RE: Breastfeeding twins update

August 23, 2011

Dear Bekah, I have many thoughts, but want to send you my prayers and hope that in spite of disappointment, fatigue and all the unpleasant symptoms you can hang on to your conviction that the Lord knows what He is doing, and that He never sends more than you can bear, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. Hang in, and hang on. There are several things you can try after number nine is safely here. Hanna Klaus, M.D. From: nfpprofessionals [mailto:nfpprofessionals ] On Behalf Of kenderlove4Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 8:31 PMTo: nfpprofessionals Subject: Breastfeeding twins update I'm posting from Yahoo homepage as it looks like my first attempt didn't post. Apologies if this ends up posting twice.To our shock and amazement, we confirmed this weekend that number 9 is on the way. The twins are 5.5 mo old. I had absolutely no mucus symptoms, in fact this is the first time I have ever been dry, dry, dry while nursing. I'm guessing, mostly based on the faintness of the test result and appearance of symptoms that I am barely 4 weeks. I suspected pregnancy after an episode of post-coital bleeding, followed by constant pelvic heaviness followed by nausea starting a week later. I have decided to be happy about this and not worry about the details, as I know no one else in our circle will feel the same. I trust the Lord knows what He's doing. Dh is trying but struggling, so prayers for him, please. (Update since my attempt to post yesterday: he is already feeling more optimistic.) I have had very early return of menses before, but never without any warning symptoms of fertility. I'm feeling quite disillusioned with NFP as it has always been a constant struggle for us with my cycle history, but I was convicted about the errors of contraception long before my conversion to the Catholic Church. So we have limited options.Can dehydration affect the mucus sign? I have been struggling to stay hydrated while breastfeeding the twins. I don't do internal checks as I have a history of virulent GBS infection, and temps are nonsensical when you are awakened every 30m to 2h (on a good night) all night. ~Bekah <><

August 23, 2011

Dear Bekah,My thoughts and prayers will be with as you prepare your hearts and home for another blessing. I can only imagine the mixed emotions you must have toward using NFP. Being called to be the mother of 9 must be a most intensely joyous vocation while also being very hard to bear. I have not walked where you trod but I pray that those who have will intercede on your behalf so that you may feel peace and hope descending from Heaven, to make your steps quick and your burden light.

With regard to feeling that you have limited options, I would encourage you to search your heart regarding cervical exams. It has been the saving grace for many clients of mine. So that this may become a better option for you, I am pasting below a protocol given to me by a traditional midwife in Maine that we have used with great success in the prevention and treatment of GBS colonization.

Peace, Palmer FCPville, FL_________Protocol for the prevention and treatment of GBSTake twice a day (breakfast and dinner) from 30 weeks pregnant or daily when not pregnant

Acidophilus 4 billion cells per doseEchinacea 350 mg capsules x2 capsGarlic 580 mg capsules x2 capsVit. C 500 mg w/200mg bioflavenoidsGrapefruit seed extract 15 drops or one capsule

Zinc & Vit B-6 can also be added w/beneficial results-- Mellow Moms*doula services and natural family planning*ville, FLwww.mellowmoms.com

August 24, 2011

Bekah first of all I am happy for you and your husband even though I do not underestimate the difficulties. No doubt this will be a special child, as God delights in wrapping blessings in various kinds of difficulties and trials. He "sweetens" the burden when we least expect it.

Yes, because mucus is a hydrogel it will be more scant when dehydrated. There are times, especially in extraordinary circumstances, when we simply must do the best we can with the ordinary, not-completely-perfect measures we have at our disposal and then trust divine providence for the rest. (even in NFP circles, "providence" ought not have a bad name!) Are you in your 30s?

One bright spot is that if all goes well you have just been given about 14 months not to have to think about it. That in itself is a gift.

You all will be in my family's prayers!

Sincerely yours,

Dominic M. Pedulla MD, FACC, CNFPMC, ABVM, ACPh

Interventional Cardiologist, Endovascular Diplomate, Varicose Vein Specialist, Noncontraceptive Family Planning Consultant, Family Planning Researcher

Medical Director, The Oklahoma Vein and Endovascular Center (www.noveinok.com, veininfo@...)

Executive Director, The Edith Stein Foundation (www.theedithsteinfoundation.com)

(office)

(cell)

(FAX)

pedullad@...

"It is an indisputable fact that the Christian faith, from its origins, did not want to be only an idea, that it entered into the world endowed with institutional elements (apostolic function, apostolic succession) and that, therefore, the institutional form of the Church belongs by essence to the faith." (Cardinal ph Ratzinger, December 30, in "La Croix.")

Breastfeeding twins update

I'm posting from Yahoo homepage as it looks like my first attempt didn't post. Apologies if this ends up posting twice.

