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Archive through October 29, 2004

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2004 Nov. - 2005 Jan.: Parenting Place {ARCHIVES}: New Parents to be........Tips and advice for us (ARCHIVES): Archive through October 29, 2004 users admin

Author Message
Kimmo
Member

05-02-2003

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - 11:16 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lisa, I was just getting worried that you were out there having the baby, and now there are all these messages! Not that it wouldn't be fine to have the baby already... :-)

Rowan's going to be 3 on December 16, and the baby is due on January 16 (I was hoping for February but oh well)....I was surprised I gained that much that fast, but apparently I had the same rapid gain around the same time, last time.
But I keep being told the weight might not come off as fast this time! :-(

Wow, a year paid! I've been thinking about it and I'm not sure if I will even be able to do 3 months at home like I did with Rowan. I had a huge "leave bank" accrued (over 2 months' worth) so I used all my paid leave to stay home, but now I have maybe 2 weeks' leave. I don't think short term disability will allow me to stay home very long. :-( I'll probably have no medical reasons to stay home, but I don't really know how using short term disability for maternity leave works. Does anyone else know?

Cute pictures!

Julie, maybe when Ella fills out more her belly button will look more like regular "outie."

Danas15146
Member

03-31-2004

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - 12:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lisa your little boy is a doll! And you look great.

Not sure if it is the same everywhere -- I am in PA. I think that you are entitled to six weeks short-term after birth - plus if you need to be off early for a related disability.

I have had kids while at two different companies: first on I got six weeks full pay; second one I got six weeks at 60% -- in PA it is whatever would be covered for any other disability.

Julie -- your niece is beautiful.


Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - 12:48 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
the family medical leave act (i forget the whole name of it) but anyways, means it is law that you can get 12 weeks off after the birth of a child (or adoption, or if a family member is very sick, etc.)

Anyways, it does not mean the co. has to pay you. in fact, many don't pay anything. Some co. will pay you 6 or 8 weeks or more, it all depends on the benefits the co, has....

Kimmo
Member

05-02-2003

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - 12:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks, Dana! Hopefully that means I can get 8 paid weeks, with short-term and my leave bank. I should actually have more than 2 weeks by the time the baby is born.

Thanks, Julie. I did take 3 months off thanks to FMLA and some of it was unpaid leave, but not enough to break me. With the new house and hardly any paid leave I'm going to be relying on however long short-term disability and my leave bank will let me stay home-- I don't think I can afford to take any unpaid leave this time.

Of course, last time due to administrative error I got paid my full three months (and just paid it back whatever they overpaid me over the course of the year), but I don't see that happening twice!

Enbwife
Member

08-14-2000

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 6:18 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Too bad the US doesn't have the same maternity leave as Canada. We are so lucky up here. ALL companies have to give you 1 year off and hold your job for you. You get paid through employment insurance which is 55% of your full time salary. BUT if you work for the Canadian government like me, the government tops up your salary to 93% of your full time salary for the whole year. I am so lucky!!! It must be excrutiatingly hard to return to work when your tiny baby is only a few weeks old. How do you do it being sleep deprived, and especially if you're nursing! It makes me mad to think about it.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 6:25 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
WOW!!! that's incredible!

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 7:43 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yep, poor Ella's mommy. She is very sleep deprived, Ella gets up plenty thru the night and Ella is only 6 weeks old. She is a teacher too, so she prolly isn't at her best for her students...

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 10:18 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
BABY QUESTION; How long is breastmilk good for in the fridge?
How long can you keep a bottle of breastmilk out before you should dump it?
Let's say you have a 4oz bottle of breastmilk, baby eats 2 oz. Can I re-refrigerate the last 2 oz, or how long can those 2 oz stay out til they are "bad"?

Breastfeeding from the boob is so much easier-no rules!

Ginger1218
Member

08-31-2001

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 10:27 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ok, Pregnancy Question
My best friend is pregnant, she is obnoxious, she has totally changed her personality. It is the hormone changes, is it because she cannot take her anti-depressants? Will she go back to herself? Please tell me yes.

Kaykay
Member

01-21-2004

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 10:44 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yes :-) Have no fear - I have been there twice - I think i'm back to normal!! LOL!!!

Sorry Julie, I didn't breastfeed my kiddlets, they wouldn't latch on.

Skootz
Member

07-23-2003

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 12:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I put my breast milk back in the fridge (I am sure the professionals will tell you no) and I would make sure it is used up within 24 hours.

I think the same for formula...they will tell you to discard the remainder too, but most people will put it back until they need it again.

