Sunday, May 2, 2010
Baby Andrew: The Early Weeks
It is completely true what parents say about those early weeks being at home with a baby. They are exhausting and unpredictable, and there is just no way that one can prepare him/herself for the experience.
Waking Up in the Hospital a Mom
I then walked down to my room with Dennis and Erin walking beside and behind me to make sure I was okay. Further down the hall, I could see another couple walking. They were from our prenatal class, and it appeared that she was in the early stages of labor and walking to help with the pain. I had wondered how long they had been there and how long she would be in labor. I hoped not long. As soon as we got to our new room, Dennis and got ourselves situated to sleep. I got the bed, and Dennis was in a pull-out bed. It looked like a chair at first, but it changed into a single bed. Because I was in so much pain and because it was difficult for me to sit and get in and out of bed, I was so grateful that Dennis was there to help. We both settled down to sleep, but for some reason, I couldn't. The light was off, and Dennis found it easy to sleep. The baby wasn't back from the nursery yet, and I really wanted him in the room with us. I also was in a lot of pain, so I think the combination of these two factors made it the most difficult for me to fall asleep.
The nurse finally brought the baby in to the room in his bed, and she stopped just to the right of my bed. It was so wonderful to have him with us. I still couldn't find it in me to really sleep, so I was up most of the night going to the bathroom and listening to the baby. He made some weird noises because his lungs were still filled with the fluid from my belly. He would cough and occasionally spit up/drool in his bed. I was a bit paranoid that he was in danger or hurting, so I just listening to him all night. I also wondered when he would cry. I figured that he would cry when he was hungry, but he was in my room for hours and didn't cry.
The nurse came in a couple of times throughout the night to check on me and the baby. I had asked her around 3:30 - 4:00am whether I should be waking the baby to feed him. I seemed to be paranoid about everything. I just wanted him to be okay. I didn't want to do the wrong thing so early in my motherhood. She helped me get the baby out of his bed on wheels so that I could try to feed him. I didn't trust myself to feed him because I was so sore and it was hard to move. It was difficult to get him to latch on. He and I were both very new at the whole breastfeeding thing, so it took us some time. The nurses were great with helping me. I got help just about every time I needed to feed him. I was starting to think that breastfeeding would be difficult when I got home since I wouldn't have the nurse there to help me. I hoped it wouldn't be so bad. The baby would feed each time the nurse helped me to get him to latch in the hospital.
One bad thing about the hospital stay besides the pain I felt from the delivery was when a nurse came in the room during the early hours of the next day to take blood from the baby. She poked his foot and squeezed the blood onto a card. The baby cried, which tore me apart. I was waiting very impatiently for her to finish, when she said that she would need to poke the other foot to get more blood. The first foot wasn't bleeding enough. I didn't argue, because I just wanted it to be over. He was screaming so much by this point. I couldn't stand it. As soon as she was done, I reached down and grabbed him from her and held him. He eventually calmed down, but I felt horrible. I didn't want anything else to happen to my baby. I knew that he wouldn't be getting any shots while in the hospital, since his doctor and I agreed that his shots would come later in the upcoming months. There was no way that he would be leaving my sight from that point. Dennis was great with helping that first night and all nights thereafter. He held the baby and changed diapers. It was really helpful. The only times that Dennis would leave me and the baby were to get food. Since I was a patient, I was given 3 meals a day, but Dennis made many trips to the hospital's cafeteria. He also went home to shower and check on the house. He came back to the hospital with a necklace for me. It was a present for having a baby, and it was a basic gem representing the birth stone of March for our son. It was perfect.
Early in the day, a lady came to give the baby a hearing test. He passed with flying colors, which was a relief to us. We also were visited by my sister and brother-in-law along with my friend Jil Reints at about the same time as they lady who was in charge of the birth certificate. Dennis and I were forced to watch a video about the importance of the father being in the child's life. It was so odd. Since Dennis and I weren't married, we had to watch the video and fill out special papers stating that Dennis was in fact the father. It made no sense to me. How does a marriage license, a simple piece of paper, prove that a man is a father more than anything else. It was odd, but we watched the video and filled out what we needed to in order to be considered legally attached to our son as parents. No big deal, but we just didn't see it coming. The video was also a bit insulting since it seemed to be more for dead-beat dads or one-night-stands. Whatever!!!
