Author Archives: Kristin @littlemamajama

Having Another Baby After a Postpartum Mood Disorder by Dr. Jessica Michaelson {Guest Post}

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jessica Michaelson. I’m so happy to have her here to write about a topic that I struggled over – deciding to have another baby after a postpartum mood disorder. If you’re currently making that decision, I hope you’ll find this post very helpful. Thank you, Dr.!

If you suffered through postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD, or psychosis with your first child, the thought of trying to have another brings up complicated and intense feelings.

These feelings often range from terror and resolve to never get pregnant again to excitement and hope that this time you’ll be able to do it without unnecessary suffering.

Whether you’re considering having another child, or already have one on the way, here is some information that might be helpful:

First…..The Bad News

If you had postpartum mood, anxiety, or psychosis before you are at 50-80% risk of developing symptoms again postpartum
You might experience symptoms during pregnancy
If you are on medication and you discontinue medication during pregnancy, you are at 50-75% risk of relapsing during your pregnancy
Having two children is more stressful than one in terms of physical and emotional demands on you, and stress can increase risk

Now….The Good News

You know what being sick looks and feels like
You know what being well looks and feels like
You know how to ask for help when you start noticing symptoms (or others around you do)
You know that individual therapy, support groups, and sometimes medication can really work to bring your symptoms to remission
You know that many medications are safe to take while breastfeeding
You know that if you need a medication that isn’t safe while breastfeeding, formula will be just fine
You know that sleep, food, and family support are essential to good mental health
You know that being a mother is hard work, but it doesn’t cause intense and endless suffering; it’s the illness that does that.

Above all else, you know that you never want to be sick like that again.

Take responsibility for your care, get information, and surround yourself with people who truly support you. If you do get sick again, it is not your fault, you will get better, and you can’t do it alone.

With love and optimism,
Dr. Jessica Michaelson

Dr. Jessica Michaelson is a psychologist, mother of two, and survivor of postpartum depression and anxiety. www.DrJMichaelson.com

Preparing for Baby: Tips for Freezer Meals by BunkinMama {Guest Post}

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Today, I’m happy to introduce BunkinMama! When she found out that I was looking for guest posts, she asked right away what I needed help with and I’m so thankful. Enjoy her tips for freezer meals!

Congratulations to Kristin and her family on the birth of their beautiful baby girl!

Hey, I’m BunkinMama, my blog is Country Bunkin Mama. I post about my daughters, M is 8 months old, born in September 2012 and V, 5 years old, started Kindergarten this school year. I also share some tasty recipes. You can find me on facebook, twitter, and pinterest. I am a guest poster here for Little Mama Jama. Trying to help Kristin while she spends some extra time with her new family of four.

To make the first few weeks at home with your newborn a little easier a good idea is to prepare frozen meals. Frozen meals made at home are healthy and more cost effective than eating out or ordering in. Recipes can make dinner as simple as using a microwave, or placing a pre-prepared meal into the crockpot or oven. So if you are currently pregnant and you can add a little more to your nesting to do list I have a few tips and tricks to share.

A freezer kept at 0°F can store foods from 2 months to 6 months. This can give you time to plan and prepare some meals before baby is born. You can prepare entire meals as you have time, or over a weekend making several different recipes all at once. Another approach to this is when you are cooking a meal for a typical dinner double the recipe. After you and your family have eaten the meal package the leftovers and freeze them.

To be sure that your meals keep well you need proper packaging. Plastic freezer containers work well and are what I mostly used. These can range in sizes from half-pints to gallon size. Use a size appropriate for the amount of food you will be freezing. Other packaging you can use include plastic freezer bags and glass casserole dishes with plastic lids. The glass casserole dishes are great for prepared, uncooked meals, such as lasagna, that can be thawed and placed right in the oven. Gallon size plastic freezer bags can hold all the ingredients you need for a crockpot meal, just thaw the day before, place in crock pot, turn it on and let it cook. Freezer bags are also good for baked goods, especially if you remove the excess air first. I did this by zipping the bag until at the very edge I slipped a straw in and sucked out the air, then sealed tightly. If you have a vacuum sealer that’s even better. The less air in the packaging the better, foods freezer faster and will have less ice crystals.

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It is a good idea to mark each container with the ingredients of the meal and the date it was made. You can do this with a permanent marker on freezer bags, or with some masking tape on the reusable containers.

