Little Rebekah is quite insistent on clean diapers. I am unable to change them or even to pick her up from her bassinet by myself, but I can call the nurse when she starts fussing. I am so thankful that we decided to have the baby at this hospital, where there is no nursery. Otherwise, I have a feeling Rebekah would have had to stay in the nursery and would not have been allowed to room in with me because of my c-section. God has been watching over us.
My wonderful nurse, Michelle, came in to remove my catheter this morning. An hour later I really had to empty my bladder. After trying several times, I thought I had gotten something out, but when I looked, I saw that it was only the lochia dripping steadily down. An hour or 2 later, Michelle came in to insert a temporary catheter would would drain my bladder once. Hopefully I would be able to do it on my own later.
The doctor was in a bit later and said that if I continued to have problems, they would insert another catheter for 48 hours to allow my paralyzed bladder to recover. He also looked at the incision and removed the bandage from it. Unfortunately it left a sticky residue that was quite bothersome to my sensitive skin. We tried to remove it with soap and water, and then got some adhesive remover to help, and it did a fairly decent job, though I still felt quite sticky. We ended up having to insert another catheter since I was still helpless when it came to emptying my own bladder. I was glad not to have to get up every half hour to empty a bladder that was filled to capacity from all the fluids I was drinking, had retained, and was receiving intravenously.
Joe went home to get some sleep this morning around 10 and didn't wake up until after 4, I think. Holli and Andrew came by to visit. Heather, our Bradley instructor also stopped by. She reassured us that the c-section had, in fact, been necessary. When she saw the strip from the last hour or so of monitoring, she had been very surprised by the baby's heartrate. It was good to hear her tell us the surgery had been necessary, though I really wish it hadn't been.
Nyasha also stopped by to visit. Rebekah and I are struggling to get her latched on properly at the breast, so Nyasha (who is also a lactation consultant) helped us get things started. Rebekah is thrusting her tongue, sticking it out of her mouth when she tries to latch on. Nyasha did a little tongue training with Rebekah to try to get her going right. She then called another lactation consultant to have her come in and help us out. We are not worried about any expense, should there be any, at this point. We just want Rebekah to be able to receive the best nourishment she possibly can, which is my colostrum now and will be my milk later. But it is frustrating since nothing has come naturally. Possibly my c-section also made things more difficult.
I'm still on a liquid diet and receiving fluids through an IV as well. As soon as I have evidence of a "moving" experience, they'll let me eat real food again.
Joe came back to the hospital this evening and spent some time with me and Rebekah.
Mostly, he just kept watch while I rested. At 9:09PM, I glanced at the clock and noticed
the time. Rebekah was exactly one day old. We took a picture of Rebekah to capture that
moment. Around 2AM, Joe went home to try to get some more sleep. I had a wakeful night
trying to nurse Rebekah, but with the help of one of the nurses, we were able to get
Rebekah latched on! She's finally starting to receive the sustenance she most needs right
now.
Next