Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Baby CPR Class

I found a group that is going to do a free baby CPR class on Saturday July 9th at 1pm.  The class is no longer than 30 minutes and is designed for children one and under. 

Please comment below if you would like to attend and I will provide more details. We have five spaces available.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

"You know it gets better, right?"

I was browsing the internet and came across another blog and they were discussing the growing pains of a newborn.  It made me remember similar words coming from my sorority sister and friend, Taneah.  She is the mother of two precious girls, one of whom I helped name, Taylor and Cayden.

Taneah called me from Kuwait one early morning. Her husband took a position with an oil company and the family relocated and their youngest, Cayden was actually born there. The time difference meant she could call me at anytime and I was probably up with my newborn son.

I was telling her of the long nights and early mornings and all the “wake ups” in between.   Hunter’s dad and I would often fight for sleep and say, “let me have one more wake up,” which meant the other had to get up with the baby. During our call, about 7 a.m. she said, “you know it gets better, right?”
(Taneah and family below)
I knew eventually my son would sleep through the night, stop crying and I might be able to get 7 hours again.  However, it seemed so far off that I couldn’t comprehend her message.  Hunter didn’t have colic or any problems with digestion.  He liked to be held and well, he just liked to cry.  He could be consoled which meant walking around, bouncing and singing songs, none of which I could remember all the words.

Fast forward three months. Hunter is 5 months, I am back to work and getting eight hours or more if I please.  Guess what? It got better! However, he is growing so fast that I miss my newborn and would push rewind but I am so excited for his upcoming milestones.

So if I could give a new mom advice it would be, “it gets better but enjoy these moments, you will never get them back.”

                                                                    

Mommy tip: During my son’s four month check up, our new pediatrician gave us advice on getting Hunter to sleep through the night.  For four straight days, put him to sleep at 9 p.m. wake him up at 11 p.m. to give him a bottle.  Put him in his crib and don’t bother him until about 8a.m. and don’t pick him up when he cries. She explained he had not learned to go to sleep without a bottle.  Hunter was waking up every 3 hours at four months!   I tried this tip and after three days he slept from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m.  Now, at five months he sleeps from 9p.m. to 9a.m. and mommy and daddy get their sleep.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate? That is the real question.

Vaccines are such a scary topic for me. I have done so much research on the topic, that it balances out and leaves me still undecided. I have my personal reasons and my own experiences with a family member having autism. She is a beautiful girl who seems to be in her own happy world and you just want to grab her and bring her into your world to play and laugh. She has a great mom and step dad who care for her needs and go above and beyond.


I have a four month old son and statistics show boys have been diagnosed with autism more than girls. I will do ANYTHING to shield my child from this disease and a person may or may not agree with my choice. One side says, unvaccinated children pose a health risk, vaccines are completely safe. It is true, a child who is ill can infect young children who have not had the chance to be fully vaccinated, children not able to be vaccinated due to medical reasons, pregnant women and the elderly. The other side says, the medical community has failed children, it's too much going into a baby's system and more research has to be done.

I feel there have been too many mistakes. They discontinue and recall vaccinations all the time due to bad side-effects, mercury levels and even death. How can I be assured that my child won't be an example for a recalled vaccine?

Hunter, his dad and I went through his two month doctor's visit with flying colors. He had a good weight, he was healthy and hitting his milestones like a champ! Then the doctor says, "okay, he will be getting his shots today." I had dodged the Hepatitis B vaccine at the hospital. He is not sexually active, nor will he ever be a drug user with his parents' love and the Lord's hand.

I took a deep breathe and got ready for battle. "No, we will only be getting three vaccinations today," I said. Hunter's dad chimes in, "this is really a compromise because she went from no vaccines to three." This doctor starts to rant about how my child could die from my decision (like his mother would knowingly put him into harm's way) and imply I was a detriment to society. His hand started to shake and he informed me that I should find another doctor because I did not trust him! "Excuse me, but I have seen you two times in my life!" Trust is earned and built over a period of time. This was a highly respected doctor in Atlanta, he had been named to Atlanta Magazine's "Top Doctors in Atlanta" and was or is chief of pediatrics at Piedmont Hospital.

The medical community urges doctors to protect public trust in immunizations and make parents comfortable with immunizations. This doctor's bedside manner was awful and I took his advice and found another doctor!

I decided to have my son immunized for three of the six diseases that are listed on the center for disease control's immunization schedule. We will go through the series and some time later we will begin protecting against the others.

My ultimate goal is to raise a healthy and happy boy.

