Teething Maybe?

I'm getting irritable as she is now.. Oh no.. My patience..

Here's the article on I just read on teething
http://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/teething/?pos=1&xid=nl_YourDailyNewsletterfromWhattoExpect_20150309

Of the 9 common symptoms, she's showing signs of 7.

1. Drooling. She drools, but since in her earlier days, she has already started drooling and it has not excessively increased
2. Teething Rash. Thank god for no signs of this.
3. Coughing/ Gag Reflux. She coughs quite often, especially after a bout of fussing
4. Biting. OUCH my nipple. She does that after every latch now. Worse, sometimes is bite and PULL. Omg...
5. Crying. Yah.. Often. Increased? Maybe... I can no longer tell. 
6. Irritability. Erm, she has been like this since birth? LOL. But yep, more cranky at night, and wants only ME. Ah... I'm tired.
7. Refusal to feed. Now it's even more difficult to feed bottles (we are still trying one bottle a day, or one bottle in a few days). And if she does, she cannot finish (usually only finishes 30-40ml). And for direct latching, I can't measure, but by timing, it's only around 2-4 minutes ow as compared to 5-8 mins previously.
8. Night waking. Now she sleeps later and wakes more often. Panda eyed us.
9. Ear pulling/cheek rubbing. At first I didn't think of this, but she always rub the head behind her ears. I guess it's the same but mis-aimed? Haha.. 

Breastfeeding : Decline of BM

Ever since the painful blocked ducts from Friday, I got chills and fever on Saturday. The chills had me shivering with chattering teeth. Fever had even reached 38.8 degrees. Aching and soreness continued. They are all symptoms of matitis. Luckily after two panadols, my fever declined. And so did my supply.

Worse. LO did not seem satisfied with the feed from the affected side. And the other side's supply is slowly declining too.

Worried, I went to the GP on Sunday to get antibiotics in fear of further inflammation and decline of supply. The fever was still there. The GP seems reluctant to give me the antibiotics. But I know I need it. 

Today the supply was still bad in the morning but better in the evening. LO used to feed on only one side to be full for each feed before I fell sick. Now she needs to nurse on both to feel satisfied. I feel bad as she seems so frustrated to nurse. But I need her help to help me get over this.

Stock image from iStockphoto

I just hope this episode ends quickly. I want to provide more for my LO. Now is just more massages and more nursing. Thank you my dear little angel, for being patient (though not all of the times haha). Mummy loves you.

Breastfeeding : Blocked ducts

I have been breastfeeding my LO since day 1. The only times I did not give her BM was when she was in the hospital for 48hrs of phototherapy as Hubby wanted me to rest and not go to and fro the hospital. And that two incidents when the polyclinic PD asked me to give her FM two days before appointment, since her jaundice level did not go down as fast due to BM jaundice. But I stopped a day on the second incident after the results did not improve as much as expected in the first.

Breastfeeding has been quite smooth after we have gotten past the cracked nipples, soreness and shooting pain at the initial few weeks. Engorgement happened during the first week and it was very painful. With paid help from a LC at KKH, it was better and for the next 2 months plus, everything was quite smooth. Latching and pumping well. Supply was enough for LO too.

Today I woke up with blocked ducts. PAINFUL. And the more I massaged it away, the more sore it got. End up, the entire side was sore and aching. It felt bruised. It felt tortured. I know that with continued nursing, the ducts will clear, but it did not help that LO has a smaller appetite now. So I can only pump and massage. But continuous pumping means increasing supply. I shall try harder.

Ouch. x___X

Stock image from dreamstime.com

Jaundice

My little girl has been diagnosed with jaundice on her 4th day of life, when we went to the polyclinic for review/checkup. The doctor ordered for an immediate admission to the hospital as to the jaundice level was high. It was not high to the dangerous level, but high enough to be admitted. Sighs.

