Search Results for: breastfeeding

I last wrote a body after baby Part 2 update on May 17. Also wrote Part 1 on April 23. So here is a third part written at the end of June.

Now 3.5 months post-partum, I am really feeling like my old self. Stopping breastfeeding contributed to the final push to help me feel most normal again.

This past month, I got into a routine of exercise. It is too hot for me to do things outside, so I do all exercise indoors. The goal for the week is two days of Define Body and two days of gym things like elliptical, treadmill, and free weights, kettlebells, barbells. I’m enjoying adding things back that I used to like such as jumping rope, the StairMaster, and kettlebell swings.

Four days of a normal week is really all I can fit in right now outside of the house. Throughout the day, I go up and down the stairs carrying Logan and other odds and ends, we walk Lily outside (very short walks), and we bounce and play. Running errands with Logan is also a workout and tiring. It’s exhausting just being at home.

As far as food, I am trying to eat pretty simply. I just don’t have the time for detailed meals or for baking, which is a good thing for weight loss. I know you can bake healthy (and really enjoy and miss it), but not baking also helps. I eat cereal and Greek yogurt and fruit for breakfast, avocado/hummus/cheese sandwiches for lunch or leftovers from dinner, and try to cook dinners at home a few times a week. We do pasta, ground turkey dishes, and slow cooker dishes often. And try to make take-out dinners last for two meals. PBJ sandwiches are pretty common too. Fast, nutrient-dense and simple are really important!

I actually find myself too busy to eat or snack often, which shows staying busy really helps ward off mindless eating. When I have spare time, I try to clean, shower, do things on the computer, or get ready for the next feeding/bath time/get the diaper bag ready, etc. Then I’ll realize I’m hungry and eat something.

I am 100% positive that staying active and eating healthy during pregnancy helped get fit faster after and am so glad I was active.

I haven’t started jogging again, and probably won’t for a while. I enjoy being outdoors but it’s just too hot until about October or November.

Hoping to keep up what I’m doing and just feel good!

Click here for Part 1, written on May 29.

When I last wrote about breastfeeding, I talked about the many frustrations and how we just started adding in some formula for one bottle a day.

When Logan hit three months old, I started some serious weaning and he was getting more formula than breast milk. And then about a week later, I stopped breastfeeding and pumping. Now we are using up the milk in the freezer for one bottle a day and by July 1 he will be on all formula.

I was very mixed on quitting, even though my original goal was three months. I didn’t really know what bf’ing was about before I started, so three months was sort of arbitrary. I learned so much about the benefits for mom and baby, and of course what it’s all about and how it works. I ended up enjoying it much more than I expected, and was more hesitant to stop than I expected.

The things I liked about bf’ing:

• The ease–no bottles necessary, no clean-up. Always available, perfect temperature, perfect food, no prep necessary.
• The health benefits to mom and baby–Breastfeeding for mom can lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer, it can help shed pregnancy weight quickly because of the calories you burn to produce milk, and it’s a natural thing to do. For baby, it can help their intelligence, ward off illness, and is literally the perfect food. All formula tries to emulate breastmilk. Why not just use the real thing?
• The quiet time–I read books, checked email, made phone calls, and watched TV…Every three hours for 45 minutes. I really enjoyed this part!
• The soothing ability–Breastfeeding is really soothing for baby. They close their eyes, are relaxed, and really enjoy it. One time Logan got hit in the head by a friend with a little peg toy. He started screaming, it was close to feeding time so I fed him and he immediately calmed down.
• The idea that the baby takes what he needs–Breastfeeding works because if you do it right, milk is always there for baby. He takes what he needs and your body produces enough to replace it. When you mess with your body, like by pumping or supplementing with formula, you are tricking your body into producing more or less milk. Done in the simplest way, it is perfect.

The things I was ready to let go about bf’ing:

• Pumping–I did enjoy having a freezer stash to use when I was away from the house. I actually didn’t dip into the stash until I stopped, which was the point. I wanted to stock pile some milk so he would still have milk after I quit. I pumped at least once a day the whole time. Part of that was used for the next day’s bottle, and the excess was frozen. Jeffrey and I went on a 24 hour vacation in May and I used freezer milk (almost 50 ounces=a big part of my stash) for him and pumped the whole time we were away. I also took about 18 ounces with us to Colorado to help have a head start. And then the rest was for after I stopped. About 100 ounces were left when I stopped pumping.
• Feeling full all the time–This was the worst for me. It’s a good thing to have a lot of milk and even extra, but I was always full and it was very annoying for me. Hard to exercise, hard to wear my old clothes, hard to plan my day because I needed to always feed or pump. Even hard to go out to dinner because I’d have to pump or feed before, and pump when we got home. It was an extra 30 minute process when I would just want to go to sleep.
• Being tied to the house–Planning the day was very hard, especially trying to be social or get out of the house. Logan ate every 2.5-3 hours and each feeding took an hour (he never got “more efficient.”) It’s very hard to get anything done outside of the house, or plan a playdate before he would get hungry again. This got very old.
• Not knowing what Logan was taking in–While I felt like I had more than enough milk, you never know what the baby eats. He seemed hungry often, but ate so long each feeding. This game of “is he getting enough?” got old.

