Baby Brother is HERE!
Baby brother arrived on Tuesday, some time between 11 am and noon (we didn't really pay attention; I guess I'll find out the exact time when I get his birth certificate), weighing a whopping 7 lb 12 oz. He is healthy and gorgeous and delicious. My OB pulled out one leg first and the first thing she commented on was the chunkiness of his thighs. He also has very delectable cheeks.
My recovery from this c-section has been incredibly easier than the last time. I think it's because (1) I didn't have ANY systemic narcotics--no PCA pump (at my current hospital they don't do that anymore for cesareans--there's a long-acting narcotic in the spinal which just affects your lower half, and then when that wears off you get an NSAID in your IV for a day or so and then only oral meds thereafter), no Percocet, just some Tylenol 3 for the first day or two after surgery and then ibuprofen afterward. Without the heavy-duty narcotics I didn't have any nausea or grogginess, and I felt emotionally more stable too. (2) I got up and moved around as much as possible--last time I barely left my bed for the first 3 days and it really took a toll on my overall mobility and healing. (3) I ate and drank like crazy--I was eating a full meal of solid foods 6 hours after my surgery, where last time I was supposed to be on clear fluids only for the first 24 hours and I barely touched those because I was so nauseated and emotionally wrung out. I forced myself to eat the terrible hospital food and I downed food from home and takeout on top of that, and I drank pitchers and pitchers of water. (4) I went home a day earlier--it makes such a difference to sleep in your own bed.
I got to go home after 3 days because we made the decision to be proactive about supplementing Baby Brother with formula. He was nursing great--latched on in the recovery room like a pro, sucked like a champ--but on his second day he stopped pooping and the pediatrician agreed that given the family history of severe jaundice, it made sense to proactively supplement. They also tested his bili level earlier than normal, and while it did get a bit high, it never reached the levels that Bat Girl's did, so we were able to get away without treating him as long as we promised to keep supplementing at home so that he would keep pooping out the bilirubin.
I did shed some tears over the supplementing at first, and over my breast pump when I decided to break it out at home. But my milk came in a full day earlier than it did with Bat Girl (again, I think because of everything I did above), and stronger. It's still clearly very scanty, based on the output of the few pumping sessions I've put in, but I get engorged and Baby Brother latches and sucks well at every feeding. We give him a bottle of formula afterward and he's fine with both.
And I made a decision: No herbs, no meds, and most of all no crazy pumping. I don't care how little breast milk Baby Brother gets as long as he's getting it mostly from the breast. I've pumped once every evening before bed (and gotten just a few CCs each time) just so I can get away with sleeping through one nighttime feeding (though I've been waking up painfully engorged so that luxury might have to stop), but I will NOT pump just to build supply. The baby takes what he takes from the breast and that's fine with me. I hate that pump and I won't be chained to it again. This time I have a baby who DOES actually nurse and I'm going to enjoy that as much as I can.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go nibble on some baby cheeks.
My recovery from this c-section has been incredibly easier than the last time. I think it's because (1) I didn't have ANY systemic narcotics--no PCA pump (at my current hospital they don't do that anymore for cesareans--there's a long-acting narcotic in the spinal which just affects your lower half, and then when that wears off you get an NSAID in your IV for a day or so and then only oral meds thereafter), no Percocet, just some Tylenol 3 for the first day or two after surgery and then ibuprofen afterward. Without the heavy-duty narcotics I didn't have any nausea or grogginess, and I felt emotionally more stable too. (2) I got up and moved around as much as possible--last time I barely left my bed for the first 3 days and it really took a toll on my overall mobility and healing. (3) I ate and drank like crazy--I was eating a full meal of solid foods 6 hours after my surgery, where last time I was supposed to be on clear fluids only for the first 24 hours and I barely touched those because I was so nauseated and emotionally wrung out. I forced myself to eat the terrible hospital food and I downed food from home and takeout on top of that, and I drank pitchers and pitchers of water. (4) I went home a day earlier--it makes such a difference to sleep in your own bed.
I got to go home after 3 days because we made the decision to be proactive about supplementing Baby Brother with formula. He was nursing great--latched on in the recovery room like a pro, sucked like a champ--but on his second day he stopped pooping and the pediatrician agreed that given the family history of severe jaundice, it made sense to proactively supplement. They also tested his bili level earlier than normal, and while it did get a bit high, it never reached the levels that Bat Girl's did, so we were able to get away without treating him as long as we promised to keep supplementing at home so that he would keep pooping out the bilirubin.
I did shed some tears over the supplementing at first, and over my breast pump when I decided to break it out at home. But my milk came in a full day earlier than it did with Bat Girl (again, I think because of everything I did above), and stronger. It's still clearly very scanty, based on the output of the few pumping sessions I've put in, but I get engorged and Baby Brother latches and sucks well at every feeding. We give him a bottle of formula afterward and he's fine with both.
And I made a decision: No herbs, no meds, and most of all no crazy pumping. I don't care how little breast milk Baby Brother gets as long as he's getting it mostly from the breast. I've pumped once every evening before bed (and gotten just a few CCs each time) just so I can get away with sleeping through one nighttime feeding (though I've been waking up painfully engorged so that luxury might have to stop), but I will NOT pump just to build supply. The baby takes what he takes from the breast and that's fine with me. I hate that pump and I won't be chained to it again. This time I have a baby who DOES actually nurse and I'm going to enjoy that as much as I can.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go nibble on some baby cheeks.
Labels: lactation, project 2.0
posted by electriclady at 2:35 PM
7 Comments:
Oh, how wonderful! Congratulations. Your attitude sounds great. Buddy got zero breastmilk after my delivery fiasco and I was much more relaxed about it than with Dee. Hooray!
This just makes me so happy on so many different levels, with the highest being one healthy, baby boy coming home with you.
Congrats!!
YAY, so very happy for you!!!
What Yo-yo Mama said. If I could do a second run, I think I'd do it a lot like this. Hooray for confidence, perspective, and angst-free enjoying it!! Congratulations. :D
(Not that it matters a whit, but I might as well say: he probably gets more out of you than the pump does.)
I found your blog after searching for an explanation of what CAH is versus PCOS - for ages I've thought I had PCOS. But since being referred to an Endo, I guess she is the first one to test for CAH and I might have that. I don't know. We've been TTC for awhile now, immnot even sure which diagnosis would be "better" for my infertility. Anyway, when I find very old blog entries (especially IF ones) I always flip to a more recent entry while hoping "I hope that she had kids, and if she did maybe it means that I can, too."
Seeing that you just welcomed your second put a big smile on my face. Congratulations, and thanks for writing the entry about your experience with CAH and PCOS back in 2006. It did help me to read about someone else going through this and coming out the other side.
it was a nice blog and very happy for you
thanks for sharing the information.
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