the one where Mila is one month old

Mila Soleil

 

One Month

 

Size:

Little lady is weighing in at 10.5 lbs, 21.25 inches long, percentiles falling in the 60th for both. She is wearing size 0-3 months with a little room. We are loving footie pajamas.

 

Health:

Mila failed her ear screenings twice at the hospital at birth. Both times in her left ear. Doctor said it was common when you deliver a baby quickly because "not all of their fluids get pushed out". I'm a little anxious because we do have to follow up with an audiologist in a couple of weeks. Send us all of your positives vibes, prayers, etc that everything is ok. Other than that, little beeb is healthy!

 

Feeding:

Breastfeeding. How I love and loathe you. Mila is a very efficient eater with nursing sessions only lasting 10 minutes max. Sometimes she eats from both sides.. sometimes only from one. Doctor says its fine, she's gaining weight and thriving. We also (just today actually) got meds for thrush. I have never had it before. The dr says its mild as of right now, so hopefully starting the meds today will clear it up quickly.

 

Sleep:

Mila is a bit of a night owl (like her sister Ava was) and doesn't typically go to sleep until somewhere between 10 and 11. From there she will give me one good stretch of somewhere between 4-6 hours but that varies. As of late, when she wakes up to nurse at 3 or 4 she likes to stay awake and party for a bit before falling back to sleep (about an hour later) and then sleeps until her big sisters get up and wake her.

 

Extras:

-She has started smiling

-Her favorite person is Mommy

-The bigger she gets, the more she looks like Tori

-Naps in her swing throughout the day

-Sisters fight over who loves her the most

-She is really strong and can hold her head up really well and is even getting up on her side in what looks like an attempt to roll over

-Not a fan of her car seat

 

 

the one with breastfeeding the third time around

If you have been around these parts for awhile, you know I have struggled with breastfeeding in the past. With Tori, mastitis 5x in 4 months.. Ava mastitis once.. clogged ducts, cracked and bleeding nipples... you name it, it happened to me. I have also been across the board as far as how I have fed my babies. Tori, pumping exclusively for 4/5 ish months before switching completely to formula.. and to the complete opposite spectrum of nursing Ava for 18 months (and her NEVER taking a bottle). Now, it is Mila's turn to give me a run for my money with the nursing thing.

Lets start at week 1-2:
Latching an infant is NOT EASY. I do NOT understand how or why nurses, movies, social media and other Moms alike try to make it seem like the most simple thing ever. Nope. I have never once had a baby be born and her just camp out on the boob and never have an issue. Mila was the same as Tori and Ava in that it took legit training to get her to latch. The first week or so was terrible. I was in an intense amount of pain and my poor nipples.. oh man, those things took a beating. Cracked. Red. Painful. I couldn't let water touch them in the shower, I didn't like my clothes rubbing on them. I was using Neosporin and nipple cream every minute it felt like. I was NOT going to become a slave to breastfeeding. I was NOT going to make myself nuts with the pressure to make breastfeeding work. I have two other kids for goodness sake. I cant let them suffer with a stressed out Mom all because of breastfeeding. So just like I did with Ava, I turned to the lactation consultants at her pediatrician office (Eden park). And like with Ava, they were lifesavers. I cant describe how much more calm they make you feel. I wasn't crazy. There is nothing wrong with Mila. We just have to learn what works best for us. We also had to get my nipples healed. I had to use a nipple shield on my cracked nipple everyday for a week. I also had to use Neosporin on them to help with the healing process. I tried to avoid bras at all costs and kept the boobies out of the shower lol. After a few days I saw a major difference. Then I had a clogged duct (because you know, one thing after another lol). After a couple of days of massaging etc, it went away. It is so crazy how in the moment, the whole process seems SO HARD and SO PAINFUL. And while it is, you really can (and do) get through it... then all of a sudden, it seems like it was forever ago. I am so happy I didn't quit.

