It hit her and me on Thursday. Mat on Friday. We're thinking we probably picked it up at the clinic on Tuesday.
Last night she couldn't sleep because she couldn't breath well through her nose and she doesn't know to breath through her mouth. So at about 2:30 (after already getting up twice to nurse and calm her... even though she usually makes it until 1 or 2) I went to nurse again and when she fell asleep on my lap I just went with it. Reclined the couch and tried to get some sleep myself. Didn't really work, though... and she was still pretty fussy. She woke with a cry every 1/2 hour or so and I had to calm her back down.
I'm so tired. Now she's sitting in her swing content. I may try to get some sleep....
Monday, September 30, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Tender Transitions
I went to the breast feeding mothers support group, tender transitions, yesterday. It's an hour away, so I only went because Mat had an appointment there. They weighed Daughter and she had gained 6.5 ounces since Friday! She's really growing!
There were a couple of lactation consultants there. One tried to help me with my blister problem, but the only advise she had was the same as Pauline's (the LC I had seen for private appointments). Just pump for a while when it becomes unbearable. Once it heals, put Daughter back on the breast. She also said that it might be because I'm fair skinned... but, oh well.
So I've been pumping.
After TT, I took daughter to the floor that Mat was on. She was getting really fussy so I ended up nursing again in the waiting room! Thank goodness for nursing covers! I used this tutorial
http://madebythemamamonster.blogspot.com/2008/04/nursing-cover-tutorial.html
but made some adjustment. No D ring because my neck is always the same size... less boning because I wanted a bit more privacy.
here's a pic...
I'm going to make one for my sister :) She wants one in a solid fabric though... I don't have any n my stash. Guess I best get shopping!
I also made one of theses...
http://www.thecoterieblog.com/2012/05/diy-modern-nursing-shawl-sew-one-line.html
but I like the other so much I haven't even used it yet.
And here's a pic of Daughters "smiling for daddy" yesterday. It's not the best quality, but it's a very happy pic :)
There were a couple of lactation consultants there. One tried to help me with my blister problem, but the only advise she had was the same as Pauline's (the LC I had seen for private appointments). Just pump for a while when it becomes unbearable. Once it heals, put Daughter back on the breast. She also said that it might be because I'm fair skinned... but, oh well.
So I've been pumping.
After TT, I took daughter to the floor that Mat was on. She was getting really fussy so I ended up nursing again in the waiting room! Thank goodness for nursing covers! I used this tutorial
http://madebythemamamonster.blogspot.com/2008/04/nursing-cover-tutorial.html
but made some adjustment. No D ring because my neck is always the same size... less boning because I wanted a bit more privacy.
here's a pic...
I'm going to make one for my sister :) She wants one in a solid fabric though... I don't have any n my stash. Guess I best get shopping!
I also made one of theses...
http://www.thecoterieblog.com/2012/05/diy-modern-nursing-shawl-sew-one-line.html
but I like the other so much I haven't even used it yet.
And here's a pic of Daughters "smiling for daddy" yesterday. It's not the best quality, but it's a very happy pic :)
Friday, September 20, 2013
2 month doctor visit
Daughter is growing so fast! She's gained 42 oz in the last 26 days (when she was last weighed) and she's grown 2.75 inches since her 2 week appointment. That's amazing! The Dr said I must have great milk. Makes a mama feel good to hear that!
I still have a blister on my right... I'm nursing through it... it's stopped growing, but it's still there. I'm just waiting for it to pop.
Next week I think I'm going to the nursing support group to try to get some answers. The Dr today told me to put cabbage on it. But then we forgot to get any...
She smiles at us now. It's so cute! Hard to get pictures of it though...
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| Before the shots |
I still have a blister on my right... I'm nursing through it... it's stopped growing, but it's still there. I'm just waiting for it to pop.
Next week I think I'm going to the nursing support group to try to get some answers. The Dr today told me to put cabbage on it. But then we forgot to get any...
She smiles at us now. It's so cute! Hard to get pictures of it though...
