MSPI - Milk/Soy Protein Intolerance

Samantha is growing fabulously; perfectly following the growth curve and remaining in the 60 percentile for weight. In the last week, we found out that she has blood in her stool which is indicative of a cow’s milk protein allergy. Because of this, I need to completely alter my diet to avoid all things dairy so that the protein isn’t passing to her through my breast milk.

At first I was pretty bummed about it because I LOVE cheese. And ice cream. And sour cream. Heck, I love all dairy. I was even more upset when I realized that there is hidden dairy in what seems like everything. Mr.A asked me if I would prefer to transition her to formula, but I am committed to making breastfeeding work. Plus, we couldn’t do the normal formula that I have tons and tons of samples and coupons for, we would need a specialized formula to meet her needs while also avoiding cow’s milk.

I’ve done a fair bit of research on MSPI (the formal name for her allergy/intolerance) and am finding that many children have much more severe symptoms than S is exhibiting.  Therefore, we are hopeful that she has only a mild intolerance. The doctor has said that I can start to reintroduce some hard cheeses into my diet in a couple of months. If she does well with that, I will be able to slowly incorporate dairy back into my diet.  

Breastfeeding

Just like birth, I’ve heard stories from many seasoned moms about how difficult breastfeeding can be. I knew I wanted to try my best to make it work for us, but also that in the end feeding my child was the most important thing.

It took S a little more than 2 weeks to regain her birth weight and it was stressful not knowing if I was producing enough for her needs. It was always incredibly difficult at night when she would cluster feed every 45 minutes to an hour, which wouldn’t give my body the time it needed to produce more milk. Eventually, Mr.A and I devised a plan where he would give her a bottle of pumped milk at night just before bed which would give her enough milk to last her a couple of hours. Once we began doing this, she would seem much more content, go to sleep easier and earlier, and sleep more than just a couple of hours. This gave him time to bond with his daughter in the evenings, as well as giving me a much needed respite.

Thankfully our pediatrician was incredibly supportive and encouraged me to be more confident with breastfeeding. Also, a friend is an LC and was also very helpful and supportive in those early weeks. Once we got over the 2 week hump, everything began to come more naturally and also became much less painful.

Once she passed her initial growth spurts and my milk supply seemed to stabilize, her evening cluster feeding decreased substantially allowing me to keep up with her needs plus more.

She has begun to sleep for 4-6 hour stretches in the night which is wonderful since I get more than a couple of hours of sleep at a time, but also painful because I become incredibly engorged. I’ve been fortunate in that I can feed her in the middle of the night and still pump and additional 4 or so ounces. This has allowed me to build up a freezer stash of milk which can be used for while I am at work, away for an evening or even potentially a couple of days.

While at work, I have also been pumping but am pumping more than double what she consumes in the same time period. For now, I’ve just been saving what she needs for the following day, and freezing the remainder.

Fortunately, I have not had many issues with breastfeeding and even credit it with my rapid postpartum weight loss. I am guessing that she is getting more than enough, because she is growing so quickly already. Her length was nearly off the chart the last time we were at the pediatrician, and her weight is following the appropriate curve at around the 60^th percentile. I am so thankful that things have worked out up until now, and am hopeful that we will make it to at least 6 months, if not a year.  

Cloth Diapers

We have been exclusively using cloth diapers since S was 5 weeks old, and I am really happy that it has worked out as well as it has. Mr.A was never completely sold on the idea, but reluctantly agreed once I told him that I wouldn’t expect his help with the washing/drying/stuffing, and the change from disposables should be nearly transparent.

The majority of our CD stash are one size Bum Genius 4.0s (pockets), with a handful of sized 3.0s in small and medium. I also have a couple of Alva one size pockets which I use regularly and really like considering how cheap they were.

The majority of my CD stash are “Seconds” with minor cosmetic flaws, so I was able to buy the new diapers for about 50% off. I’ve come to learn that I love bamboo inserts, and have purchased both bamboo and microfiber/bamboo hybrid inserts from Alva for a very reasonable price. Some other items I’ve purchased are small, medium and large wetbags, a diaper sprayer (unused currently, will likely need to begin using when we start S on solid foods), as well as the diapers and inserts. I am unsure of the exact cost of all of my diapers and supplies, but am guessing that I’ve spent roughly $400 on everything.

