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!
