Breastfeeding a Baby with Cancer

The flip side, I guess, to being pregnant and having cancer, is Breastfeeding a Baby with Cancer, from the mother of a 13-month old girl who was diagnosed at 7 months. Very touching, and informative:

At the hospital, which is a Children's Hospital, I tried to find someone who could talk to me about it, specifically, were there certain things I could eat that would help, or certain things I should avoid? The sum total of advice I received can be summarized in this quote from one doctor:

"Sure, you can go ahead and breastfeed."

Found this link from BlogHer which linked to me.

Treating Pregnant Women With Cancer

The New York Times writes about New Notions on Pregnant Women With Cancer

Pleasure in Childbirth

From the UK Times Online, Delightful Deliveries:

More women, it seems, get turned on by birth than you’d think. When Ina May Gaskin, a US midwife, conducted a poll of 151 women, 32 reported having at least one orgasmic birth.

It almost sounds too good to be true: a touchy-feely labour followed by an earth-shattering orgasm at the moment of birth. Unfortunately, this is very far removed from most women’s description of childbirth.

One big hitch is that, as with any sexual activity, the amount of pleasure gained is closely related to the degree of relaxation, trust and safety that a woman feels. Most women anticipate with dread the “birth ordeal”, a state of mind that will make muscles contract and adrenalin levels rise before labour even begins. And then, most women can feel sexy only in intimate surroundings, in front of people they know well. Hospitals and doctors don’t really do the trick.

“Adrenalin inhibits sex drive and labour contractions,” Prescott says. “You become tense and are more prone to feeling pain. It’s why women can have trouble with labour and birth at hospital.” Part of the problem it seems is the way that sexuality in childbirth has been denied.

Breastfeeding Icon Contest

Mothering Magazine is sponsoring a contest to create an international symbol for breastfeeding.

(Hat Tip - Giving Birth With Confidence)

Whatever it ends up being, I'm sure LiveJournal won't like it.

Mom's Age At Birth

Key to long life may be mom's age at birth

The chances of living to the ripe old age of 100 -- and beyond -- nearly double for a child born to a woman before her 25th birthday, Drs. Leonid Gavrilov and Natalia Gavrilova reported. The father's age is less important to longevity, according to their research.

Five Months Old

What you see here is the first ever published photo of The Mommy Blawger. The wee boy is being worn in my new sling.

The big new thing is that Andrew has learned that rattles make noise when you shake them up and down. And hands and feet make noise when you bang them against a flat surface. So this last week has been all about shaking things.

Also grabbing things. I can't hold him in my lap when I blog, because he will pull papers off the desk with his vise-like grip and proceed to "taste" them (at this age, everything goes directly into the mouth, which is why I have established a moratorium on legos on the living room floor). At Friday's chiropractic appointment, my husband was holding the wee one in the waiting room when he reached out for a plant that was on top of the water cooler. The pot hit the ground, leaving Andrew holding the plant. Sitting him on your lap while eating is dangerous because he will reach for you plate. But not the food yet. Which brings me to...

Starting solids. A little bit of a dilemma. For a while, the AAP recommended starting solids between 4 and 6 months (not that I necessarily rely on their advice anyway) . But a year or two ago, the AAP and several other organizations began recommending that solids be delayed until six months, since studies have show it reduces the risk of developing allergies and allergy-related conditions such as eczema. Some even suggest exclusive breastfeeding for a year or more. However, the authors of a recent study say that not introducing wheat into the baby's diet before six months actually increases the risk of wheat allergies. I think the jury's still out on this one, and it may be years before we have the whole picture. I started both the older boys on rice cereal at 5 months; DS5 was ready for it then; DS3 was not, so we put it away for a while longer. I think that they will get interested in food when they are developmentally ready for it. We start foods very slowly, and with two, three, or more kids you don't have time to sit there for an hour and feed them cereal. You pretty much just wait until they can eat finger foods and let them feed themselves. So DH thinks we should wait a bit, and I'm pretty much in agreement. The only rub is, while our grocery store has a wide variety of jarred organic baby food, it has no organic whole-grain cereal. Which will necessitate a trip to Central Market. Or Walmart (gulp!).

