Tuesday, June 3, 2008
back to xanga
i thought i would try blogging here for a change but the editing is horrible. that or i just don't know how to manage my posts! it's so annoying and i don't want to spend hours on that when i can use that time to blog! so pls just visit me at www.xanga.com/hudson_umma.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
1st month - Breastfeeding 101
our lil huddy is already a month old, can you believe it?!
the hardest thing so far has been the breastfeeding. our situation might have been different if he wasn't preterm but due to his weak suckling power we had to bottle feed him for the weeks he was in the hospital to get his weight up. i tried to nurse him as much as possible in but had to limit the time in order for him to conserve his energy. he had gotten so used to the bottle that once we got home he had a hard time latching on. i still remember this one night of pure misery as i was trying to get him to latch all night long and he was crying his poor lil eyes out. daddy said not give up by giving him the bottle saying that if the baby is hungry enough he will latch! but this mommy's heart was breaking as i watched my baby cry his eyes out in hunger and ended up crying right along side him. the next day i went to go see a lactation consultant and cried again as i told her how the night went. she was so helpful and told me that letting him cry it out like that does NOT necessarily make him want the breast and reminded me that he's not even term. i felt so inadequate and a failure as a mom but the lactation consultant was so helpful in providing me w/ the tools and advice to be successful with breastfeeding which relieved a lot of the frustration. man, that was truly one of the hardest nights we've had to endure! the bf is going a lot better now as he's able to latch w/ a nipple shield. it's still a pain to have to use that at every feeding...an extra step and can get messy but a step in the right direction. i pray that he'll be able to latch w/ out it soon and hope to get the hang of this thing soon so that feedings don't have to take more than an hour!
lately i've been attending "mom's place", a free class the hospital offers w/ the lactation consultant and nurses every fri's, which has been so helpful and encouraging to be able to hear and share w/ other mother's on our struggles and tiumphs. the biggest blessing about the whole bf is that i seem to have a good supply. my heart goes out to those mother's that are struggling with this because it's hard enough to deal with bf itself but to have to worry about supply must be extremely difficult and painful. on another note, i'm also grateful that he seems to be a pretty mellow baby. he doesn't seem to cry or fuss too much (knock on wood) yet! i was really worried that he might be colic like i was (cried incessantly until i was 3 yrs old - my poor mother ) but good thing he has daddy's temperament!
my concern these days are how i'm ever going to be able to leave the house w/ a baby. it seems and sounds impossible but everyone has told me to wait until the 3 month mark when things will be easier.
also, my mom's been here the past week and already has to leave today! hudson is going to miss his halmunee soo much! she has been super helpful and so loving and wonderful to our huddy. he definitely gets a lot of love from both families as he's the first grandson on both sides! we hope to visit tucson in a couple of months so that he can meet his harabujee too!
i'm already sad that he's growing so fast but we're so grateful that this preterm baby is thriving! his stats from his one month check up:
height : 21 in
weight: 8 lb 8 oz (gained 3 lbs already!)
head circumference: 35 cm
the hardest thing so far has been the breastfeeding. our situation might have been different if he wasn't preterm but due to his weak suckling power we had to bottle feed him for the weeks he was in the hospital to get his weight up. i tried to nurse him as much as possible in but had to limit the time in order for him to conserve his energy. he had gotten so used to the bottle that once we got home he had a hard time latching on. i still remember this one night of pure misery as i was trying to get him to latch all night long and he was crying his poor lil eyes out. daddy said not give up by giving him the bottle saying that if the baby is hungry enough he will latch! but this mommy's heart was breaking as i watched my baby cry his eyes out in hunger and ended up crying right along side him. the next day i went to go see a lactation consultant and cried again as i told her how the night went. she was so helpful and told me that letting him cry it out like that does NOT necessarily make him want the breast and reminded me that he's not even term. i felt so inadequate and a failure as a mom but the lactation consultant was so helpful in providing me w/ the tools and advice to be successful with breastfeeding which relieved a lot of the frustration. man, that was truly one of the hardest nights we've had to endure! the bf is going a lot better now as he's able to latch w/ a nipple shield. it's still a pain to have to use that at every feeding...an extra step and can get messy but a step in the right direction. i pray that he'll be able to latch w/ out it soon and hope to get the hang of this thing soon so that feedings don't have to take more than an hour!
lately i've been attending "mom's place", a free class the hospital offers w/ the lactation consultant and nurses every fri's, which has been so helpful and encouraging to be able to hear and share w/ other mother's on our struggles and tiumphs. the biggest blessing about the whole bf is that i seem to have a good supply. my heart goes out to those mother's that are struggling with this because it's hard enough to deal with bf itself but to have to worry about supply must be extremely difficult and painful. on another note, i'm also grateful that he seems to be a pretty mellow baby. he doesn't seem to cry or fuss too much (knock on wood) yet! i was really worried that he might be colic like i was (cried incessantly until i was 3 yrs old - my poor mother ) but good thing he has daddy's temperament!
my concern these days are how i'm ever going to be able to leave the house w/ a baby. it seems and sounds impossible but everyone has told me to wait until the 3 month mark when things will be easier.
