Stupid questions 10/15

sourlemon · October 2016

What stupid questions are bugging you this weekend?

cgss11 · October 2016

Not really stupid, but can someone explain the registry coupons for Amazon and Target? Is it a one time coupon in that I need to go buy everything at once, or can it be used more than once and I can split up my shopping trips?

penelope4612 · October 2016

@cgss11 - I don't know about Target but Amazon is a one time use and you can only use it on things that qualify for the discount.

Christinaruth74 · October 2016

@cgss11 with the target registry coupon it's one-time use and you can use it only on items that you registered for but weren't purchased off the registry.

(I'm pretty sure I'm remembering that right!)

princesslockness · October 2016

Can anyone tell me why 'irritable uterus' isnt a concern at L&D?

From what I understand they are contractions that are under 30 seconds, can be timable ir not.

penelope4612 · October 2016

Kate08Young said:

Can anyone tell me why 'irritable uterus' isnt a concern at L&D?

From what I understand they are contractions that are under 30 seconds, can be timable ir not.

I was just in L&D with this last night and they were similarly unconcerned. No idea why - maybe they don't usually cause cervical changes? My dr said my cervix is closed but I know that's not the case for you...

princesslockness · October 2016

@penelope4612 That is why I am lost. They checked, and my cerclage has further ripped out. And they sent me home after 5 hours of monitoring. My instructions were 'if they lengthen into full contractions, come back'

l9i · October 2016

When do you cover a child for dental and vision? Obviously, they will be covered for medical from the start but do you also cover them for the others from the start too?

DiFazette · October 2016

@Kate08Young my understanding is that I.U. Is kind of like habitual BH. It should not change cervix length, effacement or dialate. While you have a cerclage (barely) Irratable uterus shouldn't impact 'real' labor indicators... which is most likely why you were sent home.

sheshae · October 2016

@l9i We're adding LO to dental and eye probably when they're four or five? most people I've asked said they waited until before they started attending school.

When is everyone installing their car seats? or the bases?

tinattt23 · October 2016

@l9i We'll probably wait until 2ish to add to vision. But that's because FI and I both have terrible eyesight so I want to make sure we're on top of it with this little guy. Dental maybe a littler earlier. I've always heard they should start going as soon as they have teeth. We'll probably get the pediatricians input on it first.

princesslockness · October 2016

@DiFazette That makes sense, i think. I was under the impression that the togo can only pick up cervix changing things, so thats why I was lost.

@I9i its cheaper to have the 'family' plan for vision and dental than just dh, so I have L covered already. However, our dentist wont see him until he is 2 a regardless of how many teeth he has.

DiFazette · October 2016

@Kate08Young not following, sorry... what's a Togo?

DiFazette · October 2016

@sheshae installed bases this weekend - but I have a history of complications and also having twins so while it seems early - my go time could be any minute! We only put bases in right now because heaven forbid we end up in an accident - you need to replace the seat and base.

brittnic86 · October 2016

Random question: Has anyone here exclusively pumped? What was your experience? This whole feeding two babies at once, and having to return to work 6 weeks after giving birth, has me more than a little worried about keeping my babies fed with breast milk. I'm not really opposed to formula, but I am opposed to the cost of it ugh. Also, FTM, so completely clueless about BF.

DiFazette · October 2016

@brittnic86 yup! EP'd with DS. By the time he was big/strong enough to nurse, he was too spoiled by the bottle and refused. What info are you looking for? With returning to work at 6 weeks you'll be doing regular pumping anyway. To successfully pump - you need to pump at each of your babies feedings, whether you're there or not. That's normally every 3 hours by 6 weeks. Supply generally regulates at 12-14 weeks so you can skip a pump here or there, but it can affect supply for days if you miss one. Your best bet in terms of ease would be to try to tandem nurse when you're home and pump at work. EPing was hard - and I only had a singleton to feed. Lugging that pump, a cooler, bottles
- always having to think ahead about where you'll be and how you'll pump when you're there and how many ounces you're ahead.... it's a lot more too coordinate than whipping out the milk makers.

jandd2014 · October 2016

Who is supposed to show me how to use a breast pump? And when?
My cousin gave me hers as a spare (and I know I need to replace some parts, sanitize the rest, etc), but even after reading through the booklet, I feel clueless about what to expect. The pump I ordered through my insurance will not ship until my doctor calls them to say I've had the baby, so the LC in the hospital won't be able to show me how to use it. I wasn't planning to pump until baby's about a month old but I still need to know how to use it!

slartybartfast · October 2016

jandd2014 said:

Who is supposed to show me how to use a breast pump? And when?
My cousin gave me hers as a spare (and I know I need to replace some parts, sanitize the rest, etc), but even after reading through the booklet, I feel clueless about what to expect. The pump I ordered through my insurance will not ship until my doctor calls them to say I've had the baby, so the LC in the hospital won't be able to show me how to use it. I wasn't planning to pump until baby's about a month old but I still need to know how to use it!

