Postnatal - Day 72

Baby Lucas is 72 days old today. Things have been going smoothly so far, except for some hiccups in the early weeks when the baby was awake throughout the nights. Not only showing tantrum for constant cuddles, he also cried out loud whenever we turned off the light. It was truly a nightmare for me. As a result of lacking of sleep, I became an emotional zombie in the day. Luckily, the 'dark era' only lasted for about 3 weeks (but it definitely sounds like forever to me during that time!). Now, he can practically sleep through the night (touch wood!). In the contrary, I am the one who wake him up in the middle of the night due to breasts engorgement.

Jaundice

Lucas did not suffer from jaundice. We were so prepared that he would suffer from jaundice as Jaden had jaundice before and nurses in the hospital also jokingly told me that out of 10 babies, 10 of them will suffer from jaundice nowadays. I have not done anything special to prevent jaundice from happening. If you said that drinking young coconut water helps, then I did drink 2 to 3 times of young coconuts water during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. But, I can tell you that I did the same thing too when I was pregnant with Jaden. So, I cannot conclude that young coconut water helps to reduce or prevent jaundice. 

Breastfeeding

I definitely do better this round if compared to my 1st pregnancy, although Lucas is not fully breastfed. Out of 8 feeds in the day, 6 feeds will be breast milk and the remains are supplemented by formula milk. I am satisfied with the result and will continue to breastfeed as long as my supply is available.  Breastfeeding is supposed to be an enjoyable journey, if you have tried your very best and still unable to breastfeed your baby, please remember that feeding your baby formula milk does not make you an evil mother! But, this does not apply to those mothers who have milk but choose not to breastfeed their babies due to convenience sake. 

Constant latching or pumping diligently are the only ways to boost breast milk, and these definitely need high level of discipline and determination. Also, to produce milk, one needs to drink a lot of water and soup (total of about 3 litres of fluid) on daily basis and get reasonable rest (it is easy to say but definitely extremely hard to practise when you are taking care of a new born!).  Even though I am able to produce more milk this round, but my hormone has gone hay wired. I bleed every day, to the extent that I can't figure out whether it was menstrual bleeding or postnatal discharge. After a detail internal checking and pap smear screening, nothing wrong was found, thus it was concluded that my condition was hormonal. Doctor has advised me that as long as I continue to breastfeed, I will most probably experience the same condition. Hormone pills can be prescribed to ease the condition, but I have chosen not to take any medication at this point of time. Please let me know if you share the same experience. 

Lifestyle changes

With a new baby around, parents like me and hubby, who do not have assistance from extended family or maids are meant to sacrifice our personal time. just imagine how busy are we to have a terrible two and a new born at the same time. The good thing is I have gained 18kg throughout my 2nd pregnancy, and at this point of writing I only have another 3 kg to shed (don't forget that I have PCOS and it took longer for me to lose weight). I can also fit into all my pre-pregnancy jeans after my confinement; this is so far the greatest reward that happen to me. I remember during my first pregnancy, it took me 18 months to fit into those jeans!     

Baby Lucas at week-8, 6.6 kg