A Rough Start

Miss F is now five days old, and we came home from the hospital Saturday afternoon.  While we had been charting feedings and wet and messy diapers, we hadn't looked at the trends.  On Saturday afternoon, Miss F became a bit fussy and it was a struggle to nurse her. 

By Sunday, she refused to nurse at all.  When I'd try to nurse her, she'd violently shake her head from side to side.  She wouldn't even try to latch.  She'd scream constantly until she was absolutely hoarse and raspy. Nothing satisfied her, not even the pacifier.  I just bawled because my milk was in and I couldn't feed or soothe my baby.  I couldn't help her at all.  I knew I had milk, but when I held her up, she'd just scream at the breast.  It was one of the most frustrating experiences I've ever had.  To get something into her, I pumped and *B* spoon fed her out of a medicine spoon. 


We ended up taking her to the pediatrician Monday evening.  It turns out she was severely dehydrated (shocker).  She had lost a whole pound since birth.  When he asked, we said she hadn't had a messy diaper in two days.  After going over our records, it turned out it had been three days, and she was only four days old. 

 

We spoon fed her a whole ounce of breast milk (which felt like a ton for such a little girl).  Within the hour, she had a huge blowout of a diaper, and she's had two more since.  She's been demanding to nurse about every two hours now.  She's better than she was, going through her functions mostly as normal, and she's not fussing anymore.  While we started out on a rocky footing, she seems pretty content now.

 Four days old on daddy's lap

Hanging out in her swing at five days old