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@tlcbaby: CONGRATS!!!!
I've been MIA here, I'm sorry! I have had one HELL of a week. I'll have to post more about it in detail, but suffice to say it includes a visit to the ER for my husband, and my mother being a total saint to have here to help with the baby. We're finally starting to come out on the other side.
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@Revel: E finally let me sleep from 3 am to 5 am. Thank goodness for DH, because he finagled another 2 hours for me this morning.
@tlcbaby: Yay to being on the other side!!
@LazyLightning: I hope your DH is okay! I don't know how I would manage without DH here. I can't even imagine.
After a harrowing first night (if you've seen my frantic thread, you know) we're slightly rested this morning and ready to tackle the day. I'm BF'ing every 2 hours or on demand today because I wonder if the frequent feeds are because he's not getting full enough (on top of normal reasons for cluster feeds). I'm probably going to call the LC to be seen first thing in the morning, though. Mostly the pain is tolerable, but so much pain! He doesn't have an obvious tongue tie, but his gums are so prominent it practically looks (and feels) like he has teeth!
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@LazyLightning: Thanks! Sorry about your DH-hope everything is okay. Glad you had some extra help.
@Espion: Hope you get to see the LC tomorrow. I am hoping someone is here in the morning before we go home so I can get one more eye on his latch before we go home. He has been eating nonstop today, which makes me wonder if he isn't getting much.
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@tlcbaby: Our LO was sly...he did fairly well in the hospital on his 2nd LC visit. (Our first LC visit was super stressful, because she spent more time trying to teach us how to supplement formula because E was slightly jaundiced. (WTH?) Once he got home and started frantically cluster feeding and became more alert, his latch got super shallow. We're getting him circ'd in my office on Thursday, so we'll go to the LC then because the hospital is right across the street.
BF has gotten slightly better though. There have been 2 times out of the last few days where he seemed to get things exactly right. The rest is a combination of "dealing with it" and dreading his next feeding.
I told DH today that if I had the choice between an easy labor and easy BF'ing...I'd choose the easy BF'ing.
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@tlcbaby: Oh, I wanted to mention...the 2nd LC I saw in the hospital said that the hindmilk (fattier and more satiating) comes after about 15 minutes. But you can tell if your LO is getting only foremilk if his stools are green and frothy as opposed to yellow and seedy.
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@Espion: thank you! I didn't know that. We had a night of nonstop eating from about 7:00pm to 1:00am and then he somehow slept for four hours! I had already succumbed to the possibility of not sleeping last night.
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@Espion: I would totally choose easy BF'ing too! C was fussy yesterday and so he was doing the angry piranha latch off and on and off and on every two seconds, and I felt like someone had tried to cut off my nipples!
We are still using the nipple shield (Argh) but he gained a POUND in the last week so he is now over his birth weight again after the initial drop! I'm so glad to know he's getting enough... It's kind of scary to just trust that it's working without confirmation like that.
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@grizz: That is great news!
Ugh-we are on our way to the ped for a bilibrubin test. It was slightly high when we went home yesterday so they want to test today and see if it is going up or down. Fingers crossed!
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Just dropping in to conrgratulate all the 2013 Junebug mamas. This time last year I was in your shoes and a year on DD is doing great still breastfeeding like a champ. You are all going to do so great, hang in there and congratulations again on your beautiful babies!
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@grizz: we're using the shield too. I'm glad to have something to make it work but am anxious to graduate from it already. The LC said it can take a couple weeks.
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@tlcbaby: Fingers crossed its down!
@knittylady: Congrats on your LO's arrival! Keep me posted if you find any tricks for getting off the nipple shield. Do you feel like his latch is really shallow with it? My main concern is that he's not compressing enough of my milk sinuses with his shallow nipple shield latch and it will affect my supply.
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@plantains: Thanks! I love reading about the June 2012 babies!
Bili was up slightly so we have to test again tomorrow but they don't seem too worried because he is gaining weight.
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@plantains: thanks for dropping in, glad to hear there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I had a few days of feeling way overwhelmed but am feeling better today. I saw a LC yesterday for latch help and I feel a little better about nursing today. Plus LO is within 5 oz of birth weight so something must be working.
@tlcbaby: hope everything improves with the bio. Sounds like it will soon.
@knittylady: congrats and welcome to the other side. I hope u and @grizz: are off the shield soon. They almost had me use one bc of flat ish nipples, but didn't because the LC was worried about the time it takes to get off it. It's been a ton of work but I think our latch is getting better.
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Had an epic meltdown last night. Baby refused to latch, refused a bottle with breast milk, and still made all the signs of being hungry. I have been pumping intermittently, but the most I've gotten out of a 15 minute session is 20 mL. Not enough to sustain him if he couldn't latch at all overnight. So the baby's crying, I'm crying because I apparently can't even provide a basic function such as feeding my son, so I make DH track down some formula in the middle of the night - which makes me feel even worse. When DH got back, he forced me to go to bed and he stayed up all night with our LO, coaxing him to take the breast milk I've pumped over the last few days from bottles, which he doesn't take readily either. For someone who has never been around babies, my DH is a saint.