Fast forward to week 4ish
Mila is nursing AMAZINGLY. I cannot believe that it was only 3 or so weeks of pain and suffering (lol) this time around. Throughout the day shes nursing anywhere from every 2-3 hours.. and overnight shes anywhere from 2-4 hours (depending on how her gas issues are.. man I forgot how fun the first couple of months are LOL). My nipples are 100% healed, there is absolutely ZERO pain when she latches/nurses and I have even braved nursing her outside of our house a few times. She has only just started using a pacifier about a week or so ago so we have been focusing on getting her to use that for comfort (insert: gas discomfort) and then I am pumping here and there so we can introduce her to a bottle. As much as I love nursing her and am desperately holding on to these times (as it is definitely my last go with nursing and this whole infant thing).. I also do not want to be a slave to nursing the way I was with Ava. 18 months of never leaving your baby for more than 3 hours is a LOT. My poor husband lol.

In conclusion:
Breastfeeding (at least for me) absolutely was an easier process to start and stick with this third time around. I feel more confident (in general) with breastfeeding and what I am capable of. I am trusting my body and trusting Mila and together we are moving right on along with this journey.

the one with Mila's birth story

Mila Soleil is here! Oh wait, she has been for almost a month already haha. To say Im a bit behind on the posts is an understatement.

I'm a sucker for a birth story and love reliving mine. So without further delay.. here is my littlest girls' birth story...

Rewind to Friday the 10th. It was around 5pm and I all of a sudden remembered that I couldn't figure out the last time I felt the baby kick. The day was busy, I was running around with the kiddos a lot.. usually her kicks can stop me in my tracks and I couldn't remember it happening. I ate some ice cream or something else sweet (I cant remember what exactly).. and there was maybe one or two kicks.. but not her usual.
I called into the dr who had me go into May Grant after hours to be checked out. The nurses hooked me up to a bunch of machines and did some testing and came to see that the babys heart rate was elevated. Super elevated. 170s/180s (her typical heart rate was around 140). They couldn't figure out what would be causing that and sent me to triage. More tests. More monitoring etc.. babys heart rate was still elevated and with my due date being the following day, they decided to induce me. A baby born on their actual due date, yay! Apparently that only happens like, 3% of the time or something crazy like that.
I was very surprised to find that the third time around, contractions were not kicking my ass the way they did with my first two deliveries. My first two deliveries, I was more than ready for my epidural around 3cm dilated and this third time around.. I was at 6cm dilated before I even really considered the epidural. The nurse told me that if I was considering an epidural, I should order it soon because there is a point of no return where they wouldn't be able to give me one. The idea of pushing a baby out with no epidural was not even an option in my mind so I ordered it at that point. The anesthesiologist came to give me the epidural and I wasn't feeling nervous at all. I remembered with Tori and Avas births that I hardly felt the epidural.. and I came to realize that was because my contractions were so terrible that the epidural needle felt like nothing. I was just desperate for the meds. This time around, with my contractions not being so rough, the epidural was brutal. I felt everything. I had nothing to distract me from the pain and I cried a lot. I was not expecting that at all. I guess that goes with giving birth though, you really don't know what to expect. Once my epidural was all set I started having issues with the epidural. My entire left side (from about my armpit down) was numb. My entire right side I could feel. It was so strange. It took what felt like awhile for the doctor to get everything even. I had to switch to certain positions to get the meds to come into me in different ways, etc. I will say, after all is said and done, I still swear by the epidural lol.
Fast forward (not really so fast because it was about 24 hours total) to pushing. A total breeze. I had to try a couple different positions to find my rhythm but a short ten minutes of pushing later and baby Mila was born. 8lbs 1oz. I do not have small babies when they are full term. She has dark hair and was puffy (not as much as Ava was at birth).. the third time around, was just as sweet as the last two times. She was so beautiful, they laid her on my chest, there were happy tears shed and I kissed her little wet head and smelled that amazing newborn smell and couldn't believe she was finally here. Our third duck. Here to complete our family.

#thererasisters #rerapartyof5