Current weight today: 9lbs 2.97 oz ! Hurray!
*This would equal a gain of almost 5 ounces in 4 days. So we are on the right track and we'll be back to the dr in another week for our one month visit at which time we'll be able to scale back on some of our feeding worries!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Fun to Have some PINK!
It is so much fun to have a little pink around here!
One of Amelia's many faces
Sleeping Beauty
Still sleeping...
All curled up...I love this newborn curled upness!
This blanket is special for a few reasons:
1) It is one of 2 blankets we have that is pink. I like to throw a blanket over the carseat to prevent people from touching the baby when we are out. I like this blanket because it lets people (observant people, anyway) know there is a baby girl inside.
2) I bought this fabric and sewed this blanket for one of 4 people I know having a baby girl. However, as I got ready to package up the gifts I was sending out, I was really having a hard time parting with it. It is just so girly without being in-your-face GIRLY. I told John how sad I was about parting with this particular blanket and he told me it was okay to keep it until after the baby was born and then give it away to someone else. He said it was okay because...you know...there was a chance we were having a baby girl and everything. One of the first things I did when we got home from the hospital was run down to the crafting area and dig out this blanket to be washed up for OUR BABY GIRL!
One of Amelia's many faces
Sleeping Beauty
Still sleeping...
All curled up...I love this newborn curled upness!This blanket is special for a few reasons:
1) It is one of 2 blankets we have that is pink. I like to throw a blanket over the carseat to prevent people from touching the baby when we are out. I like this blanket because it lets people (observant people, anyway) know there is a baby girl inside.
2) I bought this fabric and sewed this blanket for one of 4 people I know having a baby girl. However, as I got ready to package up the gifts I was sending out, I was really having a hard time parting with it. It is just so girly without being in-your-face GIRLY. I told John how sad I was about parting with this particular blanket and he told me it was okay to keep it until after the baby was born and then give it away to someone else. He said it was okay because...you know...there was a chance we were having a baby girl and everything. One of the first things I did when we got home from the hospital was run down to the crafting area and dig out this blanket to be washed up for OUR BABY GIRL!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
We now interrupt this program to bring you an important update
****Make sure to go down to read four other posts I've made today as well****
I'm behind. I've been posting something every day and I'm still over 2 weeks behind. I really wanted to come and quickly update what is happening right now.
Amelia is proving to be a pretty laid back baby. She is easy going about most things with the exception of right now. Right now she is demanding that I hold her and admire her pretty eyelashes and adorable little nose.....
Okay, I think she is going to tolerate hanging out on my lap while I get the rest of this posted.
The day before she was 2 weeks old, Amelia started sleeping through the night.
The first night I was grateful. The second night was absolutely delicious.
However during the afternoon of that second day, I realized Amelia had slept most of the morning and hadn't woken up to eat as many times as I would have expected. We've had to work harder at nursing with Amelia than we did with William (more on this in a later post). So, when she wasn't waking to eat on top of not eating well, I started to get concerned.
I stepped up my efforts to get food in her by setting alarms and really devoting my full attention to the time she was feeding (note: extremely difficult with a 2 year old in the house). After a few days of this, my worries were intensified. So, I talked it over with John, my mom and basically anyone else who would listen. In the end, I called our pediatrician office and brought Amelia in last week on Thursday (4/16) for a weight check. If you'll recall, Amelia was 8lbs 8 oz at birth. At 2.5 weeks, she was 8lbs 9.25 oz. In two and a half weeks, she had gained only 1.25 oz. Clearly, this was not good news (and confirms that trusting the Mama instinct is critical).
The doctor came in to examine Amelia out and told me she was beautiful. There wasn't anything physically wrong with her (as she was full on bellowing/crying) and she was maybe just a slow starter. I got instructions to feed her as often as possible and wake her up during the night (maximum daytime=3 hours, maximum night time=4-5 hours depending on daytime feeds). I needed to follow up with a weight check on Monday (4/20). Babies in general are expected to gain roughly an ounce everyday. The doctor wanted to see Amelia gain a minimum of 4 ounces over the weekend*.
So, we stepped it up. I fed Amelia at every opportunity and pumped after every single feeding. I set alarms at night and drank gallons of water. I talked with a lactation consultant and supplemented Amelia using pumped milk. By the end of the weekend I was dreading our appointment at the doctor office.
Yet, her weight on Monday was just acceptable. 8lbs 14.25 oz. Exactly a 4 ounce gain. We saw the doctor again and discussed our plans. Again, there doesn't appear to be any physical reason that Amelia isn't gaining weight like we would expect (based on our experience with William she is positively starving...but different kids, different personalities, etc. etc)
So, we go back on Friday to check her weight again and we will followup at her one month visit the Friday following. Of course, I am doing what I can by eating everything in sight and consuming thousands of extra calories per day. Like they might decide to weigh me instead and be impressed by my own weight gain. In four days? You gained eight pounds? That is amazing! Of course your daughter will be okay!
