... well, technically he makes 8 if you count our furbabies too, but that's beside the point.
Anyways, I love these because otherwise we have NO pictures of me and the baby or the three of us.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
And Marshall makes three...
... well, technically he makes 8 if you count our furbabies too, but that's beside the point.
Anyways, I love these because otherwise we have NO pictures of me and the baby or the three of us.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Newborn Photos
Here's a few pics from Marshall's newborn shoot at 10 days old. Our doula took them and I am in love with how they came out!
Friday, June 4, 2010
My Lady Lumps
File this under "stuff you probably don't want to know about my breasts."
Remember the breastfeeding woes post a week or so ago? Well my friends, its gotten worse.
12 days ago I discovered a lump. I consulted my breastfeeding books and google and decided it was probably a clogged milk duct. It was on the same side I was having problems with the deep cracking. My skin is slightly red there and hot to the touch. It quickly grew to about the size of a lemon. NOTHING I do will make it go away.
I've tried everything all the breastfeeding books/discussion boards suggest: nursing on that side first and trying to position the baby's chin towards the lump. I also nurse in all sorts of positions, including kneeling over the baby. I've been doing hot showers and baths, a heating pad, drinking tons of water, getting lots of rest, massaging the lump after applying heat and while breastfeeding (this is very painful), and applying the heating pad then pumping after nursing. I haven't worn a bra or any tight clothes in days and don't sleep on my stomach. I've also been taking Lecithin (1350mg 4x daily) and one capsule of Evening Primrose Oil/day.
It seemed like it was getting worse instead of better and then I developed another small lump on the top of the same breast.
After about a week I broke down and sent my midwife, Tiffany, an email. Even though it was 10pm on a weekend night she called me back in about 5 minutes (yet another reason I love her) and gave me 20 questions. She mostly was asking me about how I felt or if I'd had a fever because it was crazy that it had been going on so long and hadn't turned into mastitis yet. I assured her that I felt great, minus the huge lump. She had me start taking Phytolacca, a homeopathic med. every 3 hrs.
I took it for 5 days and still no improvement. Usually it only takes 2 doses. Also she had me start taking echinecea and goldenseal every 2 hours to ward off a possible infection, drink 100oz of water a day, take 4000mg vit C, and sleep as much as possible. After 5 days of no changes, she recommended making an apt with a lactation consultant for a thorough evaluation. She had a feeling that the way he was latching was causing the problem and/or the reason it wouldn't resolve. By this time my milk supply on that side was seriously diminished but I had enough on the other side to make up for it.
I called the lactation consultant's the next day and at first they didn't think they could get me in for at least a week, until they heard how big the lump was and how long I'd had it. After that they told me to come in at 9am the next morning (which was Thursday). They too couldn't believe it hadn't become infected and that I sounded so "perky."
They instructed me to come with the baby hungry and ready to feed, and my breasts ready to nurse. The last part confused me because, aren't they always ready?
The next morning (yesterday) we headed down there. They weighed Marshall naked (10.3 lbs!) and then with his clothes on. Then she looked at Marshall's mouth and determined that he has a slight tongue tie. Nothing severe enough to be clipped, but enough to make him a bad latcher. She had me take my temp to see if I had a fever, and was surprised that it was only 98.3. After that she looked at my lady lump as I affectionately like to call it. She said it looked like mastitis but could possible be an abscess. She also said my nipples were hammered and I must have an amazing pain tolerance. Then she told me I was a good mama for putting up with all the pain/issues for 5 weeks and that most people would have thrown in the towel. That made me feel really good:) She also told Jerad that she hoped he got me lots and lots of flowers for Mother's Day because I deserved them.