Last week I put away the bassinet and got out the pack 'n play. He's over in the corner of the bedroom now, instead of right by the bed. Sometimes it feels like too far away. I can't wake up in the middle of the night and check to see if he's breathing without getting out of bed. You would think that after three babies, that feeling would go away, but it doesn't. I'm quite a bit more laid back now that when I had the first baby. But not entirely. He sleeps next to me for the second half of the night, though. I sleep better if I can fall asleep by myself with plenty of room. Plus, with his pre-crawling behavior (rolling over and scootching around) it's not so safe for him to be in our bed by himself. At least until he learns not to fall off, which is a good six to eight months away, as I recall. And he's going to be crawling before we know it.

Brain-dead woman gives birth, then dies - Yahoo! News

Brain-dead woman gives birth, then dies

Or, more accurately, was taken off life support.

Happy Baby Blawg-o-versary!

It has been one year since I first announced the expectation of the wee one. I hope that having his own blog will make up for the fact that we didn't send out birth announcements :) Third child, what can I say?

My actual first post to this blog - an "under construction" message - was, ironically, posted within 48 hours or so of the wee one's actual date of conception, as far as such things can be determined.

Mom Solicits Doula Services On Ebay

Hmm... Might be a good marketing technique for a Doula wanting to make a name for herself?

eBay: I'm pregnant! Would You Like To Be My Labor Coach?

A Routine Epidural Turns Deadly

A very touching story about a woman who died from and epidural-related hospital-acquired infection. Lawsuit pending.

A related link: Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths

Many Approaches Taken to Childbirth

From the (Ohio) Tribune Chronicle, a neat story on choices in childbirth, with this quote:

Diane Simcox, a long-time labor and delivery nurse at St. Elizabeth and a self-described advocate of epidurals, said pain management options have improved over the years.

"You don’t get a gold star for going through the pain," Simcox said.

Martin, whose three children were born with the help of a midwife, and all without pain medication, disagrees.

"I have my own gold star," she said. "I am so proud of myself."

Her husband, Tim Martin, is proud, too.

"I'm a sissy — if I were a woman, I'd probably never have kids," he said. "But whenever you tell someone you just had a baby, one of the first questions they ask is, did she get the epidural? If you say no, the next question is, didn't that hurt? And when I say no, there’s a look of respect."

The Mother Magazine

Hey, I didn't realize that The Mother Magazine was online. It's pretty radical, but quite interesting.

Breech Birth

Link to photos and a description of "A planned homebirth of a footling breech baby with a midwife", for those who are interested in such things.

Four Months Old

Andrew is four months old ... and I still haven't written his birth story.

He grows and grows. He wears size 3 diapers. He can roll easily from back to front and, on more than one occasion, from front to back (we even caught it on tape the 1st time he did it!). He can almost - but not quite - sit up. Needs a bit of proping and falls over, but he loves to play upright. When he is on his tummy, he tries to kick his legs back and forth, as if he wants to crawl. He is getting rough skin on his elbows, and wearing little blisters on his toes.

Craddle cap is all gone. So is most of the hair. Not only did he loose hair in the front, like his brothers, but, unlike his brothers, lost it on the sides and in the back. So he has a swirl of hair on top and a fringe at the back of his neck, and the rest is peach fuzz. It feels funny against my lips when I kiss his head. He looks a bit like Yul Brenner in "The Ten Commandments".

He smiles a lot. He laughs a little bit, mostly silently, not outloud so much. He chews on his hands and has started to "discover" his feet. He will have a "conversation" and will coo back and forth with Mommy. He is lots of fun.

Operation Special Delivery

A really nice article on Doulas and Operation Special Delivery: Age-old practice reborn as doula

Hypnobirthing In the News

You're in Labor, and Getting Sleeeeepy - New York Times

A different way to give birth spreads around globe - Concord Monitor

Preeclampsia Study

From Yahoo! News, Vitamins Disappoint in Preeclampsia Study:

A disappointing new study found that vitamin C and E supplements given to healthy pregnant women do not reduce their risk of developing preeclampsia, a complication that can be lethal to both mother and child.

