Working moms/mums - come share tips and get support too! #2

[Omy]

Hi Lidia - it is great that your LO took 3oz from a bottle! I think it is best not to make the experience traumatic for them - so 'giving in' with the breast is probably fine. At least that is what I do. Lo is hopeless at feeding from a bottle - so far her best effort was 2oz! I am trying with formula but I will have go tomorrow with EBM. I have 5 weeks to go till work but I want to get this sorted! I try once a day. I also try a sippy cup once a day (with water in it) and she is getting quite good at drinking out of it. Maybe we will miss out bottles altogether. Jessiecat - you are so lucky your LO is fine with a bottle!

[lidiayy]

Hi,

DD is sick. I don't know if it was my milk!    She woke up this morning with her back covered in tiny red spots.    Called her Dr and he told me that it can be a viruses. What if all my stash is contaminated? He asked me a few questions to see if it could be allergy, but I didn't eat anything different the past days and DD has only got my milk, except those 2 bottles that I gave her yesterday.
He said that she could have been in contact with someone with the virus and now she has developed the disease. She had fever. Now she's fine but don't know what to do...

Thanks for the encouragement. Today I didn't give her the bottle as I wanted to be sure that she is well fed. Will try later when she gets over this!

Lidia

[clh]

Hi, ladies!

Just wanted to throw a couple of things out there...  Advice here (US) is generally to continue bf'ing, even if you're sick or have been exposed to something.  Thought is that lo's are also exposed (whether you bf or not), and if you continue to nurse, at least they're getting the antibodies & nutrients that are in your milk.  BTW, Lida, I imagine it is more likely that Milena was exposed to a virus, and it happened to show up now.  {{hugs}}  They get all sorts of things when they are this age. 

Point of reference, when my boys started to daycare at about 4 months, they were taking ~4 oz bottles (3 of them throughout the time they were at daycare).  Babies will usually take more from a bottle than they do from you, just because it's easy for them.  They don't have to work to let a bottle drip in their mouths.  That's why bottles like breastflow are recommended in some situations; they mimic the work required at a real breast. 

{{hugs}} all around...  You ladies are doing great!

[jessiecat]

Hi lidia,
sorry to hear your lo is ill. I'm sure it isn't anything to do with your milk. Babies tend to pick up all sorts of bugs. My lo currently has a cold which she's given to me and before that she had a cough for 6 weeks, before that it was chicken pox and before that at 4 weeks she ended up in hospital with a virus and high temp. She sounds sickly doesn't she? The docs assure me that she is perfectly normal and babies get lots of bugs. Don't feel guilty or blame yourself although I know how easy it is to do. You are doing a great job and obviously love her loads. WE can't protect them from everything however much we'd like.

[lidiayy]

Thanks girls!

I'm so relieved to know that this illness wasn't caused by my milk. Both doctors I asked said it was something she got from another baby/child/adult. She's still suffering from high fever but it's under control. Ladies from the breastfeeding forum have helped me keeping things in perspective.

I know she may be sick a lot of times during her childhood but I think the last thing I would think that could happen this week was that she could get sick. Today we were supposed to start adaptation at daycare...I agree with you, they pick up all sorts of bugs, their body is just not ready to be bombarded with so many things!

I'm feeding her every 2 1/2 hours (very flex) so that she doesn't get dehydrated as she is EBF. I'm not pumping those days as I never know when she'll want a feed. At least, I don't need to toss my stash!

Thanks for the support. Gotta go, DD is crying. Poor LO! 

Lidia

[clh]

{{hugs}} to her!  Hope she feels better soon.

[Omy]

Poor little one - hope she is better now!

[jessiecat]

Hi everyone, guess what I've got another question 

How do you work out how much expressed breast milk to give your baby in a feed? Do you follow the guidelines for the amount of formula they would have or is there another way of working it out? So far as I'm always around when my lo has a bottle, whether it is breast milk or formula, I top up from the breast if I notice she's still hungry after her bottle. Her appetite seems to change throughout the day and every other week. I don't want to send her off to nursery without the right amount there for her but equally I don't want to waste lots of expressed milk by sending too much.

[clh]

jessiecat--  This site (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html) privides a good starting point, but as you realize, each child is different, & even the same child changes day-to-day and throughout the day.  What I did until I got a better handle on what each boy wanted was
*make bottle(s) based on the suggested amount
*send a little extra fresh milk so that more is immediately available (didn't do this too long)
*send some frozen for daycare to keep in their freezer.  It's available if lo needs more than you sent, or if something happens to what you sent (broken bottle liner, spilled bottle, etc).  Our care-ers try very hard to protect our ebm, but accidents do happen.  I tried to keep ~1.5-2 bottles worth.

