Lily: The first few weeks
Our little girl will be 3 weeks old on Tuesday. It has definitely flown by. I'm going to do my best to document this first year, but I'm not going to hold myself to weekly or even bi-weekly updates...when I have time and energy to blog I will. Our first few weeks at home have been amazing, she is an angel (most of the time!). We were lucky to have lots of help from family and friends whether it was cleaning, cooking or bringing us food. Rollie's mom and my aunt were here for a few nights in the beginning while we were still in the hospital. My mom was here for 2 weeks...it was so nice having the extra hand and more importantly than that sharing the first few weeks of her life together. My mom and Rollie were also able to tackle a few outdoor house projects which was really nice. They power washed our deck, cleaned up the side & back yard and finished landscaping our front yard.
But on to Lily!
Disclaimer: I'm by no means a 'blogger' but hoping that my brutal honesty helps friends or strangers out there that are in a similar situations. Some of what I might write will be 'tmi' for some readers but I think its important to talk about the things that are 'taboo' on so many pregnancy blogs.
Weight: 7 lbs 9 ounces at Dr. on Tuesday but 7 lbs 12 ounces at lactation consultant appointment on Thursday. She is struggling to put on weight, by now she should be back up, if not way above her birth weight which was 7 lbs 15 ounces. She's nursing better as the days go by but my milk supply is still not enough. Lily also prefers one side over the other, which makes it a challenge to get a full feeding. After breastfeeding her we have been offering her another ounce or so of pumped milk and if that runs out we are supplementing formula until she plumps up. I'm lucky to have an amazing supportive husband that is home with me until October 2nd. While I feed her, he gets the bottle and pump ready for me, and then while I pump he feeds her the bottle.
Breastfeeding is WAY harder than I thought it would be. I'm not even close to giving up, but wow! Its very hard to adjust your entire day/life to 2-3 hour increments. I also just assumed that if I pumped I would have this huge supply of milk to stock up on...so not the case. I try to pump after each nursing session but I'm still only getting an ounce, maybe 2 combined (in the morning which apparently is the best time to pump). We visited the lactation consultant on Thursday and it definitely made me feel better. She thinks with a few adjustments we will be back to 100% breastfeeding in a few weeks (ditching the formula supplements). I started taking fenugreek, an herbal supplement which is supposed to help increase supply...the only downfall is I smell like syrup...yep! The nurse said it could be a side effect and it definitely is, my skin/sweat/pee all smell like maple syrup! But if it does the trick I can live with it.
When the nursing goes well its such an amazing bonding experience and afterwards she is so much fun to snuggle up with.
Health: Besides the weight issue, she is perfectly healthy. She is really strong! All the nurses and Doctors have commented on how strong her neck muscles are...I don't think tummy time will be an issue at all!
Diet: I basically covered that above :)
Clothing: Swimming in her 0-3 month clothes. Everyone told us not to buy newborn clothes, so we didn't. She has 2 newborn pairs of pajama's, a few onesies that fit, but besides that everything else is huge! I've been using long sleeved onesies (that have the built in mitts-thank you Tanya!) and layering dresses or tops over them. She has a few really cute summer things that I'm just afraid she might not wear :(
She's still in pampers swaddlers newborn size diapers.
Sleep: Well, she's an amazing sleeper...maybe too good! We thought we were blessed with a great sleeper but the Dr. said that she probably wasn't getting enough calories so in turn she was sleeping more than usual. More often than not we have to wake her up to eat every 3 hours. Being the crazy type A planners that we are we've been trying to stick with a schedule of 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm, 12am, 3am....although she's already cut out to the 3am time slot which is great...if she starts gaining weight. We of course feed her sooner/more often if she shows signs of being hungry. She typically sleeps from 10pm to 1/1:30am and then again from 2am to 5:30/6am. We can't complain about that!
