but 5 is for big girls! Grace hit 5 lbs. even last Thursday and jumped to 5 lbs. 6 oz. Monday! Talk about a great gift on her due date! I was so surprised by the scale, I was speechless (and that means a lot for me)! Now we don't have to return to the pediatrician's until next Monday as she's now big enough to go only once a week! Whew!
Grace is feeding well, but just takes a long time to do it. She is a champ at tummy time and still loves nothing more than snuggling. She is starting to stay awake for 2-3 hours at a time 1-2 times a day, but then is having a hard time really settling in at night. But all her gains are wonderful and we're thankful for each and every one of them. She occasionally calms to our voices and is looking more and more into our eyes, and that feels wonderful.....
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
You go, girl!
Well, Miss Grace not only gained 3 oz. last Thursday at her weigh-in, but she also did it today!!!! I couldn't believe it today when I saw the numbers light up on the scale. After her big 3 oz. weight gain last week, Dr. Byrne recommended that we decrease her post nursing bottle feeds to 2-3 per day, which really made me nervous. Why change it when she's finally starting to gain weight and we found something that works? His thought was that it is not good to maintain such a crazy schedule every three hours as it would only exhaust me, and therefore her milk supply, if done much longer. That made sense, and so the change was made. Having done that, I didn't expect for her to gain another 3 oz., perhaps 2 at most. But what do I know? Time to exhale my breath a bit and inhale some celebratory ice cream! Current status: 4 lb. 15 oz. Target lock on over the big 5-0!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Rollercoaster
This week has been just that so far: a rollercoaster. I was sure Grace was going to gain several ounces when I took her to her pediatrician appt. on Monday, but when the nurse put her on the scale, I got a bit upset. One ounce of gain in 4 days. She should have gained a minimum of 2.6, but obviously didn't. I was really taken aback because she had been eating really well and for good periods of time. The pediatrician (who wasn't supposed to see us as this was just a weight check) stopped by the room as I was readying to leave and reassured me that she would probably gain several ounces by Thursday. He also made a few recommendations for change in her feeding, which have been the upside of the week. One of his suggestions was to give her a bottle after breastfeeding to see how much more she needed and to gauge how much breastmilk she's been getting. Well that has been wonderful as she showed me she wanted anywhere from 1.5 to 2 oz. after breastfeeding. And for her size, she only needs 1.5 oz. per feeding total. We're thinking she must not be getting much from the direct feed to want a bottle that size. So now she's breastfeeding for about 20 minutes and then we're giving her a bottle afterward for an additional 1.5 to 2 oz. We're on the watch for overfeeding and reflux, but at least we now know that she's getting the minimum she needs. Tomorrow she returns to the pediatrician for another weight check and doctor's visit in which we hope she's gained weight given this new "revelation." If not, we'll likely start talking supplementation or growth factor.
Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers flying!
Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers flying!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
First 10 days home update
Well, I certainly didn’t intend for so long a time to go by before I updated the blog, but there went! We have been home for a week and a half now and are starting to smooth out the wrinkles. We have had wonderful help from Doug’s mother, my mother, and sister-in-law to be Tammy in readying the house and getting it working as a baby-centered house. I never knew a little one could create so much laundry (and dirty diapers) in such a short time. Funny thing is that we haven’t even started using cloth diapers as she is still too small. I’m glad we had the foresight to buy the large capacity and energy efficient washer and dryer when we moved to Omaha last summer. Lord knows we’re using every inch the two have!
Grace is doing well. She is now back to her original birth weight of 4 lb. 8 oz. She gained 4 oz. over a week with breastfeeding only (no supplementation). While this is just under meeting what the pediatrician initially called the low end of appropriate weight gain, he seems pleased that she is putting on weight. We go back in on Monday for another weight check, but have a goal for next week Thursday of another 4 oz. of gain; If we can meet the 4 oz. challenge next Thursday, we’ll go to weekly checks instead of biweekly! It is going to continue to take some work and diligence, but we consider her eating our primary focus right now. As for an eating schedule, she has yet to settle into a routine. If I wait for her to cue me, sometimes she wishes to sleep for 5 hours straight, and other times she cues to feed after 2 ½ hours. She eats very well when she does eat and doesn’t really tire out for quite a while. But we are hoping to get somewhat of a feeding routine for her soon. We have also started feeding her from a bottle twice a day and she does well with that. She is supposed to eat 1 1/3 oz. to 2 oz. per bottle feed. That just barely covers the base of the small half-sized bottle but it’s a lot of work for her little size!
I apologize for being slow in response to emails and phone calls for the time being, but am finding little time to get to them. I decided in the NICU that when I’m with Grace, I am fully with Grace. I have watched 10 minutes of TV in nearly a month, and that was while I was still pregnant and in the hospital. Can’t say I miss it much, though. Motherhood has been nearly all encompassing of my energy, but worth it ten-fold. Doug and I adore every ounce of our 4 ½ pound little baby girl.
Grace is doing well. She is now back to her original birth weight of 4 lb. 8 oz. She gained 4 oz. over a week with breastfeeding only (no supplementation). While this is just under meeting what the pediatrician initially called the low end of appropriate weight gain, he seems pleased that she is putting on weight. We go back in on Monday for another weight check, but have a goal for next week Thursday of another 4 oz. of gain; If we can meet the 4 oz. challenge next Thursday, we’ll go to weekly checks instead of biweekly! It is going to continue to take some work and diligence, but we consider her eating our primary focus right now. As for an eating schedule, she has yet to settle into a routine. If I wait for her to cue me, sometimes she wishes to sleep for 5 hours straight, and other times she cues to feed after 2 ½ hours. She eats very well when she does eat and doesn’t really tire out for quite a while. But we are hoping to get somewhat of a feeding routine for her soon. We have also started feeding her from a bottle twice a day and she does well with that. She is supposed to eat 1 1/3 oz. to 2 oz. per bottle feed. That just barely covers the base of the small half-sized bottle but it’s a lot of work for her little size!
I apologize for being slow in response to emails and phone calls for the time being, but am finding little time to get to them. I decided in the NICU that when I’m with Grace, I am fully with Grace. I have watched 10 minutes of TV in nearly a month, and that was while I was still pregnant and in the hospital. Can’t say I miss it much, though. Motherhood has been nearly all encompassing of my energy, but worth it ten-fold. Doug and I adore every ounce of our 4 ½ pound little baby girl.
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