Most of the meals I prepared were all precooked. We just thawed and heated in the microwave. This made it easy for my husband to warm up a plate for us whenever we were hungry. A few of the meals I froze were, beef and barley soup, stuffed peppers, chili, meatloaf, chicken pot pies, zucchini muffins, zucchini and bacon pasta, quiche, pizza, pancakes, cabbage and noodles, lasagna, and meatballs with spaghetti sauce.

Freezing Precooked Foods Tips

Cool meal completely before freezing
Undercook vegetables (they will be cooked more during reheating)
Season lightly (peppers, cloves, garlic and onion become stronger after freezing)
Don’t add salt until after reheating (the flavor of salt washes out during freezing)
Fried foods are not ideal for home freezing, they become tough and dry
Milk sauces are not ideal, they can curdle and separate
Frozen potatoes become watery and grainy
Tomato based sauces and soups freeze great
Pastries, dough, and other baked goods freeze best when baked first
Do not fill your freezer all at once. This will over work your freezer and dishes will not freeze fast enough. Previously frozen food could thaw.
Reheat all meats and vegetables until the internal temperature reaches 165°F

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If you are pregnant I hope this information helps you. If you know someone who is expecting a baby please share this information. Freezing meals is a great way to prepare for a newborn. Once you baby has arrived you will not have to worry about what and when you are going to eat. Leaving more time to spend with your baby and your family.

Strengthening My Self-Identity and the Transition to Parenting by Kathy Morelli {Guest Post}

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I’m honored to have Kathy Morelli, LPC, here today to share her story about her transition to parenting. I met Kathy through #PPDChat, and she is an excellent advocate for those suffering from PPMDs. Thank you for being here, Kathy!

Growing up when I did was confusing- to say the least. My parents were raised
with a traditional mindset that valued stay at home moms in the 50s; women of my
mom’s generation were taught to believe that SAH parenting was the “right” thing
to do.

However, the Feminist Movement was hot on the heels of those years; encouraging
women to get educated and launch successful careers. For me, that meant that I
was constantly caught between the desire to have children young and stay at home
and the desire to follow those around me to college and career.

From the beginning, this was a recipe for disaster engineered to force constant
feelings of failure and inadequacy. I was constantly worried about whether or
not I fit in once I was on Wall Street. Men surrounded me and I was forced to
accommodate a style of communication with which I wasn’t entirely comfortable. I
felt out of place and uncomfortable.

I tried to rely on my status as a “self made” manager on Wall Street, but it didn’t
take long for me to realize that this wasn’t enough to create a self image with
which I was happy. When I became a mother, these feelings were just exacerbated.
How was I to deal with the fighting desires to stay at home to raise my child and
my desire to go back to work? I suffered from a deep seated depression, as my
sense of self felt split.

I was not alone in these feelings: there is a lot of research that shows that women
report they believe they have “lowered their sense of self” as a result of juggling
motherhood and work. We can’t have everything at once.

After much personal emotional work, what I came to realize was that personal
identity isn’t based on your job title or what others think of you. It’s a complex
construct influenced by everything around you: your family, your work, your role
as a mother, daughter, wife, and person.

Instead of sacrificing your family or job, sacrifice your crippling self-doubt and
work to achieve a new understanding of yourself. It’s okay to want to go back
to work after your son or daughter is born- and it’s okay to stay at home. The
important thing is to balance these desires with a healthy, comprehensive sense of
self.

I learned that self-love and self-awareness are not just words; they are something
real to fight for, something that takes effort and has big benefits. Strengthen your
self-esteem and strengthen yourself and your family.

Much love to you, Kathy

Kathy Morelli, LPC, has a professional marriage and family counseling practice with a focus on pregnancy, birth, postpartum and trauma in Wayne, NJ. Kathy also offers phone consultations and Strengthen Our Mothers® a web-based workshop. She has a long-term interest in mindbody therapies and is trained in shiatsu, acupressure and Reiki. She writes and speaks on birth comfort measures and perinatal mental health and has appeared at various universities and conferences across the country. She is the author of three books in her BirthTouch® series. Kathy blogs about perinatal mental health for Lamaze’s Science & Sensibility, is a board member of Prevention and Treatment of Traumatic Childbirth (PATTCh) and is one of Postpartum Support International’s (PSI) Virtual Volunteers. Visit her at birthtouch.com and kathymorelli.com.

