Week 1
Most of week 1 was spent in the hospital due to my c-section. We were in the hospital for 4 days and 3 nights. The worst day for me was the first really. I had to remain in the bed due to the anesthesia, and that meant having to have a catheter and these leg things to keep my circulation going. I was also not allowed any solid foods since the anesthesia can cause problems with the bowels, and since my water broke early in the morning, I didn’t get a chance to eat anything before we left home. Needless to say, Monday morning couldn’t come fast enough, and I was very thankful that I got the okay for both regular food and a shower the next morning. The nurses were actually pretty amazed about how well I was doing since I was up and about without pain meds about 24 hours after the surgery.
The first night with Gray was a little rough. Every time we put him in the bassinet, he would be okay for a few minutes and then start screaming his head off. Honestly, some things haven’t changed much yet. We finally caved and had the baby nurse take him early in the morning so we could get some sleep finally. While in the nursery, they checked his weight and blood sugar. They discovered that his weight had dropped down to 5 lb 1 oz, and his blood sugar was low. Babies naturally drop some weight after birth due to lose of water after birth, but since he was already a bit small, the 6 oz drop was a cause for concern. At this point, they started having us supplement with formula to help improve his blood sugar and weight. The formula thankfully helped with the blood sugar, which stabilized later on Monday, but he continued to lose weight. He actually managed to hit the 10% max they are okay with babies losing when he dropped down to 4 lb 14 oz. We had to keep supplementing my breastfeeding with formula until my milk came in, and once my milk came in, I could start pumping to use the breast milk instead. We also started having him sleep with me during the night to see if that would help with his crying fits. So even though I hated being in the hospital and will hate the bill when it comes, it was ending up being a good thing that I had had a c-section because of the issues Mr. Gray was having. I was terrified that they wouldn’t let us take him home with us if he didn’t put some weight on. I was relieved when the nurse let us know early on Wednesday morning he was back up to 5 pounds, and minus some sore nipples, I seemed to be getting the hang of breastfeeding.
They released us from the hospital in the early afternoon on Wednesday, and Brett and I were thankful to be home finally. We had worried that our dog Dante would not take well the baby so we had spent some time working with him on that. While he was a bit excited, we were thrilled to see that he took positive interest in the baby rather than getting aggressive. In fact, his behavior the last three weeks has reminded me of the dog from Peter Pan oddly enough. He constantly wants to be near us when the baby is near, and he has been doing very well with commands. We took Gray for his first visit to the doctor on Thursday. We discovered that he had put another oz on since leaving the hospital to be 5 lb 1 oz and had grown ½ an inch to be at 17 ½ inches. The only major problem the doctor could see was his weight so far, and he made some suggestions about feeding and supplementing. I started pumping when we got home because I would rather supplement with breast milk than formula. We took him in to be weighed in Saturday, and he did gain another 1 oz to be 5lb 2 oz by the end of the week. Breastfeeding at this point was still a bit rocky. One minute I had it, and then the next I didn’t. We did discover that Gray was a fan of music during this time. Other than that, he spent most of the day napping.
Here are his week 1 chair photos:
Week 2
Week 2 was definitely more of an adjustment period than week 1. Brett had seen something that was a cause for concern for my incision so my doctor’s appointment got moved up a week. Dr. L luckily said things were fine, and she cleared me until my 6 week appointment. She also said it was okay for me to start driving and caring things again starting the next week. We took Gray into his 1 week appointment with Dr. F on Tuesday, and we discovered that he had grown another inch, and his weight was up to 5 lb 3.5 oz. The weight gain made me feel better since breastfeeding had been difficult, and I was worried he wasn’t getting enough. We also got a chance to talk to the lactation consultant briefly, and she said some of the things we were experience were normal. Since he was having a good schedule with his bowel movements and colors, she didn’t seem too worried about things. She did suggest getting him weaned from the nipple shields as soon as possible and not to pump as often as I had been to help slow down milk production a bit.
