This is Me Being Proactive

Cabin fever was making me crazy. Boredom and a desperate need for real human contact finally made me overcome my fear of breastfeeding in public and I finally just did it! After overcoming that hurdle, I suddenly had freedom! One of the first things I did was acknowledge my needs and address those. I joined a book club that I really like a lot and found another outlet to fulfill my need for intellectual stimulation, and I really enjoyed myself and met some people here that I'm glad to have met. I've also found something interesting to do with all the time I have sitting around when I'm breastfeeding the baby or pumping. I feel much happier and fulfilled today than I did a week ago, when I felt trapped and bored.

I also recognized that I needed to focus more on some other issues that have been causing me daily frustration. I found some software to help me with tackling some of the problems I've been having. I believe that it's improved things for me by making it easier to increase my milk production, which it has, and keep track of the baby's daily needs, and to remind to do all the little things I need to remember to do, and to help me schedule and track the baby's sleep/wake cycles, which makes it easier for me to anticipate when I have an hour or two of time to schedule other things to do. There are times when it feels silly that you're plotting a baby's sleep and eating patterns on graphs, but you feel less silly when you realize how useful that is. I've also been tracking my sleep and eating patterns, which I had been ignoring, and that helped me to realize that I haven't been eating enough or sleeping enough and to know when and how I can fix that. I wish I had started using it weeks ago. I'm getting a lot more done much more easily and I'm feeling a lot less frustrated. I realize now that there's simply no way that a person can keep all that in her head. It's too much to remember and keep track of. You need a PDA or software, or hopefully, both.

I'm hoping to start postnatal workout classes soon. I look forward to it. Maybe I'll meet other women whom I like who are going through the same things as me right now.

Comments

Good for you petite! Thaking control of a situation is the best thing you could have done, and investing in software is a brillant idea!

Isn't it amazing the things that slip through the cracks when you are trying to focus on so many little things that are big things (The Baby's and YOUR feeding times?)

I am a big believer in charts and graphs and tracking trends and possibillities (hell ABA therapy requires that, so for me it's second nature)

Good for you in overcoming your discomfort about breast feeding in public. My Sis never got over that unease but The Eldest did and was much happier in those months of breastfeeding.

Glad to see you doing so well and look forward to your next blog. :smile: and of course big :hug:
 
Good for you!
Hope you and the whole family are doing fine.

I think you should get an award
"First person at LPSG to use the word Pumping and not referring to Penis Pumping"
 
I'm so glad you got out and about again! Much better than staying inside for the rest of the breastfeeding period. :smile::tongue:

Which software are you using? It sounds like the sort of thing that I'd want to use when/if I have kids.

I understand how much better it is when you know when your baby needs feeding. With my cat it was the other way round though - when she was tiny and I got to choose when she was fed, it was every two hours like clockwork. The two hours made life somewhat difficult, but at least it was predictable.

As she got bigger and learned how to cry when she was hungry, she got much more unpredictable (although at least she let me sleep through the night again). I remember one time when she started crying to be fed as I was on my way out the door to TAFE (like college). She wasn't due for a feed for hours!!! I didn't have time to feed her before I went, so I grabbed her and the bottle feeding stuff, and took her with me! She got fed as soon as I got to TAFE.

But mum says human babies tend to fall into routines as they get older, so it should get better for you!
 
Congrats Petite :) I'm glad you're able to become more organized. That always helps to ease my frustrations.

I also think joining a womens group for exercise will be good for you so you can discuss things you feel as a new Mother.

Keep us posted :)
 
Yay for the book club and the breastfeeding in public. It took a ton for me to overcome that also! I'm naturally ample chested and when I was nursing I felt like a porn queen! I'd try to find a discrete corner and turn inward ,but I couldn't always do that and babies rarely let the blanket or shirt stay where you want it too! I started to go stir crazy also, so I eventually decided I could care less if the entire world saw my breasts as long as I got out of the house!

And I agree, It's hard to find the time to take care of yourself, I carried healthy snacks every where and when they nursed I always had a quick snack and a bottle of water or juice handy. Not taking in enough calories can affect your milk suppply, but not taking in enough liquids is even worse. Take care and it gets easier as the months go on!! Promise!:grouphug:
 
nicodemous76;bt29650 said:
Good for you petite! Thaking control of a situation is the best thing you could have done, and investing in software is a brillant idea!

Isn't it amazing the things that slip through the cracks when you are trying to focus on so many little things that are big things (The Baby's and YOUR feeding times?)

