Nursing/Postpartum Tuesday: Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher

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Dr. Brown\'s Formula Mixing Pitcher

If you formula feed, you need this pitcher, especially once you start sending bottles to daycare. When my son was a newborn, in order to mix his bottles we would shake them then then add gas drops to cut down on the bubbles.

Once I read a recommendation for this pitcher, I ordered it and never looked back. My husband and I would make enough formula mixture the night before, give it a whirl in this mixer, then portion out the bottles to pack up the next day for daycare.

Considering we also used the Dr. Brown’s bottles with a million pieces, it was so important to get it done the night before. This pitcher makes sure there are no clumps of formula left at the bottom, and it mixes it to eliminate bubbles.

My husband used to joke that once we were done with bottles, it was going to be repurposed for cocktail mixing.

Whatever you’re using it for, it is $9.29 on Amazon and Target. Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher

Psst: Looking for more info about nursing clothes for working moms, or tips for pumping at the office? We’ve got them both…

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DS is 13 weeks old and I have recently returned to work. I intended to EBF but when he was slow to gain weight, I worked with the lactation consultant and my doctor and discovered I have insufficient tissue on one side. I produce very little (half an oz at most per pumping session) on that side. I began combination feeding DS, and transitioned to pumping with only occasional nursing. I was able to increase my supply to 20 oz a day through round the clock pumping, supplements, diet, power pumping and hands on pumping/compression. I always pump both sides, although I get almost all the milk from one side.

Then, at 10 weeks PP (still on maternity leave) I got a Mirena IUD and immediately noticed a dip in supply. I have been spotting since I had it placed and have not been able to recover my supply to what it was. I know that Mirena is not supposed to affect supply, but literally nothing else changed, so I’m stumped as to what else it could be other than the Mirena/spotting. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, did your supply rebound? I am devastated that my supply has dipped so dramatically. I’ve tried all the things I used to build supply in the first place and am only up to 10-12 oz a day now. I am so frustrated, and finding it hard to relax while pumping, which I know isn’t helping. If I can’t increase my supply again, I’m wondering if it may be time to stop pumping. I feel like I am putting in SO much effort with not a lot of payout, but am struggling with guilt and feeling like a quitter. How/when did you decide to stop pumping?

For those of you with mother’s helpers, how do you get your kid to leave you alone? I thought it would be great to have one over to watch kiddo while I did other things – a little work, laundry, bills, some life-admin phone calls (like dr offices). Kiddo would not abide the fact that I was in the house and not paying attention to him. He screamed and cried and it basically was a disaster all around. Is this the sort of thing that takes a few tries to succeed?

You don’t need much at all! I used my regular Magic Bullet or Ninja for purees and then quickly moved to the fork/masher. Bought a few sets of OXO spoons, and then have one hand-me-down compartmentalized dish we use, but often for feeding if there’s only one item (e.g. oatmeal mixed with green smoothie which I give DS on weekends) I just use our own stuff.

Also I just boiled, roasted, etc. how I normally would and then pureed or mashed. I feel like, for our eating habits and household, all the “stuff” out there was really not needed.

We’re getting ready to start solid foods with my soon to be 6 month old. Any advice on what kind of appliance(s) we need to prepare the baby food? We have a nanny so would like to make as much of the baby food as possible. We don’t have a full-size blender but have a hand/immersion blender and a large instant pot. Should we get one of those baby blender/steamer combos like the Baby Brezza? Or is it better to invest in a normal steamer that we can use beyond making baby food? The Instant Pot steams but seems like a hassle for smaller portions. It also takes up a ton of counter space so we don’t generally have it out. Any specific product recs that are small-ish? Affordable options that aren’t cheap plastic? Getting overwhelmed by Amazon…

Also recs for baby plates and utensils? How many should we have? Thanks!

Any tips for balancing childcare/division of labor when one partner is traveling a lot and you’re both exhausted and needing a break? My husband recently started a new job and will be traveling either cross-country and internationally nearly every week through February. He comes home exhausted and jet-lagged from long days on the road and constant travel, yet I’m also completely wiped out from working and solo parenting our 11 month old (who’s still not sleeping through the night!) while he’s away so much. How do we figure out a fair way for us to each get a break on the weekends without one partner feeling like they’re getting the short end of the stick?

I’m going to ask our nanny if she can help out a few extra hours per week, but since my take-home pay isn’t much after taxes and childcare, I struggle with asking for much more than that. Unfortunately, we don’t have any family nearby who can pitch in either.

