Left Coast Mama » Moms

Helping Nature Along: Breastfeeding

Gwen — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:11:45 +0000

While breastfeeding is a natural thing it sometimes needs a little help. I have written about my breastfeeding journey so far and I touched on some of the difficulties I had. I have a few more issues than some like trying to find a breast pump that had a range of available breastsheild sizes, or finding nursing bras that fit, or trying to feed a sleepy jaundiced baby. All of these experiences have helped me find some resources to help, and some I have still to find. I thought I would share what I have.

When I was nursing Aidan I was unable to find a nursing bra that fit properly, and while I still haven’t found one that fits me properly I have a ton of resources for almost anyone else of a larger size. The first is Honeymilk Designs, by a local Vancouver bra designer Brandee Anderson. I haven’t got one myself as I am still too large, but I have heard nothing but fabulous reviews. If you are of a normal size range a nursing tank can be your best friend and keep you stomach covered.

In Vancouver at least, most of the Shopper’s Drug Marts rent hospital grade breast pumps. In the beginning this may be the best idea so you can find a style of pump that you like. Call the drugstore and ask about the models that they rent. I found that the hospital grade Medela was the pump that gave me the most relief from engorgement pain when Quinlan wasn’t latching the first couple of weeks. With all rental pumps you need to buy a package that has the tubing and breastsheilds. With the Medela they actually have different sizes, because the breastsheild isn’t supposed to rub against your nipple. For me that meant I needed a larger size than the average size, and the only place we found it was the Shopper’s Home Health Care store on Oak, though I think there are several places in Vancouver that rent the actual pumps.

The other thing that was a godsend in both my pregnancy and even now is the nursing pillow I bought at a local baby fair. The YOU Pillow was one of the best decisions I ever made. I used it every night during the rest of my pregnancy and it really helped to make the sleep less painful as I got bigger. Since Quinlan was born I have been using this pillow for nursing, even now, as well as for all kinds of things. In fact I have the laptop on my pillow now while I am writing this post.

Do you have some breastfeeding staples that have made your journey easier?

© 2009 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | 2 comments
Related: Bras, breastfeeding, Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, lactavism, Moms.

New Moon

Gwen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:01:22 +0000

Last year around this time I was a mom with a newborn again and tired as all get out. Some things were easier, but not everything. With problems breastfeeding and not enough sleep and no chance to sleep when my baby slept because I had a three year old who no longer took naps and wanted some attention. So I was surprised when Anthony suggested that I take some time and go to the opening weekend of Twilight.

I went to see a late afternoon matinée and I was a little unsure if I really wanted to be there. I also felt guilty for maybe wanting a little time to be out by myself so soon after Quinlan was born. I didn’t take that time when Aidan was born, so how could I justify the time with Quinlan? Didn’t I love him ans much as Aidan? Of course I loved him as much as my first born, but I was also dealing with a three year old, and a newborn and no chance to go to see a movie at the baby friendly showings. Anthony was very capable of taking care of the boys and a few hours were not going to kill me, just make me a little uncomfortable.

In a week or so, New Moon will be coming out in the theatre. I am ashamed to admit it but I am pretty sure I will stick Anthony with the boys again and go to the movies by myself. I am not ashamed because I am taking time for myself. I am ashamed because I am going to see another movie that is not as good as the book, and with inferior casting. I may be going out on a limb here, but Cedric Diggory wasn’t my idea of Edward. I think that Rosalie and Carlisle are too blonde and not really that pretty. The guy who plays Jasper isn’t old enough and my god what were they thinking when they cast him? The only one who has any resemblance to the cast of characters in my head is Alice. All the others are pale imitations or downright wrong. I certainly hope they find a way to make the Vampires actually sparkle this time. I am not sure I can take the minute amount of glitter they tried to pass off last time.

Despite all the criticism I can throw at the last movie, I will still watch them all. I will probably watch them multiple times, though only once in theatre. I will watch because I am a sucker for these kinds of things. I will watch because it is a night out by myself. I will watch because inside I am still a teenage girl who likes her sparkly vampires.

