A new washing machine?

It's really sad when Monday night turns into getting the baby to sleep and researching washing machines.

A little background: we bought our set at a used appliance store when we bought the house. They're nice, but have some ideosyncracies. The washer has been known to over-fill sometimes and flood the house. Oops. The dryer squeaks. So, since the washer is the important part, we're reading about them.

Of course, for cloth diapers, all washers are not created equally. Sean wants a front loader, which use way less water. Way less water = less clean diapers. I'll make it work, but I want to know what features will make my diaper-washing easier, or at least as effective as it is now.

And so, that's how I came to spend my Monday night sitting next to Sean in our matching recliners and looking at washing machines. And just in case anyone is interested, it's between a Samsung with no soak or a Maytag with a soak option. Oh, the choices...

(Also, I apologize for the boringness of this post. I'll have Peter's 6 month pictures to post tomorrow. I just have to get the cd out of Sean's computer.)

Peter update!

It's amazing how fast babies grow. It really seems like yesterday (I know, could I be any more cliched?) that we brought Peter home. I just can't believe it's been nearly 5.5 months.

Anyway, I was pretty adamant that I didn't want to start solid food until he was 6 months old, especially considering the weight issues/supply issues. I was so afraid it would cause him to nurse less, and then everything I've worked for would fall apart. He, however, had other plans.

Eating and drinking has been getting harder and harder to do with Peter even in the room, because he reaches for food and drinks, cries, etc. I finally agreed with Sean that maybe we should try offering him some banana. I didn't want to use canned food though, so we just cut him a piece. The following video shows how it went:



What you don't see is that right after I stopped recording, he leaned down, mouthed at it, and then set up. Half the piece was gone! The little stinker ate the whole piece on the tray, then cried for more. He got a couple more bites, and has gotten to share a little more with Daddy on another night.

He's also had his first sip of water, because he grabbed my cup last night and stuck his mouth on it. Once I tipped it, he lapped at it. He didn't really get enough to count, but at least he's learning how to drink from a cup.

Oh, and in breastfeeding news, he's gone from getting 6-8oz of formula a day to 4oz. I'm now pumping around 12oz a day, and he takes 16oz at daycare (some days just 14oz). He has also given up his nighttime supplemental bottle. He'll play with it, but doesn't really drink any. We've quit offering it, with the pediatrician's blessing. Hopefully I'll continue to see an increase in pumping, and we'll be totally off the stuff soon! He's definitely taking plenty from me now; I keep accidentally spraying him in the face, and he can eat for 10 minutes/side and be good to go for several hours now!

Oh, and here's another video taken the same day as the banana one, in which he discusses his day with me:

Adventures in Breastfeeding

Our road has been rocky. Our road is still rocky. I thought it would come easy to us, since I had done so much reading. Yeah, not so much.

It all started in the hospital. Peter screamed his whole first night, and I couldn't get him to latch. I had a nurse (from staffing pool) who kept telling me to let her know if I needed help, but never actually helped at all. She actually offered me formula. I requested a pump. (Keep in mind this was a WHO-designated Baby-Friendly hospital). I met a lactation consultant the next day before we went home, and was informed that I have large nipples, and would probably always have to pump on the left side.

Things didn't get easier. I kept pumping, and Peter had a bottle of formula at three days old. He had lost 14% of his birthweight. Certain family members kept insisting formula would be the best thing for him (and still do). I cried. A lot. And continued pumping and occasionally using formula for his whole first month of life. There were many tears on my part, because I was a failure (in my mind). I just remember telling Sean over and over again that I was a terrible mom, because Peter would have died if born in a different era.

And then, I went back to the WNC Breastfeeding Center. I had an appointment with a fantastic lactation consultant (LC), Crystal. She was wonderful. She helped me get Peter latched, but we realized that he has a high palate. It makes it hard for him to get a good latch, and he needed a little help. Enter the nipple shield. A few herbs to get my supply back up to normal, and we were good to go. Good weight gain, good diapers, easier travels. Life was better. He eventually decided he was done with the shield when he hit 4 months. Just quit using it one day. Life got easier.

Pumping at work is a struggle. I have issues getting more than 11oz a day, even pumping five times. It feels like my name should be Bessie; I'm a freakin' dairy cow hooked up to the machine.

The problem with pumping so little is that he really needs more for the time period (nearly 13 hours/day). Enter feelings of failure again when his weight gain slowed dramatically. Back to the Breastfeeding Center. This time I got to work with Teresa. All the pumping has really hurt my supply. Peter currently gets 6-8oz of formula a day, in addition to feeding directly and getting my pumped milk. While he has been meeting all of his developmental milestones, he just hasn't been gaining. Supplementing helps. Cue more tears.

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I really have fought long and hard for our breastfeeding relationship. I refuse to give up on it. I have more herbs to take as well as domperidone, a drug that boosts prolactin levels and helps increase milk supply. The ultimate goal is to no longer need the formula. But if we do, I think I can be ok with it. I still feed my son the way I desire. I still get to have him look into my eyes and rub my face while he eats. I can go out in public and not need to pack a bottle. I can nourish him, even if he needs a little help.

