15 weeks as of yesterday and she is starting to get a lttle bumb. She is also starting to enjoy the prenancy and isn't throwing up all of the time.

9/15/2011 1:24:36 PM

Enjoy that 2nd trimester. It's the best.

9/15/2011 1:49:16 PM

yeah for sure. we are starting to feel a dense bump in her belly, but you cant really see it yet. She has started to get some sharp pains in her lower back, is that do to the belly coming?

9/16/2011 4:30:35 PM

Her center of gravity in general is going to shift around a bit in the coming months. That'll put some strain on anyone's back. If she's already prone to back pains it could make it worse.

Just the skin stretching could probably cause pains, but I don't even have an anecdote to back that up so I could be dead wrong.

9/16/2011 5:18:32 PM

The pain can come from the belly itself -- the extra weight and change in balance. The body also releases a hormone that causes the ligaments to relax, affecting the way the pelvis attaches to the spine and putting stress on joints.

The worst pregnancy back pain is the result of nerve problems. I fell on the snow and ice at the beginning of my second trimester with Amelia. At first, I thought that I was just going to be a little sore, but within a few days I started to experience a burning pain in my back, buttocks, and leg with weakness that would come and go. It suuuucked. My doctor said that it wasn't unusual for pregnant women to suffer from sciatica or other nerve pain while pregnant and the fall just rocked my world.

9/16/2011 6:00:10 PM

yeah, for sure this time, I am visiting a chiropractor. Most of the girls here in charlotte that have been pregnant with me have gone to a chiropractor. There were times during being pregnant with Orion that I could not walk very well at all. It was awful!

9/16/2011 7:25:00 PM

Amna, was your pain worse the second time around? Mine sure was. I didn't know if it was just from the fall or if pregnancy is just harder the second time around.

9/16/2011 7:50:58 PM

To me I was ready for the back pain, but the hip pain, oh my lord. Some days I feel like my whole lower back/hip area is on fire. And then you'll stand up and experience shooting pains down one side. I waddle because of my poor hips.

On a better note, 6 weeks left of dealing with it and then he'll be here (hopefully!). I honestly don't remember what it feels like to NOT be pregnant anymore.

[Edited on September 16, 2011 at 9:17 PM. Reason : add]

9/16/2011 9:13:54 PM

You should really hope you don't forget what it's like to be pregnant. Because your body will try and brainwash you into forgetting it completely.

[Edited on September 17, 2011 at 11:14 AM. Reason : Mileage may vary, of course, depending on your desire for more children]

9/17/2011 11:13:39 AM

It sure as heck does.

I can't tell you how many times during baby #2 I cried, told my husband that we were never doing this again, and that I didn't know what possessed me to go through it a second time. He just kept reminding me that I said the same thing the first time. Amelia just turned 3 months old and I'm already pondering a 3rd one in moments of sleep deprived insanity.

I wish I had made a video message for my non-pregnant self during my last few weeks of pregnancy. That way that every time I have an insane baby thought, I can watch it.

9/17/2011 11:40:49 AM

Quote :

"Amna, was your pain worse the second time around? Mine sure was. I didn't know if it was just from the fall or if pregnancy is just harder the second time around."

DITTO!! I had an excellent first trimester and most of second but at about week 19/20 I had incredibly bad sciatica and my pelvis often made me feel like a little old lady needing a walker. Orion was getting so long at that point that my shorter torso was having a hard time providing her with adequate space to be comfortable. The way she was laying just made it difficult for me to get out of bed, out of the car, to put any pants or panties on, and shaving my legs was a NIGHTMARE!! I didn't even mention how I could not breath well at night so I was getting no sleep with a constant full bladder. Being uncomfortable is one thing but being in pain at the same time just royally sucks!! What also made it difficult was I was getting these high powered ultrasounds just to make sure she was doing well and I never saw her face the whole pregnancy. Pretty lame of me to feel this way but that was like the kick in the teeth.

