The past 6 weeks...

Where has the time gone? I can't believe our baby is 6 weeks old already... although, there was a time I never thought it would come. The past 6 weeks have truly been a roller coaster ride! From our birth story to our first night home, to our "crying peak" at 3 weeks all the way to where we are now. Gosh, there's a lot that has happened in this short time... and boy, has she grown and changed so much! We've taken a million pictures and already as I look back on them, I'm amazed!
So, on my last post, I blogged about our birth story... Now, I'm going to attempt to recap our hospital stay, first night home, and the last 6 weeks all together. This will probably be a pretty long post, so forgive me ahead of time.
Our hospital stay was magnificent! Even considering everything that went wrong with my labor and delivery, it truly was great overall. Everyone at Woman's Hospital, from L&D to Recovery to the Nursery, went above and beyond to make us all comfortable and happy. Georgia was a dream baby in the hospital! She came out nursing like a champion. I remember feeding her every 3 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night without any problems... it was a dream come true. She slept "like a baby" otherwise. She was just so, so sweet! I remember waking from my c-section and them bringing her immediately to me. It seemed like forever that I had to wait, although in actuality it was only a couple of minutes. But the first time I saw her, I couldn't believe it!! She was so beautiful and sweet. It was a feeling I've never had before. I was totally and utterly consumed by a love I had never felt before. And that love only grows stronger.
We went home from the hospital on Saturday (Georgia was born on a Wednesday). That car ride home was probably the slowest Michael has ever driven. I sat in the back seat with her, although it probably wasn't necessary... she slept "like a baby" the entire time. We drove up to our house to find our mailbox decorated in pink ribbons and ballons and a welcome home sign for Georgia. Michael and I brought her inside... and then looked at each other like "What now?". She, of course, was fast asleep. Those next few hours before bed time, we just spent holding her and watching her sleep, with a few diaper changes in between. Night time finally came. I nursed her and placed her in her cradle (for the first time) and turned the lights out. Literally, less than a minute later, she starts choking. She had spit up, and because she was lying flat, she swallowed some of it. Michael and I both went into panic mode. He picked her up and turned her over gently patting her on her back while she was coughing, while I was frantically trying to find the aspirator. I finally gathered my thoughts enough to find it and start sucking the vomit/spit up from her mouth. To make things worse, there were black chunks in it which just freaked us out. We called the hospital nursery and they told us that was caused from digested blood - from nursing. :/ Ew, I know but it's the truth. If that wasn't bad enough, our night wasn't over. So, we finally calmed down and got her back to sleep - however, not in her cradle (and she hasn't been in it since) because we keep her head elevated in case something like that ever happens again. We put her to sleep right beside me in her Fisher Price Rock N Play Newborn Sleeper - which I highly recommend for anyone having a baby. She loves it! Anyways, she wakes up a few hours later to nurse again. As we're finishing up, I burp her, right before putting her back down, and she spits up blood! It wasn't as thick as blood, it seemed to be watered down a bit... I'm guessing the mixture of blood and breast milk. So, here we go, calling the hospital nursery! And again, they tell us it's ok... this can happen in the first few days of nursing because the nipples become dry and cracked and bleed a bit in the beginning. They assured us this in not harmful to her and that it would not be a problem in a couple of days. Sure enough, they were right. But still, it was definitely enough to put the fear in us as parents. Whew! Glad that night was over and the next few nights were less eventful. So the first 2 weeks, other than that first night, were pretty simple. Don't get me wrong, I was still in lots of pain recovering from the c-section and sleep deprivation was beginning to set in from getting up every 2-3 hours at night but, I was still on cloud nine with my perfectly healthy, sweet baby. For the most part, she was sleeping if she wasn't eating. It allowed me to at least rest while I wasn't nursing her. I had family to help clean the house and run errands so I didn't have much else to worry about. Well, after the first couple of weeks, we found that the phrase "sleeping like a baby" doesn't really fit anymore. This is about the time babies start to become more alert and realize they're in this world. And frankly, I think Georgia was mad about it. It was obvious during labor she wasn't ready to come into this world and now she was letting us know it. Each day, she grew fussier and fussier. This is completely normal, I now know, but I was not prepared for it. Remember? I had this perfectly happy and healthy baby for the first 2 weeks... I just assumed it would always be like that. I even remember thinking in the beginning, "this isn't that bad... I can do this".
