This postpartum experience has been so much better than my second one. There are lots of factors to consider, but this is a list of things I had or did or others did for me that I feel made a huge impact on my good experience the first two weeks:
-The book 'Mothering the New Mother', which helped me to remember that new mothers need a great amount of care, and you should prepare for that without guilt or embarrassment.
-Childcare (having childcare lined up meant that I had the first 3 days to completely devote to Maddi and have Aaron take care of us. This was golden.)
-A list of people I knew I could rely on to give seasoned advice and/or a sympathetic ear.
-A menu and frozen food
-Extra money set aside for the inevitable increase in eating out, along with a list of good restaurants that serve fresh food.
-All the supplies and clothes and baby needs ready and waiting.
-Arnica pellets (for pain from birth and nursing)
-ContractEase (herbal tincture for afterpains - I drank 1-2 glasses of water with 20 drops every time I nursed for at least the first 4 days and it helped a lot)
-Lortab (helped the first two days with pains and as a side benefit baby slept a lot!)
-Placenta Encapsulation pills (helped so much I will probably tell everyone about them)
-Drenamin (supplement for stressed and overworked adrenal glands)
-Soup (homemade chicken and rice soup gave me energy and was so nice to my digestive system)
-Belly Bandit (gave me support for my back and stomach)
-Of course, nursing help: tea bags (boiled and cooled) to sooth, Lanolin, topical arnica, Boppy pillow
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Nesting
Today Emma built a nest in the "backyard" of our duplex here in Tulsa. She used dirt and leaves. When she was done, Aaron and I heard her calling, "Burds! Burds! I have a nest for you! Come heeeeere!". And when they didn't come, she called again, looking up into the sky, "Hey guys! Hey guys! Come heeere! I have a nest for you!".
Our animal lover, for sure.
Our animal lover, for sure.
First Week Wrap-Up
Last night, Maddi had her first night that didn't involve a tiring amount of crying and patting. Fuss-free, oh the bliss! To top it off, we've made enough progress with nursing that I let Aaron sleep through the night. She woke at 1:30 and 3:30, then 6:30, and I nursed her on the couch - just us and the boppy - without too much soreness. It was a great way to end Maddi's first week with us.
Nursing
I think the pain and scabs peaked around Wednesday, but Saturday was the first day that the pain was mild enough to nurse on the couch in front of the kids. Trust me, when it hurts badly, it takes a lot of concentration and willpower just to latch on! I'm very grateful. Her tongue still clicks often when she's nursing, but we've practiced opening wide and staying wide constantly, and this seems the best she can do. She nurses much better on the left side, so we start on the right side, usually do a diaper-change/burp mid-feeding, then do the left side. To have moments of pain-free nursing gave me a glimpse of the moments I'll have the next year or so, nursing Maddi happily. I'm looking forward to it.
Sleeping
She started fussing at night Tuesday night, when we arrived to Tulsa. It got worse on Wednesday night, with her up for two hours straight crying. Thursday night and Friday night were a bit better, with peak fussiness between 1 and 3. Friday night wasn't too bad either. Last night, when she woke, I nursed her, changed her diaper, nursed on the other side, and let her nurse until it seemed she was asleep, then gently lay her down on her tummy in the bassinet. And she slept, bless her. She's slowly easing into the familiar pattern (Joseph did this!) of eating every 2-3 hours at night, and sleeping blissfully during the day, stretching her feedings to up to 4 hours! I will need some strategory for this soon. :)
Maddi just might be my Sleep Anywhere Baby! She will sleep on her tummy on a bed, in the bassinet, on the couch, on a blanket, on the sheepskin; she will sleep in the carseat (this seems to be her favorite - she likes cosiness), in our arms, upright, sideways (I haven't tried upside-down, though); she even slept while big brother held her. :) She will occasionally wake up after we lie her down, but otherwise sleeps very well.
Lately, it seems that during the day she will not even really wake up with some of her feedings, but go straight back to sleep. Sometimes, like earlier today after she ate at 2:00, she gets fussy and needs to be rocked. She took a paci almost right away - the day or two after birth - but we've used it rarely. I wanted to hold off until nursing was going well, just in case it affected that. I'm glad she takes it, because I wanted to be able to comfort her when I can't comfort her; when we're in the car, for example. Either way, it's nice to feel that she'll go to sleep when she's tired. I didn't have that confidence with precious Emmaline.
