We took him to the pediatrician on Monday for his initial check up and he weighed in at 7 pounds 7 ounces, down from his discharge weight of 7 pounds 15 ounces. Of course my milk hadn't yet come in at that point so we weren't too concerned about the weight loss since he was nursing around the clock and was still having plenty of meconium poops. Tom was worried about Tommy's color and thought he was a bit yellow, but the doctor said he looked okay and just to keep feeding him and take him out in the sunlight when we could.
We went back in for a weight check on Friday and he gained 6 ounces! Back up to 7 pounds 13.5 ounces and his color was much better and she said there were no jaundice concerns. His circumcision is also healing nicely and as soon as that gross umbilical stump falls off we'll be able to give him a proper bath, which he desperately needs - the sponge bath isn't cutting it.
Maybe it's because this is our third time around or maybe it's just him, ::knock on wood:: but Tommy is a great nurser and sleeper. He eats anywhere from every hour and a half to every three hours and sleeps in between. I feel like I've come such a long way with breastfeeding when I look back on my initial experience with Stasa. I'm so happy that I stuck with it because I learned so much about proper latch and ways to increase my supply. Although even with his good latch my poor breasts are cracked and in pain and the round the clock feeding isn't giving them enough time to heal, BUT I replaced the lanolin I was using with coconut oil and OMG it's made a huge difference. Not only does it smell amazing, it soaks into my skin faster and is helping heal the cracks fast. I also got another new product to help catch the milk from the non-nursing side at each feeding. I have always needed to wear breast pads since my breasts never seem to get the message that both don't need to letdown when the baby is eating. And since I letdown on both sides at each feeding my pads were getting soaked with wasted milk. I happened across this new product, Milkies, and thought what the hell, let's try it. I'm so glad I bought it because I've been catching one to two ounces of milk at each feeding - just from letdown!
I definitely wasn't looking forward to the sleepless nights, but don't feel as exhausted as I thought I would. Of course having Tom take over during part of the night and naps in the middle of the day help me feel more rested. And we haven't yet faced the first growth spurt and I definitely remember how awful it was during the six week spurt. But for now I'll celebrate the sleep I do get.
I'm happy that we came home a little early from the hospital because it let me dive right back into our routine with the girls. I've been pretty active since coming home and have even managed a couple of short outings with the boy and Tom. My bleeding has gone down a lot, but I'm still having sporadic post-partum contractions during feedings and OMG those suckers are PAINFUL this time. The first few days I literally had to breathe through them all lamaze-like just to get through the pain. I finally stopped taking ibuprofen a few days after being home, but those first few days I was counting down the hours until I could get my next dose of meds, even though it seemed to do nothing.
I'm trying to remember my pre-pregnancy weight and I think it was around 155 or something, but I know I weighed in at 163 pounds at my first appointment for this pregnancy. I stepped on the scale today and was 172. Not too terrible for a week out. I've been eating relatively healthy foods, sticking to Greek yogurt and berries and spinach smoothies for breakfast, a lot of salads and fish for lunches and dinners. But I've also had my fair share of unhealthy foods- a couple of pints of Ben and Jerry's, pizza dinner, and Wendy's for lunch. Once my milk supply regulates I'll be rejoining Weight Watchers since I was successful last time using that to lose the baby weight. And after I get the all clear at my six week check up I'll start up with the elliptical and ab ripper again. For now I'm just trying to eat as healthy as I can, but still allowing myself treats and am going to start taking some longer walks with Tom and Tommy next week.
Here's me at one week post-partum. Not too bad, though I still look four or five months pregnant. I did pack away my maternity clothes yesterday because I don't want the temptation to wear oversized clothes and need some motivation to get back into my regular clothes. I'm still wearing yoga pants or leggings every day, but am back in my regular shirts. I'll eventually try squeezing myself into a pair of jeans, but for now I'll stick with my stretchy pants.
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