[Weekly Digest] Postpartum: Week 2

How I feel (Overall): This week is proving to be an improvement from the last. Not just in terms of recovery, but in terms of AJ's progress. I see a schedule slowly taking shape - John managed to extend his paternity leave for another week because I broke down last week and told him I needed him for another week. Fights with Mum, mainly due to parenting differences, is getting worse. Sigh.

Breastfeeding is still taking a toll on me - painful nipples, blisters and even a little bleeding situation once - so tempted to give up. But I shall now. If I have the supply, I will strive to make this work, for the sake of AJ. I want nothing but the best for him.

TOOK MY FIRST SHOWER IN 8 DAYS.

Pain areas: My bandage came off after the end of Week 1. Paid a visit to Kamaljit for a Week 1 checkup and she said I've healed wonderfully! Yay. All the effort I put in to prevent myself from sweating and infecting the incision paid off. All of John's and Mum's pro-activeness in making sure I don't sweat up a storm, definitely paid off.

To be honest, it feels weird without the bandage now, as thought my fresh wound is exposed to the harshness of the world, vulnerable and ready to be attacked... Okay maybe I'm over-dramatising it a little but it does feel strange. I need to get used to this! I'm so afraid to touch it.

How I coped: I took my first shower (in 8 days!) and it felt.so.good. I feel like a new woman again. To give you an idea, pre-baby I used to bath twice a day, no less, and sometimes more. So going 8 consecutive days without a shower has been nothing short of a miracle for me. It doesn't help that I've got 'sweaty' genes, meaning I sweat up a storm almost everywhere I go in Malaysia (I don't know anyone in my circle of friends who sweats more than I do).

Granted, John wiped me down daily in those 8 days, but a damp cloth doesn't compare to the feeling of having warm water running down your skin plus the smell and feel of soap & shampoo.

I still have difficulty getting out of bed, takes me about 20 seconds to roll to my side and use my arm to lift my torso and upper body off the bed. And each time I do this, my lower abdomen where my incision is, hurts a ton. You know what else hurts? SNEEZING. After my shower, as I was putting on my clothes I let out an involuntarily (and huge) sneeze, immediately causing me to double over clutching my torso. It felt like someone literally stabbed me with 100 knives at once.. I seriously thought my stitches had split open - a visit to Kamaljit proved otherwise (phew!).

AJ's Progress: He's crying less this week. Last week (week 1) we had a fever scare. The no-touch forehead thermometer that Mum bought us kept showing that he was having a fever (hovered between 37.5-38.5 degrees celsius). We immediately packed our bags and made our way to Pantai Hospital. Because it was past 12am, we went straight to emergency ward. He kept crying and crying and the whole ordeal was terrible for us. Coupled with sleep deprivation, we were absolutely shaken.
Luckily, the paediatrician on duty at the time took one look at AJ and said "He's hungry".
I breastfed him on the spot (with curtains closed of course), and true enough he settled down immediately after.
Supposedly, having a fluctuating temperature like that is extremely common for newborns, particularly because their immunity and bodily functions/systems are not yet fully developed and they cannot regulate their body temperatures as well as we adults can.

Other than the fever scare, he's settled down a little bit. A scheduled visit earlier this week to Dr. Yong (Pantai Hospital Paediatrician) shows that he's lost 11% of his birth weight! From 3.28kg down to 2.92kg - which means he's not getting enough food, which absolutely explains his frantic screams and cries the last 1.5 weeks! We were so desperate because my milk supply hadn't come in yet, John drove out to Tesco (on just an hour of sleep - poor guy!) to get Similac (formula milk) for him and we fed him through a syringe to avoid nipple confusion as we planned to still breastfeed him once my milk supply comes in.

By the way, we didn't have a good impression of Dr. Yong - didn't appear dedicated & resourceful, and I had to ask a billion questions only to get either a "Yes" or "No" or a coy smile from him.
We asked Kamaljit for a PD recommendation and we were referred to Dr. Altaf in TTDI.
Paid a visit to his clinic at the end of the week and he's just amazing. His clinic is always packed - and what I really like about it (and I found this to be true of Kamaljit's clinic as well) is that it is a first-come-first-serve basis.
Essentially, you walk in from 9am to 12pm and write your name down on a numbered list which gets cancelled off one-by-one. If you come early at 9am, you'd be sure to get first dibs. If you come too late like past 11:30pm you'd be sure to be wait a long time because by that time there would've been at least 10 people ahead of you waiting to see Dr. Altaf.

Anyway he got weighed and put on 200g in less than 4 days!! Went up to 3.1kgs. We were so happy.

Things to be Grateful for: AJ has gotten back some of his birth weight and is overall a healthy bubs.  Mum is becoming more helpful - she took a one day hiatus and coached it down to Singapore where she caught up with Aunt BL. It was a good break for John and I too - sometimes you need that couple-alone time to get your heads back straight on again. Also grateful for all the well wishes from friends and relatives - we feel so loved and we can't wait for everyone to meet AJ. He's been such a blessing! Grateful also for a smooth recovery. My belly is slowly deflating... I give myself up to week 6 to get back my flat tumtums!