My Nursing Story | Sarah @ The Not Quite Military Wife

Hi everybody!  I'm Sarah and I blog over at The Not Quite Military Wife.  I hope Kaity is enjoying those newborn snuggles right about now.  I recently welcomed my second baby back in November so this topic is still very fresh for me.  I've always loved reading other mama's nursing stories so I thought I would take the time to share my own!

Wildclover Photography

While I was pregnant, I read up on Breastfeeding A LOT.  I had only heard horror stories or don’t worry, everything will be great stories.  I wasn’t really sure what to think…so I assumed the worst.  I’m the type of person who would rather be prepared for the worst case scenario and not be surprised when it actually happens.  I went into labor assuming that I would have an uphill battle ahead of me. 

When they laid my little baby on my chest, my world stopped.  I was overwhelmed with happiness.  We tried to breast feed within ten minutes of birth.  Aislynn latched just barely onto my nipple.  I knew that wasn’t the latch we were looking for, but the nurse said it can take a few days and not to worry.  

After I was transferred down to the maternity ward, we breastfed every two hours.  My daughter always had a shallow latch and by the end of the day, my nipples were killing me.  They were so red and sore.  Thankfully, all of my nurses helped me with latching on.  They taught me new positions and helped reattach her mouth to be more open.  Those nurses were a lifesaver for me.  But of course, that didn’t help with the pain.

The second night there, a nurse came in and gave me Lanisnoh and breast shields.  WOW, such a huge difference.  If there are any soon-to-be mamas out there, these are the two things you NEED to buy.  You can thank me later!

We went home and I knew that I would have to try hard to get her to latch on correctly.  My milk came in on day four and I was immediately engorged.  It was really painful on that first day but gradually got better.  When I first got engorged, my daughter could hardly latch on.  I tried massaging the area, using heat packs and expressing some milk beforehand to help.  Everything helped a little but not enough for that tiny mouth to latch on correctly.  So I let her just latch onto the nipple during those few days.  I was really only concerned with making sure she gained weight at the time.  After my engorgement was over, she was still only latching onto the nipple.  My fault I know.  I desperately tried everything to correct her latch.  But no such luck.  I could get her to latch on with her mouth wide open but after a few sucks, she would reattach her mouth smaller…just on the nipple. 

On top of her shallow latch, I couldn’t keep her awake to nurse to save my life!  I undressed her, blew on her, talked to her and touched her to keep her awake.  She also only nursed for five minutes on one side before she was done.  As a first time Mom, I was terrified that she was losing weight and the doctor would make me give her formula.  I wanted so desperately to breastfeed that I took the pain of the shallow latch, just so that she ate.  But no matter how hard things ever were, I was still so amazed by breastfeeding.  

However, I knew I couldn’t put up with this pain for forever…and I was getting more and more worried about her nursing habits.  So I made a very smart decision, I called a lactation consultant.  I was there for almost two hours and learned so much.  We learned that Aislynn had a shallow latch, even when sucking on a finger.  When we tried to get her to have a deeper latch, she would gag.  We also learned that even though she was only nursing for five minutes on one side, she was getting plenty to eat.  She was a very proficient in her nursing and I had a fast letdown.  This equaled fast nursing sessions.  We left with the knowledge that there wasn’t really anything we could do except practice a deeper latch by giving her a finger to suck on before nursing.  More importantly, I left with such a relief that I wasn’t doing anything wrong and that Aislynn was gaining weight. 

Those next few weeks, things got slowly easier.  I got the hang of new positions, and figured out how to prevent leaking.  But no matter how hard things ever were, I was still so amazed by what we were able to accomplish.  The entire first month, I never looked away from her little face while she fed.  My neck would hurt so bad from always turning to stare at her, but I never got over the amazement of how perfect she was and how amazing a woman’s body is after labor.

I actually never ended up using my finger before nursing sessions to help our latch.  Maybe it was my renewed sense of accomplishment with breastfeeding or maybe it was just getting better with time, who knows.  As she got older, her latch got bigger and breast feeding became easier and less painful.  I remember thinking in those early weeks, that breastfeeding was the most challenging thing about bringing home a newborn.  And it truly was.  But time has seriously changed things.  Breastfeeding is one of my favorite parts of my day.  I can’t wait to feed my baby girl, to hold her and to cuddle her.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment to see her little rolls and know that she got them from me.  Now, months later, we are still exclusively breastfeeding and we wouldn’t give it up for the world.   If you are a soon-to-be mama or have a newborn now, don't give up!  Once you get past those first six weeks, everything gets better and easier.  Breastfeeding is truly one of the most wonderful bonding experiences you can share with your baby.  