I think that breast milk (if I remember my premie days with my kids in the hospital) will keep for 48 hours in the fridge if fresh and from frozen use it up within 24 hours

Kimmo
Member

05-02-2003

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 12:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I wish I were Canadian! :-)

For breastmilk, I'd send lots of frozen bags to daycare, they used the same bottle (putting back in the fridge if Rowan didn't finish, not leaving it out). Actually, the way it was bagged, I think they would pour 2 oz from it and save the rest in the fridge in the bag. Then if more was needed, pour more in the bottle. But throw it out at the end of the day.

From the way he grew and his general health it didn't seem like that affected his well-being at all. I would just think of shaking it up so that Ella still gets the fat.

Also, pumping until the breast is "empty" gets more of the fatty milk-- The milk you pump from a full breast is "skim" and vitamin-rich, while the milk pumped at the end is rich in fat and protein.

Jmm
Member

08-16-2002

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 6:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Julie, I think this link will answer most of the questions you have.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T026900.asp

Jmm
Member

08-16-2002

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 6:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ginger, Scroll down to the "Emotional Health" section and I think you'll find some answers.

http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy/prenatalhealth/index#prenatemotBkmk

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 6:51 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks Jmm. You are WAY helpful!!!!

Jmm
Member

08-16-2002

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 7:17 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
You're very welcome, Julie. With a 8 month old baby in the house, I have lots of great places for baby information. LOL

Graceunderfyre
Member

01-22-2004

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 7:28 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Here's a link for Ameda (one of the breast pump manufactors) on milk storage. . .

Enbwife
Member

08-14-2000

Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 6:53 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I poured soooo much breastmilk down the sink, I felt like crying!! Nate refused to take milk from a bottle, no matter how hard we tried. I even froze bags of it and ended up pouring that away too. I had a horrible time pumping! As far as pregnancy hormones go, I've been totally wacked a few times with both pregnancies. I think you do return to somewhat normal, but it takes time. I was still wacked the first few months being sleep deprived and having nursing infections. If your friend takes anti-depressents usually, that certainly won't help her mood now. Good luck.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 6:59 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
If you wan t a breastfed baby to sometimes take a bottle (which is always a great idea for a very tired, sleep deprived mom), start getting the baby used to a bottle nipple early on!! It doesn't have to be a daily thing, but often enough so that they won't refuse it.

I hate throwing away breastmilk. It is like gold!

Graceunderfyre
Member

01-22-2004

Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 9:49 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Julie don't you feel like your throwing away a part of you when you do it? I tried to look into a breast milk bank when I lived in Phila but we were too far away and the process of donating it just looked so complicated. . .

A nurse told me that another thing to do when trying to give an occasinal bottle to a breasfed child is to try different nipples as they are all different. In her opinion the Avent ones were closes to mom's breast and it's only been in the past few months that DS has taken other brands.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 10:12 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yep, that's why we got avent, they look to me closest to a real nip!

Kimmo
Member

05-02-2003

Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 11:12 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I never did bottles at home-- I was too lazy to learn how to feed with a bottle and didn't want the aggravation, but maybe I'll change my mind with this baby. So I never had to throw milk away-- How awful! :-( Though a couple times I did forget about whole bags of bottles (2-week supply) I froze because I took the wrong date, they were in my parents' extra freezer and by the time we "found" them, they were too old to use.

I know at daycare we had to bring in different bottles every week until we found one Rowan would drink from-- We started with Avent and every other one that looked like a nipple, but ended up with just the plain old Gerber kind in the end (which is nothing like a nipple and caused painful bottle/ nipple confusion for a month or two). Maybe if we had done bottles as a regular thing before daycare, he would have gotten used to the Avent and the confusion part would have not been so painful. But I didn't have the patience trying to bottle-feed when I knew I could just breastfeed instead.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 2:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yep Kimmo, I would start early, makes it much easier in the end...

Graceunderfyre
Member

01-22-2004

Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 5:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Another thing is some babies are pretty smart and if they can smell mommy in the area they won't take the bottle. . .my DS NEVER took a bottle from me, but anyone else could do it.

Enbwife
Member

08-14-2000

Friday, October 29, 2004 - 10:24 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I read somewhere not to introduce the bottle until 6 weeks old, after breastfeeding is well established. Well that was crap for us because it was way too late for Nate. I'm reading a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block. I wish I had read it before Nate came. This book says that 6 weeks is too late and a bottle should be introduced by 2 weeks if breastfeeding is going well. So that's what I'm going to try this time. I just know with Nate I was a slave to him for at least 6 months because he ate every 1.5 - 2 hours and I couldn't go anywhere without him. I'm hoping that I could get more of a break with this new baby, like take Nate out for the morning and leave the baby with Neil with a bottle, ya know?

I had my Dr. appt this morning with ultrasound (37 weeks) and the baby has flipped into head down position (woo hoo) so I didn't have to have the manual turning procedure done, thank God. She weighs approx 6 1bs, 11 oz right now and should gain 1-1.5 more before birth. So all is good here.