Ask your office about lactation consultant visits after baby is here. Many times a visit or two is included in your insurance. Or else you can just make an appointment with one when it comes time - it's not that much. However, pumps aren't super complicated. Just make sure the cups you have are the proper size for you and experiment around to see what settings seem most effective.

Though, BTDT tip, crankin it up full blast can be painful and less effective. Be gentle with yourself while you figure out what works! Also, looking at pics/videos of baby during pumping can help you let down.

karmba · October 2016

@sheshae my DH installed the car seat base last night. He has an appointment at a fire station on Wednesday night to check it out and make sure it's installed correctly. The next appointment wasn't until the week of Thanksgiving and I thought that was pushing it.

brittnic86 · October 2016

@DiFazette Thank you! That's more information than I had lol. We 3 fridges at my work, so I'm not worried about storing the milk. I guess mostly I was worried about building up a supply so that when I go back to work, they can still eat, and I'll pump at work to keep it up. Plus tandem BF kinda scares me lol. I'd like help with feeding the babies. I'm sure they'll get use to a bottle...because I'll be gone 10 hours a day =(

princesslockness · October 2016

@DiFazette Its what the nurses kept calling the contraction monitor. My triage nurse said that they were required to check my cervix as the togo was measuring the I.U. stuff.

@sheshae I haven't installed our base, as we are looking at at least 3 days in the hospital or NICU stay. So I have the base and seat in the garage were everyone (H and my parents) can easily see it, and then I can install once we are ready to leave the hospital.

@brittnic86 I EP with L from about 4 weeks on. I have inverted nipples, L couldn't ever quite latch, and I was back at work at 10 days PP. I found youtube has great videos to help make sure you have your flanges fitting correctly.
I was just feeding one, but I would alternate between a manual and my electric pumps. My manual worked better if I was at home and relaxing, while the electric was awesome for work and getting it done in 30 min or less. If you can afford it - I recommend renting a hospital grade pump. I put 3-4 hrs a day on my pump and its really worn down.
Drinking TONs of water always helped, and having high protein/carb snacks whenever I was pumping helped keep my up. Get on a set schedule. It sucks but if you can get in the habit of pumping 2x between 1-5 am that is when your supply is typically highest.
For storage, I pumped into the medela bottles then poured into bags. They could more easily fit into my mini fridge or cooler. L never took more than about 29 oz a day, but at about 4 months he started taking that in only 3-4 bottles, so I could freeze larger portions. Up to that point, I would freeze in mostly 2-4 oz. and in 1 oz cubes.
Find preemie nipples, and make sure your daycare knows and will do paced feedings. It mimicks BF and helps the babies know when they are full.
Some people swear by supplements, I personally found my Mothers Milk tea to help. 16oz in the morning with my oatmeal seemed to give me an extra oz each pump. Also stress can cause issues. I found that if I can just not worry - I had Formula at daycare just in case, took the worry/stress off - then I was more likely to pump enough or close to enough.

brittnic86 · October 2016

@Kate08Young thank you!

Toller · October 2016

slartybartfast said:

jandd2014 said:

Who is supposed to show me how to use a breast pump? And when?
Though, BTDT tip, crankin it up full blast can be painful and less effective. Be gentle with yourself while you figure out what works! Also, looking at pics/videos of baby during pumping can help you let down.

This is TRUE- however- i took this advice way too seriously and had way too little suction for the first few times...(whoops) so somewhere in the middle is just right

brittnic86 · October 2016

Okay another question about pumps. So I guess my insurance will either 100% cover the cost of a medela pump in style, or 100% cover the rental cost of a hospital grade pump. I keep hearing the hospital pump is better for feeding twins...but you can't really transport that...and I'll need to pump at work. The lady from the insurance company just told me that the one insurance covers, she thinks is like exactly the same as the hospital one. I don't know which I should choose....it's $75/month to rent a hospital one if I did both...

Is the hospital one really that much better?

zubenescamali · October 2016

@jandd2014 nobody ever showed me how to use a pump, just to instruction manual and trial and error. I'm not sure how "fancy" your pump is, but they are surprisingly simply to figure out (I worried about this too before DD1!). Just plug in your parts and turn it on. Some pumps have a stimulation phase to trigger letdown before they start pulling. all the other fancy stuff like handsfree attachments, different flange sizes, pump in bag attachments are not necessary to learn about at first.

@brittnic86 I have used both a medela PISA and a medela symphony (hospital grade). I didn't see a difference in suction or output. I didn't have twins but I certainly produced enough to feed twins. you won't know how you respond to a pump until you do. but the PISA is certainly more portable, although not the lightest pump on the market. the way the pump market is moving, "hospital grade" is becoming less of a term used to denote "power" and more a term to denote "multiple users". I would go for the PISA.

