Garrison, 5 minutes old.

Forgive me for yet another drive-by post about my kid. But before he wakes up, I wanted to stop by and share this picture.



Love,

Rene

GORGEOUS baby, amazing photograph.... massive congrats for bringing us another democrat to be raised the RIGHT way!

What a beautiful baby.....

Way too cute!!!!! Congrats!!!

He'll be a track star, for sure.

Boy, he DOES have a long set of struts on him!

Nice looking fellow, Rene!

How are you all doing?

Breast feeding is seriously a full time job. Strike that. It' a lifestyle!

But I love it, and I love him. We are so lucky.

feed him. When my son was born 28 years ago (on 30th of this month, yikes!) I made the same decision. Back then the big thing was to bottle feed and it felt like I was taking on the world. I didn't get much support except from my pediatrician and there was even a little sabotage that happened.

My M-I-L and S-I-L would come over during the day under the auspices of helping to take care of my son and let me get some rest. What I didn't know is they had decided he wasn't getting enough to eat so they'd bottle feed him as well as stuff him full of cereal. Of course, the baby's demands to be fed are what help the breast to regulate how much milk it produces. This went on for a couple of weeks until I found out about it and put a stop to it. Since my body wasn't used to the bigger demand for breast milk after that, I spent a couple of weeks where it felt like all I was doing was breast feeding the poor little guy.

It all worked out just fine though and I breastfed my son for a year. I quit when he started to bite and wouldn't quit the biting. Breast feeding was the best decision I ever made! I don't know how long you're planning on breast feeding but keep it up as long as you can cos it's the best thing for them.

Ok, now I'll get off my soapbox. Just wanted to offer you some support. :)

You must have wanted to rip their heads off. I don't understand how people think they can make decisions for your children without asking you! :grr:

We are having to supplement with formula because even though he was getting both breasts nearly every hour, he was always hungry and losing weight. I'm just not making enough to keep up with him. But he's only getting a few ounces of formula each day and he goes back and forth between bottle and breast with no problem. This is great because I'm going back to work in a few weeks. I'll be pumping and he'll take my milk from a bottle from daddy while I'm away, and from me when I'm home.

I am seeing my doctor in a couple days however, because my right breast hurts terribly, too much to give it too him. So he drinks from the left, and I pump the right and give it to him.

Breast feeding is difficult, but so important for the baby...and so gratifying.

Good for you for doing it with so little support. You should feel great about that. Even with a lactation consultant, I'm finding it rough.

Congratulations! And you have a picture that doesn't show his private parts, so he won't be too embarassed by it later!

I'm almost ready to take the IBCLC exam next year, and i"m happy to see that you're seeing a LC. There are some interventions that might help and still preserve your milk supply. Here are some dietary ideas to help with that:
eat oatmeal; avoid foods with sage, avoid peppermint. I attended a seminar last year on low milk supply, and these ideas are research- based.

I LOVE oatmeal anyway. Yum!

:)

At least that is what it sounds like to me. I used to get it all the time.
Google the word and see it it sounds like what you are experiencing. If I remember one of the things I did was use moist heat on the painful area and drank lots and lots of water to wash out the bacteria.

I'm so happy to hear that you stuck to your guns in spite of the lack of support. More and more, research determines that there is something else new identified in human milk that help prevent disease not just in childhood, but as adults. Most moms I work with are surprised to hear that adults breastfed as babies have lower and better cholesterol levels. If formula were prefect, they wouldn't have to keep changing it.

Beautiful, even from the very beginning. He doesn't have that pickled for nine months look that most newborns have.

pickled for nine months! That's funny.

:loveya:

My firstborn didn't have it either, and my husband and I couldn't get over how beautiful he was. Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that we were his new parents :)

Our second born was the opposite. It looked like he'd been in their for two years, and his little nose was squished completely flat. I could tell that my husband was in shock as he was expecting a baby that looked more like Alex, and he'd never watched an episode of "A Baby Story". What really made it funny looking is is eyes were wide open and alert the whole time. While we were looking at our little "E.T." for the first time he was looking right back at us like "Hey, Mom and Dad!" The nose did pop out two days later, and was soon the typical, cute cuddly newborn.

I'm so happy for you and your new family :loveya:

Congratulations!

and with parents like you, he's got it made.

What a very nice thing to say. We will do our best.

:)

but at first glance I thought the hemostats were on Mr Winky.

Ouch!!!

I noticed that too.

;-)

Beautiful baby! Cheers!

:toast:

:loveya:

This picture just brings tears to my eyes. Reminds me of when I saw my friend's son being born five years and three days ago. :cry: (these are my happy tears) :D

but isn't he a bit young to be playing with those scissors?

Troublemaker from birth. ;)

Congrats, Rene. You did real good.

I hope you 2 will meet one day.

and wondering if I had your home address to send you a congratulations card. Which, I discover, I do not.

