baby – Just a Dash

C-Sections

May 25, 2016May 24, 2016by SymoneFLeave a Comment

I think by now you’ve realized that this is more a mom blog than lifestyle blog. It’s just that parenting has become my lifestyle and is something I’m all about sharing. I don’t think I ever shared my birth story but I had a natural birth and if you want to hear about it and me playing the Lion King song… let me know below.

Recently, my friend wrote about her C-section experience for her friend and shared it with me. Naturally, I asked if I could share it here, and she said yes!! I’ve edited it to take out a few personal bits and generalized it since I don’t know what anyone is having. And if you’re having a boy, seeing “she/her” all the time would be annoying lol. I don’t think I could’ve had a better person write and share their experience because she has definitely lightened the mood if you were having one and are worried.

Enough small talk. Enjoy…

C-Sections – as told by Sabrina 🙂

There are so many things that I wish I had known going in, so I’d love to pass this stuff on. Especially, because it isn’t going to be written on the interwebs.

Prep for you

* If it’s something that you care about; clean the house now because you literally can’t for 6 weeks.

* Get large pads! You’ll still bleed even though it wasn’t a vaginal birth.

* Buy the biggest underwear you can get!! I ended up cutting the (fuck I don’t know what the word is…) strap thingy on top that holds them up. It would constrain my innards and mess with my incision.

* Put on bed sheets that you don’t care about, just in case.

C-Section

Are you going to go into labor first, or will they induce on a specific day? I can explain the process if it’s labor, but if you’re just going in then here’s what will happen.

* You’ll get an epidural. You’ll bend forward and usually be facing your husband who WILL HOLD YOUR HAND! They numb you first. That needle is surprising and isn’t pleasant. Then they stick the tube in that delivers medicine. The tube will stay in you until after the surgery. I actually You-tubed the procedure to know what to expect.

* Your husband will put on scrubs, you’ll get a hat, and have to take a shot of gross orange stuff. They’ll also shave your bikini line. The incision is much lower than you’d expect!

– At this point, I was shaking uncontrollably. I’m sure it was the adrenaline. Just the thought of actually having a baby was really hitting me and I was super excited and scared. My teeth kept chattering. I bit my tongue so much to try and stop it. Know that this can happen.

* Nurses will lift you onto a gurney and roll you into the OR. It’s bright, white, cold and full of people staring at you naked. You won’t care.

* They’ll set you up on the table and start prepping the room. They’ll give your husband a seat by your head. Your arms will be spread out like Jesus. The anesthesiologist will be right there, pumping you up with drugs. Keep telling them to do more if you even feel the slightest bit of them pinching!

* When you confirm that you can’t feel anything, they will start. It takes a little bit, because there are a lot more layers on your innards than you’d expect.

Eventually, they’ll reach in and pull out baby! You can breathe again – holy shit!! You don’t get to see them yet though. They will take the baby to check vitals and get cleaned up. Your husband will be called to meet the baby, cut the cord, take pictures, etc. Then they’ll bring them back for you to meet. It’s the most surreal thing you can imagine.

Overall, the surgery takes about 30-45 minutes. When you’re done you go back into the recovery room for about an hour and a half, after which they transfer you to a much smaller room.

Hospital Stay for you

* They’ll keep telling you that it’s important to sleep. But there will be someone in the room with you once every hour. Whether it’s for testing you or your child. That first night, you won’t sleep at all. And you’ll want to murder everyone. Not much you can do about it.

* Unfortunately, one of the tests for you is to press on your belly (a few times a day) to make sure you’re healing up correctly. It sucks balls. But the pain goes away quickly and you can keep pressing your awesome pain meds button to up the dose.

* Nurses will make you stand up quicker than you’d want to and believe you’re capable of. But you have to do it! If anything, you have to try.

* I was so drugged that I’m not sure when I was able to get the catheter and IV out. All I remember is that I had a goal of getting to the bathroom and peeing 3 times in order for me to get one of them out. For the catheter removal, take a deep breath and exhale. It’s just heeby jeebies, not pain. And I didn’t know that the IV isn’t a needle but a little tube; just like the epidural. So it’s not painful if you bend your hand.

