Friday, July 23, 2010

Breastfeeding A Dairy & Gluten Sensitive Babe

Welcome to The Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival!

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today's post is about nursing in special circumstances. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st! 
 

When I was younger, my Dr. told me that wheat and dairy are the two things most babies are sensitive to and have the hardest time digesting. That has always stuck with me. Little did I know that down the road it would be true for my son.

Around two weeks of age, Goober Pie started getting fussy. Especially in the mornings and afternoons. It was his pain cry. He was in pain. He was extremely gassy and slightly constipated. His tummy hurt. I knew I didn't want to keep giving him Gripe Water everyday (even though it wouldn't have hurt him), instead I wanted to fix the issue. And that issue was dairy. Since I was breastfeeding, every time I ate dairy, he got fussy. And I was able to rule it out as the culprit. So, grudgingly I went off dairy. I didn't eat a ton, but enough that it was a problem. We saw instant results. No more fussy, gassy baby! Sure, I missed cheese and yogurt, but having a happy baby with no digestive issues was so much more important to me!  Sometimes I'd forget not to eat dairy. It was a complete lifestyle change, but one that has been so worthwhile. Goober Pie and I have now been dairy free for over a year. And I love it. I'm not a big fan of anything dairy now. It causes me digestive problems and it just disgusts me to the point of nausea. And I have a happy babe who can enjoy his Mommy's Milk without getting gassy or constipated from dairy.

Around six months of life, Goober Pie developed a strange rash on his back. When we went for his six month checkup I asked the Dr. what it was. He informed me it was eczema. It wasn't bad, but it was bad enough to me to see it on his skin. Our pediatrician at the time suggested Hydrocortisone cream and an anti-itch medicine. I had both filled but had definite concerns about using them. I lean heavily towards being crunchy and against a lot of traditional medicines, so I knew I wanted to explore my options for treatment. I talked to a couple of friends, they both told me the Hydrocortisone would just clear the surface of the skin, but that the problem would still exist under the skin. They told me to try Coconut Oil and also Probiotics dissolved in water. I tried both. I tried various other lotions and potions and NOTHING was working. He was on an all natural laundry detergent. So it couldn't be an allergic reaction... And the eczema was spreading onto his arms and tummy. I had to do something. My Mother mentioned if I had tried going off of wheat. That it was the likely cause of my son's eczema. I said no, but that I was desperate and ready to try it. So I went off all things wheat. Within TWO days (NO JOKE!) Goober Pie's skin was almost completely clear!!! Wow. So he had a gluten intolerance too. That one has been a little more difficult to deal with. Thankfully, obtaining gluten free items is not near as hard as it used to be. And I gladly let me son's food intolerance's dictate what my diet needs to be. Especially since I'm still breastfeeding him. It's important that he gets the nourishment he needs from me without having any issues regarding his sensitivities. A lot of people don't understand what it's like to have food restrictions. So we have to be very careful and watch what we eat when we're not at home. But he's a happy, healthy 13 month old and I plan to continue to stay as far away from all things wheat and dairy. When he's old enough, if he chooses to eat those things, that will be fine with me! I'm just glad we figured out his sensitivities out in a timely manner. And I'm thankful that there are so many options for people with food intolerances!



 
 Here are more posts by the Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival participants! Check back because more will be added throughout the day.
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , ,

Importance of Breastfeeding

Welcome to The Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival!

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on The Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today's post is about Importance of Breastfeeding. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!


