Happy 8-Week Birthday, Caleb Joshua Wong!
Caleb is 12 pounds now. I’ve retired a bunch of his newborn clothes already. Chris pointed out this morning that Caleb’s as long as my torso now.
6 weeks old
Caleb is 6 weeks old on my birthday! He’s 11 pounds now. I promise that all we’re giving the boy is breast milk.
I saw my OBGYN for my 6 week postpartum visit. I’m definitely doing better. The past few days, I’ve been pulling out my stitches on my own. They were supposed to fall out or dissolve on their own 30+ days ago, so I figured I’d help them along now. My OB says I’ve got another localized perineal infection in the area that’s still healing, but thinks it’ll resolve on its own. I have another follow up appointment in 4 weeks. Until then, more sitz baths and peri-care. I can’t wait til the day I can pee on the toilet normally again.
During my doc appointment, my OB mentioned that I can start walking now and that I don’t have to be on bedrest any more… I almost started laughing, but instead I told him, “OK, great.” In my head, I was thinking, “Hmm, I guess I’ve been in bed… on occasion.”
Since I’m allowed to walk now (hee-hee), maybe I should go get me some birthday cake I haven’t had time to eat yet. Should I wake up Chris? Nah. Caleb looks so cute cuddling up with Chris.
No turning back now
So, on occasion, as Caleb reverts back to chomping my breasts, I comment that I’m going to give up this whole breastfeeding thing. But, I looked at how much we’ve invested… there’s no turning back now. This boy is going to be a breastfed boy unless God makes it clear otherwise.
COSTS:
Nursing Bras – $180 (overpriced but I didn’t know this before)
Nursing Tanktops – $100 (also overpriced)
Boppy Pillow – $50 (gift from my sister)
Breastfeeding Cover-Up Apron ??? (gift from Clara)
Medela Pump-In-Style Advanced – $300
Extra Breast Pump Spare Parts – $54
Lanolin ointment for my sore nipples – $35 (plus more given by Irene)
Vitamin E for my cracked nipples – $10
Gel soothie patches for my breast pain – $40
Breast Shields to prevent clothing from touching my sore breasts – $20
Lactation Consult (Initial Visit) – $125
Special Syringe feeding kit – $45
Lactation Consult (follow up) – $95
Extra Feeding Syringes – $45
Nursing Shirts – $115
3.5 weeks of bleeding, blistered, burning, cracked, sore nipples & areola
Followed by 1.5 weeks of sore tender nipples
TOTAL COST – $1214
… way too much money & pain to even think about giving up breastfeeding
10 pounder
Caleb’s 10 pounds now… well sorta… with onesies, socks, and a dry cloth diaper. He’s at least half the weight of one of our cats now. Watch out, Tommy & Ellie… Soon Caleb will be using you as pillows and having fun pulling your tails.
Oakland
Us crazy Wongs took a trip up to Oakland this past weekend. I know, i know… we’re crazy. I’m still having trouble walking and we decide to go on this trip. Actually, this trip was planned long before Caleb came. I figured that by this time, I’d be healed and we’d be in a nice routine… perfect for going on our first travel adventure as a family.
We went with my mom, my mom’s dog, my sister Sandra, and her 2-year old daughter Eileen. Drove up in a mini van. That was one full vehicle! I’ve never packed so much stuff in my life for a trip! Normally, the trip takes 5-6 hours. Took us over 8 hours on the way up and 10 hours on the way down. Hee-hee. It was tense on this trip at times as my mom’s patience waned with Eileen. But, I must admit there were some hilarious moments. We pulled off on exits I’ve never heard of with no street lights, no gas stations, nothing… all just to breastfeed wailing Caleb. My mom and sister peed next to the van when there was no place else to go. Chris cleaned enough explosive poopy diapers to be called a Poop Expert now.
FIRSTS on this trip:
– Traveling in a car with Caleb for something besides the doctors or breastfeeding class.
