2 Week Update
I almost didn't get this up in time! Whew!
Things are still going well. Lena continues to be an amazingly easy baby. (Although I just read in one of my mom emails that colic can start in week 2, so I'm still waiting for something awful like that to show up. Haha.) I just went back and read my 2 week update with Lucy and was amazed to see how similar things are.
I'm going to frame this the same way I did that one a few years ago.
Milestones
Lena's umbilical cord fell off on day 9, although it has continued to bleed since then. I was happy to give her a bath so soon. Lucy was too. She loves to help me give her baths.
She rolled from her belly to back at 12 days old! I was doing tummy time with her and she immediately flipped herself onto her back. I figured it was just a fluke and turned her back on her tummy. She lifted up that heavy head, leaned to the side and used gravity to flip herself back over! She did it 4 times total that day and once again yesterday. This kid is going to have a major bald spot if she never does tummy time!
Routine
We all know how important my routines are to me. I've actually been a little bit more laid back with Lena than I was with Lucy. Or Lena just fell into a routine of her own more easily. She generally does her last feeding between 10:30 and 11:30 and we go to bed shortly thereafter. She's up about 5 hours later to eat, then again usually 3 hours after that. If I'm lucky and Lucy's not awake yet, I try to get Lena to go back to sleep - even if it means sleeping on my chest in bed. But usually we get up after the 2nd feeding because Lucy's awake. Although I've had a few sweet mornings cuddling in bed with both girls for a while. Love that.
Throughout the day, Lena's nursing every 2-3 hours and spending most of her time sleeping in between. She usually sleeps in the swing, though sometimes I turn it off after she falls asleep so she doesn't get too addicted to that swinging motion!
She's actually been awake a little bit more the past few days, so we broke out the play mat and have had fun reading books and watching Lucy do ballet. Haha.
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding has greatly improved since last week! The painful fullness/engorgement is much better unless she goes longer than 3 hours without eating. My nipples are still pretty sore but they're not cracked or bleeding. I'm still taking ibuprofen to help with the pain. That awful latch pain is almost gone. I still don't think she's latching totally correctly on the left side, but we're working on it and it's getting better. The worst part is the leaking! I never leaked with Lucy, so I'm totally out of my element. I go through more outfits in a day than Lena does! I started this entry just as she was waking up, so she was sitting next to me fussing. It wasn't long before I realized I had totally soaked through my nursing tank top and t-shirt! This happens multiple times throughout the day despite doubling up on breast pads! Gross.
Recovery
I was a little too optimistic in that last entry when I said I lost 25 lbs. That was according to my not-so-accurate scale. I weighed myself at Niki's and was only down 20 lbs. Bummer. I lost 32 lbs in 2 weeks after having Lucy. Granted, I was having so much anxiety that I wasn't eating, but you know . . .
My stomach is going down nicely. I've really noticed it's starting to look smaller in the past few days. I'm looking much less pregnant. Haha. My belly button is even going back in a little bit. Progress!
The back pain is still out of control, though. I don't feel like it's any better than it was a week ago. I really just need to suck it up and go to the chiropractor. I don't know what I'm waiting for.
Anxiety
I spoke too soon in that last entry about not having any anxiety. I don't know why it was different this time than with Lucy, but instead of having it from the get-go, I felt good for a while this time and now it's starting to hit me. The past three days around 5:30 I start to notice I have a stomach ache and I feel super weepy. It's so obviously hormonal because I can't even tell you exactly what I'm crying about. During the day, I look at these two beautiful girls and am overwhelmed with love and the feeling that this is what I've wanted all my life. By 6:00, though, I'm sick of entertaining Lucy and dreading feeding Lena again. I feel horrible even writing that, and believe me the guilt doesn't help the weepiness! I cry because I feel that way, then I cry harder because I feel guilty about feeling that way! Haha. I've been forcing myself to eat, though, and reminding myself that this isn't really me, and it's just going to take a while for my hormones to regulate.
I'm just really ready to be back to my normal self. For so long while I was pregnant I felt awful and just wanted the baby out of me so I could feel like myself again. But now I'm still sore and tired and emotional and it's driving me craaaaazy!!! Patience, patience. It's only been two weeks, right?
I don't want to end with the anxiety stuff because it's really not consuming me. Most of the time, I'm loving my new life. Lucy is still doing very well. She tells me all the time how cute Lena is and how much she loves her. She adores holding her and kissing her and helping with everything. We are so so blessed by our beautiful, healthy, happy girls!
Things are still going well. Lena continues to be an amazingly easy baby. (Although I just read in one of my mom emails that colic can start in week 2, so I'm still waiting for something awful like that to show up. Haha.) I just went back and read my 2 week update with Lucy and was amazed to see how similar things are.
