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.