6 Week PP checkup & WBV

(crossposted to MKP & MKB)

Yesterday we went to the birth center for my 6 week post-partum check-up and
a WBV for Lann. Anyway, drum roll, Lann now weighs 11 lbs 12oz (up from
8lbs4oz at birth) and is 24.5 inches long (up from 21 at birth)! That is 3.5
pounds and 3.5 inches of growth--how symmetrical. He is in the 95th
percentile for height and the 75-90th for weight. How's that for good
mamamilk? :-) DH & I are both fairly tall (& thin), so I'm sure genetics
play a role as well. He checked out fine all over and she said to bring him
back at 4 months. The birth center had a party last weekend to celebrate
their first 100 births and we found out that Lann was number 97. Kind of
fun, I think :-)
We discussed immunizations and we also told her that we will be continuing
to see them for all of his well baby care.

Next, I had my little checkup and I'm doing fairly well also. I'm down to
weighing 121 though and was encouraged to eat more snacks during the day. My
labial tear is all healed up. Unfortunately, I still have some tenderness in
a sensitive region nearby and the doctor said I must have had some nerve
damage that isn't visible to us (everything *looks* just fine, it just
doesn't feel right). She said that it should recover in 6 months and if not,
we might look into some "restructuring" efforts. I had a pap smear and
pelvic exam and got a script for the minipill. They looked at my eyelids to
check my iron, took my bp, and pushed on my fingernails to check for
something that I have now totally forgotten (does anyone know why they would
do that?).

The doctor asked us various questions and said that we are doing an
excellent job and are much more relaxed than other first time parents (ha,
ha, HA! If she only saw me pacing around only the day before with the baby
in the sling and tears running down my face, maybe she would have a
different opinion). I told her that I am fairly neurotic and she gave me a
little talking-to about how no one can do this perfectly and that motherhood
can be a hard adjustment when you are someone who is used to doing
everything perfectly.

All told, we were there for about an hour, answering and asking various
questions. The above were the highlights though (so to speak) :-) Before we
left, we looked at the scrapbook that we contributed to at the 100 Births
Celebration. I *so* love this doctor and this birth center/practice and I
feel so fortunate to have such a resource available to us!

--
Em
mama to Lann, 9/21/03

(((((HUGS)))))
I am so sorry you had to cry by yourself. Always remember that your friends
would willingly listen to you sob if that is what you need, or make a high
speed run to you to comfort...
I am so glad other things are going well for you! Sounds like the mamamilk
is doing incredibly well:-)
Take care of you,
Kat
Mama to Maggie 11/03/01
and #2 EDD 02/01/04


"Em" wrote in message
news:WLSqb.139932$Tr4.358715@attbi_s03...
(crossposted to MKP & MKB)

Yesterday we went to the birth center for my 6 week post-partum check-up
and
a WBV for Lann. Anyway, drum roll, Lann now weighs 11 lbs 12oz (up from
8lbs4oz at birth) and is 24.5 inches long (up from 21 at birth)! That is
3.5
pounds and 3.5 inches of growth--how symmetrical. He is in the 95th
percentile for height and the 75-90th for weight. How's that for good
mamamilk? :-) DH & I are both fairly tall (& thin), so I'm sure genetics
play a role as well. He checked out fine all over and she said to bring
him
back at 4 months. The birth center had a party last weekend to celebrate
their first 100 births and we found out that Lann was number 97. Kind of
fun, I think :-)
We discussed immunizations and we also told her that we will be continuing
to see them for all of his well baby care.

Next, I had my little checkup and I'm doing fairly well also. I'm down to
weighing 121 though and was encouraged to eat more snacks during the day.
My
labial tear is all healed up. Unfortunately, I still have some tenderness
in
a sensitive region nearby and the doctor said I must have had some nerve
damage that isn't visible to us (everything *looks* just fine, it just
doesn't feel right). She said that it should recover in 6 months and if
not,
we might look into some "restructuring" efforts. I had a pap smear and
pelvic exam and got a script for the minipill. They looked at my eyelids
to
check my iron, took my bp, and pushed on my fingernails to check for
something that I have now totally forgotten (does anyone know why they
would
do that?).