DiFazette · October 2016

@brittnic86 yes, the hospital grade is that much better. I would get an electric through insurance and rent for 2 months to establish supply if that's your plan. Return it and by then you should have a regulated supply. I rented the hospital grade for 3 months and as an EPer it was a life saver. With DS being a preemie and severe health issues my body was just not into making milk. I imagine I wouldn't have made it past a month or two without the help of the Symphony.

tinattt23 · October 2016

@brittnic86 I originally called my insurance about the pump and got all the crazy instructions for how to do it. They seemed to have the same policies yours does. Then my OB gave me this "Moms Get More" pamphlet and said just to fill it out, give it to her, and they'd take care of it. Couple weeks later my hospital grade pump arrives at my doorstep. I guess this company deals with all the insurance stuff for you. Now, I have no idea if I have a good pump, but it says hospital grade and was super easy. Maybe something worth looking at?

DiFazette · October 2016

@Kate08Young interesting! I've got no personal experience with this type of stuff and never will! Strange to think I'll never actually go into labor (and if I do it'll be very short lived) and have 3 kids!

brittnic86 · October 2016

@tinattt23 well my insurance is through the hospital I'm delivering at, and they have their own BF center, and medical equipment delivery...so really I don't have to do much of anything but choose.

They told me the hospital grade one comes on a roller cart thing...can't really take it places.

slartybartfast · October 2016

@brittnic86 I have also used both models PISA and symphony regularly for months. They were similar for me as well. And actually sometimes I had better output with the PISA

tinattt23 · October 2016

@brittnic86 Dang, that sounds like a serious peice of equipment! I'd probably pass just to save the space

princesslockness · October 2016

@brittnic86 I found an off brand 'hospital grade' pump that I am going to try and compare to my PISA. Its called Nibble. Its like $80 on Amazon, so worth it in my opinion.

ETA: I will report back once E shows up and I have used and compared.

sourlemon · October 2016

@Kate08Young supposedly iu doesn't change the cervix so it's like BH. But having an iu can lead to real contrax too so just keep an eye on it. I was allowed to be discharged when my contrax settled down to be "just an iu". I thought it was strange but I'm not a Dr so I just listen.

We added dd1 to dental insurance the open season before she turned 2. Which meant she went to the dentist right around 18 months for the first time and again at 2. DH and I both have dental problems so I felt that was the right age to start watching. She also gets checkups and fluoride every 6 months at daycare for free so it's probably unneeded but I feel better being super proactive. We won't add her to vision until the opwn season when she's almost 4 since that will be the year she'll start kindergarten. The pediatrician does basic vision checks before that

Toller · October 2016

I second (third?) the Symphony working WAY better!! I think my BRU rents it out for $50/month? I'll be trying the spectra 1 this time through insurance over the PISA (and renting a Symphony) i also really need this nursing thing to work, so I'm preparing on all fronts...

PensiveCrayon · October 2016

@Toller I'm on the Spectra 1 train too! It's so purdy and quiet

1MommyRunner · October 2016

We don't have dental insurance unfortunately, but I definitely will be taking this LO right after her first birthday. We waited until DS was 2 or 3 and he had a lot of issues. He's been cavity free since, but having to watch your tiny one get crowns is not worth it. I've always had horrible teeth even though I brush and floss religiously, so I guess DS inherited that from me. We did get care credit though which is a blessing, but if we did have insurance, I would add them right around the first birthday!

KateH1216 · October 2016

@Toller & @PensiveCrayon I'm so glad to see others on the spectra side. My office had both the spectra and the Medela PISA for demo at my last appointment and I liked what I saw in the spectra. Came home to research and landed on the spectra 1. Only down side i can see is that replacement parts aren't as convenient as running to target. As a FTM it's just nice to see that I'm not off on my own little spectra island!

princesslockness · October 2016

@sourlemon Its been pretty consistent since Friday night. I have run through a 4oz tube of icy hot, and idk how many showers and Tylenol just so I can function. BUT they aren't longer than 20-30 seconds so none of the on call OBs care.

I guess I'm just bitchy because 'well, with a cerclage its super important you don't let anything contraction like not get monitored.' Yet 1 5hr L&D trip + a call to on call OB every ~6hrs to update/check and nothing is being done.

sourlemon · October 2016

@Kate08Young did they run any other tests while you were in L&D to see if there was a reason for the IU / contractions? Or just monitor?

princesslockness · October 2016

@sourlemon Just monitor and urine.

DiFazette · October 2016

I posted over in the appts thread by I have a question that I'm looking for technical guidance on - what makes a body go into labor? Babies are measuring over 4 lbs each and doc said that I can go into spontaneous labor at any time (right - by definition, doc

) with baby weight of 8+ lbs, 2 placentas, and two sacs does the sheer weight set labor off and thin the cervix? Is it a hormonal response? Curious if there's a medical answer to what tips labor off.

ETA - I had an emergency cesarian at 34 weeks previously and have another scheduled this time so I haven't done as much research as I normally do on everything.

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