The First Few Days at Home

Warning: may be a little TMI for some :)

I sit on the lap top downstairs as Nicholas slumbers away peacefully in his crib upstairs. My good friend Brooke bought us the video monitoring system we registered for so I have it next to me to watch him. He looks so small in the big crib!

A lot of friends of mine have babies and there are also several that do not, so I thought I'd share some stuff that's going on with me (why should Nicholas get all the attention?? :) as well as how it's been having him the first few days.

Sleeping & Eating & Breastfeeding: Nicholas is a great sleeper so far, from 6 am until about 10 pm. We wake him up for feedings, he's not overly fussy, minimal spit up (I think the Dr. Brown's bottles Nick's cousin's wife recommended are really great) and he pees and poops A TON. It is hilarious to hear him fart, it's as loud as an adults, and he looks so happy when he does it - especially if he's in your lap.

Breastfeeding has been very difficult for me (skip this if you don't want TMI about my body). While in the hospital, I was approved for a hospital grade pump because my right nipple is flat & inverted, and Nicholas is unable to latch on. It was also difficult for him to latch on to the left side, but he managed a little bit here and there. The obstetrician that checked on me the day I was approved for the pump was very nasty - he is actually one of my favorites at my office but has very strong opinions about pumps. He upset me a great deal where I ended up crying - and I'm really not a crier (and I refuse to blame hormones!) He first asked me why I had a c-section when he could have looked at my chart, then stated if I was going to pump he would bet that in 6 weeks I wouldn't be breastfeeding any longer, because it is easier for Nicholas to take a bottle than feed from me - which I agree with, but he wasn't aware of my boob issues and didn't even bother to ask. He knew he upset me and said he didn't mean to, and signed the approval for the pump. I talked to the nurse after and she told me he's a great obstetrician but feels that the hospital pushes the use of the pump too much and he doesn't agree with it. Well, later that day I met with a social worker (which is routine) and she had heard about what the doctor said to me - apparently everyone on the floor did. Later that day, the doctor came back and apologized - I was in shock. He was very sincere and said I could slap him if I wanted to. I let him know that I'm not a crier so he did a great job at making me cry. I'm proud of myself for sticking up for myself, and I really appreciated how sincere he was when he apologized. He's the head of obstetrics at the hospital and the practice he is in, so I guess he can be a bit cocky at times. I also thanked the nurses because I know they laid into him and that's part of why he apologized.

Anyway - my problem is that I only have milk coming in on the one side, absolutely nothing from the other except a few drops here and there. I pump as much as I can, including the right side, in the hopes that constant "stimulation" will get something going. I'm meeting with a lactation consultant tomorrow, and plan to pump for as long as I can, but he's already eating more than I can produce so we are supplementing with a lot of formula. Also, when my milk came in it was not incredibly painful like some said - more than anything they were sore, like a PMS type soreness.

Enough about my boobs!

Before getting pregnant, I wasn't aware that after birth you bleed for several weeks. I was told I would bleed less with a c-section, and after a week I have to say I think I'm about done. It wasn't uncomfortable, and there wasn't very much of it. I think me constantly moving around and being active has really helped. While in the hospital, I had a lot of gas (TMI again, I know!), and would take frequent short walks to help it pass. It was honestly more painful then my abdominal muscles/c section scar.

Another thing I was told - enjoy your showers because you don't really get to take them once you're home. I have been lucky enough to take a nice comfortable shower each day that I've been home. Nicholas helps because he's such a good sleeper, and Nick is home with me so that's part of it too. We'll see how that goes in the coming weeks.

I only gained about 20 pounds throughout my entire pregnancy. I lost a few pounds when I found out I had gestational diabetes (I was too nervous to eat too much for a little while), then lost a few pounds at the end. I was very active until about month 8, when the babe settled on my sciatic nerve and even walking was difficult. I had no morning sickness, and not much of an appetite in the first and third trimester. Also, the gestational diabetes kept me from eating a lot of my favorite things like pizza and pasta. Because I gained so little weight, I kind of expected to look like myself again right away (like "oh hey I'm wearing my pre pregnancy jeans home from the hospital!) Little did I know, your uterus stays swollen after the birth. It has gone down quite a bit in the week, but I have a definite loose tummy with sagging skin and a pretty good pouch going on. We went for a car ride and when we hit a bump it jiggled - I was like what the heck is going on!! And when I sleep on my side it's a little uncomfortable because it "hangs" a bit. Nick jokes and says now I "only look 4 months pregnant" and "you have the benjamin button of stomachs, it's getting smaller and smaller each day." It hurt to laugh right after the surgery, but I'm thankful to say that's getting better each day because Nick sure does make me laugh a lot.

That's all I can really think of right now, and I hear the babe stirring so I'm off to see what he needs. If anyone has any questions or comments for me, please feel free to share.

xoxo