That's not too surprising. Someday "they" are going to discover the importance of protein in pregnancy, and that real food is better than supplements.

Maria Lactans

The Fish Eaters website has a page dedicated to artwork depicting Mary breastfeeding the infant Jesus (Maria Lactans). Very cool.

What strikes me about this image (a 1496 Michelangelo) is that apparently the holy family was praciting elimination communication as well.

Three Months Old

Andrew turned three months old this week. Definitely not a newborn anymore. He is much more interactive, loves to make eye contact, and is much more aware of his surroundings. When he is being held by a stranger (that is, pretty much anyone other than his parents and possibly his grandmothers) or when in a strange place, he tends to get upset easily. The new thing this week is that he will be startled by loud, sudden noises and burst into tears.

He can also hold a rattle, brings both hands together, and brings his hands up to his mouth. He is starting to reach out for things. Andrew has been drooling and chewing on his hands, so we suspect he is teething, though it seems a bit early. I don't recall exactly when the other two got their first teeth, but I believe it was earlier rather than later.

Andrew can roll quite easily from his back to his side, and can turn over without much trouble, although he's not sure what to do once he is there. We are giving him more tummy time and he is starting to push himself up with a little encouragement.

We tried him in size 3 diapers last week, but they were just too big, so we are sticking with the 2s for a while longer. He has lost some hair on the sides and the back, although it has already grown back in on the top, so it's like reverse pattern baldness. Has a bit of cradle cap, which I don't remember his brothers having at this age. He looks so much like them, although he is his own person.

He is still exceedingly calm. Daytime naps are getting to be more predictable, though often shorter than one would like. At night he sleeps like a champ. Now if only I would stop staying up until 2am blogging and just go to bed, I could take advantage of my uninterrupted 6 hours.

Respecting Birth

Giving Birth With Confidence posts Respecting Birth, a fascinating bit about cows.

That reminds me, I wrote about bovine lactation once but never posted it. Maybe I will dig it out.

Mommy Bloggers: Sometimes it's like this

Mommy Bloggers has a neat piece about being a mom called Sometimes it's like this:

On these nights you know that you could do this forever. You know that this moment was made for you to drink in, embrace and cherish. You know that if this is truly what life was, you could sit in this space for the rest of your life and never want for anything.

And then again, sometimes it's not.

Woman Gives Birth In Bathroom

Seems like every week or two there is a news item about an unplanned homebirth. But this one about a Kansas couple caught my attention because of the last part of the article:

"The baby didn't cry when she came out. She just kind of made some cooing noises and was just looking up at all the paramedics and her mother and me. It was the best day of my life," Shifflet said.
...
"I'm so proud of her. I feel like we did it together. I'm going to tell her she's my little mission accomplished," Schulte said.

Schulte said that deep down, she wanted to have a home birth.

Funny how birth works that way, isn't it?

11 Weeks Old

This is a photo of Andrew at about 8 or 9 weeks.

The big news ... Andrew rolled over yesterday! Of course, he didn't get very far, his arm gets trapped under him and he squawks a bit until you roll him onto his back, whereupon he proceeds to roll over again. It's great fun. He doesn't like tummy time yet, but he holds his head up just fine when held upright.

He is getting better at batting things with his hands. He's started sucking on his hands, even when he's not hungry, so I guess you could say he's "discovered" them. Either that or he's teething (!). He smiles readily at people, and I even caught him the other day smiling at the toys over his bouncy seat. They don't smile back, though. Andrew can also follow moving objects across the room, and will occasionally get distracted by his surroundings while nursing.

Don't know exactly how much he weighs, but he is big. Not fat, just long. What a punkin.

Doulas and Nurses

A new study published in The Journal of Perinatal Education shows that Nurses Who Show Negative Attitudes Toward Doula Support Diminish Patients' Birth Experience.

9 Weeks Old

We all have colds this week, even Andrew. His first illness. We are all only a little bit sick, but 5 people being only a little bit sick still adds up to a lot of work for me. Mostly in the form of laundry, as Andrew has thrown up a couple times from congestion.

