K is 4 months

K turned 4 months today.  She can roll both ways, although she prefers rolling onto her tummy from her back.  She can move a couple of feet by rolling.  She will also move a couple feet by scooting her legs.  She also likes to make noises with her mouth, and she is practicing new sounds every day.  She loves to smile at her daddy and does a smile then looks coyly away.  She giggles and is very funny.

She's definitely adorable and we get comments about how cute she is wherever we go.  She's also super alert and loves to smile at people when we are out and about.  She's definitely getting more interested in playing with things.  She plays more with her rattle toys, and she tries to eat her diaper cover during diaper changes (don't worry, we don't let her actually put it in her mouth).  She plays with my shirt and the tubes while I feed her.

She's been having some napping issues lately.  She has a very small window in which to get her down for a nap, and if something messes that up she tends to get herself crazy overtired and hysterical.  She's been having poor timing on dirty diapers and tending to have one right about the time she's in the nap window.  When I do get her down for a good nap, she'll sleep about 2 hours, although she'll usually wake up and fuss but go back to sleep on her own.  Nights have always been better for her sleep, and she does give a 5-6 hour stretch most nights.  She goes to bed at 10 or a little after most and sleeps until 7 or 8 (with a few nursings in there), although after 6 it's kind of fitful sleep.  She nurses before sleeping and then usually at 3 or 4 and then 6 off and on until she's up for the day.  I have no desire for her to nurse any less, so I'm willing to put up with interrupted sleep.

She's still doing about 14 oz of formula a day, and we are still supplementing at the breast.  We are using the tube placed directly into a bottle, and she controls the flow. She gained 10 ounces last week and hopefully if her gain is good tomorrow, we can talk about very slowly (like reducing 2-3 ounces a week) weaning her off of the supplement.  I'd love to have her off formula if possible and I'm hoping that we can get my supply to cover her needs.  If not, we'll be starting solids right at 6 months and I hope that after that point we can be doing just breastmilk and solids.

I definitely will do some things differently if we are able to have another child.  I'll be doing weight checks every week or two starting at two weeks until we are confident about weight gain.  I won't be doing the crazy traveling that we did; no traveling out of the city until at least 2 months old.  Anyone who wants to see us can come to us.  I'll also start pumping earlier and try to have a stockpile if I can.

I feel like I'm finally getting this being a mother to K down, even though there are definitely challenging times each day.  Also, I feel like D and I are getting on the same page about things and working better as a parent team most of the time.  Don't get me wrong, when she's gotten overtired and is hysterical, I still get pretty stressed, but it's not as soul-crushing to me.

Quick Weight Update

K gained 10 ounces this past week!  She's now 11 lbs, 1 oz.  She has her 4 month appointment next week and we'll probably be re-evaluating the supplement level then.

The Weight Gain Saga continues...

She only gained 2-3 oz in the last week.  She was between 10 lbs, 4 and 5 oz at the last weigh in.  This week she's only 10 lbs, 7 oz. The pediatrician wants us to go back up on formula about 4 oz or so (to about 14 oz a day).  I'm guessing at this point that she won't be off the formula before we start solids at 6 months.

She's also not napping well lately.  She's just catnapping 15-30 minutes.  She had been doing well about transferring. She'd fall asleep while eating and I could put her in her pack-and-play, and she'd sleep about 2 hours.  The past four or five days, she's been waking as I put her down or after maybe 5-10 minutes.  It's hard for me to get her to sleep without using the breast, although D can in the evening many times.  She usually gets really worked up if I let   It's also challenging since she eats every two hours or so when she's awake, there is not much time when she's not eating to get her to sleep.

Here's a video of her rolling over.

Need some prayers

I'm dealing with a situation right now that could use some prayers.  K is fine but I can't really get into details beyond that.

Formula weaning and K pics

K gained about 4-5 ounces  this week, which isn't terrible but it's not great either.  We are going to stick with 10 ounces of formula/supplement a day for the next week.  We'll see how her gain is next week on whether we continue to wean from the supplement, we stay where we're at with supplementing , or we go back up on the supplement.  She has about 3 more weeks until she's 4 months old.

K now rolls over almost immediately as soon as we put her on her back.

K, D and me on Independence Day.

K's pouty face.

K's baptism, June 5.

D and K on Father's Day.

D, K, and me on the beach in Hawaii after my brother's wedding.

K turned 3 months :) and 4th Anniversary

Here's a link to the post from our second anniversary with pictures.

K turned 3 months on Friday.  She is now finally 10 lbs as of Tuesday (1/2 lb gain this week), and just moved into her small prefolds and her Flip covers. I started her in her 3-6 month clothing yesterday, because she finally is outgrowing the 0-3 month clothing (especially with her cloth diapers).

