Postpartum

"Postpartum", "After Birth", "Post pregnancy"...whatever you want to call it! People have always talked about how pregnancy is, how labor and delivery is, but no one ever tells you about postpartum and all that comes with RECOVERY! Warning: This may be TMI (too much information) for some people.

So far, recovery to me has been worse than actual active labor itself. Maybe it's because the epidural worked so well with me, I didn't feel anything and I only pushed for 30 minutes. But the worse part of it all has been the recovery from the labor, sutures and perineum healing. I can't imagine what a woman feels when they are recovering from a c-section, but to me...my experience with a vaginal delivery has been pretty rough. No pain killers or remedies have helped me thus far. Temporary relief or comfort is available...but I needed relief immediately!
Other postpartum issues....Can you say engorged breasts? OUCH! Breastfeeding was a challenge at first and now that things are going fairly smooth, the engorged breasts are painful! There are times when my body tells me to empty out the milk in my breasts. It feels like books or bricks on top of my chest. I always wondered what it was like to have huge boobs...and now I know! It's not so fun afterall. Breastfeeding has made me feel like a cow! Milking all the time...supply and demand for Konnor.

Weight loss has been fantastic so far. Right after delivery I noticed how much of my stomach was all BABY. And since leaving the hospital I've been able to drop a few more pounds. I've pretty much gone back to pre-pregnancy weight and then some! WHEW! Hopefully I can keep it off and tone it all up.

No depression here. You always here about postpartum depression. I have none of that here! I have all cheers, smiles and love for what I've been experiencing. The birth of our child has been all tears of joy for Kevin and I. It's the most amazing thing in the world. Konnor has more love from us than he will ever imagine. It's an everyday challeng being new parents, but a great blessing that nothing can replace or take away.

Mama & Papa Visit

Today Mama and Papa De Soto came into town around noon and are going to stay with us for a week. It was exciting for them to visit because we haven't seen them since November. I know how excited they've been about meeting Konnor for the first time as well. Their first reaction when they came in the door was..."Where is he?" At the time he was sound asleep in his swing. The first thing Mama and Papa said was, "Oh my gosh...he's so small." Small? Is he really? I guess he's not as chunky as most of the other grandkids and neices and nephews we have in the family are.

We spent the rest of the day gawking at Konnor, taking pictures, eating and just talking. Mama brought so much food and goodies for all of us. Later that night, Uncle Ed, Auntie Samana and Cousin Julian came to visit as well. It was nice to have everyone together. Being a new Mom has made me appreciate good, quality family time.

Mommy and Daddy's first outing. Although it was only to go to Target...it was still the first time Mommy has been OUT in whats almost 3 weeks. Since I was on bedrest for the later part of my pregnancy I didn't do much except go to my Dr. appointments and to the hospital. Going to the store for some shopping felt like a relief. Though Kevin and I missed Konnor while we were out for an hour and a half....Mama and Papa took good care of him. It's great having them here for awhile.....

Me ad my cousin Julian. He says I look like an owl and or Yoda when I turn my head.

How time flies!

Today Konnor is already 1 week old! Boy how time flies! I woke up today remembering exactly what I was going through a week ago....CONTRACTIONS! At 12:29pm today I kissed Konnor and said, "Happy 1 Week Birthday Baby!"

In just a week Kevin and I have gone through a lot with eachother and with Konnor. Konnor has grown with his personality in just a week. We notice all the funny facial expressions he has and what he likes and dislikes. We've been able to get somewhat of a routine for feeding and sleeping down as well. Strangely enough..parenting has been as bad as we thought it would be for the first week. Considering that we didn't have any help since we got out of the hospital on Sunday it's been pretty good. Kevin and I have shared all the responsibilities. Kevin and Konnor get to spend their quality time together as well so that gives me a break and time to relax.

Thankfully Konnor sleeps well at night. He wakes up twice, or sometimes I have to wake him up. He's already become a little "piglet"...meaning he eats SO MUCH! And since he already has Daddy wrapped around his finger...he always gets more than he should be. Thank goodness for breastpumps!

It's amazing to see how much our lives have changed in just a week. Konnor has brighten our days even more with that extra ray of sunlight. He has brought our family closer to one another and made us all stronger.

HOMEBOUND!

WHEW! Konnor made the normal bilirubin level and was able to be discharged! We were so happy to go home...and hopefully be able to STAY home.

We got home and got some rest. Konnor adjusted well to being at home.

Jaundice Progress

We’re still in the hospital today. Konnor’s skin color looks great after being under phototherapy for the past 36 + hours. Unfortunately the Bilirubin levels are not dropping as we need them to fast enough, though they are dropping. Another blood test was taken in the afternoon around 2pm. We were hoping we’d get the results back and we could be ready to be discharged. The results came back around 3:30pm and it was good and bad news. =(

Good news was the level went down to 13….but bad news…it wasn’t 12 so we would have to stay in the hospital AGAIN for another night. By now, Konnor and I were getting used to the routine. Kevin on the other hand was more frustrated with the whole situation. As parents…all we wanted to do was to be at home with our new baby enjoying eachother as a family. It’s so hard not to be able to hold your baby when you want. Through the phototherapy, we only get to hold Konnor when we feed or change his diaper.

We made the best of the rest of the night. We went to visit Jen, Sombo and Kiana upstairs in Postpartum. Kiana was born on March 2nd. 7lbs 7 oz. She was such a cutie…full of hair and full, plumpy cheeks! =) I think she totally looks like Jen. Unfortunately Konnor couldn’t come with us to visit Kiana, but they will meet eachother soon. Jen and I plan on doing “Baby and Mommy Yoga” together starting in April, so it’ll give Kiana and Konnor to know eachother and play.

I weighed myself today! I'm down 10lbs already. So my weight gain was definitely all Konnor. I've got 3 1/2 more pounds to lose to get to my pre-pregnancy weight. YAY!

Back in the hospital

We had to go back to the hospital last night around 10pm. It wasn’t Mommy who got admitted this time, it was Konnor. =( At Konnor’s Dr’s appt yesterday, his bilirubin levels came back high.
Normal is 12, his was 20.6. YIKES! So the Dr. suggested to take him straight to Pediatrics at the hospital and start the process with phototherapy. We did exactly that. Poor lil’ one has had such a rough first few days. He’s been a tough boy though through all the Drs and Nurses constantly checking his stats, getting poked for blood, taking his temperature and now sitting under 3 phototherapy lights….he’s been great!!
I couldn’t help but to cry my eyes seeing my newborn with an IV and under all the lights. What mom wouldn’t feel what I was feeling? All we can do now is wait….

Welcome HOME Baby Konnor!

We finally got discharged from the hospital today. It was such a nice feeling knowing we were finally taking our new bundle of joy HOME…where he should be. We got discharged and I went home to catch up on some sleep. Konnor’s first day in the house wasn’t too bad. He too caught up on some sleep. We introduced him to Meka (our cat) and then to his new room. He took a nap in his crib and I went to my bed. Boy…I had never enjoyed my own bed so much! Such appreciation after having slept in a hospital bed for 3 days!

Konnor’s first night home was wonderful. It was a joyous feeling to have him in the house. For the first night as parents, we were fairly surprised. He only woke up for 3 hours. Amazing for a newborn! We felt fortunate to have a pretty easy first night home as “parents”. Let’s hope for many more nights to follow….

Konnor had his 1st Dr. Appointment today. He had to have blood drawn again to check the status on his jaundice. We'll get a call later on from the Dr.