Saturday, July 27, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
Bringing home Baby-the first 3 months
I need to put some pictures from the hospital on here but I don't have them on this computer so I will have to do that later on...
Cooper was born at 3:01 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, he was healthy and looking good so we were able to take him home Sunday. He did have jaundice so we were told to take him to get his levels checked on Monday. I had been nursing him but my milk was taking what seemed like forever to come in, so he was losing weight. He was born at 7lbs 4 oz and within a few days was down to 6lbs 10 oz. On Monday we took him to get his levels checked and for a weight check. The lactation specialist was a little concerned because he had lost almost 10% of his body weight, so we were trying to figure out what we should do. It was so stressful to watch him and know he wasn't getting what he needed. I rented a pump and started using it to help my milk come in and increase my supply, and we did give him some formula to try to get his weight up a bit. Finally around day 5 or 6 I could tell my milk was finally coming in, and by then his jaundice levels were much better. He started gaining weight which relieved everyone. My mom was in town so she helped out a lot, she cooked a ton and helped me with breastfeeding, which I really struggled with. From the beginning Cooper was not a good nurser. He fell asleep constantly so he never got full and that made him want to nurse all the time. He had his nights and days mixed up, which happens to newborns a lot, so we didn't get much sleep. From the first night we had him I had a lot of anxiety and stress, I was worried and hormonally crazy and everything. The first night I didn't sleep, not one minute, I just couldn't. I had adrenaline going so by the time the next day came around I didn't feel too awful. The second night we were still in the hospital, for some reason I really hated the hospital bed so Scott slept there and I slept on the couch. I slept maybe 2 or 3 hours. It was enough to keep me going. The third night we were home and I probably 3 or 4 hours, I just had the hardest time sleeping, and he was up a lot too especially at night. I can't really remember how much sleep I got after that, just that eventually I crashed. But I was never able to nap and still to this day can't nap during the day, I don't know why I just can't. Talk about being in a hard situation, so I really relied on my night sleep to get me through. People just couldn't understand why I couldn't nap, I can't really explain it but I just know that I really can't. I hope I will be able to again soon, weird I know. So the first few weeks were mainly just getting the hang of breastfeeding him and making sure his weight was going up. After my mom left Scott mom Sherry came to stay with us, we were very lucky to have so much help. She was really great because she would take Cooper with Scott and I would go to sleep around 8 for a few hours, and it made a big difference, By then we were starting to struggle with getting him enough to eat. Looking back his reflux definitely contributed to him being fussy during and after feedings, but we thought he was just hungry all the time. From about weeks 5 to ten I really struggled with figuring out what I wanted to do. Every day I went from wanting to continue to try to breastfeed and wanting to give up. We would try as formula and it wouldn't work, we even had to take him to the hospital once because he screamed for hours and it ended up being the formula. I went back and forth for a while, finally we found Gerber Soy to be a formula that he could handle. At first I was giving him a bottle or two or formula a day, just to supplement. After about three months I found what worked best for me, which was to pump and then give him bottle with formula and breast milk mixed. We also switched to Dr. Brown's bottles and put gas drops in every bottle. His reflux medicine seemed to be helping but he was still a pretty fussy baby in general. He gained weight really well because he was eating a lot, but I think a lot of it was comfort eating because of the reflux. He was also a bad sleeper and napper, overall the first three months are a blur which is why this post may seem all over the place. I guess I should have made more of an effort to write down my thoughts. Overall the first three months were very hard in general but he was healthy and pretty happy so I just held on to people telling me it would get easier.
As far as my recovery went, I lost about 20 lbs the first 2 months but have struggled to lose the rest, it is much harder than I thought it would be. I healed up fairly well, it also took a lot longer than I thought I would. My hormones and emotions were definitely all over the place, but that was mostly due to sleep deprivation and a fussy baby. Scott was really great, he would take the night shift from about 9-12 every night so I could sleep, even though he also had homework to do. We made it through and survived the first 3 months!
