Thursday, April 21, 2011

Quick Questions

Hello, internets. I owe you a post or ten -- or at least some pictures (I got one with a smile yesterday! A smile!) -- but as I am typing one-handed, marooned under a finally-sleeping Bean*, I must beg your continued patience. However. I am seeing my GP tomorrow -- one of the stories I owe you is "In Which I Realize I Must Break Up With Dr. Russian" -- and, being sick to death of being in pain and (horrors!) losing precious sleep over this vasospasm business, I intend to talk to her about trying a low dose of Nifedipine (see here). She isn't likely to know much about it (as this is more in the purview of obstetrics, but See Above), but I've poked around PubMed and, since I'm already taking a large handful of supplements from the hippy-but-noy-dippy LC and doing everything else suggested in the article**, I think it's time to try it. I'd like to come to the appointment as educated as possible.

Right. The afforementioned Questions:

Any of you spasm-y sorts ever look into Nifedipine? Your thoughts appreciated.

Less pressingly but also of interest: What did your ob/midwife/Very Surprised Cab Driver do in terms of post-partum care -- appointments, calls, what-have-you?

And while we're here: 13 nursing sessions a day? Is it possible The Bean thinks he's a marsupial (as, in fairness, my mother says I did)?




*oh. He woke up. But he is nursing the non-typing side first. Score!

**except giving up my one daily cup of coffee, which, dear God, is an unacceptable request to make of a new parent, particularly one who is losing sleep above and beyond the usual and whose offspring refuses to sleep in the day except on her body or in a rapidly moving stroller near heavy traffic, making her own napping a difficult not to say dangerous thing to attempt. Next person who tells me to sleep when the baby sleeps gets stabbed right in the eye.

13 comments:

  1. Home visit 24 hours after the birth. Unlimited text messages, emails and phone calls after the birth. Home visit when I got home from the hospital after the hemorrhage. Follow up home visit to test my iron. 6 week post-partum home visit. Clearly a hospital-based OB or midwife is not going to do all of this, of course. But they should do more than, um, nothing.

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  2. AUGH. F'in' Blogger ate my comment!

    Quickly: I had THE OPPOSITE experience of Hannah: a quick check-in in the hospital to admnish me to SLEEP WHEN THE BABY SLEEPS (not kidding.) and a follow-up at six weeks to admonish me to do my kegels (I did, kind of. I have not peed my pants for two months & counting...)

    And 13 times-- I totally believe. The Boy was/is the same. Someone asserted that he might have worms. Throw away those get-your=-baby-on-a-schedule books. They were written by people who do not love you.

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  3. IS?? oh, god, schroe, did you have to say IS?

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  4. we interviewed a pediatrician the other day who does not have rights at the hospital we're delivering at. they want an initial visit within 48 hours and a follow-up at 2 weeks.

    apparently they time the regular visits around the vaccination schedule. we are still looking...

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  5. My postpartum care: I was told to make an appointment in six weeks. Seriously. That was it. The baby had a checkup at age 1 mo., presumably to make sure that she had survived my inept care.

    13 times/day sounds pretty normal to me. I finally resorted to cosleeping because there was absolutely no other way that I was going to not die, since Eggbert wouldn't sleep if she wasn't physically in contact with me. It gets easier after about 2 months, though. Hang in there.

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  6. P.S. My word verification was "refill" which strikes me as appropriate.

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  7. our midwife had us come in at 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks. After than, no appointments but the have a weekly drop in new mom's group with an LC (for the babes) and a midwife (for us!). I am guessing this might be above and beyond, but it is SO HELPFUL!
    Ugg, I hear you on the sleep issue. why is it that they sleep best while in a position that you could not possibly sleep in..

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  8. You should just sleep when the baby sleeps.

    OW! MY EYE!

    I thought every two hours was not unusual for feeding.

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  9. Midwives made three home visits, we went there at 3 weeks and 8 weeks. Also we went and saw their LCs/ baby occupational therapists about 3,000 times.

    Bug did the same thing- he was attached to BOOB for, like, 16 hours a day for months. It wears off eventually, which is very little consolation right now, I know. Same with the sleeping: ON HUMANS ONLY. Thanks, kid.

    Read a lot about nifedipene (while reading endless Jack Newman and trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with Bug's terrible, clicking, falling-off latch; answer: tongue-tie plus bad latch plus FUCKING THRUSH plus mastitis plus MORE THRUSH) but never tried it.

    (P.S. Jack Newman has some slightly-dippy sounding suggestions... no idea if you've already tried all these though and want to beat the computer with your painful nipples: http://www.drjacknewman.com/help/Vasospasm%20and%20Raynaud%E2%80%99s%20Phenomenon.asp)

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  10. If I had decided to try to BF again (and didn't need to take nasty meds postpartum), our vasospasm plan would have been using heat packs prior to nursing and nifedipine. Didn't try it last time because nobody could figure it out what it was until I saw Family Doc long after I stopped nursing. I still have vasospasms, but heat relieves them. They aren't as gnarley as when I BF the boy, so never tried it, but heard it works well.

    When I nursed J, he would nurse every 2 hours round the clock, sometimes even every one hour. I have many BF friends in the same hell.

    My postpartum care was a 6 weeks checkup only, though I saw them a few times before then with each child due to painful boobies and UTIs.

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  11. I had an appointment at 1 week PP to have staples out, and will have another next week at 6 weeks. Otherwise I don't know.

    As for BF'ing, during his recent growth spurt, 13 times easily! I have stopped tracking, but I know that if I wasn't having to supplement with formula it would easily be that often. Pump? Ha! Nearly impossible when he haas days of 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off, LOL.

    My boy also thinks I am a bed...so I nap with him on my chest...only way I "sleep when he sleeps." And sometimes I spend an hour getting him settled just so I can have 20 minutes to get something done. Why we have things for him to sleep in is a mystery some days. Do you have a car seat? Car seat magic is amazing...might give you a chance to rest. I think it is because they are so snug in there...makes them feel secure.

    Hang in there! And thank you for the bath idea!

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  13. I'd say nursing 13 times = totally normal, my lil one does at least that, some days a lot more! Mostly at least once an hour. I had vasospasms in one nipple until about 6 weeks, it's a reaction to damage usually but cleared up on its own in the end, so glad!

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