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Cattsmeow's Pregnancy
My Due Date: November 24, 2015I have given birth!
Age: 37 years old
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Valerie is 8 days old now
By Cattsmeow » Posted Nov. 25, 2015 11:26am - 268 views - 4 comments
In some ways it does not feel as if she is 8 days old now, but in others, it feels like she has been with us forever. She is such an easy baby compared to my 2 boys. She sleeps almost all the time, she hardly ever cries, and when she does, it's because she's hungry, needs a diaper change, is too hot/cold, or she's gassy. My oldest son, Tyler, is still absolutely head over heels in love with her. He's always loving on her and telling her stories. My youngest, Brandt, is starting to come around to her. He helps me burp her by patting her back and he cuddles with her on Daddy's lap. I caught him pushing her in her swing gently yesterday and giving her kisses. It was so sweet my heart melted. He usually swings her so hard I'm afraid he's going to tip the swing, but he's gotten better about it. If I go to the bathroom, he sits on the floor beside the swing until I get back. This morning at the doctor's office, he was yelling at the doctor everytime he would go near her. All I could make out was "Go, Sissy, go", but the general gist was telling the doctor to leave her alone. lol. It was beyond cute.
Speaking of the doctor's office, I took Valerie to the ENT today for her lip tie. He said normally, he will correct it there in office, but given her age and size, he wants to correct hers in the OR. I guess it's not very common to catch a lip tie until the child gets older and starts talking, and he said as much. Makes me really glad the doctor at the hospital checked her over thoroughly enough to find it. He said that where her tongue tie was clipped is healing very nicely. We still have to do the stretches so it doesn't reconnect for another week, but he said it looks amazing. But she will be having her corrective surgery December 10th, the day after my birthday. They are going to give her gas to put her under and numb her mouth, then correct the tie. He said the entire procedure should take less than 20 minutes. I'm nervous about them knocking her out, but she should be just fine. The hardest part is that I can't feed her for up to 8 hours before her surgery. (The nurse said it depends on if I am giving her formula or breastmilk at that point in time.) Hopefully I can keep my supply going until then by pumping, so she can go less time without eating.
Pumping is going a little better, as long as I get my pumps in. I was able to keep on schedule by pumping every 2-3 hours during the day and every 4 at night, but with my husband back at work and me being home with all 3 kids alone during the day, it had gotten a lot harder to keep to that. I pump when I can, which is about every 4 hours now. Good news is that the fenugreek seems to be helping. I am now getting about an ounce and a half per session now. Still not much, but I am able to give her 2 ounces around lunch time and about 4 right before bed. So she's still mostly on formula, but she's getting more breastmilk than she was. Only downside is that the fenugreek gives me a vicious headache about an hour after I take it. (My LC has me taking 3 capsules 3 times a day.) The headache only last for about an hour, 2 at most, but they are almost migraine in intensity. I'm not completely sure it's the fenugreek, but it's the pattern I have been noticing.
Also, an update on Brandt after his ER visit. He seems to be doing MUCH better now. He is still a snotty mess, but the mucous is clear again and not the nasty, funky green color it was. He has not had anymore fevers since the spike that sent us to the hospital, but we have kept up on Tylenol and Motrin. He has his follow up this afternoon, so we're hoping to hear he's in the clear as far as contagion goes, as we have a family dinner tomorrow and another one of Friday with family who has not been able to meet Valerie yet. We don't want to go if he's still contagious. Thankfully, Tyler and Valerie did not get it.
