Caesarian Recovery and Breastfeeding Sleepyhead

I was really nervous about the surgery. I read a lot of board postings and articles about recovering from a section and everything seemed to say that it was horrible, painful and long. I was ready, but scared, for a lot of pain and weakness. I'm happy to say it really wasn't too bad.

For the first 36 hours or so I had no real pain. They put some long lasting drug into the spinal before removing it and it kept me from feeling too much. After they removed the IV and Cath (24 hours post-delivery) I was able to get out of bed and sit in the glider next to it. Yeah, it hurt a little to stand up, but it wasn't even close to unbearable.

By the next day I was taking pain killers (percoset and motrin) but was up and around, walking the halls. We went with Lily to the nursery to watch as they weighed her and checked her temp. Every day was a little better than the one before. By monday I was able to take a short walk outside with a friend, and by Wed. when we were released I was able to walk up the Stairs to Eric's apartment without any pain at all.

I'm happy to say that I didn't have any of the horrible gas pains I'd been warned about by so many people. The incision ached a little, and still does from time to time, but nothing more than an irritation. In all I'd say recovery has been probably easier than I would have ever dreamed it might be... maybe too easy since it seems I may have become too active too soon and it may be affecting my milk supply.

And about Breastfeeding... I REALLY want to be able to breastfeed Lily for at least 6 months, and hopefully a year. We had a bit of a rough start. While she was awake and latched on easily right after she was born, she soon became what is often called a "sleepy baby."

It is apparently somewhat common for infants born a little early (she was called near term) to be extra sleepy afterward. Lily would have slept 24 hours a day for the first week or so, if we'd let her, and while many people dream of a newborn that will let them sleep through the night, she wouldn't even wake up to eat.

In the hospital she lost 10% of her birthweight pretty quickly and, unfortunately we had to supplement her a bit with formula. Since then, while she nurses ok most of the time, it's been really tough trying to maintain a good milk supply for her :(

Once she woke up (more) she began to eat a little better. At her 2 week appointment she was still an ounce under her BW but the Dr. doesn't seem too concerned. We just have to take her in for another visit at 1 month to make sure she's gaining ok.

So now, even though she seems to be growing, I am worried about having enough to feed her. It kind of sux to not be able to tell how much she's getting at a feeding and I still worry that she's not interested enough in eating to complain if she's getting too little. Luckily, the dr said I can stop by and have her weighed anytime I want, I just hope that I am able to keep breastfeeding her exclusively (or nearly anyway) for at least that 6 months.

Adding to the problem, it seems, of my supply is the fact that I've been pretty active, not slept enough, am taking Buproprion, smoking 3-4 cigarettes a day (couldn't quite quit :( ) and am more than a little stressed out about it. All of these things are bad for supply and even with taking a lot of Fenugreek I still feel like my supply is dwindling (I am getting less and less when I pump) and I'm nearly desperate enough to check in with a Lactation Consultant or La Leche person.

The good news is that she's now alert for several hours a day and seems to be pretty good at eating when we nurse. She's also (just today) come to realize that I am the food source and will stop crying (for a sec) when she's hungry and given to me :) .

It's amazing how much they change every day. I know I will enjoy raising her and will get over my disappointment if the nursing doesn't work out ( :( ) but for right now I'm going to do my best to keep things up and make sure I'm taking every measure to be able to bf.