Gah!
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Not too much happened last week pregnancy-wise, mostly because I was so busy that I managed to ignore the whole expanding waist thing in order to...survive? Yeah. Three more weeks of school, then finals, then done with school forever and ever amen.
Mark did get to feel the baby last week. She gave him one kick and then said that she was done performing and please go away. Oh, but does she kick all the time! I can see it, and I find myself strangely inclined to speak with her when it happens - hello baby! Good morning, baby! Let's eat, baby! But instead of baby, I call her by her real name.
(I haven't decided if I want to tell the internets about her name, because my head would probably get all explod-y if there were any negative comments about it.)
We also got our registries going at Target and Babies R Us. Registering kind of stresses me out, probably unnecessarily. I am overwhelmed by all things feeding, and instead of wanting to research the options I find that I just want to take a nap and maybe just get a bite to eat, since someone brought up feeding. Feel free to leave your advice on how to prepare for breastfeeding followed by mad back-to-work pumping at around 9 weeks. I need all the help I can get.
I am starting to get really worried that I am going to make our daughter into the same flavor of weirdo as me. I may be outing myself as the last person in the world who remembers when Tom Green was funny, but the other day while Mark was washing a pan, I couldn't help but to rub my butt on his butt and sing, "My bum is on your bum, my bum is on your bum, look at me! My bum is on your bum!"
(I may need to start acting more...normal...when the baby comes.)
(More accurately, my bum was on his upper thigh because he is way taller, but upper thigh just didn't fit well in the song.)
26 comments:
Pumping is no fun, so prepare yourself for that. But it is doable. Start right away, if you can find the time, so you can create a supply stockpile. As soon as you're reasonably certain that the baby has breastfeeding down, introduce the bottle. And by that I mean, have Mark feed her. (That will serve 2 purposes - you get a break and she will associate Dad with the bottle and Mom with the good stuff)
Also important: find a good place to pump at work. My state mandates that the employer provides a private location other than the bathroom for pumping. I was so happy to learn that - I don't eat lunch in the bathroom, and I didn't think my daughter should have to have bathroom meals either.
Most important: Get a good pump! I had a Medela pump in style, which was good for daily work. But I also had a hand pump that seemed to work better (but I didn't want to give myself carpal tunnel syndrome trying to use that 3-4 times a day).
Finally, find out if your insurance will cover lactation consultants, because they know all the good tricks. And, Tom Green has never been funny (OK, maybe for about 5 minutes of the hours and hours of tripe that he inflicted on society).
The sad thing is, you say Tom Green, I say, "oh yeah, the guy from Freddie got fingered". That's got to be tough for Tom now, that he's only remembered for the most shocking of his work. I just don't know why Drew called it off. Remember when their house burned down?
People should totally keep their opinions to themselves when it comes to names!!! You could name her Pickle and if that's the name you two choose...then that's good enough!
Re: Breastfeeding...I am going to do this myself. my friend, and supermom, breastfeeds and bottle feeds pumped milk. her kids have never had trouble switching back and forth. That was my main concern.
You're right. Don't tell the internets her name. :) As much as I would like to know.
Even if your insurance/work doesn't cover lactation consultants, it's not that expensive to have a consultation, and can be totally worth it.
Glad to hear all is going well. When it comes to registering, if you have any friends that have been through this, take them with you. My BF took me with her as she was totally overwhelmed. I was able to steer her to some ideas of what she needed and what she probably did not. And meeting with a nice lactation consultant is the best. I didn't feel like I got good breastfeeding support from the OB nurses at my hospital. The nurses in the NiCU were awesome, but they recommended a good LC for me and tracked her down on her day at the hospital for me.
And keep the sense of humor. You're going to need it! And when they get older, kids love stupid silly stuff! My 8 year old would love "My bum is on your bum!" LOL
As much as I'm dying to know her her name, I'd say keep it a secret. There's a small, but very judgemental part of the interweb you should not have to deal with.
Also, Tom Green used to be hilarious, I remember too :)
Yea don't tell the name - tell no one the name until she's here! that way if people are really stupid enough to say something negative AFTER she's here (and trust me someone will) you can kick their @$$ - I think legally in 43 states!
And there's no need to grow up and act normal once she's here. I've got three now and I still don't consider myself a grown-up.
First of all...yay breastfeeding! I'm all for it myself. I was bottle fed, and my mom had a hard time finding a formula I could tolerate.
