So...I was extremely excited about bringing our little Cora home, but nervous. When I left the hospital I really thought I was feeling pretty good (still on 'hospital' drugs...and walking on air), but what I didn't realize is over the next couple of days I would start feeling worse. I don't know what I would have done the first week without my mother. Everything hurt! I really have the best mother in the world. She had offered months before to stay with us
the first couple of days to help out with our newborn, especially if Steve
returned to work right away. Mom stayed with us
Wednesday through Friday. She was a God send!
Grandma Mary with Cora
That first week the visitors kept coming, and it was
wonderful! The distraction was great and
the food that was brought was yummy! I
didn’t realize that having a baby meant so much free food. I bet if my husband knew that he would have
gotten a break from my cooking he would have insisted on having a baby much
earlier. I have so many people to thank
I don’t know where to begin.
That first week we actually stayed pretty busy. Cora Rose had a touch of jaundice (like 11)
so that next day we had to return to the clinic to get her levels
checked to make sure they were going down and her weight was ok. I will say that Wednesday night was pretty rough. Cora slept pretty well until 3:00
A.M., but after that feeding (I was trying to breastfeed) she just cried and fought
sleep until she finally fell into an exhausted slumber on the way to the clinic
at 9:30 A.M. She had seemed so
unsettled! I again am so thankful that mom was there,
because I am not sure how I would have gotten through that first night without
her.
When we got the clinic, we realized why she was so unsettled. Her jaundice level was up to a 14. That wasn’t a huge deal…but would require
another trip to the clinic to make sure it stayed below 18. When they weighed her Cora
was down a good 7 oz from just the day before, down to 8lbs 4 oz from 9lbs 3
oz (four days before). She was not getting enough
nourishment…I wasn’t making enough milk.
No wonder she was so mad the entire night, she was so hungry! I agreed to supplement with formula and they brought in a premade bottle and she
gobbled it down. I felt such relief and
such guilt. I knew there was no way I
could know, and it wasn't my fault…but my milking machine was broken! It was only 5 days from giving birth, so I still had a
chance for the rest of my milk to come in.
So, we hoped it was just temporary.
I was also greatly relieved that there was a reason for the rough
evening that Cora had…and hopefully it wouldn’t be repeated.
So, we took her home and Cora was much more content, and
exhausted…she pretty much slept the rest of that day…and the next, and the
next. The only time she would be awake
is during her feedings and it was a struggle to get her awake enough to eat
for those (felt like torture getting her undressed, messing with her feet and
hands, and using warm and cool cloths).
She would have slept right through all of her feedings if we hadn’t done
so though. It paid off, because the
next day (Friday) her jaundice level was down to 11 and her weight was up 10 oz! Yeah!
Success!
First nap in her crib
Awake, just barely holding daddy's hand
Also, you may be wondering when beer came in to this week. On Thursday when we got home from the hospital and I was settled in the living room, my mother brought me a beer with a straw. I about fell out of my chair, and you would too if you knew my mother; not something you would picture her doing. It still makes me giggle. One of the many things she had heard (and I have heard it now too) that beer is suppose to help milk production, which sounds great to me!
Also on Friday we meet with the lactation consultant and she gave us some great ideas to get my milk supply up. I started an exhausting routine of breastfeeding Cora for 10 minutes per side, giving formula, and then pumping. The whole routine if done by myself took a good hour and a half (because the 10 minutes actually took at least 30 to 45 minutes trying to keep Cora awake every couple of minutes…and the same went for the formula), but thankfully I had my mom and my husband (when he got home from work) to help.
Snuggling with mom after a feeding
So…from weighing Cora pre and post feeding at the
hospital, it was determined I was producing a little under 1 oz of milk per
feeding…a newborn at her weight should be getting 2.5 to 3 oz. I was usually able to pump maybe an
additional ¼ of an ounce, but every bit helped.
By the way, my milk never did fully come in. Over two weeks later, we are still working on
it. Now, I am up to producing 2 to 3 oz
and the goal is for Cora to eat 3 to 4 oz, so closer, but still using some
formula.
On Friday afternoon we had to say goodbye to Grandma as she
went home. We were sad to see her go,
because her help was amazing! It was
wonderful that she gave up those days completely to come help us though. I remember that evening after supper my
husband and I put down our dishes and looked around…”Where’s Mary to take our
dishes?” LOL, no she really was wonderful. She was upstairs helping me with Cora all day
and night when needed, but when my husband got home from work she would help
start supper and then disappear downstairs to give us some family time. It was really was perfect, and again there is
nothing I could do or say to thank her enough.
I am sure when mom got home she crashed!
That weekend was pretty quiet…we had more visitors, but didn’t
have to leave the house Saturday or Sunday...it was very nice!
We were a little nervous about introducing our little newborn to our dog, JoJo, but our fears were unfounded. She has been wonderful with Cora...maybe a little nervous, but very gentle and curious.
Cora in her cute American Cutie outfit...and eyes open!
Daddy got Cora to hold her own bottle...next week he says it will be potty training
Mommy stole the baby when she got there!
