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Monday, March 31, 2008
I am incredibly honored that Jennifer invited me to blog on The Lactivist. I hope I can meet the high standards that have been set around here! :)Figured I should introduce myself before I dive in and start posting my opinion on things, so here goes (don't worry - it's quick... I hate introductions!)
Let's see... Hi! I'm Anna. I'm 34 and very much a Libra. I've been married to Lee for 6 years, I'm Mama to Jonny (5.5yrs), Gracie (4yrs) and Levi (2yrs), and I'm Stepmama to Austin (11yrs). Austin lives in Boston with his mom for most of the year, but he does visit on summer break and for a few breaks during the school year. Lee is a SAHD who spoils me rotten (as in... I honestly don't remember the last time I touched the laundry, and yet I always seem to have clean clothes), and I work full-time as the Director of Operations for Lextant. I love my job, and Lee loves being at home... we wouldn't have it any other way.
As for breastfeeding, I think I'm somewhere around just over 4 years and counting. Well, not currently counting; Levi weaned around 18 months. However, as Jennifer mentioned, we're expecting twins(!) this summer, so the milk wagon will once again be in business! I confess: I'm nervous about working full-time and keeping up with breastfeeding two babies. Levi came to work with me every day until he was 9 months old, so that made breastfeeding relatively easy. I can probably bring the babies to work with me occasionally, but really... unless I have the best babies on the planet, the likelihood of them being able to accompany me daily is pretty slim.
Before we even get to nursing them, though, the big decision we're wrestling with right now is where to have them: at home with a midwife, or in the hospital with an OB. I'll write more on that subject in a separate post!
Well - that's me. I look forward to writing more, and to getting to know all of you!
Welcome! I can't wait to read what you have to say!
Welcome Anna! I'm a full-time working and nursing mama of my nine-month-old son. You are a "seasoned" mom and I look forward to reading your posts.
Great to have you on board! :) Looking forward to hearing all about the home/hospital debate and to seeing you get to play superwoman on the blog this year. :)
Congratulations! Wow, you will be very busy - what an amazing family you will have! (although I'm sure your family is amazing now, too ;-)
We're close to two years nursing twins - their birthday is tomorrow :-) I opted for a birth with the hospital midwives at the local baby friendly hospital - but an ultrasound detected that the umbilical cord of one of the babies was presenting . . . there is a risk of prolapsed cord if the water breaks in that situation, and extremely high risk of a prolapsed cord during a natural birth even if there is no problem when the water breaks. So the next morning I received a Cesarean from a doctor I met ten minutes before I was wheeled into the ER. Fortunately, the midwife stayed by my side for the procedure. I breastfed both girls tandem less than 30 minutes later. All in all, it was actually a good experience, despite the birth itself being a different method than the ideal. I would love to hear about a homebirth of twins. Some of my friends have had very pleasant home births.
Breastfeeding was smoother than the birth. My milk took six days to come in and I supplemented with formula and any milk I had time to pump for the last four of those six days, but once it came in I had plenty for all. I supplemented at the breast with a tube whenever possible and my husband finger-fed one of the babies when necessary. Four months later I was actually working to reduce my milk supply because I had an unusually bad case of oversupply - I was making at least double the milk that my babies needed at the height of the problem. I didn't go back to work until eight months, but that was due to struggling to find affordable childcare so I could interview - not breastfeeding.
The EZ-2-Nurse nursing pillow is awesome, btw. I had no trouble nursing tandem hands-free on my first day of nursing ever. Nursing hands-free is a great skill when lunch-time comes around, I found ;-)
Welcome! I vote for homebirth. I'm biased that way. :)
Welcome and congrats on your twins! I delivered with a certified midwife in a hospital - combining the 2 options you listed. Do you have any hospitals that allow midwives to deliver? :)
Looking forward to reading your posts!
Thanks for the warm welcome! :)
ethel: Congratulations on nursing twins for two years! That's fantastic!! Two years has been my goal with my kids, but alas... they all seemed to have their own plans. Who said kids are allowed to have minds of their own?
marketing mama: Delivering with a midwife in a hospital would certainly be my ideal world. Alas, Ohio doesn't recognize midwives as practitioners. If I were to try for a home birth and subsequently transfer to the hospital, the midwife would accompany me, but she would become a doula a that point and the OB would take over.
Anna: Glad to have you here! I have pretty much no thought on the home/hospital b/c I'm totally torn on the issue! But I have a good friend who used to live in Ohio and I know that she delivered in a hospital with a midwife- Never had an OB. But that was 6 years ago so maybe things have changed since then? I dunno.
But welcome!
Welcome Anna! I am so excited to hear about your journey and about breastfeeding your twins. I think that you are a fabulous writer and can't wait to catch up with all of your posts!
Welcome Anna! I have met you before at one of the Ohio Breastfeeding coaltion meetings last year. I had my daughter in 2006 with a midwife in St.Anne's and I'm due this August and using a different midwife group through an ob practice, again delivering at St. Anne's. I loved my midwife before, but I have different insurance this go around so I had to change.
Looking forward to reading your blogs!
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