breastfeeding
Mummy tips
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new mum
The first few days after having my baby was no fun at all. Asides dealing with the pain from surgery there was breastfeeding. I honestly didn't want to deal with it and was very happy anytime they made him formula but soon enough I stated running temperature and overnight a huge lump had appeared in my armpit. I cried as different things were running through my mind, I mean, how would I have cancer immediately I gave birth to my baby. My breasts were rock solid and I had no clue(an no one really told me about this) what was up till I went of Google.
So, What is Engorgement?
How to deal with your first engorgement
The first few days after having my baby was no fun at all. Asides dealing with the pain from surgery there was breastfeeding. I honestly didn't want to deal with it and was very happy anytime they made him formula but soon enough I stated running temperature and overnight a huge lump had appeared in my armpit. I cried as different things were running through my mind, I mean, how would I have cancer immediately I gave birth to my baby. My breasts were rock solid and I had no clue(an no one really told me about this) what was up till I went of Google.
So, What is Engorgement?
Engorgement means your breasts are painfully full of milk [WebMD]What are the signs?
- Very full breasts
- Headache
- Might have swollen lump in your armpit (They are called lymph nodes)
What helps?
- Pumping: Pump as much as you can to get relief, direct the pump towards the lump to draw out the milk. The down side to this is you might produce more milk and that means fuller breasts. What can help is to get on a schedule after your baby feeds and pump then.
- Breastfeeding: It might hurt but this helps you feel momentarily better.
- Warm cloth; putting warm cloth on my breasts helped me feel better
- Hand massage; I would massage the lump in circular motions all the time, while breastfeeding, pumping, taking a bath and it was gone after a week or so.
And if nothing is working please visit your doctor because you don't want it to become Mastitis and we don't want that. My mum had to deal with that when she had me and it wasn't pretty. I think new mums need to be more armed with information before delivery so they know what to expect and I know that we might not be able to cover it all but I really do hope this helps.
What is your experience with Engorgement and how did you deal with it?/Did you hear about engorgement before you had your baby?
cuddle blog
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Hawaiian themed Maternity Shoot || The Cuddle Blog
You'd think because my husband is a photographer that I would have a lorry load of pictures, when the said husband has a crazy schedule you make do with the time you have. Photoshoots are always a good idea when I am not the subject, when I get in front of the camera, I realise that it is always not as easy as it looks.
I hassled my dear husband and we had 2 shoots in the course of my pregnancy, the first was at 5 months - when my bump suddenly made an appearance - and the 2nd was at 8 months. When it comes to things like these, I am not the most creative but I am glad for great friends who have my back. My friend chose a theme, bought the props and organised most of the things I used for the shoot.
We went elaborate for the 2nd shoot, makeup artist and all. My sisters came over as well! I absolutely loved my makeup, although, I was very tired by the time we were done, I was a happy mama.
Here are the pictures below;
@ 5 months!
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| My best picture |
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| I was really tired!!! |
@ 8 Months;
Pictures: Fotolighthouse
Make up: Lillianopaul
Props: The best friend
Glow: My Baby
Did you have a maternity shoot? Please send me a link to your pictures ;)
breastfeeding
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Lagos Mum
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new mum
As soon as you are cleared by the doctors after delivery, you are throw into the deep end called breastfeeding - with or without your permission. As a first time mum, I definitely didn't know what to expect with this new but I also wish people talked about these things I found out a few months down the line.
What no one tells you about breastfeeding || The Cuddle Blog
As soon as you are cleared by the doctors after delivery, you are throw into the deep end called breastfeeding - with or without your permission. As a first time mum, I definitely didn't know what to expect with this new but I also wish people talked about these things I found out a few months down the line.
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Lagos Mum
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What is victory? || The Cuddle Blog
What is Victory to you?
First time Mum
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lifestyle
Mummy tips
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Mumspiration
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"Mumsperience"?
Out of body Mumsperience || The Cuddle Blog
Yes! I just coined the word.
It is every experience unique to Mums!
I had an out of body experience. Oh No! I had an out of body Mumsperience. It was less then one month after I had Cuddles and he was on a 2 hours eat-sleep schedule. He woke up sometime in the middle of the night this fateful day and He started crying, I picked him up and just kept rocking him but he just won't stop crying. I was beginning to wonder what could be wrong with him when my husband woke up and asked me
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3 things: New Mum Essential || The Cuddle Blog
While I was doing my research for this post, I noticed that not alot of people focused on the new mothers in their "essential" posts. It is important that new mums - howbeit hard - should not forget themselves. In light of that, here are 3 things I think are essential for new mums;
- A Snack Stash (Especially if you are breastfeeding): I found myself craving for different things when I started breastfeeding. No one told me that the craving won't end, it felt that I was losing weight fast at the beginning but I wanted to eat twice as much. I wanted all the junk food to stuff my face in. I later had a stash of go-to snacks to help with the fix
- Breast Pads: Nothin as embarrassing as a leaking breast. I didn't have a clue how serious it could be but it is verrrry important that you have enough breast pads, especially if you choose to use the disposable ones.
- Solitude: Being sleep deprived, overwhelmed, tired and feeling like you can't take it any more comes with the territory of becoming a new mum.
It's very important that you take a break and have some alone time, even if it's 30 mins to do whatever you want to do. I don't necessarily sleep when he sleeps. I take a long bath, do my nails, blog, write or just enjoy my own company in order for me to renew and refresh. At the end of the day, as much as I am doing everything for my baby, my baby also needs me to be in the right frame of mind.