She started rolling over about a week ago from her back to her tummy.  She is more content most of the time now after we've been supplementing.  She's getting better about sleeping.  We can put her in her pack-and-play if she has fallen asleep or she has even fallen asleep in there on her own a couple times.  She smiles at us and coos.

We are starting to wean off the supplement/formula.  We're planning on reducing 2-3 ounces every 2-3 days and I'm doing 10 ounces of formula a day this week and the rest breast milk that I have saved in my freezer.  I got a new Pump-in-Style pump, but I'm still trying to find a comfortable shield/flange.  The 24mm that came with the pump was too big (TMI) on my nipple and the 21 mm fits the nipple better but still doesn't have a good seal and is uncomfortable.  I ordered the Pumpin' Pal shields which are a completely different shape, and hopefully they will work better.

D and I are probably going to dinner tonight for our anniversary and most likely taking K with us.  I'm glad we'll actually be able to spend at least some of this anniversary together; D was traveling for our first anniversary and we both worked late last year.  Our second may have been the only one so far we spent together.

I need to post pictures of K soon.

Cloth Diapering Update (3 months old)

My post on my plan for my cloth diaper stash.
My post on cloth diapering at 1 month where I talk about washing and other stuff.




So far we've been using:
2 dozen Green Mountain Diaper Prefold Newborn (Orange)
6 Thirsties X-small Covers
Snappi Size 1 Triple Pack 
Baby washcloths (I have about 2 dozen I think) as wipes
6 Flip One-Size Covers with Snaps 
2 Fuzzibunz One Size Diapers 
1 Little Beetle Little-to-Big (One Size) Organic Wool Cover with Snaps
4 Thirsties Stay-Dry Hemp Insert, Small
2 Fuzzibunz Hanging Diaper Bags
G Diaper Flushable Inserts (when we travel) 
Planet Wise Wet Bag, Large

I also have but haven't yet used:
2 dozen Green Mountain Diaper Prefold Small (Yellow) 


K will be 3 months tomorrow and is no quite 10 pounds, so she is a small baby.  She still fits into the newborn size GM prefolds and Thirsties X-small covers.  She's getting close to outgrowing the newborn prefolds, but not quite and the smalls are still pretty big so will need to be folded.


We've now used the Flip covers both with the G diaper liners and with the prefolds.  They are working well and we've had almost no leaks, so I feel good about using them as our main cover once she outgrows the newborn prefolds soon.  I've even used the Flip cover by itself as a swim diaper, and it successfully kept breastmilk poop in.


At night, we use the wool cover and the hemp insert with a prefold. K has been a very heavy wetter since we started supplementing and we definitely need the extra absorbency of the hemp insert and the breathability of the wool cover.  The wool cover we have is a one size adjustable with snaps and we've been using it since about 6 weeks or so.  It hopefully will fit until she's pottytrained.   


We've also used the Fuzzibunz diapers.  They seem to work well and we haven't had any leaks.  I use them mainly as backup diapers for if she gets the cover dirty while we are out or if I get behind on laundry.  We'll also use them for when we have a babysitter, which will be a week from Sunday, for the first time.


K got a pretty bad diaper rash after starting formula, so we've been using rash cream on her with a muslin liner (just cut strip from a yard I got at the fabric store).  For minor rashes, we use a mix of Burt's Bees Baby Bee Diaper Ointment and California Baby Calming Diaper Rash Cream.  For more serious rashes, we add in Boudreaux's Butt Paste.  


Here's what I have in her diaper bag:
a change of clothes (at least a onesie)
wipes (I use the Ta.rget brand lanolin ones)
two prefolds (I don't generally bring a extra cover)
a Fuzzibunz pocket diaper
a couple G diaper liners
a couple disposable diapers
a travel changing pad (I highly recommend one; we have this one)
a wet bag for keeping the wet/dirty diapers in (I only have one Planet wise, so I also use a Munchkin ones too)
a couple burp cloths
my nursing cover


We use cloth almost exclusively even when we are out, unless we are traveling somewhere where we won't have access to a washer and dryer for a few days.  Even then, we use the diaper covers (either Thirsties or Flip) with the G diaper liners.  I do keep a couple disposables in case of emergencies.


