So I have two weeks left! Yeah! So all you moms out there I would like to know, if there was one thing you wish someone had told you what would it be? And also any breast feeding advice? I'm really nervous about that part.
I went to the doctor today and she told me I am dilated to a 1 and am 70% effaced! So that was exciting to hear. Almost time!
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The nurses are their to help with brest feeding Use them as much as you can. And don't worry milk usually does not come in for 3 days. the baby is not starving :) Good luck you will be great! Just remember its only a moment in time.
You are almost there! I can't believe it! Ava could be born like any day now! You have already heard all of my breastfeeding stories.... but stick with it cuz it WILL get better. The first 2 weeks are rough, but then it will be so easy. At the hospital they gave me nipple guards and they really helped. If they don't give you any I think you can get them at babies r us. Anyway, keep us updated! I am so excited for you. I hope you guys aren't busy this weekend cuz I want to come see you.... I will give you a call later.
Here we go! What I wish people would have told ME (although EVERY delivery is different):
1. If you're doing an epidural, it's FABULOUS, and makes the delivery itself, the easy part. It's after you THAW that you gotta worry about! Just mentally prepare yourself to be rather uncomfortable for the first few days after delivery.
2. Take a DVD PLAYER! It's not abnormal for labor to be 16-18 hours long with the first one. If you've already seen the "Candy Man" (anesthesiologist), then just bust out a few movies (CHICK FLICKS! They recommend no 'action' movies as it'll 'excite' you and you want to be as relaxed and calm as possible).
3. BRING YOUR OWN PILLOW- Hospital pillows SUCK.
4. Austin, bring your OWN FOOD! I highly recommend HEALTHY food. Vending machine/caffeteria food gets old fast and they only feed the mothers typically.
5. You won't need nearly as much as you think you will at the hospital.
6. Coming from a person that is SUPER phobic of needles- the epidural is nothing to be afraid of.
7. Bring your own underwear and be ok with it getting, um....damaged....You'll see when you get there ;-)
8. There's no other experience like it- Try really hard to take "mental photographs" of Austin's face, and of seeing her for the first time.
Breast Feeding:
1. If at first you don't succeed- It's ok, they're only eating like 1 tsp. at a time in the beginning.
2. It's OK to use a "shield". In fact I loved it as it helped G go from breast to bottle really easily.
3. If it HURTS, then she's not latched properly.
4. BREAST PUMP!!!! If you don't have one, GET ONE! No questions asked...
5. It's also normal for the baby to not eat for a HUGE period of time (like 8 hours) within the first 48 hours of life. I was all stressed out about him not eating at one point, and come to find out- A lot of babies do that. They mostly just want to REST- Birthing is a very taxing thing!
And last but not least, all of this is MY experience. Yours will be different. Just go in, and do your best to ENJOY the experience. It is a very scary thing the first time, but you'll make it! ;-)
I heard the news from David that you are due any day now!! i am so excited for you guys and can't wait to meet little Ava! Sorry, i have no advice to give yet, i wish I did!
Yay...you're getting close! You could go into labor any day now.
Brooke is right about using the nurses while you're in the hospital. They helped me lots. I thought breastfeeding would be a natural thing..but it wasn't. It was really hard at first! I got really engorged once my milk came in. That wasn't any fun. I seriously have tons of stories on breastfeeding. If you EVER have any questions.. I probably have an answer. I had to go see the lactation consultant two times after I had Kaitlin...and I got mastitis a total of 5 times! It was terrible. So if you ever get Mastitis email me...I know exactly what to do to make it go away!
Anyways I hope you don't have as many problems as I did with breastfeeding! Everyone is different...just don't give up! Eventually it gets better. I'm so glad I continued to breastfeed. It is soo much easier than bottle feeding, plus is is better for the baby.
I'm so excited for you guys and I hope everything goes well with your labor. My goal when I had Kaitlin was to go epidural free...but it didn't happen. I didn't prepare myself mentally enough to do it without the epidural..plus my pain tolerance is pretty low. Whatever you decide will be the best.
