tummy troubles

When Ethan was born, he was great at latching on for breastfeeding. That lasted all of 3 days and when we came home from the hospital, we had a VERY hard time breastfeeding. My flat nipples mixed with low milk supply made it rough. We started supplementing with formula and I started pumping to try to increase my supply. This lasted 9 days until he had an allergic reaction to the medicine I am on (that I can't stop). We decided to strictly formula feed after that. I had a lot of guilt over this, but in the end it has made us all happier.

Until now.

We started Ethan on Similac Advance because that is what we had the most samples of. It worked just fine while he was getting some breast milk with it, but once he was getting just that we had issues. He was very gassy and just generally upset/fussy most of the day.

So we switched to soy formula. That just constipated him and made him equally unhappy. After that we tried Enfamil Premium in hopes that the third time was the charm. Not so much! He was still gassy/fussy and uncomfortable the majority of the day.

His pediatrician said to try Gentlease formula, surely that would help. We got the Target brand (half the price) and had our fingers crossed that things would be better. Not only was he STILL gassy, but now he was having trouble pooping, too. From Thursday of last week until Monday of this week he screamed every time he tried to poop or pass gas. He was only pooping once a day, but trying to get it out ALL day. It was horrible watching him in so much pain.

Back to the pediatrician we went. He got weighed first and was 11lbs 4oz on Monday. He obviously has no problems eating and we are thrilled he is gaining weight. The doctor was concerned with the pain he was having. He finally pooped while we were in the room and she was alarmed with the amount of poop he had. It was ALOT.

New plan of action: Enfamil Nutramigen, the most hypoallergenic formula with extremely broken down proteins for easy digestion. AKA one of the most expensive formulas out there. Luckily she gave us samples to try before we have to buy it. If this doesn't work, then we will start him on Ranitidine for the stomach pain.

This formula smells horrible and I can tell he doesn't enjoy the taste but he is eating it. So far it seems to be helping. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have to use the medicine!!

Please let this be the light at the end of the tunnel, I want my happy baby back!!!

One Month Old!

Ethan is a month old! I can't believe it actually. It seemed like forever until he finally arrived & now he has been with us for a month? Time flies! What has he been up to lately? He is starting to notice more things around him. He loves the light and will always look towards it. He definitely recognizes mommy & daddy and focuses on our faces when we talk to him. He LOVES to cuddle & be held (sometimes too much!). This past week he decided he wants to eat every 1.5-2 hours instead of 3-4 hours which is making us tired. He also seems to have a bottomless pit. He is now eating 4oz at a time, and sometimes acts as if that isn't enough. He is HUGE compared to when he was born, and has more rolls than I can count :) He is starting to coo and make noises. Sometimes he just sits in his swing or lays in his crib and "talks" for a while. He makes a lot of noise for someone so small! He is about 10lbs 14 oz and 22.5 in long! He is growing like a weed! We don't go to the doctor again until his 2 month check up. His hair is thinning because his head is growing so fast. It is starting to come back in a little in the front, but you can definitely see where it is thinning! He is still not sleeping very well at night. Especially the past few nights! I am trying to do the same routine at nightime, and it did work well the first night I did it. Not so much anymore. I am not looking forward to returning to work on August 1st! My 4am wake up call is going to be rough!

Here are a couple of his newborn pictures (taken at 12 days old) that I forgot to post. Look how small he is compared to the one above that was taken yesterday!

Post Partum survey

• How far along were you when you had your baby? 39 weeks 1 day (by 18 minutes)
• How long was labor? 24 hours
• Total weight gain: from pre-pregnancy weight FIVE POUNDS!!
  
• Total weight loss since: 16 pounds!!!
  
• Back into your own clothes yet? yep, I can fit into everything.
• Did you get stretch marks? Yep, I have a nice cluster around my belly button
• Did you deliver vaginally or by c-section? C-section
• Best moment this week: watching Ethan become more alert and recognize our voices. He also got to meet his aunt & uncle for the first time!!
• What I miss about being pregnant: Feeling him moving inside me.
• How big is baby: He was 8 lbs 3.5 oz on 6/29/10. My guess is over 9 lbs by now! He loves to eat!
• Baby's temperament? he is very laid back & easy going unless it is time for bed--he fights it sometimes, and he likes to be held/rocked until he goes to sleep. He also has been gassy which makes him upset sometimes. We have switched formulas (on our 3rd now) and he seems to be doing better!
  
• What I am looking forward to: watching him grow up! I can't wait until he can interact with us, smile at us for a reason! I can't wait to play with him, watch him crawl, walk, talk, everything!
  

infection

So my incision from my c-section is infected. UGH! I have been diligent about keeping the area clean, dry, and applying neosporin per doctors orders. Everything was going great until a couple of days ago, I noticed my scar had a lump underneath it, pretty much along the length of the incision. I thought maybe it was scar tissue at first. Not so much! I woke up yesterday morning to my underwear soaked with drainage and an even bigger lump. WTF?! The drainage was yellowish/orange, not a color I had seen before. I didn't immediately think it was infected because it didn't look like any infected incision I had ever seen. But taking my husband's advice I called the doctor anyways just to be sure all was well. The nurse wanted me to come in today just to have it looked it.

As soon as the doctor looked at it, he said "Oh well that's not good." Gee, thanks! He said it appeared to be a superficial infection & that he needed to open it up and drain it. Okay, I can handle that. First he numbed the area & OWWW did that hurt! He came back about 15 minutes later and started cutting into the middle of the incision where it was already draining. Once he got a tiny bit deeper than the surface I could feel everything and holy mother of God did it hurt! I had to suck it up so he could get it open enough to drain it. If that wasn't bad enough, then he was pushing hard all around it to get it to drain. Not only is it extremely sensitive and painful, I also had to pee really bad! I was so afraid if he pushed any harder I was going to pee my pants!!! LOL Thankfully I did not:)

So he packed the opening to ensure that it doesn't close, and now I am on heavy-duty antibiotics. He took a culture of the drainage, I am curious to see what shows up! I have to go back Monday to have him look at it again to ensure it is in fact healing. This is such a pain in the ass! Just when the soreness of the overall surgery was wearing off, this happens. Let me tell you, it is pretty painful right now. It hurts to bend over, sit down, stand up, you name it! I hope this antibiotic works and clears it up quickly.

My brother-in-law and his wife are flying in tomorrow from Indiana for the next week and I want to be able to do things and not be in pain! Thank goodness for Ibuprofen and Percocet :)