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.
9 comments:
Caitlin, I feel for you! SERIOUSLY! I had the toughest time with Daniel. I was in an out of the lactation nurses office. It was a battle, but I knew that if I stuck it out and figured it out with my first, it should go better with the rest. Jacob was a piece of cake. Now with Alex, I'm not as concerned because I know it's going to be a struggle, but we can get through it--when he's ready.
Good for you for sticking with it!
Aww, Caitlin, you brought tears to my eyes. I'm so glad to have reconnected. I am really glad you blogged about this. There are lots of people out there who could benefit from you experience--it sounds like you have had every problem in the book. It is shocking how uninformed most doctors are when it comes to this. The only doctors I have had that had any knowledge were mothers who had breastfed their own children. That is how you learn I guess--out of necessity.
You are so awesome to keep with it. Guy is one lucky baby to have such a great mom. I am glad you are getting a little more sleep now and I hope things continue to improve.
Glad it's getting better!
I am so glad it is getting better. As for keeping him awake, because of jaundice Bennett fell asleep while nursing for a LONG time, but they grow out of it.
Wow, sounds like you've been going through a lot! I'm glad things are going better now and at least Guy is good sleeper!
Nursing is so, so hard. Way to go!
Caitlin,
First, congratulations on your marriage. :) I noticed that the date was the day after my own anniversary, so that's kind of cool.
Second, congratulations on your new child. :) Parenting is one of the greatest things one can ever do,and I know you had good role models for that. :)
Personally, I've never had breastfeeding issues. For... obvious reasons. My wife, Lucia, may have had some I'm not aware of, but since she's usually pretty good about informing me of things like that, I'm guessing she hasn't.
In any case, I'm glad you were given good motivation to educate yourself about that. I got a bit of a chuckle over the comment about knowing more than the doctors you were working with. Having watched Lucia do as much research as she has, concerning pregnancy and childbirth, I think I have a pretty good idea what you mean. For all their training, sometimes doctors can be pretty clueless (that coming from a dumb engineer. ;) ).
Anyway, sorry if I sounded overly surprised by that Facebook picture Beth posted of you. See, I didn't know you then, and there are always changes that come between age 4 and high school. ;)
Congratulations again, and welcome to parenthood. This will be a great opportunity to learn a whole lot more about your Heavenly Father. :)
Just thought I'd pop in and say Hello! Guy is absolutely adorable!! Such a good mix of the two of you.
(PS, we're coming back to BYU this fall....go figure, huh?)
Welcome to motherhood! Isn't nursing great! I am so sorry and hope you are felling better soon. Hang in there, it took me about 4 months to get it down with Avery. But honestly, when the next one comes, it may very well be a whole new set of challenges and you think you've got it down with this one but the next is totally different. At least that was my experience with my girls.
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