fall

fall

Monday, October 31, 2011

This & That

1. I terribly miss my mom. She is still in the hospital, recover has been slow but she is getting there. One worries a lot while spending all day with baby and no adult conversation to occupy the mind. I have been thinking a lot about my parents and how they have aged in the last few years. It is painful to think about the mortality of your parents. I have noticed that both are slower and sight, hearing and other things are getting weaker. My husband’s family are back home and we call them every weekend and I see the pain in his eyes after we talk to them, I wish they were closer.

2. Breastfeeding has not been successful. When we were at the hospital she latched on right away and we were happy for the first two days and all changed when a night nurse decided to give her the bottle. I couldn't stop her because it was in the middle of the night and baby has lost a lot of weight and the nurse had no clue when it comes to alternative feeding instead of the bottle. So once she got the bottle she had issues staying at the breast. I got a lot of help from the lactation consultants at the hospital. I have never been so happy when being complemented that I had the perfect nipple for breast feeding :). Obviously that is not enough. For the first two weeks we fed with tube supplement at the breast but it was hard. She screamed at every feeding and by the time her belly is full we were both exhausted. I had very minimal let down and she was not having it. I thought about it for a good day and decided to give her the bottle. I am only home for 3 month and she eventually will have to be bottle fed. She gets pumped milk except for two formula feedings during the night. This seems to have worked. I still haven't given up, I give her the breast when she is not too hungry and she is at it for 5 min at a time before she starts crying. Sew, sorry I tried.

3. Since baby is bottle fed my husband takes one of the feedings during the night. He is a light sleeper and when we started giving her the bottle he would just get up both times and not wake me up. Of course he couldn't keep it up since he has to get up early to go to work so now he takes the first night feeding and both of us manage to at least get 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time. He has been very active with baby duties. He is home on Friday's and weekends and pretty much does most of the feeding and taking care of the baby while I tend to the house. I am blessed to have such a supportive husband.

4. I am 6lb away from my pre-pregnancy weight. I only gained 25 lb so I guess it is not much to lose.

5. A few weeks ago I found out that my boss had shuffled people that work under me and had moved one of the most productive members of my group to another group. I was very upset. From the looks of it they were planning to do this but waited until I went on maternity leave and I hate when people are sneaky. I sent an e-mail to my boss saying that I wasn't happy with the changes and how it was done. I am only away for 3 freaking months and they pretend that I am taking years. I decided that I am not going to let this spoil my maternity leave and just left it at that. Now I only check my work e-mail once a week and don't think about it much. What I need is to polish my resume and be ready to jump when an opportunity comes along.

5 comments:

  1. YOu are cute! Whatever you do is your choice! ;) I just know that breastfeeding is hard...very hard. And support is critical. Hannah got a bottle in the hospital too because I sent her to the nursery at night. She was a very lazy nurser and my milk didn't really come in until 3 months. So I know some of the issues...Breastfeeding for me was very difficult. I almost gave up so many times but I was hard headed and just sat on the couch for months and did not move. :) LOL

    Lucky about the weight gain! Id kill to have not been a hoss after birth! :)

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  2. I've been reading for awhile I just don't think I've ever commented. Breatfeeding can be so difficult! It can be stressful and exhausting. Especially when you don't have a lot of support. I wanted to give up all the time. See is right, it is absolutely your choice. You have to do what is best for you and your baby. Your sanity is included in that part about what is best for you. If it isn't working you have to do what you believe is best.

    I do have a tip though. Is there a reason for the formula at night? I ask this because prolactin levels are at their highest at night. Night nursing is so important the first few months. It's exhausting but those night feedings can do wonders for your supply!

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  3. Sorry your mom is still ill. That's so hard. It's scary to start facing your parent's mortality. Breastfeeding is so hard and I'm sorry it hasn't been what you wanted, but I think you have a great attitude about it. I spent the first 3 months of my son's life fighting to breastfeed... lactation consultants, pumps, SNS, etc... it was torture and made me so depressed. I finally gave in and used the bottle and our lives improved SO much. It's good to try, but you don't want to spoil your maternity leave with that kind of stress. Glad you're still pumping though. And SO glad your husband is so supportive! That's awesome!

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  4. Sew, you are one determined woman, I would have lost it if I had to do that for three months.

    Karen, initially we had to supplement w formula since I did't produce enough and she was also tiny and needed to gain faster. Now since her need has increased I have barely enough for night feeding. I don't pump in the middle of the night and may be I should and take her off of the formula, but I want to wait and see if she has gained enough. I pump 6 times a day and produce about 20-24 once. I go at least 6h without pumping during the night.

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  5. I am praying for your mom that she recovers soon. Hurray on the weight! 6 lbs is so easy..

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