Recovering

Just a little update, Zander gained three ounces since his last check-up. What a relief! During those five days from the first to second doctor appointments I was worried Zander might not being getting enough to eat because I thought I was losing my milk. I talked to another lactation specialist about Zander's eating habits and how he will nurse from 30 to 45 minutes to sometimes an hour at a time. I told her it was exhausting especially during the night when I'd feed him for 45 minutes then take another 30-45 minutes changing him and rocking him back to sleep. I'd be up for almost two hours taking care of him each time and start it all over again in another hour. I was feeling really frustrated and annoyed at my baby and that's not right. It made me feel guilty and sad and I concluded that I'd just have to live like that for the next year.

The lactation specialist told me that was the whole reason he hadn't been gaining weight very quickly, and I was confused because I thought he was getting more milk that way plus, he didn't want to come off. She said Zander is what they call a grazer--he eats at a slower pace taking his time and a quick nap or two in the middle of the feeding until he was completely zonked  out. He wasn't storing up his calories all at once like he should be doing within a 10-15 minutes feeding session. So I was instructed to only keep him on for no more than 15 minutes on each side and if he starts to nod off I'd have to wake him up to finish eating and be done. I couldn't believe my ears, I was so relieved to hear I only needed to nurse for 15 minutes! That way I can get to bed within an hour and get more sleep. Once he starts gaining more weight and getting older I can go down from 10 minutes to 5 minutes and he'll stay asleep longer during the night. I was so happy when I left the office and finally find out why he wasn't gaining weight, that it didn't have to spend the whole night nursing, but more importantly, that I wasn't losing my milk.

Zander has also got himself a really bad case of baby acne. It's all over his face, even in his eyelids! It's up on his head in his hair line, and down his neck, my poor little peanut. I wish I could do something to help him, but I have to just let it run its course. I've never seen any baby with such bad acne before.

My recovery has been going really well. I have, I don't know how many stitches, but I've been able to move around and walk around since two hours after delivery. Sitting down and getting back up were the hardest things to do, but it's getting much better and I almost feel like my old self again. One weird thing though, since my delivery my whole body is super stiff and aches really bad when I have to get up at night to nurse. I have to take a minute or two to really wake up and move my limbs around to even be able to sit up. Even my fingers won't bend all the way after waking up. A few days ago I realized that I no longer move around and change positions in my sleep. I sleep like a dead person, haha! I thought maybe that's why I was so stiff, but I don't know. Anyone know if that's normal or not? Anyway, other than that and my sore abs and stomach muscles I feel great. I can't wait to be able to move and do some exercise. It's too bad it's winter though because who likes to exercise when it's cold and dreary outside? Not me. Not to mention how cold it is in my house! I just want to snuggle up with my peanut and watch Christmas movies all day.

One thing I do need to do though, is work on my eating habits. I've never had good eating habits. Ever. I eat healthy, but I don't eat a lot. I know I'm supposed to be eating more calories during pregnancy and while nursing, but I don't ever think about eating unless it's dinner because I have to make it. I eat a small meal for breakfast--usually a bowl of cereal or smoothie, and a lot of times I don't eat lunch. Sometimes I'll snack on something here and there, but I just don't eat a lot. Maybe that's why Zander is so skinny? I gained quite a bit during my pregnancy, like a little more than I should have (how I did that is beyond me), but finding the time and energy to make myself lunch usually doesn't happen unless we have left overs in the fridge. Sometime Stephen has to force me to eat when he gets home too. So I have to be super vigilant at stocking my fridge with healthy snacks and left overs so I really don't lose my milk.