After examining me, she had me feed Marshall to evaluate how that was going. Me and the baby were both doing a few things wrong. I wasn't snugging him up close enough and instead was letting him lay on his back as if I was feeding him a bottle. I also was bringing myself to the baby instead of getting myself comfortable and pulling him to me which was killing my back. I didn't tell her about the position I had devised of sitting in the office chair cross legged with a rolled towel propped under one knee so I could balance the baby while leaning way forward to feed him while checking my email.... anyways, he also wasn't taking enough of the breast in his mouth, hence why I've had all the nipple issues and pain. She showed me how to get a good latch, and then pointed out that after a few minutes he would slide back down to the nipple and showed me how to fix it. It was phenomenal nursing without pain!
She weighed him after the feeding and he had taken in 3 ounces which was right on track.
She also tried massaging out the lump. It didn't work. She said that even though I wasn't exhibiting symptoms, I probably had mastitis. She wanted me to start taking antibiotics since I had been taking natural remedies for so long without any improvement. She called Tiffany who agreed. She sent me home with a hospital grade pump and some Blessed Thistle. My instructions were to take the Blessed Thistle right before feeding, and apply a warm compress to the lump. I was to start feeding him on the "good side" then after let down, switch him to the other. After we were all done I was supposed to use the pump on the bad side. Also I needed to take the antibiotics every 6 hrs, and take a warm bath and hand express a few times a day. And of course I was supposed to make sure he was latching correctly and not being lazy. Then she wanted to see me the next day (today).
For the most part I was able to follow all of the instructions. Its hard to keep relatching him when its so much easier to just let him do it wrong and put up with the pain. I've just gotten used to it feeling that way and he gets so mad when I keep pulling him off and readjusting. Plus, its one thing to be in her office on the comfy couch with a nursing stool under my feet, the pillows propped up perfectly and her there to help as opposed to dealing with a screaming hungry baby in the middle of the night. Anyways, we're working on it.
At first my appointment was at 11am but she decided to move it to 4pm so that the antibiotics would have a little more time to work. This afternoon I loaded up Marshall and made the trek to SLO solo. I fed Marshall and this time he ate 4.2 ounces. HELLO little piggy! She thought the lump looked worse and that my skin felt hotter to the touch and said it was definitely mastitis. She measured it and it was 9cm by 7cm. She wasn't happy since I am taking double the dose of antibiotics that she usually prescribes. So, she put me on strict bedrest over the weekend and said that if my symptoms get any worse, I'm to go to the ER. Not cool. She just couldn't get over the fact that I feel so good since I've probably had mastitis for about 10 days now.
In that 10 days I've walked around the Atascadero Lake, gone to my nieces' birthday party, gone to the Strawberry Festival, plus grocery shopping and multiple errands. I guess I do feel a little extra tired, but I just figured it was from waking up to feed the baby all night. I think having such crazy severe migraines for so many years gave me a high pain tolerance. I would pass out from the pain it was so bad. Bedrest always sucks, especially for someone like me, but it is going to be extra hard because I don't feel like I should be confined to laying down. She wants Jerad to take care of the baby as much as possible as well as pamper me. Well, that can't happen because he is working on finishing up a few side jobs this weekend and I'm going to be home alone. I had all sorts of fun plans like walking down to the baby fair at the park with Marshall, guess that won't happen now:(
Anyways that's where I'm at now. I go back Monday so cross your fingers for improvement! It hasn't been fun, but he's worth it.
Remember the breastfeeding woes post a week or so ago? Well my friends, its gotten worse.
12 days ago I discovered a lump. I consulted my breastfeeding books and google and decided it was probably a clogged milk duct. It was on the same side I was having problems with the deep cracking. My skin is slightly red there and hot to the touch. It quickly grew to about the size of a lemon. NOTHING I do will make it go away.
I've tried everything all the breastfeeding books/discussion boards suggest: nursing on that side first and trying to position the baby's chin towards the lump. I also nurse in all sorts of positions, including kneeling over the baby. I've been doing hot showers and baths, a heating pad, drinking tons of water, getting lots of rest, massaging the lump after applying heat and while breastfeeding (this is very painful), and applying the heating pad then pumping after nursing. I haven't worn a bra or any tight clothes in days and don't sleep on my stomach. I've also been taking Lecithin (1350mg 4x daily) and one capsule of Evening Primrose Oil/day.
