A few pumping essentials.

since i wrote about newborn essentials, i thought i'd make a list for you of what i think are my pumping essentials so that you will be prepared for when you embark on this difficult yet oh so rewarding experience of breast feeding.

• the lactation consultants from healthy horizons recommended this tincture when i started pumping.  i have noticed an increase in my milk production since i started taking it.  i also read this works too.

via

• like i mentioned in the newborn essentials post, a breast pump.

• you know i like the playtex drop ins.  fyi, the target brand of drop ins fits perfectly and is cheaper.

• nursing bras are a must.  i know the bravado body silk seamless nursing bra is pricey, but it is so worth it.  i've tried on a lot of nursing bras, and these were the most comfortable.  i just bought the cheapest night nursing bras i could find.  i found that they were all pretty much the same.  and for my sports bra, i just bought a bigger size.  i only use the sports bras when i work out.  since i don't plan on breast feeding her when i do, there was no need to splurge on a "nursing" sports bra.  any cheap one, in a bigger size, works just fine.

via

• to ease your cracked and painful nipples, use this religiously.  especially in those first few weeks as you toughen up your nipples.

• to prevent leaks from showing, use these.  i prefer the cotton reusable ones, but the disposable ones work too.

• to store your precious breast milk for future use, you'll need these.

• to clean the pump parts, bottles, and nipples.  this will come in handy.

• to dry all the parts, you'll need this rack.

• to make sterilizing simple, use this.

• and finally, while this isn't a necessity, it will make pumping more enjoyable so your hands can be free to do as you please.

Gabriella's 1 month update.

yes i know, this post is super duper late.  just in time for her 2 month update. lol.

i should really title this post the eat, sleep, and poop month because pretty much that describes our first month with our little munch.

let's start off with her stats.

1 month - 8lbs 7oz
day 8 - 6lbs 8oz
birth - 6lbs 10oz

as you can see breast milk does a body good.  gabriella gained a whole 2 pounds in less than a month.  it was solid proof that breast feeding was going just fine.

gabriella was so puffy the first few weeks.  her eyes were so swollen she couldn't open them all the way.  and her sweet little eyelashes were not yet discovered.  you can also see she was quite jaundice.

here, you can see john holding ella near the sunlight to help lower the bilirubin that's causing her jaundice.

it wasn't long until ella's puffiness started to subside and her features started popping out.  like her long beautiful eyelashes!

she slept quite a bit and woke up every 3 hours, most of the time on the dot all on her own to eat.  when she was going through her growth spurts her feeds increased in frequency to every 2 hours.  that was really tough on mommy.  but those every 2 hour feeds only lasted a day...thank goodness.  other than that, she was a very good baby.  once she was fed, burped, and changed, she slept good in her pack n play by our bed at night.

there were moments of wakefulness.

here we have gabriella at her 1 month doctor's appointment.  she got her second hepatitis B shot that day and took it like a champ.  look how tiny she is!

and this is our "official" 1 month picture of her.  we're doing a 12 month photo project to show how much our little munch grows her first year of life.

just in case you were wondering, i thought i'd share with you what was going on with me during that first month.  just so you know, i'm in the middle of writing a post about my postpartum experience.

as far as my weight, once i delivered gabriella, i only lost a disappointing 4 lbs.  i still looked 6 months pregnant the first 2 weeks.  after those first 2 weeks, my weight started to drop drastically.  breast feeding helped and i was sweating like a pig when i would sleep.  i guess that was the way my body was getting rid of the excess water.  before i knew it i had lost 15 lbs of the 25 i had gained throughout my pregnancy.  by the end of the first month, my mid section was still flabby and i noticed that my back had gotten wider.  i didn't get any stretch marks but my linea negra was still very prominent.  one good thing that happened was my skin finally, after a long 9 months of pimples and scarring, started to clear up and my scars started to lighten.  do you know the saying, "when you are having a girl, she steals your beauty"?  well, i am convinced that was the case with ms. ella.  after all, i may be biased, but she is one darn beautiful baby.

Newborn essentials.

one word...hand-me-downs.  in my opinion, these are the best.  especially since most newborn gear is only useful for a few months.

ok then, since we got that out of the way, let's begin.

now that gabriella is almost 2 months old, i feel comfortable discussing the topic of newborn essentials.  we are renting our house right now in hopes to buy one soon, so i didn't prepare a nursery for her.  plus we wanted her to stay in our room.  this is what i found to be our newborn essentials.  i hope this helps any future mommies out there who are budget conscious and practical.

• Pack n play- we use this as our crib.  we place one beside our bed and use it as gabriella's crib and we have one in our family room.  no need to get the ones with a changer or napper.  it's a waste of money if you ask me.

• Newborn bath tub- this one is the best because of the newborn net.  it makes bathing a newborn a breeze.

