Pump Snobs

So after taking the breastfeeding class at the hospital and working with a few lactation consultants while in the hospital, I thought they were such breast pump snobs. Obviously the hospital has a contract with Medela so they use all Medela products and convince you that they are the best. And when they ask (multiple times I was asked might I add) what pump you have and you say anything else, they go "oh...well you know those dont have a good reputation..." and so on. Yes, thank you, I've heard it from almost all of you at this point. My sister was only able to breastfeed for 3 weeks because she ended up having to supplement formua so much it was pointless to nurse so she gave me hers. It worked just fine until about week 2 and it started making sad noises and eventually would lose all suction. Boo. So after reading reviews of that one that was $90 wondering should I just buy another one of these? The reviews were all consistent with my experience, it lost suction. So I knew I was gonna have to suck it up and buy a fancy Medela one. Ideally, I would like my baby to be on breast milk at least the first 6 months so, rather than renting one for $60 a month, it works out better to just suck it up and buy one. So I did, the $279 Medela one. I can just see all those snooty lactation consultants saying "I told you so". Not that they arent fabulous, cause seriously I would be so lost if it werent for them!

Poop, Sweat and Tears

Its hard to believe that yesterday was my official due date and she's already been here for almost 3 weeks! I'm so glad I'm not still pregnant! I cant even imagine how my feet would look right now if I was. Talk about misery. It took 2 whole weeks AFTER having a baby for them to return to normal! Ugh. So just a few observations I've made in the past few weeks of mommydom:

My baby poops constantly. Almost every diaper change! Its the right color and everything and I know they say thats pretty common for breastfed babies to poop a lot but her little booty is so red. I promise I dont just let her sit in it for hours on end or anything. So I've started putting Desitin on her too. I dont know how to make it any better for her :( She does go bare a little everyday but thats pretty dangerous lol. Yesterday alone she peed/pooped on the changing pad cover, 2 blankets, and 3 outfits. Mostly by going while I was in the middle of changing her.

I wake up drenched in sweat or milk a lot of nights. Usually both. I read that its normal with all the hormone changes to sweat a lot the first few weeks after having a baby but geez. Talk about gross, the last place I want to sweat is in my nice bed while I'm sleeping! Also, I bought the silicone nursing pads Lilypadz that are re-usable and supposed to be awesome but I am trying to use all the cotton ones that I have before using those. I may not make it much longer though cause the cotton ones move and shift and clearly dont protect from leaks when you are sleeping. TMI? Sorry.

Oh the tears. I havent cried just a whole lot but I can tell my hormones are def making me more of a sap lately. I have cried like twice having one of those "I cant believe that just 2 weeks ago this little person was inside of me!: moments. Also, when I'm holding her and we get into a little staring competition. I wonder what shes thinking etc. She looks like a little monkey girl I love it! I guess I was right on decorating her nursery with jungle babies and little girl monkeys!

Falling Behind

Well, most of you that read this are close friends, although I know there are a few anonymous secret readers out there that arent...I havent blogged lately because I had a baby! 3 weeks early at that! My due date is still technically 4 days from now, crazy! So glad I am no longer pregnant. Its true what they say, the last month is horrible.

So one Monday I went in for my weekly appointment and my doc said my blood pressure was way too high, that there was no way I'd make it to my due date and put me on bed rest and sent me to the hospital for some testing to make sure everything with bambino was ok. It was, can't wait to get the bill for those few hours of fun, especially after how much the last 3 hour adventure there cost :( Anyways, went back on Wed of that week and my blood pressure was still ridiculous and of course, my feet at this point had been swollen 24/7 for about 3 weeks straight. So my doc said "yeah I think we need to have a baby..." so I was like "like this weekend?" and she replied "no like tomorrow, I want you to check in tonight to get cervadel (sp? a cervix prepper) and we'll start pitocin tomorrow morning." Ok at this point I'm thinking OMG WTF?! So I call B and say "hey we're having a baby tomorrow" and after a few times of telling him "no I really am serious...yes checking in tonight" type things he finally believed me. So we frantically spent the rest of that day going crazy trying to prep to go and make sure other things got done. THANK GOD I cleaned my house really well that weekend prior! Of course one thing on the to do list that did not get done: install carseat. Crap! So B had to get that done before we left as well.

