Well I’ve give my two cents now that I’ve been home with my first LO for wine week now. It’s been interesting but it’s crazy how you fall in love so fast. We’ve been lucky as he’s not colicky and only cries when he’s hungry, has a dirty diaper, or is being changed and is cold.
One thing I wasn’t prepared for was how I would feel after giving birth. There is so much concentration on the baby and birth I think the mother kind of gets lost in the mix. I had a pretty fast uncomplicated birth for a first time mom. I did end up doing the epidural. My plan was to go with the flow and once I got to a certain point the pain was too much. I initially got sick from the contractions and threw up a few times from the pain. After the epidural I was actually able to get a short nap in and when I woke up it was time to push! Afterwards though you will be sore, your whole body. I felt like I was hit by a train, it took me 5 days until I could be more mobile and normal. Combined with little sleep sometimes much of the time I felt like a zombie suffering from jet lag.
Breastfeeding is hard at first! My nipples hurt so much the first week it doesn’t surprise me how people give up. I just wanted to scream for that first 2 min after LO latched on. Mother love Nipple Cream is a savior, forget the lanolin it didn’t do anything. Then second I applied Motherlove it was instant relief and the next feeding was much more comfortable. It still takes time for the nipples to toughen up.
I have just been going with the flow for feeding. Some nights its every 1.5 hours, others it’s been every 3 hours. Ive just been looking for LO’s cues which as been working, there are nights that I get very little sleep though and it seems the second I begin to fall back Asleep he’s hungry again. Having him in the bassinet next to me has been a savior though as I only have to roll over and grab him to feed. I usually wake up from his little noises to feed before it’s a full out cry.
Some things we couldn’t live without:
Motherlove Nipple Cream
Aden and Anais swaddled muslin blankets, make sure they are the Real ones that are the largest size (47x47) They more expensive ones $49 for four of them. They are wonderful for swaddling, in the car seat, burping, nursing cover. We have two packs, and always have one wrapped around him.
Nose Frieda: 6 days home and he got a slight cold. This has been a savior to clear his nose. Much better than the blue bulb they give you. Weird concept but there is a filter and the snot doesn’t even come close to going through the tube
Boppy pillow/nursing pillow: make sure you bring this to the hospital too! It’s so much easier to learn how to nurse with it. It follows me around the house and is helpful for anyone holding the baby to not get fatigued
Hope everyone’s pregnancy or first days Home with the LOs are going well!
We are working on our first nap, COTH was my Early labour distraction around 3am, so I figured I owed an update 