Diapering
Yeah, she's still not giving us any BMs on her own. She's upgraded to grunting in the last couple of days. We've resorted to giving her a glycerin rocket every other day or so, if she seems fussy after a meal. It should even itself out soon, though. She really dislikes diaper-changing time. It's the only time of the day she "loses" it! Today, Joseph ran out of the room while I was changing her diaper, and screamed "She's gonna cryyyyy!". :D
Growing
She barely fits into her NB or 0-3mos clothes! I've never had a baby do that before, and it's refreshing to know that I most likely won't worry about her gaining weight or being too small. We weighed her (very scientifically: I weighed myself, and then held her and weighed again), and it says that she now weighs 11.4 pounds! I can't imagine that's accurate, but who knows with my giant baby. :)
Maddi loves looking at the fan in the living room of the duplex here in Tulsa. She also loves looking at Mama. Of course, we all just *love* watching her smile after she nurses or in her sleep. It's adorable!! Emma loves when Maddi happens to smile after Emma's kissed her, and today Maddi stuck out her tongue just as Emma went in for a kiss! Emma thought that Maddi was hilarious and "trying to be silly". :)
Nursing
I think the pain and scabs peaked around Wednesday, but Saturday was the first day that the pain was mild enough to nurse on the couch in front of the kids. Trust me, when it hurts badly, it takes a lot of concentration and willpower just to latch on! I'm very grateful. Her tongue still clicks often when she's nursing, but we've practiced opening wide and staying wide constantly, and this seems the best she can do. She nurses much better on the left side, so we start on the right side, usually do a diaper-change/burp mid-feeding, then do the left side. To have moments of pain-free nursing gave me a glimpse of the moments I'll have the next year or so, nursing Maddi happily. I'm looking forward to it.
Sleeping
She started fussing at night Tuesday night, when we arrived to Tulsa. It got worse on Wednesday night, with her up for two hours straight crying. Thursday night and Friday night were a bit better, with peak fussiness between 1 and 3. Friday night wasn't too bad either. Last night, when she woke, I nursed her, changed her diaper, nursed on the other side, and let her nurse until it seemed she was asleep, then gently lay her down on her tummy in the bassinet. And she slept, bless her. She's slowly easing into the familiar pattern (Joseph did this!) of eating every 2-3 hours at night, and sleeping blissfully during the day, stretching her feedings to up to 4 hours! I will need some strategory for this soon. :)
Maddi just might be my Sleep Anywhere Baby! She will sleep on her tummy on a bed, in the bassinet, on the couch, on a blanket, on the sheepskin; she will sleep in the carseat (this seems to be her favorite - she likes cosiness), in our arms, upright, sideways (I haven't tried upside-down, though); she even slept while big brother held her. :) She will occasionally wake up after we lie her down, but otherwise sleeps very well.
Lately, it seems that during the day she will not even really wake up with some of her feedings, but go straight back to sleep. Sometimes, like earlier today after she ate at 2:00, she gets fussy and needs to be rocked. She took a paci almost right away - the day or two after birth - but we've used it rarely. I wanted to hold off until nursing was going well, just in case it affected that. I'm glad she takes it, because I wanted to be able to comfort her when I can't comfort her; when we're in the car, for example. Either way, it's nice to feel that she'll go to sleep when she's tired. I didn't have that confidence with precious Emmaline.
Diapering
Yeah, she's still not giving us any BMs on her own. She's upgraded to grunting in the last couple of days. We've resorted to giving her a glycerin rocket every other day or so, if she seems fussy after a meal. It should even itself out soon, though. She really dislikes diaper-changing time. It's the only time of the day she "loses" it! Today, Joseph ran out of the room while I was changing her diaper, and screamed "She's gonna cryyyyy!". :D
Growing
She barely fits into her NB or 0-3mos clothes! I've never had a baby do that before, and it's refreshing to know that I most likely won't worry about her gaining weight or being too small. We weighed her (very scientifically: I weighed myself, and then held her and weighed again), and it says that she now weighs 11.4 pounds! I can't imagine that's accurate, but who knows with my giant baby. :)
Maddi loves looking at the fan in the living room of the duplex here in Tulsa. She also loves looking at Mama. Of course, we all just *love* watching her smile after she nurses or in her sleep. It's adorable!! Emma loves when Maddi happens to smile after Emma's kissed her, and today Maddi stuck out her tongue just as Emma went in for a kiss! Emma thought that Maddi was hilarious and "trying to be silly". :)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Madelyn Ruth
She's here and she's lovely. Born on Saturday, 2/12/2011 at 2:35pm, weighing a shocking 10pounds 3ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Her rolls know no end.
Last night, Tuesday night, her umbilical cord fell off and I wondered at it. When did it fall off with Joseph, and with Emma? I remember Joseph's drying faster than Emma's, and Emma's hanging on by a tiny thread for days. But when? I want to remember when. So, at least now I'll remember that Madelyn's cord fell off in the middle of the night Tuesday night, when she was 3 days old. That's satisfying.