So labor: Ha, what an experience. There really is NO way to prepare for that! I didnt take any child birth classes and I'm glad I didnt because it would have been a total waste of money! I got my epidural (amazing) around 1pm and could still feel things on my left side. By this point my contractions were serious and so I was feeling them all in this one concentrated area and omg it was painful. I was crying. Finally, the doc came back in to re-do it and then all was well. I was a little frustrated seeing as how I got to 10 cm by 1pm that day and they said "ok lets start pushing" so we shooed everyone out thinking here we go and no one came back for about an hour. Pushing commenced around 3pm and we would push for a min or so and then take a 30 min break, sometimes 45 mins. I was getting annoyed. She was born at 6:35pm on Thurs. Feb 24th (still trying to get used to that seeing as how this WHOLE time I thought I was going to have a March baby). She was 7 lbs, 20 in and looks like a little monkey. I knew there was a reason I gravitated towards the girl monkey decor.

They used the vacuum to help pull her down to get her out and it bruised her head pretty badly. This made her more vunerable to jaundice, which we also got and had to go back to the hospital for 2 days. Blah. So sick of that place. She's better now but has lost more weight so now I'm supposed to supplement formula every other feeding. Surprisingly, her head is totally healed now just 2 weeks later. It looked almost normal except for some scabs within the first week! When I first saw her head I was like omg my baby is doomed to wear hats for months! But its all better now. Everyday is an experience, some better than others. I can't wait till we arent on an every 3 hour feeding schedule and she sleeps in longer intervals.

Bed rest day 1

BORING!!! Ugh. So I managed to gain 9 lbs (pause for horror) since last week and I'm pretty sure its all in my feet. They literally hurt when standing for more than a few mins, horrible feeling. My doc said my face looked puffy and my usually normal blood pressure was 162/110. So she wanted to send me next door to the hospital for some tests to rule out pre-clampsia, etc. (Pretty sure that few hours will end up costing me $600 just like last time-yay!)

So I call B and off I went to let them draw blood and take my blood pressure about 35 times. My bp was WAY better laying down then even sitting in the bed so...I was told to go home and lay down. Also I get to trap my pee for 24 hrs and go back to the doc tomorrow with a jug. I am currently trying to figure out how I am going to carry that around without grossing people out.

Good news/scary news is: the doc thinks I will not be going another 3 weeks at this rate cause the swelling and whatnot are good indicators that its going to be sooner rather than later. Still trying to mentally prepare for that! We would ideally like her to still hold off another week or so but, we'll see what happens when I go back tomorrow!

In the meantime, if I'm going to be put on bed rest the rest of the time, I'm seriously going to need something to do. I feel so fat and lazy already and laying around isn't helping!!!

Dreams

Ok so the level of excitement/anxiety has reached new heights. Last night I dreamt about my baby. I was holding her and could see her face clearly, but now I can't remember who she looked like. She had my color hair. She was barely 8 lbs. I remember the first time we tried nursing it was effortless (one can dream right?) and easy. It was very strange. I told B it was an exciting feeling that this new person would forever be joining our family and then at the same time it was almost kind of a sad feeling that its no longer just us. I realize as hard as it may be, she can only improve our life together but still, I guess it was a weak moment.

I did get quite a lot done on our to do list today. Only half the house is clean though so kiddo can't come just yet, not till its all done!

Is that you summer?

Um its mid Feb and its 77 degrees outside. Don't get me wrong, I love nice days, however, I don't think the heat is helping my Flinstone feet right now. Yes they are still swollen and have been EVERY DAY THIS WEEK!! They feel tight and my calves are so swollen right now its making my jeans feel tight around my legs. I have a crate under my desk but the way my stuff sits its impossible to really get comfortable with my feet up or keep them up for long periods of time. I feel SO disgusting and lazy this week because I can't even put my tennis shoes on to work out. I'm over it!! :(

3 weeks to go!!

Maybe... Oh I have this huge to do list in my head so I may just type it all out here so I don't forget anything. The shocking fact that baby A may make her arrival at any time now is looming over our heads-ah! Let's see I need to:

-seriously clean the WHOLE house and make sure it stays clean (pretty much a list within this list!)
-mail back my jury duty ppwk with my doc note saying "in your face!"
-go to Hobby Lobby and get a wire put on the back of this picture frame to hang in her room
-download pics from the last 2 showers
-finish Thank you notes (buy more thank you notes!)
-clean the cars
-install and figure out how the carseat works
-pack a bag for the hospital (this has its own long list)
-make some returns/exchanges at Target and Babies R Us (each store has its own list!)
-buy things we're still lacking
-finish filing our taxes
-find out Monday from the doc if my water doesnt break on its own, at one point am I supposed to be going to the hospital
-take Cooper to the vet

Well, there's still more but this should get me through Monday at least! Ah! Did I mention B works tonight and tomorrow so he can't join in on the fun till Sunday. Poor guy has worked every day this week except Valentine's. At least we got that together.