The doctor asked us various questions and said that we are doing an
excellent job and are much more relaxed than other first time parents (ha,
ha, HA! If she only saw me pacing around only the day before with the baby
in the sling and tears running down my face, maybe she would have a
different opinion). I told her that I am fairly neurotic and she gave me a
little talking-to about how no one can do this perfectly and that
motherhood
can be a hard adjustment when you are someone who is used to doing
everything perfectly.

All told, we were there for about an hour, answering and asking various
questions. The above were the highlights though (so to speak) :-) Before
we
left, we looked at the scrapbook that we contributed to at the 100 Births
Celebration. I *so* love this doctor and this birth center/practice and I
feel so fortunate to have such a resource available to us!

--
Em
mama to Lann, 9/21/03

Em wrote in message
news:WLSqb.139932$Tr4.358715@attbi_s03...
That is 3.5
pounds and 3.5 inches of growth--how symmetrical.

Well of course any child of yours would be! ;-)) Glad to hear Lann is
doing so well. Healing vibes to you for the possible nerve damage.

snip motherhood can be a hard adjustment when you are
someone who is used to doing everything perfectly.

Boy can I vouch for that statement. The good news is, IME, once you've
made the adjustment, you don't have to listen to anyone who tells you
how much harder it is to go from one to two kids. That has, by
comparison, been SO much easier for me! I can't even begin to imagine
how many times I ended up crying the first time, because I felt like I
was doing it all wrong and was going to cause DD permanent emotional
trauma. But, no, she's turned out to be one of the happiest and most
easy-going two year olds I know. This time, I've cried only twice - and
once was because I felt like I was failing DD, not because of the baby.
It will get a lot easier Em, especially as Lann becomes able to
communicate better. I'm sure you're doing a wonderful job.
--
Cheryl S.
Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 7 mo.
And Jaden, 2 months

Cleaning the house while your children are small is like
shoveling the sidewalk while it's still snowing.

"Cheryl S." wrote in message
Em wrote in message
That is 3.5
pounds and 3.5 inches of growth--how symmetrical.

Well of course any child of yours would be! ;-)) Glad to hear Lann is
doing so well. Healing vibes to you for the possible nerve damage.

Lol! Ain't that the truth :-) Thanks for the healing vibes. I keep reminding
myself that I feel *much* better "down there" than I did just 3 weeks ago
(probably 85% normal at this point), so surely things will keep improving
with time.

snip motherhood can be a hard adjustment when you are
someone who is used to doing everything perfectly.

Boy can I vouch for that statement. The good news is, IME, once you've
made the adjustment, you don't have to listen to anyone who tells you
how much harder it is to go from one to two kids. That has, by
comparison, been SO much easier for me! I can't even begin to imagine
how many times I ended up crying the first time, because I felt like I
was doing it all wrong and was going to cause DD permanent emotional
trauma. But, no, she's turned out to be one of the happiest and most
easy-going two year olds I know. This time, I've cried only twice - and
once was because I felt like I was failing DD, not because of the baby.
It will get a lot easier Em, especially as Lann becomes able to
communicate better. I'm sure you're doing a wonderful job.

Thanks for sharing the voice of experience! One of the things that has
actually served as a "reality check" for me on several occasions is
remembering something you said in a post once about feeling like if you just
did AP *right*, Julie would never cry (or something to that effect). That is
*exactly* how reading Dr. Sears makes me feel. Though I still feel like I am
AP'ing and I find a lot of good info in his books, I was placed a lot of
pressure on myself based on my interpretation of them. I have had moments of
feeling like we shouldn't have more than one child, because I don't feel
like my personality is serving me that well as a mother! So, I'm glad to
hear that a 1 to 2 transition is working well for a fellow perfectionist :-)

I'm trying dairy elimination just in case and Lann has been remarkably less
fussy for the past few days (I've been off of it for almost a week now). He
hadn't ever gotten up to the "3 hours per day of crying" that I read is
fairly normal for babies, but lately he has been back down to one hour per
day or less of crying. Of course, this may change again, but it doesn't seem
totally coincidental. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was making
him uncomfortable and things seem different now.

--
Em
mama to Lann, 7 weeks

Em wrote:
(crossposted to MKP & MKB)

Yesterday we went to the birth center for my 6 week post-partum check-up and
a WBV for Lann.



