Belle and I braved the rain and made an early morning meeting with an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant). Belle demonstrated a strong suck without any anatomical issues (ie, tongue tie). A pre and post feeding weight check revealed she had taken in two ounces during an observed feeding. The lactation consultant recommended I continue feeding Belle on demand with the addition of breast compressions. She also showed me another way to latch Belle on that would incorporate more of the milk ducts into her mouth.
Belle gained two ounces since last Thursday's weight check. This shows a weight gain of a half an ounce per day. I will bring this information with me to our next meeting with the health visitor and our next pediatrician appointment. I will resist the pressure or the temptation to supplement Belle's feedings with powdered formula. Nothing wrong with formula! I thrived on soy formula during my infancy. If I am able to make milk, I will offer my milk to my baby. I would rather wash my breasts (My milk often flows faster after a hot shower!) than scrub bottles.
I would also rather feed myself than give the same money, if not more, to a formula company. Breastfeeding is a good opportunity to pay closer attention to one's diet. I am drinking and eating plenty of dairy, fruits, grains and vegetables. I am finding mood boosting B vitamins in nutritional yeast and Milo, a cocoa flavored powder, similar to Ovaltine. I wonder if more women would breastfeed their babies if automatically given extra emotional, and even nutritional support, ie, WIC (Women Infants and Children). Nutritional support alone might be a great incentive to breastfeed.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Organic
I had no idea that even the traditionally known formula companies now feature certified organic lines in addition to their standard offerings. A woman I met at the Saturday farmer's market alerted me to this. She was in charge of a petition to get disclosures on what exactly is in our food. When I mentioned once needing to supplement Belle's diet with formula while under the gun, this woman asked me if I had used organic.
I certainly would have looked into this had I needed it. All of the formula I used to supplement Belle's diet came in care packages from friends and samples from the hospital. I didn't see a need to do anything fancy or different at all, especially nothing that required spending extra money. Formula made from certified organic ingredients sound great for those who need it. That being said, why not breast feed?
I certainly would have looked into this had I needed it. All of the formula I used to supplement Belle's diet came in care packages from friends and samples from the hospital. I didn't see a need to do anything fancy or different at all, especially nothing that required spending extra money. Formula made from certified organic ingredients sound great for those who need it. That being said, why not breast feed?
Chika
I met a woman called Chika at the Knights of Columbus Easter cook out today. She delivered her third baby, a delightfully chubby eight month old girl, at the same hospital where I delivered Belle. She says she had a great experience there. I am sure I would have too had my circumstances been different. I nearly had Belle taken away from me because I hadn't sought medical care when I didn't know I was pregnant. Black American babies are still harder to place. I shudder to think where Belle would have gone had the efforts been successful at taking her away.
While I ate a healthy diet and did plenty of basic exercise, including a four mile walk just days before Belle's birth, I admitted to drinking (mostly beer) socially, without blacking out. I chose to be honest about this because it would have shown up in Belle had there been a problem (It wasn't!). Chika thinks the harsh treatment I received was just the medical profession's way of covering their own ass. Whatever the reason, I still have a lingering sense of panic that someone might take Belle from me if she farts.
Belle turned four months old yesterday. A friend pointed out, "She has doubled her weight!" Truth be told, Belle is twice her lowest weight (4lbs, 5oz to 8lbs, 9oz). This is right on track, especially based on her corrected age. The health visitor took a closer look at Belle's chart and discovered slow but steady, consistent growth. Other mothers, including Chika, have had babies who, like Belle, have lost nearly one pound after birth. The infamous "they" have given me such grief over Belle's birth, Belle's slow weight gain despite my best efforts, etc, that I can't often see the forest for the trees.
While I ate a healthy diet and did plenty of basic exercise, including a four mile walk just days before Belle's birth, I admitted to drinking (mostly beer) socially, without blacking out. I chose to be honest about this because it would have shown up in Belle had there been a problem (It wasn't!). Chika thinks the harsh treatment I received was just the medical profession's way of covering their own ass. Whatever the reason, I still have a lingering sense of panic that someone might take Belle from me if she farts.
Belle turned four months old yesterday. A friend pointed out, "She has doubled her weight!" Truth be told, Belle is twice her lowest weight (4lbs, 5oz to 8lbs, 9oz). This is right on track, especially based on her corrected age. The health visitor took a closer look at Belle's chart and discovered slow but steady, consistent growth. Other mothers, including Chika, have had babies who, like Belle, have lost nearly one pound after birth. The infamous "they" have given me such grief over Belle's birth, Belle's slow weight gain despite my best efforts, etc, that I can't often see the forest for the trees.
