Skin to Skin and post surgery itchings

My son was born in a Kaiser in Southern California. From the beginning it was discussed that Kaiser encouraged mothers to breastfeed their newborns. This practice is often referred as Skin to Skin contact. Skin to Skin is the first step in the bonding process between mother and newborn. In my lamaze class I had the privilege of watching birthing videos that also included skin to skin contact. I watched with amazement as a newborn was placed near his mothers breast and the baby rooted (moved its head) towards the mothers nipple. The baby made an 'O' shape with his tiny mouth and reached her nipple. Soon enough he had found it and sucked.

    [Kindly take a look at the Skin to Skin video I have posted at the end of this blog]

When I was wheeled into the room where my husband and son waited I was promptly given my son. Even though the nurse was attaching things to my body I was told my son was ready to eat. My husband happily encouraged me to begin.  I honestly didn't know how to approach the situation. I felt like I was stuck to my hospital bed. I felt tied down. My legs were in a contraption that stimulates blood flow in the legs. It pulsed repeatedly. I'm not sure when I began to feel my legs again, but the pulsating was uncomfortable and made me anxious. Around the time I began feeling my legs I began to feel extremely itchy!!!!! Thankfully my nurse practitioner had warned me and told me that it was due to one of the medications I would be given. She warned me not to scratch. But...I could not help it!! My waist and sides were full of tiny and bloody scratches by the time they took the leg contraptions off. 

So while all those feeling are happening I am given my son to hold, cuddle and feed. Thankfully my son had a great latch. He was able to hold on to the nipple and suck and suck and suck. That should have been my first clue (link will direct you to an explanation). 

Having a C-Section was mind numbing. The first hours were foggy. I was groggy and weak. Nurses came every few hours to change my gigantic blood path. At first they worried about the amount of blood I was loosing, but as they monitored it they found that the bleeding stabilized. Oh man! Get read for nurses to be all over your vagina. They even changed one pad with my husband's family present! The nurses asked, of course, but I was in such an "I don't give a..." mode that I told them to change it then and there. Eeewww. 

So we are in the hospital for 2 1/2 days. During that time our son was washed by one of the nurses. She was FAST! I mean that in a "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy" sort of way. She had him in one hand and washed his back and head, then shifted him to her other hand, washed his front, clothed him, swaddled him and was done. All while giving my husband and I advice! We freakin' loved our nurses!

Yet, I will say that one nurse was not seasoned enough to have given us real advice when we needed it. At one point we couldn't get our son to stop crying. I wanted to feed him, but my husband had a strange reaction. He didn't want me too. He said he had been on me all day. I honestly couldn't remember. I know he said that out of love. Maybe even a bit of jealousy. The nurse happened to come in. She swaddled our baby and tried to calm him. Then said she couldn't offer more help and walked out. What? The obvious answer to that was...get ready for it...he was HUNGRY! (I eventually offered him breast and he took it). As new parents we were unable to decipher what he was trying to tell us. When the next one rolls around I'm so thankful we have a strong first born to show us the ropes.



 I was able to find this short video from CNN that shares the advantages of Skin to Skin

With Love, 

-km