Alex is now 3 weeks old. His weight today? 8.10 lbs. It's amazing we've had him home for almost 2 weeks now. What a blessing! So, a few things about our little monkey:
He eats. A lot. This is both good, but challenging for me. You see, it took awhile for my milk to come in, as mentioned on the previous post. Him being in the hospital for a week didn't help. There were days I couldn't hold him because of tests that were being run and needles being in his head. I had to pump on the side- but even so, I was hardly producing much so the nurses had no choice but to supplement formula. He got used to bottles. Plus, they fed him whenever he was hungry, even if it was 4oz for his 6 lb. frame. Then, I went to his Great Starts appointment where the nurses were very pushy about me stopping formula all together and exclusively breastfeeding. They had him feed for about 40 minutes and I gave him about an ounce. An ounce does not fill up this boy. Still, they were being pushy about it. So, I tried for a day or two of exclusive breastfeeding. Not only was it exhausting, but he was simply too hungry and it involved a lot of tears from both ends (even in the middle of the night). I couldn't sleep. He used to be great at latching, but when he's really hungry, he's not interested and will wail until I give in and hand him a bottle of formula or pumped milk. Yes, my supply has gone up as I am pumping 6-8 times per day, but it's still not enough to satisfy him. I'm still encourage to put him on the breast every chance I get when he's hungry, but after 15 or so minutes of screaming tears from him because he won't latch anymore, I just cave in.
However, I have come to accept it's okay if he has formula on the side. He's still getting a good amount of my milk everyday, so who cares if he drinks formula on the side? I doubt this will harm him in any way. Plus, we still do skin to skin regularly so we can bond. As long as that boy is fed, I'm good. It took me so long to accept it (still can be a struggle some days), but I don't want to feel guilty about not being able to exclusively breastfeed.
Alex also loves music and dancing! He loves being on the couch with me while I play with his arms, legs, and feet along to the music. He is just so content and will want to do this for hours. He always loves having someone nearby to entertain him while he's awake. He'll follow my voice wherever I'm at and just light up and wiggle his little heart out.
He also loves walks. It's amazing how mellow he becomes the moment I set him in his car seat. He just calms down and eventually falls to sleep during our walks in the mornings (and sometimes afternoons and evenings- mommy needs some fresh air too!).
I'm also pretty sure Daddy is his favorite person ever. It's really cute- when Gary comes home, Alex is usually chilling or sleeping. The moment he sees his dad, his eyes get big and completely light up- then he's totally uninterested in sleeping and just wants to be held. Once Gary has him, he's completely content and just watches him. I know he's only a few weeks old and people say they can't connect to others at this age, but I'm pretty sure he's already made his dad his BFF.
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| With his favorite person ever |
Alex is also great at night! Okay, yes, people have warned me this will change once he's no longer a newborn. I believe it. But Alex really does do a great job at night. I give him a massage with night time baby lotion, and Gary and I both take our time getting him relaxed and ready to sleep (he's usually pretty active in the evenings). His pediatrician said because he's gaining a healthy amount of weight, I don't have to wake him every few hours to eat. So, I turned off my phone alarms and discovered he'll actually wake me when he's ready. It went from every few hours on the dot to now 4-5 hours, giving me a longer stretch to sleep. Once he's changed and fed, he goes back to sleep until early morning- that's when I typically play with him, turn on music, then eventually take him out for a walk until he's conked out again (I'm letting him sleep a little longer today since I'm doing this blog and still need to shower- but playtime will definitely happen when I'm done).
He also does a great job with medication. It can be hard to not feed him a big serving around that time because I don't want him to spit any of it up. But I soothe him, let him sleep a little bit, then I'll feed him more later once it's settled. I can't wait until he's done with his meds though! So far they are doing the job as he has been seizure free. He had an appointment with his neurologist this morning who said he's doing great! He has an EEG scheduled on Monday just to see how things are going (EEGs are typically normal in benign seizure disorders). His neurologist also suggested a different type of seizure medication since phenobarbital has been around since the 1800's and the new stuff has fewer side effects.
Anyway, I'm sure there are a million other things I could say about this boy and how awesome and precious he is, but I must go. Let me just end by saying he is the most amazing little man and I am so in love with him. He's such a good, happy, and sweet baby. Love, love, love! I also have to give my husband credit- he is amazing too! He comes home, takes over baby duty so quickly, and encourages me to nap and relax ("I've got this dear- you should get some rest"). He really is the best!
Walks are the best!
His bunny from Gary's co-workers
Practicing tummy-time!
Arms not swaddled- happy baby
Apparently the ceiling was fascinating that morning.
During his "wiggles"
This cracked me up. Whoops! No worries, Daddy had him!
1 comment:
Awwwww BABY!!!! He's so little and adorable and I'm so glad that he's continuing to do well!
I totally feel for you... that first bit about your struggle with breast feeding... Ugh. So hard. the feelings of guilt were terrible for me when I had to make the decision to start supplementing with formula with Ava. It was easier for me to accept it the second time around, but still feelings of guilt crept up here and there. But you are doing your best (which is enough!) so don't let any nurses make you feel like you're not doing enough. Or that you're a bad mother if you don't exclusively breast feed. I'm on board with the fact that breast milk is great for babies, but I also have two children who have had more formula than breast milk and they're thriving and happy and perfect. It just makes me grateful I live in a time when we have formula which is pretty close to breast milk. If I had lived a century or more ago, my babies would have died from starvation! Also, I'm 100% positive that it doesn't benefit anyone if you and baby are miserable the whole time you're trying to breast feed. So just keep doing your best, and what's right for you and Alex, and feel proud of yourself for keeping up with pumping despite the obstacles you've faced. It's SUCH a pain to pump and then feed back and then clean all the bottles/pump equipment, so you are a rock star for doing that 6-8 times a day! Anyway. Sorry for my rant. Having gone through it all I just feel very strongly about it all, if you can't tell. Hahaha
You're such a great mother to that sweet little guy, and I'm so glad Gary has been a great support to you too! Keep the cute pics and updates comin! :)
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