But, I also know that no matter how much I may complain or whine, this baby is not coming out unless one of three things happen. A) my water breaks, B) I reach and/or go past the 40 week mark without any sign of her wanting to get born or C) she is showing signs of distress. After all the crap I went through with the doctors when I was pregnant with Liam (which ended up with him being born early and spending the first two months of his life in a hospital), I’m not taking any chances.

Originally posted 2008-09-17 10:37:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

It’s a girl.

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Later the ultrasound will go up so everyone can admire Sarah Felicia in all her glory. My mom was very happy. I told her “So now you can tell everyone.” She replied “Now I can buy girly things!” That’s my mom.

We told Liam this evening. Showed him the ultrasound pic, asked what he thought it was. He didn’t know. So I told him it was a baby. Then I asked whose baby he thought it was. He named both my sisters and a family friend first. Then I told him it was mine and that he was going to be a big brother. He gave me a thumbs up. Then I said it was a little sister. He facepalmed. Seriously. But he seems rather okay with it and was overall just kind of blase about all of it. It was far easier than I’d thought it would be. He’s since asked when she was coming out but no other questions. He’s gonna be a great big brother.

Originally posted 2008-05-29 18:40:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Swollen feet, what to do about them? When I was pregnant with Liam they didn’t swell until the last trimester. This go around they’re already swollen. I really don’t want to contemplate buying larger shoes right now, so any advice on getting the swelling down? I already drink water and know I need to be drinking more. I’m also trying (emphasis on the trying) to monitor my sodium intake.

Also headaches. I swear I’ve had a constant low grade headache for a month now, but I’m pretty sure it’s allergy related as my sinuses are acting up. I wake up with a stuffy head and a raging headache that’s concentrated between the eyes and/or on the sides. I’m already taking Sudafed for the allergies but anything else to help. I’m almost contemplating a humidifier in the bedroom to help me breathe at night or at least to stop my sinuses from getting clogged.

Thanks in advance for anything you can tell me!

Katy

BTW I don’t care how fat I am at Halloween, you won’t catch me doing this…

Originally posted 2008-05-19 13:04:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

That’s right boys and girls, my doctor wants me to GAIN weight. Now she said Sarah is doing well and growing and there’s a good chance I may weigh less after the pregnancy than I did when I started out, which was a bit comforting. I’m not entirely sure how much I weighed when I got pregnant, but at a rough estimate I’ve gained about 30 pounds give or take. With the excessive summer heat and some of the real life stresses I’ve been going through my appetite has not been what it was. I do try to eat at least three times a day, but I know I can be doing more, maybe like eating smaller meals, but I find it hard to do when a lot of the time what we have in the house or what Brad cooks just sounds unappetizing. I could fall into the eating nothing but junk food trap, but I know that’s not the best choice. So, dear friends, what can a girl do to eat more and GAIN weight?

Originally posted 2008-08-17 13:18:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

So there was a second ultrasound done this morning.

I took Liam along because I promised him that I would last month. He was really excited about getting to see his little sister.

We got to see Sarah’s face and Liam was in awe. She has all ten fingers (the technician didn’t get around to counting toes so I can only assume they are all there). Everything else checks out with her, and it was confirmed that Sarah is a girl, so that made me happy. Liam said the whole thing was “very awesome”.

So without further ado I present to you, Sarah Felicia Hart.

Originally posted 2008-07-17 15:50:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Swollen feet, what to do about them? When I was pregnant with Liam they didn’t swell until the last trimester. This go around they’re already swollen. I really don’t want to contemplate buying larger shoes right now, so any advice on getting the swelling down? I already drink water and know I need to be drinking more. I’m also trying (emphasis on the trying) to monitor my sodium intake.

Also headaches. I swear I’ve had a constant low grade headache for a month now, but I’m pretty sure it’s allergy related as my sinuses are acting up. I wake up with a stuffy head and a raging headache that’s concentrated between the eyes and/or on the sides. I’m already taking Sudafed for the allergies but anything else to help. I’m almost contemplating a humidifier in the bedroom to help me breathe at night or at least to stop my sinuses from getting clogged.

