To refer to an e-mail from my friend Sue - you'd think that since women have been nursing for thousands of years that it would be more instinctual and easier! I really did think that nursing was going to be easier. Not that I thought that it would be a complete walk in the park, but I did think it would be slightly easier than it has been. I guess that I had only ever seen people nursing their 4-5 month olds with no trouble and figuring that it was always like that. How wrong I was! I absolutely love nursing when it works...but it has been frustrating sometimes and I can see how some people can't handle the frustration. Luckily I'm determined and have Steve for support and my family for support too. We had a lactation consultant come to visit us yesterday to help us along this path. She was fantastic!!! It was great to have someone else's opinion, especially someone who specializes in breastfeeding. She explained and showed proper latching and also showed me how you don't have to hold the baby in a perfect position - the baby will find their comfortable leg/body position. So right now I'm not using my nursing pillow, but probably will down the road, especially for some elbow support since I'm still a little awkward.
I consider us very lucky to be living in a city since I've been having these issues surrounding nursing. First, our midwife was able to help us when all my milk came in and we're lucky to have access to midwifery care here in Ottawa. Second, we were able to rent a pump from Shoppers Home Health Care for a great price and it's hospital grade. Third, we were able to have a lactation consultant come and do a home visit. Fourth, there are breastfeeding drop-ins all around the city from Monday-Saturday that are free of charge, you just have to get there early. We're thinking about going to one tomorrow morning because I feel like the more support and encouragement that we can get in this process, the better!
Today we went to CHEO for an ortho consult about Quinn's left foot. From 18 weeks along in the pregnancy we were told that the ultrasound showed a clubfoot appearance. Actually, they originally thought that both feet were affected so we had a follow-up at 21 weeks and this ultrasound showed that it was only the left foot that was affected. We actually had 7 ultrasounds total throughout the pregnancy - 4 extra ones after the 18 week ultrasound - to evaluate her foot...that's a whole other story! Anyway, there is no way to determine severity on ultrasound - we just had to wait until she was born for this assessment. So when she was born, she was assessed by our midwife and also by a pediatrician at the Montfort. The pediatrician said that she believed that it was only mild and would refer us to CHEO (the children's hospital in Ottawa) for ortho. Today was this appointment and the ortho doctor confirmed that it was only a mild case of clubfoot - her foot is actually quite flexible and can be maneuvered almost back to the proper position. Because of this, the doctor recommended a soft fiberglass cast to start since it's easier to deal with than plaster. The method of treatment is called the Ponsetti method - it's a series of serial casts to correct the foot. We're going to be taking Quinn every week for up to 8 weeks to CHEO to get a new cast put on. I'm hoping that they'll let us keep the casts so we can see the progression! Quinn handled the cast a lot better than I did watching her get it put on!
Friday, 9 September 2011
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Starting to Get Used to Things...
Yesterday marked Quinn's 1 week birthday and also her first doctor's appointment. She just loves the car! Out like a light in 2 seconds flat. I was nervous about the doctor's appointment because Quinn's feeding schedule has been all over the map lately, but things went well! She peed on the scale when getting weighed though...but to be fair, Steve and I did warn the nurse that she probably would! We just have to take Quinn back in a month for her 1 month check-up.
Mom and Roger left this morning to get back home to NS - they were such a huge help when they were here with the cooking and cleaning. I know that they'll miss Quinn and so do her Nana and Papa! Good thing that someone came up with Skype!
Something that I've come to discover is that nursing can really be a 2 person job...at least in the first few days/weeks. Quinn sleeps so well in between feedings that we always are having to wake her up to feed her...and even then she likes to fall asleep while being fed, which can make the feedings last for a very long time. Or she'll decide to have a pee or poop in the middle of feeding, so then changing her adds to how long the feedings are. I also had some issues starting on Sunday when my milk came in that we're still working on resolving. Our midwife, Grace, was a huge help for this and we're also going to seek the advice of a lactation consultant to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to make her feedings go better. The last 12 hours have been much better, but we still have a ways to go. I keep telling myself that it's only been a week...but when you calculate the fact that 7 days = roughly 60 feedings, it seems like longer than a week!
Everything else is going great though - she's an excellent sleeper, so even though the feedings can take an hour to an hour and a half to get through, she sleeps well until the next feeding in her bassinet so Steve and I can actually get some rest.
Mom and Roger left this morning to get back home to NS - they were such a huge help when they were here with the cooking and cleaning. I know that they'll miss Quinn and so do her Nana and Papa! Good thing that someone came up with Skype!
Something that I've come to discover is that nursing can really be a 2 person job...at least in the first few days/weeks. Quinn sleeps so well in between feedings that we always are having to wake her up to feed her...and even then she likes to fall asleep while being fed, which can make the feedings last for a very long time. Or she'll decide to have a pee or poop in the middle of feeding, so then changing her adds to how long the feedings are. I also had some issues starting on Sunday when my milk came in that we're still working on resolving. Our midwife, Grace, was a huge help for this and we're also going to seek the advice of a lactation consultant to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to make her feedings go better. The last 12 hours have been much better, but we still have a ways to go. I keep telling myself that it's only been a week...but when you calculate the fact that 7 days = roughly 60 feedings, it seems like longer than a week!
