37 week checkup, breastfeeding class

Yesterday was a busy afternoon / evening with all things baby.  This work thing is getting kind of tough with everything else going on!

I was kind of surprised that the doc didn't check me internally, but I guess there really was no reason to.  He did the ultra sound, and he actually turned on the 4D magic wand thing and let us see her.  She went between looking like an alien and looking adorable.  You could see her button nose.  He said everything looks great, and that she can come out anytime now because she's fully developed.  Woot!!

She weighed in at a WHOPPING 7 lbs 3 ounces!!!!!!!!  So from now until she comes out, she's just cooking and getting bigger...and bigger...and bigger.  He took measurements of her head and her legs, and her head measured at 34 weeks, and her femur measured at 40 weeks.  He said that means she's long and skinny, which is much better for pushing out than a short and fat baby.  Thank goodness for that at least! 

It'll be interesting to see how accurate some of these things are once she finally gets here!!

After that, we had breastfeeding class from 7-930.  I was so exhausted during it, but I learned a lot.  I didn't realize that for breastfeeding, they want you to feed your newborn 8-12 times a day for the first two weeks.  (sidenote : Janelle, I just thought baby Yulander was a porker!!!  Sorry!)  Which means every 2-3 hours.  If she's back to her initial weight at her 2 week pediatrician appt, then we can let her regulate moreso when she eats. 

We talked amongst the parents about some of the good and bad breastfeeding experiences we've witnessed.  I was pretty shocked and relatively appalled to hear what some of the other parents had heard story wise with family members voicing their opinions on breastfeeding.  It was pretty common for the new Mom to hear that she wasn't feeding her baby enough, wasn't producing enough milk, and needed to supplement with formula...and after a few weeks, the defeated Mom gave in.  The first few weeks that the baby is home from the hospital are going to be rough, especially with having to feed her every few hours.  The amount of stress that that puts on the Mom with knowing that you are the sole nourishment / lifeline for this brand new little creature is so intense, I can't imagine not having the support of loved ones during it.  Regardless of if they think what you're doing is right or wrong, support support support...encourage, encourage, encourage!! 

They showed us a video of how to get the baby to latch, and unlike the natural birth that was a little bit tramatizing for both Chris and I, this one actually was beneficial.  I feel much better prepared to go forward with this whole being a cow thing now!

This might be a little TMI, but oh well.  She talked about inverted nipples being a problem for breast feeding, and told us that we wouldn't be able to see if we had inverted nipples by just looking at ourselves in the mirror.  You have to grab either side of the aeroli and squeeze slightly, more so at the breast area than the nipple area, and then if your nipple stays out, you're good.  I of course wanted to see if I had that problem or not, so I did it when I got home, and was actually completely shocked when I got colostrum coming out!  My body is getting ready!!!  That actually made me feel pretty good about the whole breastfeeding thing because it didn't hurt at all, and stuff was coming out.  It's hard / weird to explain, but it was most definitely a reassuring sign for me!

So, pulling up the stats...total love gained so far...31 pounds.  I'm seriously going to topple over if she continues growing this fast!!

T minus 2 weeks and 6 days!!  Woot!