In Which I Talk About My Problems With Bras and Big Boobs

Gwen — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:39:06 +0000

I am a person of size, a big girl, a short girl, a plus sized girl. Inside I am a tall, curvy and more toned woman with C cups that are still perky. On the outside I am one that will fail the pencil test every time. In fact I don’t remember when I didn’t fail the pencil test. Well I suppose that is not true, when I was 12 I had nothing to speak of.

***

I just checked and not only do I fail the pencil test, I can actually hold 10, yes 10, writing implements under one boob. Sure I know that when I am finished nursing Quinlan the girls will get a little smaller. I often wish for the breast disappearing act that I hear so many women complain about. Sigh. I am most likely out of luck on that front.

***

This has been coming for a while. On Sunday I will have been nursing for a full year (again) and I still do not have a nursing bra that fits and is comfortable. In fact I don’t really think they (maternity/nursing bra manufacturers) make a bra designed for a woman like me. Oddly enough, just because I have big boobs I am not huge everywhere else. Yes I am a plus sized girl, but my ribs are quite small, and I don’t need inches of elastic or band underneath the breast. In fact all that does is make things worse as it is uncomfortable and it folds under itself. What I really need is a good underwire nursing bra, with not too much underwire (I don’t need to be poked in the armpit) and a stretchy band that isn’t too wide. Oh and also, an I cup. Therein lies the rub. I need an I cup. Apparently women who need an I cup are really tall and long torsoed women. They aren’t sturdy not too short women with a bigger rack.

Since I am unable to find anything in Vancouver that fits, I was finally turned toward an online company for a certain bra that the fitter told me would fit me. (Since then I think my band size has gone down even if my cup size has not.) I ordered it and two others that should have fit to see if I could get something that would let me nurse my son and still be able to have the girls where they should be. In fact the two that came were not the one that Dianne’s said would fit me, no that is still on back order a month and a half later. This shouldn’t be such a struggle. I can not be the only woman in Vancouver who has this problem. Hell I can’t be the only woman in the world who has this problem.

So what is a woman with big breasts, a penchant for pretty lingerie, and a nursing mother to do? Really I am asking. I am at my wit’s end. I am uncomfortable, I still need access for Quinlan and I don’t see him weaning anytime soon. Me and the girls thank you in advance.

© 2009 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | 4 comments
Related: Bras, breastfeeding, Gwen, lactavism, Moms, Nursing Bras, Quinlan, rants.

On Old Friends, Coincidences and Fear

Gwen — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:34:39 +0000

Over the past year and a bit I have been trying to come out of my shell and meet new people. To this end I have been to several meeting and social events in Vancouver that have originated on either twitter or on blogs. I have really been internet dating for friends. To those of you reading blogs, twittering, going to conferences none of this will sound too strange, but to those who only read this one it may sound a little weird that I am looking for friends on the internet.

I started reading blogs when Aidan was only a few months old. I started writing one a few months after that. I was starting to think that being away from Nova Scotia and all the support systems there was a mistake, but I knew that Anthony was happy with his job and we made the commitment to stay in Vancouver until 2010 at least. I made some mom friends down at the community centre but it wasn’t the same feeling of community as with some of the blogs I was reading and eventually commenting on. I will admit now that I still don’t comment as often as I want to or as much as I should because I am still a little paralyzed by fear. What if this person who has touched me with their words thinks my comment is stupid and banal? What if I spell something wrong and don’t catch it in time? What if I am just saying the same thing someone else has said only not as brilliantly? I know that this fear is maybe a tad irrational, but I can’t help feeling this way. I love comments and I don ‘t care if the person has a typo, but I put a lot of pressure on myself when I am the one commenting. So I keep the blogs I want to comment on in tabs on my browser. They make it out of google reader and I read through other comments and I stew over what I am going to say. Then I get distracted by one of the two children that need me, lunchtime, suppertime, preschool drop off/pick up, or any of life’s other distractions and I dither on whether I should actually comment or not. More often than not I don’t actually make it to the commenting.

