Everly at 2 weeks and a postpartum update

Well, we have made it two weeks into Everly's little life! Here's a quick summary of how we've done:

Monday, April 18th - arrive home.

Tuesday, April 19th - Head back to doctor's office for Everly's weight check; all is good. We will have to do a hip ultrasound at 6 weeks because she was breech; her weight is 7 lbs. 2 oz. and although I've had some pain nursing, the doctor does not think she has a tongue tie.

Wednesday, April 20th - I am in major pain after nursing and cannot even stand to nurse her that morning. I feel like it is the same pain as when Grace had her tongue tie, but am not sure what to do. I don't know if she is not latching properly or if I'm doing something wrong. So, we head back to the hospital to the lactation specialists to check it out. After meeting them, they think her frenulum is tight and said it can be genetic (so since Grace had it, Everly might too). While they help me position her different ways and give me some other tips to help my "udders" heal and give me time to get better, all while still nursing her, they also suggest seeing an ENT. So, after phone calls and help from friends, we get into an ENT at 4pm that day and thankfully they snip her little frenulum back.

Thursday, April 21st - We head back to my doctor's office to have my vacuum seal removed from my incision area. This was the first time I had this for recovery and it would pull out any air regularly all day long. All looked good to the nurse except for one little spot that hadn't yet healed up. She was not concerned. I actually feel like it helped me heal better. Vic and I also picked up Freebirds and ate in the car for a little lunch date and I got to shop at a baby boutique while we were out!

Friday, April 22nd - This was a day at home! As far as my recovery, I am doing good. My feet are still very swollen and I still need help in and out of bed and still taking pain medicine. Breastfeeding is still super painful and I'm having a hard time re-creating what the lactation specialists did to help the pain when I was in their office. And, at this point, I'm getting some Baby Blues, I guess. Tears and tired, although Everly is a great little sleeper in between feedings.

Saturday and Sunday were similar to Friday. Pain when feeding and wondering if I needed to go back to the lactation specialists again. But, my c-section recovery is still going really well.

Monday, April 25th - We start worrying a little bit about my incision. The entire area is red and that one little section that was not healed has started to drain a little and sting a little. I'd not had any issues in the past, but Vic thought we needed to go to the doctor. So, we scheduled an appointment.

Tuesday, April 26th - We head back to my doctor and she confirms that the incision looks fine, but that one little section of just skin that hasn't healed back together is just irritated by yeast. Sounds weird, but with the help of some cream, she said to give it time and it will heal.

Wednesday, April 27th - We head back to Everly's doctor for her 2 week checkup. All is good; she weighs 8 lbs. 7 oz., so we easily met our goal of birth weight by this date! She has her second newborn screening done; Dr. Svendsen checks her out and said all is good!

Thursday, April 28th - Everly is two weeks old! And, we think we are done with doctor visits for awhile! At this point, Everly is still being the ideal baby who falls asleep easily between feedings and up until Wednesday night, she has not had any periods of being mad and not going back to sleep easily. On Wednesday night, she was just mad and awake and only wanted to nurse, but was definitely not hungry. So, after GG held her lots and dealt with her cries, she wore her little self out and went to sleep. So, I am now trying to keep her up for a couple of hours in late afternoon so she is ready to sleep better by night time. We are also allowed to start going 4 hours between feedings and then start feeling her out to see how long she wants to sleep at night between feedings.

As far as my recovery, I am feeling great! I know my mid-section will be sore for awhile and I can't move too fast or get up off the ground or out of a chair too quickly, or I feel the tightness and a little pain. But, otherwise, although we are waiting for that little skin section to heal, I think this might be my best recovery yet. The swelling stopped a couple of days ago, and I'm getting some rest. As far as breastfeeding, I went from complete pain to finally, in the last couple of days, just having cringing pain when she latches and then no pain when she nurses the rest of the time. Today, I think the cringing pain when she latches has been less. So, hopefully, I am healing and my body is just getting used to her nursing without the tongue tie. Fingers crossed!