– Eating in a restaurant with Caleb
– Taking Caleb to church
– Staying in a hotel with Caleb
– Sleeping in a bed big enough for all 3 of us (so that Chris & Yvonne aren’t falling off)
– Yvonne traveling with her sitz bath (the hotel workers must have thought we were moving in)
– Taking Caleb to a social function (Sam & Charis’ wedding reception)
– Trying to breastfeed Caleb in restaurants and in church
– Yvonne squatting over dirty toilets to pee and do “peri-care” (keeping my perineum area clean)
– Yvonne’s first time drinking milk & having an ice cream shake since pregnancy (not so good on baby Caleb or Yvonne’s tummy… by the way)
It was good, though, seeing Sam & Charis… and lots of others. The great thing about the difficulties of traveling is that taking care of Caleb and myself at home now seems a bit easier than before. 🙂
Thanks for praying for us!!! I’m starting to feel better with less frequent perineal pain now. I have a nurse midwife coming Wednesday morning to do a second opinion consult. Going on 5 weeks now since Caleb’s birth and I still haven’t healed fully. Thanks for your continued prayers.
growing
caleb’s 9 pounds already! he likes to eat.
he’s already heavier than the normal bowling ball weight i use.
Expectations & Reality…
Caleb is almost 4 weeks old come this Wednesday! I still feel like I’m living in a blur. Man, doing all-nighters in high school and college didn’t do this to me. Youth event overnighters didn’t do this to me. Taking care of a newborn does. I thought that by now I’d be up and going, back to my normal multi-tasking busy self. But, most of my pre-birth expectations have left me ultimately humbled.
Broken Expectation #1
Breastfeeding comes naturally to newborns. Yeah, it’ll take some practice, but since it’s so good for the baby, it must not be that hard to get down.
Reality: Breastfeeding does not come naturally for me or little Caleb. He’s got an inefficient, disorganized suck. And, I’ve got wimpy, tender breasts. All I want to do is provide nourishment for my little one. How could something that seems so simple be so hard?
Broken Expectation #2
Women who have a natural normal vaginal delivery are able to get up and walk around within hours after delivery.
Reality: I kept fainting after birth from low blood pressure (from blood loss during the delivery). And it still hurts (4 weeks later) to walk around. I got a rare perineal infection, and have been told by my OBGYN that it could still be weeks before I can exercise or walk around. How do you take care of a baby when you’re told you’re supposed to lay in bed all the time?
Broken Expectation #3
New mothers have an uncanny mothering instinct that tells them what their baby needs and when he needs it. For example, they wake up seconds after their baby cries at night.
Reality: I love my sleep. From 1AM-4AM, this chickadee has no inborn mothering insticts. “Chris, you’re syringe feeding the baby? I didn’t even hear him cry.” Chris’ response: “He was crying so loud, but you didn’t move. I had to check to make sure you were alive.” Good thing my hubby is a night person…. otherwise, our baby might starve at night.
Anyways, I’d love your PRAYERS.
1. Continued healing of my body and perineum.
2. Success with breastfeeding.
3. Patience for myself as I learn to be a mom. Satan has been putting heaps of unhealthy thinking into me (of inadequacy, incompetency, and failure).
4. Restoration of my relationship with my mother. She left abruptly Thursday night when she decided she was too frustrated with me and our unpredictable schedule.
Thanks!
Owh!
I need new breasts. Mine hurt. Babies can only get away with this cruelty cuz they look so cute.
Labor & Delivery (The Mom’s Perspective)
So, this a little late of a post, but I’ve been a bit busy… 🙂
As Chris mentioned, we thought we’d have an early baby since I was showing so many prelabor signs. But, Caleb didn’t come early. And as each day passed by, I stopped thinking so much about whether this would be the day… and I starting keeping myself busy. For example, 2 days before labor, I spent the day at Disneyland with Rosalyn. We met at 7:30AM and waited in the Finding Nemo Submarine Ride line for 3 hours. Crazy, eh?
On Wednesday, 6/27, I saw my OBGYN in the morning. Anytime, he tells me. Same thing he’s told me for the past 3 weeks. I ran errands all morning. Felt really tired in the afternoon. Tried to take a nap… and out of no where, my water breaks at 5PM. Poopers, on my comforter. First thought: Gotta wash my comforter. So, I start a load in the washer. Then I realize, oh I should call Chris and Nancy (our doula).
