A growth spurt is where the baby feeds very often to get extra milk sometimes hourly. She's also had extra output. We changed her nappy 4 times within 7 hours.
Today, I've been feeding Caitlin hourly since 7am. She's only quiet now because Kelvin has her sleeping on his tummy. Oh, I spoke too soon. Back to work. Moo.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Bath Time
I thought bathing an infant would be easy. Turns out it is. It just takes practice and concentration. Poor Kelvin finds it really difficult because he's afraid he'll hurt the baby. I think we'd better practice together more because studies show that babies who have their fathers bond with them over bath time become more confident individuals. Besides, if I'm nursing the baby and have to do everything else, I won't have time to get clean myself.
The whole bath takes about 10 mins at the most but Caitlin really enjoys it. Her eyes open really wide and she'll look all around her and at you. When she gets a little bit older, I'll incorporate some toys for her to play with. I read somewhere that babys are fascinated with liquids. The words for liquids like "milk" and "juice" are amongst the first 10 words that they will learn.
Kelvin's legs are too long and it's hard for him to squat next to the bath tub. In the end I got a stool, turned it upside down and put the bath tub on the stool. The first time he bathed Caitlin, he grabbed her arm so tightly that it turned blue! I think he needs more practice later. In the meantime, I'll have to do all the baths till I'm really familiar with it then I can help him practice.
Of all the people involved in bath time, Caitlin is the most familiar with how it should be done. She knows enough to stand and squat in the water, when it's okay to kick her legs and when to be still. The main thing is not to get water into her ears or her mouth and to make her feel safe and secure. It's amazing. If she feels like she's slipping or you're grabbing her too hard, she'll wiggle about and grimace.
The whole bath takes about 10 mins at the most but Caitlin really enjoys it. Her eyes open really wide and she'll look all around her and at you. When she gets a little bit older, I'll incorporate some toys for her to play with. I read somewhere that babys are fascinated with liquids. The words for liquids like "milk" and "juice" are amongst the first 10 words that they will learn.
Kelvin's legs are too long and it's hard for him to squat next to the bath tub. In the end I got a stool, turned it upside down and put the bath tub on the stool. The first time he bathed Caitlin, he grabbed her arm so tightly that it turned blue! I think he needs more practice later. In the meantime, I'll have to do all the baths till I'm really familiar with it then I can help him practice.
Here we are. Bath time's over and Caitlin's all clean. Success!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Week 3
Caitlin is 3 weeks old yesterday. We weighed her today with Kelvin stepping on the scale with her first and then without her. The difference was 11 pounds which means, she's now 5kg. No wonder it's getting harder to feed her. She's getting heavy. And I was worried that I wasn't feeding her enough on breast milk.
Oh yeah, still feeding about 12 times a day. I'm starting to lose interest in counting coz in the morning and early evening, it's about every hour for 45 mins which means that I'm feeding her constantly for about 3 hours twice a day. Luckily, I've been reading up online and all this behaviour is normal. That's conforting.
Oh yeah, still feeding about 12 times a day. I'm starting to lose interest in counting coz in the morning and early evening, it's about every hour for 45 mins which means that I'm feeding her constantly for about 3 hours twice a day. Luckily, I've been reading up online and all this behaviour is normal. That's conforting.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The B-word
I'm used to having my mammary glands co-operate with me in a manner that is convenient to me! Their job up till now was just to sit on my chest and look pretty. Other than that, I'm used to them having a PRIVATE showing every now and again for someone who's not too happy having to share at the moment.
Ever since I've given birth, I've flashed myself in front of nurses, the confinement lady, the maids. My mammaries are SO not used to all this exposure.
Then, there's the other strange emotions of being frustrated with my glands when they don't produce enough milk. They range from guilt to dispair to disappointment. It's like nobody prepared them for this sudden responsibility and they're having a sluggish and reluctant start. All I can say is that if cows were any more intelligent, they'd all go on strike. All this squeezing, pulling and pinching. No wonder most women have lot of sag after having children.
