Update on Mama & Baby

Just in case you were wondering how it is going.  We are now 2 weeks into this new life with another lil guy!  I can't believe how much more confident and calm I am this time around - I feel like a pro!  But we have had a few bumps in the road.

I gained approximately 43 pounds with this pregnancy!  Whew.  The day I came home from the hospital I had lost 9 pounds.  VERY disappointing when you just gave birth to a 9 pound baby.  By one week PP I had lost 18!  And I'm happy to say that on week 2 I was down 20!  Now, don't get all exicted.  With Asher I dropped about 20 pounds fairly quickly but didn't get back to my pre-preggo weight until just shy of 11 months.  10 months, 3 weeks and 5 days if we want to be exact!

The one week belly

The 2 Week Belly

Like my lil outfit?  You'll see me in these pretty much everyday.  Mom even had the nerve to ask me if I had time to wash them inbetween.  YES MOM, I make sure to wear clean clothes - even if I look like crap and wear no make-up :)

Mom had picked me up 3 of these outfits and I LOVE them.  This one was from Walmart.  Love the tank and yoga pants!

At 5 days PP Adler and I had an appointment to see Dr Austman.  He went in for a weight check and both Mama and Dr A were happy to see that at just 5 days he was back up to his birth weight!  At birth he was 8 lbs 11 oz.  When we left the hospital he was 8 lbs 1 oz.  By that day we were back to 8 lbs 10 oz.  I also had my staples removed that day!  This was awesome because they were no longer pulling and pinching.  They were replaced with tape that she said would eventually fall off in a week or two.

At one week I had started having some pain while nursing.  By Saturday I was gritting my teeth every time he latched on!  I didn't remember that kind of pain with Asher, but then I remembered that I had used a shield from the beginning with him.  At around 3 months Dr Austman encouraged me to do away with the shield with Asher and we did and had no problems. 

But by Monday I was dying and decided to call down to the nurses at the hospital (it was Memorial Day).  Did I mention how much I LOVE the nurses at Gibson Area Hospital?  After chatting on the phone for a couple of minutes about the problems I was having - which included sore, bleeding nipples and constipation (isn't being a Mom fun!) she asked if I wanted to come down to the hospital so they could check his latch and see what they could do for me.

So The Sister drove me down to Gibson and one of the nurses spent some time with us checking his latch and giving me a few things to help with feedings.  Seriously, lil buddy had chewed the ends of my nipples off.  It was that bad.  So she told me to go ahead and use a shield until they healed and also gave me a set of shells to hold my bra away from them and let them heal.  She also gave me some Medela hydropads which she said were new.  I stopped at Target last week and tried to buy some but they must not be out yet.  Those felt AMAZING!  Dr Austman called me the next day to check in and told me to go ahead and use the shield for one week and then try to go without it otherwise they would never scab over and toughin up. 

Something else that was new this time was the Vitamin D drops that she told me to give Adler since he was breastfed.  I went out and bought some the next day but I noticed when I gave them to him right before bed he had TERRIBLE gas all night and didn't sleep well - so I wasn't sleeping well.  I started giving it to him during the day and that seemed to help.  Thursday night he slept for 6 hours straight and I was one happy Mama. 

We had a couple of nights (when he was so  gassy) that he didn't sleep well.  It must have been bad because it actually woke Dustin up.  He said something to the effect of "Oh my God, how do you do this?!?!" because he knew I had been up and down for hours.  I told him "Because I have to."  Thats about the extent of it.  Someone has to take care of him so you just make it work.  The night sweats have also been terrible.  I dont remember this with Asher but I wake up in the middle of the night drenched and have to change clothes. 

So far everything has been great!  I've had a TON of help from my family not only doing household things and bringing me dinner but driving me around and taking care of Asher.  Thanks again guys!