I still feel shaky about everything this morning, but we have both a pediatric appointment and a lactation appointment this morning. I pray this is a learning curve bump and not something more serious. -
I'm alive! I took care of my baby all night last night and I don't feel like crap this morning.
I've been MIA, like I said, due to unbelievable circumstances. Like, 'is this really happening TOO?' type stuff. She came home Tuesday and that night my husband got very sick. He ended up going to the ER by wednesday night and they think an ulcer or something - anyway, they don't know. He's only now feeling back close to 100%. Then I got an impacted bowel, probably from eating a TON of tums while I was at the ER with him (my reflux was really bad). My mom's been watching LO every other night since she came home, which has been great.
Last night was the first night I took care of her AND feel mostly normal this morning, not like I've been hit by a bus. So I must be catching up on some sleep.
One thing i will say is that though I have guilt about it, I'm glad I'm not BF. With all this other stress going on I can't imagine going through it - especially reading about you guys' struggles. You're all doing great by the way! I hear these first weeks are SO HARD for that - I commend you for trying to make it work. We're using the ready-to-drink formula because I can't even think about measuring out the powder. Maybe next week we'll switch, lol. It's really expensive but SO convenient.
She's 2 weeks old today. She is awake for longer periods and likes to look around (though I know she can't really see much). She and I went on a bit of a car trip (about 2 hours total for her in the car) to see family yesterday. She did mostly well and only screamed all the way home (wow, my head).
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@Espion: I am so sorry, sweetie
Glad your DH was so helpful, though. I hope tonight is better. How did your appointment's go?@LazyLightning: Oh my gosh, I can't believe you are dealing with all that on top of a newborn! Sounds like everyone is doing better.
We've taken A to the hospital for the past two days for bili level checks and I have been surprised at how well behaved he is. DH walks him around and plays music for him and he stays pretty happy...until the heel prick.
Luckily bilirubin was down today so he is all clear!
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@grizz: did your carpal tunnel go away immediately? My fingers are more tingly than numb so I think they are getting better. My hands don't fall asleep at night anymore, either.
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Hi, June mamas!! I've missed you!! A HUGE congrats to the new moms and babies. I am typing this with one hand during a 4:30 am nursing session. My heart goes out to all the bab and parent health issues, nursing issues, exhaustion etc. We've been taking it day by day and it is crazy how time consuming caring for a newborn is! I've been terrible about sleeping when the baby sleeps, which I am sure is not helping my recovery. Besides the chaos, physical recovery and exhaustion, we at doing really well. At 12 days we have a semblance of a routine.
I'm looking fwd to catching up and sharing first time mama woes and delights. In the meantime, here is baby Jack's one week picture!
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@maybebaby: This is one thing I feel jealous about since I use formula. I can't type and feed her at the same time. One arm to hold her, other hand holding the bottle. That = zombie mom staring in to space while she eats, eats, eats. lol.
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I am worried I might have a yeast infection or UTI. I had been feeling tons better in that region, then suddenly the other day I started feeling pins and needles when I pee. Calling the dr in an hour or so when they open. Normally I'd just use a monistat pack but I don't know if that's OK so recently post partum.
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@LazyLightning: Hope it is nothing too serious!
@maybebaby: I spend more time on HB now I think since I can catch up during feeding sessions. Unfortunately we will have company in town for the next week so I've banished myself to the nursery for feedings. Its not bad, though, I just prefer the living room during the day.We are working on this Father's Day gift for DH today, though A didn't enjoy his part too much - http://www.dosmallthingswithlove.com/2013/01/salt-dough-ornament-babys-frist.html
I had an interesting night on Wednesday. A had been eating for 2 1/2 hours on and off and when I finally laid him down and was getting ready for bed, I started shaking uncontrollably and had to call for DH. He took my temp and it was 94! After some tea and getting under the covers it climbed to 96 and then 97.5, but the shaking went on for about 20 minutes.
Midwife didn't seem worried since my body has been through so much and my sister said it happened to her once, too, but it was so scary!
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Oh-what diapers are you all using? A is just over 8lbs, and we got the Huggies Naturals newborn size but they are leaking almost every time he pees! We have Bum Genius Freetime, but he isn;t quite big enough so we are in disposables for now, but we have a lot of costume changes since they are leaking.
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Anyone else insanely emotional? I saw a picture of David from when we were at the hospital and ugly cried like crazy. I feel so full of emotion!
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Congrats to all the new June mamas! I have been reading the posts on our board but when nursing, typing with one hand seems like a lot of work!
I am finally feeling like I turned a corner in my own recovery (it's been around 2.5 weeks)...and though we have some challenging days, I am really loving being a mommy!
@tlcbaby: We are using Pampers Swaddlers in newborn size. S hasn't been weighed in a week but I am guessing she's around 8 lbs...they are working great until she fits into her Charlie Banana and BumGenius cloth diapers.
