One Month…Today…

Lukas is one month old today. I am still breastfeeding him, but I have started to give him a little bit of formula each day. I had taken him to the public health unit to have him weighed and he had not gained as much weight as the nurse said that he should have. This, of course, freaked me out… making me think that he was not getting enough milk. I breastfed him every two – three hours, for two days and then took him back to get weighed again…. to see how much he had gained within those two days. He had gained 45 grams… 22.5 grams per day. Apparently 20-25 grams per day is an ideal weight gain… so he seemed to be gaining just fine, but I decided that I would give him a few ounces of formula a day…. just to make sure. Plus, if I need to go out somewhere…. it is nice to know that he will not be “starving.”

16 Days Today…..

Lukas is 16 days old today. 16 days!! Man, time is going by fast… it’s hard to believe that he is already over 2 weeks old. He is doing really good. I took him to the public health nurse on Wednesday, where he got weighed and he has gained 9 ounces since birth.  He has only had breast milk, no formula.  Breastfeeding is a lot more daunting than I thought it would be.  That is all he seems to do… is feed.  This morning, I swear, I fed him from 6:00 am, the time we woke up, until 1:30 in the afternoon…. with just little breaks in between feedings.  I talked to the public health nurse about this and she told me that this is perfectly normal.  It is called “cluster feeding” and is very typical for newborns… it also will “prep” my breasts for regular breastfeeding, so that they will produce more milk.  I figured that I would be able to start going back to the gym…. but the way things are going right now, I really can’t be away from him for too long,without him wanting to be on the breast.  I have tried to pump, but all I get is 1~2 ounces at a time…. which the public health nurse also said is “brilliant”.  BRILLIANT???  How the hell is getting 1~2 ounces brilliant?  She said not to expect to get much more than that.  HUH?  I thought that after a few weeks I would be able to at least pump enough to get him through a feeding….. so that I could leave him for a few hours and get out of the house, without having to worry that he is screaming at the top of his lungs in starvation because his horrible mother took her boobs with her and left him with nothing to eat.  Hmph.  I really hope that this whole breastfeeding thing gets a little easier.

Yeowsers…

Today Lukas had an appointment to have his circumcision done.  I feel so sorry for the little guy, and it really breaks my heart to see him in any sort of discomfort.

The appointment was at 8:30 this morning and the circumcision was performed at The Pollock Clinic.  Dr Pollock is one of the best doctors in North America for mogen infant circumcision and  no scalpel~no needle vasectomy.  The procedure takes approximately 30 ~ 40 seconds for the doctor to perform, and after several pain control methods, Lukas seemed not too terribly bothered by it.  Now I just have to worry about the after-care, and make sure that he heals properly.

Labour and Delivery…

First of all, Lukas is doing great. He is starting to adjust to being in the outside world and is sleeping pretty good during the night.

On February 20th my doctor scheduled an appointment at 8:00 am for me to be induced at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. We went to the hospital, I got induced and they sent us home with instructions to come back in 5 hours if I was not going into labour. So we went home, and nothing happened. We went back to the hospital in 5 hours and they induced me again…. and again we were told to go home, wait 5 hours and if nothing has happened to come back again. So again we drive home and wait, and there still seems to be nothing happening. So we went back again. By this time it was 10:30 at night. The resident doctor examined my cervix and said that it had thinned out a little and that she didn’t feel the need to induce a third time, so they sent us home yet again, and told us to wait it out. They also sent me home with some sleeping pills so that I could get some rest.

At home I took the sleeping pills, and laid down on our bed and fell asleep within an hour. At 3:00 am I awoke and started to have contractions. We drove back to the hospital and found out that I was 2 1/2 centimeters dilated. At that point they decided to keep us there.

By the time noon hit, I was 7 centimeters dilated and was in active labour. The contractions were getting a lot stronger and more painful. I decided to go ahead an have an epidural to help alleviate some of the pain and once the epidural kicked in I was in heaven. No more pain and I had the chance to rest up a bit before it came time to push. By this time a small crowd of family had formed in the waiting room but Neil was the only person I wanted in the labour room and thats how it went.

At 3:00 pm I was 10 centimeters dilated and was told by the obstetrician that I could start to push. This wasn’t painful at all. The epidural had made me so frozen that I could not even feel the contractions. The doctor turned the epidural off so that I could start to feel the contractions and push more effectively. And by 4:39 that afternoon our beautiful little son was born. He was placed on my tummy and I cut the cord and was able to see him for a minute before they took him away to get checked out. He barely even let out a peep. The only time he cried was when they gave him a shot and measured the circumference of his head. He was so alert and wide eyed, looking around everywhere…. and so peaceful…. it was truly amazing.

Lukas Has Finally Arrived…

I would like to introduce you to Lukas William Wells. He was born into this world on February 21, 2007 at 4:39 pm…. weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces and measuring in at 21 and 1/4 inches. [Sorry for the dark photo... but I do not believe the flash was on]

Mommy, Daddy, and Baby Lukas are now out of the hospital and settling in at home. Right now Lukas is having a nap…. such a good time for Mommy to go get some much needed breakfast! To see more pics…… go here.