She's Here!!!!!! updates on page 3 w/PICS!! - Page 3

[AppleOrangePear]

PICS PICS


Michele

[PuppyFluffer]

Yeah, an update! I am so glad to hear the news!

Welcome little sweet baby!

[Kathryn]

Congrats! Sorry about the loss of your homebirth, but that sounds like a pretty awesome hospital birth.

[mamama]

Congrats!! I can't wait to see pics too!

[Earthy~Mama]

Congrats on baby Anna!

How ARE you doing mama?

[soon2b3]

Congratulations to you and your family!!!

[BCmamaof6]

Thank you for all the well-wishes.

We are having an interesting recovery. :

I feel really good, physically.
The after-pains aren't as bad as they were with #5. Although I didn't tear in a way that could have been stitched...I did get a ton of abraised skin (? dunno what to call it...but it looks...yes, I looked with a hand-mirror ...it looks like multiple lacerations...like you would expect it might look if you tried to pass something 35cm in diamater thru it without gentle stretching & a lotta lube...gee I wonder why? Take note mamas: bring olive oil & do perineal massage) so that part still stings...swelling is getting better there though.
I think I've developed thrush (my toungue hurts, feels funny & is white today) from the stupid antibiotics. : so I'm working on getting rid of that before it spreads to the babe.
I'm now going on (no joke) about 3 hours of sleep in the last 4 days. I kinda feel like a zombie. I would kill for a coffee (a pot of it actually) but from past experience it upsets babies tummies.

The baby is NOTHING like our last one...this little one is definately what I would consider "high needs". Our 1st was a "fussy" baby, too. But we've had 4 in between that were pretty good & the last one who was an absolute gem. So it's been a bit of a shock.
She acts like she's starving & needs to be attached to my boob constantly. On a positive note she is an awesome little nurser & that's going perfectly. When I detach her from me & try to put her down is where the problems start. She freaks out when she has to be changed. And I mean works herself into hysterics. So...I've figured out that if I keep her tightly swaddled from the waist up & change her in my lap & just do what's essential then we get less frantic screaming going on. On a purely shallow & materialistic note...it means that cloth diapering has become really basic...there is no way I could get a prefold or flat on her...it's just easy-to-get-on fitteds...usually without even a cover. Although the pink NB Mosaic Moon soaker is so stretchy & easy to pull on that if it's dry I can get that on quick enough.
She only sleeps if she's in my arms. No kidding. The second I put her down she wakes up & cries. But when she's asleep in my arms she's absolutely angelic. Just curls up into a ball between my boobs & looks so peaceful & content. She has had a few (brief) awake, alert, non-crying periods...she is so cute then...looking around, responding to the sound of family member's voices, touching her hair, hat, holding onto people's fingers, sucking on her own fingers.
When she is upset & crying she has settled in my arms with her face up by mine & me talking to her, nuzzling her & rubbing her back while walking back & forth jiggling her. And she sleeps beautifully as long as I am holding her.

I found out that her toe (and actually her foot is involved as well) thing is called macrodactyly. It can just be that the digits are larger than the others...but will grow at a normal rate...or it could be much more serious & could be part of a larger syndrome that isn't obvious.
So...in a way I am feeling sad for her...for so many reasons...and worried about what it could mean for her...and of course, paranoid that somehow she is in pain from it...and that's what she's crying so much.
Thankfully, the research shows that this kind of deformity is NOT caused by anything the mother has done...it's just one of those freak things. That made me feel relieved that I didn't do this to her.
So we will be seeing a pediatrician at 6 weeks.

As my midwife pointed out today...I am at high risk for PPD.
I am already mourning the loss of my perfect home birth. Feeling angry with my own body that I failed AGAIN to deliver my baby without "help"...that my body followed the same pattern... And also questioning my "decisions & choices"...wondering if I had refused to come in...would my body have go into labour on it's own & I could have had a homebirth...? Or if I had done that would I have developed an infection due to being GBS+ & had her die...KWIM?
And coming to terms with knowing that my baby has a birth defect that *might* be really hard on her.
Add to that a "fussy" baby who is #6 in a busy household.

Having unloaded all that (and thank you for "listening" I feel much better now after "telling" someone how I feel) I must also add that I realize how incredibly blessed I am to have (an otherwise) healthy baby who is beautiful & perfect in her own way. It could be much worse.

She is a baby who, clearly, will need more from me. As her mother I accept that. I am choosing to see this as a lesson. I need to find ways to meet her unique needs & challenges & fully embrace her for who she is.
I am so happy that I had the foresight to purchase several new baby carriers (slings, pouches, wraps) because I can see that she is a baby who will NEED to be carried pretty much constantly in order to feel secure.
But that's okay...it just means that for the next while (that being days, weeks, months whatever) I will have to slow down, do less, re-examine my priorities...I may need to spend several hours a day doing nothing but hold & love this baby...

[pumpkinsmama]

Oh, mama.... you are going through so much! I can remember how worried I was when DS was born with a dilated kidney, and I knew then that it was likely to resolve itself (and it did) but I couldn't help worrying about "what if". Fingers crossed that her six week visit will answer your concerns and you will find that she is wonderfully healthy, just a funny toe or two.

I think that you did what is always preached here. The bottom line: you followed your instincts. That means you did the only right thing at the time. Hindsight sucks. It keeps people up at night. Put on your blinders!!!! You don't deserve to pick yourself apart after all you have done to make your pregnancy and birth as healthy as possible!!!!

I think her fussiness is just because she is so in love with you already, she can't bear to be parted! I hope things go well and you eventually get some sleep!!!

[scarlettrose]

congrats.....and i'm sure everything is going to work out for the best.....