I wrote a post earlier this year about Why I Chose To Breastfeed and it sums up my feelings on breastfeeding really well.
To me, breastfeeding is a necessity of nature, it's the way God intended our breasts to be used. To feed our children. It is the best nutrition we can give our babes. It contains everything they can ever need, it's the perfect temperature, it changes as they grow, it senses when they need antibodies for a particular illness, and it contains no artificial ingredients.
For me, it's the best option for growing and nurturing my child. Breastfeeding allows us time to bond. As we stare into each others eyes taking a break from whatever else is going on in life, we know that all is right in our special time. Goober Pie knows that he will be fed. That he is taken care of and well loved. And trust me, he LOVES his Milkies. At 13 months, he still eats every 2-3 hours most days.
I also believe that breastfeeding is giving my child the best start to his life. Breastfeeding can reduce allergies and asthma and can also continue to provide vital antibodies into toddlerhood.
Breastfeeding also plays a vital role in the life of my child by everything I've mentioned above. Plus, he gets the benefit of having his food on demand, whenever he wants it, wherever he wants it. No waiting for bottles to be made, mixed and warmed. And if he falls down and hurts himself, (like he's very prone to doing now since he just started walking) he knows he can come to Mama and nurse for comfort. He knows it's part of his bedtime routine: bath, get ready for bed, tell Dada night night, and nurse to sleep. He knows he can suckle to sleep and nap in my arms anytime during the day. And he knows that even when I'm dead dog tired in the middle of the night, I will wake up to feed him! Nice life, huh?
Breastfeeding is as equally important to my family. Not only to my husband, who gets to play, comfort, and entertain Goober Pie without the hassle of formula and bottles, it's important that I breastfeed in front of everyone. To show that it CAN be done appropriately, without a cover, and that it's not gross, but completely natural and an act of love between Mother and child. No one in my family has ever said anything negative about me breastfeeding. Everyone understands and supports my decision. And I really appreciate that!
Breastfeeding is so important to my community. Everywhere I go, every time I nurse in public, I am seeking to normalize the act of nursing in public. To show that I have NO shame in the way I've chosen to feed my child. To show that a baby CAN be breastfeed anywhere, any place, and anytime! The greater population ofAmerica is so focused on the sexual functionality of breasts that they can't see the beauty for which they were made: feeding your children. Some think it's revolting. Disgusting. Vile. Sexual. Perverted. The list of negative connotations associated with breastfeeding go on and on. But as I nurse in public, I may be able to show some that it's not negative at all.  That I don't get any sexual feelings breastfeeding my child. If you've ever been bitten, you know that's QUITE the opposite of what you feel.  And I can seek to show the public that I can breastfeed my son without using a cover and not exposing myself to them. I know not everyone wants to see my breast. Believe me, it's not something I WANT to put on display for the public. I'm not a "whip-it-out" type of feeder. But if YOU are, more power to you!! I believe that we should not judge fellow breastfeeding Mothers. How they choose to breastfeed, how long they choose to breastfeed. It is a Mother and child's choice and ONLY their choice to make. Not mine. Not yours. I hope that our community will continue to grow towards seeing more breastfeeding in public, and that the attitude will change to one of respect for the breastfeeding community. One that will thank Mothers for nursing their babies and giving the best possible start to life. One that will consider breastfeeding themselves one day when they are a Mother. One that will do away with laws that we have to protect breastfeeding Mothers because it won't be an issue anywhere anymore.

If you are a fellow breastfeeding Mother, kudos to you and all your babe(s) that you have nurtured! Thank you for seeing breastfeeding as important! Keep up the good work!




 
 Here are more posts by the Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival participants! Check back because more will be added throughout the day.
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, July 22, 2010

My Birth Experience and How It Affected Breastfeeding

Welcome to The Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival!

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on The Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today's post is about Birth Experiences and Breastfeeding. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!


