July 2018 Moms

Ask a STM+ (April Edition!)

13

Re: Ask a STM+ (April Edition!)

  • @gingerbride26 - I believe my OB performed it. 

  • @gingerbride26 from what the nurses at my birth class told us your ob performs the circumcision because they're considered the surgeon.
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  • Re: breastfeeding- my first time was a bit of a nightmare.  My son had bad tongue and lip ties, but nursed well and was gaining weight so they didn't want to cut them.  I was miserable with constant clogged ducts and mastitis infections.   I had to do my own research and self refer myself to a breastfeeding clinic and multiple visits with lactation consultants where nothing helped my pain.  DS was 3 months only when his ties got clipped and all of my blog and mastitis issues cleared immediately. My second son had a slight lip tie but we had no issues nursing so I never had it clipped (like most lip ties he ended up breaking it himself learning to walk... which is a whole different story haha!).  I believe ties can be genetic, my nephews had them too.  Both my boys also have sacral dimples, which apparently are related to tongue as they are both midline birth defects associated with MTHFR
  • @gingerbride26 my OB will perform ours if we chose to do one.  I spoke with her about it, how it's performed and possible complications last week.  She made me laugh and knocked on wood that she's never personally had a complication.
  • @gingerbride26 we chose not to circumcise,  but when I was researching it, I learned that it is preferable to have the OB do it since they are a surgeon, whereas the pediatrician is typically not. A urologist is also a good choice though. 

    @KatyF0813 they're definitely genetic, and I've read that people with the MTHFR mutation have difficulty absorbing folic acid, and should take folate during pregnancy instead...apparently that can help prevent the tongue/lip tie in the baby. No clue if any of that is true though. 
  • We didn't circumcise but it would have been the attending OB.

    That's very interesting @KatyF0813 about your clogged ducts and mastitis issues clearing up. I never got mastitis but the occasional clogged duct even with DD nursing really well.

    Just wondering as I read these stories about tongue and lips ties, are they more common for boys even with the genetic component?


    Isabella & Julian & and now #3!
  • @gingerbride26 my OB did it while at the hospital. At that point it’s still covered under my insurance and i wouldn’t get a different bill under DS.
    Important thing to research - check with your insurance what birth related services are covered under you and what will be new under baby. Most services are covered under mama for the first 30 days. Don’t get fooled into paying random bills under baby. Always ask!
  • @flockofmoosen3 I feel like it’s more common with boys but that’s completely just anecdotal. I am in both a National and local Facebook group and I’ve noticed a lot more posts about boys than girls. That’s totally unscientific and unofficial though. 
  • zg49zg49 member
    @gingerbride26 We had our DS circumcised at the hospital by the on-call ped. They way our hospital works is you get assigned the on-call ped as your ped unless you have one already. We were in the middle of changing peds when we had DS so I was ok with the on call ped doing it and we had no issues! I know it's different in each place though. 

    Maybe you can find out from the hospital which way they perform the procedure to see if it coincides with the way your ped would do it? OR find out if a specific person at the hospital does it and reach out to your local mom groups to see if anyone has had any problems? It would have been double to cost if we waited to do it in the peds office vs. the hospital so that was also a deciding factor for us. 





  • Has anyone tried bamboobies sports/yoga nursing bra?  It's hard for me to put a regular bra on and my sports bras are all for the most part high compression. They keep showing up on my Facebook feed and they sell them at target.
     
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • @gingerbride26 it's best if it is done before you go home. I would ask whomever performs if they use lidocaine to numb the area. I have been present as a nurse for those done with and without anesthetic. I know hospitals were I live try to put it off on pediatrician to perform after baby goes home. I would just make sure you trust the physician performing the procedure. 
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • @myfairbump circumcision without anesthetic sounds so horrible for a newborn to go through! I mean, for anyone it would awful to consider even a minor surgery without anesthetic. (I think even eyebrow microblading requires numbing.) What's the reasoning for skipping it on a baby??


    Isabella & Julian & and now #3!
  • @flockofmoosen3 I agree - they can't give an infant very powerful numbing medicines though. 

    There are also decent arguments for pediatricians performing the circumcision at a later date because the trauma can interrupt you/baby while you're trying to establish breastfeeding. Definitely a tough decision! 
  • @flockofmoosen3 @myfairbump IMO it should be illegal to perform a circumcision without any numbing agent. Just because the baby can't vocalize that it hurts and won't remember it, doesn't make it any less painful for the baby. 
  • @flockofmoosen3 @zande2016 @ckmb_knottie unfortunately there are those in the medical world who somehow believe that the babies don't feel pain. Some believe they won't remember it. The pediatrician I worked with did not have that belief nor did she feel it mattered that the child would not remember. They use lidocaine to numb the area before the procedure. It does make a difference. I was present for 1 without in clinical and assisted on many with it.