Well, sounds like you're doing great, in spite of the neuroses! I just
posted my own update and *finally* got around to responding to yours. It
looks like I have time to either read *or* post, but not both! So I've
just been lurking.

Lann is a big boy, like Joel, who is growing out of his diapers and
clothes at an alarming rate. Do you use cloth or disposables? We use
cloth but also buy disposables to use at night and on trips. DH got a
big package that went up to 6 kilos, and we had to give half of them
away to a younger baby!

I hope your possible nerve damage doesn't turn out to be permanent. Is
it feeling any better by now? I was still feeling a bit sore when we
"resumed relations" at six weeks, but I'm glad to say that's gone away
now. If only the kids slept more at the same time.. ;-)

Keep up the good work! :-)

Tiina
SAHM to Emilia,4
and Joel, 09/06/03

"Em" ha scritto nel messaggio
news:WLSqb.139932$Tr4.358715@attbi_s03...
(crossposted to MKP & MKB)

Yesterday we went to the birth center for my 6 week post-partum check-up
and
a WBV for Lann. Anyway, drum roll, Lann now weighs 11 lbs 12oz (up from
8lbs4oz at birth) and is 24.5 inches long (up from 21 at birth)! That is
3.5
pounds and 3.5 inches of growth--how symmetrical. He is in the 95th
percentile for height and the 75-90th for weight. How's that for good
mamamilk? :-) DH & I are both fairly tall (& thin), so I'm sure genetics
play a role as well. He checked out fine all over and she said to bring
him
back at 4 months. The birth center had a party last weekend to celebrate
their first 100 births and we found out that Lann was number 97. Kind of
fun, I think :-)
We discussed immunizations and we also told her that we will be continuing
to see them for all of his well baby care.

Congratulations! Glad that Lann is doing so well :-)



Next, I had my little checkup and I'm doing fairly well also. I'm down to
weighing 121 though and was encouraged to eat more snacks during the day.
My
labial tear is all healed up. Unfortunately, I still have some tenderness
in
a sensitive region nearby and the doctor said I must have had some nerve
damage that isn't visible to us (everything *looks* just fine, it just
doesn't feel right). She said that it should recover in 6 months and if
not,
we might look into some "restructuring" efforts. I had a pap smear and
pelvic exam and got a script for the minipill.

The minipill part got me thinking... I still didn't decide what kind of
contraception to use. I don't respond well to pills (my weight tends to
yo-yo), and I don't want anything inserted. So far we used the charting and
condoms, and it was working (hence this was our first pregnancy in 5 years
we used this method). But now, this just doesn't seem like "enough" (we
decided to ttc for #2 when Erin is at least 3,5 years old). I'm just
wondering - how did you decide what the best birth control after you had
Lann would be?

I'm glad that you're doing well, too. Hope the tenderness will go away soon
and that you won't need any "restructuring".


The doctor asked us various questions and said that we are doing an
excellent job and are much more relaxed than other first time parents (ha,
ha, HA! If she only saw me pacing around only the day before with the baby
in the sling and tears running down my face, maybe she would have a
different opinion). I told her that I am fairly neurotic and she gave me a
little talking-to about how no one can do this perfectly and that
motherhood
can be a hard adjustment when you are someone who is used to doing
everything perfectly.

I know what you mean! After Erin was born and we came home from the
hospital, I cried a couple of days for every single thing.
Of course, at the time I was aware of how silly it was, I just couldn't
stop.And the weird thing is, I was so sure of myself and my mothering skills
while we were in the hospital; not because the nurses were there and were
helpful; in fact, we had rooming-in and the nurses only came in to take the
babies for the bath and various tests - the feeding, burping and changing we
did by ourselves.
But then, we came home and something changed; I guess the fact that they
discovered the same type of bacteria in Erin's urine that I had during the
pregnancy had a lot to do with it - I felt so guilty; I kept saying that I
gave her that and I should have been more careful, etc. And once I started
crying about that, I started crying about every little thing (like
forgetting to rub in the cream after nappy change) and was absolutely sure
I'd ruin her emotional and physical well-being.
Fortunately, it didn't last long - 4 days or so:-)

Elly
Mom to Erin - 1m3d old today!