This is it. the first photo of my Girl Ella Aviv Gillies. Yah! for me.
She is a doll. Born at 9 am after an intense, med-free, short labor. Ella weighed in at 6 lbs. 13 oz. and 19 inches long. Carl did an amazing job as a labor coach, especially if you consider the fact that it did not go as planned and his wife went raving mad with the pain. Carl was also the one who cut the umbilical cord and the first to hold Ella. The chance was offered to me but i was shaking and feeling very weak after the labor and i feared i would drop my baby girl.
We spent the obligatory 2 days in the hospital after the birth and that made me crazy with cabin fever but it was nice to have all those nurses and aides around to help with any concerns and questions.
We came home yesterday and had a terrible first night at home. i guess we are a bit fearful of falling asleep at night and not knowing if Ella is breathing or hungry or whatever. The other problem has been that Ella and I have been having trouble with breastfeeding. This is not coming naturally and Ella has been losing weight. Carl and i were just thinking about it this morning when a Lactaction Consultant called us out of the blue, like an angel. She had us come in and gave us all sorts of advice for feeding and we have been feeling a little more successful since. We will go back on friday to find out just how successful or if we need to come up with another plan. One way or another we are going to get Ella eating.
3 comments:
She is a beautiful little girl. Her name is beautiful as well, I really like it. Sorry to hear you are having problems breast feeding, I think it's always hard the first few times also. Good luck and hope all works out. Can't wait to see more pictures of her. :)
Oh Veronica, she's beautiful! I think breastfeeding is one of the hardest things in the world. I never got the hang of it with my first, and ended up pumping for 8 months till I got mastitis 3 times and finally quit. With my second, she would nurse for 30 minutes, then still drink a bottle of formula. While I understand the importance of breast feeding, I also personally know it isn't worth beating yourself up for or making yourself feel guilty. Enjoy this time with her! She'll bond to you no matter what, even if you decide it is best to feed her a bottle for your own sanity. I promise! I was never breastfed, and I think I turned out okay! She's going to grow up so fast, so make sure you do what you need to do to be happy and enjoy her now!
A friend of mine who is studying to become a doula or midwife - I can't remember which - just had her second baby and just posted about breastfeeding! I thought you might like to read it. http://dvtonks.blogspot.com/2009/03/post-partum-delights.html
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