Shrinking
I am losing all the weight I gained dining and drinking out in Alameda these past few years. I have lost twenty pounds since New Year's. This represents a healthy weight loss of about seven pounds a month. Belle weighed five pounds. A quick internet search revealed placenta weighs about two pounds. If I add this together, plus another seven pounds, I have probably lost thirty-five pounds in four months, or, eight pounds a month (It is recommended to lose one to two pounds a week times four is eight pounds lost per month.).
I currently weigh 155 pounds, which is what I weighed on high school graduation eighteen years ago. I am only five foot five inches tall with a medium build. My current weight sits on the high end for my frame. That said, I have no business being two hundred pounds ever again in my life. I wore it well though. I never had any breathing problems or anything. I just got a little heavy for a season.
I became very conscious of my weight in Autumn of 2010, six months before Belle's conception. The scale read 190 pounds (My highest weight had previously been 175, circa 1996.). I had started power walking again, wearing a hoodie with leggings very early in the mornings or very late in the evenings. I had even added a metaphysical bent to my power walking by holding crystal points in both hands instead of weights. These were like conductors, a la, the wand The Magician holds in your standard deck of tarot cards. I had decided to lose all my excess weight by May of 2011.
I lost interest in power walking somewhere along the way. I continued my familiar routine of dining out with friends, drinking at the pub and then having burgers after last call. I eliminated most of this by March 2011, when I started seeing Belle's father. His bedroom literally overlooked the Saturday farmer's market. I immediately started shopping it again the morning after our first night together. I had the most fun shopping and cooking for myself last Spring and Summer, and even into Autumn.
I didn't know I was pregnant for most of this culinary journey. I must have fallen pregnant within a month into my relationship with both Belle's father and the farmer's market. I found myself eating sardines packed in oil (which I still love!) and lots of pungent and spicy foods (chili peppers, garlic, ginger, hot sauce, mayonaise, mustard, onions, vinegar). I stayed active and always on the go, which is surely another reason why I stayed pregnant and unawares, without the usual baby weight and such.
Belle's birth has since triggered my body to lose the excess weight I had packed on since relocating to Alameda in 2007. Many of the friends I have made along the way are people I met in 2008, when I had already started gaining weight. They see me now and ask me if everything is alright. I am breastfeeding Belle and eating a largely fiber rich diet of cereals, rice, milk, cheese, eggs, yams, greens, etc. I am no longer losing count of my cocktails (like I did through Spring 2011!) and ending my nights with a bacon cheeseburger or chili cheese fries at Nations before bed.
I hit my lowest recorded weight of my adult life twelve years ago when I weighed 125 pounds. While I like myself now, at 155, I also like myself at 130. I am almost there. I would like to embrace that weight loss and maintain it. I am sure I can do this with Belle. Why? I successfully handled my grandmother's [diabetic] diet when I took charge of her care during the last eight months of her life. We both lost weight because we both ate the same foods. I plan to make Belle's diet as healthy as possible. This will surely encourage growth in her and weight maintainance for me.
I currently weigh 155 pounds, which is what I weighed on high school graduation eighteen years ago. I am only five foot five inches tall with a medium build. My current weight sits on the high end for my frame. That said, I have no business being two hundred pounds ever again in my life. I wore it well though. I never had any breathing problems or anything. I just got a little heavy for a season.
I became very conscious of my weight in Autumn of 2010, six months before Belle's conception. The scale read 190 pounds (My highest weight had previously been 175, circa 1996.). I had started power walking again, wearing a hoodie with leggings very early in the mornings or very late in the evenings. I had even added a metaphysical bent to my power walking by holding crystal points in both hands instead of weights. These were like conductors, a la, the wand The Magician holds in your standard deck of tarot cards. I had decided to lose all my excess weight by May of 2011.
I lost interest in power walking somewhere along the way. I continued my familiar routine of dining out with friends, drinking at the pub and then having burgers after last call. I eliminated most of this by March 2011, when I started seeing Belle's father. His bedroom literally overlooked the Saturday farmer's market. I immediately started shopping it again the morning after our first night together. I had the most fun shopping and cooking for myself last Spring and Summer, and even into Autumn.
I didn't know I was pregnant for most of this culinary journey. I must have fallen pregnant within a month into my relationship with both Belle's father and the farmer's market. I found myself eating sardines packed in oil (which I still love!) and lots of pungent and spicy foods (chili peppers, garlic, ginger, hot sauce, mayonaise, mustard, onions, vinegar). I stayed active and always on the go, which is surely another reason why I stayed pregnant and unawares, without the usual baby weight and such.