I am a big believer in charts and graphs and tracking trends and possibillities (hell ABA therapy requires that, so for me it's second nature)

Good for you in overcoming your discomfort about breast feeding in public. My Sis never got over that unease but The Eldest did and was much happier in those months of breastfeeding.

Glad to see you doing so well and look forward to your next blog. :smile: and of course big :hug:
I need all the big :hug: I can get! :smile::smile::smile:

Oh, I'm telling you, at first I was afraid that someone would get offended if I fed him in public. Now I'm sure that if someone asked me to leave or caused any problems about it, I would raise hell! My breasts may be sexy, but they're also there to feed my baby, and it's an impractical expectation that nursing mothers sequester themselves until they're no longer nursing. And god help the first person who suggests I should feed him in the bathroom! YUCK! That's disgusting.
 
Pitbull;bt29655 said:
Good for you!
Hope you and the whole family are doing fine.

I think you should get an award
"First person at LPSG to use the word Pumping and not referring to Penis Pumping"
:lmao:

Well, I'm exhausted all the time, but we're all doing great! :biggrin1:
 
subgirrl;bt29657 said:
I'm so glad you got out and about again! Much better than staying inside for the rest of the breastfeeding period. :smile::tongue:

Which software are you using? It sounds like the sort of thing that I'd want to use when/if I have kids.

I understand how much better it is when you know when your baby needs feeding. With my cat it was the other way round though - when she was tiny and I got to choose when she was fed, it was every two hours like clockwork. The two hours made life somewhat difficult, but at least it was predictable.

As she got bigger and learned how to cry when she was hungry, she got much more unpredictable (although at least she let me sleep through the night again). I remember one time when she started crying to be fed as I was on my way out the door to TAFE (like college). She wasn't due for a feed for hours!!! I didn't have time to feed her before I went, so I grabbed her and the bottle feeding stuff, and took her with me! She got fed as soon as I got to TAFE.

But mum says human babies tend to fall into routines as they get older, so it should get better for you!
Here's one of the things I read that helped me choose this software:
Game Theorist: Data-driven parenting

It doesn't have an option for moms, so I made a profile for another child and I use that one. I also use the prescription feature to remember and record things like tummy time and other things that I need to do every day, but I don't always remember to do.

It's exactly like with your cat. Only if your cat might also spit up on you or accidentally pee on you through a leaky diaper just when you were headed out the door! :rolleyes: I've working on getting over the embarrassment of having spit up or baby pee on me. I wouldn't judge another woman for it, so I know that I shouldn't be judged, but I guess I'm harsher to myself than I am to other people. I'm working on that.
 
submissivegirl83;bt29662 said:
Congrats Petite :) I'm glad you're able to become more organized. That always helps to ease my frustrations.

I also think joining a womens group for exercise will be good for you so you can discuss things you feel as a new Mother.

Keep us posted :)

Oh, yes! I think I was becoming depressed, and not from hormones, but from my situation.

And I think a postnatal exercise group will help me feel better about things like how my tummy looks, and maybe help motivate me towards making it look more like it did before. I hate the cesarean scar, but it was so worth it to have this beautiful child in my life.
 
prettyswinggirl;bt29670 said:
Yay for the book club and the breastfeeding in public. It took a ton for me to overcome that also! I'm naturally ample chested and when I was nursing I felt like a porn queen! I'd try to find a discrete corner and turn inward ,but I couldn't always do that and babies rarely let the blanket or shirt stay where you want it too! I started to go stir crazy also, so I eventually decided I could care less if the entire world saw my breasts as long as I got out of the house!

And I agree, It's hard to find the time to take care of yourself, I carried healthy snacks every where and when they nursed I always had a quick snack and a bottle of water or juice handy. Not taking in enough calories can affect your milk suppply, but not taking in enough liquids is even worse. Take care and it gets easier as the months go on!! Promise!:grouphug:

I'm learning about the snacks! I've gotta tell you, frozen dinners are a life-saver! Thank goodness there are organic ones now! I would be wasting away to nothing if it weren't for them.

Having a baby has turned me into a lactivist. I can't believe there's even a controversy over public breastfeeding. Modern women shouldn't feel like they have to stay at home or else someone might make them feel uncomfortable for feeding a little baby. It's unreasonable and impractical and violates our basic human rights, just because someone might get a stiffy. :rolleyes: The law protects us from discrimination. Woe unto the first unwise person to try and prevent me from feeding my little one when he gets hungry and he's crying! I'll totally organize a nurse-in, just dare me. My phone takes videos and I've got the La Leche League on speed dial.

Don't mess with a momma bear. :tongue:
 

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