Cooper was born at 3:01 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, he was healthy and looking good so we were able to take him home Sunday. He did have jaundice so we were told to take him to get his levels checked on Monday. I had been nursing him but my milk was taking what seemed like forever to come in, so he was losing weight. He was born at 7lbs 4 oz and within a few days was down to 6lbs 10 oz. On Monday we took him to get his levels checked and for a weight check. The lactation specialist was a little concerned because he had lost almost 10% of his body weight, so we were trying to figure out what we should do. It was so stressful to watch him and know he wasn't getting what he needed. I rented a pump and started using it to help my milk come in and increase my supply, and we did give him some formula to try to get his weight up a bit. Finally around day 5 or 6 I could tell my milk was finally coming in, and by then his jaundice levels were much better. He started gaining weight which relieved everyone. My mom was in town so she helped out a lot, she cooked a ton and helped me with breastfeeding, which I really struggled with. From the beginning Cooper was not a good nurser. He fell asleep constantly so he never got full and that made him want to nurse all the time. He had his nights and days mixed up, which happens to newborns a lot, so we didn't get much sleep. From the first night we had him I had a lot of anxiety and stress, I was worried and hormonally crazy and everything. The first night I didn't sleep, not one minute, I just couldn't. I had adrenaline going so by the time the next day came around I didn't feel too awful. The second night we were still in the hospital, for some reason I really hated the hospital bed so Scott slept there and I slept on the couch. I slept maybe 2 or 3 hours. It was enough to keep me going. The third night we were home and I probably 3 or 4 hours, I just had the hardest time sleeping, and he was up a lot too especially at night. I can't really remember how much sleep I got after that, just that eventually I crashed. But I was never able to nap and still to this day can't nap during the day, I don't know why I just can't. Talk about being in a hard situation, so I really relied on my night sleep to get me through. People just couldn't understand why I couldn't nap, I can't really explain it but I just know that I really can't. I hope I will be able to again soon, weird I know. So the first few weeks were mainly just getting the hang of breastfeeding him and making sure his weight was going up. After my mom left Scott mom Sherry came to stay with us, we were very lucky to have so much help. She was really great because she would take Cooper with Scott and I would go to sleep around 8 for a few hours, and it made a big difference, By then we were starting to struggle with getting him enough to eat. Looking back his reflux definitely contributed to him being fussy during and after feedings, but we thought he was just hungry all the time. From about weeks 5 to ten I really struggled with figuring out what I wanted to do. Every day I went from wanting to continue to try to breastfeed and wanting to give up. We would try as formula and it wouldn't work, we even had to take him to the hospital once because he screamed for hours and it ended up being the formula. I went back and forth for a while, finally we found Gerber Soy to be a formula that he could handle. At first I was giving him a bottle or two or formula a day, just to supplement. After about three months I found what worked best for me, which was to pump and then give him bottle with formula and breast milk mixed. We also switched to Dr. Brown's bottles and put gas drops in every bottle. His reflux medicine seemed to be helping but he was still a pretty fussy baby in general. He gained weight really well because he was eating a lot, but I think a lot of it was comfort eating because of the reflux. He was also a bad sleeper and napper, overall the first three months are a blur which is why this post may seem all over the place. I guess I should have made more of an effort to write down my thoughts. Overall the first three months were very hard in general but he was healthy and pretty happy so I just held on to people telling me it would get easier.
As far as my recovery went, I lost about 20 lbs the first 2 months but have struggled to lose the rest, it is much harder than I thought it would be. I healed up fairly well, it also took a lot longer than I thought I would. My hormones and emotions were definitely all over the place, but that was mostly due to sleep deprivation and a fussy baby. Scott was really great, he would take the night shift from about 9-12 every night so I could sleep, even though he also had homework to do. We made it through and survived the first 3 months!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Cooper's birth story
Yes, my baby is 5 1/2 months old and I am just now writing down his birth story! I never thought it would take me this long, part of it was that I couldn't figure out the password to our blog. Scott had changed it so finally I figured that out, but mostly I have just been too lazy. So here goes...
Cooper was due Jan 21st, when we had our first exam to see how everything looked down there, the doctor said wow you are already 3 cm dilated and I think 60 % effaced. He made it seem like we were on a roll and threw out things like, "you will never make it to you due date." Anyone who has been pregnant knows that giving someone false hope like that is just plain cruel, although I think the doctor really did believe that. Anyway, that was my first apt at 36 weeks, every week after same thing, no progression. I did EVERYTHING, walked, stairs, bounce on the exercise ball, and all those other things to get him to come. I was SO ready to be done being pregnant. Well a few days before my due date I went in, and I was dilated to a 4 and almost fully effaced. I had my membranes stripped for a third time, and was really thinking this was it. May I also mention I had false labor twice! So fun. Anyway I asked my doctor if my induction could be bumped up a few days since I was so dilated and my mom was coming into town, and he agreed, although I think he did say I probably wouldn't make it till then again..hahahahah, this was a different doctor though. So that's the preceding few weeks before the birth, and here is his birth story:
Friday was induction day and I got up in the morning knowing "today my baby will be born!" I was excited, nervous, ready to get him out, pretty much every emotion. I got up and got ready, we were waiting for a call from the hospital to let us know when we were going to be able to come in. Around 6 or 7 I got the call asking if we could come in at 9! I was happy it was early, and surprised. Before we left the house I took a minute to tell Harley goodbye, I knew when we came back things would be different and I wanted to spend a few minutes with just him. We left and got to the hospital and got things going. I got set up in my room and changed into my gown, and the nurse cam in and started going over everything with us. I really don't remember much of that. After I got hooked up and the going the doctor came in and broke my water and then they started the Pitocin. The iv the nurse gave me hurt so much, she placed it really poorly. Honestly the whole time I was pushing and everything I was thinking, get this iv out of me! Anyway, after they started the Pitocin the contractions got fast and painful quickly, yep I got the epidural after a few real contractions...haha. But I am not a total wimp, I had been dealing with Braxton hicks for a month and they told me I could have the epidural as soon as I wanted because I was so far dilated so I went ahead and got it. After that epidural I felt pretty good, everything progressed really quickly. I went from a 4 to a 9 in 2 hours or less, then the hard pushing began. For 3 hours I pushed and pushed, but that baby boy did not want to come. The nurse mentioned that he was having trouble getting past a certain point, and his heartbeat was all over the place so after each push I would have to turn to my side and have her find the heartbeat again. It made us all very anxious. It got to the point where I was thinking "oh no they might have to do a C-section." The doctor came in and decided it was time to get that baby out so he had me push as hard as I could, then he did an episiotomy and out came baby boy Cooper, 7lbs 4 oz with an alien shaped head! They whisked him away quickly because he had inhaled meconium, and I just watched as they cleaned him off thinking, okay when do I get to hold my baby. The doctor stitched me up, which only took a few minutes, then they handed me Cooper. When I saw the doctor pull him out, I cant even explain the emotion. He went from being inside me to this real human baby that I could see, I don't know it just hits you really hard. It was an amazing experience to see him come out. I don't really remember the first few minutes of his life, just that I held him and we all looked at him and eventually I tried to feed him for the first time. Our little angel had finally entered the world and we were so happy to have him.