Secondly...I never saw "Freddie Got Fingered" but I do remember when Tom Green was funny! I love the Bum-Bum song! My husband thinks I'm crazy when I sing it, so I don't do it so often. But c'mon..."my bum is on the Sweee-dish!" How great a line is that?
You need to take a much deserved nap after finals!
Pumping kind of sucks at first. Then I thought of it as my time during the day to connect with the baby while I'm away from him (instert cheesy music here). But, it helped make it tolerable for me. Plus, it forces me to take a break, which is kind of nice.
Please don't grow up when you have the baby. That's no fun at all.
And - thanks for putting the Tom Green song in my head.
I found registering to be absolutely stressful. The only way I managed to do it at all was to do most of it from home, online.
My two cents -- keep the name to yourself until she's born. Then it's too late for people to make comments like, "I knew someone with that name, and she smelled really bad."
And about breastfeeding/pumping. I knew it would be hard, so I took a class and bought a book and thought I would be fine. Not so. I endured 4 weeks of hell to establish our BF relationship. I wish someone would have advised me to locate a lactation consultant BEFORE the birth, so when things went all to hell in those first couple of days, I would have had her number handy right away. That could have saved me tons of heartache. As it was, I didn't see her until one week after the birth when things had hit rock bottom.
Yay for breastfeeding. I too will be asking these questions shortly.
And I certainly think the world could use another you. You have a way of putting a smile on my face with these blogs!
You're right, the internets don't need to know her name.
I used to love the bum song, and I still sing it, too. My little nephew picked up on it, and I have video of him when he was three rubbing his butt on the Christmas tree singing "My bum is on the Kiss-mas tree, my bum is on the Kiss-mas tree" and it's cute as can be. Little weirdos are really cute.
Also, because I can't shut up, we vacationed on a lake in MI this summer (yes, the devil state, but it wasn't football season) and everytime we heard a loon I'd say "No not the loon, the cannon, I wanna hear the cannon." Which quickly drove the hubs (who loved Tom Greene back in the day) totally bonkified.
No advice on breastfeeding or registering. Hope to be there myself some day, so am filing the advice you get for future reference.
There are so many things that stores think you need or at least want you to think that you need -- you don't need it all! You will find a few things that are WONDERFUL and just what you want and the rest will collect dust! All this precious really needs you are already giving it!!!
Breastfeeding -- You asked for it! I had no intentions of breastfeeding my first child but was after much research decided to give it a try and here I am expecting number six and I can not imagine doing anything else!
It is so hard at first, BUT it gets so much easier with time! Having some good supporters makes it easier - the emotions can run wild! Everyone has an opinion and some you will like and some you will not - be ready for the ones that you do not - DO NOT LET THEM GET TO YOU!!
Le Leche League has a website and several books, some of the information is helpful and some is not! If you can find a good consultant that you can click with then great! Mine was too 'hands on' my breasts and I was not prepared for that!!!!
All I can really say is keep asking, hang in there and find LOTS of resources at first it is so tough but then it just becomes second nature! And it is so worth it when it does!
Kudos on your breastfeeding decision! I pumped for 8 1/2 months.... at which point the sound of my medela made me want to vomit and or scream so i finally stopped.
However I'm glad I did it for as long as I did.
I do highly suggest the medela. They're the best of the best (albeit not cheap) The accessories that come with it are all BPA free. (yay)
as far as bottles, I used the playtex ones... and of course... they were not BPA free... but that was 2 1/2 years ago.
My sister in law uses these ones.. and she loves loves loves them... they're not cheap.. but she says they're well worth it. Plus the shape is very similar to mommy so its very easy for her daughter to go back and forth between bottle and boobie.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2968119&isTopSellingItem=true
also, i never warmed my milk for my daughter. She got used to having it cold and that worked out great.. I highly suggest trying that because it'll save you alot of time.
I also highly suggest getting some of these. You won't need them right away.. but they're fabulous. I use them to pack snacks in and lunches for when she started eating solid foods. I can't live without them and they're easy to clean and store. Plus you won't end up using a gazzillion sandwich bags.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2729190&cp=2256162
and lastly this is another thing I loved when the solids first started. Perfect for chunks of apple, banana etc etc.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2404768
Pickle? I like it. Tickle pickle! :-)
I have nothing to add about breastfeeding and/or pumping so this will be my first go at it, too.