The One and Only Thing I (Might) Miss About Pregnancy

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And by miss it, I mean I might miss this. A Little. If I ever stop getting excited about not being pregnant long enough to think about this, then maybe I’d miss it.

Maybe.

I might miss having my hand resting nonchalantly on my ginormous baby bump and feeling a tiny little foot rub all the way across my belly. It’s simultaneously the weirdest and coolest thing ever.

Also, when they’re living in your uterus, they don’t cry, scream or whine. So there’s that.

Movie Screening in Valencia/Santa Clarita, CA!

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I wanted to share this opportunity with you all. If you’re local to this, you might want to check it out! Enjoy!

#Mamavation Monday: One Week Postpartum!

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I’m baaaack! I haven’t posted a Mamavation Monday update in a few weeks, because there wasn’t much to report. I was very pregnant, very uncomfortable, and very sedentary. Baby Jo surprised us last Sunday when she decided to arrive early!

I have to admit, for the first time since September, I’m starting to feel like myself again. I am able to eat vegetables, things smell and taste normal again – no more sickness, no more pain. It’s fantastic. Plus, we have this sweet baby girl!

C was focused more on his snack than on picture taking.

My recovery process is going so much better after this c-section compared to the one I had with C. I am on pain meds, but I’m feeling great. I gained 18 pounds with this pregnancy, and in one week I’ve lost 13 pounds. I’m wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans (unzipped, of course, due to c-section incision and loose skin). But I’m wearing them! It took me SIX MONTHS after I had C to get my pre-pregnancy jeans on. I guess this is the upside to being sick for my entire pregnancy.

one week postpartum

One week postpartum, I’m loving our new family of four and getting so excited for walks outside together.

This post is sponsored by Dr. Ken and Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.

Picture Friday!

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Today, I’m going to post some pictures from what we’ve been up to since I don’t have a whole lot of time to write! My parents brought C back home today, and he adores his little sister. He keeps coming up to her and saying, “Hi, baby!” He rubs her forehead gently and kisses her. It’s the sweetest thing.

I have a DAUGHTER. Crazy!

Here is a pic of newborn C on the top, and below is Baby Jo. Don’t they look alike?!

Here she is, all ready to come home from the hospital!

Sleepy dad and daughter.

Happy 2nd Birthday, C!

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My sweet boy turned 2 on Monday. I honestly cannot believe that my little boy is now a big brother! We were going to spend the entire weekend celebrating his birthday as a family, but Baby Jo had different plans for Sunday.

I’m so glad that we made Saturday such a fun day for him. We took him to the zoo and then to the park.

Monkeys!

Cheeeese!

C likes to help push the stroller.

Mr. Party Animal fell asleep between the zoo and the park.

Running toward the park!

He loved crawling through this tunnel toward Dada.

We were able to spend one more full day together as a family of three, and it was so wonderful. Our boy is so much fun. We love him dearly. Happy 2nd Birthday to my big boy!

Baby Jo’s First Few Days

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The past few days in the hospital since Baby Jo’s birth have been filled with visitors, family, soaking in our new arrival, and getting as much sleep as possible before we go home and don’t have access to the nursery. Here are the highlights of Baby Jo’s first few days in our lives.

She was able to meet three of her four grandparents on her first day of life!

She met her cousins. We also took our first family-of-four picture.

Her brother loved on her a bit and made mama’s heart melt.

We celebrated C’s birthday with some cake. Here he is trying on his new “Cars” rain boots!

Birthday boy had a Mickey sticker on his bum.

Two days postpartum and I’m feeling light as a feather compared to 38 weeks pregnant!

It’s so nice to be closer to family for Jo’s birth, so that they could actually visit us! What a wonderful way to celebrate our child’s birth – having family come celebrate her with us. Not pictured are my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, parents to our three nieces; and my sweet friend, S, who is also C’s babysitter. Thank you all for coming!

Baby Deuce is Here!

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I had a premonition that she would arrive before her scheduled date of May 6! We were hoping that she would stay in there until 38 weeks, and she did…by about an hour!

On Saturday, we decided to have a family day at the zoo and the park to celebrate C’s 2nd birthday (more on that this week!). Much to my surprise, I did not experience a single contraction with all of that walking we did. That was really unusual. So what happened later that night shocked me.

