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we survived 2 weeks - it’s all about the boobs

3rd May, 2007 - Posted by karen -

Well Evelyn is now 2 weeks old and it’s been quite a crazy time. Thank goodness for the CLSC - there is a wonderful, extremely helpful nurse there who visits us every 3 days to make sure Evie is doing ok. Her weight gain last week wasn’t very good and we finally figured out that it was because I didn’t have enough milk. The best guess as to why is that it has something to do with me losing so much blood during the delivery. So the first week was really rough because she wasn’t getting enough to eat and would want to eat (i.e. scream) every 30 minutes but then fall asleep nursing (probably because there wasn’t any more milk). I was exhausted trying to feed her all the time and Gwen would have to take her in another room and try to comfort her so I could get a few hours of sleep. Once the nurse figured out what was going on, she suggested I try and pump the milk after feeding her to increase the supply. For three days straight I nursed for about an hour, offered extra milk in a cup or syringe (which is VERY messy with a squirmy newborn, I can say) and then pumped, only to do it all over again 1-2 hours later. It was miserable and I cried a lot. Now she is getting enough and refuses the extra milk, so we only have to deal with the typical unpredictable schedule of a newborn and not have to worry about an extremely fussy, overly hungry one. I can definitely say the electric breastpump is the world’s greatest invention and that the Bravado nursing bra I bought was an excellent choice and I recommend it to anyone who plans to breastfeed.

Evie knows exactly what boobs are for, where they are located and how to use them - she has tried to nurse with me when I have a shirt on (as pictured above) and even with Dan last night. It’s quite funny to watch her try.

She had her first books read to her yesterday - one about Tigger’s bouncy day (thanks Anik!) and one about animal sounds (thanks Dwayne and Miriam!) by her grandma.

So many people have generously given us a clothing and baby accessories. One thing we found particularly useful was this toy which goes over her bassinet - it’s a lifesaver since it entertains her when she wakes up and isn’t hungry. She is particularly interested in the one on the left which has a mirror. It’s a lot like the one I bought for the crib.

Today I was able to get out and go shopping for me - I used the American Apparel gift certificate from my co-workers to buy some nice light T-shirts for summer. I also put away most of my maternity clothing and took out the non-maternity clothing I had stored in the closet - what a great feeling! My wardrobe consists of more than 2 pairs of pants and 4 shirts again!