Sisters 'n Cloth

Archive | March, 2012

Schooling Saturday: B and D Trickery

March 31, 2012 By Melissa

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a good school week. We are plugging along here! As I mentioned in this post, reading is one of our big struggles. Makaylah is improving, but its still a big struggle. She has a lot of trouble distinguishing “b” and “d”, which of course makes it hard to read fluently and leads to frustration.

I was so happy to stumble across this post yesterday about that issue. It has some great tips on how to help children remember which letter is which, and I’m excited to try it with Makaylah. The author says that most children she uses these techniques with are able to distinguish between “b” and “d” within a week. We’re going to give it a try, and I’ll update and let you all know how it goes!

Have your children struggled with “b” and “d”? Did you use any particular technique to help them, or did they eventually just catch on?

Read full story · Comments { 1 } in Homeschool, Schooling Saturday

The One Where I Wonder About Sisters…

March 30, 2012 By Jeniffer

Here I am, at 20 weeks, growing heavy with one girl-child and watching my first slowly learn how to walk. One starting to kick me from the inside and one kicking against my wishing, my hoping that she will stay little forever.

And I find myself wanting to capture these moments, these times that are all-too-quickly fading when she still has no understanding of the word “sister” and no one tries to take her toys from her. While she still has all of my attention (when it isn’t being threatened by the Internet) and can turn my heart a million ways when she grabs my hand.

These moments when it’s still fairly easy to take her out by myself. When she isn’t quite fast enough to get into everything in just a minute’s time. When I don’t have to ask, “Who did this?” because I already know. When I can snuggle with her and her sister while being snuggled by their daddy.

All of her very firsts being my very firsts. And it will always be that way with us…her growing will complement my growth, too. But the next few months bring more growth than just my belly, and I can’t help but wonder how we will come out on the other side.

I remember when my first sister was born. When I was the oldest and my world was rocked at 5 and a half. I understood what sister meant, had wanted one, and hated my sister and the attention she stole from me. But how do you explain sister to a 13 month old? How do you prepare your oldest when she’s barely a toddler and might make 18 months before her sister is born and her world is rocked?

We talk to her about Baby Lily. Explain that she’s there, in my tummy. Show her pictures, let her feel Lily kick some, but how much sticks when she’s still learning so much every day? When she still has so much left to learn?

And how do I prepare for one baby when I’m not yet ready to let go of this one?

Read full story · Comments { 6 } in Keeping it Real, Milestones, Misc., Motherhood, Parenting, Pregnancy

Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Pressure Gauges

March 29, 2012 By Jeniffer

This post is part of the weekly breastfeeding blog hop, hosted by The Slacker Mom, and co-hosted by The Gnome’s Mom and Happiness Redefined. This week’s topic is The Low-Down on Low Supply.

This is an interesting topic for me to be covering. See, with Abby, I didn’t have a low supply. Nope, I had a super-duper oversupply! For the first few months, my let-down hurt. I’d nurse Abby and feel a very strong sting, then she’d choke on my milk and spit it up. I carried a receiving blanket with us during that time to soak up the extra milk, and I’d still end up drenched myself. Hopefully I’ll be able to curtail some of that with Lily since I know there are ways to help with it.

I talked to Lori at The Gnomes Mom about it during a twitter chat or party one time. She has Insufficient Glandular Tissue, and we both agreed that one can be just as frustrating as the other. While I didn’t have to worry about my baby’s weight, per se, I did wonder if she was swallowing most of the milk or spitting it up. She also didn’t comfort nurse much and learned to eat very quickly (in about 10 minutes) every few hours (usually 3-4). She was gassy and fussy during those first months, and while it did get better, it could be painful for us both at times.

Now, getting back to low supply, the symptoms are almost opposite from what I experienced. (If your baby has an adequate number of dirty/wet diapers, then these symptoms do NOT mean you have low supply!!) Instead of baby nursing less often, baby nurse more often. Babies are still fussy, but they will guzzle down a bottle of formula or expressed milk after nursing if you have low supply. Other symptoms may include not leaking, breasts feeling softer than normal, or not feeling let-down. Again, these symptoms also happen when your supply adjusts to baby’s needs and do not necessarily mean that you have low supply!! You can find out more at Kelly Mom here.

What do you to if you have low supply? Nurse, nurse, nurse! Nurse more often. Nurse both sides during a feeding session. Avoid pacifiers and bottles. Give baby only breastmilk. Take care of mom. (More on these at Kelly Mom!) You also may want to consider a galactagogue, a supplement or herb that helps increase milk supply. Fenugreek and oatmeal are two popular galactagogues. I’ve also heard great things about Earth Mama Angel Baby’s Milkmaid Tea.

If you think you may have low supply, I highly recommend talking to a lactation consultant or your local Le Leche League leader before taking any actions. Having oversupply or forceful let-down isn’t much better, trust me!