• Water proof pads- i mentioned before we don't have a nursery.  so i just change gabriella on our bed.  this is essential so that pee and poop doesn't get on our sheets.
• Sleep n plays- gabriella pretty much wears a sleep n play day in and day out. 

• Short and long sleeve onesies- i prefer the white ones.  they match everything.  for newborns, the long sleeved ones that cover up their hands are perfect.  gabriella wears this, a sleep n play, and gets swaddled for bed.

• Burp cloths- forget the bibs.  gerber cloth diapers are way cheaper and work way better.  

• Nose frieda- john is the official booger sucker ;-)

• Bottles and nipples- i use the playtex drop ins.  i hate washing dishes so drop ins are perfect for me...and gabriella.

• muslin blankets- aden and anais are the perfect blankets.  they are all purpose...from swaddling to being used as a breast feeding cover up. 

• Swaddleme or halo sleep sack- i live in a cooler area of the bay so i bought the micro fleece ones.  depending on how big your newborn is, we initially used the swaddleme to swaddle her throughout the day and night.  once she grew out of it, i switched to the halo sack swaddle to keep her arms nice and snug when she sleeps.  

• Car seat

• Diapers, wipes, wash cloths, baby towels

These items aren't essential, but we found them helpful and useful.

• Breast pump- if you plan on breast feeding.  my friend gave me hers. 

• Glider with an ottoman- i found a dutalier glider and ottoman for $60 on craigslist.  i reupholstered the cushions for $110 and it was as good as new.  i realy like my glider because it not only rocks, but it can recline, and you can lock it in place.  it would be the perfect glider if it was a little wider.  i have to smoosh the sides of the boppy to fit in the chair to breast feed.  

• Boppy- i like this one because the top is soft.  i also received a waterproof cover...you never know when spilled milk can occur. 

• Rock n play- this is very convenient because it is light enough to move around your house.  we move it upstairs, downstairs, and we're even planning on bringing it with us on our roadtrip to san diego. gabriella loves it.  i bought it used for $15 on craigslist.

• Stroller - we're using the chicco key fit frame stroller because i wasn't sure which stroller i wanted to get...the city select or the uppababy.  plus it is a super light and convenient.

• Ergobaby

• Swing

Adventures in breast feeding. Part 2, but really part 1.

for some reason, labor never really interested me.  i didn't do a ton of research to prepare myself.  i didn't have a specific birth plan.  all i knew is that i wanted an epidural and i would leave the rest to my body and my medical team.  breast feeding, on the other hand, was a whole different story.  i was kind of obsessed with this topic throughout my pregnancy.  you see, i knew it was going to be hard and i was determined to breast feed my baby no matter what.

if you recall,  i took a breast feeding class before gabriella was born so i could prepare myself.  this helped me out a lot.  i highly recommend any new mom to take advantage of the breast feeding class that is provided by your hospital.

i made it clear to my medical team that as soon as possible, i wanted to put gabriella to breast.  once the nurses assessed her, they placed her on me and gabriella latched on like a natural.  she latched on for almost 2 hours. apparently, right after birth babies are the most awake and it is the optimum time for them to be placed on mama's breast.  after that, they pretty much sleep for the next few days.  once the marathon of sucking was over, my nipples took a turn for the worst.  they were cracked, bleeding, and they hurt like heck despite diligent applications of lanolin cream.

the class helped me because i had an idea on how to hold gabriella during breast feeding.  i also knew what her lips should look like, how deep my nipple should be in her mouth, and the way her jaw should look when sucking correctly.  it is because of this baseline knowledge along with the help of my nurses, particularly the night nurses, gabriella and i were able to feel somewhat comfortable with this new learned behavior.

i don't care what anyone says, breast feeding hurts.  my nipples were on fire for the first few weeks.  what surprised me was that my hands started to hurt as well from holding my boob and her.  it does get better though, i promise.  because breast feeding hurts and you (the mama) have to wake up every 2 to 3 hours to feed your baby and sometimes your baby may not latch on right away...you have to want to breast feed.  you have to have the mindset of wanting to be successful and of not giving up.  if you have that, then you and your baby will be a winning breast feeding team.

next up...pumping...

Gabriella's birth story.

this is us pre-parents.  i started pushing shortly after this photo was taken.

remember when i wrote about our family baby shower here?  that was on a beautiful, sunny saturday on january 26.  little did i know that 3, yes 3 days later, i would go into labor.  close, right?!  can i also add that we had just chem-dry'd our carpet on monday january 28.  so on january 29 (the day i went into labor) our carpet was barely dry.  All of our furniture was crammed into the kitchen, and all of our baby shower gifts were everywhere around the house.