Thanks in advance for anything you can tell me!

Katy

BTW I don’t care how fat I am at Halloween, you won’t catch me doing this…

Originally posted 2008-05-19 13:04:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

That’s right boys and girls, my doctor wants me to GAIN weight. Now she said Sarah is doing well and growing and there’s a good chance I may weigh less after the pregnancy than I did when I started out, which was a bit comforting. I’m not entirely sure how much I weighed when I got pregnant, but at a rough estimate I’ve gained about 30 pounds give or take. With the excessive summer heat and some of the real life stresses I’ve been going through my appetite has not been what it was. I do try to eat at least three times a day, but I know I can be doing more, maybe like eating smaller meals, but I find it hard to do when a lot of the time what we have in the house or what Brad cooks just sounds unappetizing. I could fall into the eating nothing but junk food trap, but I know that’s not the best choice. So, dear friends, what can a girl do to eat more and GAIN weight?

Originally posted 2008-08-17 13:18:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

When I was pregnant ten years I know I found great solace with all the people I met on different message boards and thought I would like to do that again. But Brad said no, no, we will start our own blog and board. He has turned his other blogs profitable, or at least to the point of not losing money so I am on board with this. So thank you for visiting us and helping us out. Point anyone else you know over here, we’d appreciate it and maybe they’ll learn something, or just get a good laugh for the day.

My due date is October 21, 2008, just two weeks after Liam turns ten. When my mom heard this, she joked I should cross my legs if I felt contractions on his birthday. I didn’t think I would be in this position again. In fact I had all but decided I was done. If I had any clue the pill would fail after all these years I would have suggested to Brad, who I knew didn’t want more kids, to go get snipped. I wish he had he had been thinking about that too, because we wouldn’t be in this situation, and what a situation it is. Remember, no matter how long you’ve been using a particular birth control method; it’s never going to be one hundred percent effective. I’ve been on the pill for almost ten years, since Liam was born. There was a brief two year period where I lost medical coverage and we used condoms, and we’re damn lucky I didn’t get pregnant then.

We were doing fine right up until I got hurt in November of 2005. I was a salaried store manager, we had a nice car, buying a home, and then it all went bad. I got hurt on the job and fought with my employer for more than a year to get needed surgery all the while losing our house, our car, our credit, our self worth, and ended up living with my parents supported only by Brad’s disability income and welfare. After 11 months of living with Mom, Dad, and my youngest sister we finally settled with my employer, got a settlement check, bought a truck and paid a years worth of rent on a place. Somewhere in between then and now I lost my new job in the Cash Office of a horrible mismanaged box store, need massive repairs to my truck after having already shelled out money for previous repairs and am working short term gigs at a temp agency hoping we can pay the bills and have enough to cover living in this house when it is time to renew our lease next September. Treasure what stability you may have. Never rely on a college degree to get you anywhere unless it’s in a field that requires one. Even then, have a back up plan.

Brad can be a bastard, but he is my rock. We may have fought and argued too many times to count over the years, but we always end up making up and laughing again. We even argued about what to do when I did find out I was pregnant, but ultimately he supported my decision and we both know we’re going to be awesome parents to both our kids.

I am not sure what I am expecting anymore, except sometime in the future, I am going to have to tell Liam something and stop calling it “The New Pet” in front of him. He is going to be disappointed it isn’t a beagle. Barry the nutless wonder, beloved of Ceiling Cat, will be pleased it is not a beagle. It’s going to be an adjustment, yes, but we’ll make it through and be a stronger family for it.

Originally posted 2008-04-21 22:04:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

For a while there I was a bit worried about not feeling much movement from Sarah. I shouldn’t have been. She’s currently performing acrobatic feats and generally making me uncomfortable. I don’t remember Liam ever being this active until much later on. I guess it goes to show how different each pregnancy can be. I just wonder if I can survive the next 18 weeks while still staying sane. I did it once before……

Originally posted 2008-07-05 21:04:03. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Top Ten Tips For Expressing Breast Milk
By Hannah Will

I’ve been expressing breast milk for several weeks now, so I thought I would share some important tips that have helped me greatly.