Well, then week 3 hit! Whew, boy she really threw us for a loop. The day she turned 3 weeks old was the hardest day we had at that point. She cried all day (except when she was eating) and was basically inconsolable. The inconsolable part is what was so hard. Not being able to comfort or soothe your baby really sets off emotions in you that you never knew you had. It's heart-breaking and frustrating all in the same breath. The next day was even worse! It's a day Michael and I will never forget. She was fussy on and off all day but when 5 p.m. rolled around, it really started! She was crying, and when I say crying, I mean a loud, screaming, gut-wrenching cry. It was not a cry that we had heard from her before. We spent the next 5 hours passing her back and forth, rocking, swaying, shushing, walking... I was crying, she was crying...  I really thought I was going to lose my mind. Finally, we realized she wasn't going to stop and we started to wonder if something was wrong. I called the pediatrician's office after hours. I spoke to someone they hire to take their after hours calls (not one of the doctors/nurses on staff there) that asked a series of questions and then recommended we take her to the Emergency Room since this was not typical behavior for her. After going back and forth, we finally decided to go. Our gut feeling as parents told us that nothing serious was wrong with her, but also didn't want to regret not going in case it was worse than we thought. Well, less than 3 minutes into our car ride, Georgia falls asleep! Wouldn't you believe it? The car ride soothed her, and I'm sure she was exhausted from all that screaming and crying. We spent an hour just driving back and forth still contemplating on whether or not to still go to the ER. I even called the ER and explained the situation to ask their advice... they basically left it up to us. Since it was close to her next feeding - sometime around midnight, we decided to drive to the ER, feed her in the truck, and see what happens. She took her bottle (no surprise there) and went right back to sleep. I was afraid of putting her back in her car seat, fearing she would wake up and start screaming again, but to our surprise she stayed asleep. We spent the next hour driving around just to make sure she was in a deep sleep before going home. We eventually pulled back into our driveway, both of us afraid to even open the door, much less get her out. We even threw around the idea of sleeping in the truck for the next few hours... haha! After a while, we worked up the courage to get out. We took her to the bedroom, still in her car seat, where she slept for the next 2 hours (and so did we). She woke up whimpering a little so I took her out of her carseat and put her in her Rock N Play Sleeper where she slept until the next morning. Whew! Just a little bit of relief to get us through. I called the pediatrician's office first thing that next morning and explained everything. They told us the very thing I was afraid of hearing (and I was in much denial)... that she has COLIC! Oh, those are the words no mother wants to hear. Also, I explained to them that I had just switched from breastfeeding to formula. During the previous week, she wanted to nurse 24/7, it just became too much physically and emotionally for me. She would nurse for over an hour and then 30 minutes later show signs of hunger again! I would supplement with 2 oz of formula every now and then and it seemed to really satisfy her. She seemed like a happier baby, and of course mommy and daddy were happy (in a sense) becasue she was. I still truly hate that I gave up, but since transitioning, things have become easier and I'm a much happier mommy. I tried very hard and that's all I'll say about that. Anyways, so the nurse mentioned that she may not be able to tolerate the formula... it was giving her lots of gas and tummy aches. They recommended us trying a formula specially formulated for babies with colic and milk allergies, Similac Allimentum. So, off I went to pick it up. They told us it might take up to a week for us to see a difference. Well, within a couple of days, we saw a major difference. She still