Breastfeeding so far.

I figured I'd do a post on my experience with breastfeeding so far. It's going well, but I have had some struggles. The main one was waiting for my milk to come in and my supply to increase. I am JUST now getting a good enough supply that I think is enough. I had supplemented with formula when needed since she was born. Luckily, supplementing hasn't hurt my milk supply because I pump the same amount for every ounce that I supplement. This keeps my body knowing to produce more milk. I was worried that something was wrong when I would nurse Audie for 20 minutes on each side and she would still seem hungry. I get frustrated because I can't know exactly how much she is getting when nursing. There have been times where I have cried and said I just want to switch to formula...and how much easier that would be. The one thing that keeps me going is knowing that formula is expensive and I feel like I would be cheating Audrey out of what is best for her. I resolved to pump, pump, pump and pump some more to try to increase my supply and to also get my body to produce alot more milk than it was producing. Today is the first day where I feel like I am making lots of milk. I pumped a full bottle of milk to supplement when she doesn't seem satisfied after nursing. In my opinion, bottle feeding breastmilk is just as good. Breastfeeding is ALOT harder than I thought it would be. It's not painful to me atleast, but it's SO time consuming. I feel like I'm nursing or pumping all day long, but I refuse to let my supply dwindle. I hope and pray that nursing continues to become second nature, because it's still exhausting and draining at time. If need be, I will go to a lactation consultant for any problems. I *think* she's latching on right, but I'm no pro at this so I don't really know. Those are just some of my struggles with breastfeeding. I keep telling myself it's worth it, but goodness...it's hard.

Motherhood

Being a new Mom is really awesome. It's overwhelming as well, though. Some of the best things about having a newborn is waking up to Audie's sweet noises. She *almost* never cries. When she's hungry or waking up, she just just makes a bunch of little sighs and grunts. It's so cute! The times she does cry is when she's cold from a bath or baby wipes. Audie furrows her brow alot in her sleep, making the cutest faces. I absolutely love having a newborn baby and it makes me sad to know that she's growing everyday. I want her to stay this little forever! lol. I cannot kiss her little baby head enough or her chubby cheeks. People aren't kidding when they say there is nothing like the love a mother has for her child. Audrey is still in preemie clothes. My mom said that I'll be sad when she actually fits in newborn clothes, saying that she's growing up too fast! lol.

Other news: Breastfeeding is going great! It was hard at first because it took a while for my milk to come in, then I wasn't producing much. I just pushed through it and kept breastfeeding and pumping to increase production. It worked and now I don't have to supplement with formula. I only do that if it's the middle of the night and I just want to feed her really quickly. Using disposable diapers has gone really well, so far, surprisingly. A week and 2 days in and there have not been any blowouts or leaking problems.

Post partum hormones are crazy! I'm super emotional and I go back and forth being sad and happy. It's normal though and I'm still adjusting to the role of mommy. Whenever I do feel sad, I just hold and cuddle Audie and I feel better. She's such a joy.

It's dinner time and almost time to feed the babe so I need to go! I'll update again soon.

Audrey Leona: June 17th at 11:20am

Well, my baby is officially here. She was born on Friday June 17th at 11:20am. She weighed a teeny tiny 5lbs, 10oz. She is SO BEAUTIFUL. As of right now, she has blond hair and blue eyes. That will probably change. Let me tell you about her birth story:

We were set to be induced on Friday. They broke my water early and started pitocin. After a while I had not progressed and the nurse seemed concerned about something. She had the doctor come check me and that's when they said that they didn't feel the baby's head down. They immediately got an ultrasound machine and discovered my little Audrey had flipped sideways after they broke my water. There were no other options at that point but to do a C-section. In no time, I was wheeled to the OR and put on the operating table. A short few minutes later, I heard Audrey's first cry. That of course brought me to tears. Paul went over to see her while they cleaned her up and said her birth weight. We were absolutely shocked because she was a pound and a half less than what they said she'd be. Paul brought her to me to see her, then they had to take her to the nursery. I waited an hour and a half to hold my baby for the first time. TORTURE. But having her after that was heaven. My blood pressure was really high after I had her, so they put me on meds and told me I couldn't nurse. I was super bummed. We used formula for the first day, then attempted nursing the next day.