As far as Everly updates: she is just the cutest thing! I know we all think that about our babies and I've thought it about Atticus and Grace. But, this stage is just one of my favorites. I LOVE the snuggly baby part. She just curls up into a ball on my chest or snuggles deep in my arms and it is so wonderful. Her little soft skin is warm and I just love those baby snuggles! She is also starting to become more alert when she is awake. Her little eyes just open up and look around. She wants to sit up, but her little head just bobs back and forth and her little eyes go a little cross-eyed sometimes. But, she is getting better at those things every time she is in her alert mood. She poops almost every time we change her; she is very impatient for milk when she is hungry; she does not enjoy that paci yet; she has had her first sponge bath; her umbilical cords has fallen off; she is not into size 0-3 months yet and GG has just bought some newborn sized things for her to wear for the next couple of weeks until she fits those bigger clothes; she is still in newborn sized diapers; she has the tiniest little button nose; at this point, I can't decide who she looks like more - Atticus or Grace; her hair is really red on top and more strawberry blonde around. I hope it stays that way; it is the cutest!

I just hope I remember all of those little sweet features and grunts and snuggles and faces that she gives me at this age. The newborn stage goes so quickly and as much as I love the other stages too, I always miss this one when it is gone. I try to take lots of pictures but I feel like they never do the moment justice. So, I hope I always remember our little Everly's newborn weeks!

Those are my updates for 2 weeks! Although I still have lots of help from GG and of course Vic, I feel like we are starting to get back on track at our house. We still don't maintain much of a schedule and I have not been out of the house with the kids, since I can't drive until tomorrow. So, I know I have "mom of 3" things to figure out as we go, but I'm looking forward to it!

Sibling Love & Udders or Cows

So, I can't tell you how much Atticus loves Everly! From the second he met her, he has complimented on how cute she is or how adorable she is. He wants to hold her, ask where she is, kiss her, touch her, and talk about her. He is just the sweetest with her and calls her Baby Everly. If she cries, he tells me immediately or if she is sleeping in her bassinet, he will go check on her constantly. He likes to grab her little hands too. He just loves her so much!

Grace, on the other hand, is just starting to get more interested in her. As of today, she was wanting to look at her more and touch her little hands. And she kept going into see "the baby" while she was sleeping too. She mostly calls her "Mommy's Baby" and if you ask what the baby's name is, she will say she doesn't know. But, if you ask her to repeat Everly, it comes out Evby. So, it's not like she doesn't like her, but I think she is just slowly figuring out what to do with her. She has not wanted to hold her yet, but I hope that is coming soon! I have been very surprised and proud of Grace though. I really expected her to be more jealous of the baby and the attention Everly is getting with constant nursing and holding. But, Grace has been great and not jealous at all.

The other funny thing about these two is watching them figure out nursing. So, before Everly arrived, I had decided I would have to be more discreet with nursing than in the past. Atticus is almost 5, and a boy, so while I have never covered up when I'm nursing at home with Atticus or Grace, I thought I probably would need to this time. Well, that didn't start out happening and as time has gone on, I have continued the same nursing routine as with the other two. Sometimes, it's just hard to be modest when you are teaching a little one to nurse and when you do it approximately 8-10 times a day. And, while going into my bedroom to nurse is quiet and pleasant, it's not realistic for when GG leaves and I am actually on my own with 3 kids. So, the reason I'm telling this is because Atticus had lots of questions about nursing the first few days. The first day we were home, upon seeing me nurse, he asked about the milk and how the baby got it and proceeded to call my boobs, for lack of a better term, my "cows". It was the funniest thing and he called them that again the next day. So, he would tell me to feed Everly from my cows. Then, the next day he changed it and now calls them my "udder". I think it's hilarious and also perfectly fine because I don't want to teach him the normal words because I just want him to stay innocent. He doesn't seem phased at all by breastfeeding. Also, he and Grace both know that babies only drink milk and that it comes from me. And Grace will sometimes pat my "udder" when I'm nursing. I don't know why, but she will just put her little hand on it and pat it - so funny!

So, both Atticus and Grace have taken to Everly very easily and happily and it's been funny to watch them just accept this as their new life with no problem. Oh! And anytime Atticus is holding her in the chair or on the couch in the living room, he will quickly tell me that he needs to watch cartoons while he holds her because he can't do anything else. And he has also told me that if I need him to help with the baby in the night, that he can help me and I just need to wake him or let him sleep in my bed. It has just been really fun to watch them both so far!

