The Medela Pump in Style is truly amazing! Yesterday, after the 8:30am feeding, I was able to hop out and run a few errands (getting pampers and new towels at Walmart, mailing a parcel for my SMF (Secret Mom Friend @ Weddingbells.ca) and doing grocery shopping) and I got home around 10:45am. Began pumping at 10:50am and was done by 11:15am. Bethany's feeding time was 11:30am! This spells F.R.E.E.D.O.M. loud and clear!
Last night, I did the 3am feeding single-handedly! Mom was too exhausted as she has been helping out with the day feedings, and night feedings except the 5:30am. Joe usually does the 5:30am feeding as I told him that he needs to get enough sleep so that he won't be sleeping at his job. I woke up at 2:30am, finished pumping at 2:50am. Woke up Bethany at 2:52am, changed her diaper at 2:55am. Began feeding at 3am, finished feeding and burping at 3:25am. Put her back in her bassinet at 3:30am. So it took about an hour for me from start to finish... not bad at all! :-) Last week, with the single breast pump, I would have never imagined I could be able to get all this done in an hour!
Joe did the 6am feeding... but he did not do the diaper change. I find that men, sometimes, are not as thorough as women, when it comes to diaper change. I like to take my time, make sure Bethany's bum is clean, put on Bum Bum Balm by Dimpleskins, and then put the diaper on her. Joe does not use Bum Bum Balm and I got really mad as Bethany has a bit of diaper rash, and the doctor "ordered" us to use diaper cream during each diaper change.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Weight Loss Challenge Update
Weight loss challenge update
18 days postpartum... I have lost 20 lbs. Still have another 20 lbs to lose!
Once the swelling of my feet have gone done, and that I can fit into my runners again, I will start going for long walks (an hour each day) in our neighborhood! For now, I will need to wear my Crocs and go for half an hour walk!
When Bethany is 4 months old that I can her feeding schedule under control, I will start resuming Yoga!
Oh, by the way, Joe has lost 3 lbs since Bethany was born! With the 1/2 of carton of ice-cream he consumed thursday night, I am sure he had put back those 3lb plus another 3lbs more!
18 days postpartum... I have lost 20 lbs. Still have another 20 lbs to lose!
Once the swelling of my feet have gone done, and that I can fit into my runners again, I will start going for long walks (an hour each day) in our neighborhood! For now, I will need to wear my Crocs and go for half an hour walk!
When Bethany is 4 months old that I can her feeding schedule under control, I will start resuming Yoga!
Oh, by the way, Joe has lost 3 lbs since Bethany was born! With the 1/2 of carton of ice-cream he consumed thursday night, I am sure he had put back those 3lb plus another 3lbs more!
My New Toy -- Medela Pump in Style
Yesterday, I finally got my hands on a Medela Pump In Style Pump! This piece of equipment is Godsend! :-)
The day Bethany and I got discharged at the hospital, I went and picked up a Medela Swing pump. While the Swing pump works fine, and I survived the first 1.5 weeks being a pumping mom, and that Bethany had "beefed" up quite a bit (from 6lb 15oz, then down to 6lb 5oz, then up to 7lb 2oz , then again to 7lb 7oz), I spent about an hour just to pump, and mom had to help me with the feeding as often times, I was completely exhausted when the pumping was done.
Two days ago, when I was pumping at 1:30am, a thought suddenly came into my mind. If I do 8 feedings per day, each feeding (from start to finish takes about 1/2 hr) and that I need an hour to pump prior to each feeding.
Pumping: 8 hrs per day
Feeding: 4 hrs per day
That means I only have an hour in between last feeding and next pumping. With mom leaving in October and Joe at work, how is that ever possible for me to do all other stuff (i.e. laundry, bathing Bethany, running errands, cooking dinner and cleaning the house)? Cold sweat was creeping on my back!
At the 8:30am feeding, I discussed with my mom on the possibility of getting a double breast pump and theoretically, it will cut down the pumping time by one-half. I quickly made a call to my new friend, who is also the owner of a home-based cloth diaper business here in Barrhaven (www.amotherstouch.com) and discussed my concerns with her. To my surprise, she told me that a lot of new moms are going through the same experience as I am and that while a single breast pump works fine for once-in-a-while pumping, it can turn into a nightmare if a mom relies heavily on the pump 8 times a day. We quickly narrowed down my choice of double-breast pump and I placed an order right away.
My new toy, Medela Pump In Style double breast pump arrived yesterday! I brought it home at 1:50pm, and with the 10 mins sterilization in hot boiling water, I started expressing milk at 2:08pm, by 2:20pm, I had expressed 3.75oz of milk (it would have taken me about 1.5 hrs to express this amount of milk had I sticked to my Swing single breast pump!) I was sooooo amazed at the result! Yesterday afternoon, for the first time since Bethany was born, I, once again, experienced the feeling of F.R.E.E.D.O.M.! Last night, I managed to sleep for 2.5 hrs instead of 1.5 hrs, great thanks to my new love of the life!