1. Be sure to drink plenty of water. It’s hard to produce milk without it, as I’ve learned. I started out expressing four to six 3oz bottles a day, but then tapered off to two or three bottles. I realized I had not been drinking much water. Increasing my water intake helped to get my milk production back up. If you decide to increase your water intake, express 15 to 30 minutes later than you normally would for a while.

2. Expressing is usually better in the morning, or after a bath or shower. You get a good let down from it. (Let down is a basically a reflex that moves your milk from the milk ducts into your nipple where your baby or breast pump can suck milk out.)

3. If expressing more than once a day, try to keep to a routine. I express two to three times a day, at 8am, 2pm and 8pm. Although it’s often recommended, I don’t express through the night, since I always have to feed through the night because my partner won’t get up to feed by bottle.

4. About 5 minutes before you’re going to express, prepare two face cloths or flannels and a bowl of hot water. Don’t make it too hot! I prefer to double express using an Ameda Lactaline dual pump. I put the hot cloths on both of my breasts for five minutes before expressing. If the cloths cool too quickly, reheat them.

5. Before expressing, remove one cloth at a time and massage that breast, rubbing softly. Pay special attention to massaging any lumps or sore areas. If you’re expressing off one breast at time, put just one cloth on the breast your planning to use first. Once you feel you are ready to express, take the cloth off that breast, reheat it and place it on the other. If you’re planning on double expressing, place hot cloths on each of your breast, wait five minutes, then massage both at the same time.

6. If your baby is due a feed, latch your baby on each breast for a few suckles. It could improve the amount of milk that you can express afterward. It takes about an hour for your production to rebuild.

7. If you do not have a regular routine, you’ll express when you feel heavy and sore. You can increase milk production if you wait an extra ten minutes or so before beginning but it is not the best way. The best way to increase your milk production is to, express more regularly through the day and through the night.

8. To help with sore or cracked nipples, hand express a little of your breast milk and rub it onto your nipples and areola. I recommend that you do this after each time you express. It works better than any cream. If you have to use cream I recommend Goldshield Kamillosan. Chamomile ointment can also be used for nappy rash. But only use after expressing or breast feeding. I always wipe off any creams before expressing.

9. If you want to use a hand pump, I recommend the Tommee Tippee. Easy to use, clean and take apart. For an electric pump I recommend the Ameda Lactaline Dual Breast Pump. It is great for double pumping, which saves heaps of time when expressing. It’s more expensive, but you get your money’s worth. I tried a Medela dual action pump, and hated it. An hour after starting I still only had 30 mills. I can hand express that in 3 minutes.

10. Finally, it’s very important to store breast milk properly:

• Milk kept in bags specially designed for breast milk storage can be stored in the fridge or freezer.
• Milk kept in the freezer can be stored for up 6 months at temperature of -18 Celsius or -0.4 Fahrenheit.
• Milk stored at room temperature 26 Celsius or 78.8 Fahrenheit can be keep for up to 8 hours.
• Milk thawed and placed in the fridge can be stored for 24 hours if unopened at the temperature should be +2 to +5 Celsius or 35.6 to 41 Fahrenheit. If opened it can be stored for 12 hours at the same temperature.
• Milk stored in the fridge without being frozen or unopened can be stored for up to 72 hours. (Recommendation is 24 hours. I only keep it for 24 hours before I will pour it down the sink.) The temperature should between +2 to +5 Celsius or 35.6 to 41 Fahrenheit.
• Milk that has been drank but not finished should be poured out after an hour.

http://bumpsnbabies.com/2008/10/baby-feeding/73/top-ten-tips-on-expressing-breast-milk

Copyright 2008 Hannah Will

http://www.bumpsnbabies.com

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Originally posted 2008-11-13 17:17:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter