Sydney is doing just great! She had her 1 week checkup yesterday and the Dr said she is perfect. She could gain a little more weight a little faster, so we'll be going back next week to check her weight again. When she left the hospital she was 6lbs 10oz, and she weighed in at 6lbs 15 oz yesterday. Slow but gradually she is getting there. She's been having trouble nursing, which is a disappointing for me, since I really wanted that bonding time, but I guess we make up for it when the only way she will sleep in on my chest.
So lots of belly time, and its with me!! :)
Since she won't nurse much and I have had to use "other" ways to get her the best stuff mom can make for her, I have had to supplement Enfamil when she doesn't get enough of the good stuff.
Fortunately she sleeps well when she has a little formula and that made all the difference last night. She slept pretty much from 11 last night til 7:45 this morning with only two feedings and she fell right back to sleep on me when she was done eating, which allowed mommy to sleep as well. Today is the first day I feel like I have actually slept! :) Yay!
As some of you may have seen on my facebook page, I love taking pictures of our little girl. I just can't get enough of her and although her pictures are adorable and she is just the cutest little girl ever, they don't do her justice. She's the most beautiful creation God has ever made I think! We can't get over how cute she is! (new mommies always need to brag about their babies)
I have not known Gabe to say things are cute. When I was 8 months pregnant I showed him an outfit and asked him, "Isn't this just the cutest thing ever!?" and his response was, "No". I started bawling and when he asked me what was wrong, I just said that I wished he would show more excitement for the baby coming. He said, "Britt, it is an outfit. I'm sure it will look cute on her, but right now, its just an outfit." Men and women show their excitement for things in much different ways especially when it comes to babies.
Now that Sydney is here, Gabe can't stop using the word "Cute" in reference to Sydney. He tells her all the time how cute she is, and how much we love her. He sings to her Simon and Garfunkel, beatles, All Time Low, and all the good stuff, and I just love to see the excitement coming out now!
I think every mother can agree with me when I say that the guys really got swindled when Heavenly Father gave the women the opportunity and responsibility of Motherhood. Its one of the greatest experiences and I wouldn't trade my spot with any guy for a million epi
durals or restful nights!! Never!
Here she is sleeping right now!
8 comments:
OK, so I only say this because I went through exactly what you are going through. Try your hardest not to supplement with her. She will NOT nurse at all if you supplement. Her weight sounds really good. Perfect actually. Babies are suppose to be back right around their birth weight by one week. She's great! I know you are probably thinking, ok, but I'm going to listen to my doctor. Well, doctors for some reason lately always encourage breast feeding, but its' as if they know nothing about it and what all these babies to grow super fast and super big. No wonder the childhood obesity rate is so high!
Breast feeding does take time and as long as you are feeding "on demand" for the first few weeks or so, your milk will adjust to what she needs. God made our bodies perfect in this way!
Izzy lost a lot of weight after she was born and was over a pound under her birth weight at one week. They pressed me to supplement and once that started, she got use to not having to work for her food and also the amount. So needless to say, breastfeeding slowly deminished and was over by one month. Not at all the way I would have gone and she was perfectly healthy. She did not need to be supplemented. I've have some friends who went through this as well and they did not listen to the doctors when they said to supplement and their milk came in just fine and their babies were perfect.
I know it's hard to struggle with your baby when it feels like you can't feed her, but please try your hardest to push through and work with it because it's so worth it when you don't have to have the expense of formula and you can bond with you baby in that way! Do you have a pump? Nipple shields? Do you have a lactation consultant to talk with?
It sounds like she is going perfect and keep at the breastfeeding! It will get easier! As long as you don't make supplementing a habit.
I totally understand the frustration though. I went through that completely, but next baby...I will NOT supplement no matter how much weight she looses or no matter what the doctors say. I know the Lord designed me perfectly to be able to feed my children the way he designed it to be! Hang it there!!!! I think the first month is the hardest, but so awesome!
Yeah... when i said "other" ways to feed my child, lol I meant pumping. I pump and give her what I get and if its not enough, I supplement the rest. I'm kind of on the scale of low supply they tell me, not an even supply on both sides. kind of frustrating. I didn't mention pumping in the post cuz i thought it might make any men reading it uncomfortable, lol. I'm trying the "bait and switch" thing, where I'll give her some of what i pump and then have her try nursing and it works some of the time. It will just take time.
Brit were you givin a list of lactation consultants in your area? Kiel and I were given a website and pamphlet of lactation consultants that we can go to if we have the same issue and they will watch how the baby is feeding. I know they charge but it's usually only $25.00. We were advised in our breastfeeding class to call them first if the Doc asks us to supplement with a bottle before 4 wks of age.
Anyway, I know you don't need a bunch of advice from random people (i.e. ME) especially since it will probably all be different. If you want the site let me know and I can send it to you.
Thanks for posting! I'm very curious (for obvious reasons) on how it is being a new mother. And I'm sorta bummed that you confirmed the "no sleep" thing. But it's worth it. And ps, yes she is completely adorable!
Ditto to the previous comments. I know for me I felt like I was nursing non-stop because the baby was always hungry. It's ok. They did fine and I eventually slept too. Good luck and don't stress the weigh-ins. She is fine. Doctors today are used to lots of formula fed babies who put on weight faster. You would too if you were drinking the amount of sugar in formula.
Hey Britt, just so you know, if you have to supplement that is ok too. Some women don't produce enough milk and some never have their milk come in at all so do what YOU feel is best for YOUR child. I know you are doing all you can. And that's great that you have a lactation specialist that will come to your home. I wish I'd had that with Mariah. Keep up the good work. Seems like you're doing fine.
Thanks Shell... my confidence in my myself was a little shaken and I feel better now!
I was given a list of lactation consultants, but there is a lady in my mom's ward who is a retired lactation consultant/nurse and so she has been giving me advice. Since I am not producing the amount of milk Sydney needs... she has to eat something, so I buy only the best formula for her. And I didn't see that it has any unnatural sugars in it. I tripled checked on that! :P Hopefully, the supply will increase in the next couple weeks as I use the pump.
Congrats Brittany! I was excited to find your blog through facebook! I am truly excited for you guys, isn't being a mom the best? I love when you wrote that dad's got swindled from experiencing motherhood...so true. Good luck with the breastfeeding. All I have to say is BLAH. I struggled to say the least. After pumping, visiting lactation consultants NUMEROUS times, shields, etc. I realized that for me, it was more important that my daughter had a sane mom as opposed to breast milk. We made it 3 months and I am not going to lie when I say it was the best decision. We had multiple issues and I really hope that I can make it longer with the next one, which I am fully anticipating but don't feel like a "failure" or a "bad mom" if you do your best. It just comes easier for some moms AND babies then for other. So, either way, you'll do what's best for you and Sydney. The hardest thing for me to realize is that at the end of the day, you're her mom and you get to decide. I kept wanting to hear other people tell me I was making the right choice (which many did and many didn't). But do what's best for you and feel good about it.
OK, enough about that, I am excited to read more about your no sugar banana bread, we are trying to be a little healthier around here and I love hearing about other people's success.
Anyway, Sydney's a doll, truly. Good luck with everything!
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