Monday, August 6th:
- C-Section Recovery: moving slow, a little abdomen pain, needed help in and out of bed
- Nursing: the pain was getting worse and I started researching the lactation specialist in Bryan
- Hazel: precious and perfect and getting lots of attention from Atticus and Grace
- Appointments: None
- Other: dinner brought by our neighbor, the Woods
- C-Section Recovery: same as Monday
- Nursing: terrible and by the end of the day, I pumped and gave Hazel a bottle because my body (so technically my nipples, but I'm not sure if anyone wants to see that word over and over, even though this is just life with a new baby) needed a break from nursing; it's tough to give yourself anytime to heal when you are feeding every 3 hours;
- Hazel: precious and perfect, but sadly LOVED that bottle and how easy the milk came
- Appointments: 11:00 am for weight check - Hazel was down to about 7 lbs. 7 oz. but was ok
- C-Section Recovery: same as Tuesday, but starting to get lots of bruising on my stomach
- Nursing: it was getting terrible; just like Grace and Everly, I would cringe when she latched and it hurt entire time I nursed and I was cracked, bleeding, and bruising
- Hazel: precious and perfect, but had one more bottle...she loved it again. And, she started not wanting to latch and nurse well. I have never had nipple confusion between breast and bottle with my other kids, so I was not hesitant to give her a bottle, but she immediately preferred the bottle. This was not in my plans.
- Appointments: 3:00 pm for lactation specialist - lasted 2.5 hours, but she was awesome*
- Other: Scarmardo's came by to bring dinner and visit
- The funniest moment of the day was by Vic. So, at the appointment, she told me to use "organic, virgin, coconut oil" on my nipples to help heal them instead of the Lanolin I have always used. So, whatever she says, right? Vic had to go to HEB that evening and he had a list and when GG saw this item on it, she asked what he was cooking? He stated "Sarah's nipples." I still laugh every time I think about this remark!
- C-Section Recovery: started moving more, but swelling in my feet and legs began; also the bruising was looking rough - total purple all the way across my belly under my bellybutton and it looked terrible. I'd never had that with my other surgeries, so I was concerned.
- Nursing: awful; I could NOT recreate the latch's or the nipple shield latch from the L.S. appointment; I was in terrible pain, but knew that she loved the bottle so much and so, I started out determined to NOT use the bottle; it was a constant routine of nurse, pump, bottle feed, repeat and I was wearing down. Eventually, 15 hours prior to the next morning's appointment, I only pumped and gave her the bottle; my body hurt, but I was hoping if I gave it a break and the tongue tie appointment was successful, I would start nursing again. I also knew that I was not allowed to do a paci or a bottle for 24 hours after the tongue tie cut, so I could not have any rest then.
- Hazel: precious and perfect, but not eating great, although at least when she had the bottle, I knew she was getting enough milk.
- Appointments: No appointments this day.
- Other: TMI AGAIN, but of all days, on this one, I had a stomachache with side effects - all I can really say about this is that it was terrible. And why did it need to happen on this day?
Friday, August 10th:
- C-section recovery: going well, but bruising was still getting worse and abdomen was hurting more
- Nursing: after the tongue tie cut, I noticed a major difference - within the first hour of nursing! However, she had a hard time latching the first time. It was taking me 10-20 minutes for her to latch and then stay latched. She was just so frustrated, but once latched, nursed great and I didn't have "new pain". The soreness was there and I had to still heal, but it was so much better. For our second feeding, Hazel didn't even eat - she was so frustrated with trying to nurse that she eventually wore herself out and napped instead. But, we started getting better and better every few hours.
- Hazel: precious and perfect, but frustrated with nursing.
- Appointments: 8:15 am - tongue tie cut - took all of 2 minutes so WHY could other ENT's not get us in? 10:30 am - appt with OB nurse to remove wound vac and staples, and check on bruising; Dr. Bertsch said the bruising looked bad but was just because of the operation and the pulling and tugging they did. Thank goodness.
- Other: Dinner got double-booked and brought by a MOPS friend, Katie and The Kiessling family; Also, Mom & Dad arrived for an overnight visit! They snuggled Hazel, visited and we played Yahtzee; I was a new woman after getting that tongue tie cut and felt so much better about life!
- C-Section Recovery: swelling, abdomen sore, but overall good!
- Nursing: making all good progress even though latching took awhile
- Hazel: precious and perfect
- Appointments: 11:30 am - weight check with L.S. - Hazel gained 2.5 ounces! Also, L.S. determined the suction was so much better (which I had also thought when I did it at home) so she thought the tongue tie cut was the right decision; 4:45 pm - went to after hours care because I was feeling like an ear infection was coming on in my right ear and sure enough it was; but the Dr. said we caught it early and gave me some drops or my ear
- Other: Mom and Dad headed home that afternoon; the Powell's were driving through so they stopped by; the Kirchoff's and Barmettler's also stopped by and brought us dinner
- C-Section Recovery: swelling, abdomen soreness
- Nursing: Good! Still very sore and taking time to latch, but getting better.
- Hazel: precious and perfect
- Appointments: none
- Ear Infection: the right ear was starting to get pretty painful and I was back to using my c-section drugs (that I had mostly stopped using for c-section pain) just to relieve the pain; the drops were not working yet and my ear was starting to swell
- C-Section Recovery: swelling, abdomen soreness
- Nursing: Still getting better.
