Sutton Week 2

The second week has flown by for sure. It is much the same as the first. Some days we get moving fast and I feel great. Other days I wake up feeling like I get hit by a truck and I struggle to get up and moving. I don't even mind the wake up call every 2-3 hours. It seems that the hardest part this time around has been the slow recovery from the pain of the C-section matched with the pain I have experienced breastfeeding. I was still so swollen up until day 10 or so. I could hardly pull up any pair of pants and flip flops left indention in my feet (it was that bad). However, within 3 days I found that I was having some night sweats and dropped 15 pounds up to now. I know that was the easy part. The rest of the weight will now be a challenge. I am grateful for the immediate help from hormones and my body stabilizing because it was getting to feel like none of the weight was going to come off. Last Friday I went and visited with a lactation consultant. With Crawford I felt like I had an internal struggle with breastfeeding. I knew things were going well from the beginning from a pain standpoint and a supply standpoint but I was all alone and didn't really realize how helpful they could be. This time I wanted to fix the pain as fast as possible and start building a supply for when I go back to work. The girl I met with was sooo empathetic and supportive. It was soo wonderful to talk to someone who truly knew what I was going through and wanted to help me. I felt sooo much better once I left there. The good news was Sutton was gaining weight just fine. The bad news is I was still in too much pain to be 10 days out from giving birth. She wanted me to immediately start supplements to increase my supply. She also suggested pumping twice a day just to increase some supply. She wanted me to have a lump looked that was causing a lot of my pain. This was the same lump that the doctor found worrisome while I was pregnant. I made an appointment with the doctor and after an exam he said everything looked fine and that the glandular tissue was just increasing in size and amount and probably contributing to my pain. During the day the baby was every mother's dream. She eats and sleeps like a little angel. At night, it seems like my increasing discomfort is what wakes me up initially and then I wait for her to wake up so I am not getting as much rest as I should be. I know since Brad is home I should probably rest a lot more during the day but it just doesn't seem to happen.

 

 

The little angel will sleep just about anywhere She will sleep in her car seat, bassinet, the swing, the pack and play, and the bouncer. I remember not even being able to take a shower while Craw was in the bouncer because he screamed the whole time. Again, she is a pleasant surprise and true delight.

When she does wake up or seem fussy she seems to do best on little walks around the house or on the back porch.

 

Craw has really seemed so unaffected by her presence. He still plays as he always did. He loves finger painting on the porch, riding his jeep, pulling his wagon, going to the pool, and playing with the girls next door.

I have really embraced just holding the baby as much as I can.  This summer will fly by and I will be back at work before I know it.

 

Hope and Carter, Bobby, and Amy brought over pizzas one night and the kids had a ball playing in the playroom and outside on the jeep. Hope just loves her baby cousin. She asks sweetly to hold her and always asks questions about her. It is so sweet!

I am still trying hard to get the munchkin to take a paci. She seems to be taking this green soothie paci the best of the options I have tried.

I try to get out and walk with her every day. Even if it's 15 minutes I have found that getting us both out moving is good for my mood!

On Saturday, Alexis and Brittany (and baby Kaitlyn) drove to Greenville for a visit. Kaitlyn is 3 weeks older that Sutton. It was soo sweet of them both to drive all of the way here. I am so grateful for our friendship that has spanned 10 years now. We just rocked the babies and caught up on life.

 

I hope these two will be lifelong friends that can show off this picture from when they were newborns!

 

We even pulled out a bottle of wine to celebrate. It was so nice to have them here and again to come all the way here to see us was just so overly sweet.

 

On Father's Day we spent the afternoon at Nana and Papas. The kids played in the bounce house and with bubbles. I got to sit outside and enjoyed watching them play. Sutton was passed around from Amy, Hope, and Joretta and it was nice to enjoy the outside with the other kids.

 

Happy Father's Day Brad I will never forget the way Craw says Daddy I love you because you are my bessssst friend. Melts my heart.

Around day 12 Sutton started to spend more of the day awake. She again will sit in the bouncy seat and go on walks but it is tougher to find ways to keep her occupied until it's time to eat. It seems like if the girl is awake she wants to eat!

