Olivia at two weeks old, taken by Christina of Ace Photography in Salem, OR
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
What's this here on the internet gathering dust? Why, it's my blog! So much for keeping up with it!
Anyway, things are going well. It took about three weeks to finally feel like Olivia and I were going to survive this whole newborn thing, and now she's seven weeks old and doing great. Next week we have her two month check up at the pediatrician.
I keep trying to check her weight using our bathroom scale, but that doesn't go very well. I weigh myself, then weigh myself holding her... but it's too inaccurate. So I'm hopeful that we get a good number on the scale at the doctor's office, as I'm not sure how much she weighs! Around ten pounds is the best I can figure.
Both Owen and Sophie had a plateau in their weight gain after a few months, and I sort of expect Olivia to have one as well, where she gains, just not at the rate the pediatrician would like. Still, I hope she doesn't! It doesn't make Momma feel good to think that Baby isn't getting enough to eat.
We battled thrush between my last post and this one, but I think we finally have it beaten back. She's got a purple mouth in the picture here because of the gentian violet we used to treat it. Yummy! She looked like she was on a diet of grape popsicles.
I have an exciting blog post in the works about finding the correct bra size and what it will do for your figure and self esteem, but it will have to wait as Miss Olivia is ready for another meal. I'm a milk maid, lol.
Anyway, things are going well. It took about three weeks to finally feel like Olivia and I were going to survive this whole newborn thing, and now she's seven weeks old and doing great. Next week we have her two month check up at the pediatrician.I keep trying to check her weight using our bathroom scale, but that doesn't go very well. I weigh myself, then weigh myself holding her... but it's too inaccurate. So I'm hopeful that we get a good number on the scale at the doctor's office, as I'm not sure how much she weighs! Around ten pounds is the best I can figure.
Both Owen and Sophie had a plateau in their weight gain after a few months, and I sort of expect Olivia to have one as well, where she gains, just not at the rate the pediatrician would like. Still, I hope she doesn't! It doesn't make Momma feel good to think that Baby isn't getting enough to eat.
We battled thrush between my last post and this one, but I think we finally have it beaten back. She's got a purple mouth in the picture here because of the gentian violet we used to treat it. Yummy! She looked like she was on a diet of grape popsicles.
I have an exciting blog post in the works about finding the correct bra size and what it will do for your figure and self esteem, but it will have to wait as Miss Olivia is ready for another meal. I'm a milk maid, lol.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Week One
Baby is a week old now. I don't know how that's possible, as it seems as though I only gave birth a few days ago, but she's been in my arms for eight days.
There have been tears - a lot of tears, actually - and smiles. Newborns are so HARD. That's something that we tend to forget after we get over the hump, along with all the aches and pains of pregnancy and childbirth. Which I guess is a good thing, otherwise people might just have one kid and call it a day.
So, things are going relatively well, and also terrible. We went to the pediatrician on Wednesday, during the aftermath of a snowstorm, and Olivia was doing well. She was 7 lbs, 7.5 oz, which was up from her weight of 7 lbs, 5 oz on Sunday night. I felt that familiar burning sensation after nursing on Wednesday night and realized that all the white on her tongue was confirmation of thrush. Yay, yeast infections for everyone! I was very upset, remembering all I went through with her older sister, Sophie, when we had thrush. Still, this time I know what I'm dealing with and was able to start treating it right away with gentian violet, rather than be in pain for a week or so before getting it diagnosed.
We had to go in the next day to the hospital to get her bilirubin checked as she is a bit jaundiced, and she was the same weight then. Also her bili numbers were great and we don't have to do anything about the jaundice. A victory!
On Friday we went to the lactation clinic for a consultation, and Olivia was still the same weight. The nurse determined that baby wasn't drawing enough from me when we were nursing, and that I should start supplementing with pumped milk and pumping to keep my supply up. A setback, but not too upsetting. I was glad to know and have a plan to fix it. I also got a prescription for some nipple cream to treat the thrush.
So we supplemented after nursing overnight, and then Saturday mid morning Olivia decided she didn't want to deal with nursing anymore and refused to try. And also I started getting barely an ounce when pumping. I cried a lot. I drank more water. I pumped. I gave Olivia bottles of pumped milk while watching my scant stores of milk get eaten up.
So I've had to get formula for the first time in three kids. I'm trying to remember that it's better that Olivia gets enough to eat, no matter the source, but it's easy to fall into a pit of dismay and guilt about not being able to feed my own baby. I'm still pumping, just barely getting two ounces at a time, and I an going to feed Olivia her first bottle of formula in a few minutes. I still hope to get my supply back up, so I'll keep pumping.
The last two days have been an intense roller coaster of emotions, most of them bad. I think I'm finally coming out the other side, thanks to encouraging words from my sisters and friends on Facebook. It's good to have people who can talk me down from the ledge when I get too upset.
