Got Oats?

This post is about breastfeeding. If that doesn't interest you then don't read any further.

When Calvin was born, I was determined to nurse him and was getting frustrated when my milk supply didn't seem adequate enough for him. When he was about 6 weeks old, I had come to a crossroad where I had to either give up nursing or buy a double electric pump and see if I could build my supply up. I chose to buy the pump and I did a TON of pumping which let me nurse him for about 9 months. It was really time-consuming, but I had the time and I wanted to do it for him. I always worried, though, that I wouldn't have the time when I had more children and would have the same problem with my supply.

When Levi was born, I seemed to be doing okay nursing and I thought that maybe I wouldn't have the same problem. Then he started to want to nurse ALL the time and I felt like nothing was coming out. I didn't know if it was just a growth spurt or if my supply had really taken a dip. I started to do some reading online and saw that while it is not scientifically proven, many women claimed they could tell a difference in their supply if they had eaten oats that day. I did some reflecting and realized that I was the same way. On the days I didn't have oatmeal for breakfast I struggled a little more nursing. So now I try to get oats in some form or another every day and I haven't really had any problems with my supply since. Trevor prefers I just make oatmeal cookies-- can't understand why. :0) I don't think this method works for everyone, but it certainly has worked for me so far!

(As a side note, we've since made oatmeal a lot for breakfast using steel-cut oats and the America's Test Kitchen recipe and it is so good! It tastes like oatmeal, but it has a nutty texture.)

One more thing... Please believe me when I say I don't think less of anyone if they give their kids formula. I just really wanted to nurse because it is better for babies (and cheaper), which is probably one of the very few things not controversial in modern medicine.

Levi's Birth Story

My water broke around 5:45 am Sunday, March 7th. Trevor and I were so happy that it happened after we had gotten a good night's rest and Calvin happened to wake up at 6:00 am that morning as well (he usually gets up at 7). I called my midwife and she told me to go to the hospital immediately because I needed to get a penicillin IV. I tested positive for Group B Strep and have a history of fast labors, and the penicillin has to be running through the body at least 4 hours before delivery, otherwise they have to test the baby to make sure he is okay. I must say this really was an answer to my prayers having my water break. I was so worried about knowing when to go to the hospital. I knew I needed to get there soon enough to have an IV for 4 hours, but didn't want to be sent home because it was too early or was false labor (especially after sending Calvin to stay with someone else).
We dropped Calvin off at a friend's house in our ward which was conveniently along the way to the hospital. After waiting for a while (honestly, why did we rush to the hospital?) they put my IV in around 7:30 am. I wasn't having contractions yet, which was fine with me, so Trevor and I just hung out at the hospital. Around 10:30 am, the nurse gave me permission to start walking to get contractions going. Trevor and I did about 10 laps around the labor/delivery floor of the hospital in addition to squats, rocking back and forth, and rocking/sitting on a birthing ball. That certainly got my contractions moving along!

I was handling the contractions fine until around 2:00 pm or so and then they were starting to get more painful. My midwife, Olga, stayed with me from then on to help me through every contraction. I was so grateful to her (and Trevor) and all the tips she gave me to work through the contractions. I honestly don't know how I did it by myself when Calvin was born. I must have had angel midwives massaging me or something. Anyway, with a hot shower, massages, and Olga helping me work through the contractions, I was able to go through labor without pain medication. I was also progressing really fast by the end and by the time I wanted an epidural, I just felt like getting Levi out as soon as possible and not having anything slow it down. I started pushing at 4 pm and he was born at 4:20! It was a great experience (besides all the pain) and I'm so happy I decided to go with a midwife.

I must clarify that I'm not against using pain medication. For me, my labors are so fast that I don't feel it's necessary. I also think I have a high pain tolerance--it might be due to all those stomach aches I had when I was younger. I've learned to deal with pain in my abdomen.

We chose the name Levi because, well, we liked the name. Levi's middle name, William, is named after William Morley Black (Lindsay's ancestor) who joined the church in 1849 when he stopped in Salt Lake City on his way to the California gold rush. He ended up staying in Utah after being baptized and never made it to California. Ironically enough, he was baptized by a man named Levi. Pretty cool, huh, for not even planning that!

Now all I need to talk about is the ridiculous cost of an uncomplicated, vaginal delivery at this hospital. I'll have to do that in another post later on...

More pictures of our family

Trevor and Calvin at church.



Cute little Levi


My boys!



Levi trying to get on Calvin's shoulders.  This was as close as he got.  :0)












Calvin and Daddy had fun building a fort in our family room and then a ramp for Calvin's ball to go down.



Levi's first bath



2 weeks old!












Another fort picture, but blogger is being weird so I couldn't get the pics in the right order.


Coming home from the hospital!

Levi photo montage!

Lindsay will convey her birthing experience in a future post. For now, here's a bunch of pictures we like!

Calvin and Lindsay made sugar cookies for fun a couple weeks ago.

We bought a twin bed (for $20 bucks!) for visitors. One day Calvin wouldn't take a nap in his crib so we laid him down on the bed and he fell asleep and slept there for three hours!

Already filling daddy's shoes!

Lindsay looking stoic on a birthing ball.

Levi and Lindsay :)

What a cutie!

Daddy reassured that he makes cute babies.

So cute!

Calvin really wanted to hold Levi.

Trevor loves his two boys!

If he keeps this up we'll have an easy time :)

Past Due...

Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised I went past my due date.  I was secretly wishing this pregnancy was going to be different than Calvin's and that I would go early or at least "on time."  Alas, I think my body is a "perfectionist" and wants to make sure everything is completely developed before handing my son over to me.  I realize that's a good thing.  I know there are much worse things than going over your due date and I don't mean to complain.  My hormones are out of whack and it just makes everything seem worse than it is.

Calvin is rapidly turning into a 'toddler' and no longer a 'baby.'  His vocabulary is exploding and while I still can't understand most of his (cute) gibberish, I'm amazed at how much better we have gotten at communicating, which makes being with him more fun in my opinion.  It's really cute because he says 'no' really well but he won't say 'yes' (or 'yeah' or anything to resemble it).  He shrugs his shoulders to say 'yes.'  We've tried many times to get him to say it but he just won't.  He's also started throwing temper tantrums if he doesn't get his way.  Boy is that fun...  I can see why some parents cave in to these tantrums because it does seem a lot easier at the time, but I'm learning to just hold my ground and then he eventually stops and life is back to being hunky dory.

Calvin loves to go to the park and play in the sand and go down the slides.  I feel blessed that even though it rains a lot during the winter where we live, when it's sunny outside we can still enjoy the park. He loves playing with balls, cars, phones, music, coloring, play dough, bubbles, shape sorters, and other typical things children are interested in.  He also loves watching movies.  His favorites include "Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird" and "The Muppet Movie."  He is also obsessed with Elmo.  I try not to let him watch too much, but it's been hard the past couple weeks when I've been so tired and don't feel well.

Sorry no pictures this post.  I'm sure I'll have tons the next time I post which I'm planning will be after our son is born!