Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015
Second Walk in the Pram
The first time I took Summer in the pram for a walk around my home was during the September 30th Lunar Eclipse. I did not take a video. But I did this time!
Monday, August 24, 2015
First Pediatrician Appointment
Summer had her first pediatrician appointment with Dr. M. Allard. The doctor was amazing! I liked her very much. She was very good with Summer. This is the same doctor who was pediatrician to my niece, so she came excellently recommended.
Summer now weighs 5lbs 9oz. She has grown in length and her head circumference grew too. She is healthy and well and we are apparently doing a fantastic job with her and to keep up with whatever we are doing.
Here is the update on our many random questions:
Bum Blister
She got a small bum rash with what looked like maybe a small bum blister. It is not, just a more sensitive spot than other spots. The advice is vasaline over the ihle paste.
Peeling Skin
Normal. She is outgrowing her newborn skin and it will dry and peel.
Loose Poo
Very normal. Welcome to babies. Please don't mind the smell. Babies usually smell better, just not when they poo.
Congestion
This is normal for c-section babies as they have more fluid to be rid of. Also, to feed her in a more upright position to prevent any milk regurgitation from going into her nose. If she seems very congested, use a little Salinex and the suction thingy.
Fierce Hiccups
Normal.
Flailing and Brief Cry Outbursts
Just gas. Feed upright and burp better. This will resolve the gassiness and reduce the flailing outcries.
Rye Neck / Tourticolis (also called Torticollis) & Flat Head Risks
The first runs in the women in Scarlet's side of the family. Summer does not seem to have it and can turn her head well to either side though has a preference for the right. As for the latter concern, we were advised to encourage her onto the left with a towel roll behind her back to prevent her from rolling back... just to even out how she sleeps.
Birthmarks
All facial marks and the one on the back of her neck are all normal in babies and fade away. The one on her back is hemangioma and will likely get larger before it too eventually fades. None are permanent birthmarks.
Male Pattern Baldness
Summer is losing her hair like a man. It is normal. It will grow back.
Summer now weighs 5lbs 9oz. She has grown in length and her head circumference grew too. She is healthy and well and we are apparently doing a fantastic job with her and to keep up with whatever we are doing.
Here is the update on our many random questions:
Bum Blister
She got a small bum rash with what looked like maybe a small bum blister. It is not, just a more sensitive spot than other spots. The advice is vasaline over the ihle paste.
Peeling Skin
Normal. She is outgrowing her newborn skin and it will dry and peel.
Loose Poo
Very normal. Welcome to babies. Please don't mind the smell. Babies usually smell better, just not when they poo.
Congestion
This is normal for c-section babies as they have more fluid to be rid of. Also, to feed her in a more upright position to prevent any milk regurgitation from going into her nose. If she seems very congested, use a little Salinex and the suction thingy.
Fierce Hiccups
Normal.
Flailing and Brief Cry Outbursts
Just gas. Feed upright and burp better. This will resolve the gassiness and reduce the flailing outcries.
Rye Neck / Tourticolis (also called Torticollis) & Flat Head Risks
The first runs in the women in Scarlet's side of the family. Summer does not seem to have it and can turn her head well to either side though has a preference for the right. As for the latter concern, we were advised to encourage her onto the left with a towel roll behind her back to prevent her from rolling back... just to even out how she sleeps.
Birthmarks
All facial marks and the one on the back of her neck are all normal in babies and fade away. The one on her back is hemangioma and will likely get larger before it too eventually fades. None are permanent birthmarks.
Male Pattern Baldness
Summer is losing her hair like a man. It is normal. It will grow back.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Two Weeks Old
Today, Summer is 2 weeks old. Today was the day she was supposed to be induced to come into the world. What a whirlwind! She arrived 2 weeks early... 3 if you keep in mind that she was supposed to be induced a week earlier than her due date.
She has gained weight and length. Her limbs have started filling out and her face.
We are starting to gain a bit of a routine in that Mark takes overnight duty while Scarlet tries to sleep. At dawn, the roles shift and Scarlet takes over while Mark grabs 4-5 hours of solid sleep. Scarlet is not yet getting solid sleep because she s still healing from the c-section.
Mark has managed to get a bit of time to play some videogames now to relax. Scarlet has managed to do some writing and watch some anime, as well as some advertising for the workshops she has now arranged other teachers to teach.
QPIP has kicked in for Mark. And we have had wonderful and generous friends and family who have helped us with diapers and ready-made food. Both have been a life saver.
The cats seems to have adapted well to Summer. Bagheera still ignores her and just wants to cuddle. Nala is a bit miffed and gets really clingy with Mark when he is finally free of baby. Tsuki has taken best to Summer, watching over her and meowing to get our attention when she is about to cry and we are just out of sight (for just a moment). He isn't really a guard cat, but he no longer hides when strangers visit. He just lingers close to the baby. It is really cute.
Summer has tripled her intake of formula from 20ml to 60ml each feeding. However, she still has the tiniest butt in the world!
She has a small birthmark under her right shoulder that may or may not fade over time.
Monday August 24th at noon will be Summer's first doctor appointment with a pediatrician. More news to come on that.
She has gained weight and length. Her limbs have started filling out and her face.
We are starting to gain a bit of a routine in that Mark takes overnight duty while Scarlet tries to sleep. At dawn, the roles shift and Scarlet takes over while Mark grabs 4-5 hours of solid sleep. Scarlet is not yet getting solid sleep because she s still healing from the c-section.
Mark has managed to get a bit of time to play some videogames now to relax. Scarlet has managed to do some writing and watch some anime, as well as some advertising for the workshops she has now arranged other teachers to teach.
QPIP has kicked in for Mark. And we have had wonderful and generous friends and family who have helped us with diapers and ready-made food. Both have been a life saver.
