Hunter, Uncategorized HUNTER: WEEK 4 NOTES 22 February 2011


Our lil Aussie!

Week 4 notes

  1. 5KG weight (90th percentile)
  2. 57cm length (95th percentile)
  3. can “coo” and “ahhhh”
  4. discovered fingers
  5. can lift and turn his head
  6. established feeding, finally!

Hunter had his first pediatrician’s appointment this week, at 4 weeks old. All went well, and he’s developing at a steady rate. A bit on the high end though – he now weighs 5KG which places him at the 90th percentile (!) and is a l-o-n-g 57cm, at the 95th percentile (!!!!!!). Cripes. He’s outgrown almost all his 0-3 month baby clothes now, so we have to start buying 3-6 month old clothes…… and he’s only 1 month old :X But he doesn’t appear to be overweight so I suppose all’s fine.

This week, he clearly “coos” and “ahhhhs!”, which is indescribably adorable to witness.. and smiles when you interact with him. It makes it all worth it and so rewarding! I never realised how amazing it is to hear baby noises before I was pregnant, and now everything he spouts out delights me to no end. What a crazy mother I have become πŸ˜›

Hunter’s also realised he has fingers, LOL. He waves his hands around and looks at them, and then stuffs his fingers in his mouth. And when he does “tummy time”, he can lift and turn his head from one side to another. It requires a great deal of grunting and effort for him, but he can do it a couple of times in a row whilst on his tummy. Cute!

And finally….. breastfeeding. Yep, writing about it, again! I totally envy women that just whack their baby on the breast and away they go. I thought this was the norm, and I’ve since realised breastfeeding is difficult. Really, really difficult. My Hyperlactation is COMPLETELY INSANE. It’s kicked into even higher gear this week and I practically BLOW HUNTER ACROSS THE ROOM when he tries to feed, due to the force of my let-down. I keep trying each day, and it’s the same – the force of the milk makes him choke and splutter, not to mention milk actually PROJECTILE SPRAYS OUT. Plus, I drip almost constantly and am just one big sack of milk, basically. It’s unbelievable. Where does all this milk come from?!!?

I now Pump/express most of the time and then feed him from a bottle. Now, I pump out almost 300ml (10oz) of milk, per session!! In around 10 minutes! Gah! The difference between straight breastfeeding and pumping milk is remarkable – he’s a lot less gassy and fussy and I can still breastfeed if it’s soon after a pumping session (so there’s less milk as it’s already been pumped out). But now, I keep having to pump every few hours, otherwise I get extremely irritable because of all the discomfort and full-ness. I’ve been boring Chris and my parents to tears with my constant whining from the full-ness (it hurts!), but there’s no real ‘cure’ for milk over-supply πŸ™ I’m at my wits end because it’s always MILK MILK MILK, all the time, everywhere! And all I can do is hope and pray that soon, the over-supply dies down and my milk evens out.. because I can’t really deal with this. I even dream about milk every single night – with the most common dream being me swimming in a swimming pool filled with milk. ARGH!

He turns 1 month old on Friday the 25th! We’re going out for a nice lunch to celebrate πŸ™‚


Little snow angel, about to head out for his first doctor’s appointment

At the doctors

Big cuddles after his injection

Lifting and turning his head during ‘tummy time’

He gets fascinated with just about everything in the house!
Here he is amazed at an ornament Chris bought whilst visiting his Dad in India.


Let’s Chat!




Let's Chat!

You poor thing! (re: over supply) I’ve been bf for 5 months now and I encountered all the probs that exist-undersupply, then oversupply, blocked ducts, mastitis, bleeding and blisters :/
I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it all got better at the 3 month mark and I don’t even think twice about breastfeeding now (whereas I used to dread him waking up for a feed bc of the pain). I thought I was a lost cause, but apparently not. It *will* get better, hang in there πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

Yeoowch ! Sorry to hear you had to deal with all that :X But very ad it’s all ok for you now πŸ™‚ I can’t WAIT for me to all even out…. arghhh

You poor thing! (re: over supply) I’ve been bf for 5 months now and I encountered all the probs that exist-undersupply, then oversupply, blocked ducts, mastitis, bleeding and blisters :/
I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it all got better at the 3 month mark and I don’t even think twice about breastfeeding now (whereas I used to dread him waking up for a feed bc of the pain). I thought I was a lost cause, but apparently not. It *will* get better, hang in there πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

Yeoowch ! Sorry to hear you had to deal with all that :X But very ad it’s all ok for you now πŸ™‚ I can’t WAIT for me to all even out…. arghhh

You’re so open about your breastfeeding experience. That’s so nice! Can learn so much from you! Sorry about your hyperlactation, but I do think you lose more weight faster like that??? – silver lining behind the cloud?

