Sunday, July 13, 2008

Pregnancy 101

I definitely want some feedback with this one so pay attention and be sure to offer your insight! You don't have to have kids to have thoughts, ideas or experience with these things so please don't fail me now!

Cravings - What has been your experience?
With Dayton it was banana spilts, chocolate milk shakes and M&M's. I didn't know I was pregnant with him until I was 14 weeks along and prior to that I was living on toast. Looking back I can't believe he did come out looking like something from Baskin Robbins!

With Ellie I can't actually remember any cravings! I am sure that I had some but that pregnancy flew by so quickly that I really don't remember too much. It was uneventful, which was a great thing! We found out on April 1st and she was here in September.

With this one I initially craved egg flower soup (probably due to the nausea) followed by cheese quesadilla's from Cafe Rio and then I was onto Jamba juice (cut short by diabetes). Lately it's been hot dogs grilled to a black crisp (no bun) and hopefully this ride will soon be over!

Diapers - What is your perference?
As for diapers, Pampers are definitely out. They smell like baby powder and then you mix in the urine and it's this nasty chemical induced nausea for everyone. in the vicinity. Plus they are the most expensive. In the past it's been Huggies for my babes and I've had no complaints but we have also tried LUVs and a few generics and have been hit or miss. As much as I would love to go green, I would never venture into the cloth world.

Formula- What has worked for you?
Dayton was unable to digest the protein in breast milk and any kind of formula except Nutramigen. If you are familiar with this product you know how crazy expensive it it; however, it is the ONLY thing his little system would tolerate.

Ellie didn't fair well with nursing either despite my determination. She ended up on a soy formula which was one step away from the Nutramigen. As she got a little older we were able to switch her to Good Start (maybe there is something to those comfort proteins?).

I have always been anti-Similac just because there is so much air and so many bubbles when you mix it up. My babies were both sensitive and subject to gas so I didn't dare try it. If they would have tolerated Enfamil we probably would have used theirs with the DHEA (or whatever it is). Good Start seems simple enough and is a little less expensive so maybe we'll try that this time?

Nursing - What are your feelings on this?
I will nurse if the baby can tolerate my milk without any trouble but I am only planning on doing that while I am home. I think it gets way too stressful to do it and work full time but I am interested in hearing from anyone who has had success with this.

As for pumping, I am so over it. I had one of the big electric pumps, pumped myself into an oblivion only to have the kids not tolerate it so this time I will pass! A freezer full of my efforts went to waste so it just didn't seem worth it. Plus achieving porn star status has never been on my To-Do list!

The other thing that made it hard in the past is that I am extremely private and never was comfortable nursing in front of others even with a blanket or whatever. I know that the health of a baby is far more important than these personal feelings but I would be lying if I said it was easy or comfortable for me.

So let's hear it! Sound off! I really want to hear about others and their experiences in the four areas of cravings, diapers, formula and nursing as I prepare to throw myself back into the ring!

On the B Side: I am anxious to read the thoughts, feelings, insight and experiences of others!

5 shout outs:

Kaci said...

Okay with Elly I craved and devoured Chevy's chips and salsa! True story...Elly loves it too. We used to eat there quite a bit and El LOOOOVED the salsa. LOL! Jon couldn't believed it...he jokes I ate so much of it that it's in her blood stream and DNA.

Diapers we used whatever. I preferred Huggies but they were a lil expensive. I usually bought generic and night time the better brand.

Formula...I tried and tried to bf but El had a high pallet so we had to put her on formula. I still have guilt about it. We used Good Start.

BF-When I have another I will try harder to bf. I really hope you can do it with this one and no complications happen. I hear such wonderful stories about bf and I hope you are successful!! :)

ClancyPants said...

1. Cravings
Mac- this pregnancy was all about french fries and scrambled eggs. The scrambled eggs came AFTER my second trimester when I was no longer sick. During that first tri it was still french fries, and Cheerios almost exclusively.

Ella- Shrimp, salmon and oranges.

Rohan- Horseradish and hot chinese mustard. I wanted it EVERYDAY.

2. Diapers
We were all about the generics. Albertsons generics were my favorites, but only because they were usually on sale and I could get them pretty cheap even for generics. I think all generic diapers are made by the same manufacturer and stuck with a different package on the outside.

I am so with you on the Pampers thing. I hate that baby powder smell on those suckers. Huggies I hate because they get those little gel things all over my kiddos bummies which I couldn't ever wipe off and that drove me bonkers.

3. Formula
I have zero input on this because I never used it even once.

4. You know me... I'll nurse anytime, anyplace and in front of anyone. Except at church for some reason. There I feel inclined to go to the mother's lounge. Maybe it's because they have one there and so I feel like I should use it? I'm not really sure, but that's the only place I won't nurse in "public".

And you also know me... nursed until they were: Mac 14.5 months, Ella 15.5 months, and Rohan 12.5 months. I love nursing and feel blessed to have had a very easy time with it on all three babies. I wasn't ready to stop with Rohan quite that early, but we were going to Maui for 10 days when he was 14 months and I left all three kids with their grandma. I wanted him good and weaned when we left, which he was!

I pumped a little with all the kids. Mac wouldn't take a bottle, Ella did occasionally and I, honestly, can't remember if Rohan ever drank from one. I think not, but am not sure.

I hope things go well for you and Adi with nursing this time. Even if it's only til you start work, I hope you have a great experience because it's such a beautiful thing!

Love you!

Kristin said...

I'm going to answer before reading the other comments, then maybe I'll actually finish before Noah requires my attention.

Cravings - I don't really notice mine. My husband isn't that accommodating either. If I say I want something that we don't have, he encourages me to get over it. :p

Diapers - Definitely Huggies. Pampers were to square and yucky. Huggies worked best for us, so we've just stuck with them.

Formula - I breastfed. We supplemented with formula every once in a while, but we just used whatever we had gotten free samples of and never had any trouble. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Nursing - I'm a big believer in nursing. I read a book called, "So That's What They're For". It's a fun read about nursing. I don't subscribe to all the theories in it, but it helped prepare me a lot. I should probably re-read it before this baby is born.

Not that exciting, but there's my two cents. :)

lizzo said...

I have no experience but I'm glad to see you're not hung up on nursing. So many mothers are...good for you. As for diapers, when I have my own babies I'm going to give cloth a shot. Not just the green factor but the cash factor. I'll let you know how long it lasts...about one nasty poo I'll bet!

Amanda said...

I did leave a huge long comment but for some reason it didn't post. A quick summary. Costco diapers & formula. BF is good & I liked it until my breast pump broke and I didn't want to buy a new one. Buisnesses are not working mom friendly.