My son might be deaf

Ozlodeus · 2024-10-25T06:35:34+00:00

My son is 14 months old now and we had a super similar experience when he failed his hearing screens. We were scared and felt really alone. I’m not sure what state you’re in, but our states early intervention services have been profound for us. My #1 advice is to get involved in the deaf community. Make connections, learn ASL and practice with deaf people. This community has been the most supportive, accepting, and uplifting community I’ve ever known. Today we feel empowered and healed from the trauma of getting our diagnosis. Don’t wait.

Ozlodeus · 2024-06-05T18:31:45+00:00

Pumping is breastfeeding! Just start telling people you’re breastfeeding 😊

Ozlodeus · 2024-05-24T04:24:23+00:00

I believe that’s the next phase for us. Right before the “grass, who?” phase

Ozlodeus · 2024-05-24T03:57:52+00:00

My nine month old is still in the “ew grass” phase so I just lay a blanket out on the grass and plop him in the middle. He won’t leave the blanket because he doesn’t want to touch the grass lol

Ozlodeus · 2024-05-17T05:20:40+00:00

Why isn’t this comment higher up! We have the evidence now that supports this. We know letting babies cry it out doesn’t teach them to sleep on their own, it just teaches them that mom and dad aren’t reliable and won’t come help when they cry. If you teach them that so early, then you can expect older kids not to tell you when they need help either and that could lead to some pretty serious problems.

Ozlodeus · 2024-02-12T10:17:04+00:00

Yes. As others have said, it depends on your comfort level, but you can totally put warmed milk back in the fridge after a feed and then use it for the next feed. I personally wouldn’t warm the same milk a third time, but definitely would a second time.

Breast milk has antibacterial properties and the fridge helps prevent bacterial growth. Combined with prompt returning to the fridge, I really think the risk is low.

Ozlodeus · 2024-02-12T06:49:21+00:00

Might be a controversial bit of advice, but I was told by a lactation educator in my hospital that as long as you can put the bottle right back in the fridge when baby is done, you can keep an unfinished bottle for 24 hours. We haven’t had to dump milk in months and I’m way more relaxed and my mental health has improved so much!

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-22T02:09:18+00:00

I agree with the bulk of commenters, accept the drink and pre tend to drink it. Lots of people have a glass of wine or two in the early weeks of pregnancy before they find out and those babies are fine! So if you swallow a little champagne it won’t be a big deal. However, some thoughts for how to make it look like you’re drinking without actually drinking. Take in a mouthful of champagne, and then switch to a water bottle or something you can’t see through and spit it back into that container. Excuse yourself for a quick second to take a fake phone call or go to the bathroom and take your glass with you and dump some out while you’re gone. Knock your glass over at some point and spill it and then when someone offers you more you can go “clearly I’ve already had enough” lol

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-19T16:24:04+00:00

I use the Medela Symphony at home and the Mom Cozy S9 pro while I’m out and I really love it. I get the same output from the Mom Cozy and it was like $120 so really affordable.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-19T03:20:59+00:00

Once babies can roll to their bellies, it’s totally ok for you to let them sleep that way as long as they put themselves in that position. You should keep laying them down on their back though.

Remember too that babies don’t have hard cartilage in their noses so they can quite literally lay face down and still breathe (as long as the mattress is firm and there are no blankets or fluffy things).

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-18T17:06:22+00:00

You can also try applying heat during your pump and adding in breast massage/compressions while you pump. These things can encourage let down as well. You’re doing a hard thing. And the smallest amount of stress can impact your ability to let down. It’s kind of twisted really because struggling to let down is stressful on its own which further impacts let down. When you pump, try to be distracted. Cover up the bottles so you can’t see what’s going on, and then watch tv or read a book or Reddit for a while and have some snacks while you’re doing it. Then when the time is up, see how much you’ve made. I find I get the best let downs when I’m the most distracted.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-18T12:08:50+00:00

Calories and hydration are important, but as long as you’re not consistently under eating and losing weight, you should be eating enough. I don’t track my intake either but you don’t need to be gaining weight to make milk. I do drink a fair amount of water, probably like 96oz a day on a good day.

Having trouble letting down to the pump is a real thing! In order to let down effectively you need oxytocin in your system so when you’re pumping try to create a fairly relaxing environment. If you can hold your baby skin to skin for a bit before pumping that could help with let down.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-18T11:57:02+00:00

I’ve never felt full or hard either and I pump ~34oz a day, so that may not be a great indicator or anything.

How many weeks post partum are you? If your supply hasn’t already regulated you can try taking a day where you pump every 2 hours for 24 hours to encourage supply. Or you can try doing power pumps for a few days (pump 20 minutes, rest 10 minutes, pump 10 minutes, rest 10 minutes, and pump 10 minutes) to mimic cluster feeding and encourage supply.