Call them. Nancy tells me she’s going to check back with me in the morning to see how labor’s progressing. I say ok… and figure most women take forever in the early labor stage. I tell Chris to take his time coming home… didn’t want him to get stuck in bad traffic. I go downstairs to see if I can watch some MacGyver episodes and finish my photo scanning project. And, I eat heaps of food, leftover desserts, and drinks (since they don’t let you eat in the hospital during labor).
Around 6:30PM, I start feeling pretty strong cramps in my lower abdomen. Strong enough to take my concentration off of Macgyver. But, Nancy told me that most women feel labor pains radiate to their back when they’re actively laboring. My pain was just in my lower abdomen. So, I must not be laboring yet. ok, I’ll go up and take a shower to relax. In the shower… ouch… these hurt more. I’m resting on all fours in my tub (just felt more comfortable for some reason). Man, I’m a wimp. I already feel like I have pain, and I’m probably not in labor yet, right?
Nancy calls back around 7. Says she just felt like she needed to call back and check in on me. Told her what I’ve been feeling. She says I still sound calm/cheerful, so she’s going to take a nap and check back with me in a little while. Man, these pains are coming every 4 minutes already. I’m sweating. Let me lie on this cool bathroom tile floor. Ah, better. Chris is home. Finds me on the bathroom floor. I go downstairs with him. These pains aren’t letting up. Still only in my lower abdomen. Sometimes they’re coming one on top of another. Chris calls Nancy. She comes over. I labor for an hour at home. But the pains are coming kinda quickly and I feel burpy and a little shaky already. Chris is eating leftover DinTaiFong dumplings. His food smells strong… making me nauseous. But I want him to eat, so I don’t say anything about the smell. I can’t be this far along in labor. I think to myself i must be emotionally causing myself to feel this way already. I don’t wanna go to the hospital and be one of those women who’s only 1-2 cm dilated and gets sent back home. Nancy tells us we should go to the hospital.
Car ride was no fun. In the 15 minute drive, I had 7-8 contractions. Had to stop for contractions on the walk into the hospital. They made me go to labor evaluation by myself. The nurse was task-oriented. put on this gown, give me a urine sample. What’s taking so long, she asks. I’m on the floor having contractions. Yuck! I would never be touching a hospital floor if I was of sane mind. At this point, it just doesn’t matter anymore. I want my husband. Where is he? On goes the fetal monitor. Why are you putting oxygen on me? You’ve got variables (stress on the baby during contractions usually due to cord compression). The heart rate looks fine, though? Yes. Vaginal exam – owh. Nurse tells me she thinks I’m 5-6cm. They roll me into my labor & delivery room. Where’s Chris? All these questions. Tired of talking. One nurse starts an IV. What are you hanging? LR. OK, I’ll take Lactated Ringers.
Finally, they let Chris & Nancy back with me. I’m feeling out of control already. I want to sit up to labor. The nurses tell me I have to lay on my left side with oxygen since the baby’s stressed. Too tired and in pain to fight. I’m clinging to Chris, who’s whispering how much he loves me. You better! (Hee-hee… I don’t remember actually thinking this at the time). Nurse says I’m only 5-6cm. Nancy tells them they should check me again. 8cm. In a few minutes, I begin to feel rectal pressure like I have to push. No, you can’t push yet. Where’s the doctor? They’re like 6-7 nurses in the room now. I have to push, or I’m gonna explode. Pant they tell me. uh, ok. i’ll try. i want pain meds, i want pain meds. (chris says i never said this out loud, but i was certainly thinking it.) ok, you can push. phew. 6-7 contractions with 6-7 nurses yelling out numbers at me as i push, caleb was born. and finally in came the doctor… just in time to clamp the umbilical cord. 10:45PM – less than 6 hours from when my water broke.
caleb was so alert. his cry was strong. and he pinked up in less than a minute. he took to the breast without a problem. so cute. this baby came out of me? yay, praise God caleb’s here!
Water Broke
My water broke… here we go! I wonder how many more episodes of MacGyver I can watch and how many more photos I can scan into Chris’ laptop before we have to go to the hospital. Can’t wait to meet you baby Caleb… 🙂