It has been just over 2 weeks since Elsa was born and I am realizing there are many things that your friends who have been through the experience fail to tell you...or at least fail to tell you in entirety. I will say that my girlfriends have been amazing at preparing me for this journey and to give them credit warned me of lots of things...I think I just wasn't listening fully.
Breastfeeding is not easy. Not easy at all and it hurts in the begining. The little one does not seek out the boob like a little kid seeks out candy on Halloween...not in the least. Or at least Elsa doesn't. Granted once she finds it she loves to play around (painful), latch-release-latch-release...this repeats for at least 20 minutes, and then she finally suckles for a blissful 8 minutes until she falls asleep and we start the whole game over again. Needing to feed her every 2 hours around the clock, and each feeding taking an hour means that there is very little sleep to be had. But as you can see from the picture she is so darn cute it is hard to get frustrated.
The days fly by....in record time. Errol and I are both home with Elsa right now. Our vision of long walks with Elsa and Dalasi around Greenbelt Lake are not really coming to fruition. Neither are daily showers, lunch at noon, dinner together and bedtime at 10ish. Babies do not have a schedule at this age and there is no point in trying to create one - they are just too little. We have given up on wishing for sleep and take it in whatever increments we can get...even if that is 15 minutes while Errol changes the diaper before a feeding.
Breastpumps are a godsend. Due to the fact that Elsa is so petite and not eating as much as she should because of her sleepiness...the lactation consultant suggested that I supplement. We are still opposed to formula supplement at this point so she recommended pumping after each feeding. This allows me to give her "free" milk that she doesn't have to work for before her feeding session. This is working out pretty well...especially for Elsa who inhales the milk and does seem to latch better after. For those of you who have never pumped...it is a weird thing to witness and other than the relief it provides, is not at all fun. Thankfully I have a "funny" husband who likes to declare "you are doing udderly fantastic" each time he sees me pump...he is encouraging me in case you couldn't figure that out!
Hormonal fluctuations after birth are real. The baby blues was something I didn't really understand until I found myself bawling at the ASPCA commercial with Sarah McLachan in the hospital...and each and every time I saw it after. For whatever reason, I can watch the news with horrible things happening around the world and not tear up, but show me one homeless or abused dog and I am a weeping mess. Errol loves this as it gives him the opportunity to make his crybaby face at me and laugh at least once a day. Thank god this phase is over and I am now able to maintain my composure at commercials...but not Wednesdays child..that is a hopeless case.
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