Week 1

We spent the first 24 hrs with Sonia in the hospital. It was a rough night with her waking up to feed often and both mommy and daddy being very tired from the marathon of the past couple days, but both mommy and baby passed all her tests and we decided it would be best to get out of there quick. As soon as the testing was complete, the family left the hospital at 8PM on Friday night, 25 hours after birth. In hindsight, it might have been better if we’d stayed one more night. The first night at home was so rough, and we were so tired, that after she fussed and cried from 10pm to 1am straight, despite our best attempts to feed and console her, we succumbed to using a pacifier to get her, and us, a little rest.

By our pediatrician visit the next morning she had already pooped 6 times in the first 36 hrs, which is pretty uncommon, bringing her weight down 9% to 5 lb 11 oz. Dr Abramyan mentioned that since I went so long with ruptured membranes, Sonia may have swallowed a lot of the amniotic fluid, making her birth weight artificially high, but he wanted to monitor her anyway and suggested we supplement with formula until my milk came in – which we weren’t too excited about. On the bright side, he did mention how strong Sonia appeared, as she gripped his fingers and lifted herself off the exam table.

My milk came in on the 3rd night, but she still wasn’t latching correctly and didn’t seem to ever be satiated, nor was she pooping or peeing anymore. We did end up giving her 1 ounce of formula to make sure dehydration wasn’t going to be a problem, but had another terrible night since we vowed not to give her the pacifier again until we figured out breastfeeding. I was a wreck that 3rd day, knowing that something was wrong, but not knowing how to make it right. Thankfully, on the 3rd night, at 12:30am, after another marathon couple hours of crying, trying every breastfeeding position I knew of, and with the looming threat of needing to give her another ounce of formula, she miraculously figured out the latch and we were instantly started on a much better path.

The next morning was our 2nd pediatrician visit, and after 4 good feedings since figuring out the latch earlier that morning, she was only down one more ounce to 5 lb 10 oz. Two days later, at the 3rd ped visit, she was up to 5 lb 14 oz and was back to peeing and pooping like she’s supposed to. Mom and Dad were both excited and resenting the increased dirty diaper production. She was also sleeping a bit better, although more so in the daytime than at night, unfortunately. Since the last visit, I’ve seen the lactation consultant and Sonia and I are slowly learning the ropes of breastfeeding properly, even though I still can’t keep her awake and feeding efficiently for more than 5 minutes at a time.

My recovery has been very easy. Already by the end of week one I am down to only 12 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight and most of the swelling from delivery is gone. I do still get winded and tired from a 2 mile walk, but that could be as much from the sleep deprivation as anything. Eric has managed to get just enough sleep at night to not be overly tired, but is still struggling a little with the stress of midnight “soothing sessions” with Sonia.

Thanks to Grannie being here and Eric being home, we made it through the first week. However, that luxury is now past, and we’ll have to see how next week goes.

Here’s a couple notable firsts

Day 2 – First morning at home – everyone is very tired.

Day 3 – First sponge bath – not her favorite thing.

Day 4 – First outing in the stroller – Mommy was so nervous about the bumpy sidewalks.

Day 5 – First tummy time – she is so strong that she can already turn her head side to side and roll to her back, but mostly she’s content to sleep.