Teatopia

Answered Prayers

Meeting with the lactation consultant on Tuesday really helped a lot! The problem was actually quite simple, but having never done this before, I just didn't know. She said that I have more milk than most women and that because I was so engorged, the baby couldn't latch on to anything. My nipples were just too hard and swollen. I have been pumping a bit out before nursing and this has really helped. I am looking forward to a morning when my bra isn't soaking wet when I wake up. I nurse her and just a few hours later, the pads and my bra are soaked through. Ugh. This success has been a huge weight off my shoulders (or should I say chest?) and I feel so relieved to be able to nurse our daughter. We are still working on a good latch, but at least I am able to feed her from me. The other day, I tried to give her a bottle of breast milk and she spit it out and turned to my breast, mouth open. I almost cried. She wants me and not that stupid, plastic nipple. Good girl, Olivia. :-)

We actually got some sleep last night. I woke uo 3 times to nurse her, but instead of fussing for an hour, she decided to go back to sleep. She is sleeping about half the night in her bed and half the night in ours. She used to not sleep in her bed at all-- she'd only cry, so we are making progress there too. I have found that a sleep positioner works well for her.

I added a photo album to my sidebar of Olivia's first week. You can also access it by clicking here. I remember Chas posting that she looked awful after giving birth. I thought she looked quite pretty. I look downright haggard. I still have to post my birth story. I will tell you this much: they didn't give me my epidural until I was freakin' 8 centimeters and when it wore off, they did nothing. I have a right to look awful. :-)