Poor little girl has to stay in the hospital for 48hours. We were hopeful that she would be able to discharge after 24hours of phototheraphy, but the jaundice level was still too high. It was the first time she was away from us for so long. Even though it was a great opportunity to rest, I was feeling very down and missed her alot.

Luckily the feeling only lasted a day and I was glad that she was able to be discharged the next day. After which, we visited the polyclinic quite often. Once every 2-3 days for the past 2 weeks. It was quite a toll on me as I was still recovering (I'm supposed to be doing my confinement, resting at home, avoiding the wind and rain). And my poor little girl has to do blood test every visit. Her little feet has been poked so many times. Sigh. Heartache.

Till now, on her 18 days of life, she still has jaundice. Yesterday's visit to the polyclinic gave us an index of 201. Doc says the index is going down, but very slowly. And the test results showed that it is due to breastmilk jaundice. Sigh... I know it is normal and common, but I could not help but feel that it is my fault, since I'm the one producing her meals.

That short amount of time under the phototheraphy caused my little baby girl to be so tanned. She looks even darker than her Daddy, can you believe it? Oh my. Hopefully she can revert back to her original skin color soon (which is Daddy's skin color).

I just hope she recover soon. I'm tired of going to the polyclinic so frequently.

What is jaundice?

Jaundice is a condition that causes a yellowish discoloration of the skin and the whites of the eyes. If you press your finger against the nose or chest of a fair-skinned baby with jaundice, you can see this yellow tinge. If your baby has dark skin, you can see the yellowness in the whites of the eyes or in the gums. The most common type of jaundice develops on the second or third day of life — about when the baby is being discharged from the hospital — which is why it's important to know about it and keep an eye out for it. Most of these cases, called physiologic jaundice, disappear on their own in two weeks.

What causes jaundice?

A newborn has more red blood cells than her body needs, and often, when a baby's immature liver can't process them quickly enough, a yellow pigment called bilirubin (a byproduct of the red blood cells) builds up in the blood. Much of this bilirubin leaves the body in the baby's stool, but about half of babies develop some degree of jaundice during the first two weeks of life. Preemies and babies with genetic diseases or infections are especially vulnerable. Some breastfeeding babies develop jaundice if they don't get enough breast milk, because the bilirubin isn't able to exit the body through body waste. Breastfeeding jaundice usually shows up in the first two weeks of life. When jaundice is detected within the first 24 hours, it may be due to a blood-group incompatibility with the mother (the mother is Rh-negative and the baby is Rh-positive), infection, or an underlying liver problem.

Should I worry?

Most newborn cases of jaundice are harmless and require no treatment. The doctor may order blood tests to measure your baby's bilirubin levels, which usually involve taking a small amount of blood from your baby's heel. In moderate cases of jaundice, the doctor may prescribe phototherapy (light therapy), which involves placing the baby naked under special blue lights that help her body break down the bilirubin so that it can be excreted. This can be done in the hospital or at home with a portable unit. A special kind of fiber-optic blanket, called a bili blanket, has a similar effect. In addition to phototherapy, it's important to keep your baby well hydrated and to identify and treat any underlying medical issues. Your doctor may recommend breastfeeding more often or supplementing with formula to give your baby more fluids and help her pass more bilirubin in her stools. The goal of treatment is to lower the bilirubin level to prevent the buildup of toxic levels in the baby's brain (a disease called kernicterus). With monitoring and treatment, the risk of kernicterus or other complications drops to almost none.

Source from: http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-1-week-old_1131.bc?responsys_count=0&scid=mbtw_post1w&pe=MlVEWGRPa3wyMDE0MTAyMA..

Pregnancy by the week

Here's the breakdown of my pregnancy by the week. Morning sickness, swelling, insomnia, they are all part of the pregnancy. Back ache starts as early as in the first trimester and lasts all the way through.

Image from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

W 6:	Morning Sickness, Headache, Nausea started.
W 16:	Morning Sickness subsided.
W 20:	Detailed ultra scan. LO was very shy, had difficulty seeing her heart and nose. Took us 4 hours at the centre and overdued for the Doc's appointment.
W 22:	Swelling feet and spider nerves started.
W 23:	Heat Rash started. LO started moving in the bump.
W 24:	Bumps slowly infected my body all over for two weeks. From underarms, elbow fold, knee fold, thighs, belly, lower abdomen, hips.
W 26:	Insomnia. Wake every two hours and only able to sleep after 4am.
W 27:	Rash and itchy bumps subsided.
W 29:	Insomnia worsened. And I wake every half to one hour. Once I managed to fall asleep only after 4am.
W 30:	Stretch marks start to show. LO weighs 1.608kg at 30w2d. Doc banned me from ice cream, durians, burgers and anything fastfood. He's worried that LO will be too big for V delivery
W 31:	Insomnia got better, Waking up only once around 4.30am
W 32:	Middle fingers on both hands start to lock up. Wake up with locked and painful fingers. Fatigue got really bad, very easily tired.
W 33:	Experienced LO's hiccups. Having difficulty breathing as LO starts pressing on the rib area. LO learns to protest when I accidentally placed the iPad on the top of the tummy.
W 34:	Insomnia came back. Painful ankles, finger joints, wrists and frequent toilet trips keep waking me up. Sometimes I can fall back asleep immediately, sometimes, it may take me hours to fall asleep.
W 35:	Experienced Braxton Hicks. I assume that's what it is. Tightened belly and I can feel LO body parts protruding out. Not painful, just alittle freaked out whenever that happens. It is like am I hurting my LO? I had heartburn for the first time, and it was terrible. I was unable to sleep. Doc says LO is growing well, and so am I. LO is about 2.68kg.
W 36:	I wake up in the middle of the night sweating big buckets, even though the air conditioning was on. And the frequency to the toilet increased. Bad aching feeling at the joints.
W 37:	Lots of contractions-alike-feeling. Tightening of bump Doc mentioned that my weight loss maybe due to the lessening of water and he's worried. So I will be seeing him again on the 39th week. LO is about 3kg. Wake up every half to 1 hour from breathlessness or bump tightening or the urge to go to the toilet Bad aching feeling at the joints
W 38:	At 38w3d, I had my first real contraction. It really felt like bad menstrual cramps, with LO pushing all the weight down to the bottom and stabbing pain at the bottom. Waking up nightly about every 2 hours from the urge to go toilet. I would wake up feeling extremely hot and bump feeling very tight, with the "head" pushing up to the surface. Some leg cramps while walking. Felt at the back of the thigh. Cravings for food happens right after dinner time >.< All those unnecessary weight gained.
W 39:	At 39w2d, we went for my doc appointment. And we were given a surprise. I have to admit into the hospital in another 5 hours. 12 midnight. Feeling nervous yet excited.

Activation for supper

This is the first time I actually activated the hubby to get me supper. Or rather he activated himself. And we were already ready to sleep. I was rubbing my tummy from hunger pangs and he volunteered to get me supper, throwing me lots of choices. End up, I wanted McD's fries. Ahh... Supper at this timing. I have got to be joking... Adding unnecessary weight in the final week. Sigh... 

39 weeks now... I wonder when...

Heartburn

I had my first heartburn throughout my pregnancy. And boy am I glad this was the only time. The feeling was TERRIBLE. I kept burping my dinner the whole night and up till when it was bed time, the moment I lie down, I want to vomit. It lasted about an hour before I decided to do something about it. It was too terrible to tolerate.

I remembered that one of the goodies bag I took had some heartburn relieve samples and went to dig for it. It's a liquid sachet form of heartburn relief from Gaviscon. I am glad for this. I felt better sometime after taking it.

So what is heartburn? 

Heartburn is a symptom created by acid reflux, which results in the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) if it persists and happens more than twice a week. It is a very common symptom described by an internal burning pain felt around the lower chest area.

Heartburn is felt when stomach acid flows back up into the food pipe - the gullet, down which food moves from the mouth to the stomach.

Referenced from: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9151.php