Lily's First Plane Ride

Because we are crazy parents, Lily's first plane travel is about 24 hours long (Tucson to Manila). :)) And because we are also lucky parents, it went better than expected. Thank God! Lily hardly cried and even our fellow passengers commented on it. Someone even requested to swap seats with us not realizing that we had a baby in tow nursing under the covers. (Kinda annoyed by them but we obliged nonetheless). She nursed through most of the take-offs and landing. She was even playful and giggly during the flight. The only challenge was getting her to sleep. I had to walk her around the aisles to keep her occupied.

I think I've prepared as much as I can in terms of Lily's provisions during the flight. As advised by a certain website, we brought blueberries, cubed baked sweet potato, cubed baked tofu, hardboiled eggs, some puffs, veggie sticks (the snack kind, not the raw kind) and pear juice in tetra packs. I also drank more water more often than usual for the sake of my milk supply. Rookie mistake: blueberries should be fresh not frozen as it thawed during the travel but luckily it was ziplocked well. Another thing that I should have done is offered the food more often since the cubed food and eggs were hardly touched. I thought that she should eat when we eat but I didn't realize that the meal intervals were too irregular and too far apart. By the time that I did, I was already afraid to give it to her since it has been several hours since the food was not refrigerated nor heated. We also offered her some bread from the in-flight meals which amused some passengers seeing how much gusto she shows when she eats. We also brought some toys but were hardly used since we put them in a separate wheeled carry-on bag and it was not that accessible. We ended up playing with the magazines and paper cups from the lavatory. I allotted the diaper bag for the should-be accessible stuff like diapers, wipes, nursing blanket, snacks and was avoiding it from getting too heavy (but it still did due to Tatay's gadgeteria and abubots! Hmp!)

The challenge was after the fact wherein we had to deal with jet lag for several days.This meant dawn trips to 7-Eleven for us.:))

Our pilot girl

On our fly back, Lily was a little bit more active as she is more aware of her environment at that stage. She kept playing peekaboo with those passengers in her view. Thankfully, most didn't mind the papansin, I think.:)) Learning from the first experience, I kept the packed food and toys somehow simpler: ponkan, bread, couple of hard boiled eggs, kamote, boxed cereals. The in flight meals (scrambled egg, rice, steamed veggies, diced fruits) were also easier to offer to her now that she is more than a year old so we seldom had to bring out the packed food. I guess this was fine...better too many that too few, right?:p

Feeding the Lily: Purees and Teethers

As recommended from books I read, we waited for Lily to double her birth weight before introducing solid food. We would have waited until six months of age as recommended by experts nowadays but Topeng's parents were leaving before then and we needed help transitioning Lily. She seems interested in food before then but followed this trend anyway since food preparation is also so tedious. We started with the traditional route of purees. Pumpkin season has just finished during that time so it was her first solid food.

First solid food at @ 5 months 1 week

I wasn't aware then of any sequence to use when introducing food so whatever came next were already random. A friend mentioned though to start with yellow/orange food first then green foods as they are easier to digest. I guess that worked out for the first one but she already had avocado by then. We tried giving her some store brought ones when we go out but she hardly touches it so I had to do homemade ones. Some I froze into ice cubes trays then microwave before consumption. Sometimes, I mixed breastmilk with the food.

We also gave her foods to help with teething like organic baby carrots, organic celery and cucumber. I got the idea from one of the posts I saw from a breastfeeding support page.

It was also important to clean her mouth now that she is eating something other than breastmilk. We used Spiffies tooth wipes provided by Healthy Families program or cotton/buds with distilled water.