Considering that a large box of Pamper diapers is around $45, and would last us approximately 2-3 weeks, we should break even with the cost of CDing when S is around 6 months old. I am hopeful that these diapers will last her through potty training, and that we will also use them for subsequent children therefore saving money and helping preserve the environment by not producing extra waste.

Some people argue that CDs aren’t any better for the environment because of the extra water and energy needed to wash them every 2-3 days. I completely disagree with this since we have a high efficiency washer which only uses a couple of gallons of water per load and we line dry.

Everyone thought I was crazy when I told them I wanted to do cloth diapers. I will admit that it has been a little more difficult keeping up with everything now that I am back to work, but I intend to keep it up and am thrilled so far with them.

Back to Reality

Maternity leave is officially over, and I am back to work and the real world. 

Samantha is growing like a weed! She is 10 weeks old, and already in 6m sleepers! She is in the 90^th percentile for height, and 60^th in weight, so even though 3m clothes are big around, her little toes curl up in the feet because she is so tall.

We are so fortunate that my mom was able to come stay with us and will be watching S during the day while I work until May. This will allow me to ease into being away from S, and help me get more comfortable with the idea of a nanny, in-home day care, or day care center. Thinking about putting her into day care makes me extremely anxious, but I know it is a necessary evil at this point in our lives.

I’ve said over the last couple of months that I would have to wait and see how the work transition went and then decide if I would want to stay at home. Well, I returned to work yesterday on a great day where the company announced their 2012 earnings and their plans for growth. I’ve been offered a promotion, raise and bonus structure; as well as an incredibly generous 401k match. In addition, while I was on leave, they sent a “new mom” package with baby clothes, blankets, towels and let me know that they had opened up a 529 account for my daughter and deposited the first contribution.

I’ve realized that I would be a fool to give up this career or this company. They provide a fantastic work/life balance, they challenge me, give me opportunity for growth, reward me and encourage me. They also have a positive impact on the community around us and give employees paid time off to work with charities around the metro area.

This company is aligned with my morals, values and beliefs, unlike anyone I had ever worked with before. I have decided that I am staying, now if I could convince them to allow me to bring S with me to work…..

Parenthood

Goodness! I am not sure what I expected, but this is pretty difficult.

Right after S was born, we had family in town. Our families stair stepped but we had company constantly for more than 2 weeks, save a couple of hours between outgoing and incoming flights. With all the company, we had some difficulty establishing a routine; well that and the fact that we have a newborn and she is resistant to routines. With all of this it took me almost two weeks to finish her birth story. Needless to say, I haven't really had time to write blog entries, heck I haven't hardly had time to shower!

The little angel is sleeping at the moment, so I wanted to take a minute to write.

First, as a first time mom, I had quite a few "rules" that I absolutely-positively would not break. Surprise, surprise. I broke them.

A lot of people buy Rock-n-Plays with the intention of their newborn sleeping overnight in their room. I didn't because RnPs are only approved for "supervised sleep" (aka naps) and are not recommended for overnight sleep. So when the Pack N Play bassinet didn't work out for S, we moved her directly to her crib. We were able to keep her in her crib for about a week or so, but then she would wake up immediately as soon as we would lay her in it.

Every night, I've continued to try to put her down in her crib, but she won't stay asleep in it longer than 30 minutes to an hour. So every night, Mr.A will bring her swing upstairs, put it next to my side of the bed and S will sleep there. Talk about a device that is not approved for overnight sleep. Sigh. Oh well, it works and allows us all to get at least a few hours of sleep during the night.

Another rule I made was that I would never nurse S in the side laying position in bed and absolutely would not bring S into our bed. Broken x2 and simultaneously. I did this out of desperation and surprise, surprise, I feel asleep while she was nursing. Thankfully Mr.A was awake and put her back into her swing, but then panic ensued when I awoke and couldn't find her. Double sigh.

This whole being a mom thing is not easy, and anyone who says it is, is a lying liar who lies. S is a pretty good baby. She isn't incredibly fussy, but does often turn into a werewolf at night and usually has one or two meltdowns before finally falling asleep. We've really had to adjust our schedule around her this last month changing our bedtime from around 9:30 every night to around 11:30 or midnight. I am just hoping that in the next month or two we can establish a better nighttime routine so that I am able to function when I return to work.