Sunday 23 June 2013

2 Weeks post-partum

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Our first cuddle & our first night at home

So Athena has been with us for just over two weeks now, and I can't put her down! We've gone through our first growth spurt (my poor boobs!) but have only had one real night of broken sleep so far, which was also down to the growth spurt on day 14, but since then we've gone back to one or no feeds between 1am (bedtime) and 8am, hurrah! I'll do a fuller post on our 'routine' (so to speak) soon.


Breast feeding so far hasn't been half as hard as I thought it could be, however things change so it still could get difficult in the future! I'm under no illusions there! We had a couple of day of cracked nipples and pained faces (me not her!) but then we got used to it and can pretty much do it in our sleep! (Literally!) again, I'll do another post on this in a few weeks! The biggest problem is what to wear out in public that enables me to whip a tit out to feed her! At home we're mostly topless, much to the delight/horror of the people who sit outside the pub opposite and the top deck passengers of any passing bus!


In terms of my post Partum body, the stretch marks that arrived a week and a half before she did haven't gone, which is annoying (annoying I got them in the first place after getting away with none for so long!) but to be frank I don't wander round in belly revealing clothes so if they don't go it's not too big a deal! I have an amusing X shaped one right where my belly button piercing was! I still have a belly, but it has gone down a lot since the first week, and I've not bothered to weigh myself since I had her so no idea how much I've lost, but I think the swollen legs/feet and arms probably equated to a fair bit!

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a week old / first bath / first experience of grass (ish)


I'm able to go out and about with no problems after my c section, we first went for a walk on day 4 (I was let out of hospital on day 1) and we've tried to go out at least every other day, with the only issue being a bit of blood loss on days when I've overdone it a bit! My scar I thought was healing well but this morning I seem to have popped a stitch or something, although its hurting a lot less now that it was so perhaps something was just rubbing on it in bed, making it a bit gunky (sorry!) if it persists I'll go to the doctor to have it looked at as I don't want it to get infected! It's hard to let air get to it when you have to wear big pants so
they don't rub it!


That's about it for now, I'm working on a 'birth story' post too, but obviously Athena is my top priority so my laptop isn't on as much as it was! When I learn  to put her down for all naps and not just her long morning one it'll be on a bit more and I'll get back into a blogging routine!

Sunday 9 June 2013

I had a baby!

Meet Athena Lorelei, born on Thursday 6th June at 9.54am, weighing 7lbs14oz
We were discharged on Friday evening and have been settling in at home as a family of three! Sam has been immensely helpful in doing pretty much everything as I'm meant to be taking it easy so I don't put strain on the C-section scar, but I've got painkillers and am injecting myself daily to combat any ill-effects, and currently don't feel too bad at all! 
 Athena is amazing, I can't believe she's ours! Needless to say blogging isn't my #1 priority at the moment but I'll be back soon! 
         

Monday 3 June 2013

Nesting, C Section & week 39 update


I have never been the sort of person who keeps a tidy house. My mother had a fridge magnet that declared:
 
and I’ve always remembered it… plus I like to live in a home that feels lived in rather than like a show-home. However for the last couple of weeks I have been obsessed with having a sort/tidy/clean of the whole house! It’s most unlike me but I've actually quite enjoyed it! I’ve tackled more or less every area of our house, and the amount of black bin bags we’ve gone through is pretty high! Sam even joined in and got rid of a load of clothes too (I’ve yet to tackle my shoe collection but however!) But I figured it’s way better to do all this before we move, and before I'm having to take it easy after a C-Section! The bathroom has been cleaned from top to bottom (including all the grouting) as has the kitchen and the whole place has been hoovered thoroughly!

I’ve also stocked the freezer up with dinners (so far 6 main meals, like curries, bolognese etc, and 3 cakes!) so that when neither of us feel like cooking when I'm home from hospital and sleep deprived we can just bung them in the microwave and make rice or something else easy to go with them! None of this is normal behaviour for me, so it is definitely the ‘nesting’ instinct taking over! Most bizarre, and I honestly didn't think it would happen until it did!

If you read my post on choosing a C-section a few weeks ago then the outcome is that it was finally agreed by a consultant. Even if one agrees then another one has to it turns out, but it would be far too convenient for them to do that on the same day, so we managed to get another appointment a week later, which resulted in another week of worry and strain… The consultant that day didn't turn up to work however, but we met with a wonderful doctor who listened (again) to all my concerns, was upset that the NHS counselling service still hadn't given me an appointment (been waiting since march!) and said that he would ‘nip up to the labour ward and find an obstetrician’ for me. Fifteen minutes later (we made awkward small talk with the medical student who sat in on our appointment) he was back, but on his own. I genuinely thought it was an outright no, but it turns out the lady who he spoke to agreed it after looking at my notes and had signed off. He ran me through how the operation works, highlighted the risks (which I could quote back to him verbatim by this point, statistics and all) and we signed the consent form! Obviously at some point after the baby arrives I'll write about my experience, but as you can imagine we were both so relieved and the date is in the diary!
39
Briefly, the only new symptoms I have experienced since my week 37 update is some extreme acid reflux, some slightly stronger braxton hicks type pains in week 38 and then in the final week, the absolute swelling of my feet, lower legs, arms and hands. I have tattoos on both feet and they look warped at the moment! I look elephantine! I can’t get my wedding rings off and can only wear about 2 pairs of shoes that I own. 

It’s pretty uncomfortable and I’ve been attempting to rest and put my feet up but I also didn't want to waste my last few days of ‘freedom’ sat on my bum, and have various lunch/tea dates with friends which has been lovely! My piddling/sleeping cycle has got worse and I really not getting much sleep at all because my cold means I cant breathe through my nose during the night, so I get a gunky mouth and a bunged up nose, paired with the fact that it’s getting warmer, night times are no fun at the moment! Lets hope the baby sleeps through and I can get some sleep (wishful thinking haha!)

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My next post will be post-baby, so see you on the other side!