*Noah is 7 weeks old (tomorrow).*
My friends!! (Yikes, now I'm sounding like John McCain...) Anyways, I'm so sorry I've been absent from the world of blogging for what must have seemed like an eternity. I've had good intentions and have thought frequently that I need to update, but you know how it goes... the kiddo needs to be fed, changed, rocked, etc...
Things are going really well with us. I can't believe my little man's already 7 weeks old! My god how time flies. I'll be back to work in six weeks (I think), and my time off is just flying by.
Noah has been doing great since his transfusion on the 14th. He's really a different kid. His color is better for starters, and he's got a lot more energy - staying awake more, cooing, smiling - okay, sometimes I wonder if they are just poo smiles, since I mainly get them on the changing table, but I'll take what I can get! He's getting huge too! We haven't had him weighed since the day of the transfusion, but we go back to the hematologist for a follow up on Thursday, so I'll be very interested to see what he weighs. I know for sure he was 10 pounds, 5 ounces butt-nekkid on the 12th, and I'm guess he's at least 12, if not 12.5 pounds by now.
He went through a crazy growth spurt the middle of last week. He was so fussy for two days straight, and he wanted to eat every 1.5 to 2 hours, and it was KILLING me!! We had our annual Turkey Hangover party on Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), and I had intentions of getting a ton of stuff done during the week leading up, but then we had to have this dang growth spurt. We survived it by finally deciding (thanks to the recommendation of Erin on the IVF message board) to increase his intake from 4oz per bottle to 4.5oz. That seemed to do the trick, and he was satisfied and back to normal by the end of the second day.
As for me, I'm still getting the hang of this "stay-at-home-mom" thing. It's freaking hard, and I have so much respect for my friends who do it! I still stand by my strong desire to want to be able to stay home with Noah (we can't do it financially), but I do desperately crave "me time". I love my two-hour trips to Target or lunches with the girls. Anything to get out of the house!! I am looking forward to seeing my work friends again and having regular adult interaction, but actually going back to work TO WORK... that's going to be tough!
I think I've finally broken myself of the guilt of not breastfeeding. I think the cards were stacked against us from the beginning, with Noah's jaundice and anemia (both of which made him so lethargic). It was so frustrating for both of us, and while part of me feels like maybe I could have given it one more shot, I refuse to stew on it now, because I am proud to now say that I am exclusively pumping. We haven't given Noah formula since November 6th, and he only got it then because I was having "supply" issues at the time. Now I'm way ahead of what he needs, and I've got close to 80oz of milk frozen for when I go back to work! Hopefully, I can keep up the very hard work that is pumping and therefore also keep my supply up. (I'm probably averaging 37oz per day, if you're interested.)
Noah was evaluated by a developmental and physical therapist through Early Intervention and will be receiving PT once a month to work on stretching and positioning for his neck. We've tried to be very aware of the position of his head and neck, and I definitely think it's getting better, but he definitely still needs the therapy, as he's favoring one side more than the other. Noah also had an ultrasound of his neck that revealed that the muscle in one side of his neck is thicker, probably causing the torticollis. The pediatrician ordered an x-ray of his neck just to be sure there's nothing else going on.
Hm. Did I cover everything? These past 7 weeks have been such a whirlwind, and I try to pause everyday, even if just for a moment, to take it all in. Last night while I was rocking Noah to sleep in the darkness of his nursery, I examined his tiny fingers. I thought about how they're not as tiny now as they were when he was born, and they won't be this tiny in a few more weeks. I often think about how these days and weeks will soon be gone forever, and I don't want to miss a second of it. I look at him everyday and see the most precious gift I've ever received. He is so amazing, and when I stop to think about everything we went through and how he came to be, it still blows my mind. He truly is a miracle in my eyes.
4 comments:
Glad to here everything is working out for you and Noah is a growing machine. Going back to work is very hard but you will get through it and Noah will get use to daycare. You ARE A PUMPING MACHINE! Good for you. Now that I am back to work I still make more than enough milk for Adie in one day. I produce about 25oz or so a day which is pretty much what she drinks. I too froze milk away but as of right now I don't need it yet because my current supply is more than adequate. To answer your question, now that I am back to work I pump 5 times a day. I have stopped pumping in the middle of the night because it seems I don't need to produce more milk. 80oz is insane - good for you. Don't forget to actually use the frozen milk. That is my current problem. I produce enough fresh milk and don't need the frozen though its nice to have for those really busy work days when you cannot pump or if you get stressed out and your milk production decreases. I can say before I went back to work I was pumping every 4 hours. Also, not sure if you already have the hands free pumping bra but if you google Easy Expressions, the bra comes up and its convenient if you want to pump while eating your lunch! I too, got the "stay at home - itch" I loved staying at home with Adie but was in dyer need of getting out of the house and actually interacting with grown ups. Good luck with everything and if you have any more questions feel free to ask.
One more thing, sorry for the book. If you start pumping more 6+ hours apart your monthly cycle will return. And in terms of caffeine. I still drink one cup of caffeinated coffee a day and Adie seems to do just fine with it. If I freeze it I just mark the bag +caffeine and make sure I don't give it to her at night. Adie too, likes Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte's.
Glad to see that things are going well...Marilyn still needs to give me your email so I can invite you to our blog. I enjoy hearing of your adventures...sorry to be a stalker!
I never understood those people who think you only breastfeed if he's actually at the breast. I mean really, he's still getting the nutrition of breast milk, who cares what kind of nipple delivers it? And since I'm sort of a bf nazi, I can't imagine how crazy you have to be about bf to say you're not breastfeeding you it happens to come out of a bottle.
37 oz a day is amazing!
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