Anyways, I'm attaching a picture of V-bug at 1 week old, taken last night.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
My Journal
Valerie is 8 days old now
By Cattsmeow » Posted Nov. 25, 2015 11:26am - 268 views - 4 comments
In some ways it does not feel as if she is 8 days old now, but in others, it feels like she has been with us forever. She is such an easy baby compared to my 2 boys. She sleeps almost all the time, she hardly ever cries, and when she does, it's because she's hungry, needs a diaper change, is too hot/cold, or she's gassy. My oldest son, Tyler, is still absolutely head over heels in love with her. He's always loving on her and telling her stories. My youngest, Brandt, is starting to come around to her. He helps me burp her by patting her back and he cuddles with her on Daddy's lap. I caught him pushing her in her swing gently yesterday and giving her kisses. It was so sweet my heart melted. He usually swings her so hard I'm afraid he's going to tip the swing, but he's gotten better about it. If I go to the bathroom, he sits on the floor beside the swing until I get back. This morning at the doctor's office, he was yelling at the doctor everytime he would go near her. All I could make out was "Go, Sissy, go", but the general gist was telling the doctor to leave her alone. lol. It was beyond cute.
Speaking of the doctor's office, I took Valerie to the ENT today for her lip tie. He said normally, he will correct it there in office, but given her age and size, he wants to correct hers in the OR. I guess it's not very common to catch a lip tie until the child gets older and starts talking, and he said as much. Makes me really glad the doctor at the hospital checked her over thoroughly enough to find it. He said that where her tongue tie was clipped is healing very nicely. We still have to do the stretches so it doesn't reconnect for another week, but he said it looks amazing. But she will be having her corrective surgery December 10th, the day after my birthday. They are going to give her gas to put her under and numb her mouth, then correct the tie. He said the entire procedure should take less than 20 minutes. I'm nervous about them knocking her out, but she should be just fine. The hardest part is that I can't feed her for up to 8 hours before her surgery. (The nurse said it depends on if I am giving her formula or breastmilk at that point in time.) Hopefully I can keep my supply going until then by pumping, so she can go less time without eating.
Pumping is going a little better, as long as I get my pumps in. I was able to keep on schedule by pumping every 2-3 hours during the day and every 4 at night, but with my husband back at work and me being home with all 3 kids alone during the day, it had gotten a lot harder to keep to that. I pump when I can, which is about every 4 hours now. Good news is that the fenugreek seems to be helping. I am now getting about an ounce and a half per session now. Still not much, but I am able to give her 2 ounces around lunch time and about 4 right before bed. So she's still mostly on formula, but she's getting more breastmilk than she was. Only downside is that the fenugreek gives me a vicious headache about an hour after I take it. (My LC has me taking 3 capsules 3 times a day.) The headache only last for about an hour, 2 at most, but they are almost migraine in intensity. I'm not completely sure it's the fenugreek, but it's the pattern I have been noticing.
Also, an update on Brandt after his ER visit. He seems to be doing MUCH better now. He is still a snotty mess, but the mucous is clear again and not the nasty, funky green color it was. He has not had anymore fevers since the spike that sent us to the hospital, but we have kept up on Tylenol and Motrin. He has his follow up this afternoon, so we're hoping to hear he's in the clear as far as contagion goes, as we have a family dinner tomorrow and another one of Friday with family who has not been able to meet Valerie yet. We don't want to go if he's still contagious. Thankfully, Tyler and Valerie did not get it.
Anyways, I'm attaching a picture of V-bug at 1 week old, taken last night.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Comments for this Journal Entry
 | Comment from pbc910 » Posted Nov. 26, 2015 2:04pm Your life sounds as busy as mine. Seems like so much is going on! Glad that pumping is going better. I was able to pump 40 ml today and that's the most yet. I don't know how I ever thought I would be able to exclusively breastfeed, it's tough! |
 | Comment from Kitten90 » Posted Nov. 26, 2015 10:54am Glad the fenugreek is helping, but sorry to hear about the headaches! =/ I'm sure she will do fine with being put under. I know even though it's a simple procedure it's still scary when it's your baby <3 Hope all continues to go well with you and your family and enjoy your Thanksgiving =) |
 | Comment from MalPal85 » Posted Nov. 25, 2015 5:06pm She's adorable! |
 | Comment from Summer0120 » Posted Nov. 25, 2015 1:18pm Awww! She's so adorable! I can't believe it's been 8 days already. That just blows my mind. Guess time is going faster than I thought. It always speeds up once they are born. Tell her to slow down! lol! |
