My wife and I delivered our daughter, Abigail, two weeks ago today. She has been such a source of joy for us in her first two weeks!
We are learning everyday what it means to sacrifice ourselves for her. We originally struggled with getting her to nurse effectively and had to pump and cup feed for a bit in the hospital. Now, she nurses well; almost too long, in fact! At her two week appointment, we learned that she has not gained any weight in the past week, despite growing almost two inches in length and her head growing a bit. We are trying not to make mountains out of mole hills, but this is an especially difficult time for my wife, who is beginning to doubt if she can provide for Abigail the way a mother should.
I find myself missing them more and more each day when I go to work. I feel like I should be doing more to help the situation. The physical sacrifices that are being made make it more and more difficult to feel spiritually close to God, my wife, and my daughter.
I pray that this situation resolves itself soon.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
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Amen, I know the feeling! And it gets worse the more kids you have. There's a beautiful passage in the Catechism about family being a small church (ecclesia domestica)…to paraphrase my Spiritual Director, your dedication and love for your wife and family are your way to heaven!Going to work is always bearing a cross, and this is one I struggle in particular to use as an opportunity to love God more
Thanks James!The pediatrician's office that we are using actually has a staff nurse practitioner that is their lactation consultant, so I feel pretty confident that we are getting good support for breastfeeding right now.
hello!
congratulations on the birth of your daughter! that’s great news. may God give you many more.
Just a word on the feeding and putting on weight thing…
our experience, after four children, all breastfed till at least 2, sometimes 3yrs old, and my wife being very involved in La Leche League…. we’ve foudn that most doctors and midwives don’;t have a huge amount of experience with breastfeeding, and are basing all their charts and statistics (weight charts, height charts etc) on formula-fed babies…producing VERY different data.
If your baby is feeding well and appeasrs to be thriving, then she’ll put on weight at her own speed. It’s best to get some advice from a proper breastfeeding counsellor, or contact the La Leche league.
Health care workers, who don;t know much about B/Feeding will suggest you supplement with formula to get weight up to their formula charts…but this is often bad advice, and yoru baby then gets nipple confusion and is often weaned too early.
Get some proper advice on the matter from people who know.
All the best,
James
Congratulations!
Amen to James. And remember that you are your wife’s biggest encourager at this point. Her mom and everyone else is checking how she’s doing with the baby. You’re the one person she needs to prop her up and even run interference.
You mention a lactation consultant. I would recommend you contact LaLeche League anyway. They have groups to meet other mothers who breastfeed. This is comforting and reassuring, and can really reduce mom’s stress, which helps everyone.
Our kids were breastfed, and they actually lost weight at first, but they were healthy otherwise. My wife thought maybe something was wrong with her, or with the baby. Talking to other mothers helped.
Every baby’s body is different just the same as every adult’s body is different. Some babies are more active than others, etc.
You might be interested in a book called, “How To Teach Your Baby To Be Physically Superb.” It’s about helping babies be naturally strong and healthy (not freakoid baby bodybuilders). You can look for more info at http://www.iahp.org. Click shop, then catalog. The book has lots of info on physical and neurological development, but it’s written for any mom or dad to read.
For example, back sleepers get a bald spot. Tummy sleepers get strong lungs and positive feedback from natural arm movements, and that helps them crawl sooner. Studies have shown that smoking in the house, old cribs, and soft bedding are the real factors related to SIDS.
Congratulations! May God grant her many years!