First Doctor Appointment

I forgot to tell the story about leaving the hospital! On Monday morning, I was MORE than ready to go home. I got close to no sleep while there. There were constantly people in and out of the room, and just not being at my own home in my own bed did not help. We were waiting around to see the pediatritian before we could get released, and a woman came in the room. She explained to me that she was the Marketing Director for the hospital and explained to me that they had a film crew on site and were making a commercial for the hospital. They were looking for a new mom and baby to interview and I happened to be the lucky candidate. They were also willing to compensate me for my time. After I explained that I had not slept for 3 days and was really not in the mood for an on-camera interview, she told me that they had a hair and makeup artist on standby. I told her that I would think about it and she gave me her contact info. In all honesty, there was no way in hell that I would have given an interview after what I had just been through, but it was still nice to be asked. I wanted to go home so bad and the thought of staying at the hospital to have my hair and makeup done was not appealing. I kept the paper with her info and plan on putting it in Autumn's baby book to commemerate her first commercial. She is destined for stardom, it is a sign! As I was being wheeled out of the hospital, I did see the camera crew and in no way felt guilty for turning them down.

Autumn's very first doctor appointment was today! When she left the hospital on Monday, she was down to 6lb 1oz and today she was 5lb 11oz. We're going in the wrong direction!! The other number to note was that she measured 19 inches. It is important to remember that at birth, she was 20 1/2 inches long. After measuring her twice, the nurse decided that she shrunk because her head is no longer pointy :) Everything else looked good. She is perfectly healthy, but the doctor was just concerned about her weight. She has lost 11% of her body weight, so now it's time to start packing on the pounds. I was advised to see a lactation consultant, and made the appointment for the LC to come over to my house later that afternoon. I also was advised that we have to come back to the doctor's tomorrow and that Autumn has to gain one whole ounce. Autumn is also not allowed to go anywhere in public for the next 8 weeks because we're right in the middle of flu season.

The appointment with the LC was very helpful. She showed me what I was doing wrong, and gave me a couple of different feeding positions to try. I feel really confident after our appointment and am ready to go full force with the breast feeding. Our prescription is to feed every 2-3 hours and then to supplement with 1-2oz of pumped breast milk.

A funny side note is that while the LC was here, I explained to her that I requested to see one multiple times while I was still in the hospital. While the nurses were helpful, I did want someone with actual expertise. The nurses kept telling me that if she showed up, they would tell her that I wanted to see her. Well, as luck would have it, the staffed Lactation Consultant never showed up while I was there, and I just figured that it was because I was there over the weekend. She smiled after I told her the story, and then proceeded to tell me that she was the LC that is on staff at the hospital. While I was tempted to ask for a discount because I should have seen her for free at the hospital rather than for $120 at my house, I held back. Oh well, the appointment at the hospital would not have been as helpful as the one at my house in my own element. I realize this, I just feel a little jipped because I didn't get the benefit of a free LC that was one of the reasons that I chose our hospital.