Feeding the Lily: Breastmilk

When I was pregnant, I had no opinion about the breastfeeding vs formula feeding thing. When I was asked, I would answer: Why not both?:)) Companies (and a friend) would offer me free samples of formula and I would take it. After all, the best things in life are free, right? And both are free! *happy dance*. My husband though had an opinion about it and he convinced/encouraged me to feed Lily breast milk exclusively and I'm glad he did. I couldn't have done it without his support. Immediately after I gave birth, he lovingly reminded me to give Lily colostrum. He would relay to me information friends provided him to build up my supply. He also encouraged me to join to the breastfeeding support group in our area and sometime drives me to those meetings. When I went back to work, he would constantly remind me to drink water. He volunteers to wash the bottles and pump parts at home. Aside from breastfeeding, marrying this man is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Naks! Ayii! But enough about him, thank God! He made the decision me by giving me the biology/anatomy for making it even possible, a partner who is very supportive and a child that is not hard to please. I'm glad that Lily is exclusively breastfed at least for the first six months and there is no horror story to tell. Except for a bout of mastitis and lack of supply collected sometimes, there is nothing that antibiotics or diligent pumping/galactagogues can't cure. And did I mention that I didn't need to exercise because I was losing weight just by doing this?:))

During one of the breastfeeding support meetings that I attended

You know you're living in the first world when there is breastfeeding support.:p After I gave birth, there is already free service to a lactation consultant is available. At first, I found it silly that there was such a job title but I'm glad I took what I can get.:)) The NW Tucson Breastfeeding Support Group has meetings every Wednesdays: one in the afternoon, one at night. I attended the night session due to availability of the our van and eventually due to my work hours. A meeting usually involves having the baby weighed for them to determine whether she is gaining normally, then a round group introduction and sharing of concerns. Being the clueless mother that I am, it gave me some direction on how to go about with this breastfeeding thing and was very helpful...so helpful that I couldn't even remember the issue/s that I had if any. By the time we are leaving, Lily was latching contentedly.

Lily's first stash...na ubos na agad pagbalik ko sa work @ 6 wks

Lily having her first bottle

Introducing Lily to the bottle at 1 month was a good decision for us. Aside for me being atat for me to be able to do more things aside from nursing all day :p, it helped Lily transition when I got back to work.

Celebrating Breastfeeding Week (August) by making lactation cookies

My first attempt at lactation cookies was actually useless. Brewer's yeast which is an essential ingredient for this purpose wasn't sold in the grocery so I substituted with regular yeast which is not the same.:)) It worked slightly on my next attempts already using brewers yeast which I had to buy via Amazon. Other galactagogues I tried:

• Natalac malunggay capsules that I requested mom to bring from the Philippines as recommended by Alpha. According to indication, this should be taken once daily. I couldn't  really tell if it worked and it was too late when friends told me that I should have increased the dosage.
• Fenugreek capsules. This was 2 capsules twice daily. Did not work. Boo!
• Mothers milk tea. Forgot the name of the two brands that I tried. I took it in increasing frequency and it worked slightly better when I didn't drink it that much.
• Honestly, there was no specific formula that worked for me to increase my supply. Surprisingly, I produce better when I feel warm and relaxed like after eating some goto or getting a massage from hubby. [UPDATE] I guess that's why I got this on Valentines day: 

A  record for me. Bwahaha!

By the way, I use a Medela Pump in Style which seems to be the best pump in the market nowadays. Aside from being one of the pumps offered by insurance for free (United Healthcare at that time), it was also recommended by Alpha. Being a first time mom, I felt weird using the contraption at first ("So this is how a cow feels like") and had to ask help from my technical support guy aka Tatay (FTW!).  Unless somebody invents a pump that is more portable/mobile (so I can do it while sleeping or working), this is the best I could ask for. Tip: always check if parts need to be replaced as it helps with the output.

