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.