Has anyone else dealt with jealousy about the amount of attention your kids get from their grandparents compared to other grandchildren? I know it’s petty of me, but both sets of grandparents have local grandkids (though we aren’t exactly far away – we often visit just for the day). In both cases, the grandparents are much more bonded and interested in them than in our LO (who is an infant). I know it’s because they see them every day and help with caretaking, but it’s still hard. I try visiting frequently (since they don’t come to us), sending lots of pictures, and calling, but LO is constantly being overshadowed by his cousins. I know he’s too young to notice and I should probably just be an adult and not care, but they were so “into” the other grandkids as babies that it stings.

I’m starting the process of finding a nanny for my five month old twins. Besides watching, feeding and changing the babies, what other things should I ask/expect the nanny to do? I’d like her to do their laundry. Is it common for nannies to also prepare bottles (and solid meals when the kids are older) or do I need to do that and she just gives it to the kids? Also, dh and I typically take 3-4 weeks of vacation a year. Would we also have to offer a week or two of vacation whenever the nanny wants? Any other tips about hiring/working with a nanny would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

We started dairy reintroduction for my 15 month old last night and he hasn’t been sick but is very out of sorts. We went to messy play this am and he wasn’t into it at all and then took a second nap on the bus home which is unusual, Hoping it’s the tooth that broke through this weekend rather than the fact that he chowed down on brioche,

Just wanted to put some good news out there/toot my own horn:

I took my current job as a big lean out when my kid was 15 months old. I was devastated about it for an embarrassingly long time, but I couldn’t make my old job work with my husband’s job schedule. I eventually came to terms with working here, and started really enjoying it and the freedom it has given me. Then shortly after my husband stopped traveling for work and settled into a normal routine, both my boss and her boss quit, and I applied for and got my boss’s job. And I got a pretty decent raise, and I asked for more and they gave it to me. I started in my new role yesterday. So now I’m getting paid well and getting great experience that will let me leave here (if I decide to do that at some point in the future) with a leg up and the word “manager” in my title. I’m so pleasantly surprised. Leaning out is not the end of the world, it appears.

How are all the babies doing with the time change? Day 3 of pre-5 am wakeups over here! I am so tired that, after stopping to buy coffee on the way to work, I left my coffee on the counter of the coffee shop. The worst is that yesterday, after nursing baby at 4:30, I gave him to my husband and went back to sleep, but then lay in bed awake because I was anxious about how tired and poor performing I was going to be at work… because of not getting enough sleep. Wtf, mind and body!

For the commenter yesterday looking for a cheaper alternative to Wee Ones bows, I’ve found cheap bows on Amazon to be similar to the actual clip part of the Wee Ones (the bows themselves are much simpler, but I actually like that for day to day). The ones I have are Shemay 10 Pairs 2″ Tiny Boutique Grosgrain Ribbon Hair Bow Alligator Clips Barrettes for Baby Girls Toddlers Kids

What are your favorite washable work pants around $30? This should be an easy find, but I’m struggling. NY&Co stopped making the ones I currently wear.

When did your kiddos drop from 2 to 1 nap?

Background — DS is 1 in a few weeks and daycare is talking about transitioning him to the toddler room slowly, which is fine, but they only have 1 nap there. Right now, he absolutely still needs his morning nap around 9 or 9:30 AM. Daycare said they were amenable for putting him down in the infant room for the AM nap, but as great as they are, I suspect they are going to quickly say “he only wants to sleep once a day” (have had to be an advocate for his nap schedule) and I know he’s not there yet.

Suggestions/thoughts welcome!

Any advice on what to wear when meeting with an executive recruiter? I haven’t needed to do this in a while so not sure about the current protocol. Do you wear a suit or is a tweed blazer and coordinating but not matching dress or pants okay?This is for investment banking/finance type roles.

Are there any working moms here with older kids (or empty nests) who regret not staying home when their kids were little? My mom expressed to me this past weekend that she regrets not staying home with me and my sister. It was a huge shock to me, and I don’t really understand the reason for her regret (she’s super close with both me and my sister, had a great career, appears to have a great marriage to my dad, and they’re enjoying the fruits of dual incomes in retirement – lots of luxury travel, etc. that I’m fairly sure would not be possible without her earnings). I asked her why and she just said that the time went too fast and she wishes she’d spent more time with us when we were young. You hear a lot about SAHM regrets if the marriage ends or whatever, but I hadn’t heard any working moms express regret until now.