Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Progress Report - 4 weeks



I started this post a few weeks ago. And a lot has changes since I started. But I figured I would let you see the progression.



10 days. So much has changed in the last 10 days. I know you are surprised by that little factoid! Mind completely blown! Well mine kinda is, from being tired...

So let's see... What has changed?
  • our sleep schedule. Duh. But we are doing well. Night time is obviously the hardest. But we are going to bed earlier to make up for waking up in the middle of the night. Matt gets up and does a diaper check. Then I get up and feed the nugget. Normally my boobs put her back to sleep and I burp her. It's lovely.
  • Everything is a family activity. I'm not allowed to drive yet - something about the giant tear I made healing without any sudden movements. So errands and doctor's appointments are done all together. Even Target. Crazy town.

Other stuff? Milestones if you will?
  • She is already back up past her birth weight
  • She already lost her umbilical cord
  • She loves the car
  • She sleeps like her mom - all day if she could - and some part of the night
  • She loves being held - ALWAYS!!!! (happy face and sad face)

At 10 days we have hit our stride... and then we lost it. We had a really GREAT first week - and then she evolved a little bit - and we don't know what changed. But we are in the "having trouble falling asleep" phase of infancy. And let me tell you - this part is hard. What have I sugar coated yet? Nothing. So the last 3 nights have been rough. She eats, and then wakes back up! It's crazy! And rude. And then we can't rock her back to sleep and she screams at us. AWESOME! We love it (sarcasm).

There are moments of having a newborn that feel like trying to be best friends with your bully. She keeps us up all night (bullying) and then spends all morning cuddled up in your arms looking like an angel.



14 days. Everything is different now. It is amazing how fast things change - although I guess not surprising.

We went in for our two week checkup this morning. She lost weight. It shocked us. She lost 5 oz. Which is a lot when you only weigh 7 pounds. She has been put on formula to help boost her back up and help her gain weight. I am not producing enough milk to sustain her.

This is really hard for me to talk about in person - to family and friends. But somehow it felt wrong to keep it from you. I have shared so many things with you (whoever you are). And somehow I am okay with sharing it, but I don't really want to be comforted because of it. So family & friends - don't take it personally that I didn't tell you on the phone or face to face. I am dealing with it. And I have come to terms with it. But I don't want your sympathy.

So we started giving her 2 oz. of formula after each feeding. And I am taking herbal supplements to help boost my milk. And we are taking her in to see the Dr again in two days to see if she gains any weight.

16 days. She is back to gaining weight and being a much happier baby. It is amazing that since adding the formula in addition to breast milk, she is a much easier baby again. She became fussy right around 12/14 days old and it was because she was hungry. Not surprising - both her parents get VERY FUSSY & ANGRY when they are hungry. Why should she be different? So we are going to keep her on formula in addition to me. And I am talking to a lactation specialist to help support me and get me back up to speed. All good things.

28 days. 4 weeks. CRAZY.
4 weeks ago this morning we went to the hospital because, in the words of the nurse who admitted us: "You might have just peed yourself, it probably wasn't your water breaking." I still don't think she knew what she was talking about. It is 3pm right now. I was pushing at this point. Matt & Arnold (the student who needed to observe - read that as hold my other leg) were being very supportive (literally). Eliana was holding everything up by facing up instead of down. And we still had 90 minutes to go until she arrived. RIDICULOUS.

This morning we went back to the Dr. And we passed our test!!! She has gained 10 oz. (she is supposed to gain between half and a full ounce a day). And is 21.5 inches long - 2 more than when she was born. She is getting bigger and stronger every day.

Milestones in the last 4 weeks?

  • She is back up past her birth weight (again) but this time significantly
  • She is 2 inches taller
  • She sleeps like a champ - last night for 7 HOURS straight!!!
  • She lets us know when her diaper is wet
  • She was a champ on Saturday when Bones scratched her face in some excitement. She cried for a few minutes and then rolled with it. She was completely fine - DON'T WORRY. 
  • She rolled over today at the Dr. (totally a fluke and won't happen again on purpose for months - but DEFINITELY  worth mentioning)
  • She was a champ this morning with round 2 of her shots. She opened her mouth to scream and no sound came out. She silently screamed. WIN for Mommy!
  • When she wakes up in the morning, she has 2-3 hours of awake and alert and happy time to hang out with anyone who will sit and chat with her
  • She is growing out of her newborn clothing and is almost ready for 0-3 month clothing. So much for thinking that we weren't going to need the little stuff. 


No comments:

Post a Comment