Baby VS Car Seat

Wait, I thought all babies LOVED car seats. Why is she screaming!?

At first, the car seat was fine. We'd put her in, get where we needed to go, simple as that. However, as Bug got older, suddenly a five minute trip in the car became a wheel gripping nightmare! After a minute in the car seat she would start screaming bloody murder. It was pure torture. Everyone else's kid passes out in the car and sleeps peacefully. Why is mine flipping shit?

We checked to make sure the belts weren't too tight and that there wasn't anything in the seat poking at her. All good. There didn't appear to be any physical rationale for why she was freaking out. I started to notice that she was actively trying to get the buckle in her mouth. And when she couldn't- all hell would break loose. So... I started making sure she had a full belly before getting in the car and I began looping a burp cloth over the buckle so at least she could stuff that in her mouth instead. (Bug was around 2 months when this nonsense started).

These two things worked about 50% of the time, but we were still having trouble. My husband and I practically has PTSD when it came to getting in the car with her! The next solution was one of my husband's finding. (Again, sometimes Google is good for something!) Someone recommended soothing music to help calm the baby while she's in the car. He picked up a Disney Lullaby CD at his library. It was perfect. It really made a difference in our car rides. (In fact, I found that ever since then singing Baby Mine is very soothing for her). 

The #1 fix for the car seat drama? A new car seat. Bug was still in her infant carrier which was supposed to be good up to 25 pounds. Well, she wasn't anywhere near 25 pounds but she was very tall (95th percentile) and along with that... kinda weighty. She wasn't a total porker, but toting that infant carrier was becoming a chore. My husband read on a discussion board that going from the infant carrier to the convertible car seat (even though it was a little soon) helped so we headed out and bought what my dad refers to as "The Cadillac of car seats"

Sure enough, it was the final piece to our car seat solution. This car seat was SO much more comfortable than her infant carrier, it was roomy, plush and attractive. Since trading up, we haven't had a car seat melt down since. Sure, she'll still get a little fussy here and there if she's having a cranky day but there's no crying!

Oh Boobie Milk, Wherefore Art Thou, Boobie Milk?

Before having Bug I never imagined I'd have a problem keeping the ole milk truck pumping. Low milk supply? How can any woman have a low milk supply? Well, shit happens. Here's how it seems to have happened for me...

I wasn't eating enough, drinking enough, or sleeping enough and I was extremely stressed out. I half thought my husband was going to have to have me sent to the booby hatch! Although, he might have joined me. As a result, my milk supply tanked and I didn't even realize it. All I knew was now Bug was screaming like crazy if I dared put her down after what I thought was a marathon feed. Can't put baby down... can't eat! Can't eat... get crazy... both of those contribute to "Milk Truck" (our nickname for me) running dry. A horrid cycle."

This problem occurred early on- before she was a month old. At one of her early well checks the nurse practitioner said, "The baby looks great- you look like hell!" She suggested we supplement some feedings with formula. I was reluctant, thinking I was failing her as a mother. I had my heart set on exclusively breastfeeding. Breast is best!!! Breast is best!!!

Let me tell you something. Breast may be best, but "crazy lunatic bitch" doesn't help ANYBODY, least of all- the baby. So started to supplement with a *little* bit of formula. We had to mix it with pumped breast milk. This gave my hooters a break and my body a chance to catch back up. I also had to force myself to eat more. With the supplementing, it also allowed my husband to do one feeding a night.

Finding the right formula was also a nightmare. For one, babies hate the taste of formula. Secondly, one of Bug's doctors erroneously thought she was allergic to dairy (which made the possibility of a dairy based formula problematic). Ultimately, we went with Similac Advance. To start we had to mix with breast milk and my husband had to be the one to give it to her as she wouldn't take it from me!

A word of caution on supplementing though- if you want to keep that boobie milk flowing, don't allow yourself to slide into supplementing with breast milk instead of the formula! This became an issue with us much later, after my supply rebounded. It was just easier to give her formula once she would take it when we were out in public- or during the night. (Husband started to take over all the night feeds). The more formula you give, the less milk you're going to produce. So just be careful. We're at 6 months and one week and I'm clinging to the last few drops of breast milk and I'm down to producing it from only one boob!!

Here are a few things I did to help bolster the supply:

• Almond Milk. For some reason, it really helped with the supply. I took it in my cereal and had on average, three bowls of cereal a day. I would notice a significant drop if I went a day without it. Yes, it's pricey but it's worth every penny. 
• Eat More. Try to make them worthy calories. This was tough for me because I was thrilled to finally lose weight.
• Oatmeal- They say to make sure it's the "good stuff" not the packaged oatmeal. I found both styles worked well but I'd often mix the two. 
• Hydrate!
• Relax. Ha! I've got all this going on and you tell me to relax!!? I know. But try. 
• Offer the breast often. Like I said, don't become too reliant on formula or solids. 

Hopefully this helps. Stay tuned for the post on nursing strikes!!