I suggest you to research and find what works best for you.


http://www.autismspeaks.org/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/us/21vaccine.html 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Things I have learned along the way - Adventure tip 2

I am breasfeeding and formula feeding Hunter.  I am producing about eight ounces of milk so I have to supplement.


If you want to cut down on the price of formula and who doesn't want to cut costs. Ask your pediatrican for samples.  I would have never known had I not seen the sales rep stocking the closet.  They even had the milk I use, Enfamil's Gentlease.


If you are not nursing and your baby is spitting up a lot on formula, try another formula.  Contrary to popular belief, a baby shouldn't spit up after every feeding.


Let me know if this works for you.


Please comment and let us know if you have any other savings tricks.

Things I have learned along the way - Adventure tip 1.

I will obviously have to update this as I go.  We will have update 300 and it might be about being a grandmother to twins.  Who knows where we are going on this fantastic adventure!

Anyway, a quick tip for my new mommies who have babies younger than my son.  I recently learned if you have a stroller that leans back, it will double as a changing table.  No more nasty bathroom changing tables.  I had a panic attack because Hunter had touched  a section of the table not covered by his plastic mat.  If you are familiar with my story, then you know I have not followed the center for disease control's recommended vaccine schedule and am careful about germs.

Mommies, please comment and more not easily obvious tips for new mommies.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Five new mommy tips.

My son, Hunter will be five months on June 22nd so I am a very new mom.  I don’t have years of experience but I do have some tips to share that can help a new mommy with the most important role of her life.
1. Watch the documentary, "The Business of Being Born," by Ricki Lake. (http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/) The trailer is available on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DgLf8hHMgo.

I already knew I was not the natural “type.” I had already decided (even before I was pregnant) to get an epidural.  However, I didn’t know about a drug called Pitocin and that I was going to be a candidate.  Pitocin is a medication that is used to start or improve uterine contractions.

I was approaching my due date when I went to my weekly doctor appointment to see if my cervix had dilated.  I had not dilated nor had the baby dropped.  The doctor suggested that I should be induced and to schedule a room with the hospital, just in case delivery beds were taken.  I felt my due date was wrong because it was not 40 weeks from the date of my last period, which differed from the ultrasound that the doctors went by.  However, I let the doctor make the appointment, just in case I needed it.

From watching the documentary I knew that being induced could lead to a cesarean section.  Pitocin is the only alternative if baby still has not arrived and your water has broken.  A cesarean section was not in my birth plan.  I also knew that Pitocin can cause harder more painful contractions (remember I am not for the pain i.e. “epidural please”) and can cause the baby to go into distress, thus a cesarean section.

I waited and waited for a painful contraction, for the mucus plug to come out, for my water to break and it never came.  I had to answer countless Facebook comments, “is he here yet?” 


I decided to go into the hospital on the scheduled date, which was three days after my due date.  I was disappointed that I would never be able to tell the funny story of where my water broke or the rush to the hospital while in labor.


Guess what? The Pitocin worked for me! It sure took awhile, about 24 hours to go from zero centimeters to fully dilated.  I do feel that the nurses were concerned that I wasn’t making enough progress and about 20 hours into it, I felt the dreaded “c’ word was coming. However, the nurses and my doctor gave me more time for my body to go into active labor and I got the command to start pushing around 8 a.m.  An hour and 22 minutes later, my precious Hunter entered the world.  No complications and no cesarean section. A healthy baby boy, weighing in at eight pounds and one ounce!

I felt the movie gave me some insight into the delivery process. However, I feel that it might go too hard on the organized medical community.  I remember watching, “One Born Every Minute,” a reality show filmed inside a maternity ward and they showed a clip of a natural couple berating a nurse for wanting to give her medical opinion to move the mom’s labor along.

I suggest you do your research and do what works best for you, while allowing you to stick to your birth plan.
2.  Take your pregnancy photos in your 7th month, before the   stretch marks, swollen face, wide nose and glow that now looks like a hot sweaty mess.
3.  Get a pedicure close to your delivery date.  They will be up in the air quite awhile.  I was too hot for socks.
4.  If you are breastfeeding, get as much direction from the lactation consultant as possible.
5.  You are paying a pretty penny for the hospital services.  Ask  for as many freebies as possible (diapers, granny panties, pads, etc.)


Special hugs to my delivery team, Dr. Helen McSwain from Peachtree Women’s Specialists and the nurses at Piedmont Hospital.


Please add your comments below, so new mommies will be prepared for their new adventure.