To our shock and amazement, we confirmed this weekend that number 9 is on the way. The twins are 5.5 mo old. I had absolutely no mucus symptoms, in fact this is the first time I have ever been dry, dry, dry while nursing. I'm guessing, mostly based on the faintness of the test result and appearance of symptoms that I am barely 4 weeks. I suspected pregnancy after an episode of post-coital bleeding, followed by constant pelvic heaviness followed by nausea starting a week later. I have decided to be happy about this and not worry about the details, as I know no one else in our circle will feel the same. I trust the Lord knows what He's doing. Dh is trying but struggling, so prayers for him, please. (Update since my attempt to post yesterday: he is already feeling more optimistic.) I have had very early return of menses before, but never without any warning symptoms of fertility. I'm feeling quite disillusioned with NFP as it has always been a constant struggle for us with my cycle history, but I was convicted about the errors of contraception long before my conversion to the Catholic Church. So we have limited options.

Can dehydration affect the mucus sign? I have been struggling to stay hydrated while breastfeeding the twins. I don't do internal checks as I have a history of virulent GBS infection, and temps are nonsensical when you are awakened every 30m to 2h (on a good night) all night.

~Bekah <><

August 24, 2011

Bekah,As a mother of two I didn't know quite how to respond to you so I asked my good friend who has 9 children. Here are some of her comments:It sounds rough to have 5 month old twins and get pregnant again so soon but since it happened just accept it and welcome the baby right now with joy

and optimism. When we thank God for the new life, things get more optimistic and the baby feels the acceptance and happy expectation. A baby is a gift no matter when it comes and we are sometimes miffed because

it doesn't seem like we'll be able to manage but surprisingly, somehow we manage. I always thought there must be angels helping me doing things

to make the load lighter for all of a sudden you have energy to tackle this or other thing, something you knew you didn't have in you! They

can also maybe get an aupair or young girl who could help them till things settle down a bit into a routine with the kids. It's always hard at the beginning with a new little one as everything adjusts.Thank God we are creatures of habit and after a while we get used to anything.

Have patience, wait on the Lord, our blessed Mother, and the guardian angels and pray for more faith.We also grow in fortitude, patience, trust and really they are practicing Faith!I hope this helps. I will keep you in my prayers and look forward to hearing about the new baby.

Peggy

I'm posting from Yahoo homepage as it looks like my first attempt didn't post. Apologies if this ends up posting twice.

To our shock and amazement, we confirmed this weekend that number 9 is on the way. The twins are 5.5 mo old. I had absolutely no mucus symptoms, in fact this is the first time I have ever been dry, dry, dry while nursing. I'm guessing, mostly based on the faintness of the test result and appearance of symptoms that I am barely 4 weeks. I suspected pregnancy after an episode of post-coital bleeding, followed by constant pelvic heaviness followed by nausea starting a week later. I have decided to be happy about this and not worry about the details, as I know no one else in our circle will feel the same. I trust the Lord knows what He's doing. Dh is trying but struggling, so prayers for him, please. (Update since my attempt to post yesterday: he is already feeling more optimistic.) I have had very early return of menses before, but never without any warning symptoms of fertility. I'm feeling quite disillusioned with NFP as it has always been a constant struggle for us with my cycle history, but I was convicted about the errors of contraception long before my conversion to the Catholic Church. So we have limited options.

Can dehydration affect the mucus sign? I have been struggling to stay hydrated while breastfeeding the twins. I don't do internal checks as I have a history of virulent GBS infection, and temps are nonsensical when you are awakened every 30m to 2h (on a good night) all night.

~Bekah <><

August 24, 2011

Bekah,

Since many you encounter won't say it, congratulations!! I hope and pray

that the first trimester is gentle and kind to you!

If you were consistently charting and completely dry, this could be one of those

" miracle " babies. The deydration question is a good one, though. I will keep

you in my prayers as you guys get used to the idea!

Fuller

>

> Dear Bekah,

>

> I have many thoughts, but want to send you my prayers and hope that in

> spite of disappointment, fatigue and all the unpleasant symptoms you can

> hang on to your conviction that the Lord knows what He is doing, and that He

> never sends more than you can bear, even if it doesn't feel like it right

> now.

>

> Hang in, and hang on. There are several things you can try after number

> nine is safely here.

>

> Hanna Klaus, M.D.

>

> From: nfpprofessionals

> [mailto:nfpprofessionals ] On Behalf Of kenderlove4

> Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 8:31 PM

> To: nfpprofessionals

> Subject: Breastfeeding twins update

>

> I'm posting from Yahoo homepage as it looks like my first attempt didn't

> post. Apologies if this ends up posting twice.