I always knew I'd breastfeed my babies. It was just natural to me. When I got pregnant, I started attending La Leche League meetings to prepare myself to know as much as I could about breastfeeding. I don't think it would have mattered at all what my birth experience had been, I was determined to breastfeed Goober Pie!
Thankfully, I had a wonderful birth experience. In fact, I'm working on a post about Goober Pie's birth story right now. It was perfect. I was able to have a completely natural birth in the hospital, fully supported by my OB and by all the hospital staff. I had a Birth Plan and we were able to follow it exactly. God really blessed us in that. I know lots of women who were not able to birth like they wanted to.
I was able to try to get Goober Pie to latch a little while after his birth. He had aspirated as he was born, so he had some amniotic fluid in his lungs that they worked hard to get out. He was breathing really hard and fast, so they were going to have to take him to the NICU to see if they could get his breathing back to normal. Thankfully, they let me try to latch him before they took him. He wasn't really interested, so we just got to bond. It was the sweetest moment. Me looking at him, in amazement that he was here. That he was mine. Oxytocin flowing through my body making me just gush love. This little wonder of a boy staring back at me. Perfectly calm. Beautiful little bundle.
Thankfully, right when the nurse got him to the NICU floor, his breathing evened out so she was able to bring him back to us! We were transferred to a room and he was sent to the nursery for his first bath and all his first tests to check him out. Waiting for him in my hospital room was agony. I wanted to see my baby, and to be with him.
After about 5 hours, he was returned to me. He was hungry. The nursery nurse that night played a huge role in my breastfeeding career.  Sure, I knew what to do. Knew what a good latch looked like. But I had no idea what it was supposed to FEEL like. I had no idea to take what I knew and put it into reality. I had flat nipples, so getting Goober Pie to latch was very difficult. The nursery nurse brought me some Medela nipple shields, and spent a good long while with me and my babe showing me what positions were good to nurse a newborn in, and helping me get a good latch and maintain it.
I'm so thankful to her. Because left on my own, while my exhausted husband peacefully snoozed, I would have become more and more frustrated. I would have been in hysterical tears. I would have felt like a failure. But there she was, a phone call away. Willing to come and get up close and personal with me, my breast, and my baby to make sure that he got the best thing for him: breastmilk.
So I didn't have a traumatic birth. Labor was very long, but it was a beautiful experience. I'm sure it helped me glide right into breastfeeding my son. I'm not sure how my experience breastfeeding would have been affected if I had a different experience giving birth to my son. I do know that no matter what, breastfeeding was, and is, my top priority.





 
 Here are more posts by the Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival participants! Check back because more will be added throughout the day.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Breastfeeding Goober Pie

Welcome to The Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival!

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today's post is Wordless Wednesday: Breastfeeding Photos! Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!

Here is my Wordless Wednesday Post! My breastfeeding Photo's! All photo's taken by me starting when my son was 7 months and continuing on. We're still breastfeeding at 13 months!
























 Here are more posts by the Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival participants! Check back because more will be added throughout the day.
Posted by at 5 comments:
Labels: , , , ,

My Perfect Job

Welcome to The Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival!

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today's post is about breastfeeding and employment. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!


I have a job. I am a glorified babysitter. Yep, you heard me right! A full out, glorified babysitter. And I love it.  Want to know why I love it? 
I work for a family whose teenage son started homeschooling last year. He is doing online course work through Connections Academy. They needed someone to come and stay with him during the day. Not so much to supervise, but just for help with schoolwork. I found out about the opportunity through my sister's husband's family. The family I work for is related to my brother-in-law and his family. I had just had my son, Goober Pie, in June, and this opportunity came up in August. It was perfect for me. I'd always wanted to be a SAHM, but this gave me the opportunity to help out another family, help out our family, and I had the freedom to take Goober Pie with me. So I talked to the head of the household one evening to get the scoop and told him about Goober Pie and he was more than happy to offer their family's assistance in whatever I needed as far as anything for the baby. We set up a meeting for our families. We were warmly greeted when we arrived at my future boss' house. I got the grand tour and the low down on the house where I'd be working. Also, the Mother of the family and I talked about breastfeeding. She was so excited that I was breastfeeding and had breastfeed and co-slept with both of her children. She said me breastfeeding was not a problem, cover or no cover. (At this point in my breastfeeding journey, I was still using a cover because that's what made ME the most comfortable!) I was so happy at their reaction about my breastfeeding-they made me feel so welcome to be able to feed my son the way that I believe God intended women to. They also were curious and supported me in cloth diapering! When I started working for the family, I was breastfeeding every couple of hours and using my cover. The longer I worked and the older my son got, I became more comfortable (and skilled!) at feeding without a cover, which is what I do now. I have never gotten any sort of uncomfortable vibe from anyone about my breastfeeding.  Even the 13 year old young man I stay with. He understands my son's need to eat and understands that I breastfeed him. I appreciate his positive attitude towards me and my son about this very much. He has never seem bothered by it nor does it seem to gross him out. That, in my opinion, is VERY cool in this day and age! We talk, we do schoolwork, he eats, etc all while Goober Pie breastfeeds. It's been a fabulous job, I love the family and love the ease of my job. I'm basically there, playing with Goober Pie, until I need to answer questions, help with experiments, go on field trips, run school related errands, etc. All in the comfort of a home who supports my efforts of breastfeeding. And, I'm going back for another school year this coming August! 


