Since the time my son was born, I have been charting his food intake and diaper outputs. My husband and I learned this from our postnatal stay at the hospital, and have found it very helpful in determining whether things are going well with our son or if there are areas for improvement. For example, for the first few weeks of his life, we were told that our baby should have 6-8 full diapers per day to ensure that he's getting enough milk. I also wanted to keep track of how much time he breast fed, and how much formula supplementation he took in so that if he was not getting enough, then it could be increased. I was also pumping at the time, so I wanted to keep track of the frequency of pumps, as well as yield.
So I created a chart that included: Date, Time of Day, Length of Time on Left Breast, Length of Time on Right Breast, Breast Milk Consumed, Formula Consumed, Pee, Poo, Pump Time, and Pump Yield. This may seem a little neurotic, and it definitely isn't for everyone, but it really helped me keep track of things when I was so sleep deprived. As time went on, I continued to use the chart, but added headings that were relevant and took out ones that weren't. For example, once I started to sleep train my son, I added columns for nap times and bedtimes. This really helped me to find the ideal sleep times for him. When my son started to go on solid foods, I used the chart to keep track of each new type of food he had been given and it provides a running record of what he likes and hates as well as any allergic reactions. I also noticed there was usually a relationship between how much he ate for dinner and whether he slept through the night.
I've kept all my son's feeding and diaper charts in a binder and it's nice to have a little record of his daily life since birth. The only problem is: I don't know when to stop…
Friday 25 November 2011
Thursday 17 November 2011
Stopping Milk Production
There seems to be a change every other week ever since I've become a mother. Just when you get used to doing something, it's time to learn a whole new way of doing it. This week for me, it's trying to stop my milk production.
I've weaned my son from the breast completely since he was seven months old. However, I have still been pumping and giving my son breast milk in his bottles. This Monday, with my son turning 15 months old, I stopped pumping completely. He is now drinking homogenized milk.
I was so excited at the idea of the freedom to eat and do whatever I pleased since it would not be transferred to my son through my breast milk. However, before I could even go out to a Japanese restaurant to have my raw fish sushi, or go to a nail salon to have my first manicure in over two years, I was hit with so much discomfort in my breasts. That really put a damper on my enthusiasm!
Tuesday was the worst. I had such discomfort. I could not hold my son without it being agonizing. However, it's now only Thursday and I'm feeling much better. Here's what I found helped me:
1. Expressing a little bit of milk by hand to relieve the discomfort. This will not cause your body to signal more milk production since only a little is expressed.
2. When it seemed like my breasts felt too hard or lumpy and I was afraid of a plugged milk duct, I wrapped my breasts with a very warm towel for around 5 seconds. I'm in the home stretch so I don't want to experience any side effects such as mastitis.
3. I found that wrapping refrigerated cabbage leaves around my breasts brought instant relief. It may have been the coolness of the leaves that did it at first, but it also helped reduce engorgement.
I've read that it varies between women, and that it can take from weeks to months for breast milk to cease completely, but at least some of the things I mentioned may help to ease some discomfort.
I've weaned my son from the breast completely since he was seven months old. However, I have still been pumping and giving my son breast milk in his bottles. This Monday, with my son turning 15 months old, I stopped pumping completely. He is now drinking homogenized milk.
I was so excited at the idea of the freedom to eat and do whatever I pleased since it would not be transferred to my son through my breast milk. However, before I could even go out to a Japanese restaurant to have my raw fish sushi, or go to a nail salon to have my first manicure in over two years, I was hit with so much discomfort in my breasts. That really put a damper on my enthusiasm!
Tuesday was the worst. I had such discomfort. I could not hold my son without it being agonizing. However, it's now only Thursday and I'm feeling much better. Here's what I found helped me:
1. Expressing a little bit of milk by hand to relieve the discomfort. This will not cause your body to signal more milk production since only a little is expressed.
2. When it seemed like my breasts felt too hard or lumpy and I was afraid of a plugged milk duct, I wrapped my breasts with a very warm towel for around 5 seconds. I'm in the home stretch so I don't want to experience any side effects such as mastitis.
3. I found that wrapping refrigerated cabbage leaves around my breasts brought instant relief. It may have been the coolness of the leaves that did it at first, but it also helped reduce engorgement.
I've read that it varies between women, and that it can take from weeks to months for breast milk to cease completely, but at least some of the things I mentioned may help to ease some discomfort.
Friday 11 November 2011
Daylight Savings and Babies' Sleep
My son has recently been weaned from the pacifier a couple of weeks ago (see blogs from Oct. 15-21). I was dreading the sleepless nights and challenges that would bring. However, it came and went extremely smoothly.
When it was time to "fall back" for daylight savings time this past weekend, I didn't give it a second thought. Being 15 months old, my son has already gone through several of these time changes, so this should not be so hard. Wrong! The clocks changed on Sunday, and today is Friday and my son is still having difficulty with going down for naps and staying asleep until 6:30am. In the past few days I've been putting him to bed at 7:30pm, which is the old 8:30pm and he has been waking up at 5am, thinking it's 6am. I'd go in to check on him and remind him it's still early and turn on his lullaby music to help him get back to sleep. He'd drift back to sleep eventually and needs to be woken up at 6:30am. However, he then blows right through his usual morning nap time at 8:30am. He has also been having a difficult time getting to sleep for his noon nap.