Belle's birth has since triggered my body to lose the excess weight I had packed on since relocating to Alameda in 2007. Many of the friends I have made along the way are people I met in 2008, when I had already started gaining weight. They see me now and ask me if everything is alright. I am breastfeeding Belle and eating a largely fiber rich diet of cereals, rice, milk, cheese, eggs, yams, greens, etc. I am no longer losing count of my cocktails (like I did through Spring 2011!) and ending my nights with a bacon cheeseburger or chili cheese fries at Nations before bed.
I hit my lowest recorded weight of my adult life twelve years ago when I weighed 125 pounds. While I like myself now, at 155, I also like myself at 130. I am almost there. I would like to embrace that weight loss and maintain it. I am sure I can do this with Belle. Why? I successfully handled my grandmother's [diabetic] diet when I took charge of her care during the last eight months of her life. We both lost weight because we both ate the same foods. I plan to make Belle's diet as healthy as possible. This will surely encourage growth in her and weight maintainance for me.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Current favorite foods
Sauteed greens are absolutely delicious, as are mashed yams, baked bananas and dal(green split peas cooked with onions, ginger, turmeric, etc).
Martin Purefoods sardines in olive oil!!!
Eggs fried in butter...
Danish Creamery Butter makes me want to cartwheel.
My kingdom for a Bounty dark chocolate bar (Mmm, coconut!).
Avocado and banana smoothies are religion.
Life cereal with reduced fat milk and one tablespoon of all natural peanut butter is soul satisfying.
What else?
Martin Purefoods sardines in olive oil!!!
Eggs fried in butter...
Danish Creamery Butter makes me want to cartwheel.
My kingdom for a Bounty dark chocolate bar (Mmm, coconut!).
Avocado and banana smoothies are religion.
Life cereal with reduced fat milk and one tablespoon of all natural peanut butter is soul satisfying.
What else?
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Foreign
Today my former hair stylist assumed the ring sling I held Belle in wasn't safe for the baby or good for my back. She insisted that the baby was cold and I needed both arms around the baby to keep her from falling. The woman wouldn't walk away until I had both arms around Belle. In fact, she positioned my arms around my own baby for me and seemed satisfied with her work.
People assume a cloth sling isn't appropriate because it doesn't have wheels. They also assume the mother wearing the baby in the sling is either foreign born or new to motherhood, both of which were assumed of me by strangers. They assume the baby in the sling is, at worst, physically cold or otherwise impaired or, at best, spoiled.
We misuse the world spoiled when it comes to infants and children. That pot of vegetable soup I finally removed from my refrigerator after however many weeks is spoiled and unfit to eat. Belle, however, is well cared for and well loved. I wear her and feed her on demand, which is a foreign concept to many people.
People assume a cloth sling isn't appropriate because it doesn't have wheels. They also assume the mother wearing the baby in the sling is either foreign born or new to motherhood, both of which were assumed of me by strangers. They assume the baby in the sling is, at worst, physically cold or otherwise impaired or, at best, spoiled.
We misuse the world spoiled when it comes to infants and children. That pot of vegetable soup I finally removed from my refrigerator after however many weeks is spoiled and unfit to eat. Belle, however, is well cared for and well loved. I wear her and feed her on demand, which is a foreign concept to many people.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Eww!
I took Belle on a three hour walk earlier, during which I had to feed her. I found a quiet spot to adjust things and kept walking. I walked all through the beach and the park, nursing Belle as needed. It wasn't until we found our way back to our main street that I met opposition. A teenage boy of fifteen or so said "Eww" once he realised I had a nurslling. May his palms grow hairs, very long hairs.
I met a mother walking with her two small daughters immediately after the boy made the comment. I hadn't reacted to the comment in the moment, nor did I mention this comment to the mother and her daughters. The mother smiled when she said "That's how I carried them!" We talked very briefly about baby wearing and baby weight gain. That made me feel very good about myself again.
I pray that teenage boy learns tolerance before he becomes a father. He would only put pressure on his future baby's mother to bottle feed if he remains as immature about nursing as he is as a teenager. Breastfeeding is a beautiful and natural way to feed a baby. We wouldn't have thrived as a species without it.
I met a mother walking with her two small daughters immediately after the boy made the comment. I hadn't reacted to the comment in the moment, nor did I mention this comment to the mother and her daughters. The mother smiled when she said "That's how I carried them!" We talked very briefly about baby wearing and baby weight gain. That made me feel very good about myself again.
I pray that teenage boy learns tolerance before he becomes a father. He would only put pressure on his future baby's mother to bottle feed if he remains as immature about nursing as he is as a teenager. Breastfeeding is a beautiful and natural way to feed a baby. We wouldn't have thrived as a species without it.
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