Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Rosee comes back down to earth...
After the high of giving birth, I came back to earth with a real bang the first week of Storm’s new life.
Despite having had a caesarean section I spent just 36 hours in hospital – I think the staff were desperate to have my bed as it was a real baby boom month in Bristol.
But, even though I felt very frail, I was glad to go home early. The nurses and midwives had been lovely, but there’s nothing like your own bed.
The food in the hospital was absolutely disgusting as well, with no real healthy options and certainly nothing organic in sight!
Storm mostly slept through her time in hospital, although we did manage to get her to breastfeed successfully after a few false starts.
When I got home, it was a different matter. My milk came in the day after we got home and I felt extremely hormonal and teary. I couldn’t look at Storm without getting upset, because I felt so protective of her and so overwhelmed by the love I felt.
I also began having some struggles with breastfeeding as I was producing so much milk Storm couldn’t gulp it down fast enough. She was getting terrible wind, which was really upsetting her, and no amount of burping seemed to help.
Then we had a really hot day and she kept falling asleep while she was feeding, and not taking in enough milk. This left her dehydrated and hungry and fractious. By the end of the day I was desperate and, having read the suggestion on the internet, starting using a cold flannel to keep her awake by dabbing her with it.
The technique worked and she fed for TWO HOURS, before finally falling asleep at midnight.
Staying in the house all the time left me feeling cooped up, so Al and I went for a walk. But, six days after the birth, it was too much to even walk around the block, and I had to stop half way around, thinking I was going to throw up or faint.
By the end of the week I was at my wit’s end. I spent half my time weeping with love for Storm and the other half terrified something might happen to her or that I would have a bad feeding session with her.
I wished I’d understood how hard those first few days could be. I’d read about the baby blues, but nothing really prepared me for it, and at times it felt like too much to bear.
Happily, by the time Storm finished her first week in the world my hormones began to settle down and I started to feel slightly more normal. I realised that, although parenthood was the biggest challenge I would ever face, that, if so many millions of women could meet that challenge in far tougher circumstances, then I could do it too.
Despite having had a caesarean section I spent just 36 hours in hospital – I think the staff were desperate to have my bed as it was a real baby boom month in Bristol.
But, even though I felt very frail, I was glad to go home early. The nurses and midwives had been lovely, but there’s nothing like your own bed.
The food in the hospital was absolutely disgusting as well, with no real healthy options and certainly nothing organic in sight!
Storm mostly slept through her time in hospital, although we did manage to get her to breastfeed successfully after a few false starts.
When I got home, it was a different matter. My milk came in the day after we got home and I felt extremely hormonal and teary. I couldn’t look at Storm without getting upset, because I felt so protective of her and so overwhelmed by the love I felt.
I also began having some struggles with breastfeeding as I was producing so much milk Storm couldn’t gulp it down fast enough. She was getting terrible wind, which was really upsetting her, and no amount of burping seemed to help.
Then we had a really hot day and she kept falling asleep while she was feeding, and not taking in enough milk. This left her dehydrated and hungry and fractious. By the end of the day I was desperate and, having read the suggestion on the internet, starting using a cold flannel to keep her awake by dabbing her with it.
The technique worked and she fed for TWO HOURS, before finally falling asleep at midnight.
Staying in the house all the time left me feeling cooped up, so Al and I went for a walk. But, six days after the birth, it was too much to even walk around the block, and I had to stop half way around, thinking I was going to throw up or faint.
By the end of the week I was at my wit’s end. I spent half my time weeping with love for Storm and the other half terrified something might happen to her or that I would have a bad feeding session with her.
I wished I’d understood how hard those first few days could be. I’d read about the baby blues, but nothing really prepared me for it, and at times it felt like too much to bear.
Happily, by the time Storm finished her first week in the world my hormones began to settle down and I started to feel slightly more normal. I realised that, although parenthood was the biggest challenge I would ever face, that, if so many millions of women could meet that challenge in far tougher circumstances, then I could do it too.
Labels: Rosee
Posted by One of Our Mums at
4:25 PM
1 Comments:
Hello. yes i totally understand what you mean, when people said 'baby blues' they make it sounds so light hearted so you think oh i might just feel a bit down. After i got home i remember trying to screw a lid onto a bottle of formula and i couldn't get the lid on so i just burst into tears and thought if i cant even get a lid on - how on earth am i going to be able to look after this baby whose relying so much on me! And she is gorgeous so congratulations. its so nice that after the first few weeks you then get rid of the feelings of dread at the hormones sort themselves out though - i was so relived!! Georgina
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