In the whole scope of things I DO know that Amelia will be okay. At some point, she'll realize that she needs to eat in order to have a full belly and having a full belly is fun. However, in the meantime, I am consumed by my job of feeding her little belly and trying to make it grow. I do know that it will eventually all be okay...it is just right now this very minute? It isn't okay and I'm pretty stressed out about that.
I apologize if you call and want to talk about something other than Amelia and her lack of eating.
* I very much love our dr for not pushing us to supplement with formula and supporting me to continue trying to nurse Amelia. I know she would support our decision to use formula if we wanted to go that route to without any problem as well.
I'm behind. I've been posting something every day and I'm still over 2 weeks behind. I really wanted to come and quickly update what is happening right now.
Amelia is proving to be a pretty laid back baby. She is easy going about most things with the exception of right now. Right now she is demanding that I hold her and admire her pretty eyelashes and adorable little nose.....
Okay, I think she is going to tolerate hanging out on my lap while I get the rest of this posted.
The day before she was 2 weeks old, Amelia started sleeping through the night.
The first night I was grateful. The second night was absolutely delicious.
However during the afternoon of that second day, I realized Amelia had slept most of the morning and hadn't woken up to eat as many times as I would have expected. We've had to work harder at nursing with Amelia than we did with William (more on this in a later post). So, when she wasn't waking to eat on top of not eating well, I started to get concerned.
I stepped up my efforts to get food in her by setting alarms and really devoting my full attention to the time she was feeding (note: extremely difficult with a 2 year old in the house). After a few days of this, my worries were intensified. So, I talked it over with John, my mom and basically anyone else who would listen. In the end, I called our pediatrician office and brought Amelia in last week on Thursday (4/16) for a weight check. If you'll recall, Amelia was 8lbs 8 oz at birth. At 2.5 weeks, she was 8lbs 9.25 oz. In two and a half weeks, she had gained only 1.25 oz. Clearly, this was not good news (and confirms that trusting the Mama instinct is critical).
The doctor came in to examine Amelia out and told me she was beautiful. There wasn't anything physically wrong with her (as she was full on bellowing/crying) and she was maybe just a slow starter. I got instructions to feed her as often as possible and wake her up during the night (maximum daytime=3 hours, maximum night time=4-5 hours depending on daytime feeds). I needed to follow up with a weight check on Monday (4/20). Babies in general are expected to gain roughly an ounce everyday. The doctor wanted to see Amelia gain a minimum of 4 ounces over the weekend*.
So, we stepped it up. I fed Amelia at every opportunity and pumped after every single feeding. I set alarms at night and drank gallons of water. I talked with a lactation consultant and supplemented Amelia using pumped milk. By the end of the weekend I was dreading our appointment at the doctor office.
Yet, her weight on Monday was just acceptable. 8lbs 14.25 oz. Exactly a 4 ounce gain. We saw the doctor again and discussed our plans. Again, there doesn't appear to be any physical reason that Amelia isn't gaining weight like we would expect (based on our experience with William she is positively starving...but different kids, different personalities, etc. etc)
So, we go back on Friday to check her weight again and we will followup at her one month visit the Friday following. Of course, I am doing what I can by eating everything in sight and consuming thousands of extra calories per day. Like they might decide to weigh me instead and be impressed by my own weight gain. In four days? You gained eight pounds? That is amazing! Of course your daughter will be okay!
In the whole scope of things I DO know that Amelia will be okay. At some point, she'll realize that she needs to eat in order to have a full belly and having a full belly is fun. However, in the meantime, I am consumed by my job of feeding her little belly and trying to make it grow. I do know that it will eventually all be okay...it is just right now this very minute? It isn't okay and I'm pretty stressed out about that.
I apologize if you call and want to talk about something other than Amelia and her lack of eating.
* I very much love our dr for not pushing us to supplement with formula and supporting me to continue trying to nurse Amelia. I know she would support our decision to use formula if we wanted to go that route to without any problem as well.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Sweet Moments...
Here are just a few of the sweet moments from the last week that didn't fit anywhere else....
William showing Amelia his hopping bunny
Mama and Amelia sleeping
Girls sleeping
Resting up for the next round!
William showing Amelia his hopping bunny
Mama and Amelia sleeping
Girls sleeping
Resting up for the next round!One Week Old 4/6
Amelia turned 1 week old on April 6! We took her to her 1 week doctor appointment where the doctor pronounced her "perfect" and "beautiful". Always good things to hear about your child.
