Sara, I'm so sorry! I know how frustrating it is when the wee one doesn't gain enough weight. It's a little ironic, isn't it, that we're worrying about not losing weight ouselves, and at the same time, worried about them notgaining weight! I take mine in for his 9 mo. appointment next Tues. and am hoping he's made it to 18 lbs. Our pediatrician seemed to want him there at 6 mo.!!

I don't really have any advice, per se, is she still nursing well, or is she acting fussy and frustrated when you try to nurse her? I think that if you can hear her "drinking" (that lovely gulping sound) or see milk (those cute dribbly smiles), that would mean your milk is okay. I know I really have to work at drinking enough water - that will affect supply. I don't want this to turn into a rant, but, I believe some babies are just skinny. Period. Nothing's wrong with them. People push the idea af the chubby baby so much, that we mothers are made to feel guilty (like we need more of that) if our baby doesn't fit that mold. Honestly, I'm glad my baby isn't chubby. He's extremely healthy and has tons of energy and eats like a little horse! Phew. Okay, I'm done... I think it's out of my system now.

I wish I had some "diet" advice for you. I guess just listen to your body. I do remember in my breastfeeding class that they told us that even mothers who were starving could still breastfeed, because our bodies give all nutrients to the milk first. It's not good for us if we're deficient, but supposedly the baby would still be fine. Anyway, I thought that was interesting. Keep us posted on what you decide and hang in there. Jenny

Your reply was very nice. I think you're right; some babies are just skinny! You made a lot of good points---you sound just like a La Leche League Leader! I used to be one and everything you said is right on. My concern isn't about having enough milk, but about the quality. Except for the time I was on induction, I haven't had a problem with my supply; she sucks and swallows plenty. I guess I was just wondering if my milk has enough carbs in it even though I'm not eating many myself.?!

You know they are supposed to triple their birthweight by one year! That's not going to happen with this one that weighed 9.1 at birth. I think there were a couple of others that didn't triple, especially my 10.2 lb.---after birth, he was always in the the 5th percentile for weight. I guess I'll just have to chill out. She's a skinny, sickly little thing though. She's almost always got some new virus. But she's active and meeting all her milestones, so I'll try to stop worrying!

Guys!

I am having the EXACT same struggles you are. The weight doesnt' seem to be budging and I'm having SO much trouble watching carbs having skipped induction and just trying to avoid sugar and starches. I feel like I need the strictness of Atkins, but worry about my milk, etc. etc. Just like you all. WHAT TO DO!?!? My nursling is only 5 1/2 months, so not even eating solids yet. But she's roly-poly and getting lots of milk. No 50th percentile for us. We're at the top of the charts. But my ds was that way too, and around 6-8 months as he started crawling he thinned out. I really think that before the holidays I need to do something radical so the cravings don't destroy me!

Jenny, are you still doing BFL for your workouts? How's that going?

I really think I need to hit Atkins in a serious way. And just get my carbs from lots of veggies, even more than 20 g. And just see what happens...if ketosis is yucky for my babe, I'll just add carbs back in till I"m still losing but out of ketosis, that way at least the cravings will be under control. I hope.

Keep in touch, I love to hear that you guys are wrestling with the same stuff. I would just love to see the under side of 200 before Christmas.

Jami

Hi gals, Glad to hear from you!

Well, we had our Dr. visit today and just as I'd thought, the baby is still skinny!! 17lb. 8oz. and 30 inches. The Dr. isn't worried, but we do have to go back to weigh in again in a month. She said that for his height he sould weigh 26lbs. HA! He's extremely healthy though, so I'm not concerned. He only weighed 7lb. 6oz. at birth so it's possible for him to triple by a year.

I've been following Atkins for aobut a week now, and am down between 5 and 8 lbs. (it's fluctuated). I'm loving it! I saw a thread on the other site, LowcarbFriends.com for nursing Moms and pretty much all of them said that ketosis isn't a problem with nursing. Most of them have "older" babies, 7 mo.+ and have seen Drs. and Lactation Consultants who said it was okay. I haven't counted carb grams, mostly because I hate to count because then it feels like a "diet". I just have tried to stick to the authorized foods and make sure to eat any time I feel even a bit hungry.