For those expectant moms out there, who are considering buying a breast pump... you can never go wrong with a Medela Pump In Style or Medela Freestyle breast pump. Before Bethany was born, I had never thought that I would need a breast pump to express milk, so I did not do any research on breast pump! Being the queen of google, I kick myself every time when I think about how naive I was at that time, thinking that breastfeeding would be a breeze!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Forgive and Forget
About 1 1/2 years ago, I wrote a blog entry on Forgive and Forget. A few days ago, in between pumping and feeding, I had an hour to kill, so I started changing the layout of the blog and cleaning up a bit on old photo albums. I also re-visited this old blog entry.
I wrote this entry a few months prior to my wedding. At that time, I was deeply bothered by a soon-to-be family-member's actions. Her comments and verbal attacks had left a very bad taste in my mouth. In an effort to have closure so that I could move on with a life that Joe and I were about to begin, I wrote this entry to reflect. 18 months later, I was brave enough to revisit my still-bleeding wound, and attempted to find out if I am any different than I was then.
Sadly, my feeling for this "then-soon-to-be" family member and now "I-want-nothing-to-do-with-you"family member is still the same. Anger, hatred, disappointment and resentment are still the three words I have in my dictionary to describe this person. To this date, I have no intention to forget her childish and idiotic actions, let alone forgive all the hurtful and manipulative comments she had made.
A lot of people told me that pregnancy often has a softening effect on preggos. Although I had softened a bit during my pregnancy, the softening is not powerful enough to make me forgive and forget all the hurtful things she had said about me before Joe and I got married, after Joe and I got married, and when I was pregnant. Although she has done little things to try to mend what was broken, the extent of damage is so astronomical that at this point, I simply do not have the heart big enough to forgive and forget.
In about 18 months, I am going to re-visit my old blog entry and my emotional wound, and perhaps by that time I will be able to forgive and forget.
Until then...
I wrote this entry a few months prior to my wedding. At that time, I was deeply bothered by a soon-to-be family-member's actions. Her comments and verbal attacks had left a very bad taste in my mouth. In an effort to have closure so that I could move on with a life that Joe and I were about to begin, I wrote this entry to reflect. 18 months later, I was brave enough to revisit my still-bleeding wound, and attempted to find out if I am any different than I was then.
Sadly, my feeling for this "then-soon-to-be" family member and now "I-want-nothing-to-do-with-you"family member is still the same. Anger, hatred, disappointment and resentment are still the three words I have in my dictionary to describe this person. To this date, I have no intention to forget her childish and idiotic actions, let alone forgive all the hurtful and manipulative comments she had made.
A lot of people told me that pregnancy often has a softening effect on preggos. Although I had softened a bit during my pregnancy, the softening is not powerful enough to make me forgive and forget all the hurtful things she had said about me before Joe and I got married, after Joe and I got married, and when I was pregnant. Although she has done little things to try to mend what was broken, the extent of damage is so astronomical that at this point, I simply do not have the heart big enough to forgive and forget.
In about 18 months, I am going to re-visit my old blog entry and my emotional wound, and perhaps by that time I will be able to forgive and forget.
Until then...
Bethany's second doctor appointment
Mom and I took Bethany to her second doctor appointment yesterday. Joe and I went for the first doctor appointment the day after we were discharged from the hospital. Bethany goes to the doctor once every two weeks for check up and growth charting.
Yesterday was the first time I (with Joe's company) took Bethany out of the house. It took me 10 mins to put her in the carseat (as I wanted to make sure she was safely strapped to the carseat) and another 5 mins to hook the carseat to the car base in my vehicle. The drive from our home to the doctor's office was about 20 mins and mom sat in the back with Bethany. It must be the moving motion of the vehicle that Bethany feel asleep.
When we got to the doctor's office, it was close to Bethany's 11:30am feeding time, so mom fed Bethany. We got call into the doctor's office at 11:50am.
1/ Bethany weighed 7lb 7oz yesterday! Last thursday, the public health nurse weighed her and she was 7lb 1.5oz. 5 days later, she put on 5.5oz! According to those numerous books I read, it is quite normal for a new born to put on 1oz per day. Though expressing milk / pumping has taken 85% of my day and I have been averaging around 1.5 hr of sleep every night, knowing that Bethany has put on weight and that her growth is charting normal, my exhaustion virtually vanishes!
2/ Bethany has a bit of rashes on her face. They started to surfaced on Saturday, and it had gotten a bit worse by Sunday. The doctor told me rashes on the face are normal, as Bethany's body still has my hormones, and thus the "new born acne". No cream or lotion is necessary as the rashes will go away in a week or two. When the doctor mentioned "acne", I was like, "NO! Please do not tell me Bethany has gotten Joe's acne-prone skin!"
