Thursday, November 15, 2012

One Week Postpartum

*Note: This post is about all the gory postpartum details via survey stolen and (slightly modified) from Kristal. Fair warning. Just saying. 

How far along were you when you had your baby? 39 weeks

How long was labor? About an hour and a half from the "pop" that I thought was my water breaking until delivery. And of that, probably 15-20 minutes was the nurses telling me not to push. So...yeah. I am totally terrified about what this means for any future kiddos.

Total weight gain: About 27 pounds

Total weight loss so far: About 12 pounds. I'm about 15 pounds away from pre-pregnancy weight. Even though the weight loss isn't as much as I would like, I have been surprised at how quickly my belly is shrinking back down this time. Here's a photo from this morning: 

Which I think is similar to where I was about one month postpartum with Lizzy (at which point I was about 18 pounds above pre-pregnancy weight)

I didn't start talking about weight loss and such until I was about a month postpartum with Lizzy, so I don't know whether I lost all the weight initially and then just didn't lose any more until I started working out, or whether it was a steady loss up until that month point...it will be interesting to see how things go this time around

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How is physical recovery going? Pretty well. I'm starting to get a little itchy and sore around the areas where I have stitches, which is uncomfortable, but not terrible. On Monday night, I was REALLY achy and sore all over, and then started to get the chills, and eventually a low-grade fever of about 100 degrees. I was pretty sure I was dying of sepsis, and was ready to call my OB at like 1am. Justin convinced me to take some ibuprofen and wait a couple hours to see what happened. The fever broke about 3am, and I'm still alive (obviously). Since then, I've learned from Dr. Google that a low-grade fever is normal for some women when their milk comes in...which it did on Monday. So, I'm guessing that was that. 

What do you miss about being pregnant? Not a darn thing. I tolerate pregnancy in order to get the baby out of it, but I don't really enjoy it at all. 

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How is nursing going?  It's going well.  Rebecca latched on almost immediately after being born, and nursing has been easier with her than it ever was with Lizzy, who sucked her tongue in utero. Rebecca pretty much nurses all the time, which is also a lot different than Lizzy. With Lizzy, I'd be lucky to get her to nurse for 15 minutes every three hours. With Rebecca, on Monday we watched 3 or 4 episodes of a TV show on Netflix, and I nursed her at least once per 42 minute episode. So overall, it's going well...that's not to say that it isn't toe-curlingly painful when she first latches on, but it is much, much better than it was with Lizzy. 
 
Have you taken her out yet?  Yes. We all went to the pediatrician on Monday. Justin went back to work on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I took both girls to the drive-thru at the bank and the Dollar Store. And then I felt like I needed a five hour nap. I wish I had a Moby wrap right about now, 'cause I think that would make taking her out to places like church easier.

How/where does she sleep?  I'm beginning to think that Rebecca is a vampire. Seriously, she does not sleep at night, AT ALL, unless she is being held. I'm not talking sleeping through the night...I'm talking sleeping at ALL during the night. This is bad news, because I am not comfortable co-sleeping at all because of how heavily Justin sleeps. So the last few nights, I've sat down to nurse her, and then woken up in a terror-stricken panic about 15 minutes later. It is not a good situation. 

During the day? She has no problem sleeping. But a lot of good that does me, because it's significantly harder to sleep when the baby sleeps when you also have a toddler. For example, the other morning, I put Rebecca in the swing right next to the couch, put on a movie for Lizzy, and gave Lizzy strict instructions not to get off the couch unless it was to go to the bathroom (in which case, she was to come right back to the couch). I laid down, and cat napped on the couch...and was woken up by Lizzy yelling delightedly, "Mom! I gave baby sister an underdog!!!" 

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So yeah. The sleep situation sucks. Lizzy is going to my sister-in-law's house for a couple of hours today, during which time I plan to sleep, sleep, and sleep some more. Hopefully without simultaneously holding a newborn. 

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How's the big sister doing? We are in a definite period of adjustment with Lizzy. Most of the time, she is so incredibly sweet with her sister, and it is a joy and a blessing to watch. Lizzy wants to hold her and kiss her all the time, and just loves her to pieces. But on the other hand, I can tell that she's also pushing limits and boundaries big time--like, nearly every time I'm nursing Rebecca, she will get into something that she knows she's not supposed to do, and straight-up ignores me if I tell her to stop, all with this big grin on her face because she knows I'm indisposed. And now if she's mad? Lizzy will let out this absolutely blood curdling scream--something that she never did before, and I have no doubt that she's totally doing it on purpose in order to try and wake up her sister. And that totally makes my blood boil.

