Two Weeks Later

Baby is here :) She arrived July 29, 2009 at 9:04 a.m. and was 7 lbs 5 oz and 19 inches. She's beautiful and her daddy and I are totally in love.

The last two weeks have been a total blur of feeding, hospital stay, sleepless nights, C-section recovery, and just loving our beautiful little girl. We were in the hospital Wednesday morning through Sunday around 3:00 p.m. We had fantastic care by the nurses, PCAs, and lactation consultants. We had some visitors, which we really appreciated.

Since we've been home, baby has been ruling our lives. We've been to the pediatrician four times for weight checks and to check her bilirubin levels, as they were elevated when we left the hospital. It's been a struggle and VERY hard on Mommy--I feel like it's my fault that she wasn't gaining the way the doctor wanted her to. We did meet the goal of getting back to her birth weight by the time she was two weeks old (well, we assume so, as she was 7 lbs 4 oz on Monday).

Feeding started out great. My colostrum was readily available and the lactation consultant told me I shouldn't have any concern about a low supply and she's been right. I think my supply has been pretty right on. Baby's latch has been a concern, but we're currently working on fixing it with the help of a nipple shield. Feeding has, in general, been full of highs and lows and quite a bit of discomfort, but I love being able to bond with my baby and am really glad we've pushed through it (and I do say "we" because DH has been awake with me for almost every feeding, helps burp her, helps position her, etc.).

The best anecdote of the first two weeks would be about a diaper changing DH was doing around 6 a.m. I had just finished feeding on one side and she had pooped. DH had baby on the floor to change her when all of a sudden, we heard the noise...and then DH groaned. Baby had pooped all over him. It was disgusting, but hilarious at the same time. He finished the changing and handed her off to me while he went and showered. Gross.

To date, I have only changed TWO diapers. Wow. DH has been absolutely incredible and has been taking care of both of us in ways I never could have imagined. When baby wouldn't sleep by herself, we traded off having her sleep on us. He does just about everything for me. He changes her diapers, burps her, soothes her, and just gazes at her with more love than I ever thought I would see in his eyes. He's completely infatuated. We've just recently been getting her to sleep by herself in the PnP we have downstairs (since we're still sleeping on the couches), but DH has the hardest time letting her lay in there by herself. The minute she makes any noises, he's begging to pick her up. It's the most adorable thing.

I never want to forget this time, but at the same time, don't want to take the time to write about it because I just want to take it all in!