3/ Skin peeling on Bethany's hands, feet and lower thighs. I googled about skin peeling in new borns on Sunday, and it is absolutely normal due to the fact that Bethany was swimming in my amnioitic fluid for the past 9 months. Before I put any lotions on her to moisturize her skin, I want to get the "green light" from the doctor first. The doctor suggested a thin layer of Vaseline, to be applied on her hands, feet and thighs after every bath. He also suggested Johnson & Johnson lotions which I hold a different opinion then the doctor. I read somewhere on the internet that Johnson & Johnson's products are pumped with tons of fragrances and some babies are actually allergic to those fragrances. The doctor agreed with my "findings". So for now, we are using Vaseline!
4/ Diaper rash -- Bethany has a bit of diaper rash. Doctor suggested Sudocream. I believe in an all-natural approach, and I bought All Jill's Thing Bum Bum Balm and Dimpleskin's Bum Balm a few months ago. Both balms are 100% natural and with no chemicals.
5/ H1N1 -- A lot of medical professionals have predicated with "back to school" just around the corner, there will be outbreaks of H1N1. Children under 5 and men around 40s are the two high risk groups. I asked the doctor if Bethnay should get a vaccination against H1N1. Doctor said that Bethany is too young to receive this vaccines (babies 6 months or older can get this vaccination). However, he suggested that both Joe and myself get the vaccination. During the first three / four months in a newborn's life, this period is very crucial as the immune system is not fully developed and often time a new born is prone to illness. In order to prevent any un-necessary illness, the doctor highly recommended that we do not take Bethany out to public, especially with the potential of the H1N1 outbreak, unless it is absolutely necessary. I strongly agree with the doctor, as according to the chinese culture, we do not normally take the baby out of the house during the first few months anyway.
Yesterday was the first time I (with Joe's company) took Bethany out of the house. It took me 10 mins to put her in the carseat (as I wanted to make sure she was safely strapped to the carseat) and another 5 mins to hook the carseat to the car base in my vehicle. The drive from our home to the doctor's office was about 20 mins and mom sat in the back with Bethany. It must be the moving motion of the vehicle that Bethany feel asleep.
When we got to the doctor's office, it was close to Bethany's 11:30am feeding time, so mom fed Bethany. We got call into the doctor's office at 11:50am.
1/ Bethany weighed 7lb 7oz yesterday! Last thursday, the public health nurse weighed her and she was 7lb 1.5oz. 5 days later, she put on 5.5oz! According to those numerous books I read, it is quite normal for a new born to put on 1oz per day. Though expressing milk / pumping has taken 85% of my day and I have been averaging around 1.5 hr of sleep every night, knowing that Bethany has put on weight and that her growth is charting normal, my exhaustion virtually vanishes!
2/ Bethany has a bit of rashes on her face. They started to surfaced on Saturday, and it had gotten a bit worse by Sunday. The doctor told me rashes on the face are normal, as Bethany's body still has my hormones, and thus the "new born acne". No cream or lotion is necessary as the rashes will go away in a week or two. When the doctor mentioned "acne", I was like, "NO! Please do not tell me Bethany has gotten Joe's acne-prone skin!"
3/ Skin peeling on Bethany's hands, feet and lower thighs. I googled about skin peeling in new borns on Sunday, and it is absolutely normal due to the fact that Bethany was swimming in my amnioitic fluid for the past 9 months. Before I put any lotions on her to moisturize her skin, I want to get the "green light" from the doctor first. The doctor suggested a thin layer of Vaseline, to be applied on her hands, feet and thighs after every bath. He also suggested Johnson & Johnson lotions which I hold a different opinion then the doctor. I read somewhere on the internet that Johnson & Johnson's products are pumped with tons of fragrances and some babies are actually allergic to those fragrances. The doctor agreed with my "findings". So for now, we are using Vaseline!
4/ Diaper rash -- Bethany has a bit of diaper rash. Doctor suggested Sudocream. I believe in an all-natural approach, and I bought All Jill's Thing Bum Bum Balm and Dimpleskin's Bum Balm a few months ago. Both balms are 100% natural and with no chemicals.
5/ H1N1 -- A lot of medical professionals have predicated with "back to school" just around the corner, there will be outbreaks of H1N1. Children under 5 and men around 40s are the two high risk groups. I asked the doctor if Bethnay should get a vaccination against H1N1. Doctor said that Bethany is too young to receive this vaccines (babies 6 months or older can get this vaccination). However, he suggested that both Joe and myself get the vaccination. During the first three / four months in a newborn's life, this period is very crucial as the immune system is not fully developed and often time a new born is prone to illness. In order to prevent any un-necessary illness, the doctor highly recommended that we do not take Bethany out to public, especially with the potential of the H1N1 outbreak, unless it is absolutely necessary. I strongly agree with the doctor, as according to the chinese culture, we do not normally take the baby out of the house during the first few months anyway.
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