WHOA thank goodness it’s Friday! This week has been a doozy for us around here and I’m so glad to have a weekend of rest.
This past week marked the first official baby food making in our house, and so far so good. Wes is such a veggie lover that I started off with green beans and butternut squash, but I also made a little apple-banana-avocado mixture for him that he sort of liked. I don’t know what it is about the fruit, but he’ll eat vegetables all day long. I’ve also been adding avocado to just about everything he eats – one because he likes it, but also because my supply is going down in fat content no matter how many healthy fats I eat. I want to make sure that he’s getting what he needs for brain development, and the fats from avocados should help with that. I’m also considering supplementing with formula at some point, but our past experience with formula wasn’t awesome…he started screaming and pushed the bottle away!
Any tips on formula at all? Or even increasing supply? I’ve been pumping overtime, eating tons of protein and healthy fats, taking fenugreek…nothing. I’d love to keep him on my milk more than formula, but it’s not looking like those things are working. For the record his growth is normal and he’s not acting like he’s hungry or anything, but still I worry.
We went to the doctor earlier this week for his 6-month checkup and he’s doing so great! He’s now 17 lbs 7 oz (he was 7 lbs 10 oz at birth) and 27.5 inches long (up from 20.5 inches at birth). He’s still my baby but he’s looking more and more like a little boy every day! The shots were fine, and we immunized for flue as well. Nate was out of town at the time, so I had to be the one to hold him when he started screaming, which was just about the saddest thing ever. Luckily as soon as the band-aid went on he was totally fine, and it seems like we’re in the clear from the side effects now. Happy baby has returned!
One thing I’ve noticed this week is that Bunker and Keira really love to be around Wes when he’s happy and playing, but now they sort of slink away and hide if he’s crying or getting fussy. It’s weird because they’ve never done that before, but I’m wondering if it’s because his voice has gotten significantly louder and they aren’t used to it being that noisy in the house. Either way I’ve just been taking more time to love on them and reassure them that they are, in fact, very good dogs. That seems to be working so far!
I also went through Wes’s clothes yesterday to weed out the ones that are too small for him now, which was about half of his little wardrobe! Good thing Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) were here this past weekend and brought loads of new stuff. But yeah…the stuff he grew out of was 6-month clothing and he’s now in 9-month stuff! I know that sizing on baby clothes can be just as “off” as with adult clothes, but still. Sniff sniff…my baby’s growing up!
I’ve been washing and putting away all of his clothes in a big plastic bin, along with all of my old maternity clothes. It’s nice to keep it all together, and I imagine that I can pretty much keep his whole wardrobe from birth-12 months in there without any problem. Plus it’ll be nice if we end up having another boy later on to have clothes that we loved when Wes was little!
Other than that we’re going to be rocking it out at a local air show this weekend (well, not AT the show since we don’t want Wes to be so close to such loud noises, but in a field where we can watch it all) and cleaning out our garage because it’s a cluttered mess. Wish us luck!
He’s so sweet! I love your mama updates 🙂
It’s been so long since I came to visit your blog and he’s so big now!! What a cutie pie!
One thing I’ve noticed with my supply is that if I don’t eat enough my supply goes down. Water is also key.
I agree with Steph that if he’s growing and isn’t acting hungry I wouldn’t worry, but if you have other reasons for worrying, I would also suggest contacting your local La Leche League. It’s really great to connect with other women who are also breastfeeding.
If he is gaining fine and doesn’t act hungry, then what are you using as a marker to determine how fatty your milk is or how much of a supply you have? As long as he is gaining weight, has plenty of wet/soiled diapers, and is happy then you are making plenty of milk. Pump output is not a proper measurement of how much milk you are making since most women don’t respond well to the pump and your baby is much more efficient at removing milk from your breast then the pump is.
https://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/low-supply/
Thanks Steph!
I guess the biggest indicator was pumping, but after talking with our pediatrician she confirmed what you just said – that a pump won’t accurately tell how much I’m producing. i really appreciate your reply – exactly what i needed to hear!
Oh and water water water too – at least 60 oz a day!
Oatmeal! Oatmeal! and more oatmeal. I eat a cup of oatmeal everyday, and not the instant stuff, the real stuff, make it with milk (not water), chia seeds, bananas, nuts etc. I can tell the difference on the days i don’t eat oatmeal on my milk supply. I love that stuff. Chia seeds makes it more fluffy!
Wes is adorable. We haven’t been to our 6 months appt. yet, our dr. said we can’t go until they are after 6 months for their shots. I wonder why, i am so curious about Ella’s weight. I have one of those baby cookers too – love it. So far Ella loves cauliflower, avocado, parsnip and sweet potatoes. She hated carrots, peas and red pepper. I haven’t done the fruits yet, trying to go through my vegetable list first 🙂
If he’s gaining weight and doesn’t seem hungry, I really wouldn’t worry about supplementing formula, even if it seems that your milk doesn’t have a high fat content. Your milk is so much better for him than formula, even if it doesn’t seem “fatty”. And.. he is adorable!
My friend was an excellant producer and swore by oatmeal. Malta and Beer are supposed to help also. Your son is gorgeous!
thanks so much cathy! i’m kinda partial to him as well 😉
It reminds me so many souvenirs … I used to cook this way for my two children when they were babies.
I used to cook the entire sunday, to make the “jars” in the freezer, this way they had good dishes for all the week (I was working).
That’s great that he loves veggies! Get ’em started young 😉 He’s so adorable, I just want to pinch his little cheeks haha.