Wildclover Photography
Thank you so much to Kaity for letting me take over her blog for the day!

Charlie's Birth Story: Part 1

I suppose it's about time that I refer to my child using his actual name. We hadn't officially decided on a name and wanted to wait until we "met" him to make the final call, which was why "Baby Pep" was a nice stand-in, but let it be known, that this kid does have a name. Anyway, I digress.

This is such a difficult post to start because delivering a baby is hands-down the most intense thing I've ever experienced. It is truly an impossible task to try and sum it up in words, but I want to record it while the memory is fresh in my mind.

On Charlie's due date, Saturday, December 20, my mom and sister arrived in the evening to stay with us for about a week to meet the new addition and just generally help Chuck and I acclimate to life as parents. Clearly, Charlie was not in a big hurry to make his way into the world so we spent our days baking Christmas cookies, taking long walks into my little town's downtown area and watching Christmas movies. On Tuesday, December 23 I had an appointment at my midwife's office. Since Chuck had to work that day (and after my fender-bender just days before, I wasn't exactly excited to hop back behind the wheel), my Mom and sister drove me to my appointment. We had a non-stress test done which Charlie kicked butt at. Then the midwife came in to discuss next steps. I took her up on her offer to strip my membranes to hopefully get things moving along and anxiously anticipated the contractions she said I would likely feel in a couple hours.

For the rest of the day I didn't have a single contraction, but lost a part of my mucous plug later that night much to my excitement. Chuck and I borrowed my Mom's car later that day to run some errands. Somehow the universe decided that within 1 week of totaling my car, our second car should puncture a tire. So after we stopped by the collision center to clean out and say our goodbyes to my vehicle, we dropped off car #2 overnight for new tires and prayed that it would be done by the time I went into labor.

On Christmas Eve, I hung out with my Mom and sister most of the day while Chuck helped his Mom run some errands and then hung out with his family for most of the evening while my ladies and I headed to a Christmas Eve Service at church. Chuck's mom was nice enough to insist on loaning us her car for the evening "just in case" so when Chuck came home shortly after the service, we decided it probably wouldn't be the worst idea to install one of our car seats in the back should the need for a speedy departure arrive. In hindsight, it seems like all of this craziness should have been our forewarning that things were about to start happening. 

Chuck and I spent a couple hours that night in bed watching Top Chef and when I decided at 12:00 am that I should really get some sleep, Chuck went out into the living room to finish watching a movie he had started earlier that day and promptly passed out. Nearly two hours later I awoke to a huge gush of fluid. I knew instantly that my water had broken and ran into the bathroom to try and clean myself up a bit. I quickly put on a maxi pad and went out to the couch to wake Chuck up and let him know what had happened. I called my midwife to let her know my water had broken, but I wasn't having any contractions. She recommended that if my contractions hadn't strengthened to come in around 8:00 am. My Mom heard all the commotion and came down to see what was going on. We all decided to go back to sleep since we wouldn't be getting any for awhile.

I lay in bed for about an hour waiting for my contractions to kick in, but was much too anxious to get any sleep. Around 3:30 am I finally got out of bed, told Chuck to stay sleeping and started primping and packing the last minute items in our hospital bags. I made myself breakfast and my Mom came down again and ate with me while we discussed when I should leave for the hospital. My contractions had begun, but were really light and I started timing them on my phone to see if there was any regularity to them. After we ate breakfast, she went back upstairs to try and sleep and I laid on the couch next to our Christmas tree hoping a change in location might help me catch some shut-eye. After two hours of laying on the couch with no hope of sleep in sight, I gave up and called the birthing center at 6:30 am to let them know we'd be heading in soon. The nurse on-call informed me that all three rooms in the birthing center were full so I'd have to go to triage and wait until our room was ready. I made myself a little more to eat knowing that I would need plenty of sustenance to keep up my strength.

At 7:00 am I woke Chuck up and my sister came down stairs asking if we could open presents because it was, after all, Christmas morning. Because my contractions still weren't bad, we sat around the table together and exchanged gifts while I continued timing my contractions. It was a really peaceful, calm way to spend our morning together, but I was growing increasingly ready to get the show on the road, so by 8:00 am we were on the road headed to the hospital. At 8:45 am we checked in and were brought up to triage. The nurse hooked me up to monitor my contractions and baby's heart rate. My contractions were still unimpressive and inconsistent, but because my water had broken, I was admitted, received my IV port and was encouraged to walk around to get my contractions picking up.

