Holy cow - in some ways it seems like Guy has been with us a lot longer than 6 weeks. In others, it's all still brand new.
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For a while I felt like I could update life through medications, medical procedures, and self diagnosis (with some wonderful help from a very generous friend). Some days, when I remembered to take everything, I was taking more than 20 pills. Fortunately, that did include 2 doses of iron, calcium, vitamin C, and a prenatal vitamin, but really . . . really?
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As for the issues it's mostly been breastfeeding woes . . . after Guy's jaundice, I got a mastitis, yeast infections on both sides of my chest, low milk supply (because of the infections/complications), and my latest discovery (and explanation for the ongoing pain since Guy was born): vasospasms (another chest issue). I've learned all this from 2 lactation consultants (one a good friend) and mostly from the above-mentioned very generous friend (THANK YOU ERIN!). Seriously, I have this renewed gratitude for facebook, and reconnecting with old friends, I really don't think I could have survived so long with the pain and frustration had it not been for Erin, who I've known since fourth grade and recently reconnected with via facebook.
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I really feel like with just a little more information I could be an expert on breastfeeding issues and infections/complications. I think I know a lot more than many doctors now (and for sure, more than the 2 doctors that I went to during all of this).
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For four days I pumped every 2 hours round the clock. One of those nights Guy slept for 7.5 hours in a row (yes, I was very jealous). And I'm still having some issues, but they are tolerable, and I'm working to make them better--coping a lot better, to say the least. Now I'm getting 4 hours of sleep in a row pretty regularly--horray!
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Meanwhile, Guy's growing (a lot more since we figured out we needed to supplement for a bit - now I've got more milk than he drinks in a day - yea!)--changing everyday, smiling lots, and laughing every once in a while. Putting everything else into that perspective, it makes all of it worth it. Now if I could just figure out how to consistently keep him awake while he's feeding . . . he's got this habit of falling asleep while eating, even if he just got up from a 3 hour nap. Baby steps, right?
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And now an open-ended offer . . . if anyone has breastfeeding problems, please don't hesitate to see if I can help, I'd be willing to share what I have learned--seriously.
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