Up until yesterday, she'd been quite the sleeper, but it's become apparent that part of that was Lortab, God bless it. What's also become apparent is that Maddy is not a high needs baby, thank our gracious God. It's no secret that I was anxious about that, Emma having been a very high needs baby. I'll say that I'm still very scared. I'm a mess without sleep. A train wreck. What if I lose too much sleep and slip into depression? Of course, God alone will be with me, just as God alone is with me now. So, I'll be remembering that as much now as much as later.
The first day Maddy was born, she didn't slip into that newborn coma that most do hours after birth. She was wide awake, nursing and quietly studying everything around her. Her traumatic entrance might have played its role there. It was finally around 10:00 or 11:00 that evening that I nursed her and she went to sleep. But she fussed and fussed off and on until 1:30, when I offered to nurse her again (since Aaron was taking care of her). Nursing was very easy that first day. So, he put her beside me on the bed and we nursed together, falling asleep. I woke again at 6:30 to nurse her, but Maddy and I both fell asleep before we could, and all three of us woke up at 9:00, surprised by some nice sleep.
She didn't change much on Sunday either, being very sleepy and nursing only sometimes. I didn't mind. I took a nap as well and thanked God that she was resting for me and that Lortab and ContractEase was making nursing doable this time around. By Sunday, the sore nipples made their appearance, and Sunday night was the first night that I had to work myself up to nursing, the pain was so bad. This happens every time, despite my best tries to latch on correctly. I also always use breastmilk on the nipples, letting them air-dry, and Lansinoh, and cooled tea bags. Either they don't work, OR perhaps it would be 10x worse without them? Yvonne said that it was the misfortune of red-heads to have sensitive skin. Great. At least experience from two other children brought comforting hope of it all passing soon.
That Sunday night, we went to sleep at 10:30, after nursing her, and didn't wake again until 2:30, when she nursed (after trying to rouse her!), and went back to sleep until 9:00! My body was so thankful for the rest, but she needed to nurse more.
Yvonne came for the check up on Monday and Maddy was still wonderfully healthy, although she hadn't had a bowel movement. Yvonne warned that Lortab can constipate both Mama and baby, so that I needed to wean off of it as soon as I could. By this time, I was feeling much better. Aaron had gone to Akin's to get arnica for me Sunday night, and within hours was able to walk to the bathroom, which I hadn't been able to do before! So I welcomed Yvonne's advice.
I took the Lortab Monday night and sure enough, Maddy slept a lot that night as well. We went to bed at 10:00, nursed her at 3:30, then woke at 9:00 Tuesday morning. Dr. Glinsky came to the house to adjust the family, and found that Maddy needed one of her cranials adjusted, her pelvis, her IC valve, a spot in her neck, and of course, her left shoulder, where Yvonne had to pull. I didn't take any more Lortab after Monday night, relying only on ContractEase, which worked fine by the third day.
After that, we left our wonderful nest to head for Tulsa, to be joined with the rest of the Trifecta, as Aaron calls our children. :) She slept in the carseat (which she loves - a first for my children!), and was "herself" until we hit the loudness of the children. Poor baby. She became unsettled as the night went on, and although she slept from 10:30 to 1:30, it was difficult to get her to sleep, and we knew something was wrong. She woke at 1:30 to nurse and did not end up sleeping again until 6:00. I'm exhausted.
We ended up trying a warm bath, massage and finally glycerin suppositories to get her to have a bm. The glycerin worked and she finally slept. She's fussy again today, so I'm hoping the constipation stops soon. No matter what kind of baby you have, there will be something that is not what you expect. Sin is here, you know.
It's Wednesday now, and the nursing is more manageable. The scabs are beginning to heal (yikes), the inflammation is a bit better, and I'm more in the habit of having her latch on, experience great pain for 5-10 seconds, and then have it subside as nursing continues. This is good news for me. Once nursing pain goes away, I feel much better about life in general.
The children love Maddy dearly. Joseph kept his distance at first, only handing her things (like a doll), or helping Daddy. He's getting more and more excited, now that he's becoming more familiar with her crying. Emma was elated from the beginning, and we've had fits from her when we ask her to leave her alone. She wants to carry "Baby Sistah", hold her, feed her, give her blankets, kiss her, hold her fingers. She says she will take care of her.
May God continue to grant me thankfulness! And rest.