Everything else is going great though - she's an excellent sleeper, so even though the feedings can take an hour to an hour and a half to get through, she sleeps well until the next feeding in her bassinet so Steve and I can actually get some rest.
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Midwives are Amazing
Today was our last home visit with our midwife, Grace. We still will be seeing her for the first 6 weeks of Quinn's little life but our other visits will be at her office. Today's visit was great for Quinn as she's gaining weight and her vitals are all perfect! Today's visit ended up being more of a day-long visit though so that Grace could help me with nursing. Her help was absolutely invaluable! Plus she called to check on me tonight and is going to check in again in the morning as well. She's been available by page for any nursing questions as well night or day. Which when you're stressing about it is an amazing thing to have to be able to ask someone!Midwives are worth their weight in gold! Not only for the visits leading up to the birth - you see them on the same schedule as you would see an OB and they do all the same tests as an OB, and not only for the birth - you have 2 midwives present for the birth, your primary takes care of you and delivers the baby and the second midwife is there for the baby to do the newborn assessment, but for the 6 weeks post-birth care which is inclusive of nursing. Having Grace come to the house for the first few days is also great since it's been taking a while to really be able to get up and move around well. Needless to say I'm going to be really sad when all of our visits are over, but I know that Steve and I will always use a midwife for any other children that we have! The experience has been so personal. I really like the fact that you know who will be there at the birth of your baby and that the person knows you really well.
I find it really unfortunate that midwivery care isn't widely accepted or that funding is cut. It's truly a shame that not all mothers (and fathers) are able to experience the care of a midwife - at least to have the option between midwifery or OB care.
Ups and Downs
Today marks Quinn's 5th day! Things are going pretty well all around. Yesterday was great day for feedings (every 3 hours like a champ!) and I actually got to get out of the house for an hour to get some things. Although I missed Quinn like crazy when I was gone!
We had our friends Kent and Erin over for a visit yesterday. Seems fitting that they were the first ones to come to visit us since Quinn tried to make an appearance at their house last Sunday (i.e. we were at their house when my water broke!). I love showing her off - she's just too cute!
Today is our 5 day visit with our midwife, which is our last home visit unless we need her to help us with something else. Right now she's helping us with nursing as Quinn is just too good at it that she's not super hungry when she should be and I look like I'm growing a watermelon patch! Quinn was also weighed today and is up to 7 lbs 6 oz! So she's gained some weight from the day 3 visit - Grace said half an ounce a day is great. She also reminded us that Quinn weighed probably a bit more than normal at birth due to the fact that I had been on IV fluids for 24 hours before she was born.
Hopefully the rest of today goes well with nursing! Keep your fingers and toes crossed!
We had our friends Kent and Erin over for a visit yesterday. Seems fitting that they were the first ones to come to visit us since Quinn tried to make an appearance at their house last Sunday (i.e. we were at their house when my water broke!). I love showing her off - she's just too cute!Today is our 5 day visit with our midwife, which is our last home visit unless we need her to help us with something else. Right now she's helping us with nursing as Quinn is just too good at it that she's not super hungry when she should be and I look like I'm growing a watermelon patch! Quinn was also weighed today and is up to 7 lbs 6 oz! So she's gained some weight from the day 3 visit - Grace said half an ounce a day is great. She also reminded us that Quinn weighed probably a bit more than normal at birth due to the fact that I had been on IV fluids for 24 hours before she was born.
Hopefully the rest of today goes well with nursing! Keep your fingers and toes crossed!
Friday, 2 September 2011
Quinn's 3rd Day
Today was definitely a bit of a better day rest-wise. Grace suggested that since we have so much family up visiting that after I feed Quinn that we should hand her off to the grandparents to snuggle and Steve and I get some sleep. What a fantastic idea!!! I blame the sleep deprivation on us not thinking of that earlier. Needless to say, both Steve and I got some amazing sleep in - when you have a newborn, 2 hours = amazing sleep!
Things are getting better in the nursing department as well. The last 2 nights were really tough, but both Quinn and I seem to be getting the hang of it now.
Next task is getting the little miss to sleep in her bassinet a bit more!
Things are getting better in the nursing department as well. The last 2 nights were really tough, but both Quinn and I seem to be getting the hang of it now.
Next task is getting the little miss to sleep in her bassinet a bit more!
Up to Today!
Quinn is just amazing. I'm so in love with her every time I look at her and miss her when I'm sleeping. The sleeping thing is a little rare at the moment, but that's the beauty of having family here to help!
