We went home on Saturday, 18 Oct. The confinement lady didn't expect us to be this early, she was on holiday, so she could not come till Monday. For the next 2 days, we had to juggle all the work ourselves.
Lugged our many bouquets and the new bundle home. Dad and Sis came to help out too. Thankfully Wally was good, he was a little distracted by dad and sis at first, so he didn't pounce on the baby. Actually, he has been a good dog. He didn't bark whenever Ezra cries and Ezra doesn't cry when he barks. It's almost perfect. Wally continues to be tame and I hope he stays this way forever!!! Oh how i love my 2 babies!
Ezra was quite good, at least he didn't cry for hours on end. He usually fusses a little when he is hungry and dirty, else he spends the rest of his time sleeping. Of the 2 days, he only fussed more, twice. I was juggling with feeding, changing and try to produce some milk. I was getting better each time.
By Sunday, my breast was engorged and it hurt quite badly. I made Heng massage me, with some relieve. I tried expressing, but it was a pathetic attempt. It was a stressful time, because I wanted very much to give my baby the best, but I wasn't producing any. I also did not want him to be on formula for too long, I hoped to switch him back to breast milk, asap. We also managed to bathe the baby on Sunday. It was a mess with many hands involved, but we managed. *phew* At some times, Heng took over the feeding and changing, which I was grateful for.
On Monday, the confinement lady came. It was a MAJOR relieve. She seemed to be very experienced and not too old-fashioned in her thoughts and ways. She will take over taking care of the baby - feeding, bathing, changing, washing. She will also wash my clothes, cook for me and do some light cleaning. Suddenly, I had nothing much to do, but rest. I was to concentrate on being a cow!!!
The food was good, the pampering was good. The money we had to spend on things are not so good. Needed some extra things around the house - buckets, hot pot and various miscellaneous things... which amounted to quite a fair bit.
On Tuesday, we were due to visit the pediatrician and gynae. Baby had to do some blood tests. He has mild jaundice, which is quite common in babies, so we had to sun him. Dr. Paul said I was all ok, the stitch wound was good, except I need to move my bowels more. And since I was at Dr. Paul's, I decided to drop by the Parentcraft Center to consult them on feeding.
The nurse commented that my breast was quite blocked, so she recommended I stayed on for some treatment. Another lactation consultant massaged my breast and put me on a pump. I felt like a piece of dough, being kneaded and grabbed every possible way to clear the milk ducts. It hurts when she squeezed me!!! Later Mrs Wong happened to be around and Ezra was fretting, so she give him a little massage and fed him. She commented about his filament being too near to the edge of the tongue. He could have problems latching and grow up with a short tongue. If it does not correct itself, we might have to snip it off. Yucks. We are praying now that the correction will take place naturally.
Later, we waited to register Ezra's birth and get the Baby Bonus applications done. Today we spent $207 with the PD, $90+ at Dr. Paul's, $80 at Parentcraft for the treatment and vitamins and another $40 to register the birth. Wow, $400 in a day! It was scary!!!
When I got home and tried expressing.... lo and behold, the flow was easier! Praise God! I expressed about 100ml in all that day. Btw, I weigh myself, I was 66.8kg on the day of delivery, now I am 59.4kg. I lost 7.4kg. I hope to lose 10kg more, heh.
God is good indeed. I prayed for a smooth and quick delivery, a healthy baby, for pains to be relieved, for breast milk... God answered them all. Now I need to pray for God to help us with our finances and also help Ezra's filament to be corrected. I have no doubt that God will bless.
"I am 5 days old" (20 Oct 2008)
