Wednesday, June 3

So this has been a tough week, and it's only been 4 days. I'm sure you've heard how women get after giving birth. Well luckily I'm not suffering from depression but the first 2 days at home were basically filled with crying and frustration and an enormous amount of sleep deprevation. And trying to heal from the pain of an episiotomy is new and exciting. Not really exciting.

My breaking point was when we went to see a lactation consultant on Tuesday out of pain and desperation. One look at my girl and she told us that Carolina looked jaundiced. So I got help with the feeding tactics so we could improve and rushed to a pediatrician. We hadn't picked one before she was born so went to the partner of the pediatrician the hospital assigned.

I'll be nice and say I really really didn't like this guy or how he was handling my kid. He said she wasn't too bad and not to worry. But he was a jerk and the office was dingy.

Got back in the car and made a call for a followup visit for the next day with a Cornell pediatrician on the UES and that was great. So she got a bruise on her head from delivery and that, being very common, was how her billy rubin (?) levels went up and she is still a bit yellow. She's great at pooping and that's how you lower your billy rubin levels. She has her next check up on the 15th.

My in laws are coming tomorrow to stay for a week so that night make it easier for us to have guests. Especially since it seems to be her best visiting time around 11am.

Update, days later:
I think it's safe to say that Carolyn Migliore, the lactation consultant with Cornell/New York-Presbyterian saved my life. Or at least made breastfeeding possible. 10-15 minutes in the walk-in clinic at E 76th St and she showed me how to told her, position and control her head and hands while getting the boob in her mouth. As well as how to care for my "boobies". And then made herself available to me on the phone the next day. It made ALL the difference. Without which I would have given up to the extreme pain and gone to bottles. Not because I wanted but because it was unbearable.

If any of my friends get pregnant, they each get these gifts:
1. Medela breast shield/therashells (survival for day time)
2. Medela lanolin cream
3. Medela hydro gel pads (not to be used at same time with lanolin)
4. Nursing breast pads (for nighttime) -- disposable or reusable. Doesn't matter.
5. Tylenol (for you, not the baby)

Breastfeeding is not easy and we are still working through it. As well as trying to establish some kind of sleep schedule or at least learning what she is saying with each kind of cry.

On the other side, she is totally awesome and cute! She absolutely loves to have her hair washed and Ismael is the best burper ever. And everyone has been happier since yesterday!