First things first, Melanie has arrived! I am sure most of you figured that out by now, haha... She was born June 1st, 2010 at 10:21 AM. She was 7 lbs 12 oz 19 1/2 inches long. Not quite as big as her brother who weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz, 22 inches. Labor was super fast and semi-easy. I arrived at the hospital at 7 AM to be induced. They hooked me up to the monitors and I was already having some pretty good contractions, 5 minutes apart. At about 8 o'clock my doctor came in and broke my water and started the pitocin. This already was extremely different from when I had Liam. They didn't break my water with him until about 10 hours into my pitocin. about 9:30 I was starting to really feel the contractions and opted for some Demerol instead of my epidural. That was a HUGE mistake! The second the Demerol hit my blood stream I became an emotional wreck! You would have thought my entire family was just killed in a horrific car accident the way I was carrying on. No joke! I was screaming and crying and just have a total meltdown every time a contraction hit. I immediately wanted my epidural then, but of course the anesthesiologist would take forever to get there! At least it seemed like forever. Time goes very slowly when you are doped up on Demerol. About 10:00 he finally arrived and went straight to it. Now here was the fun part; Melanie was on her way out already at that point, and technically it was probably too late to get an epidural, but the way I was carrying on, my nurse told the anesthesiologist, "you better hurry up because I'm not telling her it's too late!" So, while he was putting it in, I was fighting the very strong urge to push. Now for those of you who have had kids, you can probably imagine how hard that is, especially when you are sitting up! About this time my mom and sister FINALLY arrive. They drove down from Illinois to just see the baby be born, and almost missed it! I started pushing shortly after 10, and even though it seemed like forever (damn Demerol), at 10:21 Melanie Ryan arrived looking perfect as can be screaming her little heart out.
Melanie is an extremely different baby than Liam was. She cried. A LOT! Let me rephrase that: SHE SCREAMS! FOR HOURS! You hardly ever heard a sound from Liam when he was a baby. Even when he got shots as a baby, Liam would cry maybe 10 seconds. He was done by the time you put his pants back on. Melanie screamed for half an hour like they were still poking her with needles. The screaming started about 2 weeks old, and it was an almost nightly occurrence. I will say that these past 2 weeks or so, it has settled down some (knock on wood). Well, at least it seems that way because there suddenly seems to be a few ways to calm her down, most of the time. But I really do think it's starting to get better, it seems like she is more fussy now, than actual screaming anymore *fingers crossed.* For those of you with babies who scream for what appears to be no reason for hours and there is pretty much nothing you can to do comfort them, I feel for you! If she wold have been my first, she would have been an only child, haha... But in all seriousness having a baby who cries like they are in constant pain, and you can't do anything to comfort them is heart breaking, nerve wracking, stressful, tiring, and it really can take its toll on you physically and mentally. The only thing I can recommend, is taking turns and try to be patient. When you feel like you cant handle anymore, switch and let Daddy take a turn for a little bit. Or put baby someplace safe, like their crib, and just go relax for a few minutes. It's not going to hurt them to cry by themselves for a few minutes so you can gather your bearings... It's probably better for them because they can sense your anxiety. And just remember, even though it might feel like you are doing something wrong because you cant get them to stop crying, it's not your fault!
I am breastfeeding Melanie. I tried with Liam, but was not successful. Since he was in the NICU for a week and I didn't have 24 hour a day access to him, I had a hard time producing enough milk, and he had a hard time latching on. But Melanie was a pro! There were a few times when I thought it wasn't going to work out and I thought I was going to have to go to formula, but we pulled through and she is now exclusively breastfed. It remains to be seen if I am still going to be able to pump enough to keep up with her demands while we are separated in the coming weeks, although I did recently acquire a new awesome pump! Thanks Jessica!!! If she starts wanting more than I pump at work, I guess I will have to start adding another session at home or something. I will try my best. And maybe at 4 months when she is cleared to start solids, I will have to start them that early, just so she will require less milk. Although I was wanting to wait until closer to 6 months to start that stuff, we will just have to see how it goes. It's hard since we are apart about 11 hours from her first feeding in the morning until the next time I see her in the afternoon! But apparently she is getting enough to eat because she weighed in at 12 lbs 2 oz at her 2 month check up.
Another difference between Liam and Melanie is sleeping. Liam was sleeping 10-12 hours a night at 4 weeks old. Right now Melanie is sleeping from 9 PM until about 2 or 3 AM, so I get a good 5-6 hour stretch there, but that didn't start to be consistent until about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Before that it was every 1-3 hours. Liam was always 4 hours like clock work until 4 weeks old. Although last night she slept from 9 PM until 6 AM, so maybe she's starting a new sleep pattern. But the 5-6 hour thing works for me, and when she does wake up after that time, she just eats and goes back to sleep until I wake her up again at about 5:30.
Other than her fits at night, she is a super happy baby, pretty quiet during the day, and smiles all the time. She loves her big brother and he loves her to death. I can't wait until she is older and can move around and interact with him more! I will try to get on here again soon to give update on more than just Little Miss Melanie, but for now, it's time to hit the sack. After all, this momma has a three full-time jobs, Mother, Wife, and Airman! Good night all!
I am breastfeeding Melanie. I tried with Liam, but was not successful. Since he was in the NICU for a week and I didn't have 24 hour a day access to him, I had a hard time producing enough milk, and he had a hard time latching on. But Melanie was a pro! There were a few times when I thought it wasn't going to work out and I thought I was going to have to go to formula, but we pulled through and she is now exclusively breastfed. It remains to be seen if I am still going to be able to pump enough to keep up with her demands while we are separated in the coming weeks, although I did recently acquire a new awesome pump! Thanks Jessica!!! If she starts wanting more than I pump at work, I guess I will have to start adding another session at home or something. I will try my best. And maybe at 4 months when she is cleared to start solids, I will have to start them that early, just so she will require less milk. Although I was wanting to wait until closer to 6 months to start that stuff, we will just have to see how it goes. It's hard since we are apart about 11 hours from her first feeding in the morning until the next time I see her in the afternoon! But apparently she is getting enough to eat because she weighed in at 12 lbs 2 oz at her 2 month check up.
Another difference between Liam and Melanie is sleeping. Liam was sleeping 10-12 hours a night at 4 weeks old. Right now Melanie is sleeping from 9 PM until about 2 or 3 AM, so I get a good 5-6 hour stretch there, but that didn't start to be consistent until about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Before that it was every 1-3 hours. Liam was always 4 hours like clock work until 4 weeks old. Although last night she slept from 9 PM until 6 AM, so maybe she's starting a new sleep pattern. But the 5-6 hour thing works for me, and when she does wake up after that time, she just eats and goes back to sleep until I wake her up again at about 5:30.
Other than her fits at night, she is a super happy baby, pretty quiet during the day, and smiles all the time. She loves her big brother and he loves her to death. I can't wait until she is older and can move around and interact with him more! I will try to get on here again soon to give update on more than just Little Miss Melanie, but for now, it's time to hit the sack. After all, this momma has a three full-time jobs, Mother, Wife, and Airman! Good night all!
