August 2011
Every day was a battle to decide how long I would pump for because after supplementing with a bottle Caleb becamea lazy sucker and stopped breast feeding sufficiently. He would nurse for an hour and then cry because he was still hungry. He would then eat 3oz of pumped milk. It was an emotional roller coaster for me and poor Matt. One minute I would say I must get breastfeeding (via direct breast that is) to work. But the lactation consultants I talked to said to stop offering him the bottle; and when he gets hungry enough he will eat. Sorry ladies, been there done that, not starving my kid again! Which led to more anxiety! Then the next second after thinking I HAD to breast feed, I would say I was going to exclusively pump until he was a month old then switch to formula.
I was constantly looking to people to give me the answers on what to do. I felt horrible because I hated breastfeeding because so much anxiety stemmed from it. IT'S SO HARD and no one tells you that until you are stressed out of your mind about it. While I hated breastfeeding, I knew breast is best! So, I felt I HAD to breastfeed which led to the mindset of I will have to pump! Do you have any idea how exhausting pumping every two hours, feeding, changing diapers, and trying to sleep yourself is!? Matt was incredible supportive. I honestly could not have gone through it all with out him. He woke up with me every time all night so I could pump and he would feed Caleb. God really blessed me with an AMAZING AMAZING husband and dad to our son.
Anyways back on tract, Pumping quickly became part of our routine. So, each time we made it to my goal date, I just kept pumping. I am still pumping but only four times a day now. God has completely blessed my supply and I make over the 32oz he drinks a day! Praise the Lord!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Dr. Kenawy
Caleb had his first check up Wednesday, August 3, 2011 with our pediatrician, Dr. Kenawy (pronounced Ken-Owie). It was a pretty devasting but wonderful appointment. Since we had come home from the hospital 2 days earlier, Caleb had done A.L.O.T. of crying/screaming. We did not think anything was wrong, but wondered why he would shake his head out of what appeared as frustartion at the breast when eating. We just thought, "what have we gotten outselves into!" Turns out our poor little man was starving, literally! He had dropped almost a whole pound since birth, weighing in at 7 lbs 15 oz. Dr. Kenawy immediately thought my milk production was the issue and Caleb had lost to much weight. This being the reason for the screaming so much. He was hungry! Per Dr. Kenawy's instructions, I went home and pumped to confirm that my milk had not fully come in meaning Caleb had not been getting any where close to a full feeding. I was only making about 0.5oz total. We supplemented with enfamil formula and begin pumping every two hours to get my milk supply up. Big huge thanks to my sister, Carrie, for immediately driving over from P*Cola to help a sista out! (Also thanks to Freddie for keeping all the kids so she could focus totally on helping me!)
We think Dr. Kenawy is a genius! :) After we gave Caleb his first full feeding the worn out baby slept for 2 1/2 hours. Matt and I were AMAZED! I cried because he had not done this since we brought him home. I felt terrible that he was starving and sleep deprived because of me. I know it was not really my fault, but I was a post partum hormonal mommy, so I didn't make total sense those days!After about two weeks of supplementing, and being on herbal supplements and perscription meds to get my milk to come in, I finally made enough milk to provide his daily intake. Praise the Lord!
Funny side story: I called my dad on the way home from Dr. Kenawy's office to tell him Caleb had been super hungry and my milk hadn't come in. My dad being his usual self did not take into consideration I was an emotional basketcase. He joked around saying something to the effect of, "way to go, you were starving the poor kid!" I immediately lost it, and he began to back peddle his way out of the hole and started encouraging me out of the depths of despair realizing I thought it was my fault. Looking back this is so hilarious! Normally I wold laugh with him, but again hormones did not make me think rationally! He did great encouraging me after that :)
We think Dr. Kenawy is a genius! :) After we gave Caleb his first full feeding the worn out baby slept for 2 1/2 hours. Matt and I were AMAZED! I cried because he had not done this since we brought him home. I felt terrible that he was starving and sleep deprived because of me. I know it was not really my fault, but I was a post partum hormonal mommy, so I didn't make total sense those days!After about two weeks of supplementing, and being on herbal supplements and perscription meds to get my milk to come in, I finally made enough milk to provide his daily intake. Praise the Lord!
Funny side story: I called my dad on the way home from Dr. Kenawy's office to tell him Caleb had been super hungry and my milk hadn't come in. My dad being his usual self did not take into consideration I was an emotional basketcase. He joked around saying something to the effect of, "way to go, you were starving the poor kid!" I immediately lost it, and he began to back peddle his way out of the hole and started encouraging me out of the depths of despair realizing I thought it was my fault. Looking back this is so hilarious! Normally I wold laugh with him, but again hormones did not make me think rationally! He did great encouraging me after that :)
Caleb Matthew: July 30, 2011
I decided to start the new year by going back to the beginning and blogging about Caleb since he's been born. This way, I will always have his stories in case I loose his scrapbook. It's too difficult to "go back" and act like I'm blogging the day of because I know to much of the outcomes and want to mention them. So, this way I can say how it was and is today :) Happy reading for anyone that actually follows me!