I only pray that week two involves less crying! In good news my stitches haven't bothered me in days, and I'm two pounds away from being at my pre-baby weight. In a week! Too bad my tummy is so squishy.
Baby is cute and squishy too. Gonna go cuddle her and thank God that we got into see the lactation nurse on Friday rather than having to wait until tomorrow, by which time things with Olivia could have been so much worse.
There have been tears - a lot of tears, actually - and smiles. Newborns are so HARD. That's something that we tend to forget after we get over the hump, along with all the aches and pains of pregnancy and childbirth. Which I guess is a good thing, otherwise people might just have one kid and call it a day.
So, things are going relatively well, and also terrible. We went to the pediatrician on Wednesday, during the aftermath of a snowstorm, and Olivia was doing well. She was 7 lbs, 7.5 oz, which was up from her weight of 7 lbs, 5 oz on Sunday night. I felt that familiar burning sensation after nursing on Wednesday night and realized that all the white on her tongue was confirmation of thrush. Yay, yeast infections for everyone! I was very upset, remembering all I went through with her older sister, Sophie, when we had thrush. Still, this time I know what I'm dealing with and was able to start treating it right away with gentian violet, rather than be in pain for a week or so before getting it diagnosed.
We had to go in the next day to the hospital to get her bilirubin checked as she is a bit jaundiced, and she was the same weight then. Also her bili numbers were great and we don't have to do anything about the jaundice. A victory!
On Friday we went to the lactation clinic for a consultation, and Olivia was still the same weight. The nurse determined that baby wasn't drawing enough from me when we were nursing, and that I should start supplementing with pumped milk and pumping to keep my supply up. A setback, but not too upsetting. I was glad to know and have a plan to fix it. I also got a prescription for some nipple cream to treat the thrush.
So we supplemented after nursing overnight, and then Saturday mid morning Olivia decided she didn't want to deal with nursing anymore and refused to try. And also I started getting barely an ounce when pumping. I cried a lot. I drank more water. I pumped. I gave Olivia bottles of pumped milk while watching my scant stores of milk get eaten up.
So I've had to get formula for the first time in three kids. I'm trying to remember that it's better that Olivia gets enough to eat, no matter the source, but it's easy to fall into a pit of dismay and guilt about not being able to feed my own baby. I'm still pumping, just barely getting two ounces at a time, and I an going to feed Olivia her first bottle of formula in a few minutes. I still hope to get my supply back up, so I'll keep pumping.
The last two days have been an intense roller coaster of emotions, most of them bad. I think I'm finally coming out the other side, thanks to encouraging words from my sisters and friends on Facebook. It's good to have people who can talk me down from the ledge when I get too upset.
I only pray that week two involves less crying! In good news my stitches haven't bothered me in days, and I'm two pounds away from being at my pre-baby weight. In a week! Too bad my tummy is so squishy.
Baby is cute and squishy too. Gonna go cuddle her and thank God that we got into see the lactation nurse on Friday rather than having to wait until tomorrow, by which time things with Olivia could have been so much worse.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Waiting...
Baby #3 is on her way. Sort of. On her way in the sense that she's going to be evicted from her comfy home inside of me by the end of the week whether she likes it or not. Considering how my body is acting, I'm going to go with "not in the mood for giving birth/being born" as their collective views on the situation.
Waiting for labor to start is the worst possible way to start off a new year. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it isn't much fun. I have no energy to do anything, my moods are up and down, and I am acting off the charts CRAZY to my poor kids and husband. I'm worried about labor, I'm anxious about the state of my home, I fret about how my emotional turmoil is affecting those I love. I can't decide if I'm supposed to use commas or semi-colons in a sentence.
Waiting isn't much fun. Getting only one or two contractions a day isn't much fun - but it's better than getting several over the course of a few hours and then having them stop altogether. That wasn't nice at all, body, thanks for that little practical joke.
Anyway. Waiting. Still waiting for baby #3. Not sure if I'm ready - other than being ready to be not pregnant, that is. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, and we'll probably schedule an induction to get this party started.
I can't wait.
Waiting for labor to start is the worst possible way to start off a new year. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it isn't much fun. I have no energy to do anything, my moods are up and down, and I am acting off the charts CRAZY to my poor kids and husband. I'm worried about labor, I'm anxious about the state of my home, I fret about how my emotional turmoil is affecting those I love. I can't decide if I'm supposed to use commas or semi-colons in a sentence.
Waiting isn't much fun. Getting only one or two contractions a day isn't much fun - but it's better than getting several over the course of a few hours and then having them stop altogether. That wasn't nice at all, body, thanks for that little practical joke.
Anyway. Waiting. Still waiting for baby #3. Not sure if I'm ready - other than being ready to be not pregnant, that is. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, and we'll probably schedule an induction to get this party started.
I can't wait.
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