Dry Nipples and Cream

This post was republished from http://breastfeedingchronicles.blogspot.com . It's about me. I thought it would be relevant here as well.

I am very bad at doing all these girly things like putting lotion on after a shower -- or ever. When I'm pregnant I make a bigger effort with my cocoa butter lotion in order to prevent stretch marks. I know, I know, there's no guarantee-- but I didn't get stretch marks last time. Of course, last time I didn't get nearly as big as I am this time. To give you an idea of how little I use ceram, I've had the same bottle of Palmers since we got married and now we're on our second kid. Do the math yourself. I bought another bottle when I was pregnant last time but it's still sitting new in my cupboard. And I don't only use it during pregnancy. I used it on my face in the winter when the heaters and the breastfeeding were making me so dry that I felt like my face was cracking off.Back to my nipples. The point is, they're dry and cracked. I don't think it's thrush but I don't want to take the chance. But I also don't feel like putting lotion on. Truth is, I just plain forget all about it. Who thinks about dry nipples until they take their shirt off. And if I'm taking my shirt off, I'm probably on my way to bed and I don't have the energy for nipple rubbing, or else it's morning and I have better things to do, like chase after my DS to get him dressed for kindergarten. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if this clears itself up like it did last time. Actually, maybe I was a little more diligent about it last time. I recall using baby oil or something. Or was that on my itchy scalp?

Hospital Bag

I packed my hospital bag last night. I'm not going to carry it around with me everywhere. But at least if I don't leave for the hospital from home I won't have to count on anyone finding me the right stuff and bringing it to me. I made sure to take an excess of underwear. That's what I was missing last time. I must have gone through five pairs-- just in labor!! I had a long labor, though. Counting on a shorter one this time with my 2nd.
I also packed wet wipes because they were really stingy with them in the last hospital I went to. Even today I can't use just one or two wet wipes to clean my son's bum. I mean, it depends on the situation, but one or two just doesn't cut it. I had to buy them from the hospital gift shop last time just to maintain some sanity.
I packed snacks because they don't let you eat past a certain point in labor. But if I'm there for a while I totally plan on sneaking in food while nobody's looking. How people go through long labors without eating is a mystery to me. The nurse even tried to give me an enema last time but I flat-out refused. I know some women told me they wished they'd had one because they couldn't poop afterwords but that wasn't a problem for me and once I heard the words 'turn over', I was pretty darn suspicious about what they were planning on doing. Ech. The thought of it makes my stomach squirm. Ech.
I packed a book. I actually did a lot of reading last time while waiting for my contractions to pick up speed. Also I read a lot afterwords in between feedings and things.
I don't think I packed anything else terribly unusual-- a bottle of water, gum, stuff... I did't pack any stuff for baby because I figure someone will just bring it over for me when I need it. Besides, it's hot. The baby can go home in a diaper in this weather (spoken like a true non-newbie mom...)

Baby Wrap - A funny story

I have a pretty good baby carrier (Bjorn)from my first pregnancy but I've been wanting a second one-- the wrap kind. I actually had one of them for a long time on loan from a friend who just had another baby so I had to give it back. I hardly ever used it since I always felt like the baby would kind of start to sag down after a while. But I think those things take a little more practice than the structured carriers. Anyway, I want to get one of my own now, or maybe a sling one, because they say it's good to 36 months and DS is not quite two-thirds of that. I don't know how he'd feel about being put in a carrier at this point, but it's good to have the option. I may also buy a frame backpack carrier for him eventually but that's a plan on hold until after we move. I also want a second wrap just because if you're using any wrap for an extended period of time, it will tend to get heavy and uncomfortable. So it's good to have an alternative one.
So anyway, I've been meaning to try DS out in one of either these hip carriers or slings or both. I was never really convinced about the hip carrier but today I realized that I carry him on my hip all the time. So it's actually a pretty natural position for me and the sling would just replace the need for my arm around him. Or so I would guess. I would have to try it on to be sure, right?
I was at the mall today and I asked at the baby store if they had any open slings that I could test out. I waited around until someone was free to help me, and when she finally pulled out the sample wrap, I asked her a few questions about whether DS could still fit in it and if he could sit on my back (no, in this case). So I said, 'Ok, let me try it on and see how he sits on my front.' The sales girl gave me sort of a weird look, at which point I looked down to discover that I don't have much front available for him to sit on. I had totally forgotten my extended belly. DH and I laughed really hard over this when I told him about it later. I thought it was hilarious.
They didn't have any open packages of hip sling for me to try, so I didn't get to see if that works for me. Score one for the hip sling, though, since it seems to be one kind of carrier I can use in late stages of pregnancy.

Omega Threes, Please

Because of all the Omega 3 hype now, especially for pregnant and nursing women, my husband and I started considering whether or not I should start taking the suppliment. I already take folic acid, iron, and calcium. What's one more pill? Well, one of the main considerations was price. The pre/neo natal omega 3 pills were really really expensive. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. And the way the lady at the pharmacy was pushing them, you'd think I was committing child abuse if I didn't take them. I compared those pills to the cheaper (but still not cheap) generic brand, and indeed, the maternity ones contained twice the amount of Omega 3, not to mention a whole host of other vitamins and minerals. I did a quick consult with my husband on the phone who said to just get the generic ones. After all, I'm probably not getting that much of it in my diet (since I don't eat much fish) so anything will be better than the amount I'm getting now.

I brought the stuff home and when I opened it, I had a surprise. Hey, I thought, isn't this the same as the cod liver oil pills my dad used to make us take when we were younger? It looks the same, smells the same... and I get that same fishy aftertaste. (Have I mentioned that I don't really like fish?) I did a quick search online and apparently the two are related. I wonder if cod liver oil has been caught up in the Omega 3 hype-- or if it's even sold under that name anymore.

I took about 18 doses of the maternity Omega 3 pills in my first pregnancy. That's because my husband brought home a couple of free samples. I can't tell you that they made a difference, but who knows? Today they are packaging the stuff for kids as 'brain suppliments' and stuff like that. Crazy.

Baby Bump

I hate that expression-- baby bump. It's all the rage now. You want to stop teenage pregnancies? Don't make them sound so damn cute and desirable. Thinking of getting pregnant? Think risk of stretch marks, increased risk of losing bladder control. Think nausea and aches and pains. What 16 year-old wants that?
And it's not just the 'bump.' It's more like a bumper. It throws you off balance. It makes other parts of your body bulge. Your hips spread wider...
Look, it's for a good purpose and frankly, I had a great pregnancy last time and a pretty good one this times so far. But to make it sound as if a baby bump is the next hottest thing on the runway then they should just start making burp cloths and nursing aprons in Home Ec.

I want to win this diaper bag

I want to win this diaper bag and one of the ways to do it is blog about the contest with a link, so here goes:

Eh. Feh.
http://www.thriftyandchicmom.com/2009/03/wisey-giveaway.html#comment-form

Let's see if there is another contest. I'm into contests. Let's see if the site owners send me something nice for free. I love nice free things.

I also want their other diaper bag-- I think it's called the Mommy's diaper bag or Ultimate by Wiseys. It's the one that can also convert to a backpack. I don't know if it totally lives up to my standards (they are high) because NO SITE has good details about this product, but the photos look pretty darn close to what I want.