Overall I had a very easy delivery and was very lucky to have an awesome nurse and my husband and mom there. Before I had really hoped he would come naturally but I have to say I wouldn't mind doing it this way again.
Well that's the birth story of our sweet baby boy, it has been quite the adventure since then, more posts to come!
Cooper was due Jan 21st, when we had our first exam to see how everything looked down there, the doctor said wow you are already 3 cm dilated and I think 60 % effaced. He made it seem like we were on a roll and threw out things like, "you will never make it to you due date." Anyone who has been pregnant knows that giving someone false hope like that is just plain cruel, although I think the doctor really did believe that. Anyway, that was my first apt at 36 weeks, every week after same thing, no progression. I did EVERYTHING, walked, stairs, bounce on the exercise ball, and all those other things to get him to come. I was SO ready to be done being pregnant. Well a few days before my due date I went in, and I was dilated to a 4 and almost fully effaced. I had my membranes stripped for a third time, and was really thinking this was it. May I also mention I had false labor twice! So fun. Anyway I asked my doctor if my induction could be bumped up a few days since I was so dilated and my mom was coming into town, and he agreed, although I think he did say I probably wouldn't make it till then again..hahahahah, this was a different doctor though. So that's the preceding few weeks before the birth, and here is his birth story:
Friday was induction day and I got up in the morning knowing "today my baby will be born!" I was excited, nervous, ready to get him out, pretty much every emotion. I got up and got ready, we were waiting for a call from the hospital to let us know when we were going to be able to come in. Around 6 or 7 I got the call asking if we could come in at 9! I was happy it was early, and surprised. Before we left the house I took a minute to tell Harley goodbye, I knew when we came back things would be different and I wanted to spend a few minutes with just him. We left and got to the hospital and got things going. I got set up in my room and changed into my gown, and the nurse cam in and started going over everything with us. I really don't remember much of that. After I got hooked up and the going the doctor came in and broke my water and then they started the Pitocin. The iv the nurse gave me hurt so much, she placed it really poorly. Honestly the whole time I was pushing and everything I was thinking, get this iv out of me! Anyway, after they started the Pitocin the contractions got fast and painful quickly, yep I got the epidural after a few real contractions...haha. But I am not a total wimp, I had been dealing with Braxton hicks for a month and they told me I could have the epidural as soon as I wanted because I was so far dilated so I went ahead and got it. After that epidural I felt pretty good, everything progressed really quickly. I went from a 4 to a 9 in 2 hours or less, then the hard pushing began. For 3 hours I pushed and pushed, but that baby boy did not want to come. The nurse mentioned that he was having trouble getting past a certain point, and his heartbeat was all over the place so after each push I would have to turn to my side and have her find the heartbeat again. It made us all very anxious. It got to the point where I was thinking "oh no they might have to do a C-section." The doctor came in and decided it was time to get that baby out so he had me push as hard as I could, then he did an episiotomy and out came baby boy Cooper, 7lbs 4 oz with an alien shaped head! They whisked him away quickly because he had inhaled meconium, and I just watched as they cleaned him off thinking, okay when do I get to hold my baby. The doctor stitched me up, which only took a few minutes, then they handed me Cooper. When I saw the doctor pull him out, I cant even explain the emotion. He went from being inside me to this real human baby that I could see, I don't know it just hits you really hard. It was an amazing experience to see him come out. I don't really remember the first few minutes of his life, just that I held him and we all looked at him and eventually I tried to feed him for the first time. Our little angel had finally entered the world and we were so happy to have him.
Overall I had a very easy delivery and was very lucky to have an awesome nurse and my husband and mom there. Before I had really hoped he would come naturally but I have to say I wouldn't mind doing it this way again.
Well that's the birth story of our sweet baby boy, it has been quite the adventure since then, more posts to come!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
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