There are a couple things I would like, would like more of, or want to try for baby #2:
BumGenius 4.0- I'd like one or two just to try them
another Little Beetle One Size Wool Cover with Snaps-I only have one wool cover and we use it every night unless it gets dirty and I have to wash it, then I have to use a different cover like the Flip
Mommy's Touch Newborn Cover- I'd like one or two for if we are blessed with baby #2+, for before the umbilical cord falls off, the Thirsties were a little too big for 6 pound, 6 ounce K when she was born and we ended up using disposables

18 ounces

K gained 18 ounces this past week.  The pediatrician wants her on 20 ounces of formula one more week and then we start weaning her off.  We are still supplementing at the breast and I'll hopefully get my new pump by Friday or Saturday.  Any advice on transitioning back to just breast milk would be appreciated, and I'm going to talk to my lactation consultant about it.

Supplementing at the breast

K won't take a bottle.  In some ways, this is good since I am ending up supplementing her at the breast so she is getting breast milk in addition to the formula and hopefully stimulating my breasts to produce more.  She also nurses at night without the supplementer.

What we are currently using is a gerryrigged version of an SNS (supplemental feeding system).  It's a feeding tube (5 French) attached to a 12 ml syringe.  I make up two 9 oz bottles of formula each night  and put them in the fridge.  I then pour an ounce or two at a time into a smaller bottle (K is very inconsistent about how much she takes at a feeding) and draw it into the syringe.  The tubes are tape on each breast basically right at the nipple.  K latches on and I make sure the tube is in her mouth. I push the syringe based on how quickly she is swallowing.  It's a bit messy and cumbersome, but it gets nourishment into her and hopefully avoids reducing my milk supply any further.  I may consider getting a manufactured SNS after we see how long we might need this.

If anyone has been able to wean off formula back to just breastmilk, I need some ideas for talking to my doctor once we can get her weight gain where he wants it.  I am pumping, but feeding is so timing-consuming I don't get to pump much and I haven't gotten my new pump yet.  Right now I'm getting about 3 oz a day if I'm lucky.  I am considering donated breastmilk.

Formula sucks

K will be on formula for the next week.  She gained 3 oz in the past week, and her pediatrician wanted about 7 oz.  I'll be giving the formula through an supplemental nursing system (SNS) at the breast and pumping like crazy.  She's supposed to get 20 oz. of formula a day and I can nurse at night.  I just want whatever needs to happen for her to be able to go back to exclusive breastfeeding as soon as possible and her to grow in a healthy way.

I don't want to deal with stinky formula poops and I hate mixing bottles.  I may be having to give her formula, but I don't have to like it.

Frustration

First, please pray that K will have gained the 1/2 pound or so that her doctor wants.  Her appointment is at 1:30 CDT today, 6/28.  I have been supplementing her with 5 or so ounces of pumped breast milk per day.  I've also heard her swallow more.

Second, I'm getting really frustrated with the lack of support that I'm getting from my family.  My mom, MIL and D haven't said anything about all the effort that I'm putting into pumping.  People have suggested formula even though I have been able to pump enough milk so far.  My mom and MIL did both breastfeed, but they aren't experts and have said a couple things that aren't accurate.

K does seem to be a bit happier (as long as she's gotten enough sleep), so I hope that that's a sign that the gain will be good too.

Weight gain issues

K is still having weight gain issues.  I took her to get a weight check at the pediatricians office and she had lost an ounce in a week when she should have gained about 6-7 ounces.  I'd been feeding her constantly, and had pumped a little bit but not given it to her.  The pediatrician said that I needed to supplement her 1/2 to 1 ounce 5-6 times a day (so at least 3-4 ounces a day).  He gave me formula, but I don't want to give her formula unless I can't make the milk.  I called and talked to my Lactation Consultant and then to Sew to dealt with the same issues.  Sew's pep talk has given me the confidence to supplement with just expressed breast milk, even though it requires a lot of time and effort.

I'm basically feeding her, giving her the supplemental breast milk and then pumping and then repeating, unless she's asleep or won't nurse.  I do get some breaks, but my day is mostly feeding or pumping or washing the pumping stuff.  Most of th

I was so upset about her lack of weight gain.  Especially since she's exclusively breastfed, it makes me feel like a failure as a mother.  It seems like my body doesn't do things like it's supposed to.  The years, surgeries and medications that it took to get pregnant, the bleeding that I had during pregnancy, and now breastfeeding issues.  I'm just ready for something to work right.

Please pray that we can get her weight gain on the right track and I can keep from getting too overwhelmed.  It's very stressful and tiring right now.

K is 2 months old, and breastfeeding issues * Updated with thyroid numbers

*Update: Here are my thyroid numbers from local ob: T4 7.6, TSH 2.73, T3Free 3.1.  They said these are normal, but I want to get you lovely ladies opinion.  Thanks.

