Cloth Diapers and Preemies

Before I got pregnant, I saw a Dragon's Den episode (a canadian version of Shark Tank) showcasing Apple Cheeks cloth diapers. I had never heard about these new modern looking cloth diapers before; my understanding previously had been that cloth diapers were a piece of cloth that you pinned on your baby with clothing pins! Clearly I could not have been more wrong!

During V's hospital stay, the diapering had to strictly be disposable for infection control issues. This policy made a lot of sense to me, besides, V's tush was much too small for even the tiniest cloth diapers. That didn't stop me from browsing (ok, ok, becoming completely addicted to buying) cloth diapers between hospital visits. Receiving a packages in the mail was my guilty pleasure while V was in the hospital, a little harmless pick-me-up when other things were not going so well.

Generally speaking, I think preemies are great candidates for cloth diapering, primarily because they tend to be super constipated from iron supplements. V spent 3-7 days without having a stool. While I was worried about that for quite some time, it also meant that most of her cloth diapers remained poop free for quite some time. So if you are hesitant about cloth diapering because you don't like the idea of dealing with poopy diapers, know that your preemie has a good chance of being more on the constipated side of that continuum.

Daddy's Gloves

I managed to convince my husband to write a post - woohoo! See why he is not too keen on the warmer weather setting in:

Worry seems to be a part of having a preemie. I worry about my baby’s scholastic future, her mental health, her physical health, cerebral palsy, etc etc… Very little can be done to immediately address or control these issues, so there is not much to their involvement in my life besides worry. There is however something that I do have some degree of control over and that is doing what I can to ensure that little Miss V does not get sick… which means trying to ensure that I don’t get sick… which basically means being a germophobe. That is why the transition from cold early spring to warmer spring weather is bittersweet…

Mother's Day

This time last year, I took a pregnancy test... and it turned out negative! I would have to wait two days later before the "YES" showed up (I can't stand the +/- type of pregnancy tests, they just aren't clear enough when I'm that excited/nervous). So I'm not really sure then if this is my first Mother's day, though it is my first time celebrating it..

100 Happy Days - Day 53

Today I got to start drinking milk again, and that means I get to have my morning latte again! Let me tell you, coffee with chocolate soy milk gets old quite fast. Its the little things that make me happy! That also means I get to eat cheese and milk chocolate, just in time for Mothers' Day. Tripple yay!!!

I stopped all milk products to eliminate the possibility that V had a milk protein allergy (milk protein allergies can look a whole lot like reflux apparently). I haven't seen a huge difference, but the true test comes in the next couple of days: if her reflux suddenly gets worse, we may have an allergy case on our hands!

Until then, I'm going to savor those lattes!

Bonus points to whoever knows who Gino is!

Xo

C

Breast milk Donations - Informally and Milk Banks

As previously mentionned, I make an incredible amount of milk, likely due to my prolactinoma. As such, I continue to have to pump pre-breastfeeding at least once per day to avoid feeling like my breasts are going to explode and risking drowning poor V in milk! Since V is not a fan of drinking from a bottle, that means I have a huge store of milk!

I saw first hand the effects lack of breastmilk can have in preemies; NEC seemed to be looming in every other room at our NICU. A huge review article found that donor breast milk decreased the risk of NEC (although it also showed preemies grew at a slower rate, the article did not look at fortified breast milk, which is what is used in the hospital V was hospitalized at, and your hospital likely does too). So I decided to do something about it...

Whistling Dixie

Two days ago, our pumpkin started distinctly humming everytime we whistle a song to her and clearly stopping if we interrupt our whistling. Its adorable! I think this will go under the notquiteamilestone category, but it seems like progress nonetheless!

Xo

C

I can't believe its been 6 months!

As they wheeled me out of the ICU, my dad asked me how I was feeling. I said : "I'm scared". What else was there to say? I could only hope for the best, but I was terrified. The very first connection I had with you, was I heard your unbelievably vigouroys cry. What a relief! How your little 910g body mustered up the energy to let out that yelp, I'll never know. While the journey has been treacherous at times and it remains uncertain still, you have surpassed my expectations in every way.

I love you no matter what my tite cocotte!

Xo

Mamamamama

A view from the top: The mamama view