I know I’ve been MIA lately but OMG this being a mom thing is really hard!! Riley will be 4 weeks old on Tuesday and her one month checkup on Thursday. Where has the time gone? I love seeing her grow and am really trying to appreciate the newborn stage. And though she’s adorably cute right now, I can’t wait until she can do a little more. Like hold her own head up for one thing or hold her own bottle. lol. I mean I don’t want to rush it, but I am excited for her to be more active.
A little about the first month. I tried breastfeeding…I really did. In the hospital we had issues with her latching as I heard most people do. However, the lactation consultant was with me every day for at least an hour at a time to try and help me out. She had me try all sorts of different things. We even tried a nipple shield and that didn’t work either. We figured out that she had problems sucking because she wouldn’t even suck on your finger. So I pumped every few hours, every day and fed her through a special bottle to try and teach her how to suck. The last day in the hospital I was able to get her to latch on the nipple shield and I was so excited! I thought for sure we’d be set. To make a long story short, because of all the pumping in the hospital I ended up with an oversupply issue which was causing her to have a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance and not gaining weight. Plus I had an overactive letdown so I literally choked her every time she would eat. I tried block feeding for a day and just couldn’t take it anymore. She would fight me every time it was time to nurse and I was tired of us both crying. I dreaded when she got hungry and I thought nursing was supposed to be such a great bonding experience. No one tells you how emotionally straining it is! Anyway, we finally decided to make the switch to formula and we’ve all been happier. Poor hubby was going crazy too since he didn’t know what to do to help and he hated seeing me and her so stressed out!!
Also the last day in the hospital, we found out she had jaundice. Her levels weren’t high enough to need to be under the lights at the hospital but they recommended she be seen by her pediatrician the very next day. We go and she has her heel pricked and blood taken again and her bilirubin levels were pretty high. Still not high enough to be admitted to the hospital but she needed to wear the billiblanket and had to go back again the next day. We went to the pediatrician 3 days in a row. She wore the billiblanket for 2 1/2 days before we were finally in the clear to take it off.
Now we’re at almost 4 weeks and she has thrush! Seriously!! Can I get a break? We wash bottles almost as soon as they are done being used and sterilize the nipples every day! I know we’ve done everything we could already do to prevent this and it’s pretty common but I just want her to not have any problems. She’s already fussy all day because she’s extremely gassy. Gas drops kinda help but not always. I will definitely plan to talk to the ped at her appointment on Thursday to see if we should switch formula to something a little better on her little tummy.
One more thing- I believe she has a strawberry birthmark on her back. It’s a cluster of capillaries that usually becomes raised and can be very unpleasant to look at. Luckily it’s on her back so it will be easier to hide. They say that most will go away by the age of 5 and almost all will be gone by age 10. It’s completely harmless but is not pretty. Hopefully it goes away before she gets to the age where kids would bully her for it. Poor thing. Right now it’s actually kinda a cute little red mark but I guess it will grow bigger and then become raised. Guess we’ll just keep an eye on it. Just means she’s special 🙂
Anyway that’s my story. Oh and the post partum hormones are awful!! It makes everything so much worse and harder to deal with. I’ve gotten through it though, thanks to the help of my amazing husband and mom! My husband has been a huge help and I couldn’t be more grateful. He loves being a father and he is always willing to step in and help whenever I need it. Even if it’s just washing some bottles or taking the 1am feeding so I can sleep a little longer. Plus my mom was here for 10 days. Normally she drives me crazy and I can’t wait to send her on her way, but this time I cried the entire drive home after dropping her off at the airport. She was a godsend when she was here. She took night duty one night so I could get some sleep. Watched her so I could run some errands, took care of the housework, etc. I’ve been on my own for about a week now and honestly I have good days and bad days but I’m getting the hang of it. Still have a hard time taking her out places in the car. It’s difficult with a crying baby in the car and there’s nothing you can do since you’re driving and by yourself!!
Anyway, I’ll leave you with some photos since I’ve already written a book. The last month has been a whirlwind but I love being a mom!! It’s the most challenging yet rewarding thing I’ve ever done 🙂