1 More Challenge of Breastfeeding

We have had a fussy baby the past few days. Let me start with saying that I feel pretty lucky to have a well behaved newborn. If she fusses we check her diaper, change her if needed or feed her and then she is good. This is how I knew something else was up with her when she continued to fuss after those two things were fixed. She would also fuss while eating which is hard to tell if she is cluster feeding or just not liking what she taste.

I believe she has been fussy because she has had an upset stomach. After a long day of trying to calm her I decided to call the Ped. and run it by them. They told me to always be sure to burp her, which I do. Avoid broccoli, cabbage, diary, limit caffine and avoid onions. Well, I had made chili the day before for dinner and had also ate a huge bowl of it for lunch that same day. I thought to myself that has to be it, it had tons of onion in it.

After talking to the Ped. I had John stop and get some gas drops on his way home from work. I told him to get Mycolin or Gerber, what our Ped. recommened. Turns out they didn't have either, so John decided to get everything they had that mentioned gas drops. He said she is his baby girl and wanted to make sure she felt better. :) haha. Well, I ended up using Little Remedies gas relief drops. We have noticed a difference as well and just glad to get her relief. I told myself, no more onions!

Today she has been great up until later tonight. She began to get fussy again. I had let off giving her so much gas drops just to see if she still needed it. Once she got really fussy I went ahead and gave her some more and it was instant relief for her. She took it and went straight to sleep, poor thing pretty much wore herself out by being fussy leading up to the drops helping ease her stomach.

I kept trying to think about what would upset her stomach still. The ped. told me that whatever would give me gas, would more than likely do the same to her as well. So I started thinking how my stomach was upset this evening and the night before. It then occured to me that I had started eating Fiber One bars. My purpose in eating them was to have small snacks between my meals to increase my milk production. I thought it was a double plus because I check the ingredients and it has oats!--oats are great for milk production which is why I usually eat oatmeal every morning. I am pretty sure it is the Fiber One bars, so I will stop eating those and see if anything changes which I feel pretty sure about that being the problem.

After dealing with a fussy baby that has an upset stomach due to what I eat, I decided to google breastfeeding diet. It says to avoid several types of food, one being citrus foods such as grape fruit--which I ate last night too. Along with citrus foods is tons of others. I like to do the research and be informed, but I honestly feel like stuff I ate during my pregnancy shouldn't get to her as much. I feel ike she should be used to it some what...right? I don't honeslty know, but I just want her to feel better! Let's hope I solved the mystery. I will from here on out not eat Fiber One bars. I will also keep my distance from onions just in case!!

*Side note, maybe TMI for some. At 6am this morning I was convinced that she is getting some type of relief. In the middle of changing her diaper, meaning old diaper off and new diaper not quiet on, she decided that would be a good time to go number two----on my forearm, the changing pad, and everything to the right of the dresser where her changing pad is. In other words, I had wipe the wall, baseboard, Diaper Genie, and two other things that were in that direction. The changing pad cover was thrown in the wash right away! I told Madison that as long she feels better then it was ok! Although, I do prefer it to stay contained within the diaper if at all possible. :)

Milestones

First Bath- September 2nd (the unhappy picture shows more than I want to post--so don't let this fool you into thinking she enjoyed the ENTIRE time in her bath. She did enjoy the majority of it though!) This post is all of MOV's first that I can think of!

*Meeting Maizie! August 30th

*First game day with Daddy! September 1st

*Meeting my first baby friend, Jayde! September 15th

*First family picture! September 29th

*First Photo Shoot

Other Milestones *September 1st- First doctor's visit to Gwinnett Ped's.

*September 8th- unbilical cord fell off.

*September 15th- first visit to Hong Kong Garden :)(My mom went to Hong Kong Garden while she was pregnant to me. It is the best chinese around and I actually went while I was pregnant with Madison as well.)

*September 22nd- first shopping trip with mommy and nana. VERY short lived--my mom knew what she wanted, some jeans from AE and I needed to pick up a few things from VS at the avenue. I was freaking out with the crowds though and her being young. So super short trip!)

Getting Settled In

After making it through the Jaundice and getting settled at home--things have been great. The first few days home were tiring! I have never been able to close my eyes and instantly go to sleep, but that first week I sure could. I was falling asleep in the car on our daily trips to the hospital when they were keeping an eye on her jaundice levels. After that first week, I finally caught up on my sleep for the most apart, atleast enough to fully function. John was home with us that first week, but had to go back to work. He was, and still is such a great Dad to Madison and is willing to help even after his long days at work.

We have had visitors on and off since being home, but has died down. We have also had another doctor visit to check her weight. At her last appointment, on Sept. 4th she weighed 7 lbs and 14.5 ounces. We had reached our birth weight of 7.9lbs and actually exceeded it. I finally felt like I was good to go on exclusively breastfeeding, finally.