Anyway, your dream made me LOL!!!!! SOooooo funny!!!!!!

BTW, are you Singaporean / Australian by birth?? Where do yr parents live? Heard you’re going back to Singapore in May. We too!!! I don’t know how open you are to meet strangers, but would be cool if we could meet for coffee or something! Don’t feel bad to turn this invitation down if you’re not comfortable. I just thought I’d ask, since we’re going to be in Singapore at the same time. πŸ™‚

I coudl go into MORE detail but I thought I’d spare people that don’t care about babies the gory details.. hehe.. I think you’re right though, weight loss is faster cos I have 2 kg left to go now, yay!

I am Singaporean, just lived in Australia for almost half my life. Chris is Aussie though, and my parents live back in SG now. We’ll be there end of May – would love to do a double date with you if you’re there at the same time!

Hey Bev!
Cool beans!! I was already thinking that I’m too straight-forward to have just asked like that. But oh well, we meet so many different people in Germany all the time, would be great to meet you three in Singapore! When exactly will you be back in Singapore? We’ll be back from mid-May to first week of June. πŸ™‚

Not at all, I love meeting up with online friends! We’ll be there right around that time too.. what a coincidence. Email me or msg me on Facebook? We can sync up πŸ™‚

You’re so open about your breastfeeding experience. That’s so nice! Can learn so much from you! Sorry about your hyperlactation, but I do think you lose more weight faster like that??? – silver lining behind the cloud?

Anyway, your dream made me LOL!!!!! SOooooo funny!!!!!!

BTW, are you Singaporean / Australian by birth?? Where do yr parents live? Heard you’re going back to Singapore in May. We too!!! I don’t know how open you are to meet strangers, but would be cool if we could meet for coffee or something! Don’t feel bad to turn this invitation down if you’re not comfortable. I just thought I’d ask, since we’re going to be in Singapore at the same time. πŸ™‚

I coudl go into MORE detail but I thought I’d spare people that don’t care about babies the gory details.. hehe.. I think you’re right though, weight loss is faster cos I have 2 kg left to go now, yay!

I am Singaporean, just lived in Australia for almost half my life. Chris is Aussie though, and my parents live back in SG now. We’ll be there end of May – would love to do a double date with you if you’re there at the same time!

Hey Bev!
Cool beans!! I was already thinking that I’m too straight-forward to have just asked like that. But oh well, we meet so many different people in Germany all the time, would be great to meet you three in Singapore! When exactly will you be back in Singapore? We’ll be back from mid-May to first week of June. πŸ™‚

Not at all, I love meeting up with online friends! We’ll be there right around that time too.. what a coincidence. Email me or msg me on Facebook? We can sync up πŸ™‚

Re breastfeeding being difficult, I second that!!

Even tho I am not shooting like a fountain like you, Clover is quite a daintly little drinker. She chokes when my boobs are too full. I’ve taken to nursing her lying on my side or back just to slow the flow.

Hello babe,

Donno if this will work but you might wanna try. Try feeding him when you are lying on your back, as there isn’t gravitational force at work, the milk won’t rush out. I’ve had this problem before when I had my first child. Problem reduced when the milk supply got more regulated πŸ™‚

I tried reclining backwards cos lying on my back and feeding him is soo difficult, reckon just reclining will work? He still chokes a bit though, and it’s still really painful, eek! How long til your supply regulated? I’m on 4 weeks and counting πŸ™

Ya try semi reclined position to bf him. My production isn’t as much but letdown is v forceful n she wld cough n splutter from e milk. But lying back is much better.

Also, try nipple shields?

I think I took about 1 month to regulate the supply by latching as much as I can. The body will listen to the signals sent out by you πŸ™‚

Come to think of it, life was so tough then. Had to change the breast pads often and get ready a towel to soak up the extra milk…. But keep it up! You r doing a wonderful job!

