Weight/Length: This one is not going to be an exact science. When she was born, she weighed 7 lbs 6 oz. When we checked out of the hospital, she weighed 6 lbs 15 oz. When we went to the pediatrician on both Friday and Saturday, she weighed 6 lbs 12 oz (more on the weight loss, etc. in another post at some point when I have time to write it). We have been weighing her this week to make sure she's gaining by standing on the scale without her and then adding her, and it has fluctuated but we are pretty sure she is at least back up to birth weight now. Not sure about length - maybe we'll do a rough home measurement at some point. I have been telling people she was 19.5 inches at birth, but according to the bracelet they gave her she was 19 3/4 inches.
Sleep: Hopefully it isn't too good to be true, but she is quite the sleeper. I don't want to feel like I'm jinxing it, because it could only be a result of the fact that she is still so little (she would technically only have been 38 weeks right now were she still camping out in the womb), but she sleeps a LOT - both when we're feeding and when we aren't. She is waking up a few times a day now and staying awake for a while, though. During the day, she either sleeps on whoever wants to hold her (not to worry, the pediatrician assured us that it is way too early to be worried that we're spoiling her), in her cradle from PawPaw or in her My Little Snugabunny bouncer (which she LOVES). Even at night, I am having to wake her up to feed her. At night, she's sleeping in her crib (Except for one night this week when she was extra fussy and we let her sleep in the nap nanny in our room - we figured out it was because she was hungry. Again, more later.) I'm hoping that after her next weight check they'll tell me I can start waiting for her to wake me up. My Mom and mother-in-law have been excellent about helping out in the mornings so that I can get some extra sleep, and Dan has been really helpful in the overnight feedings as well. We're exhausted, but we can't complain - we're hanging in there!
Feeding: In the beginning, we were feeding her every 2-3 hours, and were having to wake her up each time - this was all per the pediatrician's instructions to try to get her weight up. After our second appointment last week, the doctor gave us a little more leeway in deciding when to feed her, saying just to make sure she was eating at least every 4 hours. During the day, I've been trying to go somewhere between 3-4 hours - sometimes she'll go closer to four, or sometimes she'll be hungry right at 3, it really just depends (today she has wanted to eat at right around 3 hours all day, but this is the first day she's done that). At night, I am having to wake her up to feed her, so I've been letting her go 4 hours at a time. Several of you have asked what we're doing - for now we are trying to breast feed. I say "trying" because it is not going as well as I hoped quite yet - again, more on that in another post later on in the week. But the bottom line is, she's a great sleeper so far!
Developments: I feel like she is changing so much every day, I just want it to slow down! She has a strong little head, and holds it up on her own for short periods of time, often. We have started seeing quite a few smiles - especially when she's sleeping. I'm sure it's gas, or maybe she's dreaming that she's still in her nice, warm womb, who knows, but it's pretty cute nonetheless. See for yourself:
Firsts This Week: I left this category because I like it and think I will be able to write in it eventually, but I don't think there is really anything to put here yet that I didn't already cover in "developments." Although she did meet her bestie, Hadley for the first time this week, and that went really well - they shared a meal together and chatted it up. Does that count as a "first"? ;-)
What I'm Thankful For: So much, I can't even think about all of it without crying (Who knew that your hormones were still a wreck after the birth as well?!). I am thankful for a wonderful hospital experience, wonderful doctors and excellent nurses and care at Rex (although as I think I may have said before, I wish we would have had just one more day in the hospital with all of that help and support). I am thankful that Lilly is finally here, and that she got here safely and soundly and without any complications, because we didn't know what to expect with her being late pre-term. She is a happy, healthy baby, which is everything we wanted for her. I am thankful for all of our friends and family for all of their love and support throughout the pregnancy and after Lilly's birth - and for all of the delicious meals they've been bringing us. :-) I am thankful for my Mom and Dan's Mom for all of their help - I seriously don't know what I would have done without them, and I am already having anxiety attacks over what I'll do when it's just Lilly Bean and I next week. I am just feeling an abundance of "thankful" all the time these days!
What I'm Looking Forward To: Another visit from my Mom for the next few days and another visit from my in-laws on Sunday. Also introducing Lilly to Uncle Chris, Aunt Andrea and cousins Ryan, Erica and Ian!
Next Pediatrician Appointment: This Friday, February 3. We're just going in for another weight check, but I'm also anxious to talk to the pediatrician about our breastfeeding woes and just get some reassurance that we're doing OK. We also have an appointment with the lactation consultants at Rex tomorrow, which I'm really looking forward to (dork).
How Mommy's Doing: I am doing great - I have not taken any of the heavier-duty pain medication that I was prescribed since the weekend, so I think everything "down there" must be healing okay. It is still sore, but that is to be expected. I called to make my 6-week checkup appointment with my OB today and cringed at the thought of an examination - luckily we have 5 weeks to go before I have to stress about that. Other than that I'm just working on getting the hang of this whole "Mommy" business and loving every second. I weighed myself yesterday and was down 20 lbs from the hospital - thank you, breast feeding. My stomach is still a little swollen, but not nearly as much as when I left the hospital still looking pregnant, and the rest of my swelling is almost gone. It really is surreal, having her here. Dan and I were saying last night how it is so weird that she's here already, when she could technically still be in the womb for 2+ weeks and we wouldn't even have met her yet, which is so hard to imagine. It's already hard to remember what life was like without her - she's amazing!
LORD these always get so long, sorry. Long-winded to a fault, I guess. I wanted to end the post with a slideshow of pictures from Lilly's first week - we've already taken something crazy like 600 pictures, whoops - but honestly I am so technologically challenged with all Apple products and I cannot for the life of me figure out how our new computer works! So maybe I will do a slideshow later, if we have time for Dan to teach me. In the meantime, here are (a lot of - sorry, couldn't narrow it down!) pictures of Lilly's first week (I'll need a whole separate post for all of the people she's met so far, stay tuned for that later!):
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| First family picture! |
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| Still look pregnant, please ignore - so swollen! |
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| First bath. |
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| Sorry if this is too much skin to handle on the blog, but I just love this one! |
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| She does this weird thing with her eyes and then looks cross-eyed...hilarious. |
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| Layla's not so sure about her, but she's warming up I think! |
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| Daddy's girl. |
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| My girls! |
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| Holy pale, batman. And so sleepy! |
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| Thought this one was funny with the way she propped her arm. |
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| Touchdown! Dan likes this one. |
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| Again sorry for all of the skin, but this outfit is so cute! |
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| Daddy's girls |
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| She LOVES having her hair washed! |
Sarah
Hey Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to stop by and say I had problems breast feeding and in the end it wasn't working out and i wasn't producing enough to satisfy him Caleb is now eating just formula. I hope it all works out for you. I just know I'm happier and he is happier now.