Things have been fairly quiet on the blog front, but we are trying to get the hang of things over here…it’s coming together 
my helpers this morning
Henry:
Baby Henry is doing so great. He’s eating like a champ (I’ll get to this more specifically in a minute), he’s an awesome sleeper, he is awake (some) during the day and wakes once or twice during the night to eat (I know this will change, but right now we are soaking it up). He is generally very content and happy and rarely fusses, pretty much when he’s hungry or has to burp. He is the loudest pooper/farter I have ever heard, for being about 7 pounds. It’s unbelievable the sounds that come out of his tiny little body. Unbelievable and hilarious He loves snuggling and being held, but does great when we put him down in his bassinet or pack ‘n play. I don’t know how, but we have lucked out twice with super easy-going newborns.
First trip to Costco!
Catching some Z’s with his owl
C-Section Recovery:
As far as recovery goes, I’m doing pretty good. Several people suggested getting a belly band/wrap thing, so I did, and it was a great idea. My mom actually went out and picked up a belly band and a c-section recovery panty (ugh that word…) and so far I really like them both. I’ve been wearing the c-section specific one for a few days and it’s been helpful. It’s a big difference from not wearing anything at all.
I’ve had a couple of rough days with pain (some days I have very little pain, others I have more) so I just try to take it easy and not do too much. I stopped taking the Percocet after about a week, and took what I think might be my last Motrin yesterday but we will play that by ear
I had a low-grade fever a couple of days ago and generally felt like crap (almost like I had the flu) and after talking to a few folks it sounded like I had a clogged milk duct, so there has been a lot of massaging and warm compressing going on to try to help that out.
Things I didn’t know about a c-section:
When they are getting the baby out, there is a lot of pushing and tugging. This displaces the diaphragm and pushes free air and/or amniotic fluid under the diaphragm. Anything that happens with your diaphragm goes to the shoulder and neck, called referred pain. So basically the air and/or fluid that was trapped moved up into my neck and shoulders. Holy. Pain. It was like I had slept on my head for 3 or 4 days straight. I woke up one night in tears because anytime I took a breath it hurt. Or if I turned my head. Or tried to move in general. The pain killers did help with this and at least made it tolerable, but it took a good 3 or 4 days for it to go away completely.
One tip is to not drink out of a straw after a c-section. It only increases the amount of gas that is getting into your body.
You can also get pretty intense headaches from the spinal. I was lucky and didn’t get any headaches, but I hear this is a pretty common result from a c-section.
I also didn’t know the lifting and driving restrictions after a c-section. No picking up anything that weighs more than baby for 2 weeks, and no driving for 2 weeks, or until you can slam on the breaks without the seatbelt hurting the incision. This has complicated things a bit, as Robert is pretty much totally on Brooke duty since I can’t pick her up and I am unable to drive anywhere, but that will change on Wednesday, hopefully!
Weight:
I know this should be the furthest thing on my mind, and it’s pretty far back there, but it’s still there. One week out and I’m down 12-15 pounds (it keeps changing), which is just fine by me. I’m not doing anything right now to try to lose anything, this is just what naturally happens I suppose. I gained, as of the day we went to the hospital, 37 pounds, so 22-25 to go to be back to pre-pregnancy weight, but I’m not rushing it. It will happen eventually!
40 weeks and 1 week postpartum
Feeding:
(my thoughts from last week):
Here we are again. Nursing. Regardless of the fact that I told myself that I wouldn’t be hard on myself if breastfeeding didn’t work out, it doesn’t make it less heartbreaking. This little man can EAT. He has a HUGE appetite and I just cannot keep up with him. Not to mention that it hurts me so, so bad to nurse him. The first couple of days were great and I felt awesome about nursing this time around, and then it took a turn and hasn’t gotten better. The clogged duct didn’t help. So I’ve been pumping every time he eats, but I only pump about 2 ounces or so at a time, but he eats 3 or more.
I was hoping so badly that this time around would go differently than it did with Brooke, because I had the same issues with her, and I’m going to keep trying for as long as I can, but it’s a struggle. I hate the pump. I hate that I can’t make enough milk for him. I hate that it hurts me so badly. It’s all such a frustration situation to be in and I wish so much that there wasn’t such a stigma on formula.
Brooke had formula starting around 5 weeks (we supplemented with formula because I couldn’t make enough milk for her either) and she had a mix of formula and breastmilk until 15 weeks when my supply tanked. After that, it was all formula. And Brooke is happy, healthy, and strong, so I know formula isn’t bad for them…I just hoped so much to make it a little longer than 15 weeks for Henry. Especially with how expensive formula is.
So I’m struggling with this part of it. I know that whatever I decide to do will be fine and it will all work out, it’s just mentally hard. Breastfeeding is supposed to be a natural thing…it’s supposed to come naturally…but it’s not.
So anyway, I’ll keep you posted with what ends up happening…at this point I don’t know what to do. I’m going to keep trying. We’ll see.
(my thoughts today):
Things are improving. Slowly but surely. We aren’t totally in the clear, but we are making progress, I think. I’m taking fenugreek (2 pills, 3 times a day) and every other day, I take a tablespoon of brewers yeast (usually in OJ or a smoothie…a smoothie masks the taste much better though). This has definitely improved my production, as now I can pump about 4 ounces per session.
We are in a groove where we nurse during the day and pump/bottle feed at night. During the day, he eats about every 2-3 hours, although there are times when he’ll nurse, fall asleep, and wake up 10 minutes later wanting to eat again. So we nurse again. It’s not the most fun thing, but I think those are the cues my body needs to know to make more milk to keep up with him.
It still hurts, just not quite as bad. The lactation consultant at the hospital gave me these Medela Tender Care(TM) Hydrogel Pads
We’ve found that what works best for us is if I nurse during the day and pump/bottle feed at night. It might not be what most people would do, but it is what is best for us. It’s more efficient time wise, and he is just not a good night nurser (he is lazy and won’t open his mouth when he is sleepy…and that hurts…) So for now, that’s what we will do.
My goal right now is to make it to 2 weeks. Which is Wednesday. After that, we’ll see if we can’t make it to 3 weeks. Just taking it one day at a time.
Overall:
As long as Mr. Henry is healthy and happy, I’m happy. Brooke loves her little brother, for the most part. She gives him hugs and kisses, which is the sweetest thing ever. I think they will get along just fine
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