Postpartum Mamas Weekly Chat March 1-7

[mama kk]

I don't actually have time to write anything right now (baby is waking up) but I have been wanting to make a space to hear how it is going for those of us who have had our babies.

[josie423]

Not PP yet, but just wanted to say congrats to all you Mamas! I look forward to joining this thread!

[SilverFish]

things are going so well! i'm on a bit of a high today. tzippy is 13 days old and has been home from the NICU for 3. we finally figured out breastfeeding (sort of... she'll only nurse on one side, and one side only... anyone have tips for that?) and so that means i actually have time to do stuff rather than the never ending cycle of trying to breastfeed, failing, pumping, and then bottle feeding. i'm feeling so much better after spending a couple days in bed... we might actually venture outside today!

[magrat]

I am so glad you started this thread, I've been wondering where to put this. I got the stomach flu! 5 days postpartum and I'm up all night with stomach cramps that feel like I'm going through labor all over again. I had to work to breathe through them and was even vocalizing - I've never even done that in labor! Plus I had the chills and ended up staying in the bath half the night because it was the only way I could stay warm. And I know I wanted loose BMs postpartum, but I didn't actually mean liquid Never experienced anything like that before. It was my own personal nightmare of a night anyway. My first birth was 5 1/2 hours and painful, but not unbearable. This birth was under 2 hours of active labor and horribly painful. I was just trying to forget the pain and recover from the trauma a bit when I have this reminder. I felt like a Vietnam vet having a flashback or something. DH had this a couple days ago but wasn't in so much agony. I think the fact that my abdomen had been through so much recently and my organs are still moving back into place made it much worse. On a more positive note, it seems to have ended as quickly as it began. I having been taking little sips of water and even a tiny bit of applesauce with no ill effects. But I think the mental trauma will linger longer....

[1babysmom]

Doing well here. Just 3 days PP but finally it's starting to hit me "physically", just starting to get a bit uncomfortable sitting down, getting out of bed, stuff like that. But good otherwise. LOVING belly binding, can't believe what I was missing before. Feels so great and my belly is actually nearing flat again so quickly! (last time it took AGES) Little guy is doing wonderfully, he's an ounce below his birthweight today (so down to 8.9) and has been so alert lately, but mellow. Beautiful combination- so opposite of my girls.

[1babysmom]

Originally Posted by magrat

My first birth was 5 1/2 hours and painful, but not unbearable. This birth was under 2 hours of active labor and horribly painful. I was just trying to forget the pain and recover from the trauma a bit when I have this reminder.

A bit of mental trauma here, too...mostly just when I think of my future pregnancies/births. I was complete for 6 hours, and knowing there's nothing I can really do ahead of time (nothing MORE, anyway) to prevent that...that it's just something we have to deal with as it comes...kinda freaks me out, because it feels like I can approach the next time positively and optimistically, if that makes sense.

[theretohere]

I'm doing ok, but I really feel it when I over do it. It seems to raise my temp and really makes my whole lower body ache. We got ds's tongue tie clipped today and it really improved nursing instantly. Ds has regained 5 oz already so I'm eagerly waiting for when I feel 100% and I can start getting back to doing everything!

[DocsNemesis]

I'm doing ok too. I've had a much easier recovery this time around, mostly thanks to my wonderful fiance taking over EVERYTHING and refusing to let me do anything the first couple of weeks. lol

I'm still upset that I didn't get my VBAC, actually a little moreso now than I was initially. I mean, I think I made the right choice but then the back of my mind goes "what if you'd just held out a little longer, what if you'd tried this, or that, or....." Its not helpful, I know that, I just can't help it. I really wish I'd had a good midwife there to help try to get her into a better position...I did what I could think of but I'm hardly an expert and of course the nurses and doctors were no help there. I think then I'd be a bit more ok with it.

On a cuter note-Mieke had her head all cocked to one side with her hands by her face/head when they did the cesarean and she still does it, all the time. She LOVES flexing her neck too-tipping her head back and stretching her neck out. I bet if she was doing that in the womb that sure as heck didn't help things either! Its so cute to see this little tiny thing do now though, lol.

She's doing well now too. She had a lot of weight gain trouble, dropped down to 6 pounds and didn't start gaining until over 2 weeks old, but now shes 3.5 weeks and about 8.5 pounds. She also had issues with her umbilical cord healing and with her little foot pricks for her PKU tests not healing. We actually think she may have a blood clotting disorder but they don't want to do the tests yet because its apparently a lot of blood (at least for a newborn!) to do the tests? Anyway, in the meantime, we just have to be careful with any cuts and such.

[elmh23]

Christopher turned 2 weeks old today! I can't believe it. And my midwife who went out of town for all of February, who I was trying to wait for her to come home, has just now been back, lol. SO GLAD he didn't stay put an extra 2 weeks! I think it would have killed me. As it was, he was huge for my babies (1lb bigger than my previous biggest) and had shoulder dystocia. I think it would have been REALLY bad if he'd stayed put.

Anyway, we're doing well here. The older kids have mostly adjusted well. Ds1 still has some issues, but it's hard to tell if that's more because of the baby or dh staying home for the last two weeks (he and dh always have a hard time if they're with eachother for to long.) Tomorrow is the first day dh will be going to work full time. He'll take dd to school and I'm supposed to pick her up, but he'll be able to if all hell breaks loose here at home. Thankfully, my wonderful playgroup is coming over for the morning to play and keep us busy. We'll see how ds1 does with a bunch of two year olds playing with his toys and seeing his baby. He is very protective of Christopher!