Exclusively breastfeeding was a challenge at first. She was used to bottles and clearly had nipple confusion. In order to feed her I had to use a shield in order for her to eat and would not eat without it. She was getting a bit frustrated too, because she was used to the fast flow bottle and not having to work so hard to eat. So, I had decided to go to a breastfeeding group at the hospital that following week after her appointment. It was nice to meet with other moms and have the time to share your exact story. Getting feedback from pro's and those who are in the same situation as you was nice. In result, a few days later she was successfully eating without the shield after weening it away within about 2 days. It was no longer needed after those two days.

Also, since being home we had her pictures done when she 12 days old. My best friends step sister came to our house, which was awesome because I did not want to take her out. I was love them and have been waiting to catch on the blog in order to share them!

Jesi Leigh Photography

Jaundice

So, the last few post I feel like I have tried to squeeze weeks into a few words--which is why I decided to do a whole separate post on our experience with Jaundice.

It was the day we were leaving the hospital, Thursday, when one of the doctor's from our pediatrician office came into our room to update us on Madison's blood work that they drew the night before. Her jaundice levels were higher than they wanted them to be, but they said they had also expected this because Madison and I have different blood types. This is when they told me to supplement so we could keep up with how much she was eating and to increase more dirty diapers to clear out the jaundice. The ped. updated us on what jaundice was and what the plan was--hoping it would clear up itself without treatment. Her jaundice level was 9 that morning, and they get worried when it reaches the 20's. I thought ok, that doesn't seem so bad then but we were still worried new parents though and freaking out a little bit. It had been smooth sailing at the hospital and then to have that dumped on us just an hour before being discharged was a bummer. We were told to come back to the hospital the next morning for them to draw more blood, which meant poking her little foot AGAIN.

Friday morning we went in, they took her blood and about an hour later the pediatrician called us with the results---12. Since this was such a significant jump, they wanted us to come in to get the home photo therapy which was essentially just a blue light (about the size of an iPad) that we placed her on 24/7. We just slid the light between her back and her onsies. She was also to sleep on it as well. At, this point we were freaking out that we had to go get a light and that her levels were rising.

Saturday we had to go back in for blood work, and got a call stating that her levels had gone up to 15. I was really bummed as I had thought for sure they would have gone down a little since she was on the light. We also had an appointment for her with the her ped on Saturday. Her weight was 7.1 lbs and they wanted us back in next week to check her weight again. They wanted to see her closer to her birth weight, 7.9lbs.

With that being said, we had to go back AGAIN on Sunday. Her levels had gone down to 12 I believe and they said to take her off the light and just to put her in direct sunlight for 15 minutes every 3 hours. They did not want us to do any more blood work, they just wanted her to come in Tuesday for a weight check and examine her for the jaundice. At this point, I could clearly tell it had improved and I had not realized just how yellow her skin was until it got better. You could see it in her eyes though and we were told this was the last to clear up. At this point they were not concerned and I guess they knew it would continue to drop as it did. Her eye's eventually whitened back up.

Looking back at this now, I realize how common jaundice is. We were so nervous about it at the time. You don't want to hear anything is wrong or have any reason for the doctor to have to keep an eye on your baby. We were in good hands though, and Gwinnett Ped's. was very thorough in keeping up with the situation. We are just glad to have it all cleared up and better! :)

Madison's First Few Days

Following Madison's delivery we had few visitors. By the time we made it to the recovery room it was rather late. John's brother and his wife did come by to see us though--also those who were there for her delivery as well.

Honestly, I did not know what to expect. When we went upstairs to the recovery room they took her to bath her. About an hour later they brought her in the room with us, where she stayed for our entire visit. The nurse worked with me immediately to breastfeed Madison. I have to say I was very pleased with how well she took on breastfeeding during our stay.

Our first night went well. We were up several times for feedings, but got a little sleep which was super nice after the previous night. Also, having the IV out my arm was great. The next morning I was really feeling a shower. The nurse the previous night suggested waiting 24 hours after delivery. I ask the new shift nurse and she said sure, even though it was only about 12 hours later. I shocked myself with how well I was able to get around following my delivery.

We had several visitors Wednesday morning and afternoon. My mother-in-laws friend Judy brought us breakfast, John's younger brother and his wife came by again, and my friend Alex. That afternoon my grandparents (Clarks) came as well and John's Mom. That evening, we had tons of visitors as everyone came by after work. Thank you everyone who came to see us. :)

The following morning, Thursday, we got to go home! John was super excited to get home to our bed, and in all honesty I was nervous! I will update with our first few days at home in the next post and our Jaundice experience as well.

Madison Olivia Valentino

Well, as you can see I stopped updating my blog the second I felt better. Needless to say the 18 weeks of sickness was no fun. The rest of my pregnancy was smooth sailing. I gained weight as expected, not too much and not too little. My blood pressure was always great and I never felt miserable. My only complaint was restless leg syndrome that kept me up at crazy hours of the night, like 3:45 am, 5:45am and never did I fall asleep before 2am. I told myself that this was my body preparing me for the crazy hours ahead.

