Feeding

The Same, But Different

March 12, 2019

There are a lot of misconceptions out there and sometimes I get questions about how I do things as a visually impaired parent. I don’t think my life is out of the ordinary, but sometimes I might have to take an extra step or think outside the box to get things done. When the idea to do this post popped into my head, I thought of a couple things immediately, but for others, I really had to think about. Here are five things I do differently as a visually impaired mom.

Reading

This is a big one because it not only involves reading stories to Rosebud, but I have to find alternative ways to read just about everything. Luckily, there have been so many amazing advances in technology since I was a kid and it has opened up the world to me, but generally, I just can’t pick up something and read it. There are several ways I read books to Rosebud. I have the regular books with Braille labels on them. The great thing about these books is that I can read them, but so can anyone else. They have the print as well as the pictures. I’ve found that this is the best way for me to read to her. That being said, the selection of books is somewhat limited and can get expensive. A great selection can be found here at BRL.

I find a lot of great books being read aloud on Youtube. I know it’s not the same as having the paper book, but it’s another way Rosebud can have access to books. There are a few books that we have the print copies of that she can follow along with them being read aloud. Here are a few of her favorites.

If You Give a Mouse a Brownie

The Very Busy Spider

Sneezy the Snowman

Big Pumpkin

Recently, I was told of a program in my area called Books on Wheels. Volunteers from the local library have started bringing children’s books to me twice per month. Although I can’t read these books to Rosebud, we can look at them and other family members can read them to her. I don’t want her to get bored with the books we have and this is another great way for her to get access to a huge variety of books. As she gets older, I plan on introducing her to audio books as well. She loves books and I want her to keep enjoying books throughout her life.

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Safety Rules

Since I can’t always see exactly what Rosebud is doing, I take safety very seriously. This is especially the case if we are in public, outside in a play area or walking down the street. If we are walking down the street or walking through a public place, she has to hold my hand with very few exceptions. As she gets older, I’ll give her a little more space, but for now, she has to hold my hand. That way I always know where she is. Sometimes she fights me on this, but it’s for her safety and my peace of mind. If we are out at the playground, she cannot run out of the play space. If she does, I give her one warning and if she doesn’t listen, we immediately go back home. I’ve had to do this a couple of times. It may sound mean, but I don’t want to have to chase her down in places I’m unfamiliar with and what if something happened before I got to her? I’d rather be safe than sorry. As she gets older, she will understand why I have that rule in place, but for now, she probably just thinks I’m a mean mom for five minutes. As she understands more and is able to explain where she wants to go, I’ll probably relax somewhat, but I think I’ll always worry a little extra.

Nursing

You’re probably wondering, what’s so different about that? Well, nothing really. I’ve heard a lot of people say that breast-feeding is such a visual thing and it probably is, but it didn’t work that way for me. Some of the hospital staff were concerned about my ability to breast-feed and at first, I had trouble getting her to latch. Partly because we were both new at it and because I was convinced that it was a visual thing so I wouldn’t be able to do it by feel. Of course, the visual aspect wasn’t working for me, so naturally I had to feel to help her latch. When I let go of the idea that I was doing it wrong, it worked much better. We found a way to make it work for us. As I thought about it more, I wondered how do moms get babies latched by sight in the middle of the night anyway? Do they turn a light on? I doubted it. Who wants to do that when you can role over and get back to sleep.

Measuring

One question I’ve heard before and even wondered myself before I became a parent was, how would I give my child medicine? I have different techniques for measuring medicine. Whether it is for a syringe or cup, I have either the pharmacist or someone else mark the dosage with a black line. I have to keep an eye on this as the line fades after several washings. One way I’ve found that keeps the mark there is to put clear tape over the black line. The little medicine cups work the same way. For those who can’t see at all, they use a tactile marker. I’ve heard of people using puff paints or making an indentation with a knife. Also, here is the thermometer I use.

Since Rosebud was having such trouble with getting enough milk before leaving the hospital, I had to start supplementing with formula. This was not a road I wanted to go down because I did not want to have to worry about measuring the exact amounts of liquid and powder. I didn’t want to be downstairs in the middle of the night making bottles, but for the first couple months of Rosebud’s life, that’s where I was. When I left the hospital, they sent me home with the pre-made 2oz containers of ready made formula. Those were expensive to buy so I bought a larger container of the powder. I’d measure out the water using a 2oz container and then add the scoops of powder. I was lucky I didn’t have to stick with measuring out formula, but I had figured it out and it was definitely an option when I needed it.

