I've been enjoying my new little one and getting used to motherhood. I'm going on my third week being a mommy and it's been quite an adjustment.
First of all - breastfeeding is not as easy as it looks! I had some crazy preconceived notion that all babies just latch right on and all is good! Yeah right! I've been exclusively breastfeeding Jenna since birth. At first, I was seriously worried and thought about giving up. While we were in the hospital she did not want to latch. When she would latch, she'd fall asleep right away or get all fussy and try and eat her hands! Finally on Sunday night (the day we came home), I got her naked, me topless, and did the skin-on-skin thing. I also tried breast compressions to keep her latched and it worked!
Ever since then, she has gotten much better at breastfeeding. She's gaining weight and going through lots of diapers, so I think that's a good sign. What I love about breastfeeding is the bonding that I get to do with Jenna. It's nice knowing she needs me and depends on me. What is stressful about breastfeeding is feeling like I can't do anything or go anywhere without her.
For example, my husband's uncle passed away last week and we went to the rosary. The whole time Jenna wanted to nurse in church! Talk about inconvenient. I had a hooter hider on, but the guy behind me praying his rosary could totally see down my shirt. I fed her before church, but the minute we sat down and the service started, she wanted to nurse (I think partly because she wanted to be soothed). I'm hoping my pump will help with this issue.
I'm pumping once a day to stock up on milk and Jeremy gave Jenna her first bottle a couple of days ago while I was taking an online exam for my class. Jenna didn't particularly like it, and fought a little, but she did eventually drink it, so I'm happy. Hopefully now that she's had a bottle, I will feel better about taking some "mommy time" and not worrying about her being fed!
Lack of sleep is another adjustment. I'm the kind of person who needs LOTS of sleep, so it's been hard for me to get used to being woken up. Since Jenna's breastfed, she gets up every 2-4 hours to eat (usually at 12:30, 2:30, and 5).
Not only does she get up every few hours, (which is normal) Jenna has a growing hatred for her bassinet. She seems to sleep in it less and less every night. I really don't like co-sleeping because I'm afraid of all of the risks, but lately, Jenna seems to only be content sleeping next to me, on my chest, or in my arms. NOT GOOD!
It almost seems like she doesn't like being flat on her back or something. Jeremy even set up this co-sleeper next to the bed last night to see if she liked it better. Yeah right! She lasted about 1 minute in that thing before starting her grunting and crying. If anyone has suggestions for getting a little one to like their bassinet, let me know! She seems to like sleeping propped up in the boppy, but everything I've read says not to do that because it increases the risk of SIDS.
I asked an experienced mom the other day - "At what age do you get to sleep again?" She laughed and said, "When they move out." Nice.
Despite the lack of sleep, I love my baby girl, and I'm loving being a mom.
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7 comments:
Glad to see some new pictures Marci.
The funeral story reminded me of one of my own. When Christina was a month old her uncle Salvador Milan died. Not having a babysitter, we took her to the service, which of course was packed. She made so much noise sucking her on her bottle that everyone heard her.
I have been waiting for this blog! :) Hooray! Keep us posted on your trials of mommyhood!
Hi Marcie! I'm glad you're adjusting well. It's tough in the beginning. For those who don't feel comfortable taking their babies into bed with them (besharing), I suggest co-sleeping. I was talking to someone today about this and suggested she make her crib a sidecar to her bed. I did it with Chloe and it was great because I could just pull her close to me when she needed to nurse and slide her back into her space. Here is some info on how to do it: http://www.freewebs.com/sidecarcrib/
Good luck. Feel free to call or text me anytime if you need anything. ;)
Give her lots of chocolate and beer, and fireworks! guess who wrote this Marcie!
She's so beautiful. Lack of sleep is normal, though bedsharing and co-sleeping is not as bad as some people say it is. I don't suggest making it a permanent thing but for a little while it is ok. They say that moms have a certain sense that keeps them from rolling over on their baby. I co-slept with Kara for the first couple months and it worked very well. She didn't like her bassinet either. I used a sleeper that propped her up like her carseat and it worked great. See this link:
http://empoweringmommy.com/2010/03/fisher-price-rock-n-play-sleeper-review.html
This is my sister in law's blog and she used Kara for the pictures. I loved this sleeper and so did Kara. It helped her sleep until she grew out of reflux. Hope it helps.
You said that she is only 3 weeks old. She is still learning and so are you. As far a co-sleeping unless you are drunk or on drugs everything will be fine. Babies need to be close to mom. And to keep up your milk supply don't give bottles until after 6 weeks and then only only when you have too. Nursing babies are so easy to take with and when she is a little bit older it will be easier to nurse in public. My brother in-law told us 25 years ago when we had our oldest at a wedding (we were going to go home because she wanted to nurse) that most people don't know you are nursing and the the few that know what you are doing don't care. Take care and love that cute baby of yours.
Hey Marcie! Jenna is so precious, planning on going to Grants sometime in the near future... I'll call you and see if I can stop by and drop off Jenna's finished gift and see her (and you for a bit). As far as the sleeping goes. Tristan and Jasper both preferred their own crib. Jasper actually is a lot like Jenna in the fact that he liked to sleep with me, but what really helped me one night is I bottle fed him before we went to bed (milk that I pumped). This kind of broke the bond of night time dependence. He still wakes up, but he's ok when going in his crib again. Just experiment. That's why you get 6 weeks to figure out this being a mommy stuff - you'll get some of your life back!
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