I'm writing this on Friday, the 25th, even though it says monday, the 21st. o well...
Balian had his first doctor's appointment on Monday.
He's gained some weight, which is always good. His birth weight was 7 lbs. 5 oz. When we left the hospital, he had lost about 8.5% of his birth weight and was down to 6 lbs. 11 oz. Well, now he weighed in at 6 lbs. 14 oz. - gaining about 2% of his weight back.
The weight gain is added encouragement that breast feeding is going a million times better this time around. I already knew from other things (stronger suck, better latch-on, lots of swallowing, lack of soarness on my part, etc.) that feeding was much better than with Bella (seriously...it's like night and day - totally different), but knowing that he is gaining weight makes me that much more confident.
Sleep-wise, Balian has been doing awesome the past couple of days. He seems to be getting on a pretty good schedule - eating every 2-3 hours during the day (usually 2.5 to 3), and at night, he's been going 4.5 to 5 hours between feedings...so only waking up once during the night, really...and usually I have to wake him up after 5 hours for his middle of the night feeding, just so that it doesn't affect my milk supply too much. crazy. We've been having trouble getting him down for naps during the day, but today seemed to go much better.
Me - I'm feeling pretty good. Tired, just as all new moms are. I try to get one really good nap in every day. I definitely have had some emotional roller coasters at times, but I'm dealing. I'm trying to walk more, which is helping me to not go TOO stir-crazy.
I swelled up pretty bad starting the day after having Balian, but as of yesterday, I think it's almost gone. I can see my ankles again, and my face doesn't look so much like a chipmunk. As far as other pain, I'm doing really good. After having gone through both options of episiotomy vs. no episiotomy - I have to say that no episiotomy is the way to go. I had one with Bella and I was hurting for WEEKS - this time, I didn't have one and I was feeling better after only about 3 or 4 days. Maybe too much information, but just a little FYI.
Bella - she's doing pretty good. She's been "crying over spilled milk" so to speak - small things are incredibly more dramatic - and seem almost tragic to her at times. so, whinier, and she cries more... and is begging for more attention from Mommy. I'm doing my best to give her undivided attention at least once or twice a day when Balian is asleep. She's learning how to be "gentle" as well. She wants to help out a lot, but she's learing the boundaries...how to pat his back gently...how to give him his binky...how to rock the moses basket gently, etc... She does love her little brother to pieces though...it's just learning how to show that love better. :)
ok, now for what you really want...PICTURES!! see the slideshow below (or above...not really sure how this will come out)!!