So, July 30, 2011
We went in for induction to have Caleb at 4am. They started the IV and the pitocin by 5am. Dr Smith came in around 7am and broke my water. Let me just say for all the women in their last trimester that constantly think and say, "Did my water just break?" you would have noticed if it happened! The first thing I said to Matt after it was broken was "YEP! I would have known if this had happened. Ew!" From 7am to 1pm we just relaxed and hung out in our room (LD4). I sat in the rocking chair and rocked per Dr. Smith orders for a couple hours. I tried to walk in the room some, especially during a contraction because those suckers HURT! Each time I had one I felt like I was going to barf or cry. Thank God for our nurse friend Pam Sasser from Dr. Smith's office - I worked with her from 2003-2006 - She happily stayed with us through the labor to help coach and rubbed my backed during contractions before the epidural. She and Dr. Smith both gave up their Saturday off to induce and deliver our sweet boy! WE WERE SO THANKFUL! God truly had his hand on the entire day knowing that these wonderful Christian people would be part of such a big day for us! Especially after we were canceled for the day before. God has a reason and a purpose for it all. We know full well the one on one care we got Saturday would not have been the same if we had gone in on Friday.
At 4cm dilated Dr Smith gave the OK for me to get my epidural (PRAISE GOD!). Dr. Chulura (I kept calling him chalupa like from taco bell...bear in mind I was not in my full mind!) After the epidural I was in ZERO pain. Nurse Charlie kept putting me in all kinda of positions to get his head to descend. It was called the fire hydrant because I looked like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant :). From there, I tried to rest, but just couldn't fall asleep. Matt stayed by my side the whole time. He did AWESOME. Around five after being checked again, Pam said I may want to start getting the idea of a c-section in my head because Caleb would not come past the -1 station. +3 is when you are ready to push, so, my little man was still up in there pretty good. At this point I was crying mostly because I was so utterly exhausted and ready to be done. Matt was strong for us both, but you could tell he was nervous too because a c-section meant abdominal surgery. I had never had any type of surgery besides LASIK which doesn't count at all in my book. I watch surgery every day, but the idea of being on the other side of the knife was pretty scary! I do believe God had been preparing me for this the whole pregnancy. Each appointment check the doctor would laugh at how little I was, but how big he was measuring. At our 2nd to last appointment Dr. Percy said she was thinking a 40/60% chance of a vaginal delivery. So, any who all this to say, in my mind I had been thinking all along that this was a huge possibly. Therefore, at the exact moment although I was crying, I was OK with the idea because I was ready to get him out! Dr. Smith came in around 6pm and checked me again. I was 9.5 cm dialated and 100% effaced, but Caleb was still at -1. He had me push twice, but to no avail....we were heading for the OR.
At 6:42pm I was wheeled into the OR and at 7:01pm all 8lb 13.8oz Caleb Matthew was taken out. God definitely had this planed out as I knew everyone in the OR. Dr Smith of course, Pam who had been with us all day was his first assist, Melissa Anderson, my favorite dental assistant from Dr. Claussens office when I was a kid was the scrub tech, the OR nurse was Charlie, our nurse from the whole day for a little bit then Susan Cook, my cousin, finally Dr. Chulura anesthesia. It just so happened that Dr. Chuluras kids attended Covenant, so they knew my dad. With all of that, I could not have been more comfortable in the OR. In fact, we had a blast laughing and talking in there! I forced (I say forced bc if I hadn't desperately requested it, it wouldn't have happened) Matt to take pictures of the c-section. So, we have some pretty awesome pictures of the whole procedure. We LOVE LOVE LOVE Dr. Smith. I don't know if it is his normal practice (wouldn't be surprised if it was bc he is that awesome) but he stayed with me in the OR and followed me to PACUHAHA!
Sunday afternoon I finally felt like all the drugs were out of my system. I had very little pain and only needed Ibuprofen. This impressed the nurses and Dr. Smith. Apparently, I am not the total wimp I thought I was! :) Dr. Smith came after church with his girls (who I went to school with) and checked up on us and visit Caleb; again, on his day off!
Monday morning Dr. Smith circumcised Caleb....poor guy, he'll thank us later...he did an awesome job, hehehe. Monday afternoon Dr. Smith came back to check on us and wrote discharge orders. HALLELUJAH! By 5pm we were heading home....holy crap set in! These folks are letting us take home a baby.....our baby....let me say this was so surreal. We were so thankful that God allowed Dr. Smith to deliver Caleb. We were so thankful for Pam and all the support she gave us. And most of all we were so thankful for a healthy baby boy! I had plenty of experience working with babies. I mean I had 8 nieces and nephews. Yah, this in no way set me up for the next week....I will blog about our first weeks home soon!
So, July 30, 2011
We went in for induction to have Caleb at 4am. They started the IV and the pitocin by 5am. Dr Smith came in around 7am and broke my water. Let me just say for all the women in their last trimester that constantly think and say, "Did my water just break?" you would have noticed if it happened! The first thing I said to Matt after it was broken was "YEP! I would have known if this had happened. Ew!" From 7am to 1pm we just relaxed and hung out in our room (LD4). I sat in the rocking chair and rocked per Dr. Smith orders for a couple hours. I tried to walk in the room some, especially during a contraction because those suckers HURT! Each time I had one I felt like I was going to barf or cry. Thank God for our nurse friend Pam Sasser from Dr. Smith's office - I worked with her from 2003-2006 - She happily stayed with us through the labor to help coach and rubbed my backed during contractions before the epidural. She and Dr. Smith both gave up their Saturday off to induce and deliver our sweet boy! WE WERE SO THANKFUL! God truly had his hand on the entire day knowing that these wonderful Christian people would be part of such a big day for us! Especially after we were canceled for the day before. God has a reason and a purpose for it all. We know full well the one on one care we got Saturday would not have been the same if we had gone in on Friday.
At 4cm dilated Dr Smith gave the OK for me to get my epidural (PRAISE GOD!). Dr. Chulura (I kept calling him chalupa like from taco bell...bear in mind I was not in my full mind!) After the epidural I was in ZERO pain. Nurse Charlie kept putting me in all kinda of positions to get his head to descend. It was called the fire hydrant because I looked like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant :). From there, I tried to rest, but just couldn't fall asleep. Matt stayed by my side the whole time. He did AWESOME. Around five after being checked again, Pam said I may want to start getting the idea of a c-section in my head because Caleb would not come past the -1 station. +3 is when you are ready to push, so, my little man was still up in there pretty good. At this point I was crying mostly because I was so utterly exhausted and ready to be done. Matt was strong for us both, but you could tell he was nervous too because a c-section meant abdominal surgery. I had never had any type of surgery besides LASIK which doesn't count at all in my book. I watch surgery every day, but the idea of being on the other side of the knife was pretty scary! I do believe God had been preparing me for this the whole pregnancy. Each appointment check the doctor would laugh at how little I was, but how big he was measuring. At our 2nd to last appointment Dr. Percy said she was thinking a 40/60% chance of a vaginal delivery. So, any who all this to say, in my mind I had been thinking all along that this was a huge possibly. Therefore, at the exact moment although I was crying, I was OK with the idea because I was ready to get him out! Dr. Smith came in around 6pm and checked me again. I was 9.5 cm dialated and 100% effaced, but Caleb was still at -1. He had me push twice, but to no avail....we were heading for the OR.
At 6:42pm I was wheeled into the OR and at 7:01pm all 8lb 13.8oz Caleb Matthew was taken out. God definitely had this planed out as I knew everyone in the OR. Dr Smith of course, Pam who had been with us all day was his first assist, Melissa Anderson, my favorite dental assistant from Dr. Claussens office when I was a kid was the scrub tech, the OR nurse was Charlie, our nurse from the whole day for a little bit then Susan Cook, my cousin, finally Dr. Chulura anesthesia. It just so happened that Dr. Chuluras kids attended Covenant, so they knew my dad. With all of that, I could not have been more comfortable in the OR. In fact, we had a blast laughing and talking in there! I forced (I say forced bc if I hadn't desperately requested it, it wouldn't have happened) Matt to take pictures of the c-section. So, we have some pretty awesome pictures of the whole procedure. We LOVE LOVE LOVE Dr. Smith. I don't know if it is his normal practice (wouldn't be surprised if it was bc he is that awesome) but he stayed with me in the OR and followed me to PACUHAHA!
Sunday afternoon I finally felt like all the drugs were out of my system. I had very little pain and only needed Ibuprofen. This impressed the nurses and Dr. Smith. Apparently, I am not the total wimp I thought I was! :) Dr. Smith came after church with his girls (who I went to school with) and checked up on us and visit Caleb; again, on his day off!
Monday morning Dr. Smith circumcised Caleb....poor guy, he'll thank us later...he did an awesome job, hehehe. Monday afternoon Dr. Smith came back to check on us and wrote discharge orders. HALLELUJAH! By 5pm we were heading home....holy crap set in! These folks are letting us take home a baby.....our baby....let me say this was so surreal. We were so thankful that God allowed Dr. Smith to deliver Caleb. We were so thankful for Pam and all the support she gave us. And most of all we were so thankful for a healthy baby boy! I had plenty of experience working with babies. I mean I had 8 nieces and nephews. Yah, this in no way set me up for the next week....I will blog about our first weeks home soon!
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