At 8:00pm, right after we put C to bed, I started experiencing regular contractions that were 3 minutes apart. They were extremely painful and were accompanied with (TMI alert!) that lovely clear-out-your-system-it’s-go-time diarrhea. Since I’ve had so many regular contractions that end up stopping, I waited until about 9:45pm to call my doctor.

Our lovely babysitter (aka lifesaver!) arrived at 10:30pm to stay with C until my parents were able to get there. They live about two hours from us. Hubster and I headed to the hospital!

We got to the hospital at about 11:00pm. I was 2cm dilated and 60% effaced. Hubster said, “Do you think they’ll send you home?” I looked at him with eyebrows raised and replied, “If this isn’t labor, God help me because I don’t know what is!”

They started prepping me for my c-section at midnight. I started to get a little nervous, remembering my terrible experience last time. They reassured me of some things, like that they wouldn’t put in my catheter until after the anesthesia started to work (last time it was quite painfully done before my epidural kicked in). Unfortunately, I had an interesting little experience during the spinal that made me nervous…

Thankfully, my nurse had my head against her chest and one of her thighs against each of my knees while the anesthesiologist was doing the spinal, because they hit a nerve – twice. Each time, I screamed out and kicked my right leg as I felt what seemed like an electric jolt through my leg. It was so weird, and I started to shake from adrenaline. Apparently it’s relatively common and doesn’t mean I’ll have any effects except for those two jolts; but it was enough to make me a little on edge.

I was more numb during this surgery than my last c-section. Yay! I barely felt a thing except for a little pressure when they were pushing her out. Adrenaline made my teeth chatter throughout the surgery, though. I was freeeeezing. But everything went really well, and my recovery is actually going amazingly better than last time. My entire experience from the moment I arrived at the hospital through my current recovery experience and care has been completely different from last time. It’s so much better that I can’t even compare it!

Baby Deuce, hereby referred to as Baby Jo, was born at 38 weeks on April 28 at 1:13am. She was 6 pounds, 14 ounces and 19 inches long. She is perfectly healthy and so teeny tiny! I think she looks a lot like her brother.

Baby Jo 1 Baby Jo 2

Ivory 2-IN-1 Hair and Body Wash

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I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.

I’ll admit, there are many days when I have to rush in the shower so that I’m out in time for Hubster to leave for work. What does that mean? I have to take shortcuts – hairy legs, no conditioner for my hair, etc. I was excited to receive Ivory‘s new 2-IN-1 Hair and Body Wash to try on days like these.

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I like that I only need to reach for one bottle on a rushed morning, and this product takes care of everything. I’ve been really picky about scents during this pregnancy, but I really like the smell of Ivory 2-IN-1 Hair and Body Wash. It has a fresh, clean scent. It’s neither masculine nor feminine, just fresh.

C even tried it out on bath night. He loves taking “bubble bafs” and the Ivory body wash created a lot of bubbles for him to play with! This product didn’t cause any breakouts on C’s sensitive skin, and he smelled fantastic after he was done.

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We’ve tried it and it’s met our seal of approval. I would purchase Ivory 2-IN-1 Hair and Body Wash again if I get a good deal on it (though, that’s really this frugal gal’s standards on any product she likes!).

I’m Relieved About My Repeat C-Section

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As I was sitting in C’s room waiting for him to fall asleep, it occurred to me that I am not at all nervous about having this baby. Flashback to two years ago – I was almost panicky thinking about my upcoming birth. I’m slightly shocked that I’m not concerned about this one. My birth with C was quite traumatic and resulted in an emergency c-section. I expected to be a bundle of nerves for any future birth experience.

Quite the opposite, actually. My only concern is that I get to the hospital in time if Baby Deuce is early. I don’t want to end up in a situation where I feel the urge to push, knowing I can’t because my pelvis was too small for C to fit through. Even that lone concern rarely occupies my thoughts.

I’m so relieved that I’m having a repeat c-section. I’ve been asked numerous times why I’ve chosen this method instead of trying for a VBAC. While I could have opted for a VBAC, I am very glad that I didn’t. If I had, I know I would be extremely nervous at this point about having a repeat of my last experience. Chances are very good that it would not have been successful. My c-section is something that I can take comfort in. I know what is going to happen. I’m more in control of my situation than I was the first time, and I take great comfort in that.

Did you opt for a repeat c-section?