He is still cute as a bug. Starting to swipe at toys and things. Can roll from his side to his back to his other side. Sleeps good at night and wakes up on a predictible schedule. His daytime nap schedule is still a bit irregular, but I am starting to see a pattern.

I am in baby carrier heaven. My husband won me a pre-owned Baby Bjorn on eBay last week, which was very helpful on our 2- hour plane trip. I'll blog about that later. Then someone sent me a very gently used Maya Wrap in the most gorgeous pattern and my favorite color (blue). Andrew took a big long nap in it yesterday, so I guess he likes it.

Other than that, I feel great and am getting some things done around the house - decluttering, mostly. I think I can handle this 3 boys thing.

7 1/2 Weeks Old

I've added more photos here.

Do you ever feel like yelling at your babies, "stop growing!"? I put away Andrew's newborn clothes yesterday. It was kind of sad.

Last night, Andrew slept a whole 6-hours at once. Not only that, but I went to sleep pretty soon after he did, so I took full advantage of the sleeping. I feel great!

His new developments this week: he can roll from his side to his back to his other side. He is really fascinated by ceiling fans, anything black-and-white or high-contrast, and people's faces. If you put a small rattle in his grip, he will hold onto it for several minutes. He has also started to bat at toys and things.

Raising Boys

This made the email rounds a while back, but I just came across it again. It is purportedly written by a mom in Austin, Texas:

Things I've learned from my Boys (honest and not kidding):

1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3. A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.

8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9. A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

10. Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old boy.

11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12. Super glue is forever.

13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15. VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24. 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

25. Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

6 Weeks Old

Generally speaking, children get easier to care for the older they get. However, newborns are the exception - they eat and sleep for a couple weeks while you are recovering from the birth and trying to figure it all out. Then they get to be a little more work.

At Wednesday's appointment with our midwife, Andrew weighed in at a good sized 12 lbs. 1 oz. The even bigger news is that mommy weighed in at 125 lbs. - 20 pounds less than my maximum pregnancy weight. Yeah haw! Only challenge now is to keep it off, a feat I have not been able to accomplish in the past. Now, I am far from svelte - my hips are huge and I still look several months pregnant. But there is hope for my wardrobe. Enough about me, back to the baby.

Details... Andrew's acne is clearing up, but he's sprouted a bit of cradle cap. My husband bought Size 2 diapers tonight, though he is at the bottom of the weight range. He is smiling, not a whole lot but occasionally when you smile or make a funny face at him. He smiled at his big brother Christopher yesterday, which just about made C's day.

While he does fuss occasionally, we haven't had more than one or two instances of really colicky behavior. He falls asleep about the same time every night and wakes up about the same time every morning, though his daytime nap schedule is amazingly inconsistent. We suspect he is having a growth spurt, too.

The block nursing technique seems to have helped a lot with my forceful let-down problem. One piece of advice to anyone trying this: ease into it slowly so as to avoid engorgement and the perils that sometimes follow (plugged ducts, mastitis, etc.). From your breast's perspective, it is like suddenly skipping every other feeding. Not good.

Last weekend's night out went fine. He took a couple ounces from the bottle without much problem. I showed my mom our "secret" for getting him calmed down and asleep: turn on the kitchen exhaust fan and hold him, bouncing up and down a little bit. Before we left the house to go to the event, my mom was cooking dinner, I had just painted my nails, and Andrew was fussing in his basinette, so I asked my step-dad to pick him up. He turns out to be a super baby calmer; when we returned home Paw Paw was sitting on the couch holding a sleeping baby.

I Told You So

Hathor the Cow Goddess has a new cartoon series titled "I told you so!" Pretty sharp stuff.

Help

Over the past week or two, I've come to suspect that Andrew and I are having a problem with forceful let-down and oversupply. I read what kmom has to say on the topic, and we are hitting 5 of the 7 criteria listed (no clicking or biting). So, I have been "block nursing" - that is, nursing from one side at a time and switching sides every few hours, instead of in the middle of a single feeding. Also, if I know I am having a strong let-down, I take him off before he starts choking, instead of waiting for him to unlatch himself. He seems to get less angry that way.

Anyhow, I know some of my readers are professionals and/or experienced breastfeeders. What do you think?