First Week Postpartum

Today marks day 8.

First 4 days were very tiring because baby needed to nurse every hour or less. Sore nipples, sleepless nights and moodiness were not a good combo. But after frequent nursing, I started to have more breastmilk and was able to pump out and let the confinement lady fed her at night while I slept. 

Another challenge was the jealous sister. Oh my. Keira wanted me to sleep with her every night and she would wake up during midnight and cried cos I wasn't next to her. Prior to the sister's arrival, we had been together all the time. The transition was hard,  I felt so bad. But she just had to overcome it. Things are slowly getting better now. Thank God!

Now about my confinement lady, Auntie Susan. She has been great. The only thing that I disliked was she kept asking me to mix formula and breastmilk. You know the first 4 days, when you were tired and discouraged and feeling blue bla bla bla... and she kept telling the baby "aiyo mommy no nenen ah... dont want to mix formula ah." Oh my goodness!  But the moment I had more than enough to pump, she was amazing. Her cooking is nice, she is not calculative, and is very knowledgeable. The way she handles newborn is good too. She helps to clean up and cook for other family members. I highly recommend her to moms to be, just that you have to be very persistent and determined to exclusively breastfeed, else you'll be shaken the first few days. 

So far, baby has been a good girl. Other than the need of frequent nursing, I haven't had any problem handling her *touch wood*. I'm praying that things won't get too hard for me especially cos Keith won't be around. 

Meanwhile, I'll just try to enjoy this resting period. Pray for us!

Confinement Period #1 vs #2

In the previous confinement period, I didn't do well. So, this time round, I've made better preparation. Hopefully, even if I have postpartum blue again, I can cope better.

First of all, I have engaged a confinement lady, who will help to care for Caedy, do the laundry, cook for me & family and do basic house chores. (#1 confinement, I didn't have one, I constantly worried that my mom would be too tired & I was so stressed out when the house wasn't as clean as I wanted.)

I accept the fact that if I want my mom to come and help to look after Keira, there are things that I have to agree with her, i.e. do not walk up and down the stairs the first few days, do not wash hair daily (gonna try Comfy Care dry shampoo for the first time), and so on. I'll try to compromise on things that won't harm me and the baby and just take things easily. (#1 confinement: I pulled a long face many times because I just couldn't agree with my mom & I constantly "judged" the way she did things.)

I have bought Amway's "Post Natal Tropical Herbs".  I think it's very convenient, in terms of preparation and consumption. I still remember, my mom bought a full set of pre-packed herbs and she had to boil it for hours and I had to drink bowlssss of soup & herbal drinks daily, I was sweaty & bloated all the time. So this time round, just normal soup with meals + the Amway products. Oh ya, the post natal set also comes with the herbal bath, massage oil, herbal tea, etc... I read some good reviews about the products.

Now that I've settled my own part and my mom's part, I really pray that Keira will adapt to the new addition well and the confinement lady will be cooperative with how I want things to be done. I only have less than a month to put Keira back to her routine (back to school & daycare, sleep early, sleep on her own bed bla bla bla...), so wish me luck!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!