Well, yesterday marked Sydney's first two weeks. She is absolutely amazing and so sweet. (I say this as she is sound asleep right now and has been for the last couple of hours!) :) She has brought a new dimension to our lives that we couldn't have even imagined, and we are so blessed to have her!
Today is the first day we haven't been rushing around to a doctor appt. She is only 14 days old and has already met her insurance deductible...and then some! She is an established patient at several offices in town now...which means that Brian and I have filled out the same medical forms over and over and over!
To quickly fill you in on the drama... The first day or so Sydney latched on and was breast feeding like a pro. We were so pleasantly surprised and grateful to not have the problems that so many women have in this area. Well, that all came to a halt the next day and from there we worked on it with our midwife. We weren't making any progress. We went and saw a lactation consultant who quickly determined that Sydney had a very short frenulum (the piece of skin holding your tongue down) and that this was preventing her from being able to get her tongue out far enough to latch on properly. She said it was strongly hereditary which is funny because I have a very short one as well. Anyway, it was suggested that we have Sydney's clipped. This would most likely solve our breast feeding problem and would also likely prevent any possible speech problems in the future.
We were also encouraged to go see a pediatric chiropractor. What? We had no idea that was even a profession! They said that since Sydney was so big and had a traumatic entrance, it would probably be beneficial to get her 'adjusted' and would most likely help in the breast feeding department as well.
We saw the chiropractor and she was actually amazing. She took Sydney in her hands and just started working with her and Sydney just kind of sunk right down and enjoyed the movement. Everything from some of the platelets in her little head to her jaw and palate...all the way down to her sacrum were all gently put back in place. All the bones and such smoosh together while the birthing process takes place and sometimes not everything goes back in place how it should and that was the case in Sydney's situation.
After the first visit with the chiropractor Sydney actually latched on and fed a little bit. After the second visit she breast fed for two days. After that it went back to just being a frustrating time for her. The nipple shield we had to use just kept coming off and she just didn't have the patience to work with it. We had one more visit with the chiropractor and at this point it was evident that Sydney was responding really well to the work, but not so much in the sense of breast feeding...
By this time we had already been calling around to see about getting her frenulum clipped. Our pediatrician doesn't do that procedure and other pediatricians who do wouldn't do it because Sydney wasn't being established with them. It was getting to be a frustrating task to try to get this done. Our pediatrician said she would make some calls to see about setting up a referral. She finally was able to talk to a local ENT surgeon who was willing to get us in that day. We went in for a consult and the doctor took a look at it and said she would definitely recommend clipping it and could do it right then if we wanted.
I stepped out of the room and left Brian in there to hold our poor girl down. As I was just sitting down in the waiting room getting Sydney's bottle out, here they came right behind me. All they did was literally clip it. They didn't numb it or anything! She barely cried.
So, after we got home from doing that we tried to breast feed again and she actually latched on and fed for a little while. Once she started to fuss we didn't really force the issue...we figured we could work on it over the next few days. We will be going in to see the lactation consultant again just to really get on the right track.
At this point, we will just have to keep pumping and bottle feeding. I'm thankful that I am producing plenty of milk to be able to pump, that's for sure! Everyone keeps telling us that she will get the hang of it and not to worry. She is only a couple weeks old and has plenty of time. Our fingers are crossed! If it turns out though that we will just have to pump and give her a bottle, well, at least we will know that we have tried everything! :)
So, on top of the lactation consultant and the chiropractor, the ENT surgeon, her two well-baby checks, and her hearing test... we are pooped!! Not only are we trying to adjust to no sleep and learning what she wants when she cries, we are having to get up and get her ready to leave to make all these appointments. It's hard to do when you have to get yourself ready, pump some milk, get her ready, feed her- all after having to wake her up because you have to leave...poor girl can't get on a schedule even if she wanted to!
Oh, we also had some new-born photos taken...that was a disaster! She was fed and fast asleep on the way over...only to wake up once we got her naked. She then proceeded on peeing and pooping on us throughout the whole session! Vanessa, my friend taking the photos, did a great job and had fun with it...
All-in-all though, things are going really well. She was perfect at her two week visit. She hasn't regained her birth weight yet, but they said she was well hydrated and looked healthy, so they weren't too concerned. She is a very active girl, always moving her arms and legs...and holding up her head. We have a strong girl here.
On a couple of side notes, as some of you know Brian was out of work for awhile before Sydney was born because of hurting his back. After several doctor visits himself (we really had no chance between Sydney's visits and Brian's!!!) it is the general consenses that he might have some kidney stones. We aren't sure and at this point..they are just waiting to see if something more happens.
I, myself, have only had one doctor visit! :) I am dealing with some post-partum depression and wanted to get in to be seen about that. I'm thankful for the past experiences I have had with depression as I was able to really recognize what I was feeling now and was able to nip it sooner rather than later.
