Cause damn it - I'm tired. Three nights of only sleeping in 45 minutes stretches has caught up. The days are starting to go really well. Lily is napping, breastfeeding is going a bit better (with one exception I'll talk about in a minute), we even made it to the grocery store yesterday. Then night time comes and the gloves come off. She wants to marathon feed and then will wake up the instant she's laid down. Or she'll lay awake forever just looking around... Or, like last night, I woke up, changed her diaper, she ate for almost 30 minutes, she burped and laid there forever. She finally closes her eyes almost 40 minutes later... and poops. So, I change her, she's wide awake again.. we rock and snuggle - and she asks for the boob again. And we start over.
Lord-e-mercy child! We could not get in sync last night. And since I didn't get a nap yesterday, there were tears. Snotty ones. And not two hours before we started settling down for the evening, I'd declared victory on the day. That's when the universe saw fit to karate chop me down a peg.
J did everything he could to help us and the poor guy had to work today - now add guilt. We finally got things settled a few hours later and I got strict orders to do nothing today but nap with the baby. Now - before you jump on me cause I'm online - she's laying here awake - I swear!
I'm trying to be patient with myself. To take things as the come. Allow myself space to learn and let everything else fall away. But that's hard! I want to have confidence that the next night will be better and that it's okay for me to get a few things done - you know, like shower and make dinner... only to self destruct later.
At our two week visit we hit another speed bump - Lily hasn't gained weight. She was 9lbs 14oz at three days and Tuesday, she was 9lbs 11oz. The nurse instantly suggested we supplement with formula. That was like a kick in my metaphorical nuts. I had some really great conversations with my friend Rachel (who called on her midwife and pediatric friends) for some advice. I've changed up some of our feeding - letting her go as long as she wants, even if that means spitting up (which has gotten more 'normal' again btw). The running theory is that at our three day visit, she wasn't done losing weight. My milk didn't come in until that day, so she probably lost weight for another couple days and is on the upswing now. So, we have another weigh-in on Friday. Until then I am not going to supplement. If she's continuing to lose weight, we'll talk about it again then. I really don't think my supply is an issue - I can tell they're full. If you have a spare positive thought - please think/pray/wish for a bit of weight gain tomorrow. We need a win around here.
Last nights drama? Also, breast feeding related. My left nipple is killing me. When Lily spit up last night - it was kind of thick and mucus-y (which is fine), but it was tinged with brown. The brown freaked us out. Turns out my nipple is bleeding a tiny bit. There is also a small white spot on the end of my nipple. I need to allow my nipples to air dry and switch away from the disposable breast pads to something that breathes better. When we visit the nurse on Friday, I am going to ask about thrush. I have been doing some reading (FYI - don't look at images of Thrush - it's enough to make anyone panic) and we have a fair amount of the symptoms, including the fact that we had antibiotics after labor (which can kill off the 'good' bacteria and encourage yeast growth). If I do have thrush, I know it would be minor. We'll see...
My stride could not be found soon enough. I love this little girl. The
time we get to spend together, snuggle, and I get to look at her sweet
face... the best in the universe. She is so stinkin cute and I just
cannot believe she's ours. She's starting to be a bit more aware when she is awake. Wide eyed and checking things out. Every single day I'm in awe that she is here.
Finally. For once I would just like a few less hurdles. Struggling to
get her here, a long labor, tricky breastfeeding... fewer speed bumps and more time basking in her awesomeness is all I ask. Is that too much?
With all that said - yes, I am hiring. Not really, cause we're broke, but isn't it a nice dream? Nap with your sweet baby while someone else runs around cleaning, changing a thousand diapers a day, and chaffing their nipples? Meanwhile, I am off to feed my sweet girl. Dreaming that my nipples that are in one piece while I stroke her adorable chubby cheeks.
(I'm not even going to go back and read this. It was meant as a thought-dump and that's what it will be. Blech - there it is. Motherhood - Day 18.)
my daughter had thrush and I wasn't breast feeding at the time .. Thank God!.. it's very hard to get rid of.. especially if you breast feed .. I had to give her some medicine and rub it on her tongue and inner cheeks.. her tongue got really white and it was pretty disgusting.. but she got over it.. unfortunately I ended up having to get tons of bibs.. you have to change them every time they feed.. you have to also change their clothes all the time too!.. it was a pain in the butt.. every toy .. and pacey had to be changed and washed and boiled.. it lasted about 3 weeks.. ugh.. good luck!
ReplyDeleteOh I feel ya girl. IT'S SO TOUGH. I had LOTS of tears in the beginning, no sleep, a colicky baby girl, it was just BRUTAL. Yes, brutal. We've come along way since then. But I remember those day/nights so clearly. I know its hard to hear right now, but things WILL get better :) You are doing great.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to read that she DID gain weight. I read this last night and meant to get back and comment sooner. I think especially b/c of the IV fluid weight gain right before birth, it makes perfect sense that she would lose a little more in the beginning, and for goodness sakes, it's not like she's a 5# premie where an ounce or two makes a little more of a difference! Some ppl are just quick to push formula instead of giving your body and your baby a chance to get in sync.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your nipples, I used lansinoh quite a bit in the beginning, and I went topless quite a bit too, just to let them air out. It's kind of funny sitting around leaking at times, but it helped! :)
Are you sleeping while she lays there with her eyes open? That's okay, you know. :) Every week she'll start being awake/sleeping for longer segments of time and you'll fall a little more into a rhythm. I definitely was a zombie in the beginning, but co-sleeping ended up being a life saver for me. Good luck!