Last night, Tuesday night, her umbilical cord fell off and I wondered at it. When did it fall off with Joseph, and with Emma? I remember Joseph's drying faster than Emma's, and Emma's hanging on by a tiny thread for days. But when? I want to remember when. So, at least now I'll remember that Madelyn's cord fell off in the middle of the night Tuesday night, when she was 3 days old. That's satisfying.
Up until yesterday, she'd been quite the sleeper, but it's become apparent that part of that was Lortab, God bless it. What's also become apparent is that Maddy is not a high needs baby, thank our gracious God. It's no secret that I was anxious about that, Emma having been a very high needs baby. I'll say that I'm still very scared. I'm a mess without sleep. A train wreck. What if I lose too much sleep and slip into depression? Of course, God alone will be with me, just as God alone is with me now. So, I'll be remembering that as much now as much as later.
The first day Maddy was born, she didn't slip into that newborn coma that most do hours after birth. She was wide awake, nursing and quietly studying everything around her. Her traumatic entrance might have played its role there. It was finally around 10:00 or 11:00 that evening that I nursed her and she went to sleep. But she fussed and fussed off and on until 1:30, when I offered to nurse her again (since Aaron was taking care of her). Nursing was very easy that first day. So, he put her beside me on the bed and we nursed together, falling asleep. I woke again at 6:30 to nurse her, but Maddy and I both fell asleep before we could, and all three of us woke up at 9:00, surprised by some nice sleep.
She didn't change much on Sunday either, being very sleepy and nursing only sometimes. I didn't mind. I took a nap as well and thanked God that she was resting for me and that Lortab and ContractEase was making nursing doable this time around. By Sunday, the sore nipples made their appearance, and Sunday night was the first night that I had to work myself up to nursing, the pain was so bad. This happens every time, despite my best tries to latch on correctly. I also always use breastmilk on the nipples, letting them air-dry, and Lansinoh, and cooled tea bags. Either they don't work, OR perhaps it would be 10x worse without them? Yvonne said that it was the misfortune of red-heads to have sensitive skin. Great. At least experience from two other children brought comforting hope of it all passing soon.
That Sunday night, we went to sleep at 10:30, after nursing her, and didn't wake again until 2:30, when she nursed (after trying to rouse her!), and went back to sleep until 9:00! My body was so thankful for the rest, but she needed to nurse more.
Yvonne came for the check up on Monday and Maddy was still wonderfully healthy, although she hadn't had a bowel movement. Yvonne warned that Lortab can constipate both Mama and baby, so that I needed to wean off of it as soon as I could. By this time, I was feeling much better. Aaron had gone to Akin's to get arnica for me Sunday night, and within hours was able to walk to the bathroom, which I hadn't been able to do before! So I welcomed Yvonne's advice.
I took the Lortab Monday night and sure enough, Maddy slept a lot that night as well. We went to bed at 10:00, nursed her at 3:30, then woke at 9:00 Tuesday morning. Dr. Glinsky came to the house to adjust the family, and found that Maddy needed one of her cranials adjusted, her pelvis, her IC valve, a spot in her neck, and of course, her left shoulder, where Yvonne had to pull. I didn't take any more Lortab after Monday night, relying only on ContractEase, which worked fine by the third day.
After that, we left our wonderful nest to head for Tulsa, to be joined with the rest of the Trifecta, as Aaron calls our children. :) She slept in the carseat (which she loves - a first for my children!), and was "herself" until we hit the loudness of the children. Poor baby. She became unsettled as the night went on, and although she slept from 10:30 to 1:30, it was difficult to get her to sleep, and we knew something was wrong. She woke at 1:30 to nurse and did not end up sleeping again until 6:00. I'm exhausted.
We ended up trying a warm bath, massage and finally glycerin suppositories to get her to have a bm. The glycerin worked and she finally slept. She's fussy again today, so I'm hoping the constipation stops soon. No matter what kind of baby you have, there will be something that is not what you expect. Sin is here, you know.
It's Wednesday now, and the nursing is more manageable. The scabs are beginning to heal (yikes), the inflammation is a bit better, and I'm more in the habit of having her latch on, experience great pain for 5-10 seconds, and then have it subside as nursing continues. This is good news for me. Once nursing pain goes away, I feel much better about life in general.
The children love Maddy dearly. Joseph kept his distance at first, only handing her things (like a doll), or helping Daddy. He's getting more and more excited, now that he's becoming more familiar with her crying. Emma was elated from the beginning, and we've had fits from her when we ask her to leave her alone. She wants to carry "Baby Sistah", hold her, feed her, give her blankets, kiss her, hold her fingers. She says she will take care of her.
May God continue to grant me thankfulness! And rest.
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