[jessiecat]

Thanks clh I've checked out the site and it was really helpful as were your suggestions.
It is silly but I keep getting really panicky about little details of the whole great big going back to work thing. Hopefully I'll be able to calm down a little before the big day.

Lidia -I hope your little one is feeling better

[lidiayy]

Hi girls,

DD is better, a little grumpy though. Last night she had fever again and I think she had a headache. It's awful because when she cries, we end up with lots of AP and I don't know if she'll get used to it... Last night, she had a NW at 11 pm and DH rocked her to sleep. 
Anyways, thanks for the wishes!

Yesterday we went to the daycare to start the adaptation. We arrived there at 2:30 pm and left at 4pm. I BFed her at 2 pm and left home. She played until almost 4 pm and since the caregiver doesn't know her tired cues, she obviously (but not on purpose) lost the window! DD got OT and was about to sleep when the caregiver asked me to pick her up. DD got upset, and I don't blame her, she was up for 2 hours! Although she can handle a 4 hours EASY in terms of eating, she can't handle 2 hours of 'A' time without being OT. She ended up napping for only 30 minutes at home and then woke up.

I think all these changes (daycare, first time sick) are tough for those LO, don't you think so?

The weather here is very dry so people are more prone to respiratory illnesses, IYKWIM? DD's poop is very liquid due to this germ infection so I didn't try to give her bottles. I'll take her to daycare again today and I'll ask the caregivers to offer a bottle now that she seems to be better. Fingers crossed for me! 

Jessiecat - don't feel silly... If you knew how I am feeling at this moment... Yesterday I had a huge meltdown  I don't know about you but I'm perfectionist so I had dreamed of a perfect adaptation week, when DD would accept the bottle and come back to my breast happily, that I would have time to get used to the idea of leaving her there, that I would have the chance to explain the caregivers about her routine... Due to this illness, my plan went to pot! DH got upset because he said that I can't predict what is not predictable... As Candice has said, every LO is different and that's BW is for, reading our LO cues.... I just wonder that it could be easier (no pun intended)!

I've got to go...DD is waking up from a nap and I'll take her to the daycare. I'll keep you posted 

Hugs to all

Lidia

[Jesse Pihera]

Good Morning from New Zealand!
Our daughter is 15weeks old and shortly i am returning to work on the weekends so dad & Ludmila can spend time together (dad works long hours during the week). I am still breastfeeding exclusivley and we have tried her on the bottle and she took to it really well. However it seems our LO (little 1?) likes the bottle a bit too much as when i have been putting her to the breast at times she starts to crack up at me Ive been told that this is because the  milk is easier to suck when its coming from the bottle & she may just be getting lazy? Its a tad upsetting when this happens and i dont want to only use bottles so soon! 

[lidiayy]

Hi Jesse,

I know what you mean by using only bottles. Today was the 2nd day of DD (dear daughter) at daycare. It was the 2nd time that she took a bottle as well. I Also have the fear of her refusing my boobs so I'm using Breastflow bottles (The first years) which is most likely our breast.
It's true that some LOs (little ones) find it easier to eat from the bottle, but there are many that always go back to breast. I wish my DD is like that.

hugs!

Lidia

[clh]

Welcome to the boards, Jesse!    Yes, that can happen with bottles.  That's one reason bf'ing experts will tell you to have bf (breast feeding) well established before trying bottles.  That said, most lo's can learn to go back and forth.  If you don't have access to a breastflow bottle or a Medela special needs feeder (both more like breast & have to work more with the Medela), you can do some things to make a "normal" bottle harder for your dd.  I was told to use a slow flow nipple/teat, no matter how old the baby was.  Also, you can let her have a few swallows and then pause for a few moments (take the bottle away) before offering again.  It sounds kind of harsh, but it's good for us to put our forks down between bites, so...    I'll try to think of other tricks, but I'm blank at the moment.  Welcome again! 

[liacarmen]

I didn't use the breastflow bottles because I hadn't heard of them when I was in the bottle market - but I did always use the newborn nipples, I still do in fact. See no need to get him faster ones and I have had a lot of bf'ing problems, but not him refusing the breast in favor of the bottle.