I'm going to frame this the same way I did that one a few years ago.
Milestones
Lena's umbilical cord fell off on day 9, although it has continued to bleed since then. I was happy to give her a bath so soon. Lucy was too. She loves to help me give her baths.
She rolled from her belly to back at 12 days old! I was doing tummy time with her and she immediately flipped herself onto her back. I figured it was just a fluke and turned her back on her tummy. She lifted up that heavy head, leaned to the side and used gravity to flip herself back over! She did it 4 times total that day and once again yesterday. This kid is going to have a major bald spot if she never does tummy time!
Routine
We all know how important my routines are to me. I've actually been a little bit more laid back with Lena than I was with Lucy. Or Lena just fell into a routine of her own more easily. She generally does her last feeding between 10:30 and 11:30 and we go to bed shortly thereafter. She's up about 5 hours later to eat, then again usually 3 hours after that. If I'm lucky and Lucy's not awake yet, I try to get Lena to go back to sleep - even if it means sleeping on my chest in bed. But usually we get up after the 2nd feeding because Lucy's awake. Although I've had a few sweet mornings cuddling in bed with both girls for a while. Love that.
Throughout the day, Lena's nursing every 2-3 hours and spending most of her time sleeping in between. She usually sleeps in the swing, though sometimes I turn it off after she falls asleep so she doesn't get too addicted to that swinging motion!
She's actually been awake a little bit more the past few days, so we broke out the play mat and have had fun reading books and watching Lucy do ballet. Haha.
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding has greatly improved since last week! The painful fullness/engorgement is much better unless she goes longer than 3 hours without eating. My nipples are still pretty sore but they're not cracked or bleeding. I'm still taking ibuprofen to help with the pain. That awful latch pain is almost gone. I still don't think she's latching totally correctly on the left side, but we're working on it and it's getting better. The worst part is the leaking! I never leaked with Lucy, so I'm totally out of my element. I go through more outfits in a day than Lena does! I started this entry just as she was waking up, so she was sitting next to me fussing. It wasn't long before I realized I had totally soaked through my nursing tank top and t-shirt! This happens multiple times throughout the day despite doubling up on breast pads! Gross.
Recovery
I was a little too optimistic in that last entry when I said I lost 25 lbs. That was according to my not-so-accurate scale. I weighed myself at Niki's and was only down 20 lbs. Bummer. I lost 32 lbs in 2 weeks after having Lucy. Granted, I was having so much anxiety that I wasn't eating, but you know . . .
My stomach is going down nicely. I've really noticed it's starting to look smaller in the past few days. I'm looking much less pregnant. Haha. My belly button is even going back in a little bit. Progress!
The back pain is still out of control, though. I don't feel like it's any better than it was a week ago. I really just need to suck it up and go to the chiropractor. I don't know what I'm waiting for.
Anxiety
I spoke too soon in that last entry about not having any anxiety. I don't know why it was different this time than with Lucy, but instead of having it from the get-go, I felt good for a while this time and now it's starting to hit me. The past three days around 5:30 I start to notice I have a stomach ache and I feel super weepy. It's so obviously hormonal because I can't even tell you exactly what I'm crying about. During the day, I look at these two beautiful girls and am overwhelmed with love and the feeling that this is what I've wanted all my life. By 6:00, though, I'm sick of entertaining Lucy and dreading feeding Lena again. I feel horrible even writing that, and believe me the guilt doesn't help the weepiness! I cry because I feel that way, then I cry harder because I feel guilty about feeling that way! Haha. I've been forcing myself to eat, though, and reminding myself that this isn't really me, and it's just going to take a while for my hormones to regulate.
I'm just really ready to be back to my normal self. For so long while I was pregnant I felt awful and just wanted the baby out of me so I could feel like myself again. But now I'm still sore and tired and emotional and it's driving me craaaaazy!!! Patience, patience. It's only been two weeks, right?
I don't want to end with the anxiety stuff because it's really not consuming me. Most of the time, I'm loving my new life. Lucy is still doing very well. She tells me all the time how cute Lena is and how much she loves her. She adores holding her and kissing her and helping with everything. We are so so blessed by our beautiful, healthy, happy girls!
I'm glad things are continuing to go pretty well! I used reusable cloth nursing pads... you might want to think about trying those. I like the Avent brand because they're thicker (I got mine at Babies R Us).
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry your back is still hurting you so bad! Hope the chiropractor helps.
I got weepy a couple weeks after my babies were born too. I think it's just your hormones catching up with you after a big change. You'll be back to yourself soon :)