cried but not uncontrollably for 5 or 6 hours. Thank you, Allimentum!! This formula is broken down so much more compared to regular formulas so babies' tummies don't have to work as hard to break it down... basically makes it easier to digest. Only negative... it costs almost twice as much as regular formula. Small price to pay for a happy baby that isn't in pain, though. Anyways, so the Allimentum was helping tremendously but I noticed that something still wasn't right. She was still crying in pain... By this point, I had learned her cries. Georgia would feed happily, have a good amount of play time, go down for a nap, and then wake crying in pain 30-45 minutes into her nap EVERYTIME! I also noticed she was coughing a lot and her cry was becoming hoarse. She was able to be soothed with lots of rocking and close holding on her side (and occasionally a pacifier) but still, she was in pain and I knew that wasn't right. I also noticed that when she would wake from her nap, she'd swallow and that's when she was in the most pain. So, I called the pediatrician's office again and asked for an appointment. She went in on the day she turned 4 weeks old and was diagnosed with acid reflux. Poor baby! It was actually a relief to us, because we finally knew what was wrong. Dr. Smith started her on Axid. He told us to give it 4-5 days before expecting improvement. Well, after 5 days, we noticed some improvement but she wasn't completely better. I called back the next Monday and they increased her dosage. I didn't expect that to do much but gave it a few days. I called back on Thursday and asked if she could be switched to Prevacid. They gladly switched her and it truly has been (knock on wood) a miracle drug for her. She's been on it one week today and she's already a much happier baby. She is napping without waking in pain and has a much better disposition throughout the day. Also, at 6 weeks, some say babies really start to settle in and are much more neurologically developed. Whatever it is, we'll take it. We are so glad we have our sweet, happy baby back. I'll tell ya, though, week 2-4 was pretty rough. Don't get me wrong, I know we have a long road ahead of us but the 3 of us are happy to be a family and I think we'll be able to handle anything now.
So that's the recap of our past 6 weeks... I think I did a pretty good job of remembering things... I'm sure things will pop into my head later that I forgot, so I'll add them as I remember.

A couple of things to note about our sweet Georgia -
-She's a fierce eater! She finishes her 4-5 oz bottles in just a couple of minutes. Of course, we make her bottles last as long as possible by burping her half way through. But when you do this, she throws a fit. It's the funniest thing. After she eats, she's the happiest little thing though.
-Also, she's been giving us a few social smiles lately. :) She's been smiling at us for weeks when she's falling asleep or when she's gassy, but these are real. They are rare, but they are the sweetest things.
-Hopefully, soon, we'll start stretching our nighttime sleeping. Currently, she'll go 5 or 6 hours at night. One night, she went 7 hours without waking so hopefully within the next couple of weeks, we'll be able to stretch it to 7 or 8 hours every night! :) That would make me one happy mommy!

Here's an update of her stats over the past 6 weeks:
Birthday JUNE 15th - Weight: 7 lbs., 13 oz. Length: 19.5 inches
Last day at hospital JUNE 18th - Weight: 7 lbs. 3 oz
48 check up after leaving hospital  JUNE 20th - Weight: 7. lbs., 8 oz.
2 week check up JUNE 28th - Weight: 8 lbs., 2 oz.
Doctor's appt for reflux JULY 13th - Weight: 9 lbs., 13 oz.

Sweet baby Georgia is here!!

Whew! Georgia is finally here... and she's actually 5 weeks old today. I must apologize that this is my first blog post since her arrival, but any of you mommies out there can understand you don't have much free time (or ummm... energy) during those first few weeks. It has been such a whirlwind of events, and looking back, it's all kind of a blur. That's so sad to me... and all the more reason I should have been better about blogging. But I'll write every bit that I can remember.