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| Yesterday I caught a bit of a smile |
Saturday, September 14, 2013
More blisters and post partum visit
Grrr! Just when I think we're getting the hang of nursing, more blisters!
One was a milk blister. Very painful, but easy enough to fix. A long bath was what this mama needed anyway! So, that's gone now.
On the right again, there is a normal blister starting. It may be a blood blister... right now it's hard to tell and I don't want to let it get big enough so that I can tell! So I'm doing a day of pumping from that side and nursing from the left followed by a bottle of expressed milk from the right.
I think it may be my nursing chair. I primarily nurse in a very comfortable chair in our living room... I'm thinking that it's hard to get a good position in it. It's a lazy boy chair... big and comfy. I'm going to do more nursing in the nursery or on the couch. Hopefully that helps!
I had my 6 week post partum appointment this week. It went pretty well... I had to see the OB GYN, though. Not the midwife who I love... once someone has a C Section in ND, apparently midwives are off limits.
The OB GYN was very rushed. She's nice, but much less warm than my midwife had been. I miss my midwife.
One was a milk blister. Very painful, but easy enough to fix. A long bath was what this mama needed anyway! So, that's gone now.
On the right again, there is a normal blister starting. It may be a blood blister... right now it's hard to tell and I don't want to let it get big enough so that I can tell! So I'm doing a day of pumping from that side and nursing from the left followed by a bottle of expressed milk from the right.
I think it may be my nursing chair. I primarily nurse in a very comfortable chair in our living room... I'm thinking that it's hard to get a good position in it. It's a lazy boy chair... big and comfy. I'm going to do more nursing in the nursery or on the couch. Hopefully that helps!
I had my 6 week post partum appointment this week. It went pretty well... I had to see the OB GYN, though. Not the midwife who I love... once someone has a C Section in ND, apparently midwives are off limits.
The OB GYN was very rushed. She's nice, but much less warm than my midwife had been. I miss my midwife.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Nursing my adopted daughter
It's so amazing that I'm able to nurse my adopted daughter. Most adoptive parents never get the chance.
Yesterday was the funeral of a childhood friend. He will be missed. Because of the visitation (Sunday) and the funeral (Monday) being in my home town, I rode there with my parents on Sunday and back to the lake yesterday. It was about 8 hours in the car with all of the driving for the visitation/funeral. So I had to nurse in new places. I used my nursing cover for 5 nursing sessions out and about. I had previously only nursed in public (with my cover) once- in the car.
I am so thankful that its finally getting easier! I stuck with it and it paid off! I may get more blisters in the future... But I think I can deal.
And I had a revelation while nursing in the church nursery. I figured out why nurseries are called nurseries!
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Daughter's birth story
Late, but late is better than never. I've been writing a paragraph or so every time I get a chance. Finally finished!
Monday July 29th Mat and I were up at 5 am so that I could eat breakfast. The version was scheduled for noon and I couldn't eat for 6 hours before hand. Going in, both Mat and I were expecting the version to work and we'd go home that day and wait for natural child birth. God had other plans in store...
We got there about 10 (we were instructed to be about 2 hours early) and attempted to check in at two different check in points before being directed to the birthing center. We got there and they led us to a labor room and hooked me up to an IV and monitoring devices. One was monitoring my contractions (which I'd been having pretty regularly, just not more than once every ten minutes or so). They decided to give me some Terbutaline to stop or slow my contractions so that the version would be easier. We were actually glad about this, because we had read before going in that versions with Terbutaline were about twice as successful as those without.
The nurses were all very nice and answered all of our questions. Then the Doctor (no, not that Doctor ;) came in and did an ultrasound. She said based on Daughter's position, there was about a 25% chance the version would be successful. I was still optimistically thinking it would work, but at that point Mat started having doubts. Daughter was completely upside down, with her head in the top right of my abdomen, her butt pushing against my spine, and her feet spread out like "landing gear" (Dr's term) with neither of them yet in the birthing canal, but rather on each side of it.
