That day we had an appointment with my doctor to follow-up on my ER visit from the previous evening. It was so nice to be able to leave Charlie with my mom so that he didn't have to sit through it. My blood pressure had dropped to 140/90 with the single dose of medication I'd taken that day, and my doctor added a second daily dose to help reduce it further. The next day we had a follow-up with lactation. Ephram had gained 8 ounces! This lactation consultant was much more reassuring, and I left feeling somewhat empowered. She was honest with me in saying that I may have to continue supplementing for the duration, and that it was possible that breastfeeding would not work long term for me. But I felt good about what I was able to do... which was a huge improvement on how I felt after the previous appointment! We also found out that Ephram's bilirubin came back at 15.9, still just barely under the mark for treatment. I wasn't very happy about that, but I didn't feel so desperate about it either.
We also had Ephram's first appointment with his pediatrician. She said that she felt he was doing fine, and eluded to an opinion that the postpartum clinic had overreacted. At that appointment we learned that Ephram had gained 11 ounces in one week. I was so relieved!
To treat my blood pressure I took a five day course of a diuretic to help clear the excess water out of my system. By the second day my feet were back. It was really nice to be able to walk again. However, my poor skin is still healing from all of the stretching it endured.
Ephram had a pretty good week. He started to get more alert. The day my mom went home, he stayed awake for a four hour stretch. He also started to gain a personality.
All in all, week two was 100% better than week one! Here are some pictures I took on the day he turned two weeks old.
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