- Hazel: precious and perfect
- Appointments: 11:15 am - appt. with my GP because now my left ear was hurting and my right ear was in terrible pain and I wanted an oral antibiotic as well; he confirmed a double ear infection; he decided my first drops were not working (and he said sometimes they don't - what? thanks a lot! why not just skip them on a 1 week postpartum patient then???) and so he prescribed different drops and an oral antibiotic
- Ear Infection: my right ear was blocked now and it was hard to hear and my left ear was getting worse
- Other: the Schulze's brought us dinner
- C-Section Recovery: swelling in feed and legs, abdomen soreness
- Nursing: Still getting better.
- Hazel: precious and perfect
- Appointments: None
- Ear Infection: completely terrible; both ears swelling; couldn't hear well in either ear; pain was TERRIBLE until combined dose of Hydrocodone and 800 mg of Ibuprofen kicked in but then pain was bad again when they wore off and until I could take the next dose; I can't even explain the pain - it was just so terrible. I literally counted down the hours and minutes between pain meds and had no problem just saying "forget it - I'm taking them 30 minutes early" multiple times. And I couldn't sleep at all for 2 nights in a row because it hurt to lay on it; so I slept in my rocker which was comfortable, but then the swelling got worse in my feet and legs, instead of getting better
- Other: We had Meet the Teacher for Atticus and I couldn't hear well so trying to visit with people was tough. Also - I had more pain in the afternoon because I was delaying taking pain meds so I could have the most relief during Meet the Teacher. I should have skipped it, but I just didn't want to. I love things with the kids!
- C-Section Recovery: swelling was still bad, abdomen soreness
- Nursing: Good
- Hazel: precious and perfect
- Appointments: None
- Ear Infection: On Wednesday afternoon, I felt like my right ear was getting a little relief, but I was still deaf in both ears and the pain was still terrible.
- Other: Tonight was Meet the Teacher for Grace and I could hear even less than the night before. Also, we had my MOPS mentor, Susan, bring us dinner. And earlier in the day, we had newborn photos done (with the family as well). The only way I made it through each of these things was LOTS OF PAIN MEDS.
- C-Section Recovery: swelling was starting to go down, abdomen soreness - bruising still bad
- Nursing: Good
- Hazel: Precious and perfect
- Appointments: 3:30 pm - L.S. Weight check; Hazel was back up to birth weight, so we were done with the L.S.!
- Ear Infection: I finally started to feel like my right ear was getting better and would have small doses of being able to hear; left ear was still terribly painful. My good pain meds ran out. :(
- C-Section Recovery: swelling was still decreasing, abdomen soreness/bruising still bad
- Nursing: Good
- Hazel: Precious and perfect
- Appointments: NO MORE ON THE SCHEDULE!!
- Ear Infection: By evening, I can hear in my right ear!
- Other: My MOPS friend, Joanna, brought dinner, and we finally had a better day at home for everyone. Meghan and her kids came to play and the then the big kids got a fun pool day outside. We'd been so busy with all of my ailments, I was glad it was a better day.
- C-Section Recovery: still sore, but bruising started to decrease
- Nursing: Good
- Hazel: Precious and Perfect
- Appointments: None
- Ear Infection: Left ear is starting to feel better!
- C-Section Recovery: Feeling more back to normal for 2 weeks post partum
- Nursing: Still working on latching more quickly but going so well!
- Hazel: precious and perfect
- Appointments: None (only one is 2 week well check scheduled for the following day!)
- Ear Infection: I can hear again in my left ear and I think we are on the mend!
- Other: Friend, Melissa B., brought dinner and this was our last night before the school year began!
Vic was the first one of us to take ALL 4 kids somewhere...on a walk around the block.
And this was, technically, our first photo of all the kids together!
I love a baby head nuzzled into my neck!
Behind the scenes of the photo shoot.
Everly has been intersted, at this point, but not sure what to do with Hazel. By the end of the two weeks though, she was asking "Where Baby Hazel?" and checking in on her regularly.
For Grace's class, we had to have a family photo. So, we had to snap one of the Seidel Six.
I never get enough pictures with my babies, so I may have gone overboard asking Vic to take my picture...all the time! But, he was home for two weeks, so I had to take advantage!
First sponge bath.
Pop and Hazel - I love when newborns sleep in any random position and are just as snuggly and comfortable as can be.
A moment before this, Grandma was crying because she was remembering having newborn babies herself! But, 10 seconds later, she was back to happy! haha!
GG is very snuggly!
I've got to take a photo of the bassinet under the bedding in this picture and post it. This bassinet is pretty old. We know it held GG and Daddy, so it's at least 69 years old, but it also held some babies before them. So, I need to find out who and how old it really is!
I was really glad to have two weeks with the kids at home with Hazel before they started school. This is a lot of what they did when they had her with them.
Atticus really has the best heart for his sisters and he loves them - all 3 of them!
And, I can just never get enough. I don't know how much pain I was in at this moment in this photo, but I'm glad it's over and I'm glad we have this baby girl! We love you Hazel Laine!
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