You're smart not to share your daughter's name, although people would probably play nice. When I told my family the name we selected (Zoe), I was asked a million times "how did you choose that name?" "what does Zoe mean?", etc. The questions were harmless, but I was offended that I had to somehow justify the name. (And that was my family....I couldn't imagine dealing with strangers)
Ahhh, registering. I am stalling on that one. There is so much stuff out there and you actually need so little of it. Congrats for getting through the first part of it. I agree that taking a friend who is a recent mom is a good idea so they can weed through all the "fluff."
I also hope to breastfeed and plan on absorbing all the information I can get from my mom and my girlfriends around me. We have a fabulous place out here called the Pump Station and I hear they are amazing. I was told by my Labor and Delivery nurse friend to go in before I give birth so I can get some information and get to know the ladies so when I walk in the door in tears with baby in arms, they will know where to point me. My nurse friend also suggested renting a pump from the hospital you deliver at until you see how things go.
In the end, it is up to you what makes you comfortable and what works best for you. The best advice I keep getting from all of my girlfriends is not to let what anyone says get to you. Everyone seems to know exactly what is right for you but in the end, they aren't the ones there at 2 am when you are feeling defeated and lost.
I look forward to hearing how things go since you are 2 weeks ahead of me and get to do it first. :) That is unless my wee one decides to come early and then we might be going through it together.
I haven't read everyone's comments - but check out hackleyme.com for great deals on the Medela Pump in Style Advanced - it is like $100 cheaper than BRU!!
Only other advice is to not wait until you go back to work to start the bottle; a friend of mine didn't introduce the bottle early enough and her daughter hardly ate for her caregiver the first two weeks she had gone back to work!
Good luck :-)
Yeah for registering. I had a hard time registering for the wedding, I can only imagine doing it for a baby... Good luck with finals and everything else! And even though I am sure your baby's name is Kristen, I can't wait to hear it from you ;)
Kristen
Also, huge fan of Tom Green, and was just singing that song to husband not too long ago. (He looked at me like I had escaped from the booby-hatch. What-ev.)
Yeah for registering. I had a hard time registering for the wedding, I can only imagine doing it for a baby... Good luck with finals and everything else! And even though I am sure your baby's name is Kristen, I can't wait to hear it from you ;)
Kristen
Also, huge fan of Tom Green, and was just singing that song to husband not too long ago. (He looked at me like I had escaped from the booby-hatch. What-ev.)
I laugh because I can relate to several things in your post.
1) I talk to my baby all the time when she kicks. Only I really do say "baby," "BabyGirl," "Thumperina," and "Kicksie" because she does not have a real name just yet.
2) I thought I was the only one in the world who could get stressed out by making a baby registry. Now, this does not even include big-ticket items (stroller, car seat, etc), and I have already spent DOZENS of hours researching those.
For the registry, last night I spent literally over an hour reading about 3 different baby bathtubs. And then had to consult with S about my reluctant decision. They all seemed to have drawbacks. Tonight, I tried to read about swaddling blankets, got confused and overwhelmed, and had to give up. The only thing I didn't stress too much about so far is a packet of burp cloths. :)
3) I ALSO need lots of advice about pumping at work. So far, I have heard whispers of "Medela Pump In Style Advanced" and "pump in the car..." Mooooooo!
Sarah
haha great song! I think being fun immature parents are the best kind :)
I have the same thing with the names, I have told way to many IRL ppl what names we have choosen and I get a lot of comments, ones I don't like. Sooo I am thinking keeping the name a secret from the internets, but I am not sure yet! good luck deciding!
kellymom.com is a great breastfeeding resource! My nipples almost fell off for the 1st 3 weeks, but then it was like magic and it was easy. Get through the first month and you are golden. Its free, and its always there, no bottles to make in the middle of the night. Just throw her on the booby.
Don't tell the the name to anyone!!!! Not even your FAMILY! its your baby--but for some reason everyone thinks they can share their opinions (esp about names) freely!
I love your blog!
I still sing the "My bum is on the/your *insert noun*" song. My husband also sings it. It is funny. It will always be funny. Nothing can ever change that.
Also! Breastfeeding! As a recent initiate into the cult, I will tell you that you should have your lactation consultant on speed dial. My child was tongue tied and gave me blood blisters from nursing in his first day of life. Breastfeeding, as natural as it is, does not come naturally at all. And also, they say it's not supposed to hurt if you're doing it right, but that's a load of crap. Latching on hurts. Anyway, I think I've said enough.
And also. My bum is on the chair.
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