Woo hoo! Looking forward to his graduation and eventual role in liberal politics!

that likes to sleep most of the time?

...and eats until about 4:30 or 5:00! He eats, burps, eats, burps, eats, burps. If I try to get him to go back to sleep, he starts eating his hands...then screaming. I can't even make enough milk for him. And daddy can't make any milk, so he just sleeps.

Breast fed baby's aren't supposed to sleep through the night for their first month. So even if he wanted to, I'd have to wake him up and feed him anyway. But it would be nice if he'd only cluster feed during the day.

"sleeping through the night" only means about a 5-6 hour stretch. If he went that long, you'd probably feel like your boobs were going to pop! Anyway, I think they sleep through the night when they are neurologically ready.

"This too shall pass."

It's great to hear what you have to say.

And it's true, my boobs would pop. I'd probably drown my poor husband too.

and your supply will go up as needed. As long as you aren't supplementing at this point, he's probably getting all he needs. Signs that he isn't getting enough are not enough wet diapers, chapped or puckered lips, no tears, etc. If none of that is happening, then you're fine. :) You're at the stage where your body is trying to keep up with demand, and sometimes it seems like that isn't enough. Some panic, and start giving formula because they think they aren't making enough, but you can actually hurt your supply if you supplement too much at this early stage. After your supply becomes stable then it isn't so bad. It actually gets easier. I'm sure you've heard all this already, but I remember how frustrated I was with the breastfeeding with my firstborn. It can be hard.

...because he continued to lose weight even after leaving the hospital. He should have been back to his birth weight by one week. But he takes my breasts first until he is done, and then just gets a little formula after that, so he isn’t getting any less breast milk.

I do so appreciate your message tho, because my hormones make me want to think that I’m inadequate and incapable of feeding my son, and I have to realize that’s not true. I never realized how difficult it is to breast feed. I do understand why some women give up. But I want to go for at least 6 months. I appreciate your encouragement.

**sigh** chapped nipples are NO fun!

You don't have to suffer to be a great parent. If it becomes unbearable, formula supplement is fine.

My poor tits got to the point that I would let out a real yell whenever Liv latched on. I felt HORRIBLE. I felt like I was THE WORST MOTHER EVER.

THEN I learned I had little nipples and it was really hard for Liv to get enough milk without almost sucking those nips off. I started supplementing with formula, tried not to feel guilty and we all managed to survive!

So I'm pumping it and giving him my milk from a bottle until it gets better. I'm lucky he goes from breast to bottleand back with ease. But yeah, it can really hurt. I’ve been told that it only hurts with a bad latch, but our latch is fine. It just plain hurts.

a wet tea bag for about 15-20 minutes helps alot. :)

Thanks so much.

:loveya:

... and you're doing all you can to ensure his coninued good health by breast-feeding him. WAY TO GO!

probably some from dad too

:bounce:

…that I woke up in the middle of the night the other night and his dad was sleeping facing me, and he just looked like giant baby to me. It was kind of scary.

;-)

a gift from God. Isn't ut always, always amazing?

what a treasure

:loveya:

CONGRATS HONEY!!!!!

he is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!

:bounce:

:loveya:

Why he is already playing with hemostats, you'll have to ask his parents.

Are those hemostats on his penis or umbilical hernia? Either way, bring him up right. I know you will. It is a lucky kid that has sensitive, loving, and liberal parents.

…he came with his own roach clip.

Thanks honey!

:loveya:

Poor thing.

Cute.

180

Looks very healthy and alert, especially for five minutes old. Congratulations! :party:

He's very healthy. We are so lucky!

Uncle GOPisEvil can't wait to meet the little guy! :hi:

...to his 1st DU gathering!
:loveya:

:D

Congrats!!!

:bounce::hi::bounce:

I know I haven't responded to your posts and I want to apologize for that.

The boy looks great and so do you (I have seen the other threads).

Tell the pops I said congrats

Someday Garrison could be President, in the history of man 43 people have...

If he hasn't -Why shouldn't he be the first?
If others have-then it can't be that damned difficult.

:hi: Congrats again.

I haven't had time to respond to all the threads of my DU friends either. But we know we're here for each other.

Thanks Much!

I forgot how they look when they first emerge. That's intense, isn't it?

I have a little five-year-old troublemaker now, but it seems like just yesterday that the midwife handed me a screaming baloney loaf. He was gorgeous and very alert.

I breastfed too. My milk came in all at once, two days after I gave birth, during a rerun of E.R. I struggled with plugged ducts and mastitis, had a sharp postpartum depression, and I developed a reaction from the rubella shot they gave me before discharge from the hospital. So two weeks on I have huge, painful boobs, I'm covered with spots and so is my baby, I'm totally depressed, and of course I'm still bleeding from childbirth. "Man, this sucks," I thought. Things did get better quickly after that, though.

Well, if you can deal with all that, I can deal with this. That's really something!

Now, Garrison, it's time you learn about something we call "political snarkiness"...