As of right now, I think our calendar is void of any immediate doctor visits and hopefully it will stay that way for awhile! For the most part we are all healthy and happy and thankful for this next chapter in our lives.
Today is the first day we haven't been rushing around to a doctor appt. She is only 14 days old and has already met her insurance deductible...and then some! She is an established patient at several offices in town now...which means that Brian and I have filled out the same medical forms over and over and over!
To quickly fill you in on the drama... The first day or so Sydney latched on and was breast feeding like a pro. We were so pleasantly surprised and grateful to not have the problems that so many women have in this area. Well, that all came to a halt the next day and from there we worked on it with our midwife. We weren't making any progress. We went and saw a lactation consultant who quickly determined that Sydney had a very short frenulum (the piece of skin holding your tongue down) and that this was preventing her from being able to get her tongue out far enough to latch on properly. She said it was strongly hereditary which is funny because I have a very short one as well. Anyway, it was suggested that we have Sydney's clipped. This would most likely solve our breast feeding problem and would also likely prevent any possible speech problems in the future.
We were also encouraged to go see a pediatric chiropractor. What? We had no idea that was even a profession! They said that since Sydney was so big and had a traumatic entrance, it would probably be beneficial to get her 'adjusted' and would most likely help in the breast feeding department as well.
We saw the chiropractor and she was actually amazing. She took Sydney in her hands and just started working with her and Sydney just kind of sunk right down and enjoyed the movement. Everything from some of the platelets in her little head to her jaw and palate...all the way down to her sacrum were all gently put back in place. All the bones and such smoosh together while the birthing process takes place and sometimes not everything goes back in place how it should and that was the case in Sydney's situation.
After the first visit with the chiropractor Sydney actually latched on and fed a little bit. After the second visit she breast fed for two days. After that it went back to just being a frustrating time for her. The nipple shield we had to use just kept coming off and she just didn't have the patience to work with it. We had one more visit with the chiropractor and at this point it was evident that Sydney was responding really well to the work, but not so much in the sense of breast feeding...
By this time we had already been calling around to see about getting her frenulum clipped. Our pediatrician doesn't do that procedure and other pediatricians who do wouldn't do it because Sydney wasn't being established with them. It was getting to be a frustrating task to try to get this done. Our pediatrician said she would make some calls to see about setting up a referral. She finally was able to talk to a local ENT surgeon who was willing to get us in that day. We went in for a consult and the doctor took a look at it and said she would definitely recommend clipping it and could do it right then if we wanted.
I stepped out of the room and left Brian in there to hold our poor girl down. As I was just sitting down in the waiting room getting Sydney's bottle out, here they came right behind me. All they did was literally clip it. They didn't numb it or anything! She barely cried.
So, after we got home from doing that we tried to breast feed again and she actually latched on and fed for a little while. Once she started to fuss we didn't really force the issue...we figured we could work on it over the next few days. We will be going in to see the lactation consultant again just to really get on the right track.
At this point, we will just have to keep pumping and bottle feeding. I'm thankful that I am producing plenty of milk to be able to pump, that's for sure! Everyone keeps telling us that she will get the hang of it and not to worry. She is only a couple weeks old and has plenty of time. Our fingers are crossed! If it turns out though that we will just have to pump and give her a bottle, well, at least we will know that we have tried everything! :)
So, on top of the lactation consultant and the chiropractor, the ENT surgeon, her two well-baby checks, and her hearing test... we are pooped!! Not only are we trying to adjust to no sleep and learning what she wants when she cries, we are having to get up and get her ready to leave to make all these appointments. It's hard to do when you have to get yourself ready, pump some milk, get her ready, feed her- all after having to wake her up because you have to leave...poor girl can't get on a schedule even if she wanted to!
Oh, we also had some new-born photos taken...that was a disaster! She was fed and fast asleep on the way over...only to wake up once we got her naked. She then proceeded on peeing and pooping on us throughout the whole session! Vanessa, my friend taking the photos, did a great job and had fun with it...
All-in-all though, things are going really well. She was perfect at her two week visit. She hasn't regained her birth weight yet, but they said she was well hydrated and looked healthy, so they weren't too concerned. She is a very active girl, always moving her arms and legs...and holding up her head. We have a strong girl here.
On a couple of side notes, as some of you know Brian was out of work for awhile before Sydney was born because of hurting his back. After several doctor visits himself (we really had no chance between Sydney's visits and Brian's!!!) it is the general consenses that he might have some kidney stones. We aren't sure and at this point..they are just waiting to see if something more happens.
I, myself, have only had one doctor visit! :) I am dealing with some post-partum depression and wanted to get in to be seen about that. I'm thankful for the past experiences I have had with depression as I was able to really recognize what I was feeling now and was able to nip it sooner rather than later.
As of right now, I think our calendar is void of any immediate doctor visits and hopefully it will stay that way for awhile! For the most part we are all healthy and happy and thankful for this next chapter in our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment