Pumping Milestone - 16 Months

I haven't written a ZOMG LOOK HOW LONG I'VE BEEN PUMPING!!! post since I hit a year. But I decided that I'd do one this month, because sixteen? Sounds like a very big number.

E is still drinking a lot of breast milk (around 30 ounces a day). That's kind of a lot for a 16 month old (even for a 13.5-adjusted-for-prematurity-month old). He's also been eating very little actual food, which is where the problem really lies. You know, "Food before one is just for fun!" Well, we've been there, done that, got the T-shirt and it's not fun and games anymore. He should be eating, especially because he's severely anemic. To the point that he was showing symptoms of anemia so I took him to the pediatrician to have his hemoglobin tested. It was quite low - lower then it had been when it was last checked (9 months old). Yep, definitely (very) anemic.

So the time has come.....




You thought I was going to say I'm quitting. BAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Nope.

The time has come to try pureed baby food again instead of the baby led weaning, because I've just got to get some iron into that boy. I'm giving him prescription iron drops and everything but I'd rather he get it from diet, so there we are. Breast milk is relatively low in iron but the amount that it does have is very absorbable so he can still have it if he wants.

In other pumping related news, this week I got my very first plugged duct. That's right, the first and only in 16 months. That's pretty dang lucky, if you ask me. It hurts enough to be really annoying. I'm doing warm compresses and showers and pumping like crazy, like I tell all those other people who get plugged ducts to do, but have never had to do myself. Hopefully it clears up soon, because I'll be pretty bummed if it turns into mastitis. I told my mom and she's all "That would be enough to make me wean!" and I'm all "Heck no, I'm hardcore."

Seriously though I'm hoping to make it through the winter still pumping. Since E doesn't qualify for Synagis this year I really want him to have the little immunity boost that the breast milk gives him. I don't really have a problem with keeping going until he's 2, unless it somehow becomes a huge inconvenience for me. I'm  pretty used to it by now so I don't really see that happening. We'll see. Stay tuned.


Disclaimer: I wrote this post when I should have been sleeping. Enough said. 

Starting Solids

So. Lately E is very interested in what I'm eating. He watches my fork go from my plate to my mouth very intently. EVERYTHING is fair game for hand to mouth, although he still picks up things with his whole fist - no fine motor skills yet.

There is so much conflicting information out there about when to start solids. Of course, his pediatrician said I could start him around 4-6 months (actual!), but he was nowhere near ready then.

He's almost 8 months actual, 5 1/2 months adjusted now. And I'm not sure what to do.

As I said, he watches what I eat very intently. He will grab at my food occasionally, but not every time. I gave him some frozen breast milk chips, and he didn't tongue thrust them out or gag or anything. He seemed to like that.

Any advice? When did you start solids? What did you start with? Do you think it's time for me to introduce solids to him, or should I wait?

My Story - Why I Have Preemies

Why so many preemies, you ask?

I have a condition called incompetent cervix. It occurs in about 1% of pregnancies. Pretty rare. The only known cause is trauma to the cervix, either with something like a D&C procedure, or a traumatic vaginal birth. I didn't have any of these. Mine just occurred. Maybe a birth defect. No one really knows.

Normally this can be fairly successfully treated with a procedure called a cerclage. Basically your perinatologist sews your cervix up while you're pregnant, and takes the stitch out at 36 weeks or so, so you can go ahead and get that kid out.

Unfortunately, I also have a very irritable uterus, and preterm labor.

The general thought is that because when I contract, my cervix is dynamic - opening and closing - a cerclage may not work on me at all. I may rip through it, causing more damage to my cervix and potentially being very dangerous.

We're not really sure. Since I just found out about the IC with my pregnancy with E, I haven't had the opportunity to seriously consider it. I would like to try ONE more time, for one more baby, and see if the cerclage can buy me a few more weeks. But I also don't want to keep popping out preemies. I feel it kind of crosses an ethical line, if I *know* I can't carry to term.

