On the ninth Day of Christmas Band of Angels gave to me a My Baby Can! Calendar!!
Oh, I SO wish they had had this one when Elise was a baby!!! This is a celebration of the usual milestones and more than that, too! So, UNlike my regular baby book calendar, whose milestone page BLANK for almost 2 years...you have stickers of celebration and information to fill out regularly!! Plus, it's super cute!!!
If you have a new baby, this is a MUST (second only to the Common Threads book, in my humble opinion). If you know of a new baby, this would be an amazing gift! Really, get the word out and get the celebrating started!!!!!
And the ways to enter:
1) JUST COMMENT!! :) (Here or on Band of Angels or Just a Little Bit Downsy's Facebook pages!)
2) Fan (or Like) Band of Angels on Facebook and comment here* that you did/have
3) Follow Band of Angels' Blog and comment here that you did/have
4) Fan (or Like) Just a Little Bit Downsy on Facebook and comment here* that you did/have
5) Follow the Just a Little Bit Downsy blog and comment here* that you did/have
6) Paste Band of Angels' Blog Button (bottom of the sidebar) on your blog and comment here* that you did, with your URL
7) Paste a link to this giveaway on your blog or Facebook or somewhere else on the internet and paste that link here* in a comment
8) Paste the Just a Little Bit Downsy Blog Button (top of my sidebar) on your blog and comment here* that you did, with your URL
Tell your friends! And yes, if you did all the entries on a previous entry, you can state them again for this giveaway, too.
And don't forget to enter for the Biggie on The Twelfth Day of Christmas!!! Here!! (Every entry on any of the other Days of Christmas gets you an extra entry!!)
*It has come to my attention, that Blogger will not allow all identities...so if your particular ID will not allow you to comment on this blog, you may either comment on the Just a Little Bit Downsy's Facebook page (the badge on the sidebar will link you right there!) on the alert for the day's giveaway or you may email me your entries (underwater9800@gmail.com). Make sure that if you email them, that you put which day of Christmas you are entering as the subject line and who you are and your entries IN the email!
Showing posts with label babies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label babies. Show all posts
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
31 for 21: #13 She Won't Be Able To
Besides the fact that my doctor who delivered her was such a downer about Elise's birth, he was also the first to tell me she "wouldn't be able to" breast-feed. And he was followed by, what felt like, the entire dadgum hospital. Every single nurse (except Gayle) and the lactation consultant(!) and the pediatrician and the doctor who checked us out so we could leave...EVERY SINGLE ONE told me that babies with Down Syndrome have lots of problems breast-feeding and that she wouldn't be able to, and would I like a bottle of formula?
Me being me, was irked by someone telling me she couldn't without giving it a try...and with each progressive negative, I wanted even more to be able to nurse my baby. When the lactation consultant came in and told me that she really probably wouldn't be able to, I was totally fed up with it, and told her that of all people she should really TRY to be more supportive. She patted my arm like I was crazy and handed me a pamphlet and wished me "the best".
The theory is that babies with Downs tend to have a low roof of their mouth and an over large tongue, which they tend to push out. The low muscle tone that they struggle with also affects the coordination and power to suck. Add in a general sleepiness, in Elise's case, and on paper it looks like a death knell, apparently.
Well, the pediatrician was surprised that Elise was still nursing at the first week check up, and I told him that other than having to be jiggled awake to remember to eat, she was doing really well. She really didn't like having her feet messed with, so I tapped the bottoms of her feet the entire time I nursed her...she wasn't gaining weight in a hurry, so they congratulated me in feeding her and suggested supplementation and sent me home with yet another formula sample.
She continued to not gain weight even though she nursed constantly. (The formula stayed in the cabinet.) Within 2 months, she was diagnosed to be in Cardiac Failure. She had holes in her heart (ASD and VSD) and we discovered with the open heart surgery that her mitral valve was also malformed. During the month between the cardiac failure diagnosis and the surgery, she needed more calories to live. Her heart was working SO hard to pump that ALL her caloric intake was going just for her heart to function, there was none left over for growing. So her doctor told me to supplement and get her to eat even more. We ended up mixing preemie formula and CORN OIL (per a nutritionist!) into pumped breast milk and literally pouring it down her throat with a syringe. During this time both her pediatrician and her cardiologist told me to go ahead and give up, that she would probably end up on a feeding tube of some kind and may struggle with nursing after all this. So I might want to consider giving up and save myself all the trouble. And again, this irritated me to no end...so I stuck it out again, figuring that she at least deserved to try after the surgery.