Why am I explaining this? Well as hard as it is to be confident when writing on someone else’s blog, it is even harder when you meet them in person. I may strike some people as confident, but I hide my insecurities well, or at least I think I do. So over the last year I have been putting myself out there, meeting new people, going to new places and trying not to be the one in the corner just watching everyone. I went to Northern Voice and was part of my first blogging conference. I met with Kerry of Crunchy Carpets and some of the other Wet Coast Women. I now see Kerry everywhere and I get to know more of her every time. I met with a few fantastic women to brainstorm about a conference in Vancouver for social media and blogging for women. I met up with some Yummy Mummies for coffee and dinner. I went to a pre-blogher meet-up and even planned/hosted a pity party at the beach for those of us not going to Chicago. I met and planned some play-dates with another beautiful writer and fantastic mom and have kept in touch with her. Though we don’t meet as often as I’d like, I count her as a kindred spirit.

Tuesday night I got to meet a blogger that I have read for years and was someone whose work touched me deeply. I missed a while when I changed feed readers, but I made sure that I caught up. I follow her on twitter, and I was disappointed that I didn’t get to Chicago to hear her speak. There was no way that I was going to miss an opportunity to meet her in person. I knew in my bones that she would be interesting to talk to and that our conversations while brief would be great. I got to SteamWorks late and I did a couple of rounds to actually find the group. I almost gave up and went home, but I decided that one more look was warranted. So I went down the stairs and went to the back corner where there was a group of unfamiliar people, but I saw the flash of a couple of cameras and I figured this might be the group. This time I did see Kristin and I swallowed my fear and joined in.

Kristin introduced me to the table and lastly introduced me to Kate Inglis of Sweet Salty. Kate and I looked at each other and Kate said “I know you.” We did the we are both from NS, and we went to different high schools, were in music and then it hit me. Kate was Katie, and we went to Choir Camp together. We had known each other since Junior Choir Camp, and went on to Youth Choir Camp and Fall Youth Sing put on by the Nova Scotia Choral Federation. We went to Camp Kadema, the Jewish camp for a couple of years and to Berwick at the United Church camp for a few and then on to Acadia. Kate had been a part of my most memorable moments. This woman who has been one of my blog and writer crushes for so long, was actually somebody who was a part of my youth.

I am so glad that I swallowed my fear and went back into the restaurant. I am reconnected with someone, and I hope that we can stay part of each other’s lives.

Sick and Tired

Gwen — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:46:47 +0000

Adorable Grin

I feel guilty in admitting this, but I am sick and tired of baby puke. I know, it is called spit-up to make it more palatable, but baby puke it is. There is not a day that goes by that I am not regurgitated on (several or dozens of times) by my now almost seven month old, and it is getting old. I keep hoping he will grow out of it and start to keep his food down.

I sometimes worry about his digestive track, and I have forcefully kept myself from google because of this. He hardly ever has what I consider to be a normal bowel movement, it is always very wet, yellow and hardly ever has “curds” in it. If he wasn’t growing like a weed and in the 50th percentile for weight and 80-90th for height I would be really worried. I hesitate to talk to my doctor about it, because I don’t want to seem like one of those moms who worry all the time about their children’s pooping habits, but I am one of those moms. Is this really a bad thing? Should I worry more about my child’s pooping issues? Does this mean that since he is an almost exclusively breastfed child that I am eating the wrong way? Should I have started solids sooner?

It has only been the last week that I have made a concerted effort to really try to get Quinlan to eat solids. He didn’t even want to try the rice cereal and it is only this week with sweet potato and now carrots that he has shown any interest in solids at all. Sweet potato got the thumbs up as well as a few raspberries. He would show his appreciation (or so I thought) by eating some and then blowing raspberries and getting sweet potato everywhere. Then I tried carrots last night and low and behold, just eating, no raspberries. I haven’t yet tried this morning but I am hoping it will go as well.