9/17/2011 7:45:00 PM

^^ Oh lord. During your first pregnancy you were swearing up and down that you would NEVER EVER put your body through anything like that again.

And then you went and did it again anyway

You even KNEW your body would trick you into forgetting. It turns out that forewarned is not necessarily forearmed.

9/18/2011 10:53:35 AM

If your body didn't trick you into forgetting, there'd be a lot of only children on this planet.

Josh is under orders this time to remind me that I don't have to get pregnant just to have another child. Sure, it's faster to just get knocked up, but it isn't necessarily easier.

[Edited on September 18, 2011 at 11:05 AM. Reason : .]

9/18/2011 11:04:51 AM

That's our plan for if we want a third. Primarily because after two boys we'd want a girl and there's only one way to guarantee getting a girl.

Plus there are a lot of kids out there who need love.

9/18/2011 7:17:21 PM

^that sounds familiar and we are currently pregnant with #3.

We were going to do that exact scenario but adopt a boy down the road a bit and then SURPRISE!!!!!

9/18/2011 9:54:40 PM

Virginia's pregnancy pain was much worse with the second, but the L&D wasn't nearly as bad. And the recovery was 2x faster with the second.

9/19/2011 10:05:26 AM

My wife is 12 weeks now and we just had the first ultrasound done. So far everything looks very good. This is our second child so I am hoping it goes as well as the first. I feel bad for my wife as she is tired of the nausea and feeling sick all the time.

Our daughter is 4 so I am keeping my fingers crossed for a little boy!

9/19/2011 10:37:21 AM

I had an u/s done today at 34 weeks to check his growth since I've had low weight gain (and I think they can tell I am one of *those* pregnant women who worry about everything). Brantley weights 5lb 4oz right now. If I go to 40 weeks they think he'll be over 8lbs.

I can't beleive how close it is getting...

9/19/2011 4:46:51 PM

Quote :

"^that sounds familiar and we are currently pregnant with #3. We were going to do that exact scenario but adopt a boy down the road a bit and then SURPRISE!!!!!"

We have no chance for surprise (make your time). We nipped that risk in the bud after the boys were born.

9/19/2011 5:22:54 PM

I just cannot make myself do it. Both of my children have DiGeorge Syndrome. And this last time, I lost 50 pounds and went into kidney failure. But I just cannot make that kind of decision. For some reason, keeping our reproductive options is too important to me. Even though it shouldn't be and it would be insane for me to have another baby.

9/19/2011 5:30:36 PM

You could always get his tubes tied, I think that's the most easily reversible procedure so you'd be able to maintain the idea while decreasing the likelihood.

9/19/2011 11:01:48 PM

I just couldn't ask him to do that. It has never even crossed my mind to ask someone else to seek sterilization, especially in a relationship where I am the weakest link.

9/19/2011 11:10:15 PM

Does weakest link matter though? You're a team, your goals in something like this should be similar.

But I can totally understand the reluctance. I volunteered for the snipping while Cat was preggers, but our delivering doctor pointed out that the c-section provided a convenient opportunity to work on her instead.

Although if our living situation ever settles down again I might still get snipped. I might see if they have any March Madness specials up here.

9/20/2011 5:47:41 AM

Well, Josh thinks that I'm morbid, but I worry about things like my death or our children's deaths. He may want more children in that case. I know that a vasectomy is reversible, but it's not always successful and then I would carry that burden. Yes, I know in this fantasy I'm possibly dead, but you know what I mean.

In some ways, I wish that I'd had my tubes tied with my C-section, but we didn't know about Amelia or just what kind of shape my kidneys were in until later in the day.

9/20/2011 8:51:52 AM

Wife is at 15/16 weeks. the nausea is getting better, but it is like 2 steps forward and 1 step back: every once in a while it kicks in. But yesterday I surprised her with some cola flavored muffins and she ate them up and kept them down, finally. Also, the Ensure shakes work very well.

9/21/2011 11:15:17 AM

^ If she finds something she can keep down get lots of it. For me that only thing I could keep down for awhile was ice cream. I had many an ice cream lunch.

