Congratulations Sara!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to hear about your blood pressure being high-I hope the meds bring it down soon. My problem was the exact opposite-my blood pressure kept dropping dangerously LOW during labor and after the delivery, and they kept having to pretty much give me "crack" in my IV to get it back up. (At least it is how I imagine crack WOULD feel...LOL ) They put me on meds and iron for a while to keep it UP.
Reilly is beautiful!!! I wanted to echo Sabra's statements that it is NORMAL for breastfed babies to lose weight the week or two after delivery-and for it to take up to a month for them to regain their birth weight. You can't go by his weight when deciding if he is getting enough milk. Here are some basic guidelines:
~Are you getting him to nurse often? (8-12 times a day at his age)
~Is he having plenty of wet and dirty diapers? (The poopy ones will drop to only 1 a day or so after he gets a bit older.)
If so, then he is getting enough.
Saber was also a sleepy nurser in the beginning...and it is much better now. It took until he was about 4 weeks old or so for him to really start being more alert. Here are some tips that helped me on that front:
~Unswaddle the baby-don't have him TOO warm and toasty while nursing-because when he is all warm and snuggly in the blankets and against you, he will get sleepy and drift off.
~When he starts drifting off and you know he isn't "done", unlatch him, burp him, and switch breasts. You might have to do this a couple times. It basically just wakes him back up to feed some more.
~Tickle his feet, talk to him, or otherwise stimulate him when he STARTS drifting off.
~When he goes from "active suckling" (when you hear or see swallowing, etc. and know he is really feeding) to the half asleep state where he is making sucking motions-but it is more just "motion", then massage that breast a little and compress it a little to give him a little hand. A lot of babies when they get a little more milk-start active suckling again.
~If you have larger breasts (C-D-DD-+) try supporting the breast he is feeding from with your free hand. Basically, don't let the weight of it rest on his chin. Newborns have little energy to feed sometimes...and the weight of it can tire them out quicker. I learned this trick with Saber, and it, along with the switching breasts and compression tricks-really helped him feed 2-3 minutes longer at each session.
I understand exactly what you are going through. The "threshold of ****" visited me when Saber was around 3 weeks old...and stayed there until he was about 7 weeks old. That was a rough time period. He was a sleepy nurser, nursed constantly because he fell asleep-then was hungry 10 minutes later when he woke up...and he had no predictability as far as naps/sleep/nursing yet.
Saber is 10 weeks now-and the past 2 weeks have gotten MUCH better-so it WILL happen. You just have to make it through the real tough period. Saber is smiling now, is taking a pretty predictable nap at 2 times during the day, and his sleep pattern at night-while not good LOL-is at least predictable. I at least know how much sleep I won't be getting, and when.
Start exercise only when you feel you are ready. I started very light walking at around 2-3 weeks...but didn't do anything more strenuous for another 2 weeks after that. Don't worry about any ab exercises or anything until after your 6 week visit. You are still healing and going back to normal inside.
Keep us updated!
Aphil
Late report - had my baby, pictures
