Poor Miss Boo

I hope that this post comes off as being less "advice-y" and more as "this is what we're going through" because those are my intentions--again, I'm not a doctor, and you should always talk to yours.

My little Boo girl (as we call her) is just not......pooping. There's just no nice way to say it. We've talked about how formula tends to bind babies up here, but I after those "day four woes," little Bubby never really had any problems. It's my understanding that bottle fed babies should, like most adults, should be pooping about once per day. Now, having said that, every one has their own "schedule," so please don't blast me if you only go once every three days or only on Wednesdays or something like that.

I was concerned about not being on a "pooping schedule" and about the fact that she wasn't going every day, but more than that, my baby seemed uncomfortable. She was fussier than usual. She wasn't enjoying tummy time as much. She just wasn't herself--and the longer she went without pooping, the worse it got.

Unhappy baby, unhappy mama :(

I could tell something was just not "right" with my baby. So I did what I advise you to do in just almost every post--I called my doctor........after I talked to some friends and I called my mom. And looked it up on the internet. Some friends had experienced similar problems and had success switching to a "gentle" formula. I had a sample of such formula thanks to the Money Saving Mom, and was all set to give it a try. But when I asked my doctor, his answer surprised me. He really wanted me to stick with my regular formula--telling me to switch to the gentle formula if I thought it was absolutely necessary, and even at that, only to use it for a month. His preferred method of "unbinding" my daughter was to use a little apple juice (about 1 ounce in 3-4 ounces of water) because he didn't want her to lose the benefit of the Lipil that's found in the formula--and pregnancy and breastfeeding supplements--that he recommends.

I've ALWAYS believed that if you bother to ask a person's advice, bother to take it. We've added an apple-juice bottle (again, one ounce of apple juice in 3-4 ounces of water) and that seems to be doing the trick. She's definitely more "scheduled" and my sweet, happy girl seems to be back.

More than anything, I think YOU will know if something's not right with your baby. If she skips a day every now and then--especially if you've just started cereal or introduced a new food, if she's teething, etc--that's probably fine. Sometimes it takes a baby a few days to adjust to a new experience. Best of luck!


Oh! Quick sidebar: How do I buy apple juice for my baby without it going bad before she can drink it all? Well, since Bubby doesn't drink apple juice (more on his eating habits later), I bought little teeny juice boxes. I can get about 2 days out of it before it goes bad and I can get 8 juice boxes for about $2. That's a better bargain for me because it will last for about 16 days--way longer than a huge bottle would.

A Surprising Statistic

According to Pediatrics, a medical journal,in their October 2008 issue, at 3 months of age, 61% of babies are formula feed exclusively. Of the remaining 39% of babies that are breastfed, approximately 34% are supplemented with formula.

A little math later, we have approximately 74 babies out of 100 receiving formula through a bottle for some or all of their nutrition after 3 months of age.

I guess this statistic shouldn't be so surprising. Off the top of my head I can name about 7 different bottle companies and at least 4 big formula companies, not to mention generics (we'll get to that later). Surely there wouldn't be that much stuff out there--not to mention all the advertising dollars spent for all that stuff--if there wasn't a market for it.

More than anything, I want to offer this statistic to any bottle-feeding mom who feels like a failure or feels like she gave up. I want to let you know that you're not alone out there. I know there were times after my son was born when I felt like (or was made to feel like) less of a mother because I didn't--couldn't--breastfeed. Breastfeeding works out really well for some families, and for others, it doesn't...and that's okay.

My husband found himself in a "battle of words" with a former friend this week. The woman said that she'd been to my blog and "disagreed with basically EVERYTHING in it." Clearly, she hadn't really read my blog that closely because I'm fairly sure that I never said that bottle feeding was better than breastfeeding or that anyone should give up breastfeeding to bottle feed--just that it was the only option for my family and that I wanted to offer support and information to other bottle feeding families becauseI felt like there wasn't much out there. This woman made us feel like if we couldn't breastfeed, we should just let our babies die of starvation. I'm sorry, but that's discrimination. It frustrates me that there are people out there who feel like if you don't breastfeed you're not as good as them--I guess it just seems like these are the only people doing the talking.

So, there you go--I bottle feed, my kids are happy, healthy, and loved. I'm not better or worse than anyone else. And I truly, truly hope that if I had been able to breastfeed, I would have never had that "I'm better than you" attitude that SOME (not all) people do.