Our stay in our "Hospital Hotel" and Coming Home

This is my 3rd delivery, so I feel like I know the ropes as far as bringing babies into this world via c-section. Although we have now delivered each of our kids at a different hospital in Bryan/College Station, they are all similar and we have had great experiences at each. And I like to call this a "hospital hotel" stay because it is. It is nice and clean and people do everything for you: bring you anything you ask for and help in any way they can. I spent my entire time visiting or sleeping or holding Everly with no interruptions from my other two loves, Atticus and Grace. It really is a helpful time to have a few days, at least with a c-section, to get moving again more easily and get pain and nursing under control. In fact, they give you the option to stay 2 or 3 nights and I definitely chose 3 nights. For some reason, I just really like being in the hospital for those first few days after I have a baby!

Scott and White Hospital is only 2 1/2 years old so everything is very new and nice. Our room was a great size and we got setup around 3:30 on Thursday. That afternoon was spent with nurses in and out to check my vitals, give me medicine in my IV, bring me water and my liquid diet and mash on my stomach to get that uterus contracting back down. I nursed Everly and we loved on her.

  

Vic stayed most of the day and then GG stayed the night with me, as she ended up doing each night we were there. I did finally throw up after attempting a liquid dinner, but after that, I was better and still glad it was not during my delivery. The kids did not come up that day - too much going on. And that turned out to be a good thing because with the exciting day and babysitters and knowing GG was coming and that the baby was FINALLY coming (Atticus would ask me EVERY day if the baby was coming that day), Atticus had a major meltdown when Vic got home that night and told him we had a girl. It's funny because Atticus has said and wanted a girl all along until just a few weeks ago when he decided we needed a boy to outnumber the girls. And, honestly, Vic thinks it was a combination of being exhausted and seeing Vic arrive in GG's car without GG that put him over the edge. But, as of the next day, when he met her, he loved her and has ever since. He's not even mentioned wanting a boy since that night.

So, the night was normal. At about 9 pm, they took Everly for her first bath and she came back smelling sweet and with a little hat with a bow on her head! And though S&W has a new policy of not taking the baby to the nursery at night, our nurse did take Everly between feedings to give us a break. Truthfully, Everly was the ideal baby (and still has been). She would eat and go back to sleep each time giving us rest. So, it was not that different from the nursery taking her between feedings and her staying with us.

At around 9 am the next day, I was unhooked from my IV, started on oral medicines, got my foley catheter out, and got out of bed for the first time. The first time to get out of bed is always tough. It's hard to pull myself out of that bed after laying there so long and of course my mid-section is sore and tight and not helpful at all. Then, standing up and actually walking are tough. But, it gets better and better as the days go on.

Late that morning, the kids finally got to come up. That was really fun! They were excited to see her and when they arrived, she was in her baby bed, so they just looked at her through the plastic and told us she was "so cute" and "so adorable". They did not want to hold he yet, but mostly Atticus was so interested in her. Grace plugged her ears when she cried, but then was really more interested in the hotel room and climbing into my bed to watch cartoons on the big TV. Atticus had lots of questions about the hospital room and our baby. And it was fun to see them with their Big Brother/Big Sister shirts on and be so excited.

 Notice Atticus touching my stomach. He was very interested in how the baby got our and that she wasn't in my tummy any longer.

I finally took a shower around 1 or so which is the BEST feeling in the world. It's always a little embarrassing because I can't do that by myself. I can't bend or move well at all, and Vic has to dress and undress me and dry me off and bring me everything. But, it's part of the husband job. The kids stayed awhile longer enjoying our luxurious accommodations. And I snuggled with Grace and rested a bit.

 

 Our first family of five photo!

Eventually, everyone went back to the house for GG to nap and Vic to come back up to the hospital for a little while. After months of very few turkey sandwiches, he even brought me subway for dinner!