* The hospital gave me a spray bottle to fill with warm water and aim at my nethers in order to pee and not be in pain. Luckily, it’s not as bad as it could have been with a vaginal delivery. Pooping, will take a while, even for those of us with IBS. The drugs they give you stop you up. Don’t push it though. Literally. Don’t strain.

* Before you go, they’ll take out the staples in your incision. I was terrified. It isn’t that bad. Just have a normal chat with your husband as a distraction.

Hospital Stay for baby

* Baby will get a bath, and you’ll be taught how to do this.

* Nurses will also show you how to swaddle and change a diaper.

* There will be a hearing test that usually takes 5 minutes, but the baby must be awake for it.

* They do heel pokes to draw blood. The blood spots will go onto pieces of paper to conduct tests. They’ll need several of these. They will cry and your heart will break.

* If you want me to tell you about jaundice procedures, let me know. Logan had it.

Checking out of the hospital

* Ask the nurses for things before you go. More pads (they’re like diapers) and the mesh undies. I can’t stress enough, how much I loved the undies!!

* I’m not sure how your hospital does it, but if it’s anything like my experience, you’ll need to complete a checklist. This will include seeing you and testing you on your car seat. So figure that shit out before you go in. You’ll need to pack baby in super tight!

Recovery

It is very important to heed the doctor’s advice – DON’T DO ANYTHING!! You can take care of and hold your child, but that’s it. No cleaning, laundry, dishes, vacuuming, bending over unless absolutely necessary, etc. Walk slowly and only in your house. Don’t leave your house. Don’t use stairs unless you have to (I have 16 to get up to my place. I didn’t leave for 2 weeks).

You will be so fucking frustrated that you can’t do anything because some days you feel like you can. But you will pay for that dearly! So don’t even be tempted!

They probably won’t prescribe you enough pain pills. So make sure you set up a follow up appointment before they go away. You’ll have to go back in, but they will give you more.

Speaking of pills, you’ll have lots to take. Make a chart so you don’t forget any. You need to take all of them to heal. I had to set my alarm for some in the middle of the night – not like you’ll really be sleeping at first anyways.

There’s a 6 week checkup and they’ll give you the go ahead to have sex and resume activities. LOLOLOL!! You’ll still need time. I say 8 weeks before you can actually walk at a normal pace. And have lube for sex. Even with a C-section, your junk is messed up and dry.

I think I felt worlds better by 10 weeks. That’s sleeping on my stomach, ability to jog, carry groceries, Rufio (dog), bend over, do laundry – everything.

The only lasting effects I have are some tenderness on my underbelly (you’ll have a deflated basketball belly after the baby comes out) and numbness on my scar (apparently that’s normal and will last forever).

I know it’s a lot to take in (that’s what she said) but you’ll have your baby with you the whole time and they’ll be a great distraction!

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To Celebrate Or Not To…

April 7, 2016April 7, 2016by SymoneFLeave a Comment

Like many other moms/parents, I had a debate over what to do for baby’s first birthday. One comment I heard often was “they’re not going to remember it anyway!”. At first I agreed, and thought there shouldn’t be much fuss to it.

After we got back from our travels in January, Kai returned to his usual Gymboree class and he’d advanced to Level 3. My big boy! He was SO HAPPY at class that I decided to inquire about availability for his birthday. Someone had already booked March 26^th so I took April 2^nd.

I had two reasons for booking this. 1) Gymboree was clearly his happy place that you really saw his true personality and happiness come out. 2) We were in the process of purchasing our home and I didn’t know how things would be and all I had to do was provide food – less stress for me.

Now, I also did this because, regardless of whether or not he’ll remember it (he’ll get to see pics too!!), we’ve had our little one for a year. A year that flew by so quickly that made us grow as parents, showed us that there is a whole other level of love and, seeing our little one in his element just brings so much joy to us that we want to share it with others.

NOTHING prepares you for parenthood. Not being a nanny, not being a babysitter, not being an aunt… NOTHING. I’m an aunt and I helped my sister a lot. I also babysat a bit before moving to America. Nothing prepared me for having my own child.