The fourth trimester

Thank God my pregnancy and the childbirth had no complications as I would have gone crazy when it came to the real challenge: postpartum. I can't say that we have not been warned during the childbirth classes but nothing can prepare anyone for this. The pain and difficulty does not end after childbirth and the reality has sunk in!:)) I thought that since I had a non-surgical delivery, the recovery would be instant but apparently that is not the case. The painful peeing and the dizziness I experienced, though normally expected from an unmedicated (pitocin and IV aside) delivery, was new to me. For someone who has never been sick/hospitalized since five years of age, you can imagine how annoying this is for me.:)) It is indeed true that being a mother is the most difficult job. Aside from trying to recover and dealing with pain, you have to take care of a child! This had not hit me during our hospital stay as the nurses gave constant assistance and from the excitement of finally seeing my child. I even refused oral medication for pain initially as I was not feeling pain yet as I was always in bed. About a week after our discharge, the extreme discomfort from the heavy breasts, aching pelvic area and being unable to sit properly due to the you-know-what has gotten to me and I finally took pain medication. Laughter is the best medicine but not during this time as it hurt down there though it was hard not to with Lily's antics. Thank God our parents are here otherwise the household chores would have amped up the difficulty level. My mom would bring up my meals after those sleepless, painful, tiring breastfeeding nights and she would burp and change Lily's nappies. My DH (dear husband, not domestic helper :p) would carry me up the stairs (as I was ordered to minimize climbing it), help put Lily to sleep and buy items I needed for my recovery and nursing. My parents-in-laws took over the child caring and household chores once my mom left. I couldn't imagine getting through this without any help. After the second week, the pain was manageable and the bleeding was not heavy anymore but I had developed some very itchy rashes. (And I thought I had avoided the stretch mark threat!) It was just in the lower abdomen initially then in the extremeties. I have yet to determine what caused it. The Ibuprofen and hormonal change after pregnancy are a couple of my suspects. I'm afraid to take antihistamine as it might affect my breastmilk so I temporarily resorted to topical creams/lotions/sprays like hydrocortisone, calamine, benadryl, and ice to numb the itchiness. The insurance nurse also recommended a baking soda or oatmeal bath. I wish the itchy rashes would subside soon for the sake of my sanity.

Anyway, enough about me and more of Lily. It seems that she got most (if not all!)of her physical and personality traits from me. Sorry, tatay! I'll let the pictures describe her appearance. Like nanay, she has that sideways look and serious expression going on. Sungit!:)) Like tatay, she farts aloud and motorboatslikes Nanay's boobs. LOL. So far, she is relatively low maintenance as she cries only when hungry (which is all the time though :p) and is not sensitive with using the baby products that we already have borrowed and acquired from the baby showers (e.g.diapers, toiletries, baby furniture). Good girl! Our little drunken master  is sometimes dramatic during her feedings that we can't help but be amused: she shakes like an addict needing her fix when she gets hungry, moans while sucking, violently unlatches and raises her hand like a champion/winner afterwards. Too bad I can't capture it through video as it would be hard to censor a nip slip.:))

Talking video

Kallai, Tatay, gusto kong tinapay

Credits to Lily's personal paparazzi, Lola Emily Francisco, for all the photos in this post.:)

Our little Lily has finally sprouted

Warning: Possibly explicit content. Proceed at your own risk.:p

Ted of HIMYM voice: Kid, this is your birth story. 

 

Monday: Nanay Nina called in to her doctor's  office as she was still experiencing some spotting four days after her last pelvic exam when it usually should be just 24 hours. The office then ordered her to go to the hospital to get it checked. Tests concluded that there water has not yet broken but AFI (Amniotic Fluid Index) is on the borderline range (4.7. Normal is 5) according to the BPP. On-call doctor then recommended for induction to be done on same day or at least have the AFI be checked again the following day on the clinic office with more advanced machines. Nanay and Tatay chose the latter since we were already scheduled for induction that Friday (when I will be past the 42 weeks) anyway.

Tuesday: AFI is now 10 so we were sent home. That night bright red bleeding with mucous occurred but you were moving a lot so Nanay decided to wait it out.

Wednesday: At about 2:30AM, Nanay woke up to pee and became anxious because of bright red blood after wiping and hoped for some immediate movement from you to assure Nanay not to worry but can't wait so she had to wake up Tatay Topeng and call the hospital. The hospital recommended to wait when I soak a pad or experience contractions. 