This was after my doctor's appointment. I had my incision checked and the lump looked at. We were gone 2.5 hours and Sutton didn't make a peep. She got home ate and was out again!

 

We usually give the kids baths at the same time. Craw then crawls into our bed to watch an episode of paw patrol. I asked him if Sutton could lay with him and he said yessss..so I put her on his shoulder and he just kept watching tv.

 

I love our nighttime routine with Craw. He will say things like "family cuddle time" and he is just so sweet and loving

We got Craw pumped up for the World Cup soccer match. He was cheering for USA.

We see the "little girls" as Craw refers to them every day. They love riding in Craw's truck and playing in the playroom. We pulled out the sprinkler one night and they had a ball running through it.

 

The number one thing Craw asks to do on any given day is to go to the train museum. The train museum is downtown and has about 14 model trains that go around a display. He absolutely loves it and literally asks to go almost every day.

 

While we are still adapting to less sleep and lots of sitting around and feeding, we are really enjoying this summer together as a family. Sutton is precious and Craw is always keeping us laughing. We took Sutton to the doctor today (at 2 weeks old). She is up to 8 lb 1 oz (which is almost a half pound more than the doctor was even looking to see so he was thrilled). She was running a fever with the head thermometer so she had to have a rectal reading done (which we have never experienced in our 3.5 years at parents)...she did not have a fever but it sure did get her awake and it was sad to see. We are soo thankful she is gaining weight and looks healthy. We will go back at a month for another check up.

Sutton's day 5 and 6

This baby's birth has been soo different. The time of year has made such a difference in the way I have felt in general. With the nice weather I have made sure to take a walk each day even if it is up and down our street for 10 minutes.

 

 

I never remember this sort of peace that newborns brings. Maybe I was so sleep deprived, hormones surging, first time mother, or just had a fussy a newborn...this time around even though I am only a few days in  I LOVE IT. I love how tiny she is and how angelic she is. I literally can't leave her side. I am loving every minute of it and trying to cherish each day I have with her.

 

She is hardly ever awake. We have to completely undress her and usually wipe her down with a warm rag just to get her eyes to open.

Sometimes after a feeding she is awake for a short time period but when she is she generally is so calm and quiet. Nursing has been as difficult as I remember it. Lots of soreness and pain but I am hoping that as my milk levels even out things should get better.

At times I am run down from my incision hurting because I have pushed it too hard...other times I am so sore and want to cry from the pain that the nursing has brought on ...but this Sunday the weather was perfect and I knew I couldn't pass up a stroll downtown with the fam.

 

Craw loved it and just ran all over the place

Aunt Cat and I have pretty much taken over caring for Sutton and Brad has done an amazing job of playing with Craw nonstop. I hear them laughing so hard upstairs in his playroom and it warms my heart that this change so far has been easy for him. Cathleen and I were getting dinner ready last night and Brad took over Sutton duty while Craw napped. It's funny to see how nervous Brad is with a newborn. I thought I was the nervous one but maybe the combination of the two of us being nervous last time was a recipe for disaster. Brad looks anxious changing her diaper and if she starts crying he looks for help. I think he does an amazing job with her but it's been interesting to notice.

 

Monday morning June 9th (day 6)

 

I had a big problem with engorgement over the weekend. I think I waited too long to feed Sutton one evening. That coupled with my milk coming in caused me to be in a LOT of pain. I decided that I needed to feed more often in order to remedy the problem. I woke up every 3 hours on the nose and made sure Sutton did as well to ensure that I didn't let this problem resurface again. We woke everyone up around 7:45 and got ready for her first pediatrician appointment. Papa met us there so that Craw wouldn't have to sit through the appointment.

 They have upgraded the newborn service since having Craw. We went in and met with the nurse. She got all Sutton's vital signs and then took us to the scale where there was a blanket warming. We got her weighed and wrapped her up in her warm blanket. Our room was nice and dark and had a nice lounge chair in it. The lactation consultant came in next to watch me nurse and lend us some tips. She said everything looked great and that I should hopefully be on the upswing from here in terms of pain and engorgement. When the doctor came in he did a quick visit with me...he checked all my vitals out and assessed my swelling. They keep a file on mother's now so that if during this newborn phase we experience difficulties or health problems they can take care of us at their practice. Next up was Sutton's exam. She went from 7 lb 10 oz to 7 lb 2 oz (when leaving the hospital) and was back up to 7 lb 5 oz (on day 6). She was still 20.5 inches long and her head circumference was 34 cm. He listened to her chest and said she sounded and looked healthy as could be. I told him she had been spitting up some and it even was coming out of her nose. He said it was probably because her stomach was still so tiny and that he would watch for it to improve over the weeks to come. We left our appointment feeling so blessed!

 

Ashley and Maddox stopped by and we caught up while Sutton slept.

 

I have been trying to squeeze in some quality Crawford time. Even if I can't get on the ground and push trains around with him, I have been trying to make sure he knows mommy still loves her time with C.

 

I thought Craw was supposed to be going to sleep but somehow mommy was the first one out tonight!

Sutton Day 3

Since we had decided we would only spend 2 nights in the hospital versus 3, the nurses had already begun to prepare for our discharge the evening before. Our night nurse had run all the tests on baby so that once the numbers on her bilirubin came back the pediatrician could make the final call on whether she could go home. In the morning they took my IV out and we waited for all the doctors to make their rounds to give us the ok to leave. We had an amazing night the second night. She actually slept for one 5 hour stretch so we woke up feeling quite refreshed. I could tell my milk was starting to come in and breastfeeding was already beginning to hurt. I was already sore and thinking oh no how long will this last. Papa decided to keep Craw at his house that morning and just come see us once we got home. Aunt Cat came and brought Brad coffee and she cuddles baby Sutton while I showered. The OB came in and hardly even looked at me and said I was ok to go home. I was surprised at how little they checked me out considering I had just had surgery. She literally told me to pull my pants down to where she could see the scar and she looked at that was it. She ordered me some pain meds to go home with and she was on her way. The Pediatrician (Dr. Dukes) a new doctor to us had been checking on Sutton each day and he was so sweet with her. We have really enjoyed him taking care of her in the hospital. He told us everything looked great and that they would like to see us Monday (at 5 days old) to check her out again. Lastly, a new lactation consultant came in. We had fallen in love with our first lactation consultant. She had given me tremendous tips and was so patient and empathetic with me and the process. The new lady had different tips and while I didn't click quite as well I appreciated her advice especially during a time when breastfeeding had begun to hurt. We finished packing up and then had to go over some paperwork before we could leave the hospital.

We had a sign made for Sutton's door that looks similar to one Brittany gave Craw when he was born. We love how it turned out and can't wait to hang it on her door at home.

 

 

We got Sutton all dressed in the Feltman dress Aunt Cat bought her

The nurse had to make sure she fit snug in her carseat before leaving



All ready to leave with our sweet little girl

 

 

 We took turns loving on Sutton once we got home

 

Once we got home we tried to settle in as much as we could. She had been such a doll in the hospital and we were so excited to be back in our own house and in our own bed. Cathleen had cooked up one of our favorite meals: homemade jambalaya. Nana and Papa brought Craw home. The pediatrician told us to set Sutton in her carrier in  another room so that when Craw came home we could just celebrate him being back home with us. He walked in and we hugged him and told him we were so happy to have him back.  A few minutes later her heard some noise coming from the bassinet and he found Sutton. He just looked at her and smiled. He wanted to play trains and wasn't phased by her being there. We told Craw we had a special surprise for him since he had been so good for everyone while we spent time with Sutton while she was being born. We had gotten him a Thomas the Train bike. He was sooo excited. He said "it's just the one I wanted from the toys-r-us. Now he refuses to wear a helmet so it will remain in the box until we can get him on board with the helmet!

 

 

Aunt Cat gives the best baths. She got Sutton all ready for bed. It's the only time throughout the day so far that she actually stays awake for any length of time. She looks around and is so content.

 

Craw even wanted to cuddle with Sutton in our bed before going upstairs with daddy to get ready for bed. We had an amazing first day home. We are amazed by Sutton's calm demeanor. She is soo chill so far. She eats and sleeps and looks so peaceful doing both. We can't get enough of her. I want to hold her all the time and watch her sleep in my arms. I have loved having Brad here to help and my sissy who has helped me so much get acclimated to my sweet little newborn!