By the time Sunday came along, we were so ready to get out of the hospital. I really wanted to go home, and we were all excited to take the baby with us. I still felt kind of weird. Were they really going to let us take the baby home?!?! :) It just was too good to be true. So far, he was a really good baby, and I would not really know what people meant about being overwhelmed as new parents until the first weeks alone with him at home.
The nurse finally brought the baby in to the room in his bed, and she stopped just to the right of my bed. It was so wonderful to have him with us. I still couldn't find it in me to really sleep, so I was up most of the night going to the bathroom and listening to the baby. He made some weird noises because his lungs were still filled with the fluid from my belly. He would cough and occasionally spit up/drool in his bed. I was a bit paranoid that he was in danger or hurting, so I just listening to him all night. I also wondered when he would cry. I figured that he would cry when he was hungry, but he was in my room for hours and didn't cry.
The nurse came in a couple of times throughout the night to check on me and the baby. I had asked her around 3:30 - 4:00am whether I should be waking the baby to feed him. I seemed to be paranoid about everything. I just wanted him to be okay. I didn't want to do the wrong thing so early in my motherhood. She helped me get the baby out of his bed on wheels so that I could try to feed him. I didn't trust myself to feed him because I was so sore and it was hard to move. It was difficult to get him to latch on. He and I were both very new at the whole breastfeeding thing, so it took us some time. The nurses were great with helping me. I got help just about every time I needed to feed him. I was starting to think that breastfeeding would be difficult when I got home since I wouldn't have the nurse there to help me. I hoped it wouldn't be so bad. The baby would feed each time the nurse helped me to get him to latch in the hospital.
One bad thing about the hospital stay besides the pain I felt from the delivery was when a nurse came in the room during the early hours of the next day to take blood from the baby. She poked his foot and squeezed the blood onto a card. The baby cried, which tore me apart. I was waiting very impatiently for her to finish, when she said that she would need to poke the other foot to get more blood. The first foot wasn't bleeding enough. I didn't argue, because I just wanted it to be over. He was screaming so much by this point. I couldn't stand it. As soon as she was done, I reached down and grabbed him from her and held him. He eventually calmed down, but I felt horrible. I didn't want anything else to happen to my baby. I knew that he wouldn't be getting any shots while in the hospital, since his doctor and I agreed that his shots would come later in the upcoming months. There was no way that he would be leaving my sight from that point. Dennis was great with helping that first night and all nights thereafter. He held the baby and changed diapers. It was really helpful. The only times that Dennis would leave me and the baby were to get food. Since I was a patient, I was given 3 meals a day, but Dennis made many trips to the hospital's cafeteria. He also went home to shower and check on the house. He came back to the hospital with a necklace for me. It was a present for having a baby, and it was a basic gem representing the birth stone of March for our son. It was perfect.
Early in the day, a lady came to give the baby a hearing test. He passed with flying colors, which was a relief to us. We also were visited by my sister and brother-in-law along with my friend Jil Reints at about the same time as they lady who was in charge of the birth certificate. Dennis and I were forced to watch a video about the importance of the father being in the child's life. It was so odd. Since Dennis and I weren't married, we had to watch the video and fill out special papers stating that Dennis was in fact the father. It made no sense to me. How does a marriage license, a simple piece of paper, prove that a man is a father more than anything else. It was odd, but we watched the video and filled out what we needed to in order to be considered legally attached to our son as parents. No big deal, but we just didn't see it coming. The video was also a bit insulting since it seemed to be more for dead-beat dads or one-night-stands. Whatever!!!
By the time Sunday came along, we were so ready to get out of the hospital. I really wanted to go home, and we were all excited to take the baby with us. I still felt kind of weird. Were they really going to let us take the baby home?!?! :) It just was too good to be true. So far, he was a really good baby, and I would not really know what people meant about being overwhelmed as new parents until the first weeks alone with him at home.
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