One of the big themes of this week was breastfeeding. Greg and I attended a class on breastfeeding put on by our hospital and some affiliated lactation consultants. I did learn a few things, but honestly, I feel like I knew more than I thought I did about breastfeeding from my own research, blogs, friends, etc... so a lot of the information wasn't new to me. Greg REALLY didn't want to go to the class, but it said in the description to bring your spouse or support person, so I insisted that he go with me and bribed him with Jimmy Johns beforehand. Luckily pretty much everyone there brought their husbands, so he wasn't the only one. I don't know that he got much out of it other than to maybe understand that breastfeeding can be challenging and it's not always an automatic thing so hopefully he'll understand that it could be difficult and can be supportive if it is.
Learning about the latches and positions were probably the most useful parts of the class for me. Even though that wasn't necessarily new info to me, it still helped to see and hear about it again. Also, we learned that you can gently put your finger in the baby's mouth and remove her from the nipple to try again if the latch isn't right and what a good latch should look like. I didn't know the nipple went in so deeply! I also learned that if you are pumping, morning time is best- you can do it after a morning feeding.
My biggest disappointment was when I asked about when was the best time to introduce a bottle and the lactation consultant basically told me never. Um... Ok. While I definitely am planning to breastfeed, I want to be able to bottle feed my baby (hopefully with breast milk) on occasion as well. It doesn't have to be right away, but eventually I need to be able to have a little freedom to be away from the baby and have someone else feed her, or be able to let Greg feed her if he wants to. I feel like the answers to this question are all over the place. I have friends that introduced bottles right away (the first week), some that waited two weeks, I've heard four weeks.... I'm kind of confused. If you guys have suggestions on this let me know. I'm kind of learning towards around 3 weeks maybe? I really want to have success with both breast and bottle feeding.
Along with the class, I also called and ordered my breast pump this week. My insurance covers one, along with a supply of storage bags, which is really cool, since breast pumps are expensive! This is new in 2013, so I kind of lucked out that I'm due this year and that they fully cover it. I believe the one I'm getting is the Ameda Purely Yours electric pump. They also include like 150 storage bags and I can call for more three times after the initial batch. Good deal!
Ok, enough about breastfeeding! So physically, it's kind of been more of the same- feeling ginormous, swelling in my ankles at the end of the day (I might have to buy new shoes, because I'm so swollen it's hard to fit into my shoes!), more heartburn. All the fun stuff. I actually got some comments from a couple co-workers about how big I've gotten in the last month this week. I ran into some people I haven't seen in a few weeks and they were like, "Whoa". So I don't think it's just my imagination! Also, I was talking to a girl in the breastfeeding class that looked to be about the same size as me and she is a MONTH ahead of me. So yeah. I'm big.
At the end of the week I had a check up with my doctor. I got to see my favorite doctor at my practice- the one that did both my surgeries. I asked a lot of questions. He said they have my weight gain at 23 lbs, which is less than what I have from my home scale. Nice! He said for swelling I should keep drinking a lot of water- preferably over any other type of drink, and that sometimes a warm bath helps draw out some of the extra fluid, but I should just use like Ivory or some kind of mild soap in the bath instead of lots of fru-fru bubble bath. My belly measured on track, and he said everything looks really good. Also, the baby's heartbeat was about 145 BPM.
I also had another chiropractor appointment and I feel like that's helping with my back, which is great.
What else... Oh, as usual I did do some walking this week. Treadmill, a long walk with Kelly and our dogs over the weekend, and a walk around the neighborhood. It wasn't my most consistent week, but at least I got a bunch in.
How far along? 33 Weeks
Maternity clothes? Pretty much all maternity. Even some of my cardigans look ridiculously small on me now, except the big ones.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Symptoms: heartburn, movement, back pain, swelling in the feet/ankles, feeling huge.
Best moment this week: Hearing her heartbeat.
Miss Anything? Sleeping well, not having heartburn, running, having distinct ankles.
Movement: Yup, she is rolling around in there!
Food cravings: chocolate, ice cream (I'm really into the Ben and Jerry's raspberry chocolate Greek frozen yogurt), pita chips, Snackimals.
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Have you started to show yet: Yes, duh. I feel extremely huge.
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No, thank god!
Belly Button in or out? It's kind of out.
Mood: Good!
Looking forward to: My baby shower, which is coming up this weekend.
What I am NOT looking forward to: Feeling heavier, more tired, and more uncomfortable in the coming weeks.
Weekly Wisdom: Um, hang in there?
Milestones: Counting weeks instead of months. Surreal.
1 comments:
Oh it's so important that he went with you to the breastfeeding class. In the beginning when things are a bit (or a lot) tough, and you are emotional post partum, it is important for him to remind you of things you learned or a new latch to try or whatever....guys tend to remember the practical stuff when things are a little emotional ;)
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