August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month

I Can See Why People Stop After Two...

Kids, that is. That's been my constant thought today. After our first twenty-four hours at home, we've been learning how to juggle the needs of both Sean and Jack together. Thank goodness for grandparents! And a lot of coordination too. Our first night was pretty tough since Jack got so hungry even after I'd fed him. So for sanity's sake, we decided to supplement with formula until my milk comes in.

Otherwise, we are doing a lot better than expected. Just trying to take it one day at a time.

Exchange Your BPA Bottles!

I read on different blogs earlier this week about how Babies 'R Us is taking back BPA bottles like Avent and Dr. Browns. I didn't find anything official from Babies 'R Us, only word-of-mouth from different blogs. We don't really have very many bottles, but since Sean turned one I rounded them up and didn't known what to do with them. I didn't want to use them for the future babies because of concerns with BPA, and I'm glad I kept them instead of throwing them out.


First I went to the Toys 'R Us near the medical center. They said that since these bottles are not officially recalled, they are not taking them back. Undeterred, I called the Babies 'R Us in Sugar Land and spoke to a manager to get the official story. Yes, they are taking BPA bottles back without a receipt. You can exchange the bottles for a equivalent dollar amount in other bottles. However, if you return more bottles than you buy, you will not receive a store credit or gift card. You just lose that amount.

So today, Sean and I went to return his old bottles. What did we get in exchange? The Adiri Natural Nurser. They look like they're easy to use because there's only three parts and it's all dishwasher safe (top rack, of course). Sean doesn't use bottles anymore, but I think it'll be good for his future siblings. (Whoa. Hold on, there. No, we're not pregnant.) With all this daycare hoopla over milk, I actually bought another kind of bottle too. It's called WeeGo glass baby bottle. Sean just played with it but didn't want to drink anything out of it. Another one to go in the box for future babies...

I Feel Vindicated!

I finally found a growth chart for breastfed babies. On this chart Sean's weight (~9.6 kilograms) is in the 50th percentile. The World Health Organization released these growth charts in April 2006, and I found them on The Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition's website. And here is the link directly to the WHO website. What a relief! I don't think Sean is considered skinny by anyone's definition and using the CDC growth charts was like comparing apples to oranges (weight-wise). I think I will have to bring some of these charts to our pediatrician next time so other parents won't be unnecessarily worried too.

Twelve-Month Checkup

We went to the pediatrician for Sean's 12-month-checkup today. He said Sean is progressing extremely well developmentally. His head circumference was about 18 inches (80th percentile), height was 29-3/4 inches (50th percentile), and his weight was 21 pounds, 3 ounces (25th percentile). Sean's weight dropped off quite a bit, but the doc wasn't concerned since I'm petite. Plus, breastfed babies gain weight more weight during the first six months and less weight during the second six months. Also, breastfed babies tend to weigh less than formula-fed babies, and Sean is very active now. He eats a lot though, especially when Matthew feeds him on the weekends, and I can't imagine him heavier since my arms and back get pretty tired as it is. Plus, I don't think that he looks skinny. Do you?

I've been reading a bit on the vaccines vs. autism debate, especially after the Hannah Poling case. Apparently Hannah Poling has a condition that predisposed her to autism, but they didn't know that until after she developed it. And I know that there hasn't been any definitive link between vaccines and autism, but I opted for just one live vaccine at this checkup. According to the guidelines it's okay to give two live vaccines, but I just felt like Sean's immune system could better deal with one at a time.

Speaking of immune systems, the pediatrician warned me to expect Sean to be sick at least once a month for the first six months once we start daycare. He said that he has noticed that is true whether babies start daycare at 3 months or 3 years. This makes me want to let Sean self-wean instead of weaning him at one year...

Another suggestion was that we teach Sean sign language. It's supposed to help with "the terrible twos" since babies will be better able to communicate and be less frustrated during that time. Does anyone have any books or DVDs that they can recommend?

Working and Pumping

I just met a woman today who told me about her breastfeeding experience. She nursed her daughter for about 5-6 months while working full-time and was upset that she couldn't make enough milk to continue past that time. I tried to comfort her, but I'm not very good at that sort of thing and she said that she would never get over it anyway.

I'm amazed by moms who work full-time and pump for their babies. I'm not even working full-time and I can't wait to quit pumping at work. It's just difficult to find the time to pump when you're busy working. Plus, there's so much gear to lug around: your pump and all its paraphernalia, a cooler for milk storage, some water and snacks for me, plus my purse. And you have to find a place to pump. Personally, I refuse to pump in a restroom, sitting on a toilet. (Would you choose to eat in a public restroom?) And then everybody at work knows you're pumping and sometimes you have to deal with comments from people who don't think breastfeeding is all that great. I think my employer is breastfeeding-friendly, but I feel like I have to censor myself because formula-feeding moms may get offended. It's tough. A friend of mine is working full-time and plans to continue breastfeeding till her son is two years old. I think she deserves a medal!

As moms we are really hard to ourselves, aren't we? Sometimes, we're hard on other moms too. We're all trying our best, and half the time we don't know what we're doing. We're just hoping our kids turn out well in spite of our mistakes. I find myself reading everything I can about parenting (when did that word become a verb?), and I realized that it's because I'm used to everything having an instruction manual. So, I'm slowly learning to let go.