Playing catch-up

It is HARD to stay up-do-date on this blog with a baby.  But, I'm going to try to summarize what life has been like since she arrived...

So, I told the story of the arrival of our miracle girl in my last entry.  Holding her in my arms was so magical.  You really do fall head-over-heels in love the minute you see them.  It's true.  They encouraged me to spend a lot of time skin-to-skin--she wore only a diaper and laid across my chest for hours while I marveled at her perfections--her flawless skin, her dainty fingernails.  She didn't really feed very well, hard as I tried.  A hospital lactation consultant came in to help but ended up scaring me more than anything--saying I might have missed my half-hour window for good breastfeeding immediately after birth because she'd been with the pediatricians, threatening that we might have to supplement with formula if Lydia hadn't peed within 12 hours.  Fortunately she did have a wet diaper, so we didn't have to worry any more about that.  Lydia never left the room.  She slept on my chest through the night.  I can't remember if I slept or just dozed--I didn't really mind, since she was so perfect and comfy.

The next day, we had to stay until she was at least 24 hours old.  The nurse gave her a first bath, our pediatrician came by to do her first check-up, and at 24 hours, they did the newborn screen--Ugh!  They stick the poor baby's heel and then squeeze the little foot to get several drops of blood onto a piece of paper.  Torture!  Finally, we could take her home.  Don was so impatient--he really wanted to have her at our house.  So, home we went.  I think it was the coldest day of the year...the car thermometer read 5 degrees, but with the howling winds, the windchill was definitely below zero.  Welcome to Michigan, Lydia!

Don's first mission once we got settled was to head to Babies R Us for some pink.  Meanwhile, Mom and Papa moved into the kitchen to make comfort food.  Mac and cheese the first day--my old favorite.  Later that evening, Mimi and Jenny came by with Delaney and Jackson to see our girl.  

Our first pediatrician visit took place when Lydia was 3 days old, on Tuesday.  I had been a little unsure about Lydia's breastfeeding, but she was making the appropriate number of wet diapers, so I wasn't too worried.  I had made contact with a lactation consultant on Monday because Lydia seemed so sleepy and wasn't really eagerly seeking out the breast.  She gave me some recommendations over the phone.  I felt like things improved overnight, so I wasn't too upset.  We had noticed that Lydia was looking a little yellow, but many breastfed babies are jaundiced, so that didn't have us too worried either.  At her doctor's visit, her weight was down to 6 lbs, 9 oz, and she definitely looked jaundiced.  The nurse practitioner asked me to try to breastfeed Lydia, and she wasn't latching on well at all.  So, the upshot of things was that we had to go to the lab and get another heelstick to check Lydia's bilirubin levels, and she recommended that I have the lactation consultant come over.  We did everything we needed to--another brutal heelstick, a call to the lactation consultant, Amy, who agreed to come over later that afternoon.  Beth Barclay, one of the pediatricians, called me to say that Lydia's bilirubin level was 17 and that she'd need to use a bili blanket.  She recommended that the bili blanket be on at all times except when breastfeeding, and we should wake Lydia every 2 hours to breastfeed to try to push the bilirubin through her.  Bilirubin is excreted in the stool, so the better kids eat, the more stool, and the faster the bilirubin can go down.  

I could go on and on about this, but here's what happened.  The lactation consultant was really amazing and taught me some good techniques to get Lydia latching on well.  The bili blankets arrived and we used them as directed.  Don and I set up our nighttime station in the living room around the pack and play, set 3 alarms to go off every 2 hours, and used the bili blankets and nursed like crazy.  One day later, another heel stick showed a downward trend, she started looking less yellow, she started nursing better, and by Friday had gained 3 oz and they decided that we didn't have to get a third heelstick.  

It was definitely a stressful first week.  I barely slept in those first days, what with all the nursing and with my concerns about Lydia.  It was a great comfort to have Mom and Papa there cooking nice meals for us every night and helping clean up during the day.  They were with us for a full week, and it was really great.  I could really devote all of my time to Lydia and making sure that she got better.  Poor Don--he had to go back to work that first week.  It's really hard to be a dad, I think.  This country is really not generous about paternity leave.  Not that it would really matter in our situation, since Don is self-employed.  Still, it's difficult.  He said that he had to wear sunglasses for the first half hour at work because his eyes were so red.  He missed Lydia so much.  I felt so sorry for him.  

The second week was definitely easier.  Don's mom stayed with us and helped with the cooking and gave me breaks to nap in the morning while Lydia was asleep.  Things were a lot easier because Lydia was feeding so well and the jaundice was no longer an issue.  Then, and now, I was discovering how difficult it is to stay on task for very long.  Lydia is always so hungry, and I'm not very good at putting her down and letting her sleep on her own.  

Lydia is growing like a weed.  Her face is plumping up, her legs are getting more rolls, her belly looks bigger.  By her return visit at 12 days, her weight was up to 7 lbs, 7 oz--great progress, and almost 2 oz per day since her last visit.  We were very proud of the great strides she'd been making ;)  Oh, it will be so hard to be a modest parent...

My little sister Gina arrived late Friday night just before Lydia's 2 week birthday.  She hadn't planned on coming this early, but once Lydia was born, nothing could keep Gina away.  She bought a ticket, took a day off from work, and flew in from L.A.  Don picked her up around midnight Friday night.  We had a really nice visit.  Gina couldn't believe how small Lydia was, but she quickly became accustomed to holding her and even changed her first diaper ever...She flew out last night.

And that brings us to today.  This is a long entry, I know.  I will try to write more regularly in future posts to ensure that my readers don't get bored.  Today is my first day home alone.  Don left for work this morning and I stayed in bed with Lydia in her carseat in the co-sleeper next to me.  We spent the morning napping and nursing and finally emerged around 11:30 am.  Since then, I've had her in the sling and have eaten breakfast and lunch, worked on the blog, and let the dogs up from downstairs.  I had every intention of doing laundry, but I don't know how I can carry the laundry basket with her in the sling in front of me.  Such a dilemma!  Laundry may have to wait until Don is home and can hold Lydia.  How will I ever go back to work?  How will I manage to get up in the morning, nurse, pump enough to sustain my girl, and spend 9 hours each day away from my girl?  But that's a post for a later date :)