@knittylady: Yes, totally emotional. I cry because I am happy, sad, overwhelmed, tired. Every feeling I have seems extreme.
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@knittylady: YES! I cried today because I don't want him to be six days old already. And I cried yesterday thinking about how great DH was during labor and delivery and how helpful he has been. Its a little ridiculous.
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@tlcbaby: Thank you for asking about the appointments.
I am now 5 appointments deep. E has a disorganized suck reflex, which means he is super inefficient at BF'ing (he only transferred 9 mL from BOTH sides!), so I've been pumping like a madwoman to increase supply and feed him. But he won't take a bottle because he doesn't know what to do with it. I looked a ton of stuff up online and I've started finger feeding him today (with a tube alongside my finger) with huge success. He actually will suck on my finger fine, so I'm not sure what it is about the bottle or the nip. We have a speech therapist appointment on Tuesday. A weight check today shows that although he is not losing weight, he's not gaining any. And he has wet diapers but no poopy ones.
And it's a good thing we have a feeding alternative, because we found out today his bilirubin level is up from 8.3 to 14.8. I'm now officially pumping like crazy, nursing and supplementing with formula.
We can't catch a break.
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@Espion: Ugh, sorry. Like you said, though, good to know there are plenty of options out there for getting food to your baby and hopefully they'll be able to help you get him latched on to something (bottle or breast).
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@LazyLightning: we also bottle feed and with a little navigation I can sometimes get one hand free! I would def see a dr--hope you feel better.
@tlcbaby: yikes, that is scary--glad you're feeling better though! We use pampers sensitive swaddled for now. Only the occasional leak.
@knittylady: OMG I thought I was emotional during pregnancy--this is WAY more intense. I cry happily, sad, everything in between. Sounds pretty normal-our bodies have gone through such a huge change!
@Espion: hoping you are able to find some solutions, but for the time vein very clever solution with the finger feeding!
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@tlcbaby: we plan on cloth diapering but are using disposables for the time being as well. I think we're using. Newborn huggies and he's a,most 9 pounds.
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@knittylady: I can't figure out why they aren't working for us. I actually called Huggies and they are mailing me a refund.
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@maybebaby: @tlcbaby: Thank you, ladies! It has been a roller coaster 9 days, but we'll have a light at the end our tunnel soon, I know it. Feeding at night is so time consuming, though! I nurse 10 minutes each side, then finger feeding, then once he's down, I have to pump. Thank goodness I'm used to the sleep deprivation, but I can't keep up long-term!
I also can't wait to let go of my Debbie Downer-ness!
@knittylady: @tlcbaby: We've got cloth as well, but so thankful for the swaddlers disposables in this first couple of weeks!
@knittylady: Emotional? Double yes! DH is leaving for 2 weeks tomorrow and I've been a mess off and on just thinking about it.
It's going to be a big week for June mamas. I can't wait for the other ladies to join us!
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@tlcbaby: oops I just checked and we are actualy using pampers swaddlers! Sorry. Maybe they will work better?
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@knittylady: I think so-they did in the hospital!!
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@tlcbaby: My carpal tunnel went away immediately!
We are using Pampers Swaddlers since C isn't quite big enough for his BumGenius newborn AIOs. It doesnt make sense since they're billed to fit 6-12 lbs and he's 7 lb 10 oz now. We used a pack of Huggies and got super frustrated bc he peed out the side of every diaper! Our pedi said we weren't diapering him wrong, but that some babies fit in Pampers, some fit in Huggies.@knittylady: I am a mess! We went back to our Bradley class last night to tell our classmates our birth story and I just sobbed like a crazy person the entire time.
We went back to the LC yesterday, and she and our pedi wanted C back at his birth weight by two weeks. He gained enough to get back to his birth weight PLUS 7 ounces! We are thrilled... Too bad I can't be excited about my weight. 30 to lose still... Ugh!
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@grizz: okay well at least I don't feel like I just don't know how to put a diaper on my child!
We are going back to tell our birth story, too! Did your LO sleep the whole time? I am a little nervous about bringing A.
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@tlcbaby: I asked our pedi to watch me diaper him because I was convinced I was a diapering failure!
C was sound asleep in class! He got a teensy bit fussy at the end so I just nursed him w an Aden & Anais blanket serving as a cover.
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@tlcbaby: how did your salt dough imprints turn out?!
I'm thinking of making some with C tomorrow. -
@grizz: great! I still need to paint them, but the foot and hand prints are good. He definitely cried through the whole thing, though!
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I just managed to pump 70 cc in 15 minutes!! I know it isn't much, but it's progress! 5 days ago I had to fight for 60 cc over the course of 45 minutes.
Is anyone else pumping and nursing?
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@Espion: nursing! Hoping lo falls fast asleep soon so I can get some rest . Oy.
Glad your DH was so helpful, though. I hope tonight is better. How did your appointment's go?
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