To Poop Or Not To Poop

Well I guess a lot has happened in the three days that we have been home. That thing that I said about the baby being in a routine…Wrong!

Friday– The first night at home was really rough. The baby would just sleep for about 30-45 minutes at a time. Then only eat for 10. Then sleep and cry. This went on all night. Rocking the baby in the bassinet next to the bed seems to help her sleep…but I can never, ever, stop. We think that the baby may be having a hard time eating, and that is why she wakes up so often. Because shes hungry. Its very frustrating to see the baby struggling to get food. I know Ashley’s getting frustrated and stressed out too. I think she feels like all the pressure falls on her, and I guess in a way it is. Luckily, Ashley is very determined and driven to care for this little girl in her own way. And knowing Ashely, she will be the best at it, just like everything else she puts her mind to. Little things seem to be getting her (Ashley)upset: me not cleaning up the house, leaving stuff around, wandering around aimlessly. What can I say? I’m tired, haven’t slept more than a few hours in days, and still don’t really know my role yet.

Saturday– Another night with hardly any sleep. The baby is still not feeding right, and Ashley’s boobs (now so huge and tight, they feel like they’ll burst) are making tons of milk. (She needs to pump after every feeding.) They baby has not pooped since Friday morning so we felt we should call the lactation nurse from the hospital to see what was up. She told us to come in so she could see how the baby was nursing. She watched Ashley nurse for a few minuets and found that, a lot of times the baby was latching on the boob with her tongue up on the roof of her mouth… making sucking impossible. This made the baby discouraged and upset. Once Ashley noticed this fact, she only put the baby on the boob when the tongue was down. Works every time. We also found out that little Marley is a super sucker! She only needs 10 minutes to get 1.5 ounces of milk. (I’m told it should take around 30)

Being able to feed the baby better has really made Ashley so happy and not stressed out. I think the baby senses the calmness of her mother now and in turn is very content and happy.

Sunday–Last night was wonderful. With a full happy belly, the baby went to sleep around 11:00 p.m. and slept until 3:00. Then ate, went back to sleep, and woke up at 7:30. We all got great sleep. So far today, the feedings have been every 2-3 hours or so! The baby’s getting tons of milk, and Ashely’s happy. Everything is now going fine. Except one little thing. The baby still hadn’t pooped since Friday morning! We went on a walk around 1:00 in the afternoon. The kind of bumpy ride that might shake something loose. This was the baby’s first time out in the real daylight. Marley really seemed to like her ride in the stroller, slept through most of it. Then Ashley’s dad and grandpa came over. After holding his new granddaughter for a few minutes he felt something, then smelled something. Could it be? It is. Finally, the poop we have been waiting for. A poop explosion. Some how she blew poop all up the back and front of her. There was poop everywhere. I’m sickened to say…I was so happy. I was really getting worried for a while. A few more poops came before we finally went to bed. What a day.

Right now all that really seems to matter is making sure the baby gets lots and lots of food. The more she eats the longer she sleeps. Milk drunk. Its the only way to live!