Baby Gear We're loving:
*Aiden & Anais blankets. These are definitely the rage all over mommy blogs these days, but they honestly are the best. Lily loves to be swaddled and these are perfect for that as well as a light weight blanket while shes in the car or bouncer seat since its still on the warmer side. We have 8 and I would even be ok with 4 more!
*Fisher Price My Little Snugabunny bouncer. She definitely prefers this over the swing...which is great because the bouncer was a shower gift (thank you Ray & Tanya) and we opted not to register for swing, but luckily we were handed down one from great friends (thank you Todd & Kerry) so if she never grows to love the swing it wasn't a waste of money.
*Dr. Brown bottles. Since we have been supplementing her with pumped milk and formula much earlier than I thought we would be I had the fear of 'nipple confusion' but she doesn't seem to have a problem at all switching back and forth from breast to bottle...not sure if it has anything to do with these bottles themselves but she seems to like them. (thank you Stephanie!)
*BOB stroller...I've only used it 2 or 3 times but I can already tell that I will love it. It just glides so smoothly (she was a happy camper in it too...we are using the infant car seat adapter with it)
Likes/Dislikes:
*She loves to be swaddled, but only in blankets. We tried her twice in the swaddle me (pre made) swaddles and she hated them! They are bit big so maybe in a few weeks they will be better.
*She loves the carseat and stroller. She was a total champ on our round trip to Oakland Airport on Wednesday (to drop my mom off).
*She loves to be close to mine or Rollie's chest and look around but doesn't like to be held far away from you (like in your lap)
*She loves to poop or pee immediately after being changed into a fresh diaper. Mommy and Daddy don't like this!
Milestones: Over the last few weeks she has ventured out quiet a bit. Neither of us are huge homebodies so we knew that we wouldn't be those parents that stay in for the first 2 months...but at the same time I also wanted to be cautious of germs/overexposure. Our first trip out (besides the Dr.) was to Luther Burbank Gardens with my mom. It was nice because its open air and if she started to fuss we could have easily just left, but she did great. Secondly was Wednesday night - it was Rollie's birthday and we were on our own for the first time (no family at home) so we ventured out to our favorite wine bar for a couple glasses of wine and take out from our favorite Italian restaurant. It might not have been the most exciting 32nd birthday for Rollie but it was a great night out as a new family of 3. Yesterday we drove over to St. Helena to visit my coworkers. She again was amazing...we showed her off to everyone at Duckhorn, enjoyed some cheese, crackers, and vino and then headed over to Gotts Roadside for a nice lunch outside.
My mom and I also went to the farmers market with her last weekend and she had her first of many trips to Target this week!
While my mom was still here, her and I gave her 2 sponge baths which she surprisingly loved and yesterday morning her umbilical cord stump fell off so now its time for a real bath!
Postpartum: Ok, her is where I praise myself, pitty myself and share personal details of a postpartum body. The praise: I only have 5 pounds to lose before I reach my pre-pregnancy weight. I ended up gaining 23 pounds and I've already lost 18. Unfortunately I have another 20 to lose on top of that! The pitty: stretch marks (I knew I would get these...I got them during puberty when my hips grew. Luckily they are mostly below where a bikini would show), Hemorrhoids (this is one of those things no one talks about...I got them once during pregnancy which is also apparently pretty normal but this time around they are much worse-I know 'tmi'), my back is totally out of whack, I didn't have a great back to begin with but there are days right now where I can barley walk. I've read this is pretty normal and can last for months! Months?! I will go crazy. I had a very easy labor but with the epidural I'm sure I pushed, pinched, or tore something on my lower back. If it doesn't improve soon I'm going to see a Doctor. For now I'm doing stretches and trying to walk because I know its good for me but its painful. And lastly, sore nipples...I know this just comes with the breast feeding territory but it stinks. Lanolin helps but I cringe every time I have to start the pump.
Hopefully this wasn't too long or boring! I stare at Lily a million times a day and still can't believe that we created her and that she is finally here. She's the best family addition that we could have ever asked for. I can't wait for all of the milestones but at the same time I want her to stay tiny! I'm hoping to take some newborn pictures tomorrow. I of course have a million ideas pinned on pintrest. I'm sort of regretting not hiring a professional but hopefully I can snap a few good ones.
But on to Lily!
Disclaimer: I'm by no means a 'blogger' but hoping that my brutal honesty helps friends or strangers out there that are in a similar situations. Some of what I might write will be 'tmi' for some readers but I think its important to talk about the things that are 'taboo' on so many pregnancy blogs.
Weight: 7 lbs 9 ounces at Dr. on Tuesday but 7 lbs 12 ounces at lactation consultant appointment on Thursday. She is struggling to put on weight, by now she should be back up, if not way above her birth weight which was 7 lbs 15 ounces. She's nursing better as the days go by but my milk supply is still not enough. Lily also prefers one side over the other, which makes it a challenge to get a full feeding. After breastfeeding her we have been offering her another ounce or so of pumped milk and if that runs out we are supplementing formula until she plumps up. I'm lucky to have an amazing supportive husband that is home with me until October 2nd. While I feed her, he gets the bottle and pump ready for me, and then while I pump he feeds her the bottle.
Breastfeeding is WAY harder than I thought it would be. I'm not even close to giving up, but wow! Its very hard to adjust your entire day/life to 2-3 hour increments. I also just assumed that if I pumped I would have this huge supply of milk to stock up on...so not the case. I try to pump after each nursing session but I'm still only getting an ounce, maybe 2 combined (in the morning which apparently is the best time to pump). We visited the lactation consultant on Thursday and it definitely made me feel better. She thinks with a few adjustments we will be back to 100% breastfeeding in a few weeks (ditching the formula supplements). I started taking fenugreek, an herbal supplement which is supposed to help increase supply...the only downfall is I smell like syrup...yep! The nurse said it could be a side effect and it definitely is, my skin/sweat/pee all smell like maple syrup! But if it does the trick I can live with it.
When the nursing goes well its such an amazing bonding experience and afterwards she is so much fun to snuggle up with.
Health: Besides the weight issue, she is perfectly healthy. She is really strong! All the nurses and Doctors have commented on how strong her neck muscles are...I don't think tummy time will be an issue at all!
Diet: I basically covered that above :)
Clothing: Swimming in her 0-3 month clothes. Everyone told us not to buy newborn clothes, so we didn't. She has 2 newborn pairs of pajama's, a few onesies that fit, but besides that everything else is huge! I've been using long sleeved onesies (that have the built in mitts-thank you Tanya!) and layering dresses or tops over them. She has a few really cute summer things that I'm just afraid she might not wear :(
She's still in pampers swaddlers newborn size diapers.
Sleep: Well, she's an amazing sleeper...maybe too good! We thought we were blessed with a great sleeper but the Dr. said that she probably wasn't getting enough calories so in turn she was sleeping more than usual. More often than not we have to wake her up to eat every 3 hours. Being the crazy type A planners that we are we've been trying to stick with a schedule of 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm, 12am, 3am....although she's already cut out to the 3am time slot which is great...if she starts gaining weight. We of course feed her sooner/more often if she shows signs of being hungry. She typically sleeps from 10pm to 1/1:30am and then again from 2am to 5:30/6am. We can't complain about that!
Baby Gear We're loving:
*Aiden & Anais blankets. These are definitely the rage all over mommy blogs these days, but they honestly are the best. Lily loves to be swaddled and these are perfect for that as well as a light weight blanket while shes in the car or bouncer seat since its still on the warmer side. We have 8 and I would even be ok with 4 more!
*Fisher Price My Little Snugabunny bouncer. She definitely prefers this over the swing...which is great because the bouncer was a shower gift (thank you Ray & Tanya) and we opted not to register for swing, but luckily we were handed down one from great friends (thank you Todd & Kerry) so if she never grows to love the swing it wasn't a waste of money.
*Dr. Brown bottles. Since we have been supplementing her with pumped milk and formula much earlier than I thought we would be I had the fear of 'nipple confusion' but she doesn't seem to have a problem at all switching back and forth from breast to bottle...not sure if it has anything to do with these bottles themselves but she seems to like them. (thank you Stephanie!)
*BOB stroller...I've only used it 2 or 3 times but I can already tell that I will love it. It just glides so smoothly (she was a happy camper in it too...we are using the infant car seat adapter with it)
Likes/Dislikes:
*She loves to be swaddled, but only in blankets. We tried her twice in the swaddle me (pre made) swaddles and she hated them! They are bit big so maybe in a few weeks they will be better.
*She loves the carseat and stroller. She was a total champ on our round trip to Oakland Airport on Wednesday (to drop my mom off).
*She loves to be close to mine or Rollie's chest and look around but doesn't like to be held far away from you (like in your lap)
*She loves to poop or pee immediately after being changed into a fresh diaper. Mommy and Daddy don't like this!
Milestones: Over the last few weeks she has ventured out quiet a bit. Neither of us are huge homebodies so we knew that we wouldn't be those parents that stay in for the first 2 months...but at the same time I also wanted to be cautious of germs/overexposure. Our first trip out (besides the Dr.) was to Luther Burbank Gardens with my mom. It was nice because its open air and if she started to fuss we could have easily just left, but she did great. Secondly was Wednesday night - it was Rollie's birthday and we were on our own for the first time (no family at home) so we ventured out to our favorite wine bar for a couple glasses of wine and take out from our favorite Italian restaurant. It might not have been the most exciting 32nd birthday for Rollie but it was a great night out as a new family of 3. Yesterday we drove over to St. Helena to visit my coworkers. She again was amazing...we showed her off to everyone at Duckhorn, enjoyed some cheese, crackers, and vino and then headed over to Gotts Roadside for a nice lunch outside.
My mom and I also went to the farmers market with her last weekend and she had her first of many trips to Target this week!
While my mom was still here, her and I gave her 2 sponge baths which she surprisingly loved and yesterday morning her umbilical cord stump fell off so now its time for a real bath!
Postpartum: Ok, her is where I praise myself, pitty myself and share personal details of a postpartum body. The praise: I only have 5 pounds to lose before I reach my pre-pregnancy weight. I ended up gaining 23 pounds and I've already lost 18. Unfortunately I have another 20 to lose on top of that! The pitty: stretch marks (I knew I would get these...I got them during puberty when my hips grew. Luckily they are mostly below where a bikini would show), Hemorrhoids (this is one of those things no one talks about...I got them once during pregnancy which is also apparently pretty normal but this time around they are much worse-I know 'tmi'), my back is totally out of whack, I didn't have a great back to begin with but there are days right now where I can barley walk. I've read this is pretty normal and can last for months! Months?! I will go crazy. I had a very easy labor but with the epidural I'm sure I pushed, pinched, or tore something on my lower back. If it doesn't improve soon I'm going to see a Doctor. For now I'm doing stretches and trying to walk because I know its good for me but its painful. And lastly, sore nipples...I know this just comes with the breast feeding territory but it stinks. Lanolin helps but I cringe every time I have to start the pump.
Hopefully this wasn't too long or boring! I stare at Lily a million times a day and still can't believe that we created her and that she is finally here. She's the best family addition that we could have ever asked for. I can't wait for all of the milestones but at the same time I want her to stay tiny! I'm hoping to take some newborn pictures tomorrow. I of course have a million ideas pinned on pintrest. I'm sort of regretting not hiring a professional but hopefully I can snap a few good ones.
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| Farmers Market with Grandma |
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| Chilling on the deck |
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| Out for Daddy's birthday |
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| Visiting mommy's work |
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| Super excited for college football! |
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