Aww I’m already at the one month mark (as of tomorrow!) and i find the pain is a lot less, but my forceful letdown still chokes him about 2-3 times per feeding :(!
Heh it’s quite gross – I use a towel too to soak to extra milk coming from the other boob.. and it soaks right through, so freaky

Breastfeeding can be so difficult in the beginning! Hopefully your supply will start to regulate soon, but you’re right that pumping all the time can sometimes make things worse. Have you tried just hand-expressing at the start of a feed until the flows slows down a bit and then putting him on? I had to do this due to strong letdown for the first while. The good thing about this is that if he can handle the flow after initial letdown, his feeding pattern will help your body to regulate production to what he needs.

I reallyyy hope i’ll regulate soon, it’s been 4 weeks and still no sign of the pain or oversupply fixing itself though πŸ™ I think I’m just unlucky! Hand-expressing then BF does work, but it’s still super painful from his crazy suck, eek!

I think it started to settle for me after 6 weeks and that seems pretty standard from what I hear, so hopefully you won’t have long to go!

I don’t mind the ‘too much’ part, if it wasn’t so insanely painful!! I would’ve thought the pain/tenderness would have subsided by 4 weeks, but nope πŸ™ Hope you’re faring much better…

300ml per session is a lot! A good friend told me recently to let the milk run (or express it out) till it stops flowing before I start feeding the baby. It took me a while to overcome the worry of “wasting” good milk, but it was a piece of good advice. My baby boy can latch on and drink comfortably. As I do not express my milk actively, my body has sort of adjusted to my boy’s need. Now I am leaking less and not feeling so full all the time. Try expressing just enough milk for Hunter (and for you not to feel full), maybe your body will not be producing so much milk after a while. Good luck!

I did try to throw out the milk at the start before feeding him, but my nipples are still superrrr sore from his voracious suck so I find expressing into a bottle easier! I still breastfeed from time to time but I don’t think I can do it full time cos it’ hurts so much, even after 4 weeks.. arghhh

I had the same with my second child. He was huge and by body made more milk than he needed. I don’t know what arrangements are like where you are, but I live in England and my local hospital had a collection that would come once a week to pick up milk to take to the special care unit in the city. So I would pump out everything extra and freeze it over a week, then drop it off at the maternity unit ready for pick up. Special care babies really benefit from breast milk over formula if their mums can’t feed them. And don’t worry, you will eventually ease into a manageable supply. Just think of it as easy weight loss in the meantime!

Your son sounds like Hunter! We don’t have the collection thing though.. and I’m so afraid of pumping extra (I try to ‘ride it out’ and pump less) in case my body goes into overdrive and produces even MORE milk, eek!

Yeah, the Aussie one was easy to get so he’s got that first!
Ooo I hope that’s true about curious babies.. I suppose time will tell πŸ˜‰

Oh my gosh, your dream made me laugh out loud! I had no idea breastfeeding could involve so much pressure or so much milk production. I work in a pharmacy and 300mL seems like a lot! That’s more than some of the stock bottles that we use for dispensing medications (usually 240mL).

Jessica

I didn’t either! Official websites don’t really go into gory detail and people don’t really blog about it I think.. so it was all new for me

too much or too little of anything ain’t good eh? but you had me in chuckles when you wrote abt your dream! LOL

Are you freezing your oversupply? Hang in there, in a month’s time, the engorgement is going to be less and the supply is going to drop to match Hunter’s demand. However, I now worry about the decrease as the buffer reduces.

Yeah I’ve got some frozen but trying reaaally hard not to pump too frequently or I might produce even MORE milk! I really hope it all calms down very soon.. it’s driving me a bit mad :X

MOre pics of lil Alexis please!!

Re breastfeeding being difficult, I second that!!

Even tho I am not shooting like a fountain like you, Clover is quite a daintly little drinker. She chokes when my boobs are too full. I’ve taken to nursing her lying on my side or back just to slow the flow.

Hello babe,

Donno if this will work but you might wanna try. Try feeding him when you are lying on your back, as there isn’t gravitational force at work, the milk won’t rush out. I’ve had this problem before when I had my first child. Problem reduced when the milk supply got more regulated πŸ™‚

I tried reclining backwards cos lying on my back and feeding him is soo difficult, reckon just reclining will work? He still chokes a bit though, and it’s still really painful, eek! How long til your supply regulated? I’m on 4 weeks and counting πŸ™

Ya try semi reclined position to bf him. My production isn’t as much but letdown is v forceful n she wld cough n splutter from e milk. But lying back is much better.