 

Then, we had some visitors to meet Everly! Our friends Chris and Katherine, Lucas, Meghan, Lizzy, and Lane, and Cecilia, Josie & Isabelle came up that evening to visit us. It's been so much fun to share this pregnancy with Katherine, Meghan and Cecilia, especially with Meghan also being pregnant. Her sweet baby girl is due mid-May and I can't wait for our little girls to be friends like their mamas!

Once all visitors were gone, Vic headed home and GG came up and we had another night of nursing, meds and squeezing in some sleep! Everything was going really well as far as Everly nursing and sleeping and my recovery was going as normal. I was staying on those pain meds and my vacuum pump on my incision area was doing its job. The only thing that was I don't recall in the past was when I would nurse, I would get the WORST pains that were similar to contractions but they didn't end. This terrible contraction pain would start and sometimes last the entire time I nursed if not a little more. Whew. It would take my breath away. The nurses said it was totally normal, but I almost wanted another epidural for this! Otherwise, all was going well!

On Saturday, Grace and GG shopped awhile and Vic and Atticus came to visit. Grace and GG eventually came up as well. Steve and Janice came into town and met Everly and visited at the hospital before heading to our house to play with the kids and stay the night. Also, our friend Debbie came in the morning and Kristi, Kendall and Maci came that evening to love on Everly. We have the BEST friends to come visit us!

See his little lips? He is saying "she is so cute!" as he has said over and over about her. 

 This is one of the sweetest pictures Vic took of Everly!

 

During this day, Everly's bilirubin numbers were a little high and she was looking a little yellow, so we were working hard to get her to poop! She was eating well and plenty, but just didn't want to poop and that is what we needed. Finally, she did. So, we kept up our feeding schedule in hopes she would keep pooping and keep those bilirubin numbers low. We thought this would be our last night in the hospital and knew we would get to go home the next day.

However come the next morning, when they drew her blood for what we thought would be a final time, her bilirubin came back too high, her blood sugar too low, and her sodium too high showing she was dehydrated. So, the baby doctor decided she needed to stay another night to get those numbers in the right range. Thankfully, there was nothing to do but feed her regularly and draw blood a lot more and the doctor said everything would normalize. Also, they said that part of the reason her blood sugar was low was because I was not providing enough colostrum to her yet. My milk had not come in yet, so that made sense. But, she was not getting enough nutrients quiet yet. So, we did have to supplement with formula after I would nurse and try to get a certain amount in. That was not easy because she would fill up from nursing. But, we tried it. So, there were no major concerns, but she just couldn't go home. So, we did 3 hour feedings with little feet pricks or blood draws from her feet about every 3 hours as well. By night time, we only had to do it after 12 hours. She had her little foot pricked so many times that she stopped even caring when she was pricked and would sleep right through it. They discharged me Sunday night, but I got to stay in my "hotel" one more night!

 Finally, Monday morning all of her numbers were in the right range. Earlier that morning, the lactation specialists came in to check in on us since we had to supplement the day before. And they setup a pump for me to pump once and feed it to her before we left. Around 12:45, we finally headed home! One funny thing about leaving was all of the loot we went home with. They made goodie bags for me: c-section underwear (this may be TMI, but I would pay money for these things if they didn't give them away...they make c-section recovery so much better), feminine and bathroom needs, lanolin, and a water bottle; for Grace: a fleece blanket, diapers, wipes, receiving blankets, baby hat, aspirator, a plastic tub, formula and bottle nipples, and all of the pumping supplies from when I pumped (it's probably $50 worth of stuff just in the nursing bag). I just thought it was great and they sent a LOT of some of those things. I just didn't remember that much from my other deliveries.

So, our stay in the hospital went really well and I enjoyed myself! ha! The staff and nurses and doctors are just SO nice and helpful! I know things are easier when we have a healthy baby and a nice surgery, but I would give high reviews to Scott and White!

We headed home...the long 5 minute drive. The kids were SO excited to have us home! We settled in, Atticus decided he wanted to hold her, and our little family of five plus GG was complete!

 

 

 

 

 

And, finally, by the end of the night, we put her in her brand new sleeper and hat and she, being the perfect baby, ate and went to sleep easily...for 3 hours at least. What a beautiful little girl we have been given...little Miss Everly Joye!