It was fun to wake up the day after Cameron was born and it was New Years Day. What a way to start off the new year! We were in the hospital for 24 hours then discharged - Ryan was beyond ready! The nurse came in every 2 hours on the dot and loudly woke Cam and myself up for monitoring. The labor and delivery nursing staff was so amazing and I couldn't have received better care. The after birthing staff was not so great. All they wanted to do was give me IB Profin and take my blood pressure. I made the decision to breast feed early on. I had no idea what I was doing and the nurses were no help at all. I was nervous about leaving the hospital without learning the art of feeding my child. We packed our sweet boy up and headed home! Ryan and Heather took Basie and Loey for the night and offered to bring them home after we got settled with Cameron. When we arrived home, it felt so amazing to bring him into the house. I picked him up and showed him his little nursery and couldn't wait until the girls came home. About 30 minutes later, my brother brought the girls in. Heather and Ryan held the girls back as I showed them Cameron. They were instantly attracted to him and couldn't wait to give him a big kiss! I was so relieved!! Soon after the girls were home, our parents arrived to hold Cam for the first time. It was so amazing to see them holding Ryan and my baby. In fact, words can't really describe it. After a while, everyone left and it was just us. We were so exhausted!
The first couple of days went pretty well figuring we didn't know what we were doing! Cameron was great during diaper changes, his bath and I thought feedings. Breast feeding was extremely painful and frustrating for both me and Cam. On Tuesday 1-3-12, Cameron had his first doctor appointment with this "interesting" doctor. To our dismay, Cameron's check up didn't go so well. He had lost more than 10% of his body weight since leaving the hospital (He was down to 6 pound 9 ounces). The doctor said that my milk probably hadn't come in and we needed to supplement with either pumped breast milk or formula. Also, Cameron was considered a "sleepy baby" and she wanted us to wake him up every 1.5 hours to feed him around the clock. Seriously?? After leaving the office, we were both scared and I felt like it was my fault. The doctor wanted to check his weight on Friday to see if this technique was working. Just as the doctor ordered, Ryan and I forced ourselves to get up every 1.5 hours. I breastfed Cam then pumped milk, Ryan took the milk and pulled it into a syringe and fed it to Cam. This process took over 30-40 minutes! We were so exhausted but were determined to make him gain weight. Friday came and we again went to the doctor. She said he still wasn't gaining like he should be and told us to continue to do the routine. She also referred me to a lactation consultant. I won't go into details about that but what I trip! His doctor wanted to see him again on Monday for a weight check. He was finally gaining but not how she would like him to be. I felt like crap!! I was pumping a lot more milk and was bottle feeding it to him. She didn't like the fact that he wasn't latching and would "prefer" him to be. Needless to say, I switch doctors pretty quick! She made me feel like a failure and being a new mom, I didn't need that.
Between all of these weight checks, weird feeding schedule and no sleep, I got double mastitis (breast infection). I was in the worst shape I had ever been in before. I had a fever of almost 104, chills and severe pain - oh and breast feed a baby! Cameron still wasn't latching correctly and started biting and scratching. I was so done. I was still so determined to give him breast milk so I made the decision (crazy decision) to exclusively pump. In order to meet up with his milk demand, I had to pump every 2 hours around the clock (every 6-8 hours now - thank goodness!). To this day, I still pump milk for Cameron. He hasn't had to take formula (with the exception of a couple times in the very beginning). I am ok with this method this time around because in the end, he is still getting the benefits of breast milk but takes it in a bottle. I don't like to toot my own horn, but I am proud that I made it through this rough patch and still was able to give him breast milk. My plans as of right now are to breast feed until I go back to work (June) and then wean off. Wish me luck!
The first month with Cameron was fun but stressful. Looking back, I wish I didn't sweat the small stuff or blame myself for things that I had no control over. In the end, he is a healthy, happy baby that loves cuddles and smiles! So many people came to visit Cam during his first month. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives and I can't begin to express my gratitude. Here are some pictures of Cameron's first month!
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