She was given breast milk in her feeding tube post surgery and her tummy did brilliantly...I nursed there at the hospital, tubes and all and she had no troubles getting back into the swing of things to the surprise of the nurses...and we went home with no feeding tube.
Ultimately, Elise happily nursed until she abruptly self-weaned at 16 months. Just a couple of weeks before she was diagnosed with leukemia. In retrospect, I would have liked to retry nursing her when she was refusing to eat anything, but with the lack of support, I had no idea to ask about if she could start back up...I learned recently, that we could have, but with her biting issues on steroids, it may have been God saving me from a miserable situation...
I am killing two birds with one stone this morning. I am writing this for a Le Leche League consultant who wanted to address how babies with special needs still can nurse successfully. Too often those in the support positions are not educated with the success that can be had despite how it looks on paper. I also wanted to encourage those who are reading this blog who are expecting and new parents who are searching for answers. Sometimes all that is needed is a little dose of stubbornness. If you are willing to stick it out a little bit longer than is easy, the pay-offs can be big. This is only the first of many things where you will have to plug on despite the medical community. Following your gut can be 50% (or more) of parenting...God hardwired mommies to fight for their babies and daddies to protect their wives and children...so do it. Don't fight the urge. He did it for a reason.
Me being me, was irked by someone telling me she couldn't without giving it a try...and with each progressive negative, I wanted even more to be able to nurse my baby. When the lactation consultant came in and told me that she really probably wouldn't be able to, I was totally fed up with it, and told her that of all people she should really TRY to be more supportive. She patted my arm like I was crazy and handed me a pamphlet and wished me "the best".
The theory is that babies with Downs tend to have a low roof of their mouth and an over large tongue, which they tend to push out. The low muscle tone that they struggle with also affects the coordination and power to suck. Add in a general sleepiness, in Elise's case, and on paper it looks like a death knell, apparently.
Well, the pediatrician was surprised that Elise was still nursing at the first week check up, and I told him that other than having to be jiggled awake to remember to eat, she was doing really well. She really didn't like having her feet messed with, so I tapped the bottoms of her feet the entire time I nursed her...she wasn't gaining weight in a hurry, so they congratulated me in feeding her and suggested supplementation and sent me home with yet another formula sample.
She continued to not gain weight even though she nursed constantly. (The formula stayed in the cabinet.) Within 2 months, she was diagnosed to be in Cardiac Failure. She had holes in her heart (ASD and VSD) and we discovered with the open heart surgery that her mitral valve was also malformed. During the month between the cardiac failure diagnosis and the surgery, she needed more calories to live. Her heart was working SO hard to pump that ALL her caloric intake was going just for her heart to function, there was none left over for growing. So her doctor told me to supplement and get her to eat even more. We ended up mixing preemie formula and CORN OIL (per a nutritionist!) into pumped breast milk and literally pouring it down her throat with a syringe. During this time both her pediatrician and her cardiologist told me to go ahead and give up, that she would probably end up on a feeding tube of some kind and may struggle with nursing after all this. So I might want to consider giving up and save myself all the trouble. And again, this irritated me to no end...so I stuck it out again, figuring that she at least deserved to try after the surgery.
She was given breast milk in her feeding tube post surgery and her tummy did brilliantly...I nursed there at the hospital, tubes and all and she had no troubles getting back into the swing of things to the surprise of the nurses...and we went home with no feeding tube.
Ultimately, Elise happily nursed until she abruptly self-weaned at 16 months. Just a couple of weeks before she was diagnosed with leukemia. In retrospect, I would have liked to retry nursing her when she was refusing to eat anything, but with the lack of support, I had no idea to ask about if she could start back up...I learned recently, that we could have, but with her biting issues on steroids, it may have been God saving me from a miserable situation...
I am killing two birds with one stone this morning. I am writing this for a Le Leche League consultant who wanted to address how babies with special needs still can nurse successfully. Too often those in the support positions are not educated with the success that can be had despite how it looks on paper. I also wanted to encourage those who are reading this blog who are expecting and new parents who are searching for answers. Sometimes all that is needed is a little dose of stubbornness. If you are willing to stick it out a little bit longer than is easy, the pay-offs can be big. This is only the first of many things where you will have to plug on despite the medical community. Following your gut can be 50% (or more) of parenting...God hardwired mommies to fight for their babies and daddies to protect their wives and children...so do it. Don't fight the urge. He did it for a reason.
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