9/21/2011 7:07:17 PM

Ensure over ice with a straw. I lived off of the stuff.

Dr. Pepper also settled my stomach this last time.

9/21/2011 7:33:20 PM

instant breakfast might be an option too. it definitely tasted a hell of a lot better than ensure, imo.

9/21/2011 9:42:09 PM

Personally, I preferred Ensure and I had fewer instances of vomiting with Ensure. BUT when my son was much younger and having a great deal of difficulty gaining weight, the nutritionist had great things to say about Carnation Instant Breakfast. It's very comparable to Ensure and there's no reason why you couldn't drink it instead. In fact, I think that the Carnation is cheaper than Ensure. Ensure was just easier on me and my pukey pukes.

9/21/2011 10:20:29 PM

yeah, whatever works for you is best of course. i LOVE instant breakfast & have been drinking it since i was in elementary school.

9/21/2011 10:48:15 PM

For some of you new mothers, this might be helpful....





http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Wishes-Hands-Free-Breastpump-XS/dp/B00295MQLU/ref=pd_sim_bt14

9/22/2011 12:46:57 AM

Speaking of boobie milk

I'm 11 wks in breastfeeding, and i never get that full feeling anymore. He's still got a steady number of wet & dirty diapers, so I know he's getting enough to eat, but the feeling is very discomforting. I don't get that "singe" feeling anymore just before a feeding. It's like it all of a sudden stopped. And when I pump now I seem to have very little--like 2 oz versus the 4 or 5 I could get out of one breast to build supply. I read this is normal, but man I really miss that feeling of being full.

I can still shoot someone across the room with my stream though which is hilarious.

9/23/2011 9:13:25 PM

My friend said she always pumps in addition to feeding. She is amazing with how she has kept that up. Her little Brenna is 5 months old now and she is still pumping 4-6oz after feedings. AMAZING. I think I am out of milk because Orion does nothing but scream on my boob now. Makes me very sad and the last time I pumped I got 0.25oz. This may be controversial to some of you but I am feeding Orion my friend's mama milk 1-2 times a day in addition to the formula she is drinking. I am trying to at least get to that 6 month mark that is recommended.

9/23/2011 10:42:20 PM

Yours has probably dropped some due to the pregnancy. But def won't scoff at you using a friend's milk! I think milk banks or having access to a friend or family member with ample supply is pretty awesome.

I pump as much as I can between feedings, but i'm still not getting a lot when I do that now. I'm thinking of starting fenugreek to see if that will help some (I never did before when I mentioned it bc my supply was fine). I just had my thyroid checked and it was fine so I know it's not that. Also read it can drop when you're about to start your period...nooooooooo!

9/23/2011 11:50:00 PM

I have to recommend these videos for pumping moms.

http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html

Pumping, for me, was like a full time job because Amelia couldn't nurse. I worked like a mad woman to get what little milk I got and even tried Reglan, but the hands on techniques in the videos were the best. Massage and hand expression in conjunction with the pump doubled my milk supply.

It still wasn't enough to trick my body into producing enough milk to keep Amelia off of formula. It's amazing how your body can tell the difference between a pump and a baby. My period even came back in record time. Amna, I'm totally jealous that you have access to breast milk. I would absolutely feed my baby someone else's milk. It was so depressing to mix up that first bottle of formula.

9/25/2011 12:45:30 PM

I usually do hand massage while pumping, but I learned some additional tips with it watching ^ video. I guess I had a clogged duct or there were parts of my breast I wasn't getting. I kept massaging and the milk just starting streaming back out. I was only using a single pump to really concentrate on the massage, and just the act of getting one breast really flowing I started leaking like crazy from the other. "Honey! Get me another bottle and get that pump ready!" lol

I got 3.5 oz; that's pretty good for me at the end of the day

Gonna keep at it and try more pumping sessions in between feedings.

9/25/2011 9:15:44 PM

I've been having pumping issues.