I will have to bear with this for a while. However, for the next time change in March, I will try a more gradual process:
1. Three weeks before the time change, I will put my son to bed 15 minutes earlier than the usual time for naps and night time sleep.
2. Two weeks before the time change, I will put him to bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous week for naps and night time sleep.
3. One week before the time change, I will put him to bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous week for naps and night time sleep.
4. When the time changes, I will put my son to bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous week, which is in effect 1 hour earlier than I had put him to bed three weeks prior.
When the time comes, I will write a blog on how that technique turns out.
When it was time to "fall back" for daylight savings time this past weekend, I didn't give it a second thought. Being 15 months old, my son has already gone through several of these time changes, so this should not be so hard. Wrong! The clocks changed on Sunday, and today is Friday and my son is still having difficulty with going down for naps and staying asleep until 6:30am. In the past few days I've been putting him to bed at 7:30pm, which is the old 8:30pm and he has been waking up at 5am, thinking it's 6am. I'd go in to check on him and remind him it's still early and turn on his lullaby music to help him get back to sleep. He'd drift back to sleep eventually and needs to be woken up at 6:30am. However, he then blows right through his usual morning nap time at 8:30am. He has also been having a difficult time getting to sleep for his noon nap.
I will have to bear with this for a while. However, for the next time change in March, I will try a more gradual process:
1. Three weeks before the time change, I will put my son to bed 15 minutes earlier than the usual time for naps and night time sleep.
2. Two weeks before the time change, I will put him to bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous week for naps and night time sleep.
3. One week before the time change, I will put him to bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous week for naps and night time sleep.
4. When the time changes, I will put my son to bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous week, which is in effect 1 hour earlier than I had put him to bed three weeks prior.
When the time comes, I will write a blog on how that technique turns out.
Wednesday 2 November 2011
Toxic Chemicals in Children's Products
When it comes to buying things for our children, we need to find out all that we can about the products available on the market today. There are many reviews on the web based on how well a product works, how much kids like them, how practical they are, etc.
I've recently found:
http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/childrens-products/index.php
which is a website that provides information on a broad range of children's products based on the amount of toxic chemicals contained within the products. They have done testing on specific products manufactured mainly from 2006-2009 and given ratings to many children's products, including car seats, backpacks, toys, etc. You can search for specific products before making the decision to purchase it based on the additional information you find on this website.
I've recently found:
http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/childrens-products/index.php
which is a website that provides information on a broad range of children's products based on the amount of toxic chemicals contained within the products. They have done testing on specific products manufactured mainly from 2006-2009 and given ratings to many children's products, including car seats, backpacks, toys, etc. You can search for specific products before making the decision to purchase it based on the additional information you find on this website.
Thursday 27 October 2011
Breast Milk and Caffeine
Up until recently, I had been extremely vigilant about my caffeine intake because my son is still drinking breast milk. I only had decaf lattes - which were only a once in a while thing, stayed clear of chocolate in all of its forms, and drank only herbal teas that were caffeine free.
For some reason, when my husband brought home boxes of Halloween chocolates last week, I didn't think twice about eating some "fun-sized" treats. That is until I noticed my son was acting a bit out of sorts. If you've been reading my blog, you probably know that I just weaned my son from the pacifier last week. So I thought that was the reason for his moodiness. My son has always been active, but a few days ago, he had been more challenging; he woke up from his naps in a very sullen mood, he threw tantrums, and would not stay still for story time. I know that these are all typical behaviors for toddlers, but it was more than normal.
Sure enough, I stopped having chocolate and other caffeinated treats two days ago, and my son's behavior seems back to normal. I remember the days when I had to wait until I had a couple of days' worth of extra breast milk - either frozen or in the fridge - so I could have some caffeinated treats or spicy foods. Then, to make sure that my son did not get any kind of reaction from my breast milk, I used to "pump and dump" the milk for up to a day following the "binge". I think my slip-up has come from the fact that I've been doing this for 14 months now and see the end coming near.
So this is just a reminder to mothers out there about caffeine intake – it can affect your child's behavior if he or she is still drinking breast milk. If it doesn't, that's fine, but if it does, simply reducing or cutting out caffeine altogether may make a difference in keeping your child's mood more steady.
For some reason, when my husband brought home boxes of Halloween chocolates last week, I didn't think twice about eating some "fun-sized" treats. That is until I noticed my son was acting a bit out of sorts. If you've been reading my blog, you probably know that I just weaned my son from the pacifier last week. So I thought that was the reason for his moodiness. My son has always been active, but a few days ago, he had been more challenging; he woke up from his naps in a very sullen mood, he threw tantrums, and would not stay still for story time. I know that these are all typical behaviors for toddlers, but it was more than normal.
Sure enough, I stopped having chocolate and other caffeinated treats two days ago, and my son's behavior seems back to normal. I remember the days when I had to wait until I had a couple of days' worth of extra breast milk - either frozen or in the fridge - so I could have some caffeinated treats or spicy foods. Then, to make sure that my son did not get any kind of reaction from my breast milk, I used to "pump and dump" the milk for up to a day following the "binge". I think my slip-up has come from the fact that I've been doing this for 14 months now and see the end coming near.
So this is just a reminder to mothers out there about caffeine intake – it can affect your child's behavior if he or she is still drinking breast milk. If it doesn't, that's fine, but if it does, simply reducing or cutting out caffeine altogether may make a difference in keeping your child's mood more steady.
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