Braylon is here!

A new post!!! I know, I know, where have I been? Taking care of a newborn, of course! So here's the long over-due update and pictures of my little man!

Braylon was born 4/22/09 11:18 pm. He weighed 7lbs 3 oz and was 20 inches. 12 hrs of labor and 3.5 hrs pushing ended in an emergency c section because he was face presentation. It was pretty traumatic. I had gotten an epidural at 8 cm so they gave me a bigger dose for the c section but it wore off during the surgery and I could feel it. Then they messed up the post-op pain medication and I didn't get anything for pain until 2-3 hours after the surgery. They usually use morphine which I'm allergic to and they didn't get anything else ordered. I thought I was going to die. It was awful, I feel like I missed a lot in the beginning. I didn't get to hold him or try to nurse him until 5 hours after the surgery because of the pain. I couldn't say the word c-section without crying for a couple weeks, but I've come to realize that all that matters is I have a happy healthy baby!

I had lots of trouble nursing him at first but he's doing better now. Within the first week he was down to 6 lbs, a lot more than he was supposed to lose. I worked with a lactation consultant. She had me trying to nurse him, then pumping and feeding it to him in this special bottle that wouldn't cause nipple confusion. That whole process of feeding him took 1.5 hrs and he had to eat every 3 hours at the minimum! We did this for at least a week and it was wearing us out. Braylon got sooo lethargic and weak. The doctor finally said he had a 'lazy suck' and to put him on a regular bottle and quit wearing him out trying to nurse. So we did. I just pumped and gave him that in the bottle and supplemented with formula when I didn't have enough. But the lactation consultant said not to give up on the breast feeding. So once he got stronger and started gaining his weight back, I tried him on the breast once or twice a day. We rented a special baby weight scale the first week to weigh him before and after nursing to see how much he was getting. He would get an ounce or two, which isn't enough for a feeding, and then we'd give him however much more he needed in a bottle. But yesterday he took 3.5 ounces from me for 3 feedings in a row which is exactly what we'd been giving him in the bottle! Maybe he's going to do it after all!!!

His 1 month well check was this morning. The pediatrician was very pleased with both his growth and development. He weighed 8 lbs 11 ozs (25th percentile), 21.5 inches long (50th), and head circumference 37 cm (25th). I went through the feeding deal with the doctor and he said keep with the same thing we're doing because it's working. I planned to keep working with him on the breast feeding but was concerned once the scale is due back the end of next week I'd have no way of knowing how much he's getting and would maybe just pump from then on. But the doctor said not to get too hung up on exactly how much he was getting. He said to keep with it since he's doing so well now and gauge his hunger off of how well he seems to nurse and if he acts hungry when he's done. It doesn't have to be so consistent I guess. He said it's good to try to keep him on a schedule of every 4 hours or so, but to let him eat a little more in between if he acts ridiculously hungry. So much work just to breast feed, but I really want to do it! At the feeding after we got back from the doc today, I nursed him and he took 4.5 ounces!!!

He is growing so fast! I can't believe he's a month old this week. He is starting to smile and make eye contact a little. He definitely knows Mommy's voice and he'll look for me when he hears me talk. The pediatrician said we'd see a lot more social development in the next month. I can't wait til he smiles and coos at me!

Mommy is holding up pretty well since the c-section. I had already lost 25 of my 30 lbs I had gained within the first 2 weeks as the swelling went down. I overdid it a bit at first. I was told not to lift more than 10 lbs. Carrying the grocery basket around Kroger is not a good idea. That plus carrying the car seat and bending and carrying-on like I was perfectly healthy put me back in the doctor's office last week. One end of my incision was bleeding and oozing. I had pulled a stitch loose. Dr. Shaw said it didn't look infected and tried to close me back up on the end she tied off with some steri-strips. I'm trying to take it easy so it will stay together and heal correctly. I have 2 more weeks before the regularly scheduled post-partum visit. Hopefully I stay in one piece until then. I don't go back to work until July 15th or so. I still have a lot of time left at home with him! I'm holding off on returning to teach the group fitness classes until July because of the issues with the c-section, but I might be ready to sub or take class the second half of June. I'm hoping to be healthy enough to get certified as a personal trainer at the end of June. We'll see.

I'm so anxious for everyone to see Braylon (and getting a little tired of being confined to the house)! But the pediatrician suggested waiting until he's 6 weeks old to introduce him to the masses. So, everyone at work and the gym - you've gotta wait a couple more weeks to see the baby...and me! As a friend correctly pointed out yesterday - now that I have a baby everyone is just interested in seeing him and I'm just along for the ride! :)

The first two pictures are from the hospital, the others are at about 2.5 weeks old.