Cow Appreciation Day 2009

Today's post won't be about bottles--but it will be about another thing I love.......free food!
Last year, Bubby and I participated in Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. You can check out our photos here. Basically, if you dress up like a cow, you can get a free meal--yes, sandwich, fries and drink--for absolutely free. Little did I know on Cow Appreciation Day last year that I was about to find out I was pregnant with my second little calf!!
This year, Melanie, our friend who's visiting from Germany, Matt, & Boo girl joined Bubby and I for fun, free food and festivities. We had a great time, scored some free food and got some really funny looks as we were driving.
The food was great and the service, as always, was impeccable. I have to say, we were quite the hit--especially Miss Boo in her "Next Year" cow onesie and cow ears with bow. Mel and I also sported cow wrist corsages. I am especially proud of my husband for getting into the spirit of things and dressing like a cow--complete with black nose! To quote Matt, "I look ridiculous. Free food, though. Free food." He also did a great job of protecting Jack from the man-sized cow wandering around Chick-Fil-A :)Ah, another great Cow Appreciation Day. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a girl who REALLY needs a bottle.

Tips on Tuesdays

"Tips on Tuesdays" is a new idea for my blog. On Tuesdays you can post a comment or a link to your own blog with a mommy tip--it doesn't have to be related to bottles or bottle feeding, it can be anything that will make our lives as moms easier.

My first mommy tip is this:
Two year olds are tough. They're demanding, irrational, and can be really fussy and grumpy. Some days I'm a great, patient, sweet mommy. Other days.....I do the best I can. On those days when I'm feeling impatient or Bubby is extremely fussy and grumpy I put him in these overalls. It's really hard to be irritated with him when he looks so cute! My cousin said she does the same thing on "those days" with her daughter, only she uses piggies.

I love the idea of "Tips on Tuesdays" because regardless of how long you've been a mom--2 days or 22 years, you can share a tip with us!

Guest Post--Bottle Feeding Breast Milk

This post comes to us from my dear friend Carrie--yes, I have a friend named Carrie. When she first started attending our church I asked someone, "Have you seen Carrie?" The lady I asked looked at me like, "Oh, she's lost it." :) Anyway, this is Carrie and her precious girl's story. Enjoy.


During my pregnancy, I had every intention to breastfeed. It's natural, healthy, always available, and my biggest selling point – FREE. My daughter was breastfed. At least in the sense she did drink breastmilk, but she almost 100% received it in a bottle.

Carrie feeding her girl in the NICU

My daughter was born three weeks early via c-section due to low amniotic fluids and the fact she was breech. She ended up staying in the NICU for eight days in order to regulate her blood sugar the nurses and doctors wanted to record her intake every three hours. When a child feeds at the breast it makes it harder to record the nutrition in ounces.

I began pumping the evening she was born. I pumped every 2-3 hours for the next several days only to receive a few cc’s of milk. I would draw it up in small medicine-like syringes and have her drink it. I supplemented with formula for those first few days. At five days old, my milk came in. I continued to pump every 2-3 hours even at night and my daughter began taking breastmilk in bottles.

Breastmilk from a bottle.

I did try to breastfeed. The nurses did finally allow me to try in the NICU, but my girl wouldn’t latch on. I had very little success in the hospital, but I told myself it would easier at home. I would be more comfortable and I could relax a little more.

I went home continuing to pump about every three hours. By the time she was three weeks old I already had an abundance of “extra” milk in the freezer. At my peak I had 144 bags with 6 ounces of milk in each bag in the freezer. That equals to 864 ounces of breast milk.

I know the idea of pumping 6, 7, or 8 times a day can seem daunting, but in reality it wasn’t. My daughter was a breast fed baby who was fed like a bottle-fed baby. My pumping and feeding schedule for the early months 0-4 was as followed:

6 am pump and feed (pumped around 10 – 15 ounces of milk)
9 am pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
12 noon pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
3 pm pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
6 pm pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
9 pm pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
12 pm feed
3 am feed

Pumping took between 10-20 min. I pumped between 35 – 40 ounces a day. My daughter never took more than 25 ounces of breastmilk in a day. That satisfied her. I know some will say that is not very much, but I could never get her to take anymore than 25 ounces. Bottle feeding only took 20 – 25 minutes. Many breastfed babies easily take 40 minutes to breastfeed at the breast. As you can see from my daily schedule I only pumped during the day. My body adjusted and produced more than enough breastmilk during the day to feed her for a whole 24 hours. Eventually the 12 and 3 am feedings became only one feeding and by around three months old the night time feeding disappeared.

I loved my breast pump. I would say it was the one manmade possession I couldn’t live without. I have the original Medela Pump and Style. It pumps both breasts at the same time.

I feel there are benefits to breastfeeding in a bottle. I like numbers and I like knowing exactly how much my daughter would eat. My daughter slept through the night long before the traditional breastfed baby. Dads can easily participate in the feeding process compared to traditional breastfeeding where mom is the feeding source 24 hours a day every 2-3 hours. I received a lot more sleep than the traditional breastfeeding mom. I also think sleep = good. I never had to try to discreetly breastfeed in public. I had a lot of soreness and pain after attempting to feed at the breast. I’m sure I was doing it incorrectly, but I had very little support at traditional breastfeeding. I did see a lactation consultant once at a support group. She didn’t approve of my “breastfeeding in a bottle" method. My mother (who gave up breastfeeding me at two weeks old and didn’t even try with my younger brother) thought I had the best of both worlds (breastfeeding and bottle feeding). Pumping wasn’t much of an option in 1982 (when I was born). Manual breast pumps were the only options and they weren’t very effective.

I continued breastfeeding in a bottle for 9 ½ months. She took formula in her bottles for approximately 10 weeks. I don’t know if “Breast is Best.” I have never done the research. I bet if we had a room full of grown women we wouldn’t be able to pick out the ones that were breastfed and those that were bottle fed.

Carrie & her daughter, Mother's Day 2009

Formula Woes

It's not all sunshine and roses with formula. If you'll check your can, regardless of the brand you use (more on that here), you'll notice that your baby is getting about 1.8 mg of iron per 100 calories of formula. I think you'd have to have a masters degree in mathematics to figure out how much that is in ounces, and how it compares to the 18 mg of iron found in a traditional women's multi-vitamin, but all I know is, it's a lot.

Your baby needs a lot of iron, but unfortunately, when your baby is getting that iron from formula, it's not always easy on the tummy. I've never claimed to be a doctor or a nurse, so please keep that in mind as you read on.

Since my babies were both formula fed from birth, I did notice a trend between them. When they're about 4 or 5 days old--and have been formula fed that whole time--they get a little, um, bound up. Both of my kiddos did right about day 4. All I can say is that it's sad and it sucks and they cry and they bring up those tiny legs and you can tell their tummies (and later bottoms) hurt.

With both my babies it lasted about a day. With weensies, it's hard because there just aren't a lot of options. For us, both times, pushing through that "day 4" drama and sticking with our same formula worked really well. I gave my babies a little water through a bottle and did the Nurse Jean "I love you" massage (more on that here).

Bubby never had any other problems with the formula binding him up again, but Boo ran into some trouble at about 3 months. At that point, a little apple juice (1 ounce in 3 ounces of water) did the trick nicely. My sister-in-law has also had good luck with cayro syrup. As always, talk to your doctor.

Yeah, I might be talking to you.

This post won't be dealing with bottles, but if you have a baby, know someone who has a baby, are getting ready to have a baby or are thinking about having a baby any time in the future, you may want to take a look.

My kids HATE their car seats.

Well, now that he's turned around, Bubby tolerates his car seat--as long as "Joy Joy" is playing (I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart--WHERE?). But the Boo girl, whooo boy! She does not like her car seat. Bubby didn't either until we turned him around. There are so many babies out there who love their car seats--who fall asleep as soon as that engine is running instead of screaming as though they were being chopped up into tiny little pieces......I've always envied these parents. Parents who don't dread car trips of any length, parents who can have a normal conversation in the car, parents who don't have to worry that if they were pulled over by the police the policeman would think that the child had been brutally kidnapped.

But then I started to notice something--a lot (and I mean A LOT) of babies are not being stapped into their car seats appropiately. Maybe that's why my babies scream and others don't--they aren't being securly buckled in.

Before we go any farther, I'm sure you're saying to yourself, "Maybe she's strapping those babies in too tight." Go here and look around. There should be no more than one finger width between your baby's collar bone and the strap.

ONE FINGER WIDTH.

I saw a baby the other day that I could get my whole wrist between it and it's car seat strap.


When Miss Boo was born I got cocky. This was, after all, my second baby. I knew how to use a car seat--I knew how tight to buckle her in. So, before we left the hospital, when the nurse asked me if I wanted to try to put her in myself, I was just sure I'd get it right. I'm a teacher, after all. I was going for the gold star. I buckled in my little princess good and tight for her first car ride and stood by proudly as the nurse checked my work. She smiled and said, "Good job. Better than most, in fact. But it's still not tight enough." I was flabbergasted. How could I have gotten in wrong?? I'd JUST read an article about car seat safety days before she was born. But it wasn't tight enough--and a too loose car seat is a risk I'm not willing to take with my babies. Their lives are too precious.

So what's the big deal?? According to CarSafety4Kids.com, one of three things could happen if a child is not properly stapped in:
1) The child may be ejected from the seat.
2) The child's body may contact something inside the vehicle causing severe injuries.
3) The child's body may slam into the harness straps causing internal injuries. If there is slack in the straps, the child will be thrown into the straps at the speed at which the crash occurred.

I guess my children's safety is worth a few tears!

**IMPORTANT**The information on this site is intended for educational and discussion purposes only. Please see a certified child passenger safety technican to ensure that your child is safely buckled into your car. Seriously. I might be talking about YOU.