I can't believe Baby Girl is 1 Week Old today!
Time has definitely flown by, I have already been crying because she's growing so much.
At 3 Days Old (9/22) Emma had her first doctors appointment, her pediatrician is my old pediatrician, he is wonderful and I am so excited to have him take care of my Baby Girl.
At her appointment we found out that she had lost 10oz from birth, which the doctor said is totally normal. We went back on Thursday (9/24) and she had gained back 3oz and she also grew 1 inch.
I have been breastfeeding, and honestly, the first few days are definitely harder than childbirth itself!
But I am very determined to do this for her, and every day does get better. It also helps to have an amazing support system from mom friends who also breastfeed or have breastfed, and Melissa, a lactation consultant who is great and so helpful.
I never thought about breastfeeding but, as soon as I got pregnant I knew that was something I wanted to try. I've been so lucky to have my milk supply come in with no problems, and even luckier that Emma has a great latch! :)
Since I'm breastfeeding, my husband helps by changing her diaper during the night, we have been doing great as a team, even though he got the "shitty" end of the deal, haha.
She has been pooping after every feeding lately, which is a great sign that she's getting enough to eat!
I've been having a hard time getting her to burp after feeding, I change burping positions and pat her for sometimes over 5 minutes at a time and nothing.. Then, she spits up sometimes or gets hiccups!
Any advice on burping a breastfed baby will be greatly appreciated.
Hubby took off 2 weeks of work and I'm already freaking out about him going back.
I love our little family and I wish we could spend every day together just enjoying our baby girl.
It's been hard this first week to have alone time, just us, since we have had so many visitors!
While I love how much all our family and friends love Emma and want to see her and spend time with her, sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed. I'm trying to get her on a schedule, she has been sleeping all day and wanting to be up all night since all day someone is holding her so she's cozy, that at night when I put her in her bassinet she wakes up hysterical wanting to be held.
We co-slept the first few nights, but for the last 2 nights I have gotten her to sleep in her bassinet.
I feed her, change her, and swaddle her really tight and and she stays in there sleeping peacefully. Hopefully everything will work out with her sleeping, God knows I need sleep myself!
She is a great sleeper when she actually is sleeping, noises don't bother her, even both dogs barking, it doesn't bother her. I even have to wake her up to feed her most of the time, because she sleeps right through her feeding time.
I actually had a meltdown the other night, I guess since I'm extra emotional and super tired.
Being in pain from breastfeeding, and recovering from childbirth, it all takes a toll on you.
The house was full of people all day, and I didn't get to spend time with Emma besides feeding her, I told my husband that I felt like I was a cow, just giving her milk, and as soon as I was done someone was there to take her from me and I couldn't cuddle her or be with her at all.
Also, since people are over all the time I feel like the house has to be spotless because I'm a freak and I don't want people to think my house is a mess!
And how I want to take naps and sleep when the baby is sleeping but I can't when people are over since I feel like I have to "host" when I just want to go to my room and pass out skin to skin with my baby... Yeah, I've had my moments!
Emma already holds her head up by herself, it's so crazy how strong she is!
She does this funny sound when she cries, I think she sounds like Michael Jackson saying "hee hee" so I call her Michael sometimes lol. I gotta get it on video.
The puppies love her, Zoey thinks she's her mama and Cooper just wants to play.
Any time I'm feeding Emma, Zoey is laying right next to me.
And when Emma wakes up crying in the middle of the night, Zoey runs to the bassinet to watch her.
I haven't put Dexter with her yet, sometimes his spikes irritate my skin, it takes getting used to, so I don't want him around Emma yet because since her baby skin is so soft and thin, I don't want her to get irritated either.
Motherhood has been so wonderful already, as much as I am looking forward to all the milestones I am so sad that my little squishy baby is going to grow up so fast. I'm trying to enjoy every minute!
Congrats girly, I wouldn't worry about the burping my daughter is 11months old and still breastfeeding she was never a great butler. Breastfeed babies don't get as much gas so they don't tend to burp a lot, I would confirm with doctor and lactation consultant but when my baby didn't burp I didn't stress it. Also put the people on pause enjoy this time with your hubby and baby before he has to go back.