It seemed like it was getting worse instead of better and then I developed another small lump on the top of the same breast.
After about a week I broke down and sent my midwife, Tiffany, an email. Even though it was 10pm on a weekend night she called me back in about 5 minutes (yet another reason I love her) and gave me 20 questions. She mostly was asking me about how I felt or if I'd had a fever because it was crazy that it had been going on so long and hadn't turned into mastitis yet. I assured her that I felt great, minus the huge lump. She had me start taking Phytolacca, a homeopathic med. every 3 hrs.
I took it for 5 days and still no improvement. Usually it only takes 2 doses. Also she had me start taking echinecea and goldenseal every 2 hours to ward off a possible infection, drink 100oz of water a day, take 4000mg vit C, and sleep as much as possible. After 5 days of no changes, she recommended making an apt with a lactation consultant for a thorough evaluation. She had a feeling that the way he was latching was causing the problem and/or the reason it wouldn't resolve. By this time my milk supply on that side was seriously diminished but I had enough on the other side to make up for it.
I called the lactation consultant's the next day and at first they didn't think they could get me in for at least a week, until they heard how big the lump was and how long I'd had it. After that they told me to come in at 9am the next morning (which was Thursday). They too couldn't believe it hadn't become infected and that I sounded so "perky."
They instructed me to come with the baby hungry and ready to feed, and my breasts ready to nurse. The last part confused me because, aren't they always ready?
The next morning (yesterday) we headed down there. They weighed Marshall naked (10.3 lbs!) and then with his clothes on. Then she looked at Marshall's mouth and determined that he has a slight tongue tie. Nothing severe enough to be clipped, but enough to make him a bad latcher. She had me take my temp to see if I had a fever, and was surprised that it was only 98.3. After that she looked at my lady lump as I affectionately like to call it. She said it looked like mastitis but could possible be an abscess. She also said my nipples were hammered and I must have an amazing pain tolerance. Then she told me I was a good mama for putting up with all the pain/issues for 5 weeks and that most people would have thrown in the towel. That made me feel really good:) She also told Jerad that she hoped he got me lots and lots of flowers for Mother's Day because I deserved them.
After examining me, she had me feed Marshall to evaluate how that was going. Me and the baby were both doing a few things wrong. I wasn't snugging him up close enough and instead was letting him lay on his back as if I was feeding him a bottle. I also was bringing myself to the baby instead of getting myself comfortable and pulling him to me which was killing my back. I didn't tell her about the position I had devised of sitting in the office chair cross legged with a rolled towel propped under one knee so I could balance the baby while leaning way forward to feed him while checking my email.... anyways, he also wasn't taking enough of the breast in his mouth, hence why I've had all the nipple issues and pain. She showed me how to get a good latch, and then pointed out that after a few minutes he would slide back down to the nipple and showed me how to fix it. It was phenomenal nursing without pain!
She weighed him after the feeding and he had taken in 3 ounces which was right on track.
She also tried massaging out the lump. It didn't work. She said that even though I wasn't exhibiting symptoms, I probably had mastitis. She wanted me to start taking antibiotics since I had been taking natural remedies for so long without any improvement. She called Tiffany who agreed. She sent me home with a hospital grade pump and some Blessed Thistle. My instructions were to take the Blessed Thistle right before feeding, and apply a warm compress to the lump. I was to start feeding him on the "good side" then after let down, switch him to the other. After we were all done I was supposed to use the pump on the bad side. Also I needed to take the antibiotics every 6 hrs, and take a warm bath and hand express a few times a day. And of course I was supposed to make sure he was latching correctly and not being lazy. Then she wanted to see me the next day (today).
