Breaking my mega posts into instalments, Friday evening was lovely. My dad was drafted in to help pick up D and introduce him to his new baby brother (they met very briefly in hospital on Tuesday) and his new bedroom (!)
D loved bedroom and brother, I already have a picture of him holding "mine baby" only I've lost all means of connecting camera to computer, and my annoying new phone which I don't like (old one refusing to respond to right hand side menu controls and had to be replaced, and they don't do the same again please model which I wanted - what they sent me is deeply inferior) is pretending not to have a memory card, so won't take pics - grrr.
D woke up for a midnight bottle of milk but then slept until 7.35 am - I was creeping in to check on him because I couldn't believe it.
However, Conor who'd hardly slept in hospital decided to catch up on his zeds when we got home and I knew he wasn't feeding enough, or as much as at hospital.
The community midwife turned up at about 1.30 yesterday afternoon, checked me and moved on to Conor. Weight loss of half a kilo/over a pound . We were sent to Paediatrics at the hospital - I asked my mum who'd come to help out and do some stuff in our house to take me - to drive and to support me at the hospital as I knew I had to be ready to ask for the help I want - establishing breastfeeding. We were referred to the place I spent 8 days in 2007 being made to feel like a totally crap new mum while D became a bottlefed baby, I wanted to howl with fear and distress just arriving in the place.
I decided on the way and discussed with my mum that what I had to ask for was how to make sure C is fed while still establishing bf, and preferably support at home and in the community not at the hospital.
Fortunately I got a doctor who really, really listened to what we had to say and what I was asking for. We would have been kept in but after our discussions she said she would have to do blood tests and depending on those look at where to go. We waited hours and hours and hours for blood test results but they finally came back ok - we would normally have been admitted, erring on side of caution, but she agreed to let us go and keep working on feeding at home - she found someone on the ward with the knowledge to help me get C latched on for a really good feed during the hours of waiting, although C was very sleepy.
I have to take him in for midday today, my mum's coming to drive/back me up again. Please cross your fingers for me.
The good news is that Conor was monstrously hungry from 9 pm onwards and fed loads over the next few hours, a good sign I think. dp's spent a lot of the night with D, I've spent a lot of time feeding and watching TV, and posting these ramblings.
If I get home today I'll try and post later, if we get kept in I'll ask dp to post and let you know, some time (likely to be after D is settled in bed).