Also just a warning not to use any used pumps even from family members. The only pumps safe for reuse are hospital grade from the hospital or rental company which I am sure you know but a lot of people don't realize that even when you replace all the tubing it can still carry germs and diseases etc...
Why? Its not like anything actually goes into the mechanism? It's like a car battery, it just provides power?
Not a Google recommendation. This was told to me by my doctor, the lactation consultant, both breastfeeding classes I attended, the FDA and you can read about it on kellymom.com.
Even without all those medical recommendations I would not use some else's pump.
My LC actually had me borrow a pump (new tubes and attachments and stuff) that was given to her by one of the drs after she had her baby. So obviously neither the drs nor the LC at my drs office give a crap about this. I could see if the milk actually went into the machine, but it doesn't. I wonder how much of this recommendation is rooted in 'don't sue us' vs practicality. Kinda like the whole 'dispose of pacifiers after one month' thing.
Bah, oh well. Doesn't matter to me except that I have this fairly expensive piece of machinery, that is apparently useless.
So in terms of using another pump, if it is not a closed system it is recommended not to. The medela pumps except for the hospital grade are not closed systems, I know this because the condensation I get in my tubing after every pump gets pushed into the flanges at the top. So mold etc can go through.
TTC: 1/2014
BFP: 9/24
EDD: 6/8/2015
Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
Yes milk can get into the tubing and system and it warns you to be a "one user" only pump.......
I highly doubt breastmilk is full of diseases. Obviously you don't want an HIV positive person or something on meds or even not sharing a pump with you....
If it grosses anyone out some of our nurses let their babies drink surplus from coworker nurses who overproduced......
I steam clean my tubing completely submerged in the sterilization bags frequently because if stuff gets in them it does gross me out..... But yeah it doesn't freak me out if I had to use someone's pump that I knew.
A lot of things freak me out........ When I handle breastmilk at work I definitely wear gloves. Lol I can't say if I would share mine or let my baby drink it. I just would hope I don't run into that situation.
I never realized how much getting sick can affect your supply. I used to be able to get 7 oz my first pump of the day. Tuesday I got 2, and today I got 4. So it's getting better. I know this may seem like a lot for some people, but my production becomes less as the day goes on, and I was just breaking even to begin with. Anyone have experience with rebounding from illness? Any tips besides hydration, food, and Lactation cookies?
I steam clean my tubing completely submerged in the sterilization bags frequently because if stuff gets in them it does gross me out..... But yeah it doesn't freak me out if I had to use someone's pump that I knew.
I probably need to do this but am nervous that it will ruin the tubing.
Interesting info about the pump. I don't know how I feel about breastmilk sharing.
I never realized how much getting sick can affect your supply. I used to be able to get 7 oz my first pump of the day. Tuesday I got 2, and today I got 4. So it's getting better. I know this may seem like a lot for some people, but my production becomes less as the day goes on, and I was just breaking even to begin with. Anyone have experience with rebounding from illness? Any tips besides hydration, food, and Lactation cookies?
I went through this exact same thing.
Definitely hydrate and eat. Also, try to add an extra pump in per day and/or extend the time you pump. I usually pump 6 times a day for 20 min, and I upped it to 7 times for 30 min for a few days.
I had about a week of diminished supply, and it's still not as high as it once was, but I'm making more than they're eating again.
Has anyone had to switch formulas? We just did, under doctor's instruction, and LO has spit up all the new formula. Like every feeding so far. Is there another method besides cold turkey? We called our doc but of course she doesn't work on Thursdays.
Re: peanuts, our fancy new allergist also recommended a spoonful of peanut butter per week starting at 6 months. We also give the boys 8-12 peanuts every morning.
Out oldest has just outgrown a bad peanut allergy so we are 100% following the new recommendations.
This is the best news, thank you. Peanut butter is my favorite thing and I can't wait to share it with LO!
Me-37, DH-38
Married in 2006, TTC #1 since Jan 2012
Baby Boy born June 1, 2015
He settles her in her home as a happy mother of children, praise the Lord! (Psalms 113:9)
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understand, will guard your heart and mind in Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:7)
Has anyone had to switch formulas? We just did, under doctor's instruction, and LO has spit up all the new formula. Like every feeding so far. Is there another method besides cold turkey? We called our doc but of course she doesn't work on Thursdays.
You guys are probably tired of hearing me compare baby care to animal care, BUT....
With pets we recommend doing a mixture wean over the course of a few days. Like 1-2 days (or 3) feeding 75% old stuff / 25% new stuff. Then 50/50. Then 75% new stuff / 25% old stuff. That way the body has time to adjust.
I was going to say that also.. Dd wouldn't drink milk so we added a little milk to the formula and kept adding more. Not the same but I would do that also with 2 formulas so she isn't going from the alimentum to a completely different one without easing into it.
Pretty sure my baby is a food snob.... She completely snubs jar food and then she gags in the most horrifying way possible... So tonight i steamed her up some organic carrots fresh from the farm and she was so excited... Wtf... What did I do?! We are not a food snob family ....
Possibly a dumb question...but how do you even give peanut butter to a 6 month old? It's clearly too thick for them to just eat it, and they can't eat bread yet right? Mix it into oatmeal I guess? Spread it on...something? I feel like an idiot but I don't even know how I'd execute that.
Going to try avocado tomorrow, I have high hopes. Sweet potatoes were a miss. Boo.
We mix peanut butter into oatmeal for our older son. I think we started that around 8 months with real oats. Probably could work with baby oats.
@virginiaunicorn11 my insurance only covers a new pump every 5 years. Nurses at hospital said 3 was the old norm and 5 is just starting to be common. Sucks, my pump is terrible and 3.5 years old. And the pump is subject to deductible, not just covered, on my plan. So you might want to do it now if you are thinking about it. Blue Cross Blue Shield and a pretty comprehensive plan yet this coverage wasn't great.
I have a can of formula leftover from when I almost switched. I just mix up a little and use that to thin out purees if needed. I'm also curious when to offer two meals a day.
@slr1229 I do food twice a day and have for a few weeks. Usually once in the am and then when we have dinner I will give her more. At the 4 month apt the dr said at 6 months she wants her having 3x a day so when I go there next Monday I assume she will want me to add another.
Avocado is our go to, also. She actually tried it last night with no breastmilk. I pulled some carrots out of homemade soup and she liked them too.
Good idea...I'm heating up a batch of chicken soup I made and froze one if these nights so maybe I'll try that. So far she really hates the spoon specifically...maybe I'll be forced into just giving her whole foods (annoying but tolerable I guess).
We stuck with the whole "ten tries" thing with introducing food. I also warmed up the sweet potatoes and now she loves it and kicks her legs in excitement the whole time she's eating. Still on our 5 days of one food before starting squash...no changes in her poops which is weird they still smell like normal BF poop.
TTC: 1/2014
BFP: 9/24
EDD: 6/8/2015
Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
I didn't know there was a scheduled way to go from one meal a day to multiple. We just give it at night around 6, and I nurse her around 5. So the food is just for fun right now.
I'm also doing the thing where I'm only giving one thing for many days in a row before introducing something else. I did oatmeal cereal for a week, almost 10 days, then just today tried peas (his first actual purée). Even tho he enjoyed the cereal much more, he went ahead and ate a good bit of the peas. I'll try them again tomorrow, too. And probably the next two days, unless he just refuses it outright. But I'd rather try the same thing at least 3 days in a row to watch for reactions. I probably wouldn't bother, but with his skin rash he kept getting on his stomach that I've FINALLY managed to get a handle on, if it comes back due to food - I want it to be obvious its food related, and obvious which food did it. I don't want to be guessing. I'm not really concerned about food allergies of the anaphylactic type - neither dh or I have any allergies that illicit a reaction that strong. Even my penicillin allergy just causes hives and swelling of my hands (but not my face). So I'm not too worried about that kind of reaction. But I want to keep an eye on his skin, because I have very reactionary skin. All the time itching or breaking out or something.
His reaction to the peas was funny as hell, tho. He went from mostly excited - "yay, my spoon stuff!" - to pure betrayal - "why mom? Why? I'll eat this, but... Bleh". Compete with the grimace / yuk face sometimes.
@hoodoll82 hmm. Seems weird. I think maybe you should have started with a little bit and not the whole container. That could help with the throwing up I think. Not so sure about the allergy, but I would mention to her doctor and see what they think. I assume you won't but don't give her any more sweet potatoes until you know. Seems like a weird food to be allergic to so maybe it was just too much
Thanks! This was another instance of Doctor says one thing (food two times a day) and Internet says another (a few bites only). And Internet seems more correct yet again.
DH thinks the reaction might be more due to the vomit (stomach acid) than the potatoes themselves as yeah, that's not a common allergy.
I think we will take a break and try a different food in a few days. We also transitioned her to a new formula this weekend - waaay too many changes at once. Lesson learned. Total feeling guilty today.
I think I'm feeling really behind a lot of the ladies here who have their babies sucking on real food already ... Gotta stop pressuring myself to move LO faster than we need to.
I think I'm feeling really behind a lot of the ladies here who have their babies sucking on real food already ... Gotta stop pressuring myself to move LO faster than we need to.
Yeah, this is me, too. I begin to think to myself 'well so-and-so has offered peas and squash and bananas and apples and magical unicorn poop already, and here I am on day xx of just cereal', and I start to feel antsy. Then I remind myself "food before one is just for fun", and also that he still really wants his bottles, despite the fact he seems to have some interest in spoon stuff. So I just slow my roll. I'll stick with slow introduction of foods, and only doing it once a day until he is starting to show me he wants more
@hoodoll82 we are definitely behind if comparing. LO has only had oatmeal cereal & squash & really isn't eating much of either. She's interested in her spoon but pretty much spits out whatever food is on it.
I'm kind of confused as to how to feed LO as my pediatrician seems to be pretty old school with introducing solids & advises sticking to puréed foods & baby cereal over finger foods. She warned me about LO potentially choking on larger food. For instance soft broccoli she said had to be puréed. I do have quite a fear of LO choking so I've stuck to what she has suggested. But then I also fear I might be doing something wrong by sticking with puréed as some here have skipped over that entirely and have talked about how it may be harder for babies to transition from swallowing puréed foods to whole foods later on. One way or another she'll learn to eat & I shouldn't worry so much about how right? Just looking for reassurance that I'm not messing this introduction to foods up too much! I don't really cook so baby food is easier for me at this point. I'm planing to do avocados, sweet potatoes & bananas in the near future but I'm even nervous about that! Honestly I'm not sure how I'll feed her when she's older bc I have a hard enough time feeding myself! Food is a stressful topic for me. I'd like my daughter to have a healthier relationship with food then I do so I guess that's why it stresses me so much.
I offer small meals at our meal times so she has breakfast lunch and dinner but all three meals are equal to about one single jar of whatever food we are trying and a little cereal... She doesn't always eat it but she participates in the meal with us. So far the only excitement was carrots and sweet potatoes.
Re: Feeding LO - December
Bah, oh well. Doesn't matter to me except that I have this fairly expensive piece of machinery, that is apparently useless.
I highly doubt breastmilk is full of diseases.
Obviously you don't want an HIV positive person or something on meds or even not sharing a pump with you....
If it grosses anyone out some of our nurses let their babies drink surplus from coworker nurses who overproduced......
Breast milk sharing totally freaks me out. Formula is not that bad lol.
Interesting info about the pump. I don't know how I feel about breastmilk sharing.
Definitely hydrate and eat. Also, try to add an extra pump in per day and/or extend the time you pump. I usually pump 6 times a day for 20 min, and I upped it to 7 times for 30 min for a few days.
I had about a week of diminished supply, and it's still not as high as it once was, but I'm making more than they're eating again.
With pets we recommend doing a mixture wean over the course of a few days. Like 1-2 days (or 3) feeding 75% old stuff / 25% new stuff. Then 50/50. Then 75% new stuff / 25% old stuff. That way the body has time to adjust.
Going to try avocado tomorrow, I have high hopes. Sweet potatoes were a miss. Boo.
@virginiaunicorn11 my insurance only covers a new pump every 5 years. Nurses at hospital said 3 was the old norm and 5 is just starting to be common. Sucks, my pump is terrible and 3.5 years old. And the pump is subject to deductible, not just covered, on my plan. So you might want to do it now if you are thinking about it. Blue Cross Blue Shield and a pretty comprehensive plan yet this coverage wasn't great.
When are you supposed to go to 2x a day?
I didn't know there was a scheduled way to go from one meal a day to multiple. We just give it at night around 6, and I nurse her around 5. So the food is just for fun right now.
His reaction to the peas was funny as hell, tho. He went from mostly excited - "yay, my spoon stuff!" - to pure betrayal - "why mom? Why? I'll eat this, but... Bleh". Compete with the grimace / yuk face sometimes.
She ended up eating the whole container though!
And then she threw it all up in her sleep, and got a rash everywhere it touched her skin. Wonderful.
So is that considered an allergy? It only seems "topical".
DH thinks the reaction might be more due to the vomit (stomach acid) than the potatoes themselves as yeah, that's not a common allergy.
I think we will take a break and try a different food in a few days. We also transitioned her to a new formula this weekend - waaay too many changes at once. Lesson learned. Total feeling guilty today.
I think I'm feeling really behind a lot of the ladies here who have their babies sucking on real food already ... Gotta stop pressuring myself to move LO faster than we need to.
I'm kind of confused as to how to feed LO as my pediatrician seems to be pretty old school with introducing solids & advises sticking to puréed foods & baby cereal over finger foods. She warned me about LO potentially choking on larger food. For instance soft broccoli she said had to be puréed. I do have quite a fear of LO choking so I've stuck to what she has suggested. But then I also fear I might be doing something wrong by sticking with puréed as some here have skipped over that entirely and have talked about how it may be harder for babies to transition from swallowing puréed foods to whole foods later on. One way or another she'll learn to eat & I shouldn't worry so much about how right? Just looking for reassurance that I'm not messing this introduction to foods up too much! I don't really cook so baby food is easier for me at this point. I'm planing to do avocados, sweet potatoes & bananas in the near future but I'm even nervous about that! Honestly I'm not sure how I'll feed her when she's older bc I have a hard enough time feeding myself! Food is a stressful topic for me. I'd like my daughter to have a healthier relationship with food then I do so I guess that's why it stresses me so much.