Being back at work, I'm having to leave pumped milk for Bailey. She had been cruising along at 2 bottles a day (3 oz each). It doesn't sound like much but she would be satisfied after eating. This past week she has started to want/need 3 bottles (still 3oz each).

Unfortunately I can only pump twice at work (9:30am and 12:50pm). I barely managed 6 oz total for the entire day. So now I'm having to focus on pumping after she eats and even setting an alarm to get up and pump at night while she is sleeping.

My nipples are sore and I'm so tired. I just don't know how much I can keep up with this. I thought pumping after each feeding would up my supply but so far it hasn't.

I've been searching for fenugreek but can't find any. I live in Whiteville (Columbus Co/BFE) and since breast feeding is 'gross' in this area I imagine I won't have any luck. I'll be getting some off the internet. I've also been guzzling water.

I know that stress is playing a roll. Not only the stress of work but now worrying about trying to get my milk supply up.

Thanks for posting this video. I'm going to try to watch it later.

9/25/2011 11:21:19 PM

I don't mean this to sound gross or anything... genuinely curious... do you moms ever... umm... taste test your milk?

9/26/2011 10:52:55 AM

Both my kids are formula fed and both are awesome.

I'm pretty sure my wife and I were both formula fed and she was valedictorian and phi beta kappa in college.

There's no reason to feel guilty about feeding your children with formula instead of breastmilk if the breastmilk doesn't work out.

Which I realize is entirely anecdotal, but I haven't been convinced that formula is harmful scientifically either.

[Edited on September 26, 2011 at 11:15 AM. Reason : .]

9/26/2011 10:58:15 AM

Well, "studies have shown" (I can't cite studies but boy can my mother-in-law) to have a correlation with immune diseases that develop later in life.

That's primarily why my wife was determined to pump as long as she could. The boys wouldn't latch after their stint in the NICU, but she was insistent on providing breast milk because she'd been formula fed and developed two immune disorders in her life (child rheumatoid arthritis and myasthenia gravis, they tend to come in pairs in a person).

Of course, her medication caused her to have to stop when the boys were 10months old. Plus she was never able to make a full amount for both boys so they were on half/breastmilk half/formula the whole time. I think you'll find that's what most reasonable people settle into. Breastmilk is just unwieldy when you're out with your kid (carrying a cooler everywhere becomes annoying) and formula can just be stored in little tubes and poured out at will.

I think what convinced me was the notion of antibodies transferring to the boys from their mom. A babies immune system isn't ready to handle anything for months after birth, so having a backup from mom seems very important.

[Edited on September 26, 2011 at 12:21 PM. Reason : / I hate the phrase "studies have shown"]

9/26/2011 12:20:29 PM

For the most part, mama's milk is suited for the baby's development. The thing that it does often lack is vitamin D because they have been multiple cases of rickets in breastfed babies that is why Tri Vi Sol is often suggested as a supplement.

I honestly hate formula for many reasons. My babies can't handle it so they spit up all the time, their poops are worse than ever, the gentle tummy formulas have corn syrup as the first ingredient (except Gerber), the cost alone outweighs the want to wean and the most devastating thing to me is that I am not getting that closeness that I desire to have with my babies that bottle feeding does not give. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to formula feed.

With all that I just said, I WOULD NEVER JUDGE SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO FORMULA FEED!! I am not that child's parent.

9/26/2011 1:02:24 PM

Quote :

"I don't mean this to sound gross or anything... genuinely curious... do you moms ever... umm... taste test your milk?"

I have. It tastes kinda like sugar water.

I found out the hard way that if you're really engorged and you poke/prod just right, you'll squirt yourself in the face. Also, I wanted to know exactly what I was asking my husband to get into during foreplay/sex if my breasts got involved.

...

There's nothing inherently wrong with using formula. It's just that breast milk is ideally suited for babies. Everything sinks up just the way that it's supposed to. I think that it's best to do what mother nature intended for your children. But I'm a bit of a crazy hippy when it comes to how I raise my children.