I haven't been working out like I'd like to. I think that while doing Atkins it's harder. The first couple of days I felt really light headed and queasy, (almost like morning sickness ). I intend to start walking with the stroller at least. I also used to love doing The Firm tapes and might dig mine out. I do believe in weights... life just gets in the way with a hubbie and baby!!

whew, long again! Sorry... Talk to you later, Jenny

i looked up this article on la leche league's site:

http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/lowcarb.html

it's actually takes a somewhat positive view of low carbing while breastfeeding, with a few key points.

i was eating low carb (protein power) before i got pregnant, then the only foods i could even contemplate keeping down were high carb, starchy foods. i continued eating carbs freely throughout my pregnancy & post partum (my son is 14 wks old). i'm now thinking about going back to a 'liberal' low carb way of eating, but i think i'll wait until i'm finished bfeeding before i completely eliminate refined carbs.

anyone else find it difficult to think about giving up all those refined carbs again now that you've been freely partaking? i'm loving eating pasta, rice, breads again, & i'm happily baking away.......... i've thought about allowing myself to have one or two high carb days a week, because now i don't really want to give up these things again. still undecided, though.

michelle

Hi, i'm new to the forums here and fairly new to LC'ing, but have been bf'ing my son for 14 1/2 months.

I'm glad i dropped in on this thread. The LLL article was really interesting. Hopefully losing all of this fat isnt causing too many pollutants to dump into my breastmilk. A lot of the other things in the article really made sense though--i havent purposefully tried to go into ketosis because it didnt seem like a very good idea for us.

I'm following the Heller's Healthy for Life plan. It's low carb but nowhere near as low as a lot of the plans out there. Carbs are included at 2 meals/day. I usually do 1/2 c yoghurt and 1/2 piece of fruit at breakfast, then at supper i have a small serving of a whole grain type of carb like barley or whole wheat pasta. Even with eating so many carbs the weight is falling off like crazy. Anyways, this eating plan is well within my comfort levels as a nursing mom--i feel like i'm getting everything that ds needs and everything that i need.

Ds is a bit older than many of the other bf'ing babies on this thread, but many days most of his nutritional intake comes from breastmilk. He bf's frequently throughout the day (and night), and we're in no hurry to wean.

(Ya i know--i'm a freak lol).

Nice to have you join us, Michelle and Aster! I'm a newbie to the LC scene, but am loving it so far. I dropped 10 lb. really quickly, but kinda fell off the wagon at Thanksgiving. I'm working on getting back on track again.

Michelle, thanks for the article. It was interesting to see LC discussed directly.

Aster, I've totally changed my tune regarding breastfeeding older babies. Before mine came along I though I'd wean him right on "schedule" at 12 mo. But, now that it's quickly approaching, I'm really dreading it - it's such a neat experience. I saw a woman in the airport this weekend nursing her 2 yr. old. Before Children (B.C. ) I would have thought it was a little weird, but now I just thought Cool!!

Hope all are well. Happy Holidays and have a Blessed Christmas! Jenny

Hello all,

So happy to see you all still chating out there!

I have been on the mainland for 3 weeks visiting my sister in Colorado and various relatives, so my life has been a bit hectic.

Well, I completely went off while I was visiting and ate every thing in sight! So much fun. I even complained when my sisters kids only went to 4 houses for treats on halloween. I didnt even care if it was 20deg. out there, there was chocolate to be had!!

Ok, let me give you the lo-down on myself and my little family:
33 y/o
Married 8 years
3 kids 2 boys & 1 girl (Gabriel 5, Adrian 3 and my sweet little flower Sophia 10 mo)

Previously lost 20lbs on atk and then I unexpectedly "fell" pregnant (I just love that expression, thanks Aussie jo!)

