The benefits of first born...

Thursday, 26 April 2007

... are that your parents are obessively taking pictures of you. Especially when your mom got a 2 GB card for her camera and hasn't even filled a fraction of it. So you manage to get lots of pictures taken of you. And every so often, you get a gem like this. I seriously don't know how it happened, but we hit the genetic jackpot with the Sprout. And she makes the oddest and cutest faces, and the sounds that go with them are priceless. When those noises start meaning more than just I have gas, its going to be a hoot. Oh, and being the first born also means that your mom gushes about your on her blog, while begging the forgiveness of her friends for going so overboard. I just still find it amazing that I had any part on her. I may have pushed her out, but it still seems like a really good dream I am bound to wake up from.

All that worry for...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007

She gained a pound in a week.

And, I love our pediatrician. We picked her because she's a published sci-fi fantasy author. (Ok, I realize that its an odd reason to pick a Doc, but we thought something in common would be a good starting point) Turns out she's totally cool, understood everything thats going on with the Sprout. I've got an agressive letdown, she's getting too much air. However, she's gaining weight, and as long as the fussyness doesn't bother us too much, we wait it out. If gets to be too much, or she doesn't figure out how to burp better, then we talk medication for reflux. Something I'm sure Syl can help fill me in on if it comes to that. Its also been suggested that I cut back on the milk. It will be hard, but I think I'll survive. Soy lattes here I come.
The other thing she's a fan of is co-sleeping. Something we did because Sprout had her days a little mixed up, and I wasn't willing to let her cry it out. Turns out its good for everyones sleep. Its also something that seems to bother the MIL so much that she told GMIL and she had to call us and express her concern that we'll smother the baby. They can bite me, the Dr. thinks its a good thing.

Wouldn't it be great if boobs had gas gauges...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007

This is a breastfeeding post, just to warn anyone who wasn't prepared. Seems to be my whole life revolves around breastfeeding these days. Not that its bad, its really quite good.

If you bottle feed your kid, you get a nice gauge of how much they're eating. You still need to count what comes out of them, but not nearly as obsessively as if you're breastfeeding. If you're breastfeeding, you have no way of actually knowing how much food your kid is getting. The only measure you have is how much they poop and pee, and how much weight they gain. So, unless they have the worlds most regular bowels, and you have scale, some of it is guessing. You could have a kid who lounges at the boob, or you could have a power feeder, or you could have my kid, who takes turn being both. I know she's growing because of our previous weight gain, but its been a little over a week since my milk came in, and while she's outgrown a size of diapers, I have no idea how good she's doing. We have a pediatrician visit tomorrow, and frankly I'm nervous. She doesn't feed as much as some of the stuff says she should. I don't ignore her when she's hungry, but there is no forcing the Sprout to eat when she doesn't want to. To make matters worse, we've thrown up a few times in the past week. (no, I don't mean spit up, I mean puked) Nothing apparently to be too worried about, but enough to make me call the on call number for the pediatrician. They're not worried, but has that ever stopped me. I'm am the queen of worry. So tomorrow we find if she's growing at an expected rate. Not that it will stop me from worrying. In the mean time, I found this: Baby Scale

Dear Sprout, Today you are one week old.

Thursday, 19 April 2007

Today you turned one week old. Its hard to believe that that much time has already passed. I feel like I blinked, and its been a week. In your first week, you've already had what I am sure will not be the first health issue. However, you have been a very very good baby. You are growing like a weed (or rather a well fed Sprout). I know I may pay for it later, but I can't ever seem to want to set you down. If I do, I want your dad to be the one holding you. 10 minutes of looking at yourself in your crib mirror while I did laundry seems like it was too long to leave you alone. I obviously have some issues to work out before daycare, let alone college.
You are a squirmer, something I knew as soon as I could feel you kick. It drives you dad crazy when he's changing you. You like to suck on you fingers, even if you just ate. You have the longest fingers, and toes, and your parents flipper like feet. You have my sideburns. I'm going to have to start saving for laser hair removal now.
You are beautiful, and I am amazed that I had any part in your sprouting up. Today Sprout, you are one week old, and you are perfect.

