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An update on us (this is long!)
Hey ladies! I have been meaning to get on here and let you know how things are going with us...but I just haven't been able to find the energy to do it...2u2 is exhausting! I am so VERY grateful that I have my mom here to help out, I don't know what I would do without her!
So as you know, we went in for our scheduled c-section almost 2 weeks ago on Monday. The c-section went exactly as planned with no excitement (thankfully!). The surgery was scheduled to start at 7:30am and she was born at 7:36am. Sam and Elizabeth were able to stay in the operating room with me right up until they went to the recovery room about 10 minutes ahead of me. My hospital has basically closed their nursery, except for special circumstances. I was so glad that they didn't have to leave like they did last time. I didn't get to hold her for about 20 minutes because they were having some trouble getting her to cough some of the junk out of her lungs, but I could see her and knew that everything was fine, it wasn't anything big.
Once we were in the recovery room I was able to try breastfeeding. She wasn't real interested in latching, she was really sleepy. When we got to our postpartum room I asked to see a lactation consultant and was told that there wasn't one on that day so I would just have to work with the nurses. (Why there wasn't one on when it was a Monday is beyond me!) But after a while a lactation consultant showed up...I guess they called her on her day off and she came in! She worked with me to get Elizabeth latched, but wasn't able to get her to do much.
I spent the next 3 days pretty much doing constant skin to skin with Elizabeth and had a lactation consultant come in each day and multiple times a day I was in the hospital and never really got going well. On the last night we were in the hospital the nurse set us up with an SNS feeder because Elizabeth needed to get something in her.
We were discharged on Thursday. When Elizabeth was born she weighed 8lbs 15oz and the night before we were discharged she weighed 7 lbs 13oz.
We had a follow up dr. appt the next day and she was down to 7lbs 11oz (on a different scale). She was also starting to show signs of jaundice. At the dr. they advised to supplement with 2 oz of formula after each feeding. At this point we were still using the SNS feeder. They also tested her biliruben levels and told us they were get back to us with the results. That evening at about 4:30 or so the dr. called to say that her bili levels were at 16.5 and she advised that we go to the hospital to get her under the lights. That levels isn't really dangerously high, but I think she was concerned that we were headed into the weekend and no way to follow up to see if they were moving the right direction. So Sam, Elizabeth, and I headed back to the hospital after only 1 night at home. Things went well in the hospital and we were only there for about 18 hours. When we left the hospital on Saturday her bili levels were down to around 13 and 11 or lower is optimal.
On Friday after the dr. appt we also had an appt with a lactation consultant in the hospital. She was able to tell me that I did actually have milk (I never really got the engorged feeling, or really knew that my milk had come in at all!), so that was a HUGE relief. But we did find out that the reason that Elizabeth was having such a hard time with her latch is because she is tongue-tied. (That is when the piece of skin under your tongue is too close to the end of your tongue and you can't stick your tongue out.) This creates a problem because she isn't able to stick her tongue out and curl it around the breast like she should. The LC decided to forgo the SNS feeder and got me set up with a nipple shield. That allows her to do some breastfeeding, but she still isn't able to do it properly. She also gave me the name of a specialist that she reccomended to do the clipping to correct the tongue tie issue.
So we spent the weekend breastfeeding every 3 hours and following up with 2 oz of formula after each feeding. We then had a follow up dr. appt on Monday and I was expecting her to have gained weight because of all the supplementing we were doing, but when they weighed her she was the exact same...7 11...I didn't believe them and made them weigh her again about halfway through the appt, it was actually 7 11. That was pretty disappointing, but the dr. didn't seem concerned because Elizabeth had been doing a lot of pooping in the process of getting rid of the biliruben.
That day I had another follow up with the LC and she helped me work on my positioning the help Elizabeth get the best latch that is possible. She also weighed Elizabeth and confirmed the fact that she hadn't gained any weight. (I really didn't want to believe the dr.!) At that appt the LC also got me a prescription for reglan, which I started right away. If I have to be on reglan long-term I will likely switch to domperidone because it has a lot less side effects, but as of so far the reglan isn't giving me any side effects.
On Wednesday we followed up with the dr. again to have them look at the tongue tie to see if they could take care of it...which they can't, they actually don't even really see it because they're looking for a "traditional" tongue tie and Elizabeth's is much less obvious. They also weighed her and she was then up to 8 lbs 2 oz! Yeah for a weight gain! At some point during the week we were told to up the supplementing to 2 1/2 oz after each feeding.
Then on Friday I had another follow up with the LC where we just worked some more on positioning, which I think I'm finally getting figured out! She also gave me hope that we were going to be able to get my milk production up where it needs to be in order to phase out the supplementing. I was (and am) worried about how that is going to work! The reglan is really working for me, and seems to be working quickly. I am not up to producing an ounce (between both breasts) when I only pump and don't breastfeed her first.
So we are now at the point where we wait to see if we are going to get the referral to the specialist for the tongue tie, I will be looking into that tomorrow. And if the referral is in I am really hoping that the specialist can get us in quickly! The LC consultant says that we're kinda in a holding pattern until we can get that taken care of.
So in the mean time I am completely sleep deprived, but am trying to take it 1 day at a time. We are feeding Elizabeth every 3 hours. I first breastfeed her for 10 minutes on each side, then somebody gives her a bottle while I pump for 10 minutes. We have been on this schedule since we got home from the hospital. So for the last week or so I haven't gotten more than 2 hours of sleep at a time.
But like I said, I am so very thankful that my mom is here to help with Marshall and keep the house running...I would not be functioning without her help and would likely have given up on breastfeeding.
Lisa, do you have any tips for me...it seems to me that you went through something pretty similiar with Collin.
And for everybody that made it this far, you get a drink on me! 
and 
Re: An update on us (this is long!)
First, congratulations & she's beautiful!!
Secondly, I hope you guys are able to get things figured out soon. You sound like you are very dedicated! Hopefully fixing the tongue tie issue will help a lot... N wasn't tongue tied but he did have a cyst under his tongue that went away on it's own around 6 weeks and things got MUCH better after that.
Sounds like you've got a great support system, that's great. Hope you are feeling okay.
How is Marshall doing?
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Glad to see an update even though I am sorry you are having a tough time. Lots of similarities with Collin. The difficulty getting started, SNS, supplementing. Our issue was more about my milk not coming in, but definitely similar. I think you are doing everything you can right now. Once you get the tongue issue resolved, you can work on getting off the formula. It was a little tough, when we tried to stop he was on all of the time for a little while, but then my supply caught up. I wasn't really pumping at that point, so hopefully that will have you producing enough to keep up after you stop.
You are doing an awesome job Mama! Hang in there and try to remember this is just temporary, in a few weeks the tough stuff will more than likely just be a memory. :-)
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Beautiful Girl!
And congratulations on getting this far in breastfeeding! I did that pattern for a few weeks too. Eventually your body will get used to it and will hopefully have multiple ounces of milk stored in the fridge!
Hope you can get the appointment soon
Good Luck and Congratulations!
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Thanks for the update, Jo! I have been thinking of you.
Glad to hear that Elizabeth is gaining and her jaundice issues have resolved. I hope that you are able to get in with the specialist to square away the tongie tie, and continue to breastfeed! Great job on continuing despite the difficulties, you are doing so great!
I am glad all is well, and that your mama is there for support. I hope Marshall is doing well, as a new big brother:)
thanks for all the kind words.
Marshall is doing pretty good. For the most part he doesn't even seem to acknowledge Elizabeth's presence. Ust in the last day he has started to run to her pack and play if she makes any noise.
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