New blog

I did decide to take the plunge and make a new blog.  It will be a little bit social commentary, a little bit mommy-blog, but primarily about my life where I am now. 

If you would like to follow me, you can find my new blog here. :-)

9 months

WOW.  It has been a long time since I've blogged.  C has now been on the outside longer than she was on the inside.  We are starting to plan her first birthday party.  Craziness!

I apologize for my prolonged, unexplained absence from the blog.  I've been focusing on being an engaged, hands-on mom and wife while also trying to keep my head above water at work, and the months have just slipped away. 

I am also trying to decide what to do with this blog.  I feel like it has served its purpose, as an outlet for me during some of the most difficult times of my life.  I am debating starting a new blog, about my life after baby, but haven't decided to take the plunge yet.  Either way, I will be leaving this blog up, in the hope that my story might give encouragement to others who are experiencing their own struggles.

Knock on wood...

But I think the thrush is finally GONE!!!!!!

It only took 13 weeks, three different anti-fungals, and a bottle of gentian violet.  The anti-fungal medications worked for me, but did nothing for C's mouth.  Finally, my lactation consultant suggested and C's doctor approved us to use gentian violet.  That stuff is messy, but it seems to have worked!!!!!

Breastfeeding, thrush, and weight gain

Our first two months with C have been wonderful, with only a few minor hiccups.  As I've mentioned before, I am breastfeeding and that is generally going well.  However, we did have an issue where C wasn't gaining enough weight in the beginning.  First, she did not gain back up to her birth weight by two weeks like her pedi wanted.  This led to many tears and much worry from me as I frantically fed her for the next five days, trying to fatten her up before her next weight check.  She did make it back up to her birth weight for that appointment, but then had gained only two more ounces by the time of her one-month appointment two weeks later.  Cue more tears and panic and guilt from me that I was starving my baby without knowing it and therefore irreparably affecting her brain development.  (First-time mom + sleeping only 30-45 minutes at a time = over-reacting emotional disaster!)  At that time, her pedi recommended supplementing with formula, which was very difficult for me to swallow but was of course the right decision at the time.  I felt like I was failing my baby by not meeting even her most basic of needs.

We spent the next few weeks supplementing with formula and trying to increase my supply.  Her doctor thought it might be an issue with the fat content of my milk rather than a supply issue, so he had me add a DHA supplement to my diet to see if that would help.  (I couldn't tolerate the God-awful taste and smell of fish oil capsules, so I am now taking flax oil instead.)  Regardless of whether the supplement helped or not, I am happy to report that we are now exclusively breastfeeding again, and she is thriving and growing like a chubby, tubby weed.  :-)

In addition to the weight issues and breastmilk supply issue, C and I have also been fighting the worst case of thrush in the history of ever for the past 6 weeks.  I believe I actually had it for a week or two before seeking treatment, but I thought the burning and nipple pain were normal for a beginning breastfeeding mom.  It wasn't until she was a few weeks old, and I was literally sobbing from pain during her feedings, that I realized maybe there was a problem.  The amazing lactation consultant at my doctor's office diagnosed me as having not only thrush in my nipples, but also yeast growing in my milk ducts.  (Let me tell you, the pain from a breast yeast infection is worse than unmedicated labor.  I'm not joking.)  Then, after several weeks of no symptoms, C also developed thrush in her mouth. 

Thankfully, the thrush doesn't seem to be causing C too much discomfort, other than causing her to be extra gassy.  Unfortunately, we are both still fighting it.  I'm on my third round of Diflucan (fluconazole) and am using a prescription cream (terconazole) on my nipples as needed.  C was treated unsuccessfully with Nystatin and is now on her own course of fluconazole.  DH and I also sterilize all of her bottle parts, pacifiers, and my pump parts after every use.  I am hoping that since we are finally both being treated with fluconazole at the same time that we will finally be able to beat it, because I am so over this!

If any of you dealt with thrush, I would love to hear what worked for you!

10 weeks!

So I started writing this post a week and a half ago... when she really was 8 weeks old.  lol  I really want to try to post at least monthly updates to how we are doing, but we'll see how that goes!

C is now 10 weeks old... HOLY CRAP how did that happen?!  She had her two-month pedi appointment last Friday and took her first round of vaccinations like a champ.  She only cried for a minute while it was happening, and DH scooped her up afterward and she calmed right down.  She is such a good girl!  She is also becoming quite the chunky monkey, after some weight issues in the beginning (more on that in my next post).  At her appointment last week she was up to 11 pounds, 10 ounces and 23.5 inches!

C has also been hitting all of her milestones on time.  She has been holding her head up on her own since the day we brought her home from the hospital -- no joke, her pedi has commented on how strong she is since the very beginning! -- and keeps getting stronger and better at it every day.  She will also bear weight on her legs now every chance she gets.  She gave us her first real smile the day she turned 5 weeks old, and now smiles at us constantly.  My favorite thing she does is give me a huge, chubby-faced grin every time I come to her, whether I've been gone for 10 minutes or 10 seconds.  (Cue heart melting!)  She has also gone from screaming bloody murder every time we give her a bath to actually enjoying it; the same for diaper changes.  She just grins and coos the entire time we are changing her diaper, it is so adorable.  :-)

Speaking of diapers, she HATES being dirty or wet and will start fussing as soon as she realizes she's messed her diaper.  I don't know if its because we are using cloth or not, but she can tell as soon as she's wet and is not happy until she gets changed.  I'm hoping this carries over and makes for easy potty training down the road!

She also slept through the night for the first time two weeks ago.  The first night it happened I woke up to DH's alarm in a panic. My first thought was that she had stopped breathing, and I immediately reached over to check on her.  Thank goodness, she was fine and snoozing peacefully.  (My second thought was, OMG MY BOOBS OOOWWWWW!!!! haha)  Since then, she has slept at least 4-6 hours most nights, which is awesome, but of course I still have to get up to pump, which sucks.  (I would love to hear what you ladies do about this, if there is a better option.  I hate waking up every 3-4 hours to pump!)

Something else that is random, but I have to mention, is that C is absolutely mesmerized by our Christmas tree.  Yes, I said "is"... we haven't taken it down yet.  lol  (And yes, it is artificial. We don't have a rotting tree carcass in our house!)  It doesn't matter how upset and inconsolable she may be, if you carry her into our front room to look at the lights on the tree, she is instantly quiet and calm.  Amazing.  We are trying to find a good alternative to the tree, so that we can finally take it down some time before summer... Any ideas?

Five Reasons Not to Hate Your Post-Baby Body

Miss C has been keeping me quite busy these days, which doesn't leave much time to blog, but I am loving every minute of it.  I am just trying to enjoy every second that I have left of my maternity leave... which is ending entirely too soon on February 7th.  **TEARS**

Anyway, I read this blog post today and thought I would share:  Five Reasons Not to Hate Your Post-Baby Body.  I must admit I am pretty happy with mine most of the time, but this article still made me smile.  :-)  Definitely some good points to keep in mind!

Looking back

I never got around to writing my 38 week post, and I hadn't taken a 39 week picture yet by the time C arrived, so I thought I would at least share the last belly photo I took with you all.  :-)

38 weeks, 0 days; covered and uncovered.

That t-shirt was definitely begging for mercy.

And for comparison, here is one of my first belly pics from 5 weeks, 0 days.

Crazy!!!!!!!