Week One Postpartum

So, It's already been a week since Angelo was born! And you're wondering how him and I are doing?

Well...

We are doing great! :)
When we first brought him home I had some trouble latching him on to eat, but later that day he latched on perfectly. It seemed frustrating at first...but being that it was only difficult for a few hours, I was surprised.  And thankful.

Changing diapers; his first poops were thicker and harder to wipe up and he's peed on us a few times. But over time his poop wasn't as bad and it's actually very easy to clean. Also, having never changed a diaper in my life before,  I'd say I've become a pro! ;) One plus side to breastfeeding is that their poop doesn't smell bad! Hooray! Honestly this is a lot easier than I expected.

For myself, when I go pee I use the peri bottle which feels pretty nice and then pat dry and put on a new pad. The first day I had the worst bleeding and after that it became more like a period and now it's like a very light period. As each day passes I've noticed my stomach is a whole lot smaller!(will post a pic for one week postpartum at the end) Gotta say I am absolutely surprised at how fast my stomach (more like uterus) has shrunk.

Another thing I've done is the sitz bath. It feels sooo good and I'm glad we have it because we don't have a bathtub. My healing thus far has been good. I can walk normally and probably could do more things (although I'm not cause really I'm not supposed to do a whole lot of anything yet).

After about a day or two my boobs were SO engorged they felt like they were gonna overflow (which really is what started happening). That is the sign my milk has come in. And my nipples were very sore up til after the first day my milk came in. I've been using the"Motherlove" nipple cream which has been fine for me since my nipples really weren't that bad anyway. Now that I've been nursing a few days it doesn't really hurt.

When I first started, and he first latched to start nursing at each session, it was a very strong pulling sensation and I literally could feel the oxytocin like taking over my body! Also, the uterus contracting felt like period cramps while I nursed. Now, I don't really feel any of that. Which makes it a bit easier and more comfortable for me.

About a day or two ago he started to spit up a bit. And I was worried he wasn't eating enough. I started burping him more which has helped a lot, and because I think my milk is fast it sometimes goes faster than he can swallow so giving him a little break between has also helped.

As far as growth goes, my nurse weighed him Friday and he was 7lbs 6oz so he lost a bit of weight which is normal. She came by again on Tuesday and he weighed 8lbs 1oz which is wow! So we definatly knew he was getting enough milk.

As far as any depression or baby blues goes, I've got none. I've actually felt happier now! Occasionally I get more emotional but that's it. Gotta say I'm surprised on that too cause I had gotten a few down days during pregnancy and being that postpartum depression is common, I thought I'd have it...but so far so good!! :)

[Small update: I wrote all this during the day yesterday,  but actually last night I was a lot more tired than I had been and it made me really frustrated and cranky and emotional....and I think I may be developing slight baby blues because it's not severe enough to be depression. So gotta keep an eye on it. Also I skipped my usual nap yesterday and gonna try to get more sleep today and see if it helps.]

And as far as anything goes...I feel amazed at what my body was capable of in order to have this baby. Thinking back, it really does get so much harder to remember. And having experienced it, I know I would do it again as most all women always say.

Now time for week one postpartum pictures. :) As you might see, I've also gotten a few stretch marks that didn't show up until near the end of my pregnancy.

My Natural Birth Experience

So as most of you know, I had planned a natural waterbirth at my midwife's house. Angelo was due May 15th but he has arrived not even 24 hours ago! Here is MY experience. :)

So once I hit the 39 week mark I decided to start drinking my red raspberry leaf tea more mainly cause I didn't drink it as much as I planned to during my pregnancy although my prenatals contained some in them. I don't believe I've mentioned the tea in any of my other posts, but this kind of tea is supposed to be really good for toning the uterus and is known by other people's experiences for fast and easier labors. It's also very good for milk production, and many other things. Reading about it, some people say it will do nothing if you start taking it too late and I didn't drink much during my pregnancy at all! But at 39 weeks I had 2-3 cups per day which is when I personally noticed things starting to happen. Could be coincidence but I believe otherwise!