So, then the version started. Ouch! I knew I would have some serious bruising (which I did, but it sort of blended with the C Section bruising). Imagine a "snake bite" like kids do but 10 times worse and on an already tender stomach. Mat held my hand the whole time and was awesome, as always... She (the Dr) tried three times to turn Daughter... she got Daughter about half turned each time when Daughter would duck her head under the Dr's hand and pop right back into the original breech position.
After three attempts, we gave up. My contractions had increased, but Daughter was still doing well with a steady heart beat. The fact that my contractions had increased caused concern... they were now about 6 minutes apart with nothing in my birthing canal. I was less than an inch dilated. The Dr told us that we had two options. We could have a C Section at 4 that afternoon, or we could come back at 6 the following morning. She warned us that waiting until morning was dangerous, as my contractions were speeding up and Daughter's feet could push out the umbilical cord at any time. We discussed it and decided that 7/29 would be her birth day :)
So we sat in the labor and recovery room for a couple hours. We met the nurse anesthetist... I sent Mat to get himself some food and caffeine, knowing that he needed it. He didn't want to leave me, and didn't want to eat if I couldn't, but I made him. He was back in about 20 minutes having downed a soda and a quick meal in the cafeteria. We sat there, prayed, read some Bible passages, and I cried. I had been doing excercises, we had watched 12 weeks of natural birth DVDs, Mat was getting to be very skilled at helping me to relax for labor... that last one did come in handy. He is my rock and calmed me down.
So, the time finally came and we walked back to the C section room (in the birthing center, so not a general surgery room) after emptying my bladder one last time. They had Mat wait outside and put on his over the clothes scrub thingies and face mask. I went in, got on the table, and from a sitting position the anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist gave me an epidural and I think something else? My memory is foggy... but the Anesthesiologist did say that at the hospital she used to work at they always gave the epidurals before attempting versions because they made them much easier on the patients. I would have agreed... I probably would have declined it if it was offered prior to the version, but it's nice to know that I took it like a champ ;)
Then they laid me down and strapped me in. They told me they were strapping my arms so that I didn't wiggle and touch any sterile tools... but I'm thinking it was so that I didn't rip down the sheet between my head and tummy. I can only imagine being drugged up and doing so, seeing my tummy open and freaking. Anyway, then Mat came in. He held my hand the whole time and actually looked as they took Daughter out of my tummy. They held daughter up to my face right away. Mat tried to get a pic, but it was blurry and rushed. I cried and kissed my daughter for the first time.
The anesthesiologist commented on her hair and said she had been expecting blonde hair. We told her Daughter was adopted. Everyone said she was the most beautiful baby. I know they probably say that to everyone... but to us, she is the most beautiful baby!
Mat went with Daughter and the nurses to get her cleaned up and checked over in the nursery. The Dr and a med student then sewed me up and I was forced to listen to Miley Cyrus for a bit while they did... although I heard the original version of Weird Al's "Party in the CIA" for the first time. Weird Al does it better...
Anywho, when they finished stitching me up they transfered me to another bed and wheeled me to my room. I had been told that I would probably get there after Mat and Daughter, but I beat them. I think I may have fallen asleep a bit, but when they got in there Mat handed me Daughter for some skin to skin. She immediately migrated toward my breast and latched on about a minute after the skin to skin started! This probably reaffirmed my false belief that nursing would be easy... but the nurse looked shocked and said that she had never seen that before.
I couldn't get out of bed for about 24 hours, so Mat was the caregiver. That first night neither of us got any sleep.
Here are some pics from the hospital.
Monday July 29th Mat and I were up at 5 am so that I could eat breakfast. The version was scheduled for noon and I couldn't eat for 6 hours before hand. Going in, both Mat and I were expecting the version to work and we'd go home that day and wait for natural child birth. God had other plans in store...
We got there about 10 (we were instructed to be about 2 hours early) and attempted to check in at two different check in points before being directed to the birthing center. We got there and they led us to a labor room and hooked me up to an IV and monitoring devices. One was monitoring my contractions (which I'd been having pretty regularly, just not more than once every ten minutes or so). They decided to give me some Terbutaline to stop or slow my contractions so that the version would be easier. We were actually glad about this, because we had read before going in that versions with Terbutaline were about twice as successful as those without.