I was also told that if we started him on solids he might stop wanting to get up in the middle of the night to eat, that it was habit. I am now not so sure. For quite a while Quinlan was sleeping from about 10 pm until 5ish. Now he goes to sleep at about 7:30 pm (I feed him to sleep) and starts crying for a snack about 2:30 am. He then wakes up again betweek 4 and 5 am for another feed. It is making me a little cranky. I can’t blame him or ignore him, so I am getting really tired. If I wasn’t a morning person before it is really unlikely I will start to become one now.

So the bottom line is I need some advice on stopping the puking, and helping his bowel solidify some of the poop. Or maybe I just needed to vent a little and then some reasurance that despite my fears, since Quinlan is a happy and well adjusted baby, he probably isn’t suffering with his pooping and puking problems.

Quinlan Happy in the Sun

About a Mother

Gwen — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:58:31 +0000

About a month ago I started to see tweets fling about a super idea for Mother’s day. As far as I know it started out as a glimmer in @KimPlumley’s mind, and today Twitter Giver launched its first contest. Along with Yoyomama and now CBC Vancouver, Twitter Giver has a huge prize worth over 3000 dollars for the winning tweet.

So how do you enter? It is as easy as writing 140 characters. Write about your mom, or help your kids write about theirs and tweet it with the tag #cbcgiver. You have until 11:59 pst tonight and the winning tweet will be revealed tomorrow on the Early Edition on CBC radio 1. If your mother won’t see your tweet, send her a copy, because prizes aside, how you feel may be the best present she receives.

Show your love for your mother. Here is mine:

You always helped us believe, never let us know how hard things were, were there 4 others in trouble, thankyou @NanaLorraine Love U#cbcgiver

Where Does My Time Go?

Gwen — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:18:43 +0000

The Parent Bloggers Network along with Light Iris is sending someone to Blogher this summer (well on my anniversary actually) and I would love to win. They are asking bloggers to be part of a Blog Blast on June 8th, asking the question “Where does my time go?” In order t0 be part of this you need to post on June 8th only and link The Parent Bloggers Network and Light Iris. Now on to the post.

As I posted last night I have a very busy weekend starting today and I am making time for a few things that I don’t always get the time for and I really miss. When I didn’t have Aidan I can honestly say that I probably read at least one book a day, or on a slow day or with a really long book may 1 every 2 days. Sure this meant that I have read a number of books several times, but it was a part of my life. Now I am lucky to get in a book a week. Of course I have now discovered Audible and that has helped immensely as now I can listen to book as well. But where did that time to read go?

Aidan was born two years ago on March 25th, and from that moment on my life, well our lives have changed. At first I tried to read while I was nursing, and for a while that worked. But then life with a newborn, infant and toddler has taken over. Each day we do a number of things that amaze me as they take over my day. We have the mundane: changing diapers, washing clothes, changing beds, washing dishes, bibs and counters. We have the fun: playing music, reading books (to Aidan), going to swimming lessons, music classes, going to the park. We have the interesting: seeing Aidan learn new skills, walking, talking, putting real sentences together, learning his alphabet, trying to sound out things, learning titles of books, learning everything he can about Tough Vehicles (though really to be honest I don’t every want to read the Tonka books ever again.) We have the worrying: when will he really decide he wants to walk, when will people stop asking if he is going to walk (the answer to that was when he walked,) when he gets sick, when you take him to the emergency in the middle of the night the first time, when he gets strapped to the chair howling to get an x-ray, when he has a fever, when he throws up and you hadn’t yet figured out the too tired=puking equation, when your boy is listless and not moving the way he should. We have the amazing: the first hugs, kisses, Mommys, Daddys, I love yous. I smile just thinking about them.
My baby boy is no longer a baby. My Aidan is a little boy with interests of his own. He is an independant being. He likes to run and play. He likes to be near us, but he is willing to go away from us. He can amuse himself with his toys and books. He can talk up a storm. He can come up with a sentence like “Look there’s another sky-train.” He can put together a puzzle. He can make a scribble and call it a cat. My little boy is growing up. Where did the time go?

Where did the time go?

© 2007 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | One comment
Related: Advent, blogging, Blogher, Gwen, Light Iris, Moms, Parent Bloggers Network.

