Time to welcome Emily Madison!
I have to say, I was incredibly nervous about having her home the first few days.
While we were at the hospital, she didn't sleep a ton and it broke my heart to send her to the nursery so Eric could get some sleep too. One of the nights, I just held her for a few hours and sang her worship songs as she fell asleep. I just couldn't stop looking at her. I still can't.
I was there all day Wednesday and they let me be discharged on Thursday. They said I could go anytime but I waited till about 4:30pm because I was still having issues with breastfeeding and that kind of thing. Upon discharge, I was told that I couldn't drive for two weeks after my C-section and they gave me a prescription for the pain. I had a lot of paperwork but it was quick.
She got her picture taken and we left with her that evening. My mom spent the afternoon on Thursday with us but not Wednesday because she was giving us a little time. I had a few visitors but not a ton. I only wanted to see Emily anyway lol.
The first few nights were rough. I called my mom in tears on Friday and Saturday morning because I was having issues feeding her and getting her to calm down. I felt totally out of control. Eric tried his hand at calming Emily down but neither of us could. And neither of us had the sleep we needed to function. I knew she needed to eat but I just couldn't get her to latch. Even at the hospital, she went 12 hours without eating twice. Everyone kept saying she wouldn't starve herself but I worried even more because I didn't want her to feel like I wasn't able to meet her needs.
That Saturday (Christmas Eve) was really hard. I spent nearly my whole morning crying and my mom was with me and my dad took Eric to Wal-mart while I spent time with my mom. I really feel like opening up to her that day has made us closer every day since. I admitted that I felt bad because, even if Emily couldn't starve herself, she is too little to know she could make herself sick and if she didn't eat, she could die and I felt like she would not trust me because I can't comfort her or feed her. My mom was so comforting and reassured me that I'm a good mother and I just cried more and more. Finally, she told me that I should call a lactation specialist. I went upstairs to make the call and the hospital said that they probably couldn't get anyone till Monday and I kind of broke down. By "kind of," I mean totally. The nurse made some calls and the specialist I saw at the hospital named Annette called and said she would come over in the afternoon.
She stayed for about 3 hours working with me. Once we got the latch down, we talked about getting her on a schedule so she regularly eats since she said one of the issues seemed to be that by the time she woke up, she was so hungry that she would get over excited and not latch and get frustrated and then she would start crying. The most nerve-wrecking part was when she left because Eric was going back to work that night and I would be all alone. But I did it. I fed her and she latched and I did it. I was so proud and I nearly cried. I called Annette to share in my victory.
On Christmas Day, we spent time with my family and Emily was still a little fussy (but I credit that to the length of time I'd been working on her schedule) but manageable. The next few days, I was shocked to find out that the schedule was working. She was less fussy and more hungry. I was even able to feed her on both sides!
On Monday, I was able to get my staples out :)
At her first doctor's appt (this past Wednesday), my pediatrician said she's at 8lbs, 7oz and he would like her back at her birth weight by 2 weeks old. He checked her out and she was calm and behaved the ENTIRE visit. Well, except for getting a little fussy when he had to check her ears and when I had to get her naked for the scale. But those weren't big deals. The doctor told me that she's beautiful and perfect and I'm doing everything right :) He was glad to hear I called a specialist and agreed that some of the weight she lost was probably the feedings at the beginning. (Most babies lose up to 15% of their body weight within the first week and gain it back by 14 days old)
Now? She's getting more and more calm by the day. Since I haven't been allowed to drive, Eric or my mom (mostly my mom) have been driving me to the appointments. On the days my mom has driven me, I've been hanging out at her house for a while. She got a play-yard and basinet combo for Emily and all future grandchildren so it makes it easy to be over there for a while. I've seen my mom almost every day until a couple days ago. Out of Emily's 12 days of life, we've seen or visited my mom for between 8-10 of them, I think.
I was getting concerned about her digestion and nutrition because, since the meconium diapers stopped on Christmas Eve, she hadn't had a bowel movement. When I asked the doctor, he said for some babies, it's normal only to have 1 bowel movement a week at the beginning. He said if I was concerned after Friday that I could call the office or he gave me a home remedy that some mothers try but said not to worry about it.
Overall, she's becoming a very easy, well-fed baby.
When I got home from my parents today, she gave me 2 (not one, TWO!) poopy diapers. How considerate!
(My next few blogs will be much less "schedule" blogs. I just wanted to make sure I updated on everything so I can just keep up on this from now on.)
I have to say, I was incredibly nervous about having her home the first few days.