Day 14: I managed to feed Caitlin for more than half of her feedings.
Day 15, yesterday: It was like all of ther feedings except one during the day and one in the middle of the night. However, I'm exhausted and I think I need both more sleep and water. I either expressed milk or fed her 9 times in a 24 hour period. By evening, I could feel a sore throat coming on so I crashed by 10pm. Very hungry too. Hungry and sleepy are not a good combination.
Supposedly by week 6, I can start stretching out her feedings. By then her stomach would have grown a little bit.
Ever since I've given birth, I've flashed myself in front of nurses, the confinement lady, the maids. My mammaries are SO not used to all this exposure.
Then, there's the other strange emotions of being frustrated with my glands when they don't produce enough milk. They range from guilt to dispair to disappointment. It's like nobody prepared them for this sudden responsibility and they're having a sluggish and reluctant start. All I can say is that if cows were any more intelligent, they'd all go on strike. All this squeezing, pulling and pinching. No wonder most women have lot of sag after having children.
Day 14: I managed to feed Caitlin for more than half of her feedings.
Day 15, yesterday: It was like all of ther feedings except one during the day and one in the middle of the night. However, I'm exhausted and I think I need both more sleep and water. I either expressed milk or fed her 9 times in a 24 hour period. By evening, I could feel a sore throat coming on so I crashed by 10pm. Very hungry too. Hungry and sleepy are not a good combination.
Supposedly by week 6, I can start stretching out her feedings. By then her stomach would have grown a little bit.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Starting from week 1
The first week was tough. What with learning to breastfeed, being weepy, not being able to wash my hair, being in pain from the caesarean (thus not being able to breastfeed properly) and being bullied into letting Caitlin have formula milk. Even Kelvin felt like I should let Caitlin have formula so that I could recover from the operation. Everyone was telling me that I didn't have enough milk thus the baby may not be getting enough. I felt so frustrated because nobody would listen to me when I told them that all she needed was to suckle more often and that my milk would come in based on how much I was feeding her not how much or what I was eating. I kept sms-ing Marlina and it helped a lot. Just to calm me down basically.
When we got back from the hospital, Caitlin had mild jaundice so we had to rent a special UV bed for her to lay in. What a nightmare that was. I lost control of breastfeeding at that point because she had to be feed really well so that she's be able to sleep in the cot. Otherwise, she would just be fussy.Worse, we had to make her wear a special eye mask while in the UV bed which she absolutely refused to wear. She only let us put it on for a minute and this was while she was fast asleep.
When we got back from the hospital, Caitlin had mild jaundice so we had to rent a special UV bed for her to lay in. What a nightmare that was. I lost control of breastfeeding at that point because she had to be feed really well so that she's be able to sleep in the cot. Otherwise, she would just be fussy.Worse, we had to make her wear a special eye mask while in the UV bed which she absolutely refused to wear. She only let us put it on for a minute and this was while she was fast asleep.
In the end, we just piled up lots of pillows and blankets to block out any gaps the in the bedding that would let the UV light through and put her in for as long as she could stand it. Luckily, it worked and she didn't have to admitted to hospital.
Today she's exactly 2 weeks old. She can follow me with her eyes, she responds to the sound of my voice and she alternates between being all stretched out and curling up like she did in the womb. She's smiled a few times already. She does this in response to our voices (I think). Mostly, it's when she's asleep or when she's feeding and I hit a particular tone in my voice that she likes.
So remember what I said about looking into my own eyes when I first met her? Well this is Caitlin in the UV bed, week 1.
This is my baby photo with the retro 70s bedsheet and PJs.
So, at the moment, I'm half asleep. Still struggling with breastfeeding but I'm sure it'll get better. I don't think I'm so depressed anymore. Been getting a daily massage and Jamu wrap. Can't stand being wrapped up because the herbs make me really hot and itchy but the massage makes a difference to my mental state. Plus, I had a revelation yesterday. What matters overall is that Caitlin's here, happy and healthy.
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