baby skin to skin and within minutes his breathing regulated.

Then came the moment to try and get baby to latch. I did as the nurse and midwife said and they agreed all was ok. About 2am baby and I were taken to a room to stay in and hubby went home (we had a plumbing problem at the house he was still working on). At 4am baby gave hunger cues so we did as we learnt a couple hours ago and baby stayed in a "cluster feed" until 9am.

I asked for the lactation consultant and when she came, she helped us twice during her shift to learn to breastfeed. She informed me that I did not have a nipple the baby could latch onto and that the baby was a lazy eater (weak suck) that dimples his cheeks and clicks his tongue when eating. She mentioned a nipple shield and that she would bring one but she came back with a symphony pump instead and encouraged me to use that. So I tried to pump and breastfeed the rest of that day.

Then the next morning the same "cluster feed" from 4am to 7am and then the lactation consultant came to check on us and remind me to take the pump kit with me. Baby and I continued trying to nurse through the end of the week with him growing increasingly frustrated to the point of screaming and beat red face before just falling asleep.  So I ended up pumping and was over the moon ecstatic to provide milk for baby after not being able to for first son...until week 4 when plugged ducts started frequently occurring. They happened so often and were so painful that even hubby wanted me to stop pumping so I wouldn't get an infection. This is when I started researching formula options to include home made.

16 weeks now and still pumping but gets harder to have time because this baby only catnaps during the day and will stay asleep maybe 20 minutes if held and will wake sooner if put down. And since he wakes many times during the night it causes me to sleep through my alarm I set to wake up and pump. I understand it is demand and supply and am always concerned as I watch my output jump around if this will be the day I "dry up"....and then what will I feed baby?


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