Now I’m not telling you that you must have a birthday party for your little one, but consider how much has changed and happened in that one year and see it as a cause for celebration, in any form or fashion. Celebrate it. We see everyday how short life can be. We see how quickly our lives change once we’ve had a baby and how quickly that baby grows to be a toddler.

I love to celebrate birthdays. I love the opportunity to celebrate reaching another year with my loved ones. I’m not able to celebrate it with all of my family and friends now that I live so far away from them so I will do the most with whoever is near and dear to me.

Just a little food for thought 🙂 .

:: One of my favorites from a mini shoot we did at home with our friends for his 1st birthday. ::

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Mom + Baby Must-Haves/Reviews

April 20, 2015by SymoneF2 Comments

It’s been 4 weeks since I had my lovely little bundle and I think that’s enough time to share my first post on products that I have grown to love and can’t live without. I’m using this blog for these posts and using my other blog for all things related to mummy fashion etc. I should really just join my blogs but I don’t have the time or patience for it right now. Sorry! Shall we?

Like so many other women out there, breastfeeding didn’t start out being the smoothest ride ever. I’ve alluded to it but I’ll say outright now that my baby is an IVF baby. One of the challenges this presented for me is not producing enough milk up front as needed to sustain my little one because of hormones. For me, this meant that he was very fussy my first night with him, and as a new mom, just wanting to comfort her new baby, I left him on the breast way longer than I should have. The result – nipples so raw they were not only sore but also bleeding. This, plus a miserable baby and no sleep led to sheer frustration. Not only for him but for me as well. Things have definitely improved since, thanks to lactation consultants and supplementing, and a few products I’ll mention below to help revive my broken nips.

Medela Lanolin – this was the very first product I used and it was in the hospital. I’m aware there are lots of products out there, but this was given to me by a friend at my shower, and I also received a sample pack in the breastfeeding class I attended. It definitely helped relieve my nipples during those first hours with my newborn. I would advise you to always use this with a nursing pad as the oils tend to stain your clothing.
Medela Tender Care Hydrogel Pads – I was given these at my first lactation appointment and told to give my worst nipple 24 hours off. After 24 hours with these pads and lanolin, I was able to nurse again. The instant cooling feeling made them worth every penny.
Medela Nipple Shields – also another must have for sore or broken nipples. You place the shield over your nipple to allow baby to breastfeed and still have some protection. I was told if I end up using it for an extended period of time, I’d have to come back and learn how to wean baby off of the shield as latching my be a problem for them when it comes to your nipple.
Medela Nursing Pads – I started off using the Lansinoh Ultra Soft nursing pads but I found these to be even more comfortable. It all boils down to personal preference but I will tell you, as was told to me before, the regular Lansinoh nursing pads feel almost like cardboard on sore nipples. You can always get samples of these things so try them out and see what works for you.
Medela Hospital Pump – I used my insurance to get a breast pump but after my lactation appointment, I decided to try a hospital grade nursing pump. To all first time mothers, pumping hurts. However, after using my hospital pump for a few weeks, I decided to try my pump again (both are Medela) and I realized that the lowest speed was very high on the hospital pump. This meant that instead of being able to ease into a higher speed, you’re immediately starting on a very intense one that feels like it wants to rip your nips off. I’m easing back into mine though as I don’t plan on renting the hospital pump forever and it’s also very cumbersome. The hospital pump is also quieter. With that said, pay the money and try renting the hospital pump if you ever find you’re unable to handle your personal pump.
Honest Co. Lactation Plus – When your milk isn’t enough to satisfy your baby, you’re advised to start looking into taking supplements. Fenugreek is the one that keeps coming up at every turn, but what isn’t followed by the name is how often you have to take it. 6 times a day?! NO THANK YOU! You mean I have to look after a newborn on no sleep as it is and remember to take 6 capsules a day?! PLUS my prenatal? My lazy self wasn’t doing that and furthermore I’m not a fan of taking that many tablets. Since I became a bit of an Honest Co. fanatic I decided to try their Lactation Plus capsules. The best part? I only had to take TWO a day! Even better? I saw results the next day. I try to pump at least 3 times a day and in between there I’m nursing baby to sleep several times. This helps because my body realizes that we still need to produce milk. I’m not saying I get 2oz a pump but it went from under 10ml/day from both breasts to 1.5-1.6oz/day from both. It’s still a work in progress and it’s only been 4 weeks. I just need him to have at least 1 oz a day to help him poo as the formula can make him constipated. I love that he still prefers nursing over his pacifier to get to sleep sometimes and I love that he still wants to nurse in general!

