One Amazing Journey

Wow! Our little Joseph is going to be 7 weeks on Monday. It has been one amazing journey so far. I have been stretched out to my limits in many ways. Motherhood is amazing and extremely difficult at the same time. At least for a new Mommy like me, it is certainly way more tough than I ever imagined. IF certainly made me grow in patience but my little Joseph needs all of me and so I am learning more and more about being patient and tending to his needs rather than satisfying mine.

The first 2 weeks were really good or I shall say I was in bliss. He was a happy baby. Feed him, change diapers, swaddle him and he would sleep peacefully for 2-3 hours. I had time to get things done. We had just moved to a new house and I used all my free time to arrange stuff. Big Mistake!  These are the things I didn't do and wish I had done during the first month.

• I didn't nap when he napped. So when evening rolled, I would be really tired and those night time feedings were miserable as all I wanted was to sleep but Joseph had to be held and rocked to sleep after nursing. Some days, I would wake up with a headache. Lesson learned!
• I simply climbed up and down the stairs too many times a day and it didn't help with my stitches. I didn't even get time to do Sitz baths. I should have rested and allowed others to do the work. I had my six week postpartum appointment this week and though the stitches have dissolved, there is still an area which is raw and needs healing. Lesson learned! Rest when you can. My back still hurts when I carry him for a while.
• I was given a nipple shield by the lactation consultant at the hospital. I didn't hesitate to use it and never read about the consequences. The first week went really well. My milk came in the third day. Joseph would nurse happily and my nipples weren't sore. Wow! I didn't know nursing could be painless when all I had read was about sore nipples.His birth weight was 5lbs and 15oz. At this 3 day checkup, he weighed 5lbs 7oz but by 10 days he had regained his birth weight and weighed 6lbs 1oz. I was happy even if it meant using a nipple shield. Enter week 2 and the stupid shield began falling out and it was a pain to put it back on with a screaming baby specially at night. We tried removing the shield but he wouldn't latch and would cry miserably. By Week 3, I was desperate to get rid of the shield as it meant I couldn't nurse peacefully during night or when I went to church. My Mom and I would try different techniques to make him latch. Poor Joseph would throw up a fight each time. I was ready to give up but my Mom insisted that we teach him to latch and finally by Week 4, my baby learned to latch and we said bye to the shield.
• By Week 4, my baby had learned to latch but my nipples became sore and the pain was unbearable. I was ready to throw in the towel. I would be in tears each time he nursed and I was worried he wasn't getting enough milk. Finally, we decided to visit a Lactation Consultant. She corrected his latch and showed me a good position to nurse. She said my supply was really good and he was gaining really well. He weighed 7lbs 7oz. Thankfully, my nipples hadn't cracked and so I didn't need any medication. Looking back, I shouldn't have waited until Week 4 to visit the Lactation Consultant. I thought breastfeeding would be a breeze. In fact, I never read any book or took classes on Breast Feeding. Big Mistake! I thought I would somehow figure it out with my Mom to help. Wrong! There was a limit to what my Mom could do in teaching me and I get upset with all the advice from Mom and MIL.
• Somewhere around Week 4, Joseph began crying more and he wanted to be held all the time. We desperately called the Pediatrician's office. The culprit was Gas! My poor one would cry so much and everyone would try different tricks to calm him down like burping, putting him in the car seat and so on. DH didn't want to give him Gripe Water without asking his dr. I was also hesitant to give him the Pacifier before he turned one month. However, my Mom insisted and we gave him the Pacifier 2 days before he turned 4 weeks. My baby was so much calmer and he wasn't screaming so much. At his one month appointment, he weighed 8lbs 7oz and his doctor said we could try Mylicon and Gripe Water for Gas. Of course, we tried Gripe Water after a few days but it didn't really help. I was alarmed by the amount of sweetener used in it.
• By Week 5, Joseph was coughing a lot. He would spit up and there would be mucus in it. The cough was scary enough to make us visit his dr. The doctor found no problems and thought it was reflux which was making him cough. The cough went away after a few days. That's when I began noticing how Joseph was spitting up milk many times a day and he would seemed to be in pain. The doctor thought it was Acid Reflux. I have been doing a lot of research on reflux. I am trying to avoiding Dairy. Also, there seems to be a problem with oversupply which is making him spit up.We hold him upright for 30 minutes after feeding him but I guess we need to put him on medication before it gets worse.

Overall, my sweet one is a happy baby. Even on days, he is gassy or spitting up a lot, he doesn't fuss much. The best part is that he sleeps well at night. The first few weeks, he slept in his crib but when he turned gassy and was crying, I moved him to our bed by Week 4. Best decision ever! I was scared the first few days to sleep next to him but now I love it. I love sleeping with my little Joseph next to me and it is so easy to check on him when he spits up or coughs. Also, things have settled down over here and these days I nap when he naps. I don't worry about things that need to be done. I know time is flying and that I will never get another chance to be with my newborn who is soon outgrowing his NB cloths.