[soccermominsd]

BCMama-
I got tired just reading your post.

I'm so sorry that you are dealing w/ the thrush and the owies downstairs-I hope both will heal very soon. I might have to loose my HB as well (we'll see) and was glad to see you mentioned bringing the olive oil-because I packed some in the hospital bag JIC, as I'm sure they don't have it there.

Blessings to little Anna, that her toe thing would not amount to much more for her down the road.

I hope you get some sleep-is your DH at home with you or do you have some help?

As far as the PPD thing is concerned-the PPD forum is great here. There is a particular thread I've subscribed to in that forum that has blessed me NOW as I'm sure it will later: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...natural+remedy. There's some really good advise and the book recommended is THE MOOD CURE (which I still need to get).

Thank you for sharing your birth story and your PP adventures with your babe...

[BCmamaof6]

We had a much better day today. She slept a bit last night...which means I finally got some sleep, too. She actually only woke about 4 or 5 times which isn't that bad.
She's 3 days old today. And she smells like my baby. We haven't washed her yet...I rubbed in the vernix & have wiped her bum at every diaper change (of course) but apart from that she hasn't been washed...I don't want to dry out her skin. Her soft fuzzy little head smells incredible.

I carried her around today (catching up on laundry & light housework) in one of her new slings Hotsling Man! What a great pouch! She loved it. Slept the whole time she was in it. It has just a teeny amount of stretch, but is nice & snug...she curled up into a ball & was close to my heart, could hear the sounds of my voice & body, could feel my warmth & was rocked to sleep by the motion of me moving around. As close to being back in the womb as one can get.
I also got to try out my new nursing chair today. (I bought a super comfortable Lazy Boy recliner a few weeks ago on sale...I'd insisted to DH that I needed a comfy chair for nursing in...I'd always wanted one but the closest we ever had was an oak rocking chair...nice to look at but nowhere near comfy.) So the chair & the Boppy nursing pillow, my side table stocked with lamp, cordless phone, large glass of water & new magazines & I was set to nurse for half a day if needed.

My milk is REALLY in today...I'm reaping the benefits of having a nursing 3.75yo.

Diapers... we went thru 21 of them in the last 24 hours!!! :
What fits the best right now are:
NB Muttaqins...the sherpa or velour are the best as they have the most
stretch.
NB Swaddlebees (SS velour)
The Diaper Babies Itty Bitty Buns (OC & OCV) are great...but I doubt they'll fit much beyond next week.
The NB Elbees are awesome...but I only have 2 of them.
As for covers I am LOVING our hand-knit soakers! They are so soft on her baby skin & really help to keep the diaper from soaking thru to her clothes.
She can't stand the feel of a cold cloth on her tush...so when DH goes back to work on Monday I'm gonna have him go to the BabysRus store (5 min from where he works) & pick up a wipe warmer...has anyone ever used one with cloth wipes? If you have do you know what brand it is?
oh! and meconium doesn't stain. (although I did run each dipe under cold water before chucking it into the dry pail)

Bum cream...the "Natural Baby Bottom Balm" from Naturally Luxe (formerly Monkey Sudz) is great...it helps the poo to not stick to her skin as much. (Therefore I don't have to rub her raw to remove the poop)

Other things...
Arnica (homeopathic) is awesome...I think taking it has really helped to clear up the IV & shot bruises.
Booby Tubes...I can't remember where I ordered them from but they work really well.
Essential oils of lavender & chamomile...I burned them in a diffuser thru the night last night to help calm Anna...I think it helped.

[ladybugchild77]

BCMama - So glad to hear things are going well...hectic but that's normal! I have a wipe warmer that I use with cloth wipes but I just fill it up with water, a few drops of lavender and tee tree oil and keep the wipes in a basket next to it. I tried using it with them wet but it made them smell kinda musty after a few days. I change the water every few days and it works like a charm! HTH and enjoy your babymoon!

[pumpkinsmama]

I'm so glad you got some sleep!!!!!

[WAmommy]

Congratulations on the birth of your little one! I love her name. Glad to hear that things are settling down. Reading about your baby makes me so anxious to meet mine!

[Evergreen]

Please continue to hang in there. You are doing a great job, nobody is supermom, but it sounds like you are pretty darned close!

[lab80]

Congrats BCmama I bet she's adorable!

[unitytree]

Glad to hear you are feeling better!! Thanks for all the diapering info!! This will be my first time CD~ing a newborn so the input is great!! Have you tried olive oil for mec?? I used it last time, just smoothed a bit on babes tush before putting on a clean diaper. Mec can't stick to olive oil!! Soft on the skin too. I was thinking about the diaper warming thing last night as I was falling to sleep.....or should I say trying to fall to sleep!! I was thinking about using a small soup thermous for outings. If it was filled with boiling water and left to sit for a few minutes and then filled with wet/hot wipes/oils/etc it should saty warm for hours!! I suppose if it works well you could use something of the like at home too. Maybe even just bringing hot water in a thermos and dry cloths.

I love your nursing set up too!!! I really should get my rocking chair a new seat and follow your lead!! Such a great idea!!

Sending you thoughts of healing!! Enjoy that freshie smell!!!

[lizabird]

BCmama, thanks for all the updates, your story has been very interesting to read and I am simply amazed that you are finding the time to keep us posted :

I hope you manage to catch some more sleep and that all continues to go well for you.

I carried ds around all the time too for the first few months - he hated to be put down so spent a good chunk of time in a sling being toted around the house doing whatever I had to do.

Hang in there!

[BCmamaof6]

PICS!!!

[soccermominsd]

Absolutely GORGEOUS!!! And your other children as well...BCMama-you are truly blessed

Love her cute stash-oh to have a girlie to dress up!