So, to start, our labor and delivery was not the ideal experience. I was scheduled to be induced Wednesday morning of June 15 (4 days before her due date). Everything was going great... we got to the hospital on time, got checked in, got into our room and really got things going. They started pitocin to get the contractions started at about 7 a.m., Dr. Johnson came around 7:30 to break my water, and things were progressing right along. I was 2 cm dilated at this point. About 10 o clock, the anesthesiologist came in and asked if I wanted my epidural. I wasn't in too much pain yet so I told her it wasn't necessary. She said she had one more patient that she could see and then she'd be back. So, at 10:30, she was back. And good thing she was, because those contractions were actually starting to get more painful and closer together. She placed the epidural and started asking questions about my level of pain when the contractions would come. I noticed within minutes that my right side was becoming numb, which was great, but my left side had no pain control! They had me lay on my left side in hopes of "getting more of the medicine" to that side. After about 20 more minutes, I noticed some numbing on my left side but there was a pretty large spot in my stomach down to my hip where I could feel every bit of pain. At this point, the contractions were painful but bearable. They tried increasing the level of medicine to see if it would help, but it only numbed my right side more. They, then, decided to take out the epidural and redo it. Again, no pain control on my left side. Now, it's around 11:30 and Dr. Johnson had come over to check on me. She knew my feelings about a c-section, that I absolutely did not want one, but asked if the issue with the epidural continued, would I consider it. At this point, the contractions were very painful but still manageable. I told her I still didn't want to consider it, but we'd see how things progressed throughout the day. When she checked me, I was only 3 cm dilated, so we knew it was probably going to be a long day. She must have known something I didn't because about an hour after she left, my pain went from bad to worse. It is a pain that I can not describe. It gives me a sickening feeling in my stomach to just think about it. I was just praying that I would progress quickly and it would all be over soon. And we could finally meet our sweet little girl. Well, around 3 p.m., the nurse checked me and I was barely 4 cm... I think she stretched me to that. Ughhh! That just made my pain and anxiety worse because I was so afraid. The pain was so bad at this point, that I was actually considering a c-section for the first time ever. Well, to my luck, Dr. Johnson was assisting in another c-section and wouldn't be back until 5. That was the longest 2 hours of my life!!! My contractions were lasting 5-6 minutes and were about 1 minute apart. Now, I'm willing to admit that my pain tolerance is very low but this was more than I would wish on my worst enermy. At that moment, I could only describe that pain as "someone stabbing me and twisting the knife over and over again". There was also a burning sensation. I remember seeing Michael's face as he watched me breathe through the contractions and I think he was in as much pain as I was. Bless his heart... I couldn't have done it without him. Our nurse, Shelia, and nurse anesthetist, Allen, were so amazingly sweet and supportive through the whole experience. They felt so sorry for us and tried everything to make me as comfortable as possible. They even resorted to maxing me out on stadol (which I refused at first) and lidocaine, which, surprise surprise, did nothing for my left side. I remember watching the clock for 5 o clock and when it got closer and closer I couldn't wait for Dr. Johnson to come in. Well, the clock turned 5:03 p.m. and I was asking everyone where Dr. Johnson was... like I expected her to walk in right at 5 o'clock.. haha! I hadn't been checked since 3 p.m. when I was 4 cm so I was dying to know if I had progressed any.  Also, I'm so exhausted by now, that I can barely keep my eyes open. Dr. Johnson finally comes in around 5:15 pm.! She asked me how I was feeling and at this point I could barely even respond. To her surprise, I told her that if a c-section was necessary, then let's do it. I was in excruciating pain, and watching Georgia's heartrate shoot up and down during contractions on the monitor was giving me major anxiety. Before Dr. Johnson checked me she told me that if I was 8 cm, then we'd push through and have her naturally, otherwise, a c-section was in order. Well, less than 30 minutes later, at 5:42 p.m. Georgia was born via emergency c-section weighing in at 7 pounds 13 ounces and 19.5 inches long. I was barely 6 cm when Dr. Johnson checked me, and since nothing was able to numb my left side, they decided to put me under general anesthesia. Michael was not able to be in the room, but luckily, once they had me asleep, Georgia was born within minutes and in his arms. This experience was not exactly what I envisioned but by the end of the day, we had our sweet baby girl in our arms, and that's what mattered most. I remember waking up and seeing her for the first time. It was an overwhelming feeling of love. I just looked at her and couldn't believe she was ours. She was so beautiful and perfect!!