We had to stay in the hospital until September 1st so that the hospital staff could monitor Quinn for any signs of infection since my water had broken 48 hours before she was born. Her vitals were always perfect though, so no infection! Also, they wanted to check to make sure that she wasn't going to become jaundiced and she passed that test with flying colours as well! I was super anxious to get home from the hospital though, so when we finally got word that we could leave I pretty much jumped out of bed and flew around the room to get packed up to go!
Bringing her home was so great - I'm so much more comfortable being home and around my own things and in my own bed. Steve has been absolutely amazing! Whether it's changing diapers, helping settle her down, helping me feed her, getting me food/water, he's doing it all! He was also amazing in the hospital that I definitely couldn't have gotten through any of it without him. He's such an amazing dad!
Grace came by today for the day 3 visit and weighed Quinn - she weighed 7 lbs 4 oz today which is great! She's a very efficient feeder and now I'm just waiting for my milk to come in. Quinn's not so patient with this though! So far Quinn's passed every newborn test she's been given and just HAS to be the best at it.
Bringing her home was so great - I'm so much more comfortable being home and around my own things and in my own bed. Steve has been absolutely amazing! Whether it's changing diapers, helping settle her down, helping me feed her, getting me food/water, he's doing it all! He was also amazing in the hospital that I definitely couldn't have gotten through any of it without him. He's such an amazing dad!
Grace came by today for the day 3 visit and weighed Quinn - she weighed 7 lbs 4 oz today which is great! She's a very efficient feeder and now I'm just waiting for my milk to come in. Quinn's not so patient with this though! So far Quinn's passed every newborn test she's been given and just HAS to be the best at it.
The Longest but Most Rewarding 24 Hours (Aug. 29-30)
Let's start back a few days ago to get everyone caught up to speed!
We left to go to the Montfort for me to be induced at 7:30pm on Monday, August 29th since I didn't naturally go into labour. We met our midwife Grace at the hospital and got me all set to go - I was on the drip by 9:30pm. I was handling things pretty well for the first few hours. When you're under a midwives care, the nurse stays with you until you're in active labour (i.e. 4-5 cm dilated) and then calls your midwife to come in. It's reassuring to have a nurse in your room the whole time too when you're having contractions. As I said, I was dealing with things pretty well and we were watching DVDs on my computer (highly recommend!) and I was getting some sleep. But then things took a turn for the terrible - I never dilated past 1 cm and started having contractions that were lasting 6-7 minutes because my uterus decided to rebel. I was taken off of the drip in the morning to try to get some sleep.
After some sleep I felt like a million bucks and then we discussed with the OB and my midwife about what the next course of action was to be. By this point I had started to contract on my own and was 2-3 cm. The doctor and Grace decided that the only real course at this point was to get me an epidural and start the oxytocin again (I had other options too, but this was the best one to me). Needless to say, the epidural was a godsend and not that painful to go in as you see on TV!!!
The drip was started again at 2:30pm and I got some more sleep (hallelujah). Then we had family come to visit for a bit and at 6pm my nurse checked me and I was 4 cm!! Yay! That means I was in active labour so Grace could come back! Grace made it in for 7:30pm and then checked me a little after that and I was fully dilated and the baby was coming!
I resisted the urges to push for about 45 min to conserve energy. Then I only pushed for about 45 minutes before little miss Quinn Addison made her way into the world. What an amazing birth in the end - and it was exactly 24 hours from the beginning of the induction to her birth at 9:33pm on August 30th. Grace pointed out that I had had the longest early labour (from the time my water broke on Sunday until she came back on Tuesday night) and a super short active labour.
We left to go to the Montfort for me to be induced at 7:30pm on Monday, August 29th since I didn't naturally go into labour. We met our midwife Grace at the hospital and got me all set to go - I was on the drip by 9:30pm. I was handling things pretty well for the first few hours. When you're under a midwives care, the nurse stays with you until you're in active labour (i.e. 4-5 cm dilated) and then calls your midwife to come in. It's reassuring to have a nurse in your room the whole time too when you're having contractions. As I said, I was dealing with things pretty well and we were watching DVDs on my computer (highly recommend!) and I was getting some sleep. But then things took a turn for the terrible - I never dilated past 1 cm and started having contractions that were lasting 6-7 minutes because my uterus decided to rebel. I was taken off of the drip in the morning to try to get some sleep.
After some sleep I felt like a million bucks and then we discussed with the OB and my midwife about what the next course of action was to be. By this point I had started to contract on my own and was 2-3 cm. The doctor and Grace decided that the only real course at this point was to get me an epidural and start the oxytocin again (I had other options too, but this was the best one to me). Needless to say, the epidural was a godsend and not that painful to go in as you see on TV!!!
The drip was started again at 2:30pm and I got some more sleep (hallelujah). Then we had family come to visit for a bit and at 6pm my nurse checked me and I was 4 cm!! Yay! That means I was in active labour so Grace could come back! Grace made it in for 7:30pm and then checked me a little after that and I was fully dilated and the baby was coming!
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