Yeah, you could say I have the perfect job...but I don't want to brag... ;0)







 Here are more post by the Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival participants! Check back because more will be added throughout the day.
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Thursday, July 15, 2010

My Miscarriage (Part 2)

After I had my emergency d&c, I was able to recover at home for a day.  Friends brought meals and spoke comforting words. I was scheduled to go to Vegas for a huge Expo with my job that Saturday. So back to work I went on Friday.  I remember being empty.  Scatterbrained.  Wondering when I'd get back into my pre-pregnancy clothes and shape.  I had a hard time concentrating that day.  My boss was not that sympathetic-after all, I'd had a DAY to recover, right? After work I went home and packed my clothes and then later on went to bed.  I was still bleeding from the surgery. It was very light bleeding, so it wasn't as hard to deal with.  I still felt so sterile...so empty.  I don't know quite how to describe it...Did it really happen? Was I really pregnant?  There seemed to be no tell-tale signs except light bleeding...  I got up bright and early on Saturday and headed off to Vegas for my work trip where I would go  ignore what had just happened to me. I didn't dwell on the fact I had just had a miscarriage.  Instead I threw myself into my work and tried hard NOT to think about it. I don't know if I should have even gone on that trip. I don't think so-but God knew what He was doing. I mean-WHY did I leave my husband a couple DAYS after we had lost our first child? That's crazy!  He needed me, I'm sure. He was still mourning...and off I went.  To my work Expo.  Away from home, from family, from what my reality held at the time-a loss.  A devastating loss.  After I got home  my husband and I talked about when we wanted to try to get pregnant again.  I just could not even think about it. And he was ready! I was not.  I was still devastated, heart broken.  I was empty.  I had made the decision (mostly on my own) that I was going to go BACK on birth control.  After all, what was a 22 year old girl with a *GREAT* (NOT) job doing thinking about starting a family? I had an appointment with my OB/GYN the day after I got back from Vegas.  I told her I wanted to go back on the pill and she gave me a prescription. I had it filled much to my husband's chagrin.  He wanted to try to have another baby.  I did not.  The months that followed my miscarriage are very sad, in my mind.  I went completely wild.  At least, wild for me.  I didn't really want to be married anymore.  I wanted to be on my own.  I made my job my number one priority.  I was so lost in myself, still taking the birth control to avoid the horrible pitfall of becoming pregnant again.  I wanted a different life.  And then, slowly but surely, God started pulling on my heart.  Taking it back to Him.  Back to my dream of wanting to be a wife and Mother above all else.  Even, a JOB.  My boss and I really were not getting along.  She was wanting perfection. I'm here to tell you that I'm not perfect-at all!  Then my husband and I went out for a date night in August of 2008. Our date nights had turned into quiet times, cause I was not being the wife I needed to be.  He brought up the wanting to start a family thing again.  I started crying.  I told him that I was FINALLY ready to start thinking of starting a family.  I told him I was tired of my job taking time away from family things and from us.  I told him I was sorry for a lot of things. He was so kind, caring and gentle. We were both emotional.  I went away from that night happier than I'd been in a really long time.  God had put peace in my heart, and it was leaking through! 
After that I went off the pill and we started trying to conceive. A couple months passed by with no pregnancy.  By October 1, 2008, I was gone from my job.  After an ugly episode with my boss, I chose not to go back. And then, we found out we were pregnant with Goober Pie!  I was closely monitored by my OB for the first few weeks since I had a history of miscarriage.  Everything turned out to be fine! We made the announcement to our respective families and friends and they were so excited with us!  I had a happy, healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby boy born! 


I'm so grateful for the path God chose to take me down. It was not in the least bit easy, but it really strengthened my relationship with God, with my husband, and reconfirmed in my life what things were priorities.  


If you've had the sorrow of miscarriage in your life, please know that you are not alone.  It isn't easy! But good things can come after a loss.  For several people I know, they are more fertile after they miscarry.  God seems to really bless those who miscarry with fast subsequent pregnancies.  Keep your chin up, and know that God works everything out for HIS good and we are here to glorify Him.  Through our trials and tribulations He brings us closer to Him.  


Now I need to write Goober Pie's birth story...
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)