Identifying Colors

I have difficulty seeing color so sometimes I use an app called Seeing AI to identify colors. I use it a lot when I’m trying to match Rosebud’s socks. I try to get socks that are all white or that have distinctive patterns that I can easily match. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way so the color identifier comes to my rescue. For the rest of her clothes, I usually memorize or can see the colors, but occasionally if it’s a new outfit, I’ll use the app to tell me the colors. I worried about how I would teach her colors, but she already knows most of them. I’d point out colors of the items I knew, some of the tv shows she watches teach colors and other people would point out colors as well, so I really didn’t need to worry.

I also use apps on my phone to identify items. This was especially helpful with reading baby food jars since the labels are relatively small. I wished I would’ve had these apps when working in the infant room. I’ve also tried to use the app when reading books to Rosebud, but it’s too hard to try to read and repeat anything other than simple board books. Anyway, the app also comes in handy for reading mail, the directions on food packaging and for reading the error notices on my tv or computer screen.

As a parent with a visual impairment, I do the same parenting tasks that other parents do, but sometimes I have to do them in a different way. I think that some people equate doing something differently with inability, but that’s not the case. If we all did everything the same, no one would ever come up with anything new and then how boring would the world be? Where would our world be without any outside the box thinking? Maybe my parenting journey looks a little different than yours, but my end goal is the same. We all want to raise healthy, happy well adjusted children.

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Parenting

The Essentials for Mom’s with Low Milk Production

August 4, 2018

To wrap up World Breast Feeding week, I wanted to share some of the essentials that I found useful for nursing. Since this post is for women with low or just enough milk production, I want to say that however you feed your baby is what’s best. Although mothers are made to feel guilty about everything these days, there’s no shame in using formula. I had to supplement with formula for the first couple months of Rosebud’s life. Even if you have to combination feed, your baby will still get the benefits of breast milk. If trying and trying to produce more milk starts to destroy your sanity or is making you miserable, it’s okay to stop entirely. If the decision is yours and you don’t feel pressured into it, that is what’s best. If your baby is healthy, growing and has a strong attachment with you, that’s what really matters. If you are struggling to make enough milk, I hope that something from this list can make your life a little easier.

Pumping
Your milk production is based on how much your baby nurses or how often you pump. A good pump is essential, especially if you are working. You need to find a pump that is comfortable for you. I’d suggest doing research ahead of time if you can and weigh the pros and cons of each type. Since I struggled with milk production so much, I had to pump several times per day. I found that the Spectra S2 was the best option for me. It’s electric, easy to use and it was more gentle than the other pumps I tried. Another great thing about the Spectra S2 is that it’s a closed system meaning that there’s no way that the milk can get inside the pump through the tubing. It also wasn’t as loud as the Medela Pump and Style. Many people swear by this pump, but I didn’t care for it. However, I was grateful I had it on hand when my Spectra died and I was waiting for a replacement. I’d suggest having a back up for this purpose even if it is just a manual pump.

I bought an extra set of flanges which was a time saver because I could wash all the parts at the end of the day instead of after each use.

Breast Milk Storage
If you are starting to build up a stash or simply make enough for the next day, you need a way to store it. I’d recommend these breast mil storage containers. The lids screw on tight reducing the amounts of spills during travel. These can also be frozen. My procedure was filling up the containers and then pouring it into bags. I didn’t want to carry bags back and forth because I was afraid of spills since I didn’t have a stash until around the end of Rosebud’s time nursing.

Foods and Snacks
There are many foods that can increase milk production. You just have to find what works for you. Oatmeal is one that a lot of people swear by. For me, it didn’t seem to matter what I ate, but I found this great smoothie mixon Amazon. I liked these smoothies because they included healthy ingredients plus it tasted good. I used to have one for breakfast each morning. I tried salmon, oatmeal pies, coconut, gatorade, almonds and eating more vegetables. there are also lactation cookies you can bake. One mom said that every time she ate A whopper from Burger King, she noticed a huge increase. Even if none of these foods work for you, you should keep some healthy snacks handy as producing milk makes you hungry and takes up energy.