I'm trying to be intentional about spending time doing something one-on-one with Lizzy at least once per day while Rebecca is sleeping--painting our nails, coloring, reading books, etc. I try to let Lizzy direct the activity. I know that this is just an adjustment period, so I'm trying not to stress about it too much, even though it has been a little difficult. We've also noticed that Lizzy has really started becoming a lot more attached to Justin--when she's hurt, she wants him. When she wants to snuggle, she wants him. From the minute he walks in the door at night, she is climbing all over him wanting to play and wrestle. Which I don't honestly mind. Sometimes they can totally antagonize each other, so it's nice to watch them bond a little! Justin is doing a great job giving Lizzy extra attention when he is home.

What are you looking forward to? I'm hoping to do some newborn pictures this weekend! It's just been so rainy and dreary lately that I haven't bothered. But we may go to my parents' house for a bit this weekend, and they have a ton of windows, which might actually make it possible.  

11 comments:

  1. Jack did the same thing at first, he would deliberately do naughty things when I was nursing...I mean he would look at me while he did them, I was so frustrated. I had to really make sure I stayed consistent with discipline, but it did take about two months to really feel like that had leveled off.

    Re: babywearing - have you tried any carrier at all? Luke hated being wrapped, but loved the Bjorn, which I was sure wouldnt work til he was older. Unfortunately my wrap has since been ruined, but I do still have our Bjorn, which was a gift from another mom. I dont know if this is weird because we have never met, but I would be happy to mail it to you if you want to try it with her, he outgrew it a long time ago, and it really did make daily stuff much easier!

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  2. I'm glad things are going *mostly* well. I found that the transition from 1 to 2 was not as hard as I thought it would be. Landon used to do the same thing when I was nursing Brigham.

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  3. You don't know me but...I have a Moby that I'm done using (we're done having babies and Lia is not a fan so..). I'd be happy to send it to you. It's going to Goodwill otherwise so I'd love for someone I 'know' to use it:)

    Email me at lindsay at kloepping dot com if you're interested:)

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  4. I have a moby I can send you to borrow!! I won't need it until our god-willing next baby comes :)

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  5. Happy to hear things are going well! I remember the transition period with Jaxon as well. Try keeping snacks close by, it helped so much when I was nursing Cohen to distract Jaxon.

    You're doing (and looking) GREAT!!!

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  6. The last pic of just Lizzy is amazing.

    Sorry to hear that you have a baby who won't sleep at night. So much for that thought about getting MORE sleep when no longer pregs, huh? I can understand why co-sleeping feels scary for you but I promise, it could be 'the fix' for getting more sleep. Could you keep yourself between Rebecca and Justin and then use a toddler rail on the outside of the bed? Nursing side lying? If it's not for you, that is totally fine! I just want you to get some sleep, mama. And yes---with the transition from 1-2 it's definitely TOUGH to get naps for mommy. And the challenge of the toddler in general is just so different than the first time.

    Hang in there! You are doing great!

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  7. Love these pictures!

    Do you not still have the homemade moby? Some type of carrier will definitely help when you go places.

    What about reading to Lizzie while you nurse? I do that with Isaac when he's having a more trying day, and it helps.

    And ditto Julia on the cosleeping. It is my saving grace. Like she suggested, I put myself in the middle, with Miriam on the edge and we do fine. Just a thought! :)

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  8. C slept in our bed until she was six weeks old. I would have kept her longer, but Byron thought it would create codependence or something. I wasn't able to just have her in bed co-sleeping with me but someone bought us this and it made me sleep feeling secure neither of us would roll onto her. I also used the night light all the time when she was little and every noise made me anxious.

    http://www.target.com/p/summer-infant-by-your-side-sleeper/-/A-13680579#prodSlot=medium_1_2

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  9. Oh Lizzy :) What a little stinker. I'm sure my Gabby would do the exact same thing though if she were in that situation. It must be a girl thing.

    The EXACT same thing happens to me when my milk comes in. It's bizarre. I knew it was normal the second time around because the sensation was so familiar. So weird what our bodies go through for these babes :)

    You look freakin' fantastic for being one weed PP. You'll drop that weight in no time.

    Still can't believe Rebecca's here :)

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  10. Hope you get some sleep!! I also just can't cosleep - because I myself can't sleep with a baby in bed with me. It's frustrating. I did have a few 3-4 hour stretches with Luke out of desperation early on but nothing regular.

    You look great, and good luck with Lizzy... the transition was really hard on Annie too.

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  11. Girl-- I have a Wrap and Wear just SITTING in Kenley's closet. I will mail it to you if you want! Here is the website.... http://wrapnwear.com/

    Email me if you want it! :)

    Sounds like things are going well. You look great! and Brayden totally pulled all of those stunts when I nursed K. UGH!

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