Sadie's 1st Month

Let's just say that Sadie's first month was almost like two different months.  To begin, let me explain that because of an incident in the first few moments of Sadie's life, we handled her with A LOT of care!  Right after Sadie was born, we had the family come in a briefly meet her, and then it was time to try and feed her.  She was doing an awesome job (especially after all the trouble I had breastfeeding Stells) and then she just stopped nursing.  She looked up at me, and then I noticed that she had stopped breathing.  She was quickly turning purple, and I frantically tried to get her to breathe.  I screamed at Steve to go get help, and I continued to try and get Sadie to come back.  Steve first saw my OB, and she told him that she didn't take care of babies.  Seriously, the baby you just delivered isn't breathing, and you won't help?  I'm still in disbelief that she said this.  Steve then found the nearest nurse, and she came running in and took Sadie from me.  She was dangling Sadie and hitting her on the back, and it was clear that she wasn't having any luck either.  She panicked and called for the NICU team to come in, and I was beyond freaked out at this point.  Two of them came and took Sadie to suction out her mouth and throat.  They finally cleared everything out and got her to breathe and cry.  They then turned to me and asked, "What did you do?"  Really?  My baby just almost died and you're asking me what I did?  I explained what had happened, and they then told me to keep an eye on her breathing.  To say the least, I was scared to death, but happy that this sweet baby had not died right after coming into this world.

While we spent the rest of the day getting acquainted with Sadie and having her meet with Stella, I was keeping a quiet eye on Sadie.  I wasn't sure what had caused Sadie to stop breathing before, so I didn't know what if anything could make her do this again.  Was it because she came too early?  Was it because of some mystery health problem that we didn't know about yet?  My head was spinning, and I was hoping that maybe the whole incident was a fluke.  Later that night, the sweet nurse who had admitted us early came to visit and meet Sadie.  It was great to see her and be able to thank her, but little did I know that she had another gift for me.  Steve explained what had happened right after Sadie was born, and she said that she was pretty sure she could explain why Sadie stopped breathing.

After being in early labor for a few days, Sadie was a bit stressed prior to being born.  When it was finally time for her to arrive, she actually came VERY quickly.  Our nurse explained that such a fast delivery can actually cause problems.  Typically, babies have time in the laboring process to clear out anything that may be in their throat and lungs; anything that is in their mouths is cleaned with a bulb syringe.  Once my epidural stopped working on one side, I was fully dilated and had Sadie out in two contractions.  Unfortunately, this meant that Sadie was not given time to get everything cleared out of her lungs and throat.  She was choking on things coming up in her throat, and that is ultimately what caused her to stop breathing.  Our nurse told us to keep an eye on her because there was probably more still in her.  I was thankful that we had an idea of what caused Sadie to stop breathing, but I was worried that this could happen again.

Sadie and I were both given clean bills of health, so we only ended up staying one night in the hospital.  I was so thrilled to get home and start life as a foursome.  That first night home, Sadie decided to scare me yet again.  While I was in the bathroom, Sadie was behind me in her bassinet falling asleep.  Out of nowhere, I saw her little arms flailing in the air.  I yanked her out of the bassinet and tried to get her to breathe, but yet again, she was not having any luck.  I screamed for Steve, and he had the magic touch to get her to breathe again.  To say the least, I was wishing that we had stayed more one night in the hospital.

We were both so scared that Sadie would do this in her sleep, so the only solution that got us to sleep was to have Sadie sleep on our chests.  We figured that she was waking up every few hours anyway, so it was just like taking naps during the day.  We would trade off throughout the night, but Sadie was always with someone.  She continued to choke and have trouble swallowing, so we never let her be in a room without a bulb syringe handy.  This meant that Sadie got A LOT of attention!  Bless Stella's heart because she started to figure out that Mommy would be spending a little less time with her for a bit.  However, Stella really took to her role as big sister, and always was asking us to hold Sadie.

The first two weeks home were pretty amazing!  Besides our ever-present fear and constantly clearing out her mouth and nose, she was doing really well.  She was eating and sleeping like a champ, and she was making having a second baby seem incredibly easy.  We went to our two week appointment, and she was right on track at 7 pounds, 4 ounces.  We really were thrilled that our own worries were the only thing holding Sadie back- she was doing so well!

Out of nowhere, Sadie suddenly shifted right at two weeks.  She had her first photo shoot, and let's just say that a new baby showed up to the shoot.  Our quiet little mouse who only squeaked CRIED, and I mean cried hard!  We could barely get any pictures because she just kept crying.  We weren't sure if it was because we set her down too much, she was uncomfortable being naked, or she didn't like being bothered so much.  Regardless, she was a mess after the shoot.

From that day on, we suddenly had a very different baby on our hands.  Sadie would go into bouts of inconsolable crying throughout the day that no one could bring her back from.  She didn't want to nurse; she didn't need to be changed; she shouldn't be tired.  But, she would cry uncontrollably for hours.  After doing a bit of research, it appeared that we had a colicky baby.  Colic is a difficult issue because there are so many ways to define it, and there really is no way to stop it.  I could not understand how two weeks of perfection and calm could change so suddenly.   

 



After researching A LOT, I learned that most babies become colicky at two weeks.  They say that the best way to describe it is like a vacation.  For the first two weeks, you love being there!  It's all new with different smells, sounds, and tastes.  You're loving the experience because it is new and different.  But, after two weeks, you're ready to go home.  You miss the things that make you feel comfortable and safe.  This was my baby; she had enjoyed her brief visit out of her "home," but now she wanted back!






Sadie's first month ended with us trying to better comfort her.  We weren't sure exactly what we could do to make her happy and comfortable, but we were ready to find a solution.  She was so cute and sweet that we needed to find something to give her some relief.  Here is our sweet little girl at one month: