Teething...

It is important to note, Mommy's and Daddy's, that the term "teething" does not necessarily indicate or mean that your little one's teeth are going to pop right out. Per my pediatrician (and most others), teething occurs from 2 months to 2 years of age. 

Prepare yourself for a lot of drool & keep those teething toys handy!!! ( *Layla LOVES her teething raspberry and banana! We are going on almost 9 months of on/off usage.)

My little LAMM officially has cut EIGHT teeth, the two most recent coming in just says after her FIRST birthday.  She's been steadily teething since her 3 month pediatrician appointment, when we were told her gums were swelling, prepped & ready for teethies.

For the most part, LAMM has been taking teething like a champ, but these last two have been pretty troublesome for my little. Proof of her pain became evident when I received a message from daycare that she was having a very tough day & not her normal, bubbly self. LAMM is a champ and as I mentioned, we never had an issue with her teething effecting her behavior passed her morning wake-up, let alone into the afternoon. The 'tale' that teething pain is at it's worst in the wee-hours has proven false(atleast for our family).

In the earlier months, LAMM would develop little baby pimple like bumps around her jaw from the excessive amounts of drool and would soak several bibs a day, all while looking insanely adorable!

These newer teeth have turned my happy bunny into a raging rabbit who wants to chew on everything. I have even suffered a few "nursing nips". Breastfeeding mama's can relate, or certainly will when the time (& surprise) arrives.

My suggestion is Baby Orajel Naturals directly to the gums, a small dose of Infant Tylenol for the tough nights & repeat the Tylenol every 4-6 hours through the night! Thus far, when my LAMM misses her follow up Tylenol, we all are greeted with hourly fussing sessions. On top of not wanting your little babe to be in pain- you will also begin to feel the effects of the restless nights.

We have also found it to be helpful if baby gets a nice warm bath followed by some lavender body lotion!

In addition to these treatments, it's important to give your little something they CAN chew on; chewable's that are not your fingers, their fingers, or other body parts.

There are many brands of teething wafers/biscuits. My intention was to try to make some home-made, but with everything else going on- I have not been able to find the time.  We've been quite happy with all of these brands & their many flavors; check them out HERE.

Now- preventing "nursing nips" is tough. Fortunately, my little one has only caught me two or three times (in total), and after hearing me screech in surprise and seeing the little twinge of pain look cross my face- she usually releases from nursing when she is done.
If you let your baby pacify on you, know you are not alone, but prepare yourself for the need to possible say "stop please", or tap your babes lips with a "no-no".

Another imporant thing to realize is that your child cannot actually BITE if they are actively nursing. When you see your child is no longer drinking, the best thing you can do to prevent bites/nips is to remove the child from your breast. IF you encounter a nursing nip, remove the child from the breast. This could be seen as "conditioned behavior". Once the child has been removed from the breast two or three times, they will understand that their biting causes them to lose access to the boo-ba. This has been incredibly helpful in our household. There is no need to smack your baby/child's mouth/hands, etc.

With all of this said- I send all teething mommy's & daddy's my love and compassion. We know your pain & can relate. Hang in there, little ones!








Disclaimer: All opinions recorded on this blog are strictly my own. I am not a medical professional & my advice should not replace that of your own or your child's medical professional. Always consult a doctor before trying anything new with your child! 

My experience: "Pregnancy Hypertension"

"Hypertension", "Preeclampsia"- These are very scary words to a pregnant woman. Especially a first timer who has been reading every horror story related to these issues posted across the vast space that is the internet.

Through my pregnancy it was a constant battle trying to maintain my blood pressure and ensure that it was a normal level at each of my appointments. I was adamant that I did not need to go to the cardiologist (that was a battle I eventually gave into). Though I did not develop pregnancy preeclampsia, I was classified as having pregnancy hypertension. ( Learn more about Preeclampsia.) 

I found that eating spinach, strawberry and banana smoothies with a splash of water and a splash of unsweetened almond milk did help me in the beginning. These fruits and veggies are evidenced to be great for your blood pressure. Ontop of my smoothie routine, I would listen to "spa" music on internet radio. It allowed me to almost force myself into a calm state before my bp check appointments throughout my pregnancy. I always made myself so nervous that my dear G.M.(boyfriend) was convinced my nerves were what was really causing my elevated readings. 

Although I am sure my nerves did impact my readings (albeit ever so slightly), I still went for my readings and every other appointment was told my pressure was higher than it should be. One week I was 120/78 and the next I was 148/90. I couldn't understand why I was fluctuating so much from week to week. So here I was, overweight to begin with- gaining the weight of pregnancy and fearing I would gain too much- while also knowing that my weight and family history were a huge factor in my elevated pressure readings. 

At about 30-32 weeks, I finally gave in and went to see the cardiologist. I was prescribed "Nifedipine", a.k.a "Procardia". Low dosage or not, I felt like an absolute failure for "allowing myself to have high blood pressure." So I took the medication daily and was routinely told it was pregnancy safe (which has thus far proven factual as my little LAMM is sheer perfection). 

I came to terms with taking the medication. It was what was right for my little nugget. I was happily monitoring my food intake and pressure daily (not as good or often as I could or should have) and making sure I only gained the suggested amount for my pre-pregnancy weight... 

At the end of the day, I was given magnesium once I was in labor at the hospital - the intent was to level my blood pressure during delivery as I had an abnormal spike in my 'every ten minute' BP readings. As annoyed as I was (the next reading normalized), I knew it was for my baby's and my own safety. 

Magnesium is not fun but is often necessary with hypertension and preeclampsia. To give an honest, yet quick, summary: I felt as if I was drunkly trying to focus. My eyes could not stop shaking. I was hot and found myself inhaling ice chips and the water remnants they left in the bottom of the cup. It was NOT a good experience--- BUT, I made it through! 

I was taken off of the magnesium on day 2 of my hospital stay. Blood work was sent out and once my panels came back clear of magnesium and my BP leveled out, my little family was permitted to leave less than 48 hours after delivery.

All of this said- if you are experiencing similar issues with your BP and your OBGYN suggests seeing a specialist- go (some OBGYN's will prescribe this medication on their own). You are not a failure and the most important thing in all of this is to make sure that little baby comes into this world safely. 

Hang in there!






Disclaimer: All opinions recorded on this blog are strictly my own. I am not a medical professional & my advice should not replace that of your own or your child's medical professional. Always consult a doctor before trying anything new with your child! 

Warning! Nursing Mamas Go Easy: Holiday Tummy Trouble

The holidays can wreak havoc on parents and babies alike.
This week, I have been working on my holiday goodie basket gifts & have sampled a few too many of the cookies I made. Find the recipe's here, BUT let your hubby, boyfriend or whoever else test them for you!!

Now- most nursing moms (myself included) know their child is essentially 'eating what I eat', so we try to make health conscious choices. I for one am a proponent for making my own lactation cookies, drinking almond milk and eating hummus and carrots as snacks. Mostly because I know all of these choices have been excellent for my body, for my baby's health and have helped with my lactation needs.

Nursing moms- heed the warning in this post's subject line and steer clear of taste testing each flavor of your cookies.

Now I will share with all of you my own personal trauma...

Despite knowing babies can be sensitive, I didn't think twice about scarfing down a few too many homemade peanut butter kiss cookies (flour-less) & cake batter cookies. The amount of egg, sugar and peanut butter consumed was enough to make even the strongest stomach sick. But truly, the thought that 'testing' the cookies would make my little one's tummy rumble didn't even cross my mind. That was until my little started grunting and groaning. This is usually a tell tale sign that something is causing baby some trouble.

I thought that maybe I consumed too much sugar and felt like absolute crap! "How could I do this to my baby", "I'm so selfish!", "I did not need those cookies!" were all things I yelled at my internal self. If you have this internal conflict with yourself, know that it's normal. We all have done it and will do it on many more occasions as our babies grow. Embrace and accept it! ;)

So after a few wet diapers, few being only a bit dirty with liquid- mucous like doodie- I noticed my little one was still grunting and straining while trying to pass a #2. Her behavior remained the same; happy, smiling & having fun while we played with her.

On a trip to run some errands, it came time to change my little's diaper. When changing her- I noticed a little bit of blood in her poo.

If this happens to your little: CALL YOUR PEDIATRICIAN! Change the baby's diaper, avoid irritating the bottom with wipes or prodding. In the event it is outside of your ped's office hours- continue to call & leave a message. Go to the E.R. if your little one is showing signs of illness, ex: fever, vomitting, lethargy or won't eat.
If the amount of blood is excessive and not just a few little spots: GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. Large amounts of blood could be indicative of something much more concerning than the following.

Now- as there were only speckles (not lessening the concern we all have), I called my daughter's pediatrician. I was told the following scenario's can cause speckles/ small amounts of blood in baby's stool:
    - Nursing mother has consumed too much dairy, egg or nut product
    - Crack or damage to nursing mother's nipple, leading baby to consume small amount of blood
    - Small tear on baby's anus. * My pediatrician advised to just ensure there was no visible abrasions on or near baby's sensitive area.

Once we ruled out any damage to mine or my little one's body- it was pretty clear that my issue was my over-consumption of the holiday cookies.

Take this as a lesson learned for Tiffany...I will not be doing this again.










Disclaimer: All opinions recorded on this blog are strictly my own. I am not a medical professional & my advice should not replace that of your own or your child's medical professional. Always consult a doctor before trying anything new with your child!