Staying Hydrated
It is important to keep hydrated so you should have a good water bottle. I like the Britta bottles as they filter your water, but I usually used a water bottle I found at Target. If your water gets boring, you can infuse it with fruits. One way is to freeze little pieces of fruit in ice cubes. As they melt, the fruit flavors your water.

Relieving Discomfort
Coconut oil is another useful thing to have on hand. It can help with soreness and is a natural alternative to medicated creams. It won’t help you produce more milk, but it can relieve some of the discomfort.

Make It Peaceful

The final essential item will be different for each person, but do something for yourself. Use the pumping time as your alone time. Make it peaceful because if you are relaxed, the more likely you are to produce milk. I used my pumping time to listen to podcasts or audio books, enjoy a healthy snack, watch tv and even to try some meditation. There are hands free bras you can buy which allows you to multitask. If you are doing more nursing than pumping, try baby wearing. You don’t have to be stuck on the couch that way, but nursing time should be as peaceful as possible too.

Supplements
Lastly, I’ll mention that you can take supplements. I tried several and I never noticed an increase with any of them, but they do work for a lot of people, so I will link to some of them in case they may work for you.

Check out this Timeline of a Breastfed Baby. It was helpful for me to know what to expect when I first started.

Books
If you want to have some books with information on hand, these are helpful.
 
You may want to introduce a pacifier at some point. If so, be sure to see this list of 8 Best Pacifiers for Breast-fed Babies.

Is there anything I missed? Let me know in the comments.

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Infants, Parenting, Toddlers

No More Bottles!

April 30, 2018

Rosebud loves her food and loves her routines so when it comes to the bottle, she’s been very attached to it. When Rosebud was born, we started having feeding troubles right off the bat so I had to introduce formula in the first few days of her life. She preferred the bottles since she would get more milk at a faster rate. This obviously made nursing a struggle and I pushed through for several months before we finally found a rhythm. Rosebud got bottles when I was working and nursing when I was at home. Maybe I will do another post later specifically about the feeding problems and how we got past them, but this post is about how we said Bye Bye to the Bottle for good.

I wanted to stop nursing when she turned a year old because by then I was tired of it, but Rosebud had other plans. I slowly started to cut out feedings and eventually it had stopped by 18 months. One of the ways I cut out feedings was by replacing them with bottles of milk which Rosebud liked. She got very attached to the bottles again and it simply became a substitute for nursing. This is why she was still having two bottles a day even after she turned two.

I started reducing the amount of milk in the bottles which she was totally fine with. I tried putting milk in different cups, but she would never drink it. She has been drinking water from a cup since she was six months old and more recently I’ve given her juice in a cup, but she’ll take one sip of milk and put it back on the counter telling me she doesn’t like it. I’ve tried role modeling by drinking milk with my meals, sharing my milk with her etc. I tried not allowing her to have bottles at all and only offering cups of milk, but she refuses and will go days without milk. I’ve started introducing foods with more calcium because I was worried about her not drinking her milk.

Last week, I told her that we were all done with bottles because she is a big girl and big girls drink milk out of a cup. This makes her sad and occasionally she will ask for a bottle. She was tearful when asking for one this morning, but I reminded her that she’s a big girl and doesn’t need a bottle anymore. I told her it was okay to miss her bottles, but that we could snuggle while she drinks her milk from a cup the same way we would snuggle when she drinks bottles. That seemed to help.

This past weekend I caved and bought some chocolate and strawberry sirup to flavor her milk. My mom had suggested this, but I didn’t want to do this because I thought if she wouldn’t drink plain milk, then I didn’t want her to start getting sugary replacements. I did some searching online and this strategy has seemed to work for many parents so I’m giving it a try. So far, it has worked. She has been drinking her milk and seems to like both flavors. My plan is to decrease the amount of sirup little by little until she is back to drinking plain milk again. Distraction has worked as well. If she’s busy playing, she is less likely to think of asking for a bottle.

Since we have gone a week without them, I packed them away in a box. The next thing to go is the pacifier, but I don’t want to take all her comforts away at once. My baby girl is growing up and it’s happening way too fast! It seems like yesterday when I brought her home and now she’s talking in full sentences, climbing up the huge slides on the playground and we are the beginning stages of potty training. She has a mind of her own and she knows what she is ready to do. I encourage her to take the next steps, but I also remember to let her go at her own pace. Sometimes that has meant taking a step back and trying again later. It is a learning process for both of us. What helped your toddler give up the bottle? Tell me in the comments.

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