Let's see. Today is Saturday, so I have to remember back a little. Koral was born on Wednesday morning at 2:24 a.m., 18 inches long. So that makes her 4 days old today. A lot has happened, but try to go in order.
Immediately, Koral was a great eater. She suckled for 80 minutes straight and then fell asleep. I don't know if she got anything during this time, but this would jump-start the flow of the first milk for later. Her belly was full of amniotic fluid anyway.
On Wednesday, we were moved to our permanent room two hours after delivery. I don't know why hospitals give classes and videos about what it will be like if they don't follow it anyway. This particular hospital bragged on video that you stay in the same room you birth in, and it's really not true. It's a whole different wing of the hospital. But I was happy because the bed was nicer and the room was bigger in the new one.
Senthil was able to fall asleep quickly, but I was on a proud-mama adrenaline high that whole first day. Looking back, maybe I should have really tried to sleep, but at the same time, I don't know if I could.
Senthil would wake up and see me all alert and tell me to sleep and I would say I was fine and he would think in his head, "Crap, this will be terrible later" and he was right. What they did not tell us is the baby is super tired and easy the first day. She would occasionally spit up slim that was amniotic fluid, and the nurse or I would take the sucker-bulb thingy and remove it from her coughing tiny mouth. She fed maybe a few times, but she mostly just slept, slept and slept.  |
| After delivery - far too happy and awake to sleep. Koral and Senthil sleeping next to me. |
But the second day, that is rough and I was not rested for it at all. I was ready to crash and here she was ready to Cluster Feed - which is to feed every hour. This is when her stomach is no longer full of amniotic fluid and is empty, but so tiny she can only fill it for a tiny bit, then it processes, and she wants to fill it again. I felt like sleeping, but was interrupted on repeat by her, nurses coming in for blood pressure checks, diaper changing, whatever. Senthil slept through most all of this, but in the few hours where I couldn't function, he woke up and rolled her in the cart through the halls for a half hour at a time to stop the crying and sooth her so I could catch 20 minutes of sleep to tide me over.
While all of this was going on, I was still just amazed at what I had done. I don't know if that will ever go away, and I think that is the great attachment that all moms feel. This is super emotional and your eyes tear up thinking about it in ways that they wouldn't for a puppy you dearly love or even your spouse. Senthil is my world - Koral is our world. That makes everything stronger, better, more interesting. The only problem is she is just so tiny I am totally afraid of her getting hurt. I hear they grow up quickly, and am kind of looking forward to when she is at least ten pounds so I can feel a little more secure she won't break! (Day 4 Dr. Apt, she's only 5 pounds and 10 ounces - they always lose weight before gaining it back. So tiny!)
Next up: Choas in feeding...
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