ReplyDeleteYeah I heard the same about them not getting too much air while breastfeeding, it just bothers me that she spits up sometimes! So I've been giving her little breaks instead of letting her go at it for as long as she wants and it seems to have been helping! :) The visitors are slowing down as well, but next baby will be off limits the whole first week haha!!
DeleteI was having the same problem with burping my baby girl and after googling found an article from dr. Sears that says if you apply pressure to their tummies while patting their back it helps to get the air out. Worked like a charm!
ReplyDeleteHere is the link http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-eating/feeding-infants-toddlers/burping-baby
Congrats on your sweet baby! I'm friends with your sister in law Amanda so I have been seeing all the sweet pictures :)
Thank you so much! I'll definitely try all those different positions.
DeleteAnd I remember you from the wedding! :) I heard you just had a baby girl! What's your Instagram so I can follow you?!
Laurynbecca :)
Deletewhat were her measurements? did you feel contractions or were you induced? i miss the great details you always share. Congrats she's a beauty!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! She is adorable!!! I totally feel for you when you talk about being overwhelmed by visitors! I am 38 weeks pregnant with a baby girl and I've had plenty of talks with my husband about telling our families that we want our space when the baby is born. I feel guilty cause I know they are excited but at the same time I feel like they need to be more understanding and be willing to give us the space. Skin to skin contact is important and a super special bonding moment that is hard to have when there are people around. Not to mention we carried the baby for so long that I feel like we more than deserve alone time with our babies. I feel like as a general rule visitors should not be allowed to visit for the first couple of days lol just saying.
ReplyDeleteCongrats Laura!! She's so adorable!!! I completely understand how overwhelmed you feel - I went through it both times after having the boys. Hispanic families fill the hospital hallways, get super loud and then bombard your house for almost the 1st month! I love them all, but running on little sleep after giving birth and getting used to your new role is not the ideal time to host anyone lol My advice, don't worry about any mess and when you're tired, excuse yourself and let hubby entertain the guest. They will either hang with Jaime or decide to let you guys rest up. They will have plenty of time to spend with you and Emma so don't feel bad. People will be understanding and if anyone is not, don't waste your energy on bothering to make them feel ok right now. Having a baby is such a special time in a woman's life and you should only be focused on this beautiful, positive moment in your life with your hubby. I also remember crying hysterical with my first! I would just stare at him and start crying, hahahaha! It's a combo of hormones and overjoy and fear and tiredness all wrapped into one! Anyway, when I burped my boys I usually stuck with placing them up on my shoulder. If you do this, make sure to keep her high so the start of her belly almost lands on your shoulder. Aside from patting her (firmly), try rubbing her back from bottom to top as if attempting to get air out. I would also rock/sway with the boys while in that position so that my shoulder would sort of "massage" the belly. Taking her off your shoulder to get her moving and placing her back on may help as well because change in position will likely move the air and hopefully get it out. If she's really uncomfortable with gas or hiccups, gripe water is really good and natural. Gas drops are another option - My Dr. really likes the gas drops from CVS.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and God bless!!!
By the way, burping usually took me about 10 - 15 min sometimes so be patient. When they are so little they get gassy. Also, let daddy try! Sometimes they just need a bigger and stronger hand to do the job and it's a good way for him to help ;)
DeleteThank you soooooo much Jenny. <3
DeleteMy baby still doesn't burp that great. He spits up a lot now too. The arnp from nicu told me if u burp em for 5 mins and nothing than its okay. I told my pediatrician too and she isn't concerned. My sitter puts him on her knees and sways back and forth while patting and says that works but I never try it. And with visitors, let them help out around the house and watch baby while you sleep. You need sleep! Nap when she naps. Eventually they don't nap as much! Have nights were you have no visitors. That's what I did. Because it gets so overwhelming. I had meltdowns too. All the time. But good luck :)
ReplyDelete