While we were at the hospital, she didn't sleep a ton and it broke my heart to send her to the nursery so Eric could get some sleep too. One of the nights, I just held her for a few hours and sang her worship songs as she fell asleep. I just couldn't stop looking at her. I still can't.
I was there all day Wednesday and they let me be discharged on Thursday. They said I could go anytime but I waited till about 4:30pm because I was still having issues with breastfeeding and that kind of thing. Upon discharge, I was told that I couldn't drive for two weeks after my C-section and they gave me a prescription for the pain. I had a lot of paperwork but it was quick.
She got her picture taken and we left with her that evening. My mom spent the afternoon on Thursday with us but not Wednesday because she was giving us a little time. I had a few visitors but not a ton. I only wanted to see Emily anyway lol.
The first few nights were rough. I called my mom in tears on Friday and Saturday morning because I was having issues feeding her and getting her to calm down. I felt totally out of control. Eric tried his hand at calming Emily down but neither of us could. And neither of us had the sleep we needed to function. I knew she needed to eat but I just couldn't get her to latch. Even at the hospital, she went 12 hours without eating twice. Everyone kept saying she wouldn't starve herself but I worried even more because I didn't want her to feel like I wasn't able to meet her needs.
That Saturday (Christmas Eve) was really hard. I spent nearly my whole morning crying and my mom was with me and my dad took Eric to Wal-mart while I spent time with my mom. I really feel like opening up to her that day has made us closer every day since. I admitted that I felt bad because, even if Emily couldn't starve herself, she is too little to know she could make herself sick and if she didn't eat, she could die and I felt like she would not trust me because I can't comfort her or feed her. My mom was so comforting and reassured me that I'm a good mother and I just cried more and more. Finally, she told me that I should call a lactation specialist. I went upstairs to make the call and the hospital said that they probably couldn't get anyone till Monday and I kind of broke down. By "kind of," I mean totally. The nurse made some calls and the specialist I saw at the hospital named Annette called and said she would come over in the afternoon.
She stayed for about 3 hours working with me. Once we got the latch down, we talked about getting her on a schedule so she regularly eats since she said one of the issues seemed to be that by the time she woke up, she was so hungry that she would get over excited and not latch and get frustrated and then she would start crying. The most nerve-wrecking part was when she left because Eric was going back to work that night and I would be all alone. But I did it. I fed her and she latched and I did it. I was so proud and I nearly cried. I called Annette to share in my victory.
On Christmas Day, we spent time with my family and Emily was still a little fussy (but I credit that to the length of time I'd been working on her schedule) but manageable. The next few days, I was shocked to find out that the schedule was working. She was less fussy and more hungry. I was even able to feed her on both sides!
On Monday, I was able to get my staples out :)
At her first doctor's appt (this past Wednesday), my pediatrician said she's at 8lbs, 7oz and he would like her back at her birth weight by 2 weeks old. He checked her out and she was calm and behaved the ENTIRE visit. Well, except for getting a little fussy when he had to check her ears and when I had to get her naked for the scale. But those weren't big deals. The doctor told me that she's beautiful and perfect and I'm doing everything right :) He was glad to hear I called a specialist and agreed that some of the weight she lost was probably the feedings at the beginning. (Most babies lose up to 15% of their body weight within the first week and gain it back by 14 days old)
Now? She's getting more and more calm by the day. Since I haven't been allowed to drive, Eric or my mom (mostly my mom) have been driving me to the appointments. On the days my mom has driven me, I've been hanging out at her house for a while. She got a play-yard and basinet combo for Emily and all future grandchildren so it makes it easy to be over there for a while. I've seen my mom almost every day until a couple days ago. Out of Emily's 12 days of life, we've seen or visited my mom for between 8-10 of them, I think.
I was getting concerned about her digestion and nutrition because, since the meconium diapers stopped on Christmas Eve, she hadn't had a bowel movement. When I asked the doctor, he said for some babies, it's normal only to have 1 bowel movement a week at the beginning. He said if I was concerned after Friday that I could call the office or he gave me a home remedy that some mothers try but said not to worry about it.
Overall, she's becoming a very easy, well-fed baby.
When I got home from my parents today, she gave me 2 (not one, TWO!) poopy diapers. How considerate!
(My next few blogs will be much less "schedule" blogs. I just wanted to make sure I updated on everything so I can just keep up on this from now on.)
Aww! I think I went through most of the same worries and concerns with Maddox. I was worried when he wouldn't latch on and eat too. It was nice to have my sisters there to tell me they went through the same things too. So you're not the only one and you're doing great. I'm still a noobie but it gets easier and you're gonna love it. I'm so happy for you
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