Hello? Is anyone out there? No? Okay!
I don't really expect to still have many, if any, followers left. I know that I kind of left everyone hanging back in September. Truth is, life got busy. I was showered by my amazing friends and family. The holiday season got into full swing and before you know it, it was Thanksgiving. We were really hoping that Ms. Gabrielle would make her appearance at Thanksgiving but no such luck. Instead, she decided to grace us with her presence on December 5th! My labor and delivery was quick. They started the induction at 7:00am and she was born, epidural free, at 9:54am. She weighed 6lbs 14oz. She is perfect.
So, what is life with two children like? Busy! Gabrielle is a diva (that's code for high maintenance). We got off to a rough start with breast feeding. She wanted no part of latching but took a bottle like a champ. Because she wouldn't latch well, and when she did it wasn't for very long, I was exclusively pumping. Breastfeeding alone is difficult. Pumping exclusively is that much harder. There is a schedule. There is a pump to lug around...
Side note: For those of you that are thinking of having children (or more children), breastfeeding does not come naturally to everyone. It wasn't natural with Jordan and it wasn't natural with Gabrielle. Don't beat yourself up over it. Being a mom for the first time, second time, tenth time, is hard enough, don't stress yourself out if you can't get the hang of it initially. If you're the ambassador of the "breast is best" committee, don't leave me any nasty comments. I wish someone would have told me that from the beginning. But, now I know and I'm passing on the information.
Anyway, I exclusively pumped for the first month. We found a groove and we were rolling with it. That was until she decided that she needed more milk than I was producing. We talked to our pediatrician about the best thing to do, given that we were having a latch problem. He suggested that instead of feeding her breast milk for every bottle to supplement every other bottle. We were okay with that. My motto is "happy mommy, happy baby." And that's where we are currently. I'm still pumping but still offering her the breast. Some days she feeds like a pro. Other days, she wants no part of it.
Sleep: Surprisingly, she has been sleeping through the night since about 4 weeks old. It isn't anything that we did. I don't know the secret. What I do know is that I woke up in a panic one night because my breasts were full and I hadn't heard her crying. Well, she was still sleeping. She typically sleeps from 10:00-6:30. Again, I don't know what the secret is but we are rolling with it!
Brotherly Love: I've had a lot of people ask me how Jordan was adjusting to having a sister. Honestly, he loves it. I was very nervous and carried a lot of mommy guilt over bringing a new child into the home. Jordan is a very sweet and caring person but I didn't know how he would react. It's been just the three of us for close to five years. He has all of my attention at home. I have to say though, I am very proud of him. He doesn't show any signs of jealousy. He loves to hold Gabrielle and give her kisses. We are working on him being a bit more "gentle" but overall, I can't complain.
We are so blessed and so excited to see what God has in store for us next. I am going to try and blog at least once a month to keep everything/everyone updated. I'm on Instagram (daniellepatel) if you want to be more up to date on the happenings of my life!
Until next time...
I don't really expect to still have many, if any, followers left. I know that I kind of left everyone hanging back in September. Truth is, life got busy. I was showered by my amazing friends and family. The holiday season got into full swing and before you know it, it was Thanksgiving. We were really hoping that Ms. Gabrielle would make her appearance at Thanksgiving but no such luck. Instead, she decided to grace us with her presence on December 5th! My labor and delivery was quick. They started the induction at 7:00am and she was born, epidural free, at 9:54am. She weighed 6lbs 14oz. She is perfect.
Side note: For those of you that are thinking of having children (or more children), breastfeeding does not come naturally to everyone. It wasn't natural with Jordan and it wasn't natural with Gabrielle. Don't beat yourself up over it. Being a mom for the first time, second time, tenth time, is hard enough, don't stress yourself out if you can't get the hang of it initially. If you're the ambassador of the "breast is best" committee, don't leave me any nasty comments. I wish someone would have told me that from the beginning. But, now I know and I'm passing on the information.
Anyway, I exclusively pumped for the first month. We found a groove and we were rolling with it. That was until she decided that she needed more milk than I was producing. We talked to our pediatrician about the best thing to do, given that we were having a latch problem. He suggested that instead of feeding her breast milk for every bottle to supplement every other bottle. We were okay with that. My motto is "happy mommy, happy baby." And that's where we are currently. I'm still pumping but still offering her the breast. Some days she feeds like a pro. Other days, she wants no part of it.
Sleep: Surprisingly, she has been sleeping through the night since about 4 weeks old. It isn't anything that we did. I don't know the secret. What I do know is that I woke up in a panic one night because my breasts were full and I hadn't heard her crying. Well, she was still sleeping. She typically sleeps from 10:00-6:30. Again, I don't know what the secret is but we are rolling with it!
Brotherly Love: I've had a lot of people ask me how Jordan was adjusting to having a sister. Honestly, he loves it. I was very nervous and carried a lot of mommy guilt over bringing a new child into the home. Jordan is a very sweet and caring person but I didn't know how he would react. It's been just the three of us for close to five years. He has all of my attention at home. I have to say though, I am very proud of him. He doesn't show any signs of jealousy. He loves to hold Gabrielle and give her kisses. We are working on him being a bit more "gentle" but overall, I can't complain.
We are so blessed and so excited to see what God has in store for us next. I am going to try and blog at least once a month to keep everything/everyone updated. I'm on Instagram (daniellepatel) if you want to be more up to date on the happenings of my life!
Until next time...
Posts
3 comments:
I came by to check on you and got really concerned because your last post was when you were about 28 weeks pregnant. That was about 2 days ago. You must have picked up on my prayers for you. Good to see that all is well. Congratulations on a healthy baby. And as far as breast feeding is concerned, they all grow up and pretty soon she'll be using a sippy cup and telling you no! Enjoy the baby-hood.
I am still following! I like what you said about breastfeeding. We had a really rough start with breastfeeding too and it was so exhausting! Jake had to be in the NICU for a while and was given a bottle right off the bat which I think really interfered... but he is eating like a champ now!
Huge congrats and your family is so beautiful!! I love your advice on breast feeding my baby girl is 7 weeks and had to whip out formula (I have a stash) when she gets into one of her eating binges. Thank you for being so open and many blessings to you!
Post a Comment