also, my mom's been here the past week and already has to leave today! hudson is going to miss his halmunee soo much! she has been super helpful and so loving and wonderful to our huddy. he definitely gets a lot of love from both families as he's the first grandson on both sides! we hope to visit tucson in a couple of months so that he can meet his harabujee too!
i'm already sad that he's growing so fast but we're so grateful that this preterm baby is thriving! his stats from his one month check up:
height : 21 in
weight: 8 lb 8 oz (gained 3 lbs already!)
head circumference: 35 cm
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Our Precious Lil Gift from Above
i was blogging on xanga from time to time but decided to start making my entries here, staring w/ hudson's arrival...
by God's grace Hudson Hangil Yang arrived 4 weeks earlier than expected on march 26, 2008 at 10:41 pm weighing in at 5 lbs 6 oz, 19 inches. we praise God for his safe and healthy arrival and thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.
it's been a whirlwind to say the least! he came so much earlier than expected that it truly took us by worry and surprise. my water broke in the middle of the night and i was so panicked as i knew that meant that i was going to be delivering soon! my mind was racing and thinking about all the things i didn't get to accomplish yet like finishing up my last week of work, getting the baby room all ready, doing the baby's laundry, relaxing and meeting up w/ friends...all my plans down the drain! after being admitted to the hospital and after 20 hrs of labor...hudson arrived into this world! all i know is that contractions hurt like a mother and i hear it's twice as hard when you're induced w/ pitocin like i was. luckily i only had to push 4 times, about 20 min and he was out but all that pain and ordeal is truly a blur when you see your precious child! i totally said i would be a very objective mom but man, i think my baby is the CUTEST baby in the world! hahaha. don't i sound like a true mom?
the last 2 weeks have been amazing as i've already witnessed the amazing grace of God and his hand in everything! even though we were super worried about the well being of our baby being born so early, God was gracious and granted him good health. he didn't have to be in the incubator and only stayed longer in the hospital due to jaundice and the doctor's wanting to monitor him a couple of extra days just to make sure there were no other issues. and even though stanford at the time seemed like a far hospital to deliver, it was a blessing that hudson was so well taken care of at one of the top hospital's for babies. although it was hard not being able to take him home right away i learned a lot from the nurses that were taking care of him. we are ever so grateful for their loving care for hudson and the rest of the babies in the nursery. i know that taking the baby home right away would have been overwhelming as a first time mom, worrying and being frustrated over lots of things. so i truly recognized that God's plan was far more superior than mine and even w/ no sleep and probably stress and worry the rest of my life for this child...it's SOOO WORTH IT! through all this the following verse came to mind...
"as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:9
it's also been amazing to witness the father/son bond. i knew sammy would be a loving dad but i didn't realize just how much he would adore him! thank you for being the #1 man in our life!
our precious gift
for your viewing pleasure...
by God's grace Hudson Hangil Yang arrived 4 weeks earlier than expected on march 26, 2008 at 10:41 pm weighing in at 5 lbs 6 oz, 19 inches. we praise God for his safe and healthy arrival and thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.
it's been a whirlwind to say the least! he came so much earlier than expected that it truly took us by worry and surprise. my water broke in the middle of the night and i was so panicked as i knew that meant that i was going to be delivering soon! my mind was racing and thinking about all the things i didn't get to accomplish yet like finishing up my last week of work, getting the baby room all ready, doing the baby's laundry, relaxing and meeting up w/ friends...all my plans down the drain! after being admitted to the hospital and after 20 hrs of labor...hudson arrived into this world! all i know is that contractions hurt like a mother and i hear it's twice as hard when you're induced w/ pitocin like i was. luckily i only had to push 4 times, about 20 min and he was out but all that pain and ordeal is truly a blur when you see your precious child! i totally said i would be a very objective mom but man, i think my baby is the CUTEST baby in the world! hahaha. don't i sound like a true mom?
the last 2 weeks have been amazing as i've already witnessed the amazing grace of God and his hand in everything! even though we were super worried about the well being of our baby being born so early, God was gracious and granted him good health. he didn't have to be in the incubator and only stayed longer in the hospital due to jaundice and the doctor's wanting to monitor him a couple of extra days just to make sure there were no other issues. and even though stanford at the time seemed like a far hospital to deliver, it was a blessing that hudson was so well taken care of at one of the top hospital's for babies. although it was hard not being able to take him home right away i learned a lot from the nurses that were taking care of him. we are ever so grateful for their loving care for hudson and the rest of the babies in the nursery. i know that taking the baby home right away would have been overwhelming as a first time mom, worrying and being frustrated over lots of things. so i truly recognized that God's plan was far more superior than mine and even w/ no sleep and probably stress and worry the rest of my life for this child...it's SOOO WORTH IT! through all this the following verse came to mind...
"as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:9
it's also been amazing to witness the father/son bond. i knew sammy would be a loving dad but i didn't realize just how much he would adore him! thank you for being the #1 man in our life!
our precious gift
for your viewing pleasure...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)