For the most part I was able to follow all of the instructions. Its hard to keep relatching him when its so much easier to just let him do it wrong and put up with the pain. I've just gotten used to it feeling that way and he gets so mad when I keep pulling him off and readjusting. Plus, its one thing to be in her office on the comfy couch with a nursing stool under my feet, the pillows propped up perfectly and her there to help as opposed to dealing with a screaming hungry baby in the middle of the night. Anyways, we're working on it.
At first my appointment was at 11am but she decided to move it to 4pm so that the antibiotics would have a little more time to work. This afternoon I loaded up Marshall and made the trek to SLO solo. I fed Marshall and this time he ate 4.2 ounces. HELLO little piggy! She thought the lump looked worse and that my skin felt hotter to the touch and said it was definitely mastitis. She measured it and it was 9cm by 7cm. She wasn't happy since I am taking double the dose of antibiotics that she usually prescribes. So, she put me on strict bedrest over the weekend and said that if my symptoms get any worse, I'm to go to the ER. Not cool. She just couldn't get over the fact that I feel so good since I've probably had mastitis for about 10 days now.
In that 10 days I've walked around the Atascadero Lake, gone to my nieces' birthday party, gone to the Strawberry Festival, plus grocery shopping and multiple errands. I guess I do feel a little extra tired, but I just figured it was from waking up to feed the baby all night. I think having such crazy severe migraines for so many years gave me a high pain tolerance. I would pass out from the pain it was so bad. Bedrest always sucks, especially for someone like me, but it is going to be extra hard because I don't feel like I should be confined to laying down. She wants Jerad to take care of the baby as much as possible as well as pamper me. Well, that can't happen because he is working on finishing up a few side jobs this weekend and I'm going to be home alone. I had all sorts of fun plans like walking down to the baby fair at the park with Marshall, guess that won't happen now:(
Anyways that's where I'm at now. I go back Monday so cross your fingers for improvement! It hasn't been fun, but he's worth it.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
New tricks
For about a week now I've been thinking that Marshall is smiling at me. If I kiss his neck or make funny sounds/faces sometimes I'll get a little grin. Also if I open my mouth sometimes it seems he's copying me.
This morning he decided to go all out and just went crazy with the smiles:
And copying faces:
Freakin adorable right? Kill me now.
Also his hair is turning so much lighter. I don't know how I feel about that.
This morning he decided to go all out and just went crazy with the smiles:
And copying faces:
Freakin adorable right? Kill me now.
Also his hair is turning so much lighter. I don't know how I feel about that.
Yesterday was amazing
AKA "I have the best hubby ever"
The day started with me getting up at 6am as per usual to feed the dogs, hopefully eat something myself, and change and feed Marshall. Jerad was already gone for his 6am shift. In the kitchen was a note saying "enjoy your breakfast babe" sitting beside a pot of coffee and crumb donut holes. Somehow my sweet husband managed to get all of that together before he left at 5:45 am.
After Jerad got home from working his part time shift, he took the baby and let me have a nap. I got two hours of uninterrupted sleep. It was heaven. I can sleep while he is at work, but its not a very deep sleep because its always holding Marshall or just having him next to me and he makes a lot of noises.
Anyways, I got a nap and it was heaven. Later we watched a few hours of tivoed ridiculous shows like The Bachelorette and True Beauty and ANTM.
Once our tv watching time was up, Jerad went in the kitchen and gave me strict instructions to stay out, he was going to make dinner and it was a surprise. He made a yummy salad with lettuce from my parent's garden, and red snapper and shrimp in this delish white sauce made with soy milk, capers, artichoke hearts and I don't know what else but OMG IT WAS GOOD!
The timing worked out perfectly and Marshall ended up staying asleep for the entire meal so we were able to eat at the table like grownups. Jerad even busted out the fancy china:) We used to eat dinner together at the table every night with the TV off and talk but since Mr Marshall arrived those meals have become few and far between. Nowadays we either gulp down our food super fast before he wakes up, or one of us eats while the other holds the baby and then we switch. It was nice having some grownup time!
I offered to clean the hammered kitchen (seriously, how does one person use so many pans?) if Jerad made some sort of dessert and he was more than happy to oblige. So, after the kitchen was cleaned we had dark chocolate brownies. Made from scratch.
Jerad had some autocad drawings to work on so I played with Marshall. He's starting to like laying in his crib (for about 2 minutes) and looking at his mobile and sock monkey. Its pretty cute.
After we did that for awhile and I fed him a miracle occurred: he fell asleep in his swing. For over an hour. This is a miracle people. While I do love holding him 24/7, I keep wishing there was SOMETHING that would entertain him for at least a little bit so I can get things done. Usually I put him in the carrier but its not always convenient to have a baby strapped on. Every day I've tried setting him in the swing. The most he's tolerated it has been for 2 minutes. Last night he just konked out.
I was able to fold all the laundry (like 6 loads that I've been throwing on the guest bed), wash and put away a load of diapers, reply to a few emails, straighten up the nursery, set out clothes for everyone for the next morning and pack the diaper bag.
I was worried the swing thing was a fluke but he took another nap in there today and I got to wash another load of laundry, vacuum and mop the whole house, straighten up the living room and play online. If he'll do this just an hour a day I think it will be a big boost for my sanity:)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Don't worry...
... I'm still here! In fact, I'm alive and well and just getting used to my new life as a mom. This last month has gone by so quickly that I'm trying to treasure every second of the next 4 weeks before I go back to work. Jerad actually started back today, although it's only part time for the next 4 weeks. We are so blessed that we were both able to take so much time off to get to know our little man.
Marshall is developing quite the personality. He loves to be snuggled so this is how we've spent most of our days:
(one week)
(10 days)
(2 weeks)
(3 weeks)If he is set down in his pack and play or the couch to sleep, he'll last maybe 30 minutes. If one of us is holding him or wearing him in the Moby Wrap or Mei Tai carriers, he'll sleep happily for hours.
Since the first night we've slept with him in our bed which works well for all of us. He does NOT like sleeping on his back, so he usually ends on sleeping on one of our chests, my arm, or on his side with his back to one of us or propped up by rolled receiving blankets. He is a mover and a shaker and will not sleep unless swaddled. Most receiving blankets can't contain him, even the bigger Aiden and Anias ones. So far, we've only had luck with the Miracle Blanket. Luckily, we received 2 as gifts. Without them I'm sure we would have had many sleepless nights!
Marshall loves his baths. We waited a week to give him his first bath, and he didn't cry, just made lots of goofy faces at us.
(one week old)We switched to cloth diapers on day 2 and I couldn't imagine it any other way. We have a mix of pocket, fitted, and prefold diapers but so far we've used mostly the prefold.
Step 1: prefold and snappi:
Step 2: cover:
(2.5 weeks)This is what we call "fluff butt:"
Cloth are definitely not as trim as disposable dipes!
Cloth are definitely not as trim as disposable dipes!I'm happy with how healthy he is, but it's also sad how fast he's growing! At his 3 week midwife appointment, he was 9 lbs 8.5 ounces, and 21.5 inches (2 inches longer than at birth!). He gains about 1.5 ounces a day which would put him at over 10 lbs now.
He loves riding in his stroller. We've taken a few family trips now around the Atascadero Lake and to the Strawberry Festival in Arroyo Grande.
(3 weeks)He is so much more alert now and is starting to interact with us. The first week was pretty much eat, poop, sleep, eat, poop, sleep, but now he likes being walked around and shown things and talked to. He likes looking at the pictures in books:
(3 weeks)Or just looking around and making silly faces:
(3 weeks)Besides holding and staring at the adorable baby we made, Jerad and I have been trying to get back into a somewhat normal routine of cooking, cleaning, and getting things done around the house and still getting OUT of the house to see family and friends.
Its hard when there is someone this cute to just watch all day:
(4 weeks)
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