Yellow is not a good color for a Sprout

Wednesday, 18 April 2007

Breastfeeding is hard. And there is not guarentee that its going to work the way you want it to, no matter how hard you try. Not to mention, there are like a million different "right" ways to do everything. The worst part is, sometimes its hard to get the support you know you need.
I knew that breastfeeding wasn't going well. I knew because I've seen it actually work, I took the class, etc. I knew it wasn't working, and I kept asking for professional help. I didn't know they won't give you help until you've been there for a day. Then I got ignored, and given at least six different things to do by nurses, none of which worked.
By the time the Sprout was a day and half old, while she was peeing OK, she wasnt' pooping, and she was really badly jaundiced. Problem was, no one really noticed. I noticed she wasn't feeding right, but see two paragraphs above. Then we had an angel. A month and a half ago when I feel during the snow storm, I was sent to Abbott to get monitored for 6 hours. They gave me a delivery room to hang out in (beats a gurney any day), and a really cool nurse to look after the Sprout and I. Friday night she was covering post partum, and came to visit. She noticed that Sprout was really yellow, so she asked to have us for her next shift. She took Sprout to the nursery, ran tests, and found out how bad her jaundice really was. Then she came and actually listened and closely watched me feed, and figured out what the issue was. Sprout is pickey, and my nipples weren't doing it for her.
Sprout got put under photo lamps, and I got a nifty little piece of silicon to help make Sprout notice that she's got something to suck on. Now I know that there are plenty of people out there who think I should have tried harder, that I just didn't give it enough time... but my daughter was sick. Sick enough to get her another day in the hospital where the only time I got to spend with her was when I was feeding her (which ta-da, actually felt right and was working). For a day and a half, every 2-3 hours, I fed for as long as she could stand it, and then had to pump for another 10 minutes while she was naked under lights, all alone in an isolette for 1-2+ hours at a time. Now tell me again that I just didn't try hard enough.
Since she went home Sunday (I was discharged on Saturday, and then hung out in a very very small room for the extra day so I could feed and pump), we saw a lactation consultant in the hospital who thought that the nipple shield was a good thing. As did the lactation consultant at her Pediatricians office. She is gaining weight like well.. a weed. Yeserday, only six days old, she was up from 7 pounds 14 ounces to 8 pounds 2 ounces.
The nipple shields a pain, but if it helps her get what she needs, the lacatation nazi's can bite me. Eventually she should be able to get the hang of it and not need it. If she doesn't, I don't care. She's getting the benefit of breast milk, and time with me, and she's perfect. We've even figured out how to feed and not get both of us entirely covered in milk. (Trickier than you think)

Sprouted

Sunday, 15 April 2007

Wednesday Dr. Office - Well, your blood pressure is still high, I want you to go into Abbott and have them do the blood work so we get it back tonight still. You're 37 weeks, so if anything is wrong, I want to know right away... You're dialated to 1.5 centemeters.
Us - Should we go home to get bags, should we get food?
Her - No, you'll be out in an hour, its just to get tests results back faster.

Wednesday at Abbott - Have you ever had protien in your urine?
Me - No. Not even at my Dr. Office an hour ago.
Them - Well, you do now.
Them - I talked to the OB who is covering your Dr. practice tonight, you're staying and having a baby.
Us - Oh crap.

Wednesday in nice labor & delivery room, hubby at home picking up partially packed bags, doing some laundry, thinking it would be tomorrow before something happened.
Dr. On Call - Huh, 1.5 at the office, you're dialated to 4 almost 5. Are you sure you're not in labor. Any contractions?
Me - A couple of little ones like the ones I've been having for a week or so.
Her - Well, I guess we're having a baby tonight.
Me - Should I get my husband back here faster?
Her - Yup, won't be long now.
Me - Double crap.

Later on with me - Contractions aren't that bad. I may not need the epirdural.
Exam to figure out I'm already up to 6.
Me - Gimme the freaking drugs.

Start pushing at like 2 AM, barely been in labor, been told not to tell anyone its been this easy. (potosin induced stronger contractions) Pushing kinda sucks, not sure I can do it. Have to have an episotomy, find out the hard way epidural isn't really working all that well.

Baby born at 4:21 AM - Cord around her neck, and with her shoulders getting stuck. Nothing I knew about right away, other than it took a bit for me to hold her. Epidural still not working all that well.

She's perfect. We gave her our second choice name because she was too cute for the first.

Another post to follow, still more Sprout stuff. See pictures here.

Getting Closer...

Sunday, 8 April 2007

Last Dr. apt. went incredibly well. My blood pressure was back into pretty much normal range. That was good enough to keep me from getting another painful blood draw. She said it doesn't get me out of one this coming week, but a week off was nice. My veins thank her. While I'm not dialated yet, Doc says I'm about as close as I can be without actually being dialated. She asked if I was having contractions, and I didn't know how to answer. I'm having some odd pain like feelings and a lot of pressure, and after they've gotten more intense lately, I guess I'd call them contractions. Especially since they include some really special feeling lower back pain. (I know, back labor... ugh) Sprout has also dropped a ton, so much so I worry I'm doing brain damage every time I walk up stairs. The swelling is still crazy, doesn't seem to go down ever. So, we're continuing to get closer. The room is fully furnished, the laundry is done, my bag is packed as much as it can be considering stupid flipping Targe is closed on Easter Sunday. (So are apparently a lot of places that aren't kind enough to put up a sign saying such) I still have a car seat to install. However, I had to wait through one last Ikea trip before I could do that. Its going to happen tomorrow. Oh, and there is this silly curtains thing. I need to put up blinds and curtains, but again with the silly Targe being closed... Now that that I'm prepared, can this happen already? I want to see if she has hair.