    We always tried to explain the penis can look much smaller afterwards. It all depends on how much foreskin there is.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • I have a stroller question.  How critical is a double stroller?  DD will be about a month shy of three when the baby is born.  I’ve been looking at a stroller that has the standing area and small seat for an older child.  I’m just not sure if it’s actually worth the money.  My parents really want to buy us something bigger as a gift but I still don’t want to waste money on something if we’ll rarely use is. Both DH and I work full time so we’ll likely only be out with both kids on the weekends together.  We haven’t used a stroller for DD in forever.  She just walks on her own.  Am I crazy to think we can do without?   
  • SmashJamSmashJam member
    edited April 2018
    @tarheelgirl8 If I didn't already have a double stroller I wouldn't buy one for DS and this LO. I figure I can wear DS2 and hold DS1's hand most of the time; we don't live in a neighborhood so walks don't happen. I only really love the stroller for big festivals or parades or big trips with lots of walking, and if you aren't doing that all the time I would say its not a big deal, especially if you don't use it for your DD now. BUT that's just a guess, I'll be interested to see what others' experiences are!

    ETA: DS is gonna be three just before LO is born.
  • @tarheelgirl8 you could always wear the baby if your toddler wanted to ride in the stroller, if babywearing is something you’re into. The only thing I can really think of is if your older wanted
    to nap in the stroller while you’re out and about, they wouldn’t be able to do that with one of those sit and stands, but my son rarely if ever naps in the stroller anymore. Ours will be 22 mos apart and we got the double (actually convertible), since they’re closer in age and my son still likes riding in the stroller. I’ve also heard about the older one getting jealous and wanting to ride in the stroller because the baby is, so I guess that’s a possibility too, but that might depend on her personality. 
  • @zande2016 I didn’t baby wear at all with DD but I did a lot of research and already bought a different kind for the baby, and am planning to wear the baby more this time.  I guess that’s my other thing.  It seems like it’d be easier to care for DD while baby wearing vs trying to maneuver a double stroller.  
  • We decided for a double that reclines all the way because DS (just turned 2) occasionally naps and i wanted to make sure work for DS2 while the other can also stand and ride. DS1 didn’t like being worn too much.
  • @tarheelgirl8 my son will be 3 in July too. I’ve been going back and forth about a double but I think after all we wouldn’t get much use out of it for the price. I like the idea of adding that skateboard thing onto the back of the stroller too, but I don’t think that’s something I would buy before the baby in case I don’t end up needing it. DS doesn’t nap in the stroller anymore, and I have a Tula I plan on using too, so worst case I could baby wear and stick DS in the stroller if he needs to lay down. 
  • @tarheelgirl8 i second what @SmashJam said. If i didnt already have a double I probably wouldn't buy one this time. Its hard to push and is heavy and bulky. My DS1 and DD are 3 years apart and DD and DS2 will be 3 years apart too. The only time we really use the stroller is at the fair and this year specificallt LO will probably be worn the whole time.
  • Someone please tell me this isn't a real thing. My in-laws flew in for a visit this weekend and it's the first time they've seen us since finding out I was pregnant so of course we talked a lot of things baby related. The topic of breastfeeding came up and my MIL said "oh, your going to want to rough up your nipples ahead of time with a wash cloth because breast feeding is going to make you crack and bleed if you don't. You need to toughen them up first." So I know many women experience the bleeding and nipple cracking, but is "roughing up your nipples" ahead of breastfeeding a real thing....that does not sound pleasant in any way shape or form. 
  • @jenny2018 I have not heard of that and personally wouldn't recommend it. I did however LOL @ your MIL telling you to rough up your nipples!
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • @jenny2018 - you don't need to. I would just recommend some nipple cream. You will just want to keep them moisturized which is why people use the nipple cream/breast milk. +1 for loling at your MIL telling you.
  • runsomewhere Believe me, I about laughed out loud when she said that. She even did the hand motion over her boobs of rubbing a wash cloth against them roughly. 

