Pearls and Perfection Problems: (Part 2) Emersyn's First Several Weeks

In the previous post, I stated that the first few weeks of Emersyn's life have been some of the most WONDERFUL but HARDEST days in my life. In the third week of Emersyn's life, we were thrilled that her eye was looking so much better, and I cherished those moments especially in the morning time when she would make eye contact with me for a long time while I talked to her. However, the evenings were rather trying. From around 5pm - midnight, we could not find anything to settle her. Daniel and I would take turns with her to relieve the frustrated parent and give them a moment to take some deep breaths. I would get her to sleep, but as soon as I would lay her down she was awake and crying again. Many nights, we would give in and I would just lay her on my chest and she would sleep on me for several hours. Don't judge, when your baby is tired but cannot stay asleep and you have not had sleep yourself, it's okay to break the rules :)

As I mentioned in my last post, we visited the doctor on Thursday, November 6th, and they were concerned with her weight gain and made a weight check appointment for the following Thursday. I took her for the follow up for the first time by myself and her weight was 6lbs 11oz. She had actually lost 4oz from the previous Thursday and was 11oz below her birth weight still. The nurse came in the room and told me I was going to have to start supplementing (I was currently breastfeeding only). I was crushed, but determined. I asked her could I try pumping and give her extra breast milk by bottle (which the doctor the week before suggested that I not pump until Emersyn's weight was up). She said that Emersyn's pediatrician was not working that day, but that she would get another doctor to come speak with me. The doctor came in and I expressed my concern with formula feeding, since my desire was to exclusively breastfeed. I was afraid that if she tasted the formula, she would no longer want to breastfeed, etc. I was not completely happy with the suggestions, so I went home and made an appointment for the following Monday with the lactation consultant at Spartanburg Regional, where I had Emersyn.

When I met with the lactation consultant, she had me weigh Emersyn before I fed her and after I fed her in the office (her weight was 6lbs 15oz). The scale they have measures to the milliliter, so I was able to see exactly how much she was able to receive from the breast feeding. She fed on both sides for 20 minutes and when we weighed her, we realized that she only got 1 ounce! Here was the problem. I was not producing enough milk (probably due to the stress, lack of consistent meals, and Emersyn not wanting to eat as much during the eye problems). The lactation consultant made out a plan of action for me, hugged me, gave me a tissue to wipe my tears, and assured me it was going to be okay. She wanted me to be able to strictly breastfeed just as much as I did. She told me I had been given some bad advice, and that I should have been pumping weeks ago when I noticed that Emersyn was not gaining weight. Luckily my mama was with me at the appointment and heard what huge demand this was going to be of my time so she spent the next several days with us and was a HUGE lifesaving help. SO, for a week, the consultant had me feeding Emersyn for 20 minutes on both sides and then pumping after every feed for 15 minutes. I am to feed when Emersyn wants it (feed on demand) which ranges between every hour and a half to four hours depending on the time of the day. She told me to also do a "power pump" once a day where I pump 10 minutes, rest 10 minutes and continue this for an hour and 10 minutes. As you can imagine, I pretty much feel like a moo cow these days, but it has been SOOO worth it!! She also let me rent the awesome baby scale they have so I have been able to weigh Emersyn before feedings and after feedings when I want to make sure she is getting at least 2 ounces at each feeding and when she isn't I know to feed her some of the milk I have pumped in a bottle. I am so happy to say that as of our last appointment on Wednesday, she is weighing around 7lbs 9oz!!! She has gained around 10oz in ten days : ) All the nursing, pumping, eating, and drinking of water has helped!

What's even better is my baby is HAPPY! She is no longer crying in the evening as much (she was apparently too hungry to sleep the week before). She is sleeping around 12 hours at night with only a few feedings in between, she takes long naps in the day BY HERSELF (most of the time unless mommy just wants to cuddle), and my milk supply has increased due to the extra pumping. We are finally getting on somewhat of a schedule and can hopefully just enjoy our time together before I go back to work. Sorry if this is too much information for some of you, but I really wanted to share our experience especially for those soon to be or freshly new moms who may have the same struggles I have had. I have posted more pictures below including some of my favorite pictures from her recent newborn session!!

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