Chuck and I walked around the labor and delivery wing for about an hour and by the end, my contractions had picked up to about 3 minutes apart, lasting about 30 seconds. They had grown increasingly uncomfortable, but I was still able to walk slowly through them. After an hour of walking, Chuck and I were ready for a break so we headed back to our little corner in the triage area around 12:00 pm. We ate some Clif bars we had packed and I laid back down on the bed to receive my first dose of antibiotics for my Group B strep. Unfortunately, all the walking we had done was completely wasted because as soon as I laid back down my contractions slowed to about every 10 minutes. As soon as my 30 minutes of antibiotics was done, we resumed walking for another hour and by the end my contractions had grown increasingly uncomfortable. By this point our room was finally ready so we brought in our bags, ordered some lunch and our midwife encouraged us to try and rest while we could. She checked my cervix and I was still only about 2-3 cm dilated and about 85% effaced. While not exactly the progress I was hoping for, it was something. So at 2:00 pm, I laid down to try and rest and prepare for the hours to come.

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Click here for Charlie's Birth Story: Part 2 and Charlie's Birth Story: Part 3.

Winter Book Challenge: December Check-In

Looking forward to lots more reading whilst snuggling Baby Pep, but here's where I'm at after the second month of Megan's Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge.

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that fits the general rules.

10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books. | Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (December 11, 2014)

10 points: Read a book of short stories. | My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins (December 23, 2014)

10 points: Read a book with a food in the title. | Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan (November 8, 2014)

15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you. | Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Currently reading)

15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language.

15 points: Read a book written by a local author (either an author from your state if you live in the United States, or from your country if you live somewhere else).

20 points: Read a "bookish book" (in which books play an important role, e.g. the setting involves a bookstore or library, a major character is an author, or a book that celebrates reading and books. (Examples: The Book Thief, The Shadow of the Wind, The Thirteenth Tale, etc.)

20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title (e.g. north, south, east, west or any combination of those).

25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read. | The Woodcutter by Kate Danley [Fantasy] (November 19, 2014)

25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title.  | Yes Please by Amy Poehler [Muse] (November 22, 2014)

30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title (e.g. breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, brunch).

PREVIOUS POINTS: 60
TOTAL POINTS: 80

Welcome to the World, Baby Pep!

Baby Pep, also known as Charles "Charlie" Davis Stuckert, was born at 2:22 AM on December 26, 2014. I labored all Christmas day and late into the night a 6 lb 7 oz pipsqueek joined our family.

Motherhood is no joke, but I'm completely amazed by how much I love this little one already.

Ford's Birth Story | The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart

While I settle into this whole motherhood thing, I've asked some of my favorite Mama bloggers if they might be willing to share their personal stories, tips for new moms and parenting wisdom. First up, is Ruthie from The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart. Take it away, Ruthie!

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I wasn't sure if I wanted to share his birth story and contemplated writing it but I am constantly reminded that when I share certain things about my life, I could be blessing someone else with my story. It was emotional, intense, and not what we would have ever imagined but our Ford is here, beautiful, and worth everything.
Being overdue was hard. The week after my due date we went to the doctor 4 times, had my membranes stripped 4 times, and waited. We spent lots of time with my family to take our minds off of waiting for baby and it was such a great time. Honestly if laughing could put you into labor, I would have had Ford long before! Friday morning we had an appointment and I still hadn't progressed from 3cm and 75% effaced but was having some good contractions on the NST. The nurses told me to go walk for an hour or two and come back to be checked that afternoon. Operation walk the baby out started and we walked the neighborhood and every square inch of Costco. No progress. My doctor could sense how uncomfortable and ready I was and told me that she was on call all weekend and that I could come up at anytime for a "secret date" and she would break my water. The hospital was so busy and didn't have any induction dates until the 15th but there was no way I wanted to wait that long. We spent Saturday with family and prayed for direction on what to do. I didn't want to be in the position to choose when I had my son, I wanted it to happen on it's own but it just wasn't happening. Sunday morning we woke up and walked for an hour in our hilly neighborhood and timed contractions 4 minutes apart for an hour! This is when they tell you to go into the hospital so we did! I was able to shower, pack and relax before we left and I was incredibly excited. I was hooked up to the NST and unfortunately I wasn't in  active labor. We met with the doctor who said we could go ahead and admit me, start me on pitocin and get the show on the road. We were game! 

