Blurbs from my Journal ~ Week 1
Samara Jane OosteromBorn: June 29, 2016
@ 6:23 AM ~ 8.04 pounds ~ 54 cm long
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| One Day Old |
These are some notes I wrote down when I remembered to after having Samara. I'm going to share them with you in my "new baby" series so you can see how having a new baby can be. It's important to sleep when you can, eat when you can, hold your new baby, nurse him/her and bond with them BUT it is so important to have a rough plan in place so you don't get sleep deprived and loopy like I did. It's important to have someone check on you to make sure you've slept and eaten and had a drink a few times in your day. For myself as a new mom I had a plan for the pregnancy, for my birth and delivery and for the first day or so after delivery but I didn't plan after that and it caused me to become totally sleep deprived.
My advice to new moms is this: Make rough plans and check in with yourself. Be flexible and forgiving of yourself but make sure you are sleeping, eating and drinking. These are IMPORTANT things when having a baby so that you can care for your baby with love and patience and sanity. Also, you cannot produce milk if you aren't eating and drinking and sleep is important in this area as well and for your mental health.
- Plan to eat for one during pregnancy.
- Make a birth plan but have the ultimate goal of delivering a live, healthy baby ~ anything else is a blessing. A c-section is just as much of a success as a vaginal birth if the above is your ultimate goal.
- Plan for recovery: Have family and friends come and bring food over so that you don't have to cook for a few weeks - the longer the better. Plan for 2-3 short visits a day and spread them out or you will get too tired (I couldn't sleep while my visitors were over). Plan to take sitz baths to speed up your healing process (I couldn't walk for weeks and didn't feel "normal" until 6 months postpartum).
July 1 - My milk came in! Right side latching is easy but the left side is giving me troubles. Samara nursed 11 times today, I slept for 4 hours total (night / day).
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| 3 days old with Grandpa |
July 2 - Diaper rash, Samara nursed 13 times today, still having troubles with latching on the left side. Mom and Dad Bennett came to visit as well as Jeanette and Toni. I had a bath, dinner and one 1 hour nap today and a second 45 minute one as well.
July 3 - Nursing is really starting to hurt. Poor latches are causing blisters and bleeding. Today I slept for almost 2 hours while Raymond held Samara for me. Tansy and her family came to visit us and meet Samara. Samara nursed 17 times today and I had a total of 3.5 hours of sleep. Katrina and Michael came in the PM
* I kept track of how many pees/poops Samara had (diaper changes) and how many times she nursed, when she nursed and what side we began and ended on. I also kept track of my naps and sleep hours per day and who visited.
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| 5 days old! |
July 5 - Samara is nursing better and so she's sleeping in longer chunks. I got a 2.5 hour and a 2 hour chunk and a total of 5.5 hours sleep today! Samara nursed 9 times today ~ I think she needs less nursing times when she's nursing a full breast vs snacking because she isn't on a growth spurt yet. God thank you for these precious snuggles, thank you for my sweet baby.
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| One week old today! |
July 6 - Great latches DON'T hurt regardless of previous damage. Samara you are one week old! Green poop means you aren't nursing long enough per side. It means you are getting the fore milk but not the hind milk. Yellow poop means you're getting the hind milk. I got 6.5 hours of sleep total today and my stitches are starting to fall out!
So this is my first week with my new baby girl. It was full of wonderful and tough things. I wasn't able to latch her properly and so my nipples got infected. I had to get prescribed a cream with a steroid in it to promote fast healing. That along with Tylenol I was able to nurse through the pain but if I had known it was okay to unlatch my baby and try again over and over until we got it that wouldn't have happened. Nursing is something that both you and your baby have to learn together and there is a right way of doing it. There are many nursing positions but if it hurts then unlatch your baby and try again. I definitely recommend a nipple cream for the first few weeks until your nipples (literally) toughen up. Also, to unlatch your baby stick your finger in the side of their mouth gently to break the suction. If you don't you will cause further damage to your nipple as the suction is quite powerful! Another thing to note is that trying to get a good latch is tiring for the mother and emotionally trying on both baby and mommy. Baby because they're hungry and may cry when taken off, mother because you might feel upset and even angry that you can't get a good latch. Make sure you are relaxed while nursing. I had my husband rub my back and shoulders. Sometimes it took 15 times before we got a good latch. Don't give up - you and your baby can do this, you just both need to learn the art of nursing!
Keep searching for the healing and sunshine,
Your friend,
Laura
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