[mama kk]

Seo is 12 days old today. The memory of pregnancy is starting to fade, and it is bittersweet. I was SO over being pregnant, but now I miss that feeling and mystery a little... but holding my baby is superior for sure. I feel for the ladies in our ddc who are wanting their little ones in their arms... My bleeding had almost stopped after staying in bed for a week, but the last two days I have been up and about like normal, and I started bleeding a lot more.

We are watching the oscars tonight, and Seo is sleeping on the sheepskin between my DH and me. He has been really mellow except when he has gas which is a huge relief to me. I Love him, and I am so happy to have had a boy. He keeps peeing on me when I change his diaper, I am still an amateur on this front for sure.
He is nursing really well, although I broke down and gave him a pacifier at 6 days old. We all sleep in the same room, and he wanted to be on the boob ALL night long (for comfort) and he would scream when I wasn't nursing him, and it kept waking up my DD. Then she would get in our Queen sized bed too. So all 4 of us all cramped together. My poor DH kept waking up with a hurt neck because of it all... anyways, I broke down and gave him a binky, and everything is MUCH better on that front. Now DD only climbs in around 4 or 5 AM instead of all night long.

I have no idea why, but I can't stop thinking about whether we are done having children or not. It seems totally weird to be obsessing over this now, while I have such a sweet little baby in my arms. I always thought we wouldn't because of overpopulation, but adoption is not an option for us (even though I would love too). But I love the idea of a larger family... It just seems weird that this is something on my mind...

[elmh23]

Mamakk, if it makes you feel better, we gave Christopher a paci on his first day. He would just get pissed whenever there was milk and he wasn't hungry. I love the paci!

[1babysmom]

Oh totally don't feel bad about the binky!! My little guy has one at almost all times when he's not nursing (which is most of the time ). He's just a little "sucker". He even has a callous on his finger from where he sucked on it a lot in utero! (which is really cool because we SAW him sucking his finger on the 32 week u/s)

[Charmie981]

Originally Posted by mama kk

I have no idea why, but I can't stop thinking about whether we are done having children or not. It seems totally weird to be obsessing over this now, while I have such a sweet little baby in my arms. I always thought we wouldn't because of overpopulation, but adoption is not an option for us (even though I would love too). But I love the idea of a larger family... It just seems weird that this is something on my mind...

nak

I was DONE all the way up until I got home with this super-sweet, tiny little girl. I mean, if she could have tied my tubes in pregnancy or immediately pp, I would totally have done it. Now, I'm not so sure. I still feel like it's probably the right choice for us but there's this little part of me that thinks maybe we're not DONE. My doc will not be happy to hear this. I think after the placenta issue, the second time she's had to induce me for pre-E and the bleed this time, she doesn't want me to have another...

DH had to go into the hole with his vacation time to get a week off after this baby's birth, so surgery isn't an option for either of us until he can take a couple of days off. I don't know what we'll do until then.

[Charmie981]

re: paci

I really didn't want her to take one. My 18 month old is crazy attached to the paci and libby will suck her thumb, so I was hoping maybe we wouldn't have a paci. Sadly, she seems to have taken quite well to it. She wants to be able to suck without getting milk and has a hard time finding her thumb, so the paci it is. So much for lactational ammenorhhea.

[1babysmom]

Originally Posted by Charmie981

So much for lactational ammenorhhea.

I gave up on shooting for that this time. I've had AF back at 4 and 7 months PP, despite nursing around the clock, no pacis (we tried them in the car a few times and they just never really took to them), co-sleeping, even tandem nursing and it never made a difference for me. So I give up.

[Charmie981]

Yeah, mine have all taken pacis, so it's never been an option for me. But I also considered myself of low fertility (took 17 cycles, 6 cycles, and 2.5 YEARS to get pregnant) until I found myself pregnant at 10 months pp. Now I'm a little more concerned about avoiding pregnancy than I ever have been before.

[Sayward]

I AM IN HEAVEN! Seriously, I didn't really know what to expect as a first time mom, but this is just . . . bliss. We have our share of issues of course - Waits is prone to gas and cries like a banshee when he's got gas pain. He's had a couple of crazy inconsolable crying jags that are just so heartbreaking. Amazingly, Damian and I are staying calm and just try to comfort him through it. And we're learning as we go, and it's working. I even got 3 hours uninterrupted sleep last night.

I love him so much it's just crazy.

Here's a bunch more pics of the little bugger: wee Waits Rebhal

[Sayward]

Oh also, so glad to hear so many of you are okay with pacifiers. I've been avoiding because of some stuff I read, but it really seems like having one would help through some of his upsets. I'm thinking I'll try one out in a week or so.

[Charmie981]

Originally Posted by Sayward

Oh also, so glad to hear so many of you are okay with pacifiers. I've been avoiding because of some stuff I read, but it really seems like having one would help through some of his upsets. I'm thinking I'll try one out in a week or so.

As long as your breastfeeding relationship is well established and you choose a paci that is relatively latch-friendly (ie NOT a NUK!!), you should be okay. Always offer to nurse first..ie don't offer the paci instead of the breast, and if you start to have latch difficulty or soreness after introducing it, ditch the paci ASAP. Also, know that his sucking on anything besides you means that your fertility can return and you'll need to do something to avoid pregnancy if you are so inclined.

[mama kk]

It is a relief to hear you all are using binkys too...

My 2.5 DD is still addicted to hers (although she only gets it in the car and at bedtime), and I had mixed feelings about introducing one this time. Mostly it is a blessing though. And I am grateful he is nursing so well.

Also, I tried the highlands colic homeopathic tablets for Seo's gas pains today and it really seemed to help.