9/26/2011 1:23:19 PM

Didn't you brag about squirting your husband in his sleep once?

Oh, one more pro-mother's milk versus formula thing. Since breastmilk is more chemically suited to the baby in question it cuts down on the number of poopy diapers (babies on breastmilk can poop as little as once a week, versus formula when it's around daily). I actually had a doctor have to calm me down worrying about my boy being constipated at one point.

Also, anecdotally, breastmilk poop isn't as stinky.

But I did love the convenience of formula. Always got the BJ's brand formula. It's the same as Similac in vitamin content but easily half the price and coming in the huge tub is great when dealing with twins.

I actually kinda miss the formula, now that we've switched to animal milk. I'm at the store every other day getting more milk.

9/26/2011 2:06:36 PM

Haha. Yeah, I prolly did. You can really get some distance. It's kinda shocking if you're completely ignorant like I was the first go around.

Going to the store just to buy milk NEVER stops, btw. If you have a kid who drinks milk, they're like little milk zombies. "Milk cup." *tap*tap* "Mommy, milk cup." *tap*tap* "MILK PWEEZE." *TAP*TAP* "CUUUUUUUUUP." Silas aggravates the heck out of me every morning for that first cup of milk. It's like toddler coffee.

9/26/2011 3:21:53 PM

i have tasted my breastmilk. mine has a bitter aftertaste.

but poops? dude, his stink to high heaven and he's strictly breastmilk. you can also hear it from the other side of the house when he does one. my little guy also poops 3 times a day still. he's regular about it though; i know they will always be one in the morning, one after lunch, and one before bed. BUT, i have a friend whose little guy is an every three day pooper.

breastmilk fed babies also tend to eat more often b/c it's easily digestible. on nights like last night i think "if only i fed him formula, he'd probably be sleeping through the night already"

i hope to breastfeed a full year. i don't mind supplementing formula if i absolutely have to though. like this weekend when we go out of town for a wedding, if my stash isn't enough i won't be heartbroken if my mom needs to mix up some formula (i will be heartbroken that my stash will be completely gone). i also don't think it's bad if formula is what you want to use--different strokes for different folks. however, I DO wish that people supported breastfeeding more and it was more acceptable to breastfeed in public.

9/26/2011 3:32:28 PM

Yeah, one of the ways to stretch out my wife's breastmilk was to give the boys purely formula before bed each night. It helped spread out the milk more and the formula made the boys' bodies work harder and use more energy. Double benefit.

9/26/2011 3:38:41 PM

Quote :

"Going to the store just to buy milk NEVER stops, btw. If you have a kid who drinks milk, they're like little milk zombies. "Milk cup." *tap*tap* "Mommy, milk cup." *tap*tap* "MILK PWEEZE." *TAP*TAP* "CUUUUUUUUUP." Silas aggravates the heck out of me every morning for that first cup of milk. It's like toddler coffee."

Say no?

9/26/2011 4:01:19 PM

Our new pediatrician told us to go ahead and cut back on the milk. Currently the boys only get milk with their meals. Their bedtime drink and all their between-meal drinks are water.

9/26/2011 4:03:26 PM

Quote :

"Well, "studies have shown" (I can't cite studies but boy can my mother-in-law) to have a correlation with immune diseases that develop later in life."

i was breastfed & i have myasthenia gravis. i also had some weird version of hypothyroidism that they never figured out that went away after 2 years when i was 14. that said, you of all the others on here know how fickle MG is. i guess my point is that there's always an exception to the rule.

9/26/2011 4:34:18 PM

Quote :

"Say no?"

There's little reason to say no and every reason to say yes. Silas has Hashimoto's thyroiditis that's led to difficult to control hyperthyroidism, so it's damned near impossible to keep weight on him. One of the ways we keep packing on the calories is with milk. Recently, we've moved him back onto whole milk because he's burning through so much of what he eats. So, I get him his milk and go on my merry way.

And anyway, a healthy toddler diet should include 3 servings of dairy each day.

9/26/2011 6:12:33 PM