    There is no way in hell I plan to do that, I just let her talk, but was super curious as to whether or not people actually did this. I figured if my nipples need toughened up, my doc will discuss that with me...lol
  • @jenny2018 strangely I've heard of that... but I think it's more of an old wives tale thing. My LC nurse did tell me my nipples should not crack and bleed unless the latch is incorrect... but I hear it so frequently that I have no idea if that's true? 
    Me: 31 DH: 34 :heart: Married: April 2016
    TTC December 2016
    BFP 2/28/17 // CP 3/1/17
    MFI Diagnosis: Aug 2017
    BFP 11/1/17 // DS born 6/18
    TTC January 2019
    BFP 3/21/19 // D&C (MMC) 5/8/19
  • Seems like a wife's tale to me as well. Although I'm sure the cracking happens. I see no benefit in cracking them yourself just to get used to it though lol
  • jenny2018 my MIL told me that they had advised her to use sandpaper to prepare for BFing...haha yeah not doing that. 
  • LOL.  I've heard it too, but as something not to do.  In my own experience, over using nipple cream and/or nipple shields during the first week will prevent blistering or cracking.  That likely assumes that you also have a good latch, although DD's was pretty shallow in the beginning.  I had to push her mouth open often.
  • @jenny2018 Definitely an old wives tale!! When I was attending a BF support group with DD, one of the LCs said in her day, they just assumed that was how BF worked and was supposed to be painful (she's in her late 50s). We now know that cracked and bleeding nipples are usually due to poor latch (often too shallow (baby should be opening their mouth entirely and have their mouth around the areola as well as nipple)) or an infection. BF can be somewhat uncomfortable for the first couple of weeks but progressing to cracking and bleeding is NOT normal. I good LC can help establish or fix a poor latch. And for the love of all that's holy, don't do like @wildtot 's MIL said and use sandpaper!!! :o
  • Any STM experience lower abdomen soreness? It's not a cramp, it's just a dull ache below my belly button. I'm 28 weeks btw. TIA
  • coco305 said:
    Any STM experience lower abdomen soreness? It's not a cramp, it's just a dull ache below my belly button. I'm 28 weeks btw. TIA
    I get it on my right side sometimes. It’s sore to the touch sometimes then it goes away the next morning. Doctor said just a bad case of RLP.
  • +1 to both hearing the old wives tale to toughen up your nipples AND to cracked, bleeding, painful nipples being the result of a shallow latch. Babies don't suckle just the nipple (that hurts like hell), they need as much of your areola, like 90%, in their mouths to get a deep latch. This should be painless. I tried to find a good picture of a deep latch like what the LC showed me with my first but couldn't. Basically, if you get a big open mouth on baby you hold her head to your breast so that her nose is pressed against your boob and your boob is indented by her nose. Online pictures show the nose held away from the breast but I think until you're both pros and baby is older, this makes it hard to maintain the deep latch as your kinda pulling the nipple out of their mouth as they nurse.

    To release a suckle, use your pinky to break the seal first and then pull baby away.

    And practice nursing in a variety of positions. To empty all the milk ducts changing angles (like on a clock) is helpful. Like, if you have a clog in the top left duct, nurse baby so her nose is touching it.

    A good first position for newborns is the football hold. I love side-lying for bed nursing, and cradle hold for chilling on the couch. Each position requires baby to have their belly pressed against you so they aren't twisting their heads to nurse, which means better latch and productive session.

    I never had the need for creams or ice or anything (aside from the tongue tie issue already explained).


    Isabella & Julian & and now #3!
  • @flockofmoosen3 That is so much good information. I'm also really confused though because my LC nurse gave a little bit of conflicting information (like the nose should be away from the breast). 
    Me: 31 DH: 34 :heart: Married: April 2016
    TTC December 2016
    BFP 2/28/17 // CP 3/1/17
    MFI Diagnosis: Aug 2017
    BFP 11/1/17 // DS born 6/18
    TTC January 2019
    BFP 3/21/19 // D&C (MMC) 5/8/19
  • @MrsMiller8588 you want to make sure baby can breathe out of their nose, but @flockofmoosen3 is correct that the nose has
    to be up against you to ensue deep latch. The baby’s house is designed to allow air in from the bottom so they can still breathe while pushed up against you. Sometimes if I was concerned I would use an index finger to indent the breast tissue and create more breathing space. So the baby stayed in the same position and I just moved some breast tissue back with one finger. 
  • @coco305 same here! agreed not like a cramp but a dull ache and some tenderness at bottom of abdomen, slightly above pubic bone.  I'm assuming it's because he's so much lower so much earlier, but was on my list for next checkup to double check.
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  • wildtot : Oh my gosh, could you imagine?!?! I just picture going into home depot and a guy asking if I need help and saying "yep, I need some sand paper to toughen up my nipples. show me the good stuff"...lol

    flockofmoosen3: Thank you, this is such good info! 
  • @jenny2018 lol! Thanks for that mental image, I'm sure to laugh at inappropriate times the rest of the day as that pops into my head!



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