And I have some more questions that I can't find in my books...thanks in advance ladies!
1. I know you can keep expressed BM out for 6-8 hours, but if we reheat it, how long can it stay out? And can it be reheated again?
2. Can I take a bottle of BM out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature on its own? And how long will it be good for that way? I ask because I'd like to just have bottles if we got out to eat, doctor's appts, etc. so I don't have to use the cover which I can't stand.
3. How long did you swaddle your baby? We plan to do it until she is STTN but if that doesn't happen until she's 5+ months, is she too old for swaddling?
4. DD gets fussy when nursing sometimes which she just started this week. She'll nurse for 5-8 minutes then wail...neither boob nor bottle console her but her pacifier does (sometimes) but mostly she just cries for 10-20 minutes before she can be settled. Is it something I ate that makes the milk taste bad to her? Thoughts on what it could be? We burp her, we check her diaper, we try to rock her but she just cries. It only happens 1-2 times a day but when it does we feel terrible that we can't console her until it passes. The books say Colic is three hours of continuous crying so I don't think it's colic....is it?
That's all I can think of so far but I'm sure I'll have plenty more soon!!!
Re: More questions...
j+k+m+e | running with needles
So Tasty, So Yummy
I'm about 99% sure you can only heat it once...
I did this all the time. I pulled it out cold and let it warm on it's own in a little cooler... We were fine for up to 8 hours.
Swaddled until 6 months with Luca.. He needed it... Lila never liked it... We didn't wean. He just started breaking free and we let it go....
Do you think she may have some kind of reflux. maybe try elevating her head a little while she eats and holding her upright for a bit.
Not that I'm a pro at this mommy stuff or anything, but I'll try to answer using my experiences.
1) I never heated expressed BM if it was just sitting out...just served it room temp. If I was serving a bottle that had been previously refrigerated and I heated it up and she didn't finish it, I'd put it back in the fridge and use it for the next feeding and ONLY the next feeding. I read this somewhere...maybe Kellymom or in the Baby 411 book.
2) I usually put my refrigerated bottles in a little bag with a cool pack and then just warm it up when it is time to feed or serve it cool (Allie doesn't mind colder milk).
3) Allie HATED the swaddle but it helped her sleep the first few months because she had "crazy arms" and they have that startle reflex. At a little over 3 months, we switched her to the SleepSack and she likes it much better. She can easily roll on her side which is the way that she likes to sleep. She pretty much has been sleeping through the night since around 2 and a half months but recently has started waking once in the night for a brief period.
4) Allie did something similar and it was due to my underproduction of milk (she'd nurse for 40 minutes and only get about 3 oz) and possibly some reflux, but this may not be the case for your little one since she is not happy with the bottle either. Sounds like it could be reflux. Is she exhibiting any other reflux signs (arching back, coughing a lot, etc)?
1. It can still sit out for 6-8 hours after a feeding (i.e. it's been heated) and it can be reheated. Kellymom says if you reheat it more than once it starts to diminish the immunological properties but it doesn't make it magically go bad or anything. (Freezing it diminishes the immunological properties too.)
2. Yep. If it's freshly pumped it's good for 8-10 hours at room temp, so you can let it sit out to warm up.
3. We never swaddled so I'm no help.
4. That sounds like gas to me, but then gas is usually the answer w/ my kid. Try rubbing and jiggling her tummy sort of firmly--that works for Cooper. He toots then he's all better.
Always nice to know we aren't the only ones. hehe
Ditto everything else Suzi said too.
This.
We swaddled Tori until she was at least 5 months old.
I'm not sure about the BM questions, as I never left it out on the counter at all. It was either in the fridge, freezer, or in warm water.
Swaddle - we use Halo swaddles, and the package says to stop when LO shows signs of rolling over, breaking loose, or not wanting it. And I think this usually happens by about 6 months.
Sometimes my LO will get fussy while eating and prefer the pacifier. I take this as a sign that he just wants to suck and is no longer hungry because the pacifier will immediately calm him. Maybe your LO is gassy? I have trouble knowing if my LO reacts to different things I eat, so I'm not sure about that.
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1. I know you can keep expressed BM out for 6-8 hours, but if we reheat it, how long can it stay out? And can it be reheated again? I only keep mine at room temp for 4ish hours. You can put it back in the fridge and warm it up one more time, but that's it.
2. Can I take a bottle of BM out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature on its own? And how long will it be good for that way? I ask because I'd like to just have bottles if we got out to eat, doctor's appts, etc. so I don't have to use the cover which I can't stand. Yes, I do this all the time. I still go with 4-5 hours total. I have a really small bottle cooler that only holds 1 bottle so this will keep it cooler for a longer period of time without taking the big cooler. For example, if I know he'll need 2 bottles I put 1 in the diaper bag to warm up right away and then pull the other one out of the cooler pack when he finishes. If I know we'll be home in another 3-4 hours then I can always put it back when I get home.
3. How long did you swaddle your baby? We plan to do it until she is STTN but if that doesn't happen until she's 5+ months, is she too old for swaddling? Um...we're still using the swaddle and I plan on it for a while. Probably until he's better at rolling over. I DREAD taking him out because it's a surefire way to get him to STTN. He sleeps from about 9-6a.
4. DD gets fussy when nursing sometimes which she just started this week. She'll nurse for 5-8 minutes then wail...neither boob nor bottle console her but her pacifier does (sometimes) but mostly she just cries for 10-20 minutes before she can be settled. Is it something I ate that makes the milk taste bad to her? Thoughts on what it could be? We burp her, we check her diaper, we try to rock her but she just cries. It only happens 1-2 times a day but when it does we feel terrible that we can't console her until it passes. The books say Colic is three hours of continuous crying so I don't think it's colic....is it? It's possible that something doesn't taste right. Think about what you ate and try to eliminate it. Unless she's doing this at every feeding. Also try the Little Tummy's or Mylacon. It was pretty obvious to us when C had a stomach ache - he'd wiggle while eating, move one leg up and down, and do the suck-suck-pull away and cry-suck-suck thing. In the beginning, broccoli bothered him. And one spicy batch of Chuy's dip. But not much else.