Cold Spaghetti

Yesterday was my 2-week follow up with Dr. Maher, the friendly OB who performed my last section. I’m okay to have other babies, but will always be a c-section birth. My major organs are okay, just “tacked” up and scarred from the first section (what Dr. Maher called a “resident” mistake where young surgeons overzealously just sew up much more than is necessary). My bladder is the biggest change and so blessedly noticeable… he worked through the scarring and moved it in order to get into my uterus (had this been an emergency under the clock, he would have had to slice through my bladder)… now going to the bathroom actually feels normal again! (I had thought the changes were just a normal part of having a baby.)

We had a *wonderful* visit at Baptist hospital and medical center — this is by far the most positive and friendly medical environment we’ve ever seen. While waiting for copies of Kate and my medical records, we had lunch in the cafeteria (complete with a free jutebox for fun tunes), stopped by billing where a staff member offered to help us navigate and possibly reduce(!) our bill, visited our day nurse, Mary, and stopped in on the lactation consultants. One of the LC’s worked with us on positioning Kate to help with the forceful letdown problems. It was very helpful to have someone look at us nursing and give suggestions and advice. If only I could get my hands on one of their awesome nursing chairs!

Final report: all is well and we are okay!

A lactation consultant from Baptist Hospital (where Kate was born) called today to check in with us. I confessed to our problems with oversupply and forceful letdown reflex. She asked about symptoms, agreed with my assessment, and I explained my current attack mode:

– Block nursing (nursing only one side for several hours at a time)
– Nursing with Kate in a position above the breast
– Trying to express only when absolutely necessary
– Expressing mid-feed when spraying/when Kate gets upset

“Wow,” she said, “you could do my job.”

Weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds, 14 ounces*, Kate is two weeks old today. Here is our two week postpartum report, in a nutshell.

Cool beans:
– Enjoying every detail of her: the feel of her little body on mine, the sound of her breathing, the smiles she makes in her sleep
– Falling in love: with a new person plus with Will and Paul all over again
– Learning why two is so much better than one
– Not worried about Will adjusting
– Enjoying an easy baby with little fussing… even with the discomfort she’s experiencing
– Having Paul and Mom around all day to help (and Dad in evenings!)
– Boppy pillow, Lansinoh Lanolin, Huge nursing sleep bras
– Pacifiers (we’re temporarily using a nuk and have the nursing friendly gerber gentle-flex coming from drugstore.com)
– Not crying every single day
– Not having to finger feed
– Supportive messages from family and friends

Still sucking:
– Oversupply and engorgement, florceful let down
– Boobs still sore
– Kate’s discomfort due to the above
– Kate’s *very* active bowels as a result of the above
– Feeling like I want to cry, scream, and throw up as a result of the above
– Hemorroids (worst ever!)
– Itchy incision mark
– Figuring out how to fit all of us in one bed
– Wanting to do more (play with Will, go out on errands) but body not being ready or able to handle it
– Understanding how fleeting these days and moments are

*The standard weight gain for the first two weeks is approximately 1/2-1 ounce per day. 12 days ago when we left the hospital, Kate weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces less than her birth weight. Problem with oversupply? YEAH.

WHY must everything be a struggle??

We’ve started having nursing problems. I’ve been slowly coming to the realization — despite my hesitance in pumping and careful control of expression — that I’m making too much milk and have problems with forceful let down. Kate has been struggling (particularly on one side) for the last couple of days. Last night was a terrible cycle of poor nursing and upset tummy — classically described here. With Will, I pumped for hours and hours for months — MONTHS! — crying, depressed, miserable, desperate to make enough and never coming close. I have another pregnancy and see my greatest dream — a vaginal birth — disappear. But I can be okay this time, because I can actually nurse. Now, it’s clear I’m going to have to fight this time, too. I’m about to loose my mind.

This morning’s mission: impossible — taking a decent picture of my kids. With the help of my Mom, we put the kids in clothes, combed their hair, and turned on every light we could find. While there are a few decent shots in the bunch, the majority of the pictures we took in that short window of possiblity were outtakes (see below).

Here are my picks for “best of” from our photo session:

Nagin won. What the hell?

I vowed that I would provide my children with a scrapbook/picturebook of their first year and a baby book of their first years. I’ve kept Will’s babybook (a $12 Target book with pages for things like “popular movies when I was born” and “all about my first birthday party”) and will do my best to continue it. Today, however, I finished the other part of my agreement:

Will’s scrapbook is DONE!!! I’m very excited.

Now for Kate.

I’ve got a similar Target babybook and enlisted my Mom and Paul to help me put her footprints in it back when she was 5 days old. That’s all I’ve done so far (hey, she’s only 11 days old). Parents all say that you never can get as much done for your second kid and I don’t doubt it. But Kate, you heard it here: I’m trying my best! (Time for a 40% off Michael’s coupon so I can buy another baby scrapbook…!)

Will normally joins us in bed when he wakes up in the morning. We read a book or two, talk, cuddle, or watch a short “Bob the Builder” (sometimes all of the above) until he is ready to relinquish his binky and start the day. Now, Will asks to “hold Baby Kate” as part of his morning routine. He climbs up in bed, holds out his arms, and opens and closes his hands until Kate is settled on his lap. She loves to watch Will and does well when he tries to “share” his binky with her!