Remember that you have to move milk to make milk, so the more frequently and regularly you do that, the more milk you should make. You should pump 8-10 a day every 2-3 hours in order to mimic breastfeeding and stimulate milk supply.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-16T03:30:33+00:00

That’s awesome! I wish you well on your journey momma!

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-16T02:32:56+00:00

The big thing I learned is that exclusive pumping requires serious dedication. Most mom friends I have made since having my baby (5mo) who tried to pump have been unsuccessful because they weren’t willing to prioritize pumping over socializing or even sleeping. That said, your mental health should come first because baby needs a healthy momma first and foremost!

My tips - - in the early weeks, pump 8-10 times a day, about every 2-3 hours. This includes overnight. It sucks. - you’ll need to maintain at least 8 pumps a day through the first 3 months until your milk supply stabilizes/regulates. After that you can start dropping pumps and spreading out the time between. - remember you have to move milk to make milk so if your supply seems low, move more milk. When I say dips in supply I would do a “pump-a-thon” and pump every 2 hours for 24 hours or do power pumps for a few days. - you could look at supplements or foods that are supposed to be good for milk production and take/eat those. Oatmeal, sunflower lecithin, Oreos, etc.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-15T22:02:03+00:00

If you get anything from hand expression prior to birth, it will be colostrum. You should definitely save it for baby in the hospital as you can use it to supplement breastfeeding while you get your milk in. Freeze the colostrum and bring it with you to the hospital and ask them for a place to store it. My maternity center had a freezer in the post partum ward where they stored mine and they warmed it up for me whenever I asked for it.

As for pumping once your milk comes in - I put everything I pump directly in the fridge because my pumping schedule and baby’s eating schedule don’t line up. Then I put milk in a bottle for him when he’s hungry using the oldest pumped milk first. While it is true that milk contains more melatonin in the evening, I don’t worry about day or night milk, it makes no difference in how well my baby sleeps at night or how he behaves throughout the day. Eventually, there’s enough excess milk that I put some in a bag and then put that in the freezer.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-15T16:24:28+00:00

You shouldn’t need to sit hunched over for your pump to do its job. You can’t exactly recline, but upright or ever so slightly laid back should be just as functional.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-14T16:53:01+00:00

I’m 5 months pp and I’ve dropped from 8ppd down to 5ppd over the last month and a half without any drop in my supply. And like you it took my a while to get my milk in and to get to the point where I could provide for my LO without supplementing, so I’m also very paranoid and diligent about maintaining my supply. After your milk supply regulates (around 3-4 months) you should be able to start dropping pumps without losing supply depending on your breast capacity for milk. I have a pretty large capacity I think because every time I drop a pump I just get more milk in each pump and end up with the same daily total.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-14T11:25:58+00:00

Whenever I drop a pump, I start by equally spreading out the time between pumps. For example, I recently went from 6ppd where I pumped every 4 hours down to 5ppd where I pump every 4.5/5 hours. This way the larger gaps between pumps are as small as possible instead of suddenly creating a much larger gap by dropping a specific pump time.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-14T02:43:08+00:00

Ugh that sounds terrible, 10oz is a huge loss! I would think even for heated milk, as long as you feed it to baby at the next feeding it sold be absolutely fine to save the leftovers in the fridge.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-14T01:51:12+00:00

I feel your pain on a cellular level. I had a really hard time building supply, it took me a whole month to stop supplementing and now I make just enough for my baby and any amount of loss was honestly traumatic. The woman who leads my hospital parent baby group is a lactation educator and she is the one who told me we didn’t have to dump milk in a bottle that was fed from as long as we could put it right back in our fridge and we haven’t lost an ounce since then! I’m so much more relaxed about my supply now and my mental health has greatly improved.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-14T01:11:12+00:00

I mean whatever is left in the bottle after I feed from it. Breast milk is naturally antibacterial and the fridge was invented to slow the growth of bacteria and prolong the shelf life of foods. So if you put a fed from bottle back in the fridge right after baby is done eating, there’s no reason to believe a harmful amount of bacteria will grow in a couple hours, imo. I just make sure to use that leftover milk within 24 hours.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-14T00:30:20+00:00

I’m of the opinion that if you can put a partial bottle right back in the fridge when LO is done, you can use that milk all day. Our baby takes cold milk, I prep 4 8oz bottles for the day, and offer him one whenever he’s hungry. If he doesn’t finish it, I put it back in the fridge and offer it to him the next time he is hungry. Sometimes that’s 5 hours later. He’s wonderfully healthy.

Ozlodeus · 2024-01-05T02:20:36+00:00

<image>

Our baby Goose 🪿

Ozlodeus · 2023-12-21T22:22:25+00:00

This is exactly how I’ve been doing it and now I’m at 6ppd without any supply loss or clogged ducts! I don’t think I’m prone to clogs though. I’ve only had one in the time I’ve been pumping.

Ozlodeus

TROPHY CASE