The nurses were all very nice and answered all of our questions. Then the Doctor (no, not that Doctor ;) came in and did an ultrasound. She said based on Daughter's position, there was about a 25% chance the version would be successful. I was still optimistically thinking it would work, but at that point Mat started having doubts. Daughter was completely upside down, with her head in the top right of my abdomen, her butt pushing against my spine, and her feet spread out like "landing gear" (Dr's term) with neither of them yet in the birthing canal, but rather on each side of it.
So, then the version started. Ouch! I knew I would have some serious bruising (which I did, but it sort of blended with the C Section bruising). Imagine a "snake bite" like kids do but 10 times worse and on an already tender stomach. Mat held my hand the whole time and was awesome, as always... She (the Dr) tried three times to turn Daughter... she got Daughter about half turned each time when Daughter would duck her head under the Dr's hand and pop right back into the original breech position.
After three attempts, we gave up. My contractions had increased, but Daughter was still doing well with a steady heart beat. The fact that my contractions had increased caused concern... they were now about 6 minutes apart with nothing in my birthing canal. I was less than an inch dilated. The Dr told us that we had two options. We could have a C Section at 4 that afternoon, or we could come back at 6 the following morning. She warned us that waiting until morning was dangerous, as my contractions were speeding up and Daughter's feet could push out the umbilical cord at any time. We discussed it and decided that 7/29 would be her birth day :)
So we sat in the labor and recovery room for a couple hours. We met the nurse anesthetist... I sent Mat to get himself some food and caffeine, knowing that he needed it. He didn't want to leave me, and didn't want to eat if I couldn't, but I made him. He was back in about 20 minutes having downed a soda and a quick meal in the cafeteria. We sat there, prayed, read some Bible passages, and I cried. I had been doing excercises, we had watched 12 weeks of natural birth DVDs, Mat was getting to be very skilled at helping me to relax for labor... that last one did come in handy. He is my rock and calmed me down.
So, the time finally came and we walked back to the C section room (in the birthing center, so not a general surgery room) after emptying my bladder one last time. They had Mat wait outside and put on his over the clothes scrub thingies and face mask. I went in, got on the table, and from a sitting position the anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist gave me an epidural and I think something else? My memory is foggy... but the Anesthesiologist did say that at the hospital she used to work at they always gave the epidurals before attempting versions because they made them much easier on the patients. I would have agreed... I probably would have declined it if it was offered prior to the version, but it's nice to know that I took it like a champ ;)
Then they laid me down and strapped me in. They told me they were strapping my arms so that I didn't wiggle and touch any sterile tools... but I'm thinking it was so that I didn't rip down the sheet between my head and tummy. I can only imagine being drugged up and doing so, seeing my tummy open and freaking. Anyway, then Mat came in. He held my hand the whole time and actually looked as they took Daughter out of my tummy. They held daughter up to my face right away. Mat tried to get a pic, but it was blurry and rushed. I cried and kissed my daughter for the first time.
The anesthesiologist commented on her hair and said she had been expecting blonde hair. We told her Daughter was adopted. Everyone said she was the most beautiful baby. I know they probably say that to everyone... but to us, she is the most beautiful baby!
Mat went with Daughter and the nurses to get her cleaned up and checked over in the nursery. The Dr and a med student then sewed me up and I was forced to listen to Miley Cyrus for a bit while they did... although I heard the original version of Weird Al's "Party in the CIA" for the first time. Weird Al does it better...
Anywho, when they finished stitching me up they transfered me to another bed and wheeled me to my room. I had been told that I would probably get there after Mat and Daughter, but I beat them. I think I may have fallen asleep a bit, but when they got in there Mat handed me Daughter for some skin to skin. She immediately migrated toward my breast and latched on about a minute after the skin to skin started! This probably reaffirmed my false belief that nursing would be easy... but the nurse looked shocked and said that she had never seen that before.
I couldn't get out of bed for about 24 hours, so Mat was the caregiver. That first night neither of us got any sleep.
Here are some pics from the hospital.
Cluster feeding until 3 am?!?
