Post 2- Going downhill
I had one of the funniest deliveries. Even though the anesthesia was spinal (which means I was numbed in the lower half of my body), it had a strange drunken effect on me. I kept blabbering to the doctors and nurse, cried happily when my son was born and just wouldn’t stop chatting. I thanked the nurses and told how underappreciated they are. I thanked my doc. I even ranted about how people always want boys and are disappointed to get girls. The anesthetist had to sedate me to shut me up!
In groggy sleepy state, my baby was brought to me for his first feed. As I was paralysed from the waist down due to the anesthesia, I couldn’t turn to my side to feed the baby. So the nurse tugged my breast all the way to the side to feed him.
Next day I was having pain in my stitches but I was hale and hearty for a person who had just delivered. I was sponge bathed and was feeling better. I was able to breastfeed also. But the problem with my baby was that I was pretty much breastfeeding him throughout the day. He would suck for 1 hour on one side, one hour on the other and then he was back to sucking again on the first side. I was fine with it until someone pointed out that I wasn’t getting enough milk. Then when I mentioned to my doctor about the baby sucking for so long, she prescribed me a medicine for increasing my milk supply.
The next day my son’s bilirubin levels came and he was clearly jaundiced. He needed to be put in that incubator with blue lights without any clothes on. He screamed and cried and did not want to be separated from me. I sat on my bed and wept bitterly watching my son scream for comfort and familiarity. The pediatrician asked to introduce one feed of formula a day to the baby till his jaundice levels did not come down. To be honest I was a little relieved to get some rest from breastfeeding the baby all day long.
On the fourth day his bilirubin levels began to reduce and we were discharged. I was relieved to go home. But as a doctor myself there are a few things my own doctors forgot to advise me :
1.; ; ; ;My son was never called for a follow up to recheck his jaundice.
2.; ; ; ;I was never called back for a followup in spite of having a cesarean section. Infact I was told to come 6 weeks later
Not just me, but my other doctor friends too feel that their medical care was lacking in patient counseling and diligent follow ups. And I (actually me and my friends) had to pay the price for this kind of careless omissions by our doctors. We are taken for granted and not educated or advised well enough just because we are doctors. Because this failure to follow me up cost me dearly…My breastfeeding journey only got tougher from here. #momstein #bbcreatorsclub #mommytakesover
Pics- my son on second day
Having a belated birthday cake cutting, just my baby, husband and me
My husband playing with our month old son