All that to say, as hard a road as this has been, breastfeeding is one of my favorite parts of being a mom. It's wonderful! (And I still consider myself a breastfeeder, not a combo-feeder. I also still don't like the idea of formula. Just saying. I think it should be a last-resort, not a first choice. And honestly, I would rather use donor milk, but Sean isn't comfortable with the idea at all.)

Feeling the fitted diaper love!

Have you ever used fitted cloth diapers? I've found the love, and I can't get enough! Sure, they're a little more work at daycare, so I still send my pockets. But at home, give me a fitted and a cover any day! I even let Peter go coverless sometimes, so his little butt can get some air! Look for pictures coming soon!

Cloth Diaper Addiction is currently doing Under Cover month, with lots of blog posts about fitteds and prefolds--anything that goes under a cover! Check them out!

It's been too long!

It's been forever since I've updated here, but I really do have some ideas in mind for blog topics. At some point, I want to chronicle our breastfeeding struggles and our jump into the world of cloth diapers.

Problem is, updating takes forever when I always have a baby on me. Even now, I'm feeding Peter. I love it, but it doesn't leave me with a lot of free time. I do plan to get back to blogging regularly soon. He's finally becoming ok with sitting on his own for a few minutes at a time.

I don't even have any pictures for this post, because they're all on the desktop/camera card. I'm such a slacker...

But I'll be back soon, promise! Too much has happened that I don't want to forget, so I really need to get it all written down!

Peter's birth story

I woke up around 11:45 Saturday night (September 4th) when my water broke. Being so early and in the middle of house projects--stuff like getting vinyl siding on the house and the nursery painted and carpet laid, I was in denial. I got up and kept trying to convince myself that I had just peed everywhere. Hah. Around 12:30am, I had my first contraction, which wasn't too terrible. It wasn't comfortable, but I could deal. From the beginning, they were 4-5 minutes apart and at least a minute long. After four or five of them, I woke Sean up, then hopped in the shower. After all, I had primer all over my legs from working on the nursery!

Sean went into panic mode and started throwing things into bags, since we didn't have anything packed. He called the OB on call, and then she called me back after I got out of the shower. She told me to go ahead and head on in to get checked out. In the seven miles from our house to the hospital, I had four contractions. They were starting to get way more painful, and way more frequent. We also saw two live possums in the road, which Sean said was a good sign.

Got to the hospital (and left my cell phone in the lobby bathroom!), got checked in, and the baby's heart rate was up a little, and so was my blood pressure. She laid me flat on my back and LEFT ME THERE! I was super ticked by that point. So I hopped up and threw up (because it wouldn't be the end of my pregnancy if I didn't).

She finally got around to checking me at 3am, after we had been there for around 45 minutes. I don't think she was really expecting me to be that far along, since at my appointment on Thursday, I was 1cm and 70% effaced. Well, I surprised her, because I was already 90% effaced and at 5cm. I asked for some IV pain meds, but they wouldn't give me anything until they got fluid in me since I was so dehydrated, and since the baby's heart rate was still a little fast. They did finally move me to a room though.

Once I got into my room, I couldn't move. Even turning my head made me want to throw up. Around 3:30am, I told Sean I couldn't handle it, that I needed the epidural. All I really remember is saying that it hurt and I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I literally had so little fluid in me that I couldn't produce tears. Honestly, I probably could have handled everything with just some pain meds if I hadn't been so dehydrated and could have moved around. The relief was pretty immediate, although it didn't take all the way. I could still feel contractions on my left side, but they weren't as bad. Instead, I just shook uncontrollably through them. At one point, my nurse checked the monitor, and they were lasting for two minutes at a time. Then I threw up again. :)

Around 4:45am, DH asked her when I should be checked again. She told him that I needed to feel some pressure first. I looked at her and said, "Uh, I have been for awhile..." Guess I should have mentioned it earlier. She gloved up, and her eyes got really wide. I was totally ready. She called the OB, and then went to the bathroom and to get a cup of coffee. The OB got there within a few minutes, and informed me that baby had hair, and lots of it. At that point, I was getting a little freaked out. This was supposed to take longer!

I pushed for 1.5 hours. It wasn't anything crazy, except I apparently have a weird inner tissue band that neither the OB or nurse had ever seen before. It held him in place kind of tightly, so I had some trouble getting it stretched out. In the end, I had one small tear on the outside that didn't really need any work, but that inner band tore in three different places.

Anyway, at 6:25am, I asked if they thought I would have a baby by 7am. The OB said she gave me 'til 6:30. The nurse guessed one more push. She was right. He came out waving his big old hands (everyone remarked on them!) and spreading his legs wide! I got to hold him for a minute, then they took him because he was breathing so fast. They finally decided that it was fast, but not dangerous and gave him back. Sean then got to hold him, and decided on his name.

I'm still in awe!

Introducing...

Peter Amias Snyder!

Peter was born September 5 (so I'm a little behind on my posting)! He was 7 pounds 15 ounces, and 19.5 inches long. He looks so much like Sean!! I'll have to post his birth story soon (when I can type with both hands). I also have a couple other posts floating around my head. Until then, here's some pictures from the day he was born!








Peter Amias Snyder!

Peter was born September 5 (so I'm a little behind on my posting)! He was 7 pounds 15 ounces, and 19.5 inches long. He looks so much like Sean!! I'll have to post his birth story soon (when I can type with both hands). I also have a couple other posts floating around my head. Until then, here's some pictures from the day he was born!