Thrush – Say What Now?

Hi Mamis

A couple of months ago while I was nursing my growing meatball I started experiencing a stinging pain in my nipples. I brushed it off thinking meatball was probably nursing with a bad latch. Later that evening it happened again and I didn’t think anything of it. A couple of days later while brushing meatball’s teeth I noticed her gums where very white and brushing wasn’t getting rid of it. I was still experiencing stinging nipple pain even when I wasn’t nursing. I was perplexed so of course like any 21st century mami, I googled meatball’s curious symptoms.

The first thing that popped up was “Oral Thrush”. Something I’ve never heard of in my life. What is oral thrush you ask? It’s basically a yeast infection of the mouth. How does a baby get thrush? How is it cured? Can you prevent it? You can find the particulars here.

What did I do after being internet doctor and diagnosing my daughter? I made an appointment to see meatball’s pediatrician and the pediatrician right away said “yeap…it’s thrush” and told me she was going to prescribe meatball some liquid anti-fungal stuff and told me to call my OB/GYN to get treatment. I was really upset but the pediatrician assured me that thrush is quite common and easy to cure.

All in all, it took about 5 days for thrush to clear up. There have been no recurrences since then but I did take some precautionary measures and threw out all of her old pacifiers (Click here to look through my favorite brand of pacifiers) got news ones and thoroughly cleaned and steamed all of her favorite toys.

Has anyone here experienced thrush as well? Any tips or advice on how to deal with it?

Thanks for reading mamis! Have a great afternoon 🙂

Babies are humans too

Came across this and I needed to share…sometimes we expect our kids to do things we ourselves cannot do.

Food for thought!

Have a good Day mamis! And happy Veteran’s day to my armed forces mamis across the world. Thank you for keeping us safe.

So true! It’s good to research but always follow your gut!

I couldn’t agree more with this! There are so many ways to do things for your baby, and it’s great to learn more but what’s ultimately best is to follow your natural mami instinct.

Have a good night mamis!!!

Traveling without baby….yikes!!!

Hi all…I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but what can I say? It’s been hectic. So hectic that I needed a little getaway to clear my mind and reset.

I went to Punta Cana with my girls and had an amazing time, got to reconnect with myself and got some sleep..but I didn’t make the decision to go lightly. Yes I’m still nursing and pumping, so that was a huge factor..I’m also co-sleeping so I was really anxious about Meatball waking up scared without mami. After mulling it over, my babysitter aka my mami convinced me to go and took care of meatball for the weekend. After the decision was made, I had to go into planning mode…what does a nursing mom take with her on vacation? Where does she pump? How does she store the milk?

Luckily for the first leg of my trip was short so I didn’t have to pump, I made sure I nursed meatball right before I left for the airport. Once I got to my destination, I set up shop with my Medela Pump In Style Advanced and pumped. I froze my milk, but sadly that milk and almost all of my stash ended up a casualty of airport security. Note…you CANNOT transport liquids even if it’s your own breast milk so I had to toss my stash. I was super pissed but I also didn’t want to get kicked out of the airport (yikes!)

Back to my pumping…I had to do it often and though I did have a nice hotel room to do it in…the real tricky part came when I found myself on a plane with very engorged breasts. So what did I do? Simple..I had no choice but to pump, so I asked the flight attendant if I could pump in the plane bathroom and she said yes. I have to say it wasn’t a prime pumping spot, but it was more than adequate. The bathrooms on Jet Blue are quite clean and as spacious as I’ve seen (for a plane toilet). I was able to pump out 8 ounces, clean up and go back to my seat in 10 minutes. When I was done the flight attendant asked me if I needed to refrigerate my milk or if I needed anything else. They even offered to move my seat to an aisle for easier access to the bathroom. The attention from the crew was AWESOME. They were very nice and accommodating, and because of that I am making sure to fly Jet Blue whenever I can!

So was traveling as a pumping mom annoying…yes…but was it unmanageable? NO. So far I can say I’ve pumped on a train, plane and automobile! Ha ha! Proud member of the Mile High Pumping Mami Club!

 

 

International Pumping Day

Hi mamis…pumping mamis!!

Today is International Pumping Day! Oh the joy! You all know I have a love/hate relationship with pumping, but it’s nice to know there is an international day of recognition for it!

So today, on my way home from work (as I carry my milk with me) I’ll buy myelf a little token of appreciation 🙂

Join me if you’re a pumping mami!!!