What do you think is essential for a new Mum?
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Pregnancy Diary 5: Birth Story || The Cuddle Blog
"March 10,2017 37 Weeks
So, we're officially going to meet you next week! Incredible. "Just like that?" is the question I asked the doctor. This is not what or how I envisioned it but I am grateful, very grateful. At the end of the day what's most important is that we are all safe and not at risk"
These are part of the words I wrote in my pregnancy journal less than a week to meeting my little one. I did my antenatal care in a different hospital and husband and I decided to have our delivery on another hospital, I had to register close to my Edd. I started going to this new hospital and because of my height it was recommended to do a pelvis examination. This is not done routinely but from a certain height they recommend this scan so they can know what they're working with.
This was the timeline. I went in for my regular appointment on a Friday, I was asked to do the CT Pelvimetry scan the next Friday before I came for my appointment which I did. I gave the doctor the Pelvimetry report, he examined it and told me point blank that my pelvis was "inadequate", made a few calls and scheduled me for a C-section the next Wednesday and I blurted out "Just like that" He explained to me why we had to go that route and the consequences if I choose not to go for it.
I called my husband to tell him and I went home after the routine blood work. We looked over the report of the pelvimetry exam and sent to a couple of people after we were certain that a c-section was the only way, we called our parents to inform them that their grand baby will be here in 5 days.
In the next couple of days, I just wanted to mentally prepare myself because frankly I wasn't ready. I was thinking I had atleast 3 weeks to prepare but now, I had just 3 days. I put my hospital box together, arranged baby's cloths, watched tons of youtube videos on CS, listened to my playlist over and over again and basically just waited. In that wait, I fought the urge to be sad and have a pity party because this was going to be the first time I would have a surgery in my life. Nothing prepares you for it frankly.
According to the hospital's policy, I had to go in the day before because I'm not supposed to eat after a certain time and the surgery was supposed to be early in the morning.
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| The night before on our way to the hospital |
I had put together a playlist and movies on my phone that I would watch, just to have a positive mindset. My Sister and Mother in Law were around to follow us to the hospital, While I wasn't very happy about the means I was so glad the pregnancy journey was coming to an end. I watched Queen of Katwe that night to take my mind off the nervousness I was feeling, still managed to sleep abit after.
As early as 6am, it was time to get the show on the road. The nurses (which were amazing) came in to prep me, put in needles for IV fluid as I had not eaten anything in the last 9 Hours. The IV thing felt weird as I could feel the fluid go in through my veins.
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| Where I spent the next 48 hour |
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| Ready for IV fluid |
As I changed into the hospital gown and waited for the theater to be ready, I was crying. I really couldn't wait for it to be over. Finally got into the operating room, I felt like a cow waiting to be sluthered with how they laid me there, I was just thinking all kind of thoughts and muttering "God help me" and fighting back the tears. It felt like I was watching a movie but the beeping sound of all the gadget I was plugged to reminded me that this was really happening to me. By this time I had gotten the epidural and gradually not feeling any pain. When they started cutting me open I felt abit of pain and told the anastheoligist and I think she added a dose to the pain killers I was given, enough to numb the pain but not enough to put me to sleep so I was hanging in the balance and in what felt like a twinkle of an eye, I felt the relief. My very tight stomach felt relief and I heard the cry of my baby and I just say "Thank you Jesus" and just like in the movies I thought they would atleast come show me my baby but that didn't happen. Thankfully, my husband was there and he just went with the nurses to clean him up and do the necessary for him.
The next 45 mins - 1 hour or so was a blur asides from me drifting in and out of sleep and muttering some gibberish to my husband, It is not a feeling I want to remember. After I was wheeled back to my room after the surgery, I had still not seen my baby and I just kept saying "I have not seen him" when they finally brought him to me.
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| right after the surgery |
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| First time holding my baby. |
I didn't even know what to feel, It felt like I cried but I don't think I did. It was such an emotional thing for me and I was under the influence of some heavy pain reliever. I nursed the guilt in my heart of not being able to push my baby and have an ideal experience rather than be under the influence of drugs. At the moment I just felt I needed to be alone, I couldn't process my joy or the lack of it. I desperately wanted to be alone and have some time to process the whole thing but as you can imagine I didn't get to do that until like 2-3 months after.
I am so grateful for medicine because I probably won't have been able to give birth to my baby without surgery. The process of Pregnancy and Child birth is not a walk in the park and I've described it as "Traumatic" to anyone who cared to listen, it's a part of my life I want to just block out. The pregnancy journey wasn't tough for me but at the same time it wasn't so breezy. I am grateful for the gift of a beautiful boy and I am sooo Thankful to God for putting him in our care but I am also not looking forward to the next one (I know there will be by God's grace)
You can view the rest of my Pregnancy journey here
What's your Delivery Story?
I am so grateful for medicine because I probably won't have been able to give birth to my baby without surgery. The process of Pregnancy and Child birth is not a walk in the park and I've described it as "Traumatic" to anyone who cared to listen, it's a part of my life I want to just block out. The pregnancy journey wasn't tough for me but at the same time it wasn't so breezy. I am grateful for the gift of a beautiful boy and I am sooo Thankful to God for putting him in our care but I am also not looking forward to the next one (I know there will be by God's grace)
You can view the rest of my Pregnancy journey here
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