6 Week Postpartum Checkup, etc.

We went to my 6-week checkup today. All is well. Just a bit of scar tissue, but my suture is long gone and my bleeding is almost finished. We gave Ann a few pictures and she told us her "horror" story of her first labor--56 hours! YIKES! She gave me hope, though, for any future babies. Her second labor--only 2 hours!

She gave me big kudos for my hard work during my labor. =) We discussed the normal topics--contraception, PPD (postpartum depression), going back to work, being new parents. I'm due to go back in June for my annual checkup unless I want to see her regarding a contraception consult.

Aaahhhh going back to work. I'm supposed to go back next Wednesday part time. I will continue FMLA leave for a few weeks. Our babies are tiny for such a short time! I want to be home as much as possible... But I need to keep my job. We still have not confirmed day care arrangements, though. We are still interviewing prospects so hopefully we will have it figured out soon enough.

Zyler's 6-week checkup is Monday, even though he will be 7 weeks old. Crazy! They aren't kidding when they say how quickly time flies... He ate well last night before I went to bed and slept a 5-hour stretch for me, yay! So he was only up at 3 AM and 6 AM! We are approaching normalcy! I know once you have it figured out, their sleep cycle goes and turns upside down, but I am excited to have gotten 7 hours of sleep last night. It has been pretty rough on me--4 hours 1 night, 5 the next... I have had a hard time turning off my brain after 4 AM but last night I managed to do it. Whew! Thank goodness for the self hypnosis skills I learned with HypnoBirthing.

Oh, and regarding my breastfeeding post. It has definitely gotten easier but it is not where I'd like it to be. I still have a good bit of pain on the right side, especially early on in a feeding. My cracks and sores are healed, so I can't quite figure out what it could be besides it being difficult for Zy to latch when my breast is still very full. I could express before putting him on... but that means more work and more time... so I am just enduring the pain. :) It hurts on the left, too, in the beginning of the feed as he is using his tongue incorrectly to avoid "drowning" with my fast letdown. I use a nipple shield often times to force him to get it right, and then remove it. He usually fixes himself after I force the shield on him. I have been through quite the trouble with him from day 1, so after all this I am not about to give up yet if I can stick it out... Pumping can cause sore nipples, too... but I'm hoping for me that it will give them some relief once I am back at work and he is using bottles more often.