So while I was sad to stop, I am happy with what I did, that Logan got the benefits of breast milk for three months, and that now we are onto the next phase.

Jeffrey makes fun of me that I can’t fall asleep because I can’t turn off my brain. Well here are some things that I ponder about all day (and night) lately.

• We are going out of town on our first trip with the baby, how many diapers will a baby need for 10 days? In addition to that, how much milk do I take on the airplane, or do I just feed him myself? I probably would have a milk explosion if I don’t feed him or pump from the time I leave our house until we get to the hotel. Breastfeeding is fun.
• What is entailed in shipping breastmilk? Worth it? (answer is no.)
• How are we going to get through the airport with all of the following just as carry ons: Stroller without car seat (checking that), Baby Bjorn with baby, diaper bag, Boppy pillow, small cooler of frozen milk, plus our own carry ons with computer, camera, cords, change of clothes for everyone, dinner.
• What time zone will the baby end up on? I don’t want 4:30 or 5 am to be the start of the day for him and me!
• What book should I read next on my Kindle?
• Will I ever sleep through the night again?
• What’s for dinner this week?
• Did Lily eat today?
• When am I going to shower tomorrow and do I need to do the laundry again?

I have been a breastfeeding mother for almost three months now. Before I had Logan, I didn’t really have expectations about breastfeeding, but I wanted to try it because “breast is best.” There was no reason my body wouldn’t cooperate, and I had no reason not to do it, so because it’s best for baby, I wanted to do it.

I exclusively breastfed Logan for two months. I am very proud of that and amazed at what breast milk can do. Its benefits are incredible, and it is actually very easy. It’s always available, no bottles needed, it is free, always the perfect temperature, and the perfect food for baby. I had already nourished him for nine months in the womb, and if he needed my body for longer, it seemed logical. Why not do it?

After two months, I realized that breastfeeding is actually a lifestyle and more of a burden than I am willing to continue for the long term future. You have to literally sit with baby for an hour of every three (he’s a slow eater, it takes us a long time). I have to organize our schedule so that I’m home when he needs to eat, and it got very time consuming and limiting when I was ready to get out of the house. Because nursing in public isn’t really for me, I like to be home to feed him. That left very little time to get out of the house to run errands either with him, or by myself.

I did start using bottles daily for him so I could escape briefly and food was available for him at home. While bottles are a great alternative, it messes with my own body because the milk is ready for the taking, but baby isn’t there. Luckily, my milk supply is very strong and the only downside was that my boobs felt like they were about to explode (haha, that’s all). Bottles also take extra work of pumping and preparing them and planning for that.

Around Week 9, we introduced formula at the 7 p.m. feeding. I felt that Logan needed a little oomph to help him feel fuller and maybe it would help him sleep longer too. He would always be starving when he ate, no matter the time or how many ounces I could give him. He’s a hungry boy. I have a lot of motherly guilt on switching since breastmilk is working for him. He doesn’t seem to notice a difference, and happily takes whatever he is given, from whomever is holding a bottle.

Now I say he is 83% breastfed. I don’t know when I will wean him more by replacing another feeding with formula. I still really enjoy breastfeeding him and the time we spend together. It is much more special than I imagined. Even though it does take a long time, it’s actually a nice peaceful time where he is happy and I can relax too. Because I can’t decide what to do next, I think it means I’m not yet ready to wean more.

I don’t have a specific goal of how long I’ll continue to breastfeed. For me, I think when it becomes more frustrating and burdensome then I’ll wean more.

Well, I’m not sure who is reading my blog anymore–if it’s the same people who came when it was more of a healthy living blog, if it’s just our parents’ friends, or if it’s just me writing an online journal, but I’m still having fun when I get the chance.

I wanted to write out some of the gadgets and gear that we couldn’t do without for the newborn stage. Mostly I think it’s interesting to write it out so we can look back and see what we found so valuable, but maybe there are expectant families googling what to buy and this could help!

1. Velcro Swaddle Me swaddles–we use these every night for him to sleep in. They look like a straightjacket and are a little annoying to re-do after a diaper change or to even see if the diaper is dirty, but they do calm him and keep him asleep.