My Sophia is ALSO a very lean and long baby!! She was 7lbs 4 oz at birth and now She is approx 16.5lbs at 10mo and eats tons of freshly ground baby food that we fatten up with olive oil. She nurses approx. 3 to 5x a day and is very active. She is this wt with me eating freely.
I am not worried as she was continuing to grow in her own nicely rounded curve. One of my other children, Adrian was also the same long and lean and he still is. Not worried, just wish I had the same metabolism.

I have started eating at maint. levels again so I can fit into some of my cloths for upcomming christmas parties. After I lost that 20 lbs, I literally got rid of all my pre atkins cloths! I went crazy rewarding myself with "skinny cloths" and now I am stuck with size 6 cloths!!!!!! I refuse to buy larger than a 10 and I am squeezing my motherly curves into two pairs of pants. By the way I am sick of these pants!

My hubby is also going on atk, but he is doing the full on induction. Not so sure this is a good idea, we both tend to get a bit crabby without sugar.

Oops just realized ive been rambling...
Please excuse the mispelled words, its not a strong point Im lost with out spell check!

Take care

It has occoured to me that maybe your little one is sick frequently because she has 5 older siblings "sharing" germs with her. Once my oldest started socializing with other kids we got all sorts of lovely germs that would pass thru our household.

Hi guys! I'm glad to see everyone has returned for a little chat!

EngineerGirl, thanks for posting the LLL link. I had read that already, but it's good for others to see.

Aster, welcome to the club. I'm right there with ya in the "freak" department! My babies nurse for an average of 2 years. Actually, if I really averaged it, it would be closer to 2.5 years. Toddlers love to nurse!

We're just getting over another round of viruses. I agree with you Kristy, that dd is sick all the time because of her siblings, but she'll probably have the strongest immune system of all of them if she survives this first year! ;-)

I'm trying to get back to LC after Thanksgiving. I'm just giving in to little cheats now, not real sugary stuff, but I'm having lots of cravings for carbs.

Gotta run!
Stay in touch!

Good morning!




Does anyone know what this little black man with the tape measure, located under our member information symbolizes?

Is it the overall achieved % of your total wt loss goal?

What is the easiest way to measure body fat from home?

hi Kristy,

Yes, that's right. When you change your stats in your profile to show your new weight as you go along, the % toward goal will also change. Congrats to you on your loss so far.
There are a number of online body fat % calculators .. with varying degrees of accuracy. Natrushka has posted some that she's found useful, you might have a look at these:

• Lean & Strong BF % calculator
• RustyIron's BF % calculators .. includes using calipers, and also gives skinfold technique using your fingers
• Linear-software calculators .. includes calculations with calipers and tape measure

hth,

Doreen

Okay girls! Since this thread is so inactive, I can only assume that some of you have fallen off the wagon like me!

I'm starting Induction today to repair some of the damage done by Thanksgiving (and the week before, and the weeks since! ). That gives me 10 days before I go visiting family for Christmas. And being so strict is the only way I think I can survive the next couple of weeks without completely losing control and gaining more weight.

Dh was going to take me shopping for Christmas, but now I don't want to because I'm a little bigger than I was when we made that deal. If I do Induction, it could be worthwhile. Any takers?

Later, I'll try to post a couple of recipes that will help me deal with this during cookie season! Looking forward to lots of support here!

Sara
Yes, your assumtion is correct for me, my little one started nursing less and spitting up after nursing. She didnt do this prior to the low carbing so I thought it was the culprit. Then shortly after that we all got a round of colds that we are all still dealing with. This could have also been the reason, any how I laid off and am just trying to get everyone well with lots of fresh vitamin C foods.

Went to a couple of christmas partys and felt pretty junky after eating carbs so keep that in mind while your sticking to protien and vegie foods.

Maybe your dh could take you out shopping after the new year and you can cash in on all of those after christmas bargans!

Ok here is my mantra when invisioning myself trying on new cloths "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"


Keep the faith

Yes, ladies, I too fell off the lowcarb wagon after Thanksgiving. Sadly, I've been indulging every whim that goes through my head also. I was down to 188, but am now back up to 193. I actually was planning to start induction again tomorrow anyway, but it will be even better knowing I'm not alone!

I'm looking forward to those recipes, Sara!