All of that is to say, so many women have problems breastfeeding, and so many other women will make you feel inadequate if you are unable to. My goal is to make sure my baby gets what he needs and do what is best for him. Not other moms. I’d take supplementing any day over a baby who is losing weight and becoming malnourished because I only want to breastfeed him. Put your baby first.

Other products I need to mention:

Baby Brezza One Step Sterilizer Dryer – I was adamant about not getting a microwave sterilizer. I’m just not for them. I wanted an electric one and I couldn’t find one on Babies R Us and those other popular websites with enough good reviews to persuade me to get one. So I asked a friend and she recommended this one. It has been a lifesaver! I love that you have options for how long you want to use it for 30/45/60 minutes and you can sterilize only, dry only or do both. Definitely worth every penny! The only “con” is that you HAVE to use filtered water because anything else leaves a film/buildup on the inside.
Dr. Brown’s Bottles w/ Preemie nipples – with a newborn, we started on the preemie nipples. These bottles definitely reduce gas and my baby feeds way better on their preemie nipples than on Avent level 1 nipples, which left him with ¼ of the formula on the bib/his clothes. It was recommended at my breastfeeding class just incase breastfeeding wasn’t going well or you started pumping so I only bought two. We ended up with 6 of the 2oz bottles now my little Chubba Wubba is on to the 4oz bottles. I still use the preemie nipples as he’s not ready for Level 1 and I use the 2oz bottles to give him milk that I’ve pumped.

Honest Co.

There are a few products from this brand that I love besides the Lactation boost. Before I mention them, I’d like to suggest trying one or two of their trial boxes. It only costs $5.95 for shipping for 5 sample-sized products.

Organic Belly Balm – I was using this from November last year and I just finished it last week. It is very oily and moisturizing. I loved it in the winter because it meant my stomach stay moisturized for the whole day. Towards the very end of my pregnancy I started to get stretch marks. My sister, who is a massage therapist, suggested I use Vitamin E oil 70,000IUs to help my skin. The oil was very thick and I wasn’t able to rub it smoothly onto my stomach, so I chose to mix a little of it with a little of the belly balm. I’ve been using both for a few weeks and even though I’m still waiting to get a better picture of how my stomach is going postpartum, I’m happy that it’s staying moisturized during the day. I started another jar and I’m going to keep this as a staple for my daily routine.

Organic Healing Balm – I first received this in my trial box. I asked my friend about it and she said she likes it and mixed it with the Diaper Rash Cream whenever her daughter had a sore bum. When my baby had quite a day of #2s I mixed the two and within 24 hours I definitely noticed a change in his skin. It looked so much better! I hate Desitin and those other diaper creams leave a thick white coating on baby’s skin that is so hard to wash off. When you mix these two, and change a diaper, it just glides off. On an average day, I’d use only the healing balm. If things are picking up in the poo department, I double up. Also, when my son’s skin was peeling, my mother put it on his leg to get rid of some excess she’d taken out and it left his skin looking less dry and flaky. Even though there’s nothing you can do about the peeling, his skin did look better after using it.
I will say I wasn’t buying into this stuff during my pregnancy and thought I’d always be practical and use whatever is easiest to purchase but I’ve grown to love her products and can’t help but use them. I also use the Dish soap in lavender for cleaning his bottles, the Multi-surface cleaner for cleaning out his tub after a bath, Stain remover for accidents on his clothes and the Oxy boost in his laundry.

I think that’s my list for today. I visited my dietician last week to get an idea of how to eat to help milk production but also get on track to losing baby weight. Everyone is different with their diets, but I can always share in another post the outline of my diet and give a few suggestions. I managed to do the majority of this post while pumping so I think I’ll dedicate pumping time to also writing for my blog.

Here’s a shot of my little pumpkin from his newborn photo shoot with Shih Photography. He’s changed so much since then 🙂

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments/suggestions below!