At one week:
Weight: 8lbs 4 oz (down 4 ounces from birth, up 5 ounces from hospital discharge)
Length: 21 inches (somehow she is shorter? 21.5 inches at birth)
Head Circumference: 37.5 cm (I don't know if this was a loss or gain because I don't know what she was at birth)
Plotting something evil...in her diaper maybe?
W
With the quilt Mama made
The bouncy seat picture. Sometime I will be able to pull out William's old pictures and we can compare the kids in the same seat...
This one could use color correction, but I'm too lazy right now.
Funny faces!
Trying to eat her hand, must be time to feed her!
At one week:
Weight: 8lbs 4 oz (down 4 ounces from birth, up 5 ounces from hospital discharge)
Length: 21 inches (somehow she is shorter? 21.5 inches at birth)
Head Circumference: 37.5 cm (I don't know if this was a loss or gain because I don't know what she was at birth)
Of all the measurements taken, I am most concerned about the weight gain. At this point, William had made HUGE weight gains. However, the doctor did not seem to think this was a problem and reassured me that Amelia will catch up when she is ready to in her own time. As they are two different people, a fact I did notice previous to this appointment.
After the appointment, we met Grandma, Grandpa and William for some lunch before they had to leave for Minnesota. We were sure sad to see them go...we appreciated all of their help and hard work with both kids. We are now even with the number of kids vs the number of adults in our house - kind of a scary thought for us adults!
After the appointment, we met Grandma, Grandpa and William for some lunch before they had to leave for Minnesota. We were sure sad to see them go...we appreciated all of their help and hard work with both kids. We are now even with the number of kids vs the number of adults in our house - kind of a scary thought for us adults!
And here are the one week old pictures....
Plotting something evil...in her diaper maybe?
W
With the quilt Mama made
The bouncy seat picture. Sometime I will be able to pull out William's old pictures and we can compare the kids in the same seat...
This one could use color correction, but I'm too lazy right now.
Funny faces!
Trying to eat her hand, must be time to feed her!
1st Bath (4/5)
After wiping off Amelia's bits and pieces as necessary, there finally came a time when...when there was just so much of her that was dirty she needed to be cleaned from head to toe. That day would be April 5th. With her umbilical stump still attached, we can't put her in the tub yet, so we had to make do with a top to bottom sponge bath.
First, we needed to get all the clothes off. Evidence as to why she needed a bath is on the blanket underneath her.
As you can see, she was not a happy camper about the whole thing
Still unhappy, so I wrapped her up to dry her off before tackling the next project...
Calming down...
Ahh...relaxed at last! This girl can CRY LOUD! I'll have to try and get some video of that to post. She does just cry, she HOLLERS AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS.
Time to tackle that head of hair! I didn't want her out of diaper for any length of time (I swear this girl has managed to pee on me more times that William ever did W=0, A=7 and counting)
She actually didn't seem to mind me washing her hair. As long as she was wrapped up tight and the water was nice and warm...
Rinsing out the soap....and we're done!
First, we needed to get all the clothes off. Evidence as to why she needed a bath is on the blanket underneath her.
As you can see, she was not a happy camper about the whole thing
Still unhappy, so I wrapped her up to dry her off before tackling the next project...
Calming down...
Ahh...relaxed at last! This girl can CRY LOUD! I'll have to try and get some video of that to post. She does just cry, she HOLLERS AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS.
Time to tackle that head of hair! I didn't want her out of diaper for any length of time (I swear this girl has managed to pee on me more times that William ever did W=0, A=7 and counting)
She actually didn't seem to mind me washing her hair. As long as she was wrapped up tight and the water was nice and warm...
Rinsing out the soap....and we're done!How is William Doing?
William is doing fairly well with our new addition to the family. I'd like to think that it has something to do with how we are handling things, but honestly I think we're just lucky with how laid back he is about things.
He enjoys showing her his toys. Although she is not allowed to hold or touch them, merely admire them from afar.
When she gets attention, sometimes he demands equal treatment. Here he has demanded to be held and patted as the baby was.
He pushes her (not always gently) in the swing and turns on the music for the bouncy seat. He also likes to give her the pacifier and cover her up with the blanket. Although he seems to be confused about why it is okay for me to cover her face with her blanket when we leave the house and he is not allowed to do so.
He enjoys showing her his toys. Although she is not allowed to hold or touch them, merely admire them from afar.
When she gets attention, sometimes he demands equal treatment. Here he has demanded to be held and patted as the baby was.
He pushes her (not always gently) in the swing and turns on the music for the bouncy seat. He also likes to give her the pacifier and cover her up with the blanket. Although he seems to be confused about why it is okay for me to cover her face with her blanket when we leave the house and he is not allowed to do so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