I can't wait to see her and see how everything goes!!
I am so excited for you to have Ava! Your mom must be dying with anticipation. I wish I had advice to give you, but you are more ahead of the game than me. Make sure Austin knows how to put pictures on your blog so we, that don't live close, can see her soon! And, if you want to push the sympathy thing with Austin, tell him to call Chris and you can get a ring like mine (or any ring) for being a new mom. :) It couldn't hurt to try, right?
oh kelli, where to begin? just kidding. you're going to do great. every mom has to learn, and the great thing is the baby doesn't know any better and you really can't mess up.
Labor: yeah, you don't need much/anything at the hospital. just plan on getting no sleep because they NEVER leave you alone. nurses will be waking you up to take your blood pressure all through the night. it's torture. i had 2 without an epidural and one with. each labor is different. if you plan to get one, i say get it as early as possible because otherwise you've put yourself through a lot of pain for nothing and once you've already done that you might as well go the whole way. the rest of labor advice is a little graphic, so if you want any more gory details get my phone number from my mom :)
breastfeeding: i breastfed all my babies and i really liked it. you will be quite quite sore for about 2 weeks, and just when you think you're going to die it completely goes away and doesn't hurt at all after that (as long as the baby is latched on properly, see breastfeeding diagrams for that one, also, too graphic of an explanation). get a tube of lanolin from the baby aisle at target and keep that stuff smeared all over you. when you are done, don't yank the baby off, put your finger in the corner of her mouth to release her suction on you. otherwise: pain. i would suggest immediately after birth attempting nursing for about 2-5 minutes. keep feedings short that first day to ease your breasts into it, but do them every 3 hours--for me, that kept me from every getting engorged when my milk came in (which was a day after i came home from the hospital, so like day 3 or 4). and i hated pumping so i have no advice on that.
pacifiers: don't feel guilty about giving your baby a pacifier. each baby is different, but rylee did so much better (i.e. way less crying) at home once we gave her a pacifier. it did not interfere with breastfeeding whatsoever. izzy was no good at sucking on one and it took several weeks of giving it to her before she finally got the hang of it, but she lost interest in it the quickest of my children. it's a mixed blessing. it really helps getting babies to sleep those first few months, but it can make them dependent so you don't want to abuse it.
i love to talk baby, so seriously if you have any more questions or concerns CALL ME!
My advice may not be the same for every mom, but I have yet to meet one who it hasn't applied to...
If you get emotional during the first two weeks at home, that is normal. I mean crying (not like postpartum depression crying - but like my hormones are bouncing on a trampoline and I'm crying because I'm tired). I remember crying after Reagan was born because I couldn't find a shirt that would fit me or that I was willing to wear in public once my milk came in.
I remember crying with Carson because I would feed him for 30 minutes, then he would fuss ten minutes later and Adam would give him a bottle. After he "wolfed" down the bottle in 3 minutes Adam would turn to me and say, "he was just hungry honey." GRRRRRRRR. I remember bawling about this...it seems so silly now, but I hated feeling like my effort was wasted.
Anyway, your experience will likely be ideal :) so maybe you wont' have any of these sorts of emotions. But if you do, you are totally normal.
I love ya, and good luck!!!
I never thought I would be able to give you advice, but i guess now I can!
1. Wow...labor hurts REALLY bad...definitely go for the epidural as soon as you can! don't try to be a tough girl like me! haha!! Any future pregnancy I have, I will DEFINITELY get the epidural...amazing!
2. If you have to have an episiotomy, be prepared for a REALLY sore bum...that hurt more than the labor itself!
3. Nursing hurts really bad too! Just wait til your milk comes in...Oh my gosh! But the little guy looks so cute while he's doing it! Just don't give up...I hear it gets better after 2 weeks...I hope!
If I think of anything else...i'll let you know! Good luck...any day now for you! So exciting!
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