I'm exhausted and sore. Daughter did allow me to get in a decent nap this morning because, surprise surprise, she was also sleeping. But yeah, cluster feeding until 3 am.
Mat is awesome though. He came out several times to ask if he could get me anything. I asked him to feed her at 5 (his usual bottle time before leaving for work) and just let me sleep through it. When he kissed me good bye this morning he told me that she only took an ounce. What? Only one ounce? She must still be full from her extreme cluster feeding last night.
Not only did she nurse almost constantly from 9 to 3, but she was getting frustrated about me being out of milk and crying so I gave her 3 ounces of pumped milk as well. 3 ounces plus whatever she got out of me! I really hope this is just a growth spurt... my boobs can't take it!
I woke to Daughter babbling in her sleep at 8 and pumped and tried to get more sleep... she had other plans so at 9 I gave her the rest of the bottle from 5 am (I try to pump three 3 ounce bottles and keep them in the fridge).
At this pace, I honestly don't see myself building up a freezer stash. Right now we have one 3 oz bag in the freezer. I'm taking blessed thistle and Fenugreek. Eating oatmeal every day... She's gaining weight and has plenty of wet and dirty diapers, so I know she's getting enough... but I want to be able to build up a freezer stash!
Mat is awesome though. He came out several times to ask if he could get me anything. I asked him to feed her at 5 (his usual bottle time before leaving for work) and just let me sleep through it. When he kissed me good bye this morning he told me that she only took an ounce. What? Only one ounce? She must still be full from her extreme cluster feeding last night.
Not only did she nurse almost constantly from 9 to 3, but she was getting frustrated about me being out of milk and crying so I gave her 3 ounces of pumped milk as well. 3 ounces plus whatever she got out of me! I really hope this is just a growth spurt... my boobs can't take it!
I woke to Daughter babbling in her sleep at 8 and pumped and tried to get more sleep... she had other plans so at 9 I gave her the rest of the bottle from 5 am (I try to pump three 3 ounce bottles and keep them in the fridge).
Then she quickly fell asleep...
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Monday, September 2, 2013
Pics...
We got the baptism pics from my in laws a week or so ago, so I'm posting some of them. She wore a Baptismal gown during the actual service, but afterward (when most of the pics were taken) we changed her outfit.
And just because I took a pretty cute pic the other day...
She's growing so fast! We don't think we'll be able to keep her in the bassinet much longer... She likes to flail about and she hits the sides. Just looking at her new born pics compared to current, wow! She's growing fast!
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| Mat and I with Daughter before cake |
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| Mat and his brother (Godfather) with Daughter |
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| Daughter slept right through most of the day. |
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| Mat and I, in laws, Godparents, and Pastor with Daughter |
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| Add caption |
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| Godparents |
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| Bed head |
Sunday, September 1, 2013
More blisters...
I had a blood blister on Thursday and Friday. Looking online, everything said to pop it. So I called the LC office on Friday and they said not to pop it and just to allow it to break naturally- even though it may pop in daughters mouth. It got larger and larger with each nursing session. It did pop on its own yesterday though.
So I feel much better... but now there's another plain old blister appearing. So I have pain from that, too. I don't get it! The LC says Daughter's latch is good... the one I spoke with on the phone said that it might be poor positioning. I'm trying some new positions. But I think that the blood blister may have caused the poor positioning which led to the other blister....
I think the blood blister came from Daughter suckling too hard through the sheild. It first appeared when I was using a shield...
And Daughter hasn't been sleeping that great last night or Friday night. So we're pretty exhausted and I'm sore. Good thing this happened over a long weekend!
So I feel much better... but now there's another plain old blister appearing. So I have pain from that, too. I don't get it! The LC says Daughter's latch is good... the one I spoke with on the phone said that it might be poor positioning. I'm trying some new positions. But I think that the blood blister may have caused the poor positioning which led to the other blister....
I think the blood blister came from Daughter suckling too hard through the sheild. It first appeared when I was using a shield...
And Daughter hasn't been sleeping that great last night or Friday night. So we're pretty exhausted and I'm sore. Good thing this happened over a long weekend!
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