Seven Things: A Meme

Gwen — Thu, 31 May 2007 00:33:14 +0000

Heidi of Three Moons tagged me the other day for a take back the me meme. I have been thinking about this one for a while so here it goes.

Seven Things I Love About Me:

I am a prompt, on-time person. (Well now only most of the time since Aidan.) I like to be on-time or early for things. If you are inviting me to something, let me know the actual time you want me to come over. I will be on time.
I am a bibliophile. I love love books, and I love that I get excited about reading. I am also an excellent reader. In case you are confused, I meant reading aloud. I love to do it and I love that I am good at it.
I have a good rapport with most people. I can talk to people about almost anything but I have a special rapport with kids and adolescents.
I have a keen eye for detail. If you don’t believe me, take a look at Left Coast Floyds and check our Geocaching stuff.
I have an interesting wit. Not everyone gets my sense of humour (except my husband, and him only most of the time) but it is quirky and entirely me.
I am a musician. I am a singer. Music makes me happy. That Aidan is singing all the time now makes me even happier.
I am a good mother. I am a good wife. I think these two things make me happiest of all. It makes me even happier because I am both these things even if not a good housekeeper. I know what my short comings are and love myself anyway.

Now, I tag

Haley-o of The Cheaty Monkey,

Ali from Cheaper Than Therapy,

Laura from I’m an Organizing Junkie

and

Kerry from Crunchy Carpets.

Enjoy the tag girls and take some time for yourself.

Real Moms Laugh in the Face of Adversity, and Spit Up

Gwen — Thu, 10 May 2007 18:39:41 +0000

A while ago I posted a meme started by Kristen Chase of Motherhood Uncensored and now she has a lovely Mother’s Day contest. I am reposting in a slightly different format, but the idea is still the same. I am a real Mom, warts and all.

Real Moms laugh in the face of spit up (and let their husbands take pictures.)

I guess that spit up isn’t too bad and as a real Mom I have had to clean up lots of bodily fluids. Not all of them get the same treatment; laughter isn’t my first thought with projectile vomit, but I don’t vomit myself at the sight and smell. In fact I don’t know how fast I can move until Aidan gets that look on his face and the tell-tale sound of gagging alerts me to the disaster in the making. That Aidan pukes when he is tired and we have made the mistake of feeding him too much when he is too tired means I now have lots of experience with it now. The fact that too much is really hard to gauge makes it somewhat of a crap shoot. But, now instead of being frozen to the spot while this happens, moving him over his plastic toy box full of washable toys is much preferable to cleaning the chair, crib or me and him. I do feel awfully sorry for Aidan when he throws up, and the fact that it is my fault makes it worse. Well, now we know, he needs to be in bed by 7:30 at the latest. And if he looks at all tired, a very light supper is needed.

The reason I have edited and reposted this “Real Mom Truth” is because I really want to win an iPod. In order to do that I am posting links to the contest and the prizes. Wish me luck!

Enter the Real Mom Truths contest! The winner will receive this amazing 4G iPod Nano and Chocolate gift set, plus a link to their post on True Mom Confessions on Mother’s Day

Real Moms Laugh in the Face of Adversity, and Spit Up

Gwen — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:58:13 +0000

Kristen of Motherhood Uncensored, The Mom Trap and about 15 other blogs has started a meme called Real Moms. (Here’s how it works: Put up a post “Real Moms [insert what you do here]“, followed by an explanation (feel free to use more sentences than just one run-on one like me), a picture, and a “Real Moms. Making ….”. Then tag five people. I wasn’t tagged but I love the thought of this meme so I decided to do it on my own.

Real Moms laugh in the face of spit up (and let their husbands take pictures.)

Real Moms let their sons have ice cream for the first time and don’t worry (well too much) about the sticky.

Real Moms take pictures of their failed hair cut attempts and aren’t too embarrassed. At least the screaming happened at home instead of traumatizing the poor barber.

I will tag Heidi of Me, Molly and the Moon; Haley-o of The Cheaty Monkey; The Queen of Spain; Sarah and the Goon Squad