K turned 2 months old last Wednesday.  She had her two month appointment on Tuesday.  In general she looks great, but she isn't gaining enough weight.  She was born 6 lbs., 6 oz. and has only gained about 2 lb; she weighs 8 lbs., 4 oz.  Because she isn't gaining well and she's exclusively breastfed, I met with a lactation consultant yesterday.  She said that K's high palate and slightly misaligned jaw and tongue might be causing some latch issues and discomfort that causes her to stop feeding prematurely.  She also said that I should have her pediatrician check her for torticollis, which is a twisting of the neck due to overly tight muscles that causes the head to tilt to one side, since she always tilts her head to the left.

When the LC weighed her before and after feeding, she only took in about half the amount that she needs.  I feel terrible that I didn't realize that there was a problem, but I didn't know that she wasn't gaining enough and she has plenty of wet and dirty diapers.  The fact that she's not getting enough likely explains why she's so upset all the time.  In some ways it's good that there is a problem because it can be fixed hopefully.

The LC recommended some exercises that might help release and realign her neck, tongue and jaw.  She might also need to get some physical/occupational therapy or craniosacral therapy.  She wants me to feed her even more on demand and change sides and positions more during feedings.  Even though generally they say check other things first and don't assume hunger, right now the first thing I need to try is feeding her even when she just ate recently.  She also recommended some foods to eat like oatmeal, flax seed, and eggs (there are more and I can post it later if anyone wants me to do so).  I'm also taking an herb called Shatavari that is supposed to help with supply and getting my thyroid tested again (hasn't been done postpartum).

I'll post about how the Hawaii trip went in the next few days.  She did well on the plane.

Advice and prayers needed

Soon we'll be taking K, who is two months old today, to Hawaii for my brother's wedding.  Thankfully it's a direct flight, but it's about 8 hours long.  K likes to be moving and rarely sleeps more than 30-45 minutes except at night.  She also likes to scream when she's tired or hungry.  Even though she's flying as a lap child, they are supposed to have a bassinet that connects to the bulkhead by our seats and we'll be bringing her carseat in case there's room.  I know I need to feed her on take off and landing.  Any other advice?  I really hope she doesn't scream and cry too much; I don't want the other paasengers to hate us.

So she's a bit high maintanence

K is a super sweet, alert and smiley baby, when she's calm. The thing is that she's not calm all that much.  First of all she eats every two hours or less. Second, she isn't very good at napping.  She rarely naps for more than 30 minutes and that's usually in my arms or the Maya Wrap; when she naps much more than an hour she doesn't sleep well at night.  She often gets very upset right going to sleep.  I just watch Happiest Baby on the Block, and I'm hoping that will help.

She generally gets upset pretty quickly if I have to put her down in her swing or rocker while I shower,etc.  I don't mind holding her most of the time; she's still so young. However, I wish she didn't get hysterical so quickly. Usually she will have at least one or two good 15-30 minute stretch of happy play time, which I use to let her play on her activity mat or do tummy time.  I am thankful that she usually sleeps decently at night and rarely cries then, but she needs to be touching me to sleep.

She doesn't have colic or reflux; she just likes to be held and when she wants something she wants it now.

Fertile signs at 6 1/2 weeks?

I haven't started full-on charting yet, but I think I'll need to now.  K turned 6 weeks on Friday, and she's exclusively breastfed and eats every 2 hours or sooner except at night where she might go 4-5 hours.  On Sunday I had some spotting and yesterday I had spotting mixed with 10KL.

We are going to start trying for #2 in not too long, but I'd like to get a bit of a break from spotting/bleeding.  I had spotting/bleeding post-peak the cycle she was conceived, I had it off and on for weeks in the first and second trimester, I had bleeding during labor, and I had just stopped spotting/bleeding after birth around 4 weeks.  We haven't resumed intercourse since her birth but we'll see how long that takes since she almost never sleeps that's not on or next to someone.

How cloth diapers are working for us so far

We've been using the cloth diapers most of the time since her cord fell off at about 1 week old.  Here's a link to the post where I talked about the plan for my cloth diaper stash. 

So far we've been using:
2 dozen Green Mountain Diaper Prefold Newborn (Orange)
6 Thirsties X-small Covers
Snappi Size 1 Triple Pack
Baby washcloths (I have about 2 dozen I think) as wipes
2 Fuzzibunz Hanging Diaper Bags
G Diaper Flushable Inserts (when we travel)
Planet Wise Wet Bag, Large

I also have but haven't yet used:
6 Flip One-Size Covers with Snaps 
2 dozen Green Mountain Diaper Prