1-7 Weeks Postpartum - Baby Obstacles

As you know from the last post, the first three days with a baby is all about breastfeeding. To be honest it is mainly all about breastfeeding, and it will be for as long as you breastfeed. I plan to continue breastfeeding my daughter til she is one years old, if I can. I want to give her the best start in life and I'll just put up with leaky boobs and the wet patches on my bed sheets and my clothes. My first week with baby was defiantly a challenge because breastfeeding didn't come easy to me or my baby. I had a visit from my midwife everyday to see how well I was doing or where I was going wrong. Having my midwifes guidance was very helpful. She showed me how to latch my daughter on the proper way and had shown me the different position so I could find what was comfortable for me. I was given information with and without pictures which were helpful when my midwife wasn't around. Each day that went by I was really making some progress. I was getting better and better by the minute.

A big bonus was that my mum stayed for 3 weeks to help out and I so glad she was here. She did all the housework for me and a bit of spring cleaning too. My mum was happy to help as she knows what it like. Mum was in those shoes three times with my two older brothers and myself. With mum doing the housework all I had to do was look after my daughter and of course ME.

The fuss of a newborn had finally worn of a bit so the crown in my lounge was no more so I had the space to slowly concentrate on feeding Ella and take it one step at a time and before I knew the first week of the long haul was over and I had breastfeeding established. I wasn't a pro, hey I'm still learning, but I finally got her latched and suckling happily.

I tell you one thing the first week is mainly a blur to me it had happened so fast but it didn't at the time though because I had a bad case of the baby blues so I was really emotional and was crying a lot as I couldn't just simply feed my baby. I hand expressed and eventually got a pump just to help me with my sore nipples but I didn't stop trying breastfeeding. The bottle was mainly there to give me reassurance that I was still feeding my child and not starving her and it also boosted my confidence.

As the weeks when by breastfeeding became easier and I bottle fed her less as the days went on. Now days I only pump when my boobs are engorged, when I just want to have break and get Daddy to feed her or when I want to go out without baby.

I may be going on about breastfeeding but it had a big impact on me. Come to think about it, breastfeeding for me is so much more harder then delivering a baby and that was HARD.

It's an amazing experience watching your child grow and seeing the milestones that happen along the way. Every week my midwife would visit me at home and she would weigh and measure my baby. Ella was born at 8 pound 4oz and within the first week she had lost 1 pound oz but as the weeks when by she was growing & gaining weight healthily. Her newborn clothes was getting smaller each week but not by much. She still fits newborn clothes and she is now 7 weeks and 1 day old

My body has changed so much my hips are so much wider with stretch marks and stretch marks on my tummy plus a few on my boob. My boob aren't as perky as they used to be and belly is like jelly. I weigh a bit more than i used to and down below just doesn't feel the same. Im surprised how much a female body can prepare and stretch for a baby. I still look back and wonder how i did it.

Giving Ella a bath is a big highlight for me because she likes it a lot. She enjoys the water and no wonder why she was born in the water. I enjoy doing this every night as I know it make her sleep better at night and trust me it does work because when I don't give her a bath I end up having broken sleep at night. When I give her a bath I'm blessed with an awesome baby that sleeps from 10pm to 6am though throughout these whole 7 weeks she has been a great night sleeper anyway. I took Ella out in the pram when she was only days old. She look so tiny in the pram and also in her carseat whenever we went somewhere in the car. Going out for a walk with her in a pram is another highlight for me it's a chance for me to get out of the house. I have many highlights with her. I enjoying her smiles, her baby talk, her wriggles, her grunts and most of all I enjoy the great bond that we share with each other. The way she looks at me is priceless.

I take everyday as it comes and enjoy every minute of my daughter. She make my days worth living and I'll never be bored again. I look forward to tomorrow and what it will bring. I love you my baby girl forever and always.