Growth Spurt.

First off, my laptop is still down. Wiping it is going to take time and energy I can't seem to find, but I will work on it this week. Then I can start posting pics again. Until then, I'm still blogging on my phone. This does have an advantage, though, seeing as how I can blog while she nurses, since it's mainly like composing a seriously long text, and I am a texting champion!

Anyhow, Ava appears to be going through a growth spurt. How do I know? Let's see - she ate at 9:15, 11:30, 12:30, 2:30 and now 4:30. This makes for one very tired mommy, seeing as how I never get to bed before 1AM because little A is a little night owl. I'm going to be seriously dragging ass tomorrow. Luckily D has a three-day weekend and I can take a nap with a little luck!

The upside to her constant hunger is it's aiding in rebuilding my milk supply, and also, with a little luck, she'll start gaining weight again, since I have been seriously worried about her lack of weight gain in the past almost two weeks. We're having her checked again Tuesday. We're also having my thyroid checked since that's an easy answer to my breastfeeding issues, and has an easy fix.

Ill be posting Ava's newborn pictures either later today or tomorrow, since I was able to get them on D's computer for the time being - they turned out great! Stay tuned!

Starting The Countdown Over...

Decision made. I think I shall go back to work next week instead. Bills schmills.

Good News, Bad News.

The good news: Today I got to take a 2.5 hour nap in between nursing/pumping sessions. Praise God! I feel better already!

The bad news: During my nap I had a dream that there was a teeny tiny golden retriever that was completely dependent on me to provide milk for it. In order to do so, I had to pump every hour on the hour until I got at least an ounce, which these days is taking forever! Clearly the nursing and pumping schedule my lactation consultant 'prescribed' for us is starting to get to me.

I guess the additional good news is that in the end, I saved the puppy. Please let this be a sign my milk will become abundant again!

So Much For That Idea!

I did NOT get the aforementioned 5-6 hour stretch of sleep. Damn it.

When I woke up to feed A around 3:15, D announced he had a terrible stomachache from the massive load of meat just sitting in his stomach, something I saw coming as soon as he pulled out the sandwich he had picked up from Jason's Deli for dinner (we're - and by that I mean I'm - still not cooking around here). He was still feeling bad when I wrapped up feeding her, so I stayed awake while she cooed and grunted through her sleep to make sure she actually went back to sleep, making for a long stretch of awake time. Hello, 4-something AM!

I fell back asleep though feeling only slightly resentful, knowing I would be able to sleep through to the 9-9:30ish feeding! Hallelujah! NOT. I was awoken at 6:15am, with D saying the bottle warmer was not working and heating her bottle. I was trying to explain how to a.) either use an alternate method, like submerging it in hot water, or b.)troubleshoot what was going wrong with the bottlewarmer when I realized two things: 1. I come across as quite condescending rather than helpfully informative when sleep-deprived, and 2. It would be easier at this point to just feed her myself, especially given I was already awake. Such is life.

I think ill try to give him a thorough lesson on bottles and the bottle warmer today during the day. Nobody can expect to go it alone in the middle of the night, I suppose :)

The Time Has Come.

That's right, folks! Today was my first day alone with Ava. I've been very fortunate in that D has been able to take time off to be home with us, and for the couple days he wasn't able to miss, my mother was here, which is how 18 days have passed and just now have I had a day alone with my sweet little baby girl.

The day was actually quite a success. I managed to shower, do my hair, fold a load of laundry and eat all before noon. That's not too bad, eh? I considered vacuuming, but I am actually harboring a bit of a cold and feel like complete crap, so I vetoed that idea.

Ava's been a champ today, making everything easier on me. She's nursed well, managed to allow me time to pump after each feeding, and hasn't pooed through any clothing or towels. Miracle!

I also managed to watch an entire disc of Everwood. Laugh if you must, but D and I pick TV shows to watch from beginning to end on DVD, and needless to say, this is one he doesn't feel he's missing out on while at work.

Happy Friday, everyone!

A Visit to the Lactation Consultant.

Yesterday when I went to pump, I was able to get significantly less than before (not even an ounce per). Then, when I attempted to express some milk with my hand, that wasn't working almost at all. Hmmm... Seeing as how I really, really want to breatfeed Ava for as long as possible (and clearly by that I do NOT mean that I plan to have a toddler attached to my boobs, thank you very much, but I would like to get to 6 months and then go from there), I did what any new mom would do. I freaked out and called my mother.

While my mom didn't seem all that concerned, telling me to up my fluids and see if that helped, I remained frantic this morning, thinking that, despite Ava's knack for nursing, my milk might be drying up. Enter the lactation consultant.

I am very fortunate in that Ava's pediatrician's office has one on staff, and two others that fill in for her as needed, so help was easy to get. She asked me a series of questions, and then I set an appointment to come in for a consult at 3PM.

When I got there, she weighed Ava, saying that per her eight pound weight at her 1-week visit 9 days ago, she should now be at 8lbs, 9oz. Unfortunately, Ava was still at an even 8lbs, throwing me into major freakout mode! Was she going hungry?! Oh no! The LC (who was totally awesome btw) then had me feed her, 10 minutes per breast, and then weighed her after each. She took in 2.6 ozs! Based on her weight and on 8 feedings per day, the LC told us she should be taking in 2.7 ozs per feeding, so my milk supply was meeting her needs. We're not sure why she hadn't gained weight, but ill take her back in a week to check and see how she's doing.

In the meantime, I'm starting on More Milk Special Blend, an herbal blend with Fenugreek, goats rue and other herbs that help to increase milk supply, and have been instructed to pump for 10 minutes after each daytime feeding.
Here's hoping it works!

2 Weeks!

As of yesterday(it's officially after midnight), Ava is two weeks old! Good Lord, time passes quickly!

It was my two-week post op visit, and Dr R removed my steri-strips, leaving nothing on my incision. It. Looks. Great. I was shocked by how well it healed and how very unobtrusive it already is! Yay! While my incision no longer hurts, my abdomen is still quite tender, thanks to the internal incision and stitching. He said it would take a while for those to fully absorb, so I guess it's to be expected. I've also lost somewhere in the ballpark of 21-22lbs. Yay! It seems to be slowing, though, which has me worried. Time to start watching my intake, I suppose.

Ava is currently nursing, hence why I'm up blogging at 12:45am, and she's still a champ! Not sure her weight now since we aren't seeing her ped again for a couple weeks, but I know she's growing and gaining well :)

Ok - she's finished so I am too. Nighty night!