Anyway, none of that matters since I'm not married at the moment. I'll worry about it later.

I just thought you might be curious!

My Story - E

E. My rainbow baby. My pride, my joy, my baby boy.

Again, copying from www.babybumbleb.com

ELI

As a result of my history, we were much better prepared this time around. We took precautions against preterm labor with weekly progesterone shots, and biweekly cervical ultrasounds. I started having what I knew to be Braxton Hicks quite early in the pregnancy, which made me very nervous. I went in to be checked, in tears, more times than I can remember. I always thought I was in labor, or I was leaking fluid or something. All the times that I went in, I was wrong, and everything was fine.

Until I got to 23 weeks. I had just eaten dinner and was having more Braxton Hicks than usual. I decided to go lay down on my left side and drink a bunch of water before calling, because I knew that's what they'd tell me to do anyway. After an hour and a liter of water, I was still having them frequently, so I called my doctor. The doctor on call at L&D said she wasn't worried, but due to my history she wanted me to come get checked so I would be able to sleep that night.

My heart stopped when I was told I was dilated a centimeter and a half. I was admitted to the hospital and put on complete bed rest, continuous monitoring and a cocktail of drugs to prevent labor. The next day an ultrasound of my cervix showed funneling that hadn't been there 2 weeks prior. I only had half a centimeter of cervical length left.I was given steroid shots for the baby's lungs, and it was just a waiting game until my cervix would give out.

I held onto that half centimeter for 6 weeks in the hospital, only allowed in a wheelchair for my weekly appointments with my perinatologist. At 29 weeks I went into labor that was unstoppable with drugs. I delivered a screaming baby boy! He was whisked off to NICU right away, and spent 45 days there. He sailed through, needing little respiratory help. He was basically a feeder/grower the whole time.

Elias Adam
3 lbs, 6oz
08/02/2009

My Story - B

B. My beautiful angel.

I'm going to copy from a guest blog I did for my BFF Katie at www.babybumbleb.com.

BRIE

The day my daughter was born was the best day of my life, like a firstborns birthday is for all parents. It was also the most terrifying and devastating day of my life. Why? Because I was only 26 weeks pregnant.

We were literally in the middle of a cross-country move. Halfway between our old home and our new home. I had felt "off" all day, and started having what I thought were gas pains around noon. Eventually I noticed that the pains were consistent - every 5 minutes. We were traveling, so we stopped at the first emergency room we came across. I wasn't in a lot of pain, just a little uncomfortable, so I felt really, really silly going in to an emergency room. I was told I probably wasn't having contractions, because they didn't feel my WHOLE tummy getting hard. The baby was listened to with a doppler - she sounded beautiful. The doctor came in, repeated everything the nurses had done and told me I was having Braxton Hicks contractions due to the long car trip. "Drink more water, get up and walk around every 2-3 hours, and follow up with your OB when you get home" were the orders I was sent away with. I was not checked for cervical dilation. Because this was my first pregnancy, I had no idea that I should have been.

About eight hours later I was trying to sleep in a hotel room. The "Braxton Hicks" were getting worse. I thought "Wow, I must really be a baby if these are Braxton Hicks. I wonder what real labor is like?!" I thought maybe my appendix had burst or something weird like that, so I dragged my husband out of bed and we went to a different hospital. I was taken to triage where I was checked for dilation. I was 8 cm dilated and the baby was at +2 station.

There was no going back. I delivered her, and she let out the most beautiful cry. I was allowed to kiss her on the cheek before she was whisked away to the NICU. Forty-six hours later, we were told that she was suffering from pulmonary hemorrhage due to the immaturity of her lungs. They had done everything they could do, and it wasn't working. We chose to remove her life support and end her suffering. We held her for the first and last time, and she passed away peacefully in her parents arms.

Gabriella Nicole
1 lb, 15 oz
11/11/08-11/13/08