The cats seems to have adapted well to Summer. Bagheera still ignores her and just wants to cuddle. Nala is a bit miffed and gets really clingy with Mark when he is finally free of baby. Tsuki has taken best to Summer, watching over her and meowing to get our attention when she is about to cry and we are just out of sight (for just a moment). He isn't really a guard cat, but he no longer hides when strangers visit. He just lingers close to the baby. It is really cute.
Summer has tripled her intake of formula from 20ml to 60ml each feeding. However, she still has the tiniest butt in the world!
She has a small birthmark under her right shoulder that may or may not fade over time.
Monday August 24th at noon will be Summer's first doctor appointment with a pediatrician. More news to come on that.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
New to the World
Summer's arrival was both expected and a surprise. Scarlet was doing just fine right up to her Friday, August 7th doctor appointment. Her blood pressure seemed rather high through three tests, so the doctor sent her right over to the hospital to be tested for preeclampsia.Yes, indeed this was the case.
The first attempt to induce labour was with Cervadil. "Cervidil inserts are used for: Inducing labor in pregnant women at or near term. Cervidil inserts are a prostaglandin. It works by causing softening and dilation of the cervix." This failed to achieve anything except lots of hard contractions that distressed the baby.
The second attempt to induce labour was with oxytocin injection. This also triggers contractions, but those only stressed the baby too without actually letting her out.
So Cesarean (C-Section) it was to be.
Summer was born at 9:23pm on Friday, August 7th at the Royal Victoria GLEN Hospital in Montreal.
Recovery was HARD... still is... for Scarlet. Recovery is 4-8 weeks long.
Here are some of our first decisions:
Prenatal Testing was VERY important. Scarlet was 42 and was at a higher risk of having a child with serious problems. If we birthed a child with any serious conditions, what would happen to this child (child-like adult) when we died? Who would care for her? We have already seen the social system failing at this kind of care and did not want to leave a helpless child to that, not to mention that we did not think it fair to bring such a child into the world that we may not have the time and energy to devote to that kind of care. In the end, all tests showed that the baby was just fine!
The Infant Screening was important as it tests for a number of genetic diseases. The baby... and Scarlet... did not like this test at all. Scarlet left the room while Mark held Summer for the testing. There is no news on the results. No news is good news. What a relief.
Formula feeding was NOT A CHOICE. We originally wanted to do breastfeeding. However, Scarlet had no milk in production at all, despite an idiotic nurse bruising the crap out of her breasts in an attempt to force out what was not there. So we had to go with formula feeding. We were told that milk production may kick in around day 5 postpartum. It had, but we were doing so well with the formula that we did not want to mess with a good thing. Also, this allowed for Mark to care for summer while Scarlet healed, since she was in so much pain that she often could not hold the baby through a full feeding, if at all.
We chose not to co-sleep with the baby for the baby's safety. Mark moves a great deal in his sleep and sleeps rather hard. He would never notice if he rolled onto the baby and suffocated her. Scarlet is so used to shoving a cat off the bed to the floor that she was afraid she might do so with the baby. So for the baby's sake, she sleeps in a cradle.
We have been home with her for a week. All is going well as we heal, adjust, and love this tiny little 4 lb 14 oz baby girl.
The first attempt to induce labour was with Cervadil. "Cervidil inserts are used for: Inducing labor in pregnant women at or near term. Cervidil inserts are a prostaglandin. It works by causing softening and dilation of the cervix." This failed to achieve anything except lots of hard contractions that distressed the baby.
The second attempt to induce labour was with oxytocin injection. This also triggers contractions, but those only stressed the baby too without actually letting her out.
So Cesarean (C-Section) it was to be.
Summer was born at 9:23pm on Friday, August 7th at the Royal Victoria GLEN Hospital in Montreal.
Recovery was HARD... still is... for Scarlet. Recovery is 4-8 weeks long.
Here are some of our first decisions:
- Prenatal Testing (tested for Down's Syndrome and other syndromes)
- Infant Screen Testing (Cystic Fibrosis, Protein Allergies, Immunodeficiency Diseases, etc)
- Formula Feeding
- NOT co-sleeping
Prenatal Testing was VERY important. Scarlet was 42 and was at a higher risk of having a child with serious problems. If we birthed a child with any serious conditions, what would happen to this child (child-like adult) when we died? Who would care for her? We have already seen the social system failing at this kind of care and did not want to leave a helpless child to that, not to mention that we did not think it fair to bring such a child into the world that we may not have the time and energy to devote to that kind of care. In the end, all tests showed that the baby was just fine!
The Infant Screening was important as it tests for a number of genetic diseases. The baby... and Scarlet... did not like this test at all. Scarlet left the room while Mark held Summer for the testing. There is no news on the results. No news is good news. What a relief.
Formula feeding was NOT A CHOICE. We originally wanted to do breastfeeding. However, Scarlet had no milk in production at all, despite an idiotic nurse bruising the crap out of her breasts in an attempt to force out what was not there. So we had to go with formula feeding. We were told that milk production may kick in around day 5 postpartum. It had, but we were doing so well with the formula that we did not want to mess with a good thing. Also, this allowed for Mark to care for summer while Scarlet healed, since she was in so much pain that she often could not hold the baby through a full feeding, if at all.
We chose not to co-sleep with the baby for the baby's safety. Mark moves a great deal in his sleep and sleeps rather hard. He would never notice if he rolled onto the baby and suffocated her. Scarlet is so used to shoving a cat off the bed to the floor that she was afraid she might do so with the baby. So for the baby's sake, she sleeps in a cradle.
We have been home with her for a week. All is going well as we heal, adjust, and love this tiny little 4 lb 14 oz baby girl.
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