Moooo ...

James fed Claire from a bottle yesterday for the first time, and it went well! I was a bit nervous about the temperature of the milk (how accurate is the inside of your wrist, really?), so I think I only got it to room temperature, but she still took to the source.

She managed to pretty much finish the entire 2.25 oz, so I'll be making slightly bigger bottles moving forward (2.5 oz?). The other good news is that I managed to pump out 2.5 oz during the pumping while James fed Claire her bottle ... AND, I pumped another 2.5 oz this morning! One for today and one to freeze!

The boobies are delivering! Moooo ....

Pumping

I started pumping this week ... just to try out the process so that I know what's in store when I start doing it regularly. The objective right now is to get Claire on at least one bottle a day so that 1) she gets used to different nipples (she's gagging and rejecting her Soothie pacifier right now) and 2) James can participate in the fun that is feeding.

I'm using a Medela Harmony hand pump right now until I get my Pump in Style sometime next week, and I'm only expressing -- or attempting to collect -- some foremilk to ease the engorgement, whatever hindmilk is left after Claire gets bored of feeding, and then a swipe at the other boob just to see what I can get.

It's slow going. Barely even into it, I can see how pumping can be a beating. I'm not sure if it's my technique or timing or my equipment, but I'm getting an ounce or less a sitting. Granted, I probably only need 2-2.5 ounces for the baby each meal, but at this rate, I'll never keep up! I just don't get it; I feel like I'm leaking/spraying/wasting that much when the wind blows or the baby cries or I take a shower ... how come I can't get it all in a bottle? I'm hoping it's just a matter of supply and that, with this additional pumping on top of the feedings, my supply will increase enough that I'll be able to get more soon. Also, once it's just me and Claire at home, I won't be confined to sitting in my bedroom trying to squeeze out that -- as Tia put it (and I agree) -- "liquid gold" one drop at a time.

P.S. I've also discovered it's much more fun posting on Claire's behalf than posting about myself. What I'm doing right now isn't all that exciting; it's nothing compared to the adventures of a newborn!

P.P.S. Pooping is still scary.

I'm a water balloon, and I'm scared to poop!

I never actually tried reading "What to Expect While You're Expecting" while I was pregnant, but I did read the Girlfriends books and the Pregnancy Journal in additon to BabyCenter.com, BabyZone.com, etc. If any one of those sources mentioned that I would turn into a water balloon after giving birth, I must have disregarded it.

I first noticed it in my feet. My size 8's had already spread some with the pregnancy relaxant to 8.5, but in the hours following Claire's arrival, my calves and ankle married into one as a summer sausage cankle stuffed into water balloons with lil' smokie toes attached! My doctor and RNs confirmed that this is normal post-partum, especially having had an epidural where I was required to have an IV pumped into me. All I know is that it was so bad, I couldn't even bend my toes, and -- given that I often nurse on a chaise -- I spent a lot of hours just staring at the jointless splats of play-doh while Claire fed.

In order to rid the swelling, I pretty much avoided salt in all foods so that I would not retain any extra fluids. This is one of the "sitting month" rules that I actually followed. Oh, that and that I'm not supposed to cook, which means that my parents, in-laws, and James are stuck cooking salt-less food for me and suffer through eating that same foods themselves. Bless them.

Most of that other "sitting month" stuff? The no-washing of hair or bathing? Gross. No touching cold water? Good in theory, hard to really practice. No reading? How else am I supposed to find out whether all the baby quirks are normal?! No crying? Eh ... well, I blame it on the hormones ... and those Kleenex commercials!

Oh, yeah ... pooping is still traumatic. I feel like my uterus and bladder are going to be expelled at the same time. Stool softeners help, but I cringe even now just thinking about it! I think this is one thing that the C-sectioners have on us!

Love of Labor

I've decided to create a blog, finally. The timing coincides with another pivotal event in my life: becoming a mother. On Wednesday, February 6th, 2008, I introduced the world to my daughter, Claire De-Ling Pee. And, with that, I realized that I have adventures I'd like to share ... or at least write about whether anyone reads it or not.

I'll start with the labor which I actually quite enjoyed. Here's the timeline since no one can believe how smooth and quickly it all happened (especially me!):

• 5:30am - I woke up thinking maybe I peed on myself just a little (hey, it happens, especially late in pregnancy). Coming back from the restroom, I noticed my stomach was hard and woke up James to poke at it.
• 8:30am - James left for work at my insistence since I figured I was timing Braxton-Hicks contractions (30 sec each; 5 min apart) and I promised to call Dr. Jaffee and leave a message for the nurse (given that I figured it was a false alarm).
• 11:30am - Went into Dr. Jaffee's office and she confirmed that I probably did pee myself (hehe!) and could go home to wait for the real thing because my water had not broken, I was only 2-3cm dilated, and I was probably not officially in active labor yet. Then, she did a sonogram and changed her mind. I was told to go to the hospital NOW (and, no, I could not go home to shave my legs, eat my PB sandwich, or finish packing my hospital bag first).

Here's where it becomes a story to tell ... so I call James on his cell on my way to the hospital. No answer. I text him, but he doesn't return the message. I email him from my cell; nothing. Try his office number; he's changed extensions. Call again as I check into the hospital ... again, nada. As you can imagine, I'm thinking "WHAT IN THE WORLD?!" (probably along with a few choice expletives).

• 12:00pm - I've been admitted to the hospital and STILL trying to reach James; finally, I decide to call John Burke, his boss, who hunts him down. I believe I said something to the effect of "everything is fine, but I'm at the hospital about to have James' baby in case he wants to come". Apparently James had re-started his iPhone (something about downloading new ring tones?) and it didn't turn back on correctly. Luckily, my relief outweighed the disbelief ... James was on his way!
• 1:00pm - Dr. Jaffee breaks my water ("bag of waters"; how weird). By this time, my contractions are getting pretty strong, are about 3-4 min apart, and still about 30 sec each
• 1:30pm - I get my epidural ... happiness and contentment follow ... quickly followed by James' arrival. Lucky guy missed all the pain! I wonder if it was just coincidence ... hmmm .... My nurse Jill tells me that I'm 3-4 cm dilated, and a typical first baby averages an hour or an hour and a half per cm, so we're thinking 6-8 more hours. I settle in for the long haul.
• 3:30pm - Jill checks me again and is amazed. Apparently now I'm 100% dilated and ready to push! Whoa ... I'm almost a mom!
• 4:30pm - We start pushing to get ready for Dr. Jaffee to deliver. 1, 2, 3, 4 sets of pushes later, the nurse says STOP! We need to wait for Dr. Jaffee! To coin a phrase from Daphne, it's like having a very uncomfortable turtle head, but I'll do what I need to do!
• 5:00pm - Dr. Jaffee arrived, suited up, said PUSH! 2 pushes and 14 minutes later, Claire was here!

I'm not sure if it's because I had built up the whole labor thing in my head so big that it seemed so scary, or maybe it really is that scary but the epidural dulled the pain, but the whole birthing thing was quite a memorable and special experience. Immediately afterwards, I thought "man, I can do THAT again", although I'm not so far removed from the last 3-4 weeks of pregnancy to really want to do THAT part again quite yet. :)

Hmmm ... I think I'll cover pregnancy thoughts and post-partum adventures in the next postings.

Check out Claire's blog for more news and pics!