So it started off where I was just getting loads of Braxton hicks contractions which had no pain what so ever. Around 9 pm on Mother's Day I timed them just to see and they were about five minutes apart but lasting different times. Then they eventually tappered off although I was still getting a lot.

In the evening of May 9th I was still getting braxton hicks but started getting a slight pressure like pain that came with them although it still wasn't really painful and they were ten minutes apart. I went to bed with them and woke up May 10th with them. After a shower they tappered off and disappeared for at least two hours.

At 6 pm on May 10th I got the contractions again but this time I noticed a pain that started from my lower stomach and rose up with each one. They were about ten minutes apart lasting different amounts of time. I told my midwife and she said it is possible I was in early labor or pre labor. So I went to bed and was able to sleep some. Midwife said to try and get good rest just in case. So I did. Even though I woke up after four hours and then two hours. But still had good rest.

So morning of May 11th was my midwife appointment and my contractions hadn't been tappering off when I did anything so I felt they were more real especially with that rising pressure feeling with each one. Anyway the midwife said it was possible I'd be going there later that night if it was really early labor but we decided to go to the appointment still anyway. Found out I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced at that time. So I was in early labor!  I'm assuming my early labor started at 6 pm on May 11th because  that's when they stopped tappering off entirely and started progressing slowly as time passed.

ANYWAY throughout the day they started moving closer together and that day we went to the park and walked a bit. Thats when my walking really slowed down through them. So I knew they were getting more intense.

After the park we headed home because Anthony's mom had arrived and they brought furniture and spent time unloading that. As time passed I kept timing the contractions with my app and kept updating my midwife. Soon enough they became SO strong I had to seriously work through them. They started being 5 minutes apart lasting about 70 seconds at 7 pm on May 11th. Midwife wanted me to time them and after only a half hour of those they went to 2-3 minutes apart lasting over 70 seconds. I didn't even have the 5 minute ones for an hour which is what they suggest before you leave for birth! Thats when the midwife said to leave by 8 pm!

So we gathered everything and went. At this point I had been on all fours coping through them with deep moans. I rode like that the whole way in the back seat of the car too. The deep moans really helped me get through each contraction. As Anthony drove, he ended up being pulled over by a cop. Of course, I wasn't paying attention to much because I was focused on my own thing and literally didn't care what anyone was thinking.

The cop comes up to the car right as I entered a contraction and from what I heard she wasn't able to escort us but she let us go being that I was in labor, but I recall she said not to speed anyway. Of course I wasn't focused on the conversation so I could be wrong.

We kept going and arrived at the midwife around 9:15 pm. She checked me to see where I was at and while I was expecting like 5cm...I was at 7-8 cm dilated and already entering transition stage. After that we continued and I stayed on all fours and got some back massage from others to help me as they got the tub ready and filled.  Once the tub was filled, I got in and just stripped all down because it's what was comfortable(sorry if you didn't wanna know that, but I'm not holding anything back). They left Anthony in there with me and after awhile I got upset cause whatever he was doing wasn't helping and I yelled at him to go away and get out!(now if I remember I think I got mad cause he started looking at his phone). Maybe I didn't say those exact words, but something like that. He just had no clue how to treat a woman in labor! Lol.
After that he left and the midwife came in to replace him. Eventually Anthony came back and got in the tub with me. He helped give me support on my back and made it more comfortable for me. And seems that someone had given him advice to be of better help which I really appreciated!

When we were in the bathtub, shortly after that I figured I couldn't cope with the pain through moans anymore and thought I had to push. So I started pushing which felt better but then I got sick and threw up the Subway I had earlier before we left not knowing I'd progress so fast. At that point we had to get out of the tub even though I didn't wanna move...but couldn't have a baby born in water like that..so hadda get out and they cleaned it and while that happened I tried out the birthing stool and leaned my back against Anthony. Then my midwife suggested moving to the bed where Anthony would get more back support for himself. So that's what I did cause I didn't want Anthony to be too uncomfortable trying to make me comfortable.

I ended up staying on the bed and not getting back into the tub when it was ready because I really didn't want to move. So I ended up pushing him out on to the bed.

It was very interesting...indescribable...but I gotta say all the pushing felt good and it was one of the quieter phases of labor I think. When his head crowned I knew the burning I felt is what's known as the "ring of fire." It seriously feels like a ring of fire! But gladly after that my hardest part was over. He actually arrived with the broke water since my midwife broke it and somehow it was good that it didn't break earlier cause the cord was around his neck in a way that was pinching the cord and she was able to help guide me to push him out. Those last five minutes were scary for her she said, but I did it!

Anyway...once he popped out they laid him right on me and he was just sooo slippery and Anthony says he was flopping like a fish after he was born. But as we were holding him we just couldn't believe he was actually real..like HE'S ACTUALLY HERE! Then so we were just holding him and waiting for the cord to stop pulsing and Anthony actually cut it. Then all we had to do was wait for the placenta. Wasn't bad at all.

After awhile of holding Angelo I got more cleaned up and took a shower. The midwife weighed him and measured him. He was 7lbs 12.5oz and 20 inches long and born at 12:06 on May 12th.

We stayed the night at the midwife's house and I slept with Angelo on my stomach and I surprisingly got some good sleep even though I thought I wasn't gonna be sleeping.

The hardest part for me was breastfeeding...I think he was just super tired from the labor though because now he's been breastfeeding a little more on a good timing! So yay!

After waking up at the midwife's they made Anthony and I breakfast and the midwife did the filing for the birth certificate and social security. We also changed his diaper which was loaded and as that happened he had more come out!  Who knew a newborn could carry so much poop? Lol. Anyway we got Angelo dressed and in the carseat and then headed home. (:

Also, to add, I only pushed for about an hour and twenty minutes which apparently is really good for a first time mom. I got one minor tear that needed no stitches,  and he was also a posterior baby in which cases you'd normally have really bad back labor, but I had no back labor!!

And THAT was my experience. :)

Ps- I have been writing this since yesterday so it's not posted as soon as I wanted to, but kind of understandable with everything I've had to do.

Week 38

Hey everyone! So, today I am actually 39 weeks, but thought I'd do an update from the last week.

So not much is happening at all really. Little Angelo is just taking his dear time, which I'm okay with. I saw my midwife on Wednesday and she confirmed he is fully engaged. So I'm pretty sure he dropped the night of April 25th because that's when I significantly noticed a difference in my stomach feeling like I wasn't as crowded and also feeling smaller(but apparently I look the same size).

My midwife says they typically come within a week or two of whenever they dropped for first timers. But I've read that it's typically two to three weeks. There's really no way to tell when he'll be here though. I was hoping for Mother's Day (today) but it looks like that isn't happening. Lol. But I guess you still never know...

The waiting game is just making everything drag on feeling like forever though. I try to keep myself busy as possible to pass time. Then I think something is starting only later to realize it wasn't. Waiting at the end really is one of the hardest parts of the pregnancy. I'm a patient person, but I'm so excited to meet Angelo that it's like I just can't wait. I just keep telling myself that he will be here when he gets here because he can't stay in there forever.  So that helps a bit.

In other news,  we will be moving. We just don't know when exactly. We're still looking at places, but we will be getting a much nicer house for sure. So I'm excited about that too. We've got a lot of things packed now just so we can be ready for when we move. And since Angelo will most likely already be here by the time we move, I'm sure it's gonna make things a little more difficult, but we'll figure it out.

Here is me today at the 39 week mark!

And here is a shot of Angelo's crib. It has a few things in it, but those things won't stay there. As I said we're moving so most the stuff is packed yet still accessible. So this is just the basic crib for now.