After spending Monday (4/9) with my dad on State Street, I came home and prepped for my interview till midnight and dozed off. I woke up at 5:30 am on Tuesday, 4/10 to get ready for my interview at 8:30 am. However, when I woke up, I did not feel good. I went to the restroom and found some discharge. As I was contemplating what to do, I started having abdominal cramps which were painful but sporadic. I decided to sleep a little more but could not rest completely since the cramps came and went often. I woke up K and also called the doctor who advised me to call back if I get the cramps (maybe contractions?) every 4-5 mins. I was getting them every 11 mins or so. I spoke to K and asked him what I should do about the interview. He said if I feel up to it, I should just go for it and have it done with. But, after another 20 mins or so, I decided not to go for the interview but take it easy. I started timing myself – I was getting the cramps every 8 mins or so and the pain lasted ~1 min. During that minute, the pain was unbearable and I was having a hard time being civil to anyone who asked me anything in that minute. This went on till 10 am or so.

I had a light lunch around 10:30 am and decided to spend some time in the living room with my dad, in-laws, and K. I was fine for the most part except for those minutes of severe pain. Around 1:30 pm or so, we decided to call the doc’s office again. Though the interval between the bouts of pain was not 4 mins, the office advised me to go to Prentice hospital for an OB evaluation just to be safe. So, all of us left for Prentice – as I was leaving the thought crossed my mind that the next time I come home, it will be with our bundle of joy. K pulled the car in front – we had already loaded our hospital bag in the car.

We went to Prentice where I checked in at the front desk and was taken for evaluation very soon. Susan, the nurse who checked me  said I was dilated quite a bit and that she felt I would be asked to stay back at the hospital for my delivery! Following this, Dr. Barton came and checked me as well – she agreed with the nurse and said she expects the baby to be delivered by midnight!! The pain was increasing by the minute and they asked me if I need an epi – I said YES please:-) After weeks of contemplating this decision, both K and I had decided that I will take the epidural.

I was wheeled from the eval room to the delivery room. I should say that the facilities at Prentice is top notch. As one of my friends said, Prentice is the Four Seasons of maternity hospitals. The epi “people” came by and got done in a matter of 15 mins after which my family was allowed to come in and spend some time with me. Then Dr. B came by, broke my water, and the pushing started around 6 pm. K was so good during this entire process and a real pillar of support. He held my hands the entire time and encouraged me gently without being annoying:) The first thing he said was “I see a lot of hair!”. After 2 hours, they all said we are almost there,asked me to give a big push, and voila – there was M, so sweet and tender, with a full head of hair. That instant is forever etched in my memory and is a mental photograph that I will never forget.

M was silent which Dr.B said would be the case. The neonatal folks were there by this time. Dr. B cut the cord and passed M to them.By the time they walked to their examination table, M let out her first breath and cry and all was well with the world. They checked her and said she was A-ok and all her vitals were recorded. After about 30 mins, I was good to go by which time M was safely cocooned in my arms. K was beaming with pride and happiness and the first time he held M is also a mental picture I will treasure forever. Then the grandparents came in and it was so nice to see them all hold M. I think I saw a tear in my macho dad’s eyes – I could see that he was thinking of my Mom and so was I…

 

 

My baby girl M was born on April 10th and the last month has gone by so fast. I have been meaning to document this exciting time in my life for quite some time now but have finally gotten around to it now. I would like to write more about the actual delivery and will do so in due time but here goes my experiences of being a first time mom reliving the first month of motherhood!

As many sources would tell you, the first month of a baby’s life has exactly 3 components – feeding, sleeping, pooping/peeing. It seems so simple when listed like that and you think how hard can this really be for an adult to do?? Trust me, it is really really difficult. How so?

Feeding – too little, too much? Can I get it right?

The first couple of days when I was at the hospital, I really did not have much milk at all which disappointed me to say the least since I felt that I was failing my girl as a mother. And M was losing weight the first day which all babies as a newborn but in her case she lost a little more than typical which was a cause for concern for both my husband K and me. So, the hospital recommended we use infant formula till my milk supply kicks in by day 4-5 and they suggested we use the SNS system to deliver it so that M thinks she is breast feeding while the milk was actually delivered by a tube connected to the formula. It seems like a good idea but I hated it. That damn tube was slipping all the time and the formula was dripping and we had to balance the formula on a pillow..suffice it to say I prayed to god that my milk supply starts soon! When I was discharged from the hospital, M was on formula. I also got a hospital grade pump to keep my breasts stimulated to kickstart milk production.

I spoke to my dear sister G and she suggested that I supplement my diet with garlic since it helps with milk supply. So, my mil went into overdrive and I had garlic in my breakfast with oatmeal, garlic in my lunch roasted in ghee, and garlic in my milk at night! And milk supply came in fast and before I knew it I was engorged and hurting. I was pumping like crazy to relieve the pain and prevent M from gagging every time she fed. And then I realized that pumping too much only exacerbates the problem since the body thinks we need all the milk and supplies just a little more. So, I slowed down my pumping to relieve the pain a little but not to drain all the milk. On this front, there are a few items that helped me quite a bit – the simplewireless bra for hands free pumping (really amazing product), the lamaze sleep bra for nursing, and the george o’malleys nursing cami.

The first 2 weeks went in my going from not enough to too much and constantly obsessing about my milk production. Finally, we eased off the garlic, stopped pumping incessantly, and reached a steady state this past week. There are still instances where I feel engorged but I feel like I have the hang of it. Now, on to the latch! My advise – work with a lactation consultant the 2nd week after delivery and get this right.

Sleeping

The first 2 weeks were so good since M slept in a crib in our bedroom without a problem and woke up regularly for feeding. But, in the 3rd week, something changed and she refused to sleep when left in the crib. Much against our wish, I had M sleep next to me in the bed and she slept well. But, we had a nagging concern given the danger of SIDS. Finally, the solution we are using now is having M sleep on the changing pad which is kept on my bed. We also elevated the pad so that her head is elevated since she seems to have a gas problem.

The docs sais she needs to sleep or 16 hours but one thing I have realized is that it is impossible to make her sleep when she does not want to..she gets 12 hours at least but some times we just do not get 16 hours and we have learned to live with that.

Pooping/peeing – is that green? yellow?

Never have I thought that I’d ever obsess about the color, consistency, amount, and smell of another person’s poop /pee. But I think about this constantly these days and google every small change. Since we cannot measure how much breastmilk babies get, poop and pee are the best indicators of whether the baby is eating enough.

In a nutshell, the first 2 weeks was literally a blur where I did not even know the date or time, was constantly sleepy but busy, was pretty excited with this new person in our lives. Weeks 3 and 4 seem to be “more” regular but we are far from having a sustainable schedule….so much more to share and will do so in due time!

Welcome to WordPress.com! This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.

Happy blogging!