It was my 37 week appointment that we had an unexpected jump in growth. Baby V had measured 40 weeks at 37 weeks. Like I said before, I was shocked because we had been measuring right on par for the whole pregnancy. It was this appointment that Dr. Pohl mentioned inducing me if necessary, but no further discussion on that until my next appointment at 38 weeks. When they took me back my blood pressue was good, as usual and my weight had actually not changed from the last appointment. With that being said, I knew when he measured I would be the same as before. Well, I actually measured 41 weeks. He said that the baby grew, but I actually lost weight. He also checked me and I was 1cm, baby was low, but he believed that the measurements may be a little off. He was thinking me measuring 41 weeks might be a little over what she actually was. Although, this was the appointment that we discussed being induced in more detailed. I was not sure how I felt about it, but the goal was to prevent having to have a c-section due to a large baby. I was so unsure, and when he asked me I turned to John. John was down for whatever Dr. Pohl suggested, we had a lot of trust in him. John also had voiced his fear of getting the phone call at work from me telling me to go to the hospital. He liked the idea of knowing when. So, Dr. Pohl says he was going to look at his calendar and he would be back. When he came back to the room he said alright how does Monday, the 27th sound at 7:30pm? I didn't know what to say. I was in shock, I guess reality set in. I just said "uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and tried to breath. Dr. Pohl was a little confussed. I then had to explain my reaction and tell him I am just nervous and in shock. I liked knowing she would be here soon, but I also left the appointment with the intentions of getting her here sooner, and naturally. So instead of the elevator, we took the steps out of the docotors office. Needless to say that was the last of my attempt-haha.

38 Weeks and 5 Days

So Monday, August 27th it was. I was 39 weeks and 1 day, as Dr. Pohl wanted me to be atleast 39 weeks. I spent the next few days getting ready to go in to the hospital--packing bags for her, myself and John. Making sure I had all paper work that I had already filled out. Monday came quick. I was at home all ready to go, waiting on John to get home from work. He got home, took a shower, we ate dinner and it was time to call the hospital to see if they had a room for me. The lady on the other line said "we will see you at 7:30". It wasn't until we pulled out of the neighborhood that I got real nervous and wow, could you feel it in air between me and John and both. We were both so nervous and not saying much...but we had this beatiful reminder that God would take of us. I was not able to get a great picture, but I atleast got one. We took it as a sign from God. :)

Once we arrived at the hospital we didn't have to spend too much time registering because I had pre-registered. We waited about 10 minutes for them to get a room set up. They then took us back, and into the beatiful gown I went! They then set up my IV for fluids, and placed the monitors on me to keep up with the babies heart beat and my contractions (which by the way I was having, but not feeling). Shortly after they inserted the cervidil at about 8:30pm. This was to stay in for 12 hours and it's purpose is to soften the cervix. Then it was just waiting until the next morning. I did not sleep at all that night, I was up and down to the bathroom which was no different then being at home (which involved unplugging my monitors, drap them around my neck, and wheel the IV bag with me to the bathroom each time). The only difference was that it was even more difficult to get comfortable with an IV coming out of your arm and attached to a bag of fluid and then a blood pressure cuff going off every 30 minutes on the other arm. Also, I tossed and turned and every time I moved the nurse had to come back in and re-adjust my monitor to find the babies heart beat as she moved or I moved. I slept for about an hour. John on the other hand was snoring away, but was interupted as well when the nurse would have to come in to fix the monitors. He had a not so comfortable bed--he actualy feel back in it because he had it reclinded back so far. It was halirous. The nurse helped him up and another came in asking what was going on in our room because I was laughing so hard.

As Monday night ran into Tuesday morning, Dr. Pohl came in at about 9 I believe to break my water. Not the must pleasent feeling is all I will say about that, I felt like I was peeing on myself for hours. Not too much longer after my water was broke did I begin to feel my contractions for the first time. They did not give me the Pitocin right away because I was having my contractions naturally. Not long after that I was in need of an Epidural. Shortly following my Epi they decided to go ahead and give me Pitocin to speed things up and keep my contractions going as they were because they began dipping down a little. When they gave me my Pitocin, they accidently cut off my epidural and I begin to get less numb. I mentioned it to the nurse and they realized it had been off and that was when I was given the magic button! Haha, the Epi button that I could push if I needed it or felt any pain. She did tell me I could only push it every 12 mins though. I didn't use it to much until later in the evening when it got closer to time, just to make sure I was not in too much pain. :)

AT around 4:30, I was 5cm and fully efaced. Dr. Pohl said hopefully we will have a baby before the night was over. He also was expecting time for pushing around 10 and could last 3 hours. Well, that was not happening before 6pm I was 8cm. By 7:30, I was 10cm and fighting back pushing. Then 30 minutes later (not 3 hours!), Madison entered this world at 8:21pm. She ended up weighing 7 lbs and 9 ounces. She was 19 1/2 inches long.

I will update later with more pictures of our stay at the hospital. This is a super long post already. This is only the beginning of our long journey with our new blessing from God. :)

Below are the hospital pictures!