(not my baby, from their site)

2. Fisher Price Swing–Can’t tell you how much we love our swing. He sleeps one long nap in it every day. It’s also electric and I like that it doesn’t take batteries. It’s a side-to-side swing which is interesting and different.

3. Fisher Price Bouncer chair–Also a nice place to put him down. It vibrates and plays music and he likes resting. I like that it props him up a bit. He’ll hang out here and look around, sometimes takes a nap in it.

4. Sound machine–We have this playing all night long. It’s electric and plays a few white noise options and can also play your iPod.

5. Medela Freestyle with Easy Expressions bra–I couldn’t imagine pumping without it being hands free or pumping without it being electric. It’s the only option I know, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way. The ridiculous easy expressions bra is also completely necessary and I couldn’t do it without it. I’ll elaborate if you’re interested off the blog!

6. Kissy Kissy sleep gowns–He sleeps in a gown everynight. They are the cuddliest things, and make diaper changes easy without all the snaps around the legs. And they’re just so darn cute.

Also, diapers.com is a pretty amazing site. You can buy anything online and it’s free shipping over $50 and no tax. The things I buy online range from diapers to breastfeeding accessories to bath lotion for baby and it’s all delivered to my front door.

There are other things we use daily, but I wouldn’t say they are things we swear by. I’m sure alternatives would be just as fine. For instance, Dr. Browns bottles, a generic infant bath tub, our baby monitor, car seat, or diaper brand.

There are also some things we’ve found a little useless. The Moby Wrap is not that awesome. I have the Baby Bjorn too and it is easier to get on, feels more sturdy and safe on, and doesn’t look so feminine on Jeffrey. The Moby is cumbersome, although I didn’t give it a lot of chance.

We bought a bottle warmer and it leaked through the bottles. That wasn’t fun to realize at 3 a.m.

And the Sleep Sheep only plays for less than an hour! The Graco sound machine (above) we have plays all night.

Do you like reading baby-related posts about this kind of stuff or are you bored with it?

Maybe this will become a series. I’ll try to update monthly if you’re interested.

While pregnant, I was a pretty active person. I ate healthy, exercised moderately, and tried to stay within the recommended weight gain (which I did gaining about 32 pounds). I read a lot about healthy pregnancies and was hopeful that getting my body back wouldn’t be too hard.

I was happy that within a few weeks after delivery, I lost over 20 pounds and am within 10 pounds of where I want to be. I know my body will be very different for quite a while, even when I get back to the number on the scale I want to see. Because of breastfeeding, my bust is quite larger which is really very annoying. Most of my shirts from before don’t fit! Luckily, I wear stretchy Lululemon pants and t-shirts from Gap or Banana Republic or exercise tank tops every single day.

(below at 34 weeks pregnant)

Once I got home from the hospital, I never put on maternity clothes again. I thought I’d be wearing them for a little while, but I was just sooo ready to toss them in a different closet until next time.

For pants, I quickly fit into my old Lululemon Groove pants and leggings, even though they were a little snug. I was just happy to be wearing normal clothes again!

(below on the day we went to the hospital! 39 weeks, 3 days)

Now at 6 weeks post baby, I am still not in pre-baby jeans, and it might be a while. They are able to button, but there’s quite a bit of excess that isn’t welcomed. Also, my hips are still quite a bit wider which I hope will move in eventually. Did you know the uterus actually takes 6 weeks to decompress?

As for exercise, my doctor said to take it easy for six weeks. I had a second degree tear which needed time to heal. At about the two week mark, I started feeling muucch better and started taking short walks with dog and baby. Short like just a few blocks and very slow.

(below about 3 weeks post baby)

Then a couple weeks later, I started taking solo walks around the neighborhood for 30 minutes. Then 45 minutes. I also went back to the gym at 4 weeks post baby for easy treadmill sessions, light upper body weights and some stretching.

My muscles are very tight. My muscles are very non-existent, except for my right bicep where I hold the baby.

I thought it would be frustrating to start from scratch, but it’s not. I just had a baby! It’s an amazing thing that your body can do. I’m a little pre-occupied and tired to be doing much else.

I’m not sure what activities I will resume and how intense I’ll exercise. It is likely it won’t be everyday. It’s really hard to get to a class or the gym when you have limited time between feedings. And when someone is here to watch Logan, exercise might not be the one thing I want to do with my hour away. There are grocery shopping and errands or a shower! It’s also quite a workout just entertaining the baby daily. We walk, bounce, and play and it’s very tiring! Not to mention, breastfeeding burns a lot of calories too.

So that’s the update for now. I hope by next month to be in more of a daily routine and be more active at the gym. Maybe I’ll even find time to make it to a class!