>

> To our shock and amazement, we confirmed this weekend that number 9 is on

> the way. The twins are 5.5 mo old. I had absolutely no mucus symptoms, in

> fact this is the first time I have ever been dry, dry, dry while nursing.

> I'm guessing, mostly based on the faintness of the test result and

> appearance of symptoms that I am barely 4 weeks. I suspected pregnancy after

> an episode of post-coital bleeding, followed by constant pelvic heaviness

> followed by nausea starting a week later. I have decided to be happy about

> this and not worry about the details, as I know no one else in our circle

> will feel the same. I trust the Lord knows what He's doing. Dh is trying but

> struggling, so prayers for him, please. (Update since my attempt to post

> yesterday: he is already feeling more optimistic.) I have had very early

> return of menses before, but never without any warning symptoms of

> fertility. I'm feeling quite disillusioned with NFP as it has always been a

> constant struggle for us with my cycle history, but I was convicted about

> the errors of contraception long before my conversion to the Catholic

> Church. So we have limited options.

>

> Can dehydration affect the mucus sign? I have been struggling to stay

> hydrated while breastfeeding the twins. I don't do internal checks as I have

> a history of virulent GBS infection, and temps are nonsensical when you are

> awakened every 30m to 2h (on a good night) all night.

>

> ~Bekah <><

>

August 24, 2011

Also Bekah,

If you're still charting the NWFS method, feel free to send in your charts to

me, and I'd be happy to have a chart review with you and go through the process

of what we do when an unintended pregnancy occurs.

>

> I'm posting from Yahoo homepage as it looks like my first attempt didn't post.

Apologies if this ends up posting twice.

>

> To our shock and amazement, we confirmed this weekend that number 9 is on the

way. The twins are 5.5 mo old. I had absolutely no mucus symptoms, in fact

this is the first time I have ever been dry, dry, dry while nursing. I'm

guessing, mostly based on the faintness of the test result and appearance of

symptoms that I am barely 4 weeks. I suspected pregnancy after an episode of

post-coital bleeding, followed by constant pelvic heaviness followed by nausea

starting a week later. I have decided to be happy about this and not worry

about the details, as I know no one else in our circle will feel the same. I

trust the Lord knows what He's doing. Dh is trying but struggling, so prayers

for him, please. (Update since my attempt to post yesterday: he is already

feeling more optimistic.) I have had very early return of menses before, but

never without any warning symptoms of fertility. I'm feeling quite

disillusioned with NFP as it has always been a constant struggle for us with my

cycle history, but I was convicted about the errors of contraception long before

my conversion to the Catholic Church. So we have limited options.

>

> Can dehydration affect the mucus sign? I have been struggling to stay

hydrated while breastfeeding the twins. I don't do internal checks as I have a

history of virulent GBS infection, and temps are nonsensical when you are

awakened every 30m to 2h (on a good night) all night.

>

> ~Bekah <><

>

August 24, 2011

" I'm feeling quite disillusioned with NFP as it has always been a constant

struggle for us with my cycle history, but I was convicted about the errors of

contraception long before my conversion to the Catholic Church. "

Dear Bekah:

Sorry to hear about your disillusionment with the use of NFP during the

breastfeeding transition. However, thank you (and congratulations) on welcoming

your new baby -- although a " shock and amazement. " The fact is that current NFP

methods do not do to well in helping couples avoid pregnancy during the

post-partum breastfeeding transition and in some studies the conclusion was that

NFP use actually increased the unintended pregnancy rate. The traditional signs

of cervical mucus and temperature shift do not always correlate well with

fertility during the transition.

We have been studying the breastfeeding transition at Marquette University for

the past few years. I have a PhD student working on the transition as a part of

her doctoral work. We developed a breastfeeding protocol that was published

in the journal Fertility and Sterility -- and over the past two years has been

downloaded over 1,000 times. We have a data set of 200 plus women who have

used the protocol and we (along with Dr. Bouchard, MD - at the University

of Calgary) are currently analyzing the data and working on modifying/updating

the protocol. Right now we have only " one " perfect use unintended pregnancy.

Most of the unintended pregnancies -- were due to not consistent use or not

following the instructions of the protocol -- and most occured during the first

menstrual cycle post-partum. Dr. Bouchard might comment on this -- since I

think he follows this list.

If you are interested, you can contact us towards the date of the birth of your

new baby.

I wish you well in keeping you, your baby, and your family healthy and holy.

J. Fehring, PhD, RN,FAAN

Professor

Marquette University

College of Nursing

Breastfeeding twins update

I'm posting from Yahoo homepage as it looks like my first attempt didn't post.

Apologies if this ends up posting twice.

To our shock and amazement, we confirmed this weekend that number 9 is on the