Also, try nipple shields?

I think I took about 1 month to regulate the supply by latching as much as I can. The body will listen to the signals sent out by you πŸ™‚

Come to think of it, life was so tough then. Had to change the breast pads often and get ready a towel to soak up the extra milk…. But keep it up! You r doing a wonderful job!

Aww I’m already at the one month mark (as of tomorrow!) and i find the pain is a lot less, but my forceful letdown still chokes him about 2-3 times per feeding :(!
Heh it’s quite gross – I use a towel too to soak to extra milk coming from the other boob.. and it soaks right through, so freaky

Breastfeeding can be so difficult in the beginning! Hopefully your supply will start to regulate soon, but you’re right that pumping all the time can sometimes make things worse. Have you tried just hand-expressing at the start of a feed until the flows slows down a bit and then putting him on? I had to do this due to strong letdown for the first while. The good thing about this is that if he can handle the flow after initial letdown, his feeding pattern will help your body to regulate production to what he needs.

I reallyyy hope i’ll regulate soon, it’s been 4 weeks and still no sign of the pain or oversupply fixing itself though πŸ™ I think I’m just unlucky! Hand-expressing then BF does work, but it’s still super painful from his crazy suck, eek!

I think it started to settle for me after 6 weeks and that seems pretty standard from what I hear, so hopefully you won’t have long to go!

I don’t mind the ‘too much’ part, if it wasn’t so insanely painful!! I would’ve thought the pain/tenderness would have subsided by 4 weeks, but nope πŸ™ Hope you’re faring much better…

300ml per session is a lot! A good friend told me recently to let the milk run (or express it out) till it stops flowing before I start feeding the baby. It took me a while to overcome the worry of “wasting” good milk, but it was a piece of good advice. My baby boy can latch on and drink comfortably. As I do not express my milk actively, my body has sort of adjusted to my boy’s need. Now I am leaking less and not feeling so full all the time. Try expressing just enough milk for Hunter (and for you not to feel full), maybe your body will not be producing so much milk after a while. Good luck!

I did try to throw out the milk at the start before feeding him, but my nipples are still superrrr sore from his voracious suck so I find expressing into a bottle easier! I still breastfeed from time to time but I don’t think I can do it full time cos it’ hurts so much, even after 4 weeks.. arghhh

I had the same with my second child. He was huge and by body made more milk than he needed. I don’t know what arrangements are like where you are, but I live in England and my local hospital had a collection that would come once a week to pick up milk to take to the special care unit in the city. So I would pump out everything extra and freeze it over a week, then drop it off at the maternity unit ready for pick up. Special care babies really benefit from breast milk over formula if their mums can’t feed them. And don’t worry, you will eventually ease into a manageable supply. Just think of it as easy weight loss in the meantime!

Your son sounds like Hunter! We don’t have the collection thing though.. and I’m so afraid of pumping extra (I try to ‘ride it out’ and pump less) in case my body goes into overdrive and produces even MORE milk, eek!

Yeah, the Aussie one was easy to get so he’s got that first!
Ooo I hope that’s true about curious babies.. I suppose time will tell πŸ˜‰

Oh my gosh, your dream made me laugh out loud! I had no idea breastfeeding could involve so much pressure or so much milk production. I work in a pharmacy and 300mL seems like a lot! That’s more than some of the stock bottles that we use for dispensing medications (usually 240mL).

Jessica

I didn’t either! Official websites don’t really go into gory detail and people don’t really blog about it I think.. so it was all new for me

too much or too little of anything ain’t good eh? but you had me in chuckles when you wrote abt your dream! LOL

Are you freezing your oversupply? Hang in there, in a month’s time, the engorgement is going to be less and the supply is going to drop to match Hunter’s demand. However, I now worry about the decrease as the buffer reduces.

Yeah I’ve got some frozen but trying reaaally hard not to pump too frequently or I might produce even MORE milk! I really hope it all calms down very soon.. it’s driving me a bit mad :X

MOre pics of lil Alexis please!!