As of now, my blood pressure is still really high. We're trying to get it down with the help of my doctor and prescribed medicine. Life with a newborn is AMAZING. My baby sleeps through the night. I wake her up to nurse around 6 or 7 every morning. Nursing is going great. Audrey is a dream come true. She's so precious and I never knew I could love her SO much. I look forward to waking up and spending the day with her and seeing her beautiful face. Seriously, my baby does not cry. She has only cried twice and that was in the hospital. That will change, but she's a happy baby right now.

Anyways, that's the update!

FOUR DAYS!!!

I am getting so excited. I've been super busy cleaning, nesting, organizing, whatever you want to call it. It is so nice to have a clean home ready and waiting for my family and my baby girl to be here. Friday is going to be a crazy day, but I am so ready. Here's the agenda for the rest of the week:

Tuesday: Appointment at 9:30 with my perinatologist (the last one!!)

Lunch with Paul

Go get Paul and iPhone 4

Last couponing shopping trip

Cleaning

Wednesday: cleaning

finishing packing hospital bag and necessities

taking dogs to get nails clipped

Dr. Appointment

Dinner out with Paul

Thursday: Last OB appointment at 10:10am

last minute cleaning to be done

family comes in!

Possible go to the hospital at midnight

Friday:

Officially starting induction at 8am

So that's the agenda. That's more for me since I'm scatter brained and forget what else I need to do. I've got a busy week and I'm excited :-) Pray for me for an easy labor and recovery! Can't wait to post about her birth!

Oh Gee!!!

Paul and I are going into our LAST weekend before we are officially Mom and Dad. I am in total shock that I will be giving birth to a baby girl in a week. So here is the plan for next week: If I have not progressed toward labor before then, I will being going in Thursday night at midnight and will be given meds at 12am and 4am. Then at 8am Friday morning, they will start the pitocin to get labor going. I just ask that everyone keeps us in their prayers because I'm getting very anxious over the pain and everything I will experience before she arrives. I just can't wait to hold her for the first time and nurse her and begin this journey as a Mom. I absolutely cannot wait for Paul to hold his daughter for the first time either! It's going to be great!

Today I set about finishing a bunch of tasks I was putting off. I now believe that a clean house makes for a happy home, in my case atleast. I started out by cleaning all the bathrooms. Then I cleaned all our floors (the floors in this house are all tile, so lots of sweeping and mopping). After taking a little break, Paul and I gave the dogs a bath. They are now clean and ready to meet their new baby sister :-) I got laundry done AND got the kitchen cleaned. I am HAPPY. I haven't had the energy for that type of cleaning in a long time, on top of taking care of the dogs as well.

Anyways, that's about it for an update. Still a few things left to do before I "feel" ready. Will I ever really feel ready? I doubt it, but bring it on!

In 2 weeks...

I will be getting ready to bring a new baby girl into the world. I am really really having a hard time grasping this concept. It just seems totally surreal that I can say "I will be going to the hospital to have my baby on this day." Most women have to wait around for their baby to decide to join the world. Today it really dawned on me that my days as only a wife are almost over. I'm taking on another role for LIFE. So, in light of this, Paul and I have been doing lots of different stuff spontaneously...going out to eat, going to see movies, shopping and all that fun stuff. The timing is really perfect because Paul is currently taking a class for work that allows him to be home with me for most of the day and night. He goes to class for a few hours every morning, then we have to day to do what we want. I am SO thankful for this, because I definitely need him around alot more in these last few weeks. I don't have family here that can help me with anything, so having his presence and help around the house means everything.

So, uhhh, pregnancy brain set in and I just lost my train of thought. I have lots to do!!