*This motherhood thing is hard work!
*I do not think I fully understood the concept of 24/7 until now.
*The reflux is definitely a challenge. The gurgling in her throat just makes me shudder. It sounds like that scene in the beginning of the movie Scream where Drew Barrymore has been attacked and her mother picks up the phone extension and can hear her talking but there is that sick gurgling sound. It sounds like she is drowning in her own body. There is not a big enough bulb syringe in the world to get this milky mucus out. Blehck! The fact that she seems completely comfortable and oblivious to the milk streaming out of her nose makes it a bit easier to take. It bothers me more I think. It bothers T a ginormous amount.
*My milk production has taken a nose dive. For a while I was humming along pumping 2-3oz or more out of each breast at each pumping. Now I am lucky to get 2-1/2 to 3oz total per pumping. I must talk to our ped on Tuesday, she is also a lactation consultant. They say the best thing for your milk supply is rest, water and frequent pumping/nursing. I have lacked all three in the past week.
*It is easier to find Huggies preemie diapers than Pampers preemie diapers however the Pampers do not leak and the Huggies ...let's just say the Huggies make me have to do more laundry.
*I feel like at any moment someone will show up at the door and tell us there has been some terrible mistake and we have to give her back. I suppose this might be a bit like an adoptive parent must feel the first week at home. (?) I look at her face and see she has the Elephant Family nose and I still think, "Where did you come from?"
*I have a couple of fabulous kids books to tell you about but that will have to wait until I can type with two hands.
*A word to the wise. Try to keep the home monitor plugged in as much as possible since the alarm will go off at the most in-opportune time to tell you the battery is running low and you will mistakenly think that your child is dying when in reality you are simply the dumbass who forgot to plug her back in.
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15 comments:
Hey, when my supply went south I used domperidone. Doubled my supply in less than a week. If you'd like info, please let me know; it's depressing to pump and get so little, and I hope you can be spared that!
There are a couple of herbs you can try to boost your supply as well. I participated in a research study on straight prolactin injections (fewer side effects). I don't know if the study in limited to Boston or not. I can email the doctor to find out if you are interested. It really helped me a lot.
Just so glad you are home!
Hi Blue, lurking along and checking on you, and so very happy you guys are home.
So glad you guys are home!
For milk supply, if you don't want to go the domperidone route, try drinking Mother's Milk tea and eating oatmeal. I ate 2-3 bowls a day, plus oatmeal cookies (with choc chips, of course - no apparent affect on supply but improved my mood greatly) during my pumping days. Hang in there!
Rachel (in NYC, no blog)
I hear you, Blue. It's very challenging to have them home on monitors, going off for no particular reason. We are lucky to have a nurse with us 24/7 for the time being, but I am wondering how we will do when they go away eventually. But it's so wonderful to be home, starting to really KNOW them and feel like a family.
It sounds like she is settling in nicely with you and your husband. We have a pediatrician appointment tomorrow as well. Take care.
Sleep & supply - bs or I'd have no milk. Herbs worked great for me. And drinking tons and tons of water. And eating really, really well. Good luck.
I wanted to avoid the drugs, and I had great success with Mother's Milk Tea and I mainline fenugreek. It's an herb--fennel--and is totally safe. When my supply hit rock bottom, I hit the fenugreek and the water cooler!
Welcome home Baby Blue.
I've had that milk problem frequently. About the only thing you can do is make sure you are eating enough, drinking enough, sleeping enough, and that your stress level is low. Yeah, how are you supposed to do that when you have a newborn home, right?
I've tried it all...fenugreek, the tea, oatmeal, grape juice, etcetera, and nothing worked like plain just relaxing and not worrying about it and frequent nursing. Azure is the best stimulation that your breasts can get, so even if you feel like she's living attached to you, give it a try if she will do it that long. I felt like my daughter nursed constantly the first month...I watched a LOT of television.
Glad to hear that all is going well...it sounds like par for the course for the first few weeks, but things WILL get better as you adjust to a routine and she'll start sleeping longer at night soon.
Just the other day I made this comment - "If someone had told how hard it is to be a mom, I would have NEVER believed it." I'm glad to know it isn't just me.
And, yes, adoptive parents do feel that way.
Hey there's another jb here! I guess it's possible that there is more than 1 jb in the world...
Anyway, no advice here really. Just glad to hear from you again. My boys did not eat a large volume at first, and so I'd usually pump afterward to convince my body that it needed to give more. But let's face it, it's not always possible when there's a newborn around who needs you, as you said, 24/7. No matter what you decide to do or have to do in terms of feeding, it'll be okay.
I hope that you 3 are all well and continue to enjoy life at home together - that's the most important thing of all!
Check out www.1800diapers.com - they sell Pampers preemies diapers and they deliver (very handy when you are covered in a mixture of poop and barf and really don't feel like going to the store).
Congratulations to your new family!
Rachael
I find that with the huggies as well. My baby is on the newborn number 2 size (10 pound 11oz and only 5 weeks old).The Pampers fit better.
Forgot-
My son also had (has) that gurgling thing, though maybe not as bad as Azure. But it was horrible- we felt like he was choking all the time. He would sound awful but just sit there like nothing was wrong at all. They never determined whether it was reflux but said it was probably laryngeal malacia, where the flap separating the swallowing part from the breathing part is not fully developed. His breathing still sounds kind of wet after feeding sometimes, and he still has to use preemie nipples on bottles in order to avoid coughing and choking a lot, but he's okay. Anyway - bad breathing sounds... scary.
Also, I know what you mean about feeling like she's not yours quite yet. One of my guys had to go BACK to the hospital for a week just 3 days after coming home, and that really did a number on me. But it's becoming more real for me, and it will probably become more real for you too with time.
My son just turned two and I am still figuring out how to do things one handed!
I have been following you journey and want to send my best wishes. You have an amazing family.
Hope everything is going well over there! Glad you are home!!!
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