Have a great afternoon mamis 🙂

Pump those tatas!

Big Latch On NYC 2013

Happy Announcement:

Happy World Breastfeeding week mamis!!!! It’s a week to celebrate and educate the masses on how wonderful, natural and important breastfeeding is!!!!

Ok so besides it being a great week for nursing mamis, I am super excited for this upcoming Saturday 8/3/13 for 2 reasons.

1. I’m participating in the Big Latch On (think of a flash mob of women breastfeeding their children) with meatball. We get to normalize breastfeeding and meet other nursing mamis and babies whohooo!!!

2. I’m going to see Beyoncé in concert. (Totally unrelated but not really since she nursed Blue Ivy, I consider it part of my breastfeeding week celebrations lol.)

Anyone interested in joining me for the Big Latch on event please visit the Big Latch On page.

I hope I get to see and meet some mami readers at Inwood Hill Park this Saturday August 3rd at 10am!!!! Look for me I’ll be wearing a red shirt 🙂

Weird mami behavior

Something you should know about me??? I’m really weird. Especially when no one is watching LoL.

An example of my weird mami behavior???

I sniff meatball’s head for at least 10-15 minutes a day. I can’t get enough of her baby scent. It’s the best scent in the world to me. She smells like baby and I honestly want to inhale her. Yeah…I’m a weirdo because I don’t see or hear about other mamis sniffing their babies. I also spend a good amount of time touching her unbelievably soft skin while simultaneously wishing my skin was that soft. I also talk to her in different voices when we’re playing with her toys or reading books (which isn’t that weird but I’m sure my neighbors think I’m a loon).

What secret weirdo rituals do you do with your babies?

Want some free pizza? Breastfeed!

Nursing in public can be controversial. You might get a great reaction, no reaction or a very negative one. I myself have nursed in public, though I don’t try to do it unless it’s absolutely necessary. It’s also hard for me since meatball hates nursing under a cover. She just pulls it off, ha ha she wants the world to see her nursing.

Anyhoot…Today on my Breastfeeding Google alert I came across this really cute story…A woman in the Midwest was nursing her toddler at a pizza restaurant and because of that very natural act, the waitress paid for her pizza and left her a sweet note.

Check out the cute story here.

We need more of these…Normalize Breastfeeding!

I’m back and still pumping

Hi mamis!

It’s been a loooong time since I’ve posted. Who says the summer slows things down?

Meatball has been keeping me very busy, I recently got to spend 2 whole weeks with her and it was amazing (a lot of work, but amazing).  Now that I’m back at work, it dawned on me.

I’ve been pumping for a year!!! For 52 weeks I’ve been going to my lactation room 2x a day, Monday through Friday. Without fail. I’ve pumped at restaurants, bathrooms, moving cars and even on the northeast regional express Amtrak train (that was something else).  It’s been challenging and frustrating at times, but I’m happy that I kept (and am keeping) up with it. Meatball is thriving, and she shows no signs of letting the boob go anytime soon. So I’ll keep my keys to the lactation room (which has been moved to my floor and is super close to my cubicle!) and keep on pumping!

I’m spoiled…my daughter isn’t!

Hi Mamis!

Yes it’s been a while, as they say life gets in the way. Work and family obligations have kept me from blogging, but I’m back!

This morning I’m blogging live from the Amtrak Northeast Regional headed to Boston. As per my job, I have to visit clients and get in some face time. Normally this would be a welcome trip but I find myself full of anxiety because I am about 250 miles away from Meatball. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my job and I do it well, but I also love being close enough to drop everything and run home to my daughter if need be. Thankfully this is a day trip and I’ll be home in time for supper, but still I’m a ball of nerves. I keep looking at my daughter’s pictures and text messaging my Mami aka Meatball’s sitter asking her what she’s doing and requesting picture upon picture upon picture. Of course Meatball is oblivious to all of this, she’s too busy playing with her toys and wreaking havoc to notice that her Mami is far away.

So this makes me think…..who’s the spoiled one here? I don’t think it’s Meatball….I think it’s me! I am so completely attached to my daughter. The thought of not being with her for more than 12 hours (my limit) completely fills me with dread and panic. Now I know that circumstances will arise where I have to be away from her but right now I can’t even bear to think of that. How do you mamis let go and deal with being away from your babies? I’m really curious as to what will happen when I have to go on a short trip (sans Meatball) this September.

SIGH!!!

Ok…Boston is waiting for me Mamis! Have a great day!