That morning, before Nanay's 10:40 am doctor's appointment, she got a call from the healthy pregnancy program assuming that you were already out. After knowing otherwise, she transferred me to my OB's triage line and was told to head to the hospital instead of the OB. At the hospital, it was confirmed (about lunchtime) that water has broken. You are coming in less than 24 hours! BUUUT still no contraction and only 1 cm dilation so induction was still necessary. 

In my birth plan, the first option for induction was Prostaglandin Gel because I was dreading the IV but the triage nurses did not allow me to do that since the water has broken and there was a bigger risk for infection. (Later on, I found out that my OB was fine with that option. Arrgh!) Anyhoo, I ended up getting the Pitocin that afternoon. (It took 3 attempts to put in the IV for that. This is why I don't get sick! Arrgh #2!) I was also fully monitored as opposed to being intermittently monitored I indicated in the plan. I forgot the reason they gave me for doing that but since I was already hooked on the IV and can't move around as much anyway then there was no point fighting it. 

My consolation is that I can move around the bed to walk or use the birthing ball and the monitor can be unhooked temporarily during bathroom trips. I guess no one can fully plan a birth as I didn't expect that I will be included in those 8 percent of women whose water break before contractions occur. This caused me not to plan my meals accordingly. I only had a light breakfast and was not able to sneak in lunch before the induction.

While waiting for the Pitocin to kick-in, Tatay went to the Nurse station to ask for some free popsicles and prepared some movies to distract Nanay. They ended up just watching two and took advantage of the time to rest. Once the contractions came, I already lost track of time and I just remembered it being night time already being 3cm dilated. Thankfully, I had the chance to poop in the toilet before I was fully dilated so that's one less thing to push out.:))

Thursday: Probably after midnight, I was 3-4 cm dilated. I couldn't sit nor lie down anymore with the pain so I just remained standing up and walking a little. Lola mommy tried to assist me and handed me drinks as the labor progressed. I was beginning to doubt whether I could do this without pain medications knowing the dilation was not even halfway there. Thankfully, I couldn't remember nor Google at what point of the labor should pain medications be administered and it didn't take long for me to transition. The transition consisted of two major contractions (which made me scream and woke up the then sleeping Tatay) before the IE that confirmed it was time to push. Our labor and delivery nurse Lolita (Lola) reminded me to do the pant-pant-blow breathing from the childbirth class and tatay handed me a cold towel as requested before the pushing started. For each contraction, she coached me to breathe in, hold, puuuuuush, exhale while she, tatay and I held my legs up. She also configured the bed to position me into two sitting positions: legs raised up and legs down. During that time, it was discovered that the bag of waters was not fully broken and was probably broken at the high part so the OB had to break it. I thought it was only a few pushes needed from there but it was like ten more! The last push was quite dramatic as it took 5 minutes for it to come instead of the consistent 1 minute. As I had my eyes closed the entire time I was pushing, tatay told me that the medical staff was looking at each other puzzled as to why the contraction interval developed some gap. 

After 1.75 hrs of pushing, you were finally out at 7.6 lbs, 19 in and put into my chest crying. Thank you Lord for a healthy baby and thank you Lily for your cooperation.:D You are perfect! The placenta easily came out afterwards but was barely noticeable with my eagerness to see you.I did not plan to give you that easily to the medical staff but you pooped after you were given to me. Tatay cut the cord. While Lola Mommy and tatay doted over you being cleaned and weighed, nanay's doctor stitched her up and I couldn't stop shaking which they said was normal. Tatay did your first diaper change and brought you to me for our first breastfeeding.

Tatay and lola mommy had to go home as we were told that only 1 companion is allowed in the recovery room and so they can also put the placenta in the freezer (which they forgot!). During that time, the room, Nanay and you were cleaned up. 

That afternoon, Tatay and Nanay's friends came to visit and see you.

Definitely this is one of the most wonderful day in you Tatay and Nanay's life.  ^__^