We settled into our L&D room I think about 2pm and started a low dose of pitocin (2). The doctor wanted to wait to see if Ford would drop a bit before breaking my water because he was still at a -2 station. I could feel the contractions a bit stronger but totally managed. My family came to hang out and I labored on the yoga ball pretty much the whole time. I wasn't progressing so they broke my water which was the weirdest sensation! They upped my pitocin and things got real. I think this was around 7pm because my family left to go get dinner. Contractions were coming on stronger and more frequent and I started to feel tons of pain. I held on as long as I could before asking for an epidural. I had labored for 5 hours on pitocin on my own which was enough for me. I went into labor knowing I wanted to have an epidural but wanted to experience some labor beforehand. I was ready to relax, possibly get some rest, and get some relief. I was 4cm dilated and 95% effaced. Before you are given an epidural, they pump you with 800ml of fluids so as I was being pumped full of the cold liquids, the anesthesiologist came in with the bad news. My blood platelet count was too low and I couldn't receive an epidural. I lost it. I remember shrieking, "so you're saying I am going to feel my son rip through my vagina? Like I am going to feel it all?!" Less than 2% of women have this gestational condition, Thrombocytopenia, and I was a part of that 2%. Pitocin contractions are so much more intense than naturally occurring contractions and I was devastated knowing there wasn't a way to alleviate the pain. I was hysterical for a few minutes and finally calmed down knowing crying and questioning wouldn't fix the situation. I had been healthy my entire pregnancy and never showed signs of high blood counts(doctor said it was gestational and my counts are down so nothing to worry about now). Getting an epidural increased my chances of a blood clot which is deadly and dangerous. There was no way we would risk it. Jon and I were alone and he prayed over me, asking God for guidance in this scary situation and for us to stay calm and embrace the incredible thing that was about to happen. I was given stadol through an IV to attempt to take some pain away and honestly it did nothing but mess with my mind (I do NOT recommend that drug at all but I was willing to try anything at that point). I've never been on drugs but I imagine this is what it would be like. My physical pain was intensified but my mind was far far away. Contractions were coming a minute apart and my whole body would shake in pain. I honestly felt like I was about to lose the battle of life and cried out in pain. I start crying thinking about the pain and looking through pictures, I am so glad we documented it but it just kills me to see everyone around me watching me in pain. The doctor checked me around 11pm and I had made no progress. 9 hours of intense pitocin and I was still stuck at 4 cm dilated. This is when I looked at Jon and said I needed to get the baby out, I needed a C-section. It was such an out of body experience. With tear filled eyes Jon told me he had been waiting for me to ask. And within 20 minutes, my son was born.

Unfortunately I couldn't be put under "normal" C section anesthesia (spinal block) because of my low blood platelets and had to have a full on surgery meaning Jon couldn't be in the room with me. We knew this would be the case if we went for a C section so I had already cried those tears but it was such a blessing. I remember being moved from the hospital bed to the surgical table in the bright, cold, OR, having a contraction, being tied down and crying out in pain clinging to the anesthesiologists' arm. And then I went to sleep. They held off on anesthesia until right before the cut as to not pass on drugs to the baby. Of course I was sad Jon wasn't able to see our son being born but this is our story and there was nothing we could do about it. 

Jon and my family waited anxiously outside the OR and met Ford at just minutes old. We got the whole meeting on film, another thing that wouldn't have normally happened so it was a God thing. The nurses came out and told Jon he was pink, crying, and already peed on 2 nurses! Ford was even opening up his eyes within his first minutes. Proud daddy got to wheel him to the nursery for a bath and my family watched through the glass. I am so lucky they documented it for me!

I got to meet Ford about an hour after he was born and I was able to wake up from the drugs. I was still woozy from the surgery but got to breastfeed him right away. Jon was with me the whole time and my family took turns coming in as I recovered. They told me I kept asking, "do you think he's cute? Does Dr. Wang thing he's cute? Does Ernie think he's cute?". Well that's a no brainer!

We settled in to our postpartum room and the rest of the night was a blur. I remember the doctor coming in and telling me what a great job I did and also that she highly doubted I would have been able to birth Ford vaginally since he was so large. Again, God redeems. I think how hard it would have been to have gotten the epidural, labored another 24 hours then to have a C section. Was it the birth I always dreamed of? No. It was the most emotional, painful, thrilling, amazing day of my life and I would do it again in a heartbeat for sweet Ford Nehemiah.