“Hey you with the pretty face! Welcome to the human race!”
Mr. Anthony Thorbjorn is 4 months old!
I went in for a scheduled c-section in October. Kaiser has upped its game- everything was really nice. After Karl’s disastrous birth (not at a Kaiser) which involved a neglectful midwife, hours of hard labor, & baby that was “sunny side up”, I ended up with a surprise c-section. Post baby, it wasn’t any easier- the nurses didn’t answer my calls for pain medicine, my c-section became infected, a colicky baby, and post-partum depression. I was determined to hedge my bets with Tony as much as possible.
My c-section was scheduled. I bought a belt to hold my guts in afterwards (surprise! Kaiser ended up providing one!). And I made sure that my pain management was something the nurses had to do every 4 hours.
For Tony, I had a spinal instead of an epidural, which was much, much nicer. And they asked what kind of music I’d like to listen to. I picked ELO, the Electric Light Orchestra. As fortune would have it, the staff liked 70s music & a couple were familiar with & liked ELO.
They almost didn’t get Tony out. Apparently I have a lot of scar tissue from Karl. Thankfully, they made it happen and as the opening bars of “Mr. Blue Sky” played, I heard a hearty cry. He was the pinkest baby that week and at 8lbs 5oz! truly a Thunder Bear!
Like Karl he has a different blood type than I do & was also jaundiced. Unlike Karl, he did not want to nurse. We tried everything. After receiving some spectacularly stupid advice from a lactation consultant- no Lady, I am not going to let him get hungrier until he eventually eats- I ended up pumping and formula supplementing. He had trouble with the bottle nipple too, but bc the milk could essentially pour down his throat, he at least got enough milk to poop out his jaundice.
I got a lot of push back for formula feeding, which I found so strange. After being told for the umpteenth time, “Well you know, breast fed babies have higher IQs,” I dryly intoned, “Yes. We’re hoping he won’t be TOO stupid.” Obviously I was pro breast. I had breast fed Karl until my 3rd bout of mastitis had put that to bed. Luckily both my obgyn & our pediatrician were supportive after I told them I had just started lying to people when they asked.
Interestingly enough, this time I’ve been pretty well rested. I bonded with Tony much sooner- and so did my husband. There was no colic this time around either. And I’m losing the baby weight much faster. It’s been *knock on wood* wonderful.
He is the sweetest baby. My little Libra is truly ruled by the goddess of love.
nouvellegamine 