Those with babes in arms...how's it going?

[ehsclt]

We got a great update from Alice. But we haven't heard from some of you in a bit. How are you doing? How are your bodies healing? How are your babies doing with nursing? If you have older children, how are they doing?

At some point, I guess we'll get a critical mass of people to move over to Life with a Babe, but for now don't want to lose touch with you.

Hope everyone is doing great!

[beachcomber]

Ooooh .... It's going pretty okay for the most part. I'm feeling MORE soreness in my perenium than I have before now. My breasts are very engorged and painful, too. Just touching them hurts like hell. It's kind of making me a bit crazy because I can't sit down comfortably and nursing is even more challenged by the boobs the size of Kansas. The nursing is a struggle right now but I'm slowly figuring it out. I had a very encouraging visit with my midwife today. Carys is a fighter. She struggles against latching on at the beginning of a feed, often dropping the nipple half a dozen times before she gets going. This is with me keeping her pushed up against the breast, per instructions from various books and my midwife. She hates that and often fights me. She's stubborn. Heh.

But despite all that, she's only lost 8 oz since her birth day, she's got a good heartbeat and is very interactive. The midwife was very impressed with how well she seems to be doing. I was hugely encouraged by that. As a first time mom, it's been hard knowing if I'm doing things right, especially with nursing.

[winonamom2be]

Yup, I hear you on the nursing issues. For me, Athanasia won't stay awake long enough to get the full feed in. Also, we have trouble finding a comfortable enough position in which to nurse - my body is aching like it has never ached before. I have to switch her every few minutes from side to side to get her to stay awake. She also likes to pull off the nipple when we get a good latch. She is so small, though (five weeks premature) and I have the "more generous sized nipples" as one hospital lactation consultant put it, so I am hoping when she gets a little bigger and can actually hold more of the breast in her mouth, things will get better in that regard.

She wakes me up every 1 to 1.5 hours at night to feed, and it takes about an hour to do the whole routine, so there's a lot of exhaustion going around my house lately. But she's so darn CUTE that I have to forgive her. :-)

What I keep telling my baby is that we are working on it together and together we will succeed. We had a LOT of issues because she was in the NICU and we couldn't start breastfeeding until some days after birth. She lost a lot of weight (over 12 percent) after birth because of her respiratory issues but at last weigh-in (2.5 weeks post birth and 1 week after bring her home) she was only 1 ounce from birth weight. She eats NON-STOP though. She may fall asleep all the time but she eats so frequently that she makes up for it all. :-)

This is so far the greatest learning experience of my life!

[LoveMyLil'B]

For those of you with tiny babes, I found that the football hold is most comfortable, and she can get a deeper latch. Barrett wrecked my nipples in the 1st 24 hrs. before I tried another hold, and they feel much better. She's a preemie too, and a small mouth makes it much more difficult.

But with that, she's a good nurser, if I can get her to stay awake long enough for a full feeding. My breasts go from being engorged to a little softer, so I know she's getting some. We go for her first doctor's appointment today, so we'll see how her weight is doing. She was born weighing 5.13, and when we left the hospital she was 5.8. My milk came in the night we got home, so hopefully she's doing much better. She eats every 2 hours of less, and my mom has been staying overnight the past 2 nights to help me. She does the diapers and comes and wakes me when Barrett wakes up or when it's been almost 2 hours, whichever comes first. We're going to do it on our own tonight. DH and DS both are getting over colds, so I've been letting DH take care of DS and let him sleep at night.

My DS is handling things pretty well. He's 21 months old, and he's had a cold that started to turn into an ear infection, so he hasn't been in the best mood lately. he's loved all the attention from grandparents though. I'm sure it will be a different world when it's just me and the 2 little ones at home and he realizes he has to share me now. Fortunately his grandparents have been around to help out, so he's stayed away from the baby while he's still sick. I've been trying to stay away from him too until he's well, and it's breaking my heart. I want to hold him and snuggle with him, and let him get to know his new little sister.

I feel much better after her birth than I did with my DS, even though his was a much shorter labor. I had an episiotomy with him and not with her, so I think that has made the biggest difference. My nipples are healing, although there are little bits of skin peeling off of them now - OUCH! They're not bleeding underneath at least, so I take that as a good sign.

[coloradoalice]

Well, it's been a few days since my last post about Ian, so I thought I'd check in.

He's doing really great. We went to the doctor yesterday and he is weighing 8,8 which is wonderful. He hasn't lost much weight at all and I think he will be back to his birth weight way before 2 weeks. He is doing really well with nursing also. The first couple of days he was really tired and would go just about forever between feedings, I would have to wake him, and still it was really hard to keep him awake. Yesterday things changed though, and he is wanting to eat every 2-3 hours. As long as I get to him right away he latches on quickly. If he gets frantic though it takes longer, he starts grabbing at everything and his little arms pump so fast, it's actually kind of funny!!

Gracie is still doing really well. I can tell she's confused why I am always holding a baby, but she is doing her best to accept it and find ways to cuddle with me anyway. It's really hard letting her "explore" him. I want to protect him from her toddler enthusiasim (sp?) but I don't want to give her the idea he's untouchable either. It's a balance!!! She does try to be really gentle though, and things have been good. I find myself a little sad at times though, I can see that our relationship has changed forever and I ache a little at that loss. However, I have given her a brother to have that will hopefully be a lifelong friend, and I think that is worth it.

DH is home all this week and then goes part time next week. I am nervous about having the two of them alone. I have no idea how I will get Gracie down for her nap, and how I will manage any housework at all!!! I guess time will tell and it will alll work out.

In the mean time I will continue to fall head-over-heels in love with my little boy and stand in awe of how big his sister seems to me now!!!

[ozzyemm]

Michael finally came home from the hospital on his week birthday, Wedneday, DEc. 28. he had lost 8 oz. in one day, but has since GAINED fifteen oz (in one week!!!).

He was put on a schedule in the NICU-- feedings every 4 hours, and he learned to rely on the pacifier as a means of soothing himself. He was also given one bottle of expressed breastmilk at 4:am, so Dh and I could get a little bit of sleep. I went in for every other feeding.

So far, he has taken well to being slung and held most of the day. He has kinda stuck to his scheduled feedings, though I don't check the clock. I let him feed whenever he is rooting or crying, for as long as he wants. We have given him the pacifier to calm him-- especially in the car, when I can't breastfeed (I have tried). I sit in the backseat with him in the car now, and offer him my pinkie finger. He will suck on that much longer than the pacifier. This is crucial, as we live 2000 feet above sea level, and 1100 feet higher than where he was born.

So far, Michael has been a champion nurser. We had just a tiny bit of trouble in the hospital, and I think that was more frustration and sleepiness than anything.

Today, Michael's umbilical cord fell off. I haven't been treating it with alcohol, but it had gotten wet a couple of times when his diaper got soaked.

I haven't been as successful with cloth dipes. i have used them intermittently, and will be using them more when things settle down. We are visitng relatives this weekend, so will use all sposies.

My c-section wound is healing nicely. They removed the staples before I left the hospital, and I removed the tape Monday. I am able to cough, sneeze, and laugh freely now .

I hope everyone else is doing well!