At this point, he was starting to wake up a bit more. Brett and I had been enjoying getting to watch the little faces he was making. It was so funny to see him develop little by little. I followed the LC’s suggestions, and I seemed to get him weaned from the nipple shield fairly quickly. He did well without them most of the first day, but I started having issues again the next day. I spent an hour and ½ fighting to feed him in the middle of the night on Wednesday, and it sent me into frazzled mess. We made the decision to try this Baby Café place Brett had heard about on the news the next day after we took him to have some testing done. We got up and cancelled several of the scheduled visits we had the next morning, and Brett called and made a tentative time for us to go in that afternoon. After getting ready, we took Gray to the hospital to have his PKU testing done. I am still not sure what this actually is for, but it was hard to watch them poke his foot to fill the card for the testing. I am assuming that things came back clear as of right now because we have not received a call from the doctor in regard to something bad, and it has been over a week. Once that was finished, I attempted to feed Gray, and he wasn’t having any of it so we went ahead and went straight to the Baby Café. I am very grateful we did, and the woman who worked with us is a god-sent! She was able to quickly figure out that his latch wasn’t good, and she helped reteach him. With her help, I was able to get him back on track. Since making the visit, the only problem we have really experienced with feeding him is that he wants to eat all the time!
Here are his week 2 chair pictures:
Week 3
Week 3 has been a much better week. Gray seems to have the hang of eating finally-maybe a little too well. He is also starting to stay awake more now. We are still having issues with him sleeping in the pack-n-play at night, and we are having to sleep with him in the bed. We did finally cave and purchase a co-sleeper bed for him to sleep in while in our bed. We had tried to use the travel bassinet for this purpose, but it was a little too big. We were hesitant to purchase one due to the cost, but it has actually been one of the better purchases we made so far. I got the Snuggle Nest Surround by Baby Delight, and we have both slept better having him in it while in bed with us. We are just hoping that that the review that said it helped prep the child for a bigger alone sleeping area like a pack-n-play or crib are true. Gray had been sleeping well in his crib during the day, but he has suddenly developed issues with it similar to the problems we had in the hospital. He will be fine for a short period a time, and then he gets upsets for no reason. He can sleep fine on his Boppy pillow or co-sleeper near us so we think it might be a noise thing. It seems as if he prefers some noise to keep him comforted and asleep. We may try to use some white noise or classic music to see if it helps him stay in bed. Since he is awake more, we have started using the play mat and doing a little bit of tummy time. He seems to actually like his tummy so far. He only gets mad or frustrated with it when he begins to get tired. I took him into the doctor’s office for just a weigh-in, and he was up to 5 lb 10.5 oz and 19 ½ inches. I guess my womb was just a bit small for him, and we are happy that he is over his birth weight.
It was a good thing that we had a good week with Gray because my recovery has been more of a struggle this week. I work up Wednesday more to my incision having a clear drainage, and we had to make an emergency trip to my doctor. While little bit nerve racking to us, it turned out to be something that isn’t uncommon, and Dr. L was able to fix it with only opening a small part of my incision and prescribing antibiotics. While it isn’t abnormal for some women to have this problem, she suspected it was a problem with a skin problem I have. We figured that it most likely over after that, but unfortunately, it happened again. Things seemed to be clearing up on Thursday, but I woke early Friday not once but twice with more drainage. Brett discovered what seemed to be another spot so I called the doctor office. I went in, and Dr. L quickly found the spot and took care of it. I have an appointment on Monday to see how things are going.
Here are his week 3 chair pictures:
The last three weeks has gone by so fast. I am thankful that Brett’s company gave him both paternity leave and a chance to work from home because it has been a big help. Tomorrow is going to be the first day I am going to be home without him, and it is going to be hard and probably a bit lonely. I am just glad that several people have asked to come visit, and my Maga is also going to come help me out a few days this week. Next week will definitely be an adventure.
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