I'll be the hero that you're dreaming of...
Well, Maddy is just about two weeks old. We had a pretty good weekend. She got lots of sleep and her feedings are more like 3 oz per feeding. During the day she wakes up more or less in time for feedings, keeping to the 2-3 hour rule the nurses gave me in the hospital. Sometimes, though, she wants food every hour. I guess this is that growth spurt.
Yesterday, though, I noticed more cracks on my right nipple. I was trying to breastfeed her during the day and keep to bottles at night, when she's more hungry. Then again, in the past three days, her night schedule shifted somewhat. Her cranky time to go to sleep is about 11 pm. It can last one hour on a good day, over two hours on a bad day (like last night). But then after that, she'll sleep straight on through until 5:30 to 6 am, depending on when she actually went to sleep. So I was using the bottle for that first feeding. Yesterday, with the new cracks, I've more or less realized that I probably can't feed her on the breast without seriously hurting myself. Well, the left side is fine, but that's the side (of course) that produces less milk. I get just over an ounce on that side, and two ounces on the right. So I'll have to pump it and bottle feed it. We both seem to be much happier that way.
Jay thinks I look a lot less tired now than when we first came home. Probably. This Saturday was the first day I didn't take any Motrin at all. Friday, after her well baby check (7 lbs 7 oz and growing!) I took Maddy in to work to visit people. Since it was totally on impulse, I didn't have thank you cards to give out. Nobody cared about that, tho. They did let me use a spare office to breastfeed her, which didn't hurt as much as yesterday. And no cracks like yesterday, anyway. They all thought I was looking fabulous given that Maddy was 10 days old at the time. I guess most people are laid up in bed, still. I sometimes take catnaps, and I definitely veg on the couch or on the computer to rest up. I'm prolly not getting quite enough fluids or veggies, tho. I have to fix that. But overall, I'm feeling really good.
I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed that the breastfeeding didn't pan out the way I'd hoped. But she's still getting the milk she needs, so I'm happy about that. And really, Maddy snarfs it down like no tomorrow. I suspect that at this week's weight check, she'll have gone over her birth weight, which is what the pediatrician was hoping for.
Yesterday, though, I noticed more cracks on my right nipple. I was trying to breastfeed her during the day and keep to bottles at night, when she's more hungry. Then again, in the past three days, her night schedule shifted somewhat. Her cranky time to go to sleep is about 11 pm. It can last one hour on a good day, over two hours on a bad day (like last night). But then after that, she'll sleep straight on through until 5:30 to 6 am, depending on when she actually went to sleep. So I was using the bottle for that first feeding. Yesterday, with the new cracks, I've more or less realized that I probably can't feed her on the breast without seriously hurting myself. Well, the left side is fine, but that's the side (of course) that produces less milk. I get just over an ounce on that side, and two ounces on the right. So I'll have to pump it and bottle feed it. We both seem to be much happier that way.
Jay thinks I look a lot less tired now than when we first came home. Probably. This Saturday was the first day I didn't take any Motrin at all. Friday, after her well baby check (7 lbs 7 oz and growing!) I took Maddy in to work to visit people. Since it was totally on impulse, I didn't have thank you cards to give out. Nobody cared about that, tho. They did let me use a spare office to breastfeed her, which didn't hurt as much as yesterday. And no cracks like yesterday, anyway. They all thought I was looking fabulous given that Maddy was 10 days old at the time. I guess most people are laid up in bed, still. I sometimes take catnaps, and I definitely veg on the couch or on the computer to rest up. I'm prolly not getting quite enough fluids or veggies, tho. I have to fix that. But overall, I'm feeling really good.
I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed that the breastfeeding didn't pan out the way I'd hoped. But she's still getting the milk she needs, so I'm happy about that. And really, Maddy snarfs it down like no tomorrow. I suspect that at this week's weight check, she'll have gone over her birth weight, which is what the pediatrician was hoping for.