now that i was able to set the scene for all of you, i can now begin miss gabster's birth story ;-)

john and i had plans to have dinner with my cousin and her boyfriend that inconspicuous tuesday night.  they got to our house early that evening so we were all hanging out in our family room chatting away...cousin and i sitting on the carpet and husband and her bf sitting on our couch which was carefully jammed into our kitchen.  i was sitting indian style on the floor and i was getting increasingly more uncomfortable throughout our conversations.  around 7pm-ish, i got up to get ready for dinner and i felt "pressure" down there.  no contractions, just pressure particularly on my rectum making me feel like i had to go numero dos (sorry TMI).  when i went to use the bathroom, i noticed some brown, bloody discharge on the pad i was wearing.  this alarmed me because i never had this type of discharge before.  i saw my ob the week before and she confirmed that my baby had dropped and that she was very low when she checked me.  this new discharge plus having the urge to go #2, alarmed me because it is very unlike me to feel that way at this time of the day.  i knew something was up.  i called my ob's office and got transferred to the on call doc.  she told my that i should come in if the bleeding continued but if not, i could just wait until tomorrow morning to see my ob since i wasn't having any contractions.  after i got off the phone, i started to pace around my house thinking out loud and asking john and my cousin if i should just go in.  i didn't want to overreact, but i knew that this might be a sign.  i've heard from other mothers that having a bowel movement was the only thing that happened to them before they went into labor.  so john made his phone calls, we postponed our dinner date, and we prepared to go to the hospital.  john and i showered and we packed our hospital bag (as you can see we were totally unprepared).  i left the dogs in the care of our brothers thinking we would be back later that night.

once we arrived to the hospital, we went straight to the labor and delivery unit.  we checked in and were placed in the triage room.  the fetal monitor was placed on my belly and when the nurse checked me, she said i was LOW, like so low she wouldn't be surprised if i delivered soon.  apparently, i was also having contractions, but didn't know it.  because the contractions were mild and inconsistent we had to wait an hour in triage.  if my contractions didn't get stronger or more consistent, then i would be sent home.  i wasn't in any pain so john and i were just relaxing and watching tv.  throughout this time, my contractions were still mild and not painful but were definitely getting more consistent.  it had been almost an hour and i wanted to use the bathroom.  once i got up, all of a sudden i felt the pressure on my rectum increase significantly.  at this point i told john that if they were going to discharge us, i would have to refuse and demand that i get admitted.  luckily when the nurse checked me again my contractions were happening every 5 minutes and my cervix had dilated.

by 10 pm we got settled in our very comfortable and swanky room, my mom arrived shortly after that, and the nurse was finished getting us settled and admitted.  i knew i wanted an epidural but my pain was minimal at this point.  getting an epidural was my only "birth plan".  i knew i was just going to go with the flow and listen to my body as well as my health care team.  my nurses were great!  they made me feel calm and always let us know what was going to happen next.  because they knew i wanted an epidural, my nurse started my IV early (took 3 tries),  drew blood for labs, and started the first liter of IV fluids (you need 2 liters of fluid before an epidural is placed).  i love that she was proactive.  that way when i was ready for an epidural, i wouldn't have to wait too long.  once all that prep work was done, we were all able to rest and relax.

between the hours of 10 pm and 1 am, i was dilating consistently and my contractions were getting stronger.  i received a dose of fentanyl during this time to take the edge off.  by 1 am, i was dilated to 4 cm and my contractions were starting to get unbearable.  i told my nurse and she said she was going to call the anesthesiologist to give me an epidural.  he came shortly and did the procedure.  i remember 2 things about that particular experience...the lidocaine to numb me was painful - the epidural placement was not and that my anesthesiologist frequented the same vietnamese restaurant that we go to in south san francisco, ban tre.  after it was in, i was comfortable.  i was able to sleep despite the occasional shivering that was caused by the medications being infused via the epidural.  on top of the epidural, john was playing songs sung by nina, one of our favorite filipino artists.

after the epidural, i wasn't dilating as quickly.  my nurse gave me a heads up that if i stopped dilating, she would have to start pitocin.  luckily, my body naturally did what it had to do and by 3 am i was dilated to 7 cm.  it was shortly after this time that my water finally broke.  i was also starting to feel pressure, not pain, down "there" and she let us all know that we were close to meeting gabriella soon.  by 4 am i started pushing with my nurse.  my ob came at 4:30 am and gabriella arrived at 5:15 am.

i'm counting her fingers and toes here.  

pure joy/relief/happiness..

our sweet baby gabriella

i have to say that "pushing" was not hard at all.  i really think that being active and having a strong core helped a lot.  in addition, gabriella was only 6 lbs 10 oz.  having a relatively small baby helps out too.  my ob said i didn't even tear that much!  all the nurses kept on telling us that gabriella's birth was one of the smoothest and easiest births they have have ever seen.  to prove it, my mom, john, and i, along with the nurses and my doctor were cracking jokes and laughing in between my pushes.  it was a great experience...and i can't wait to do it all over again ;-)

proud daddy

proud grandma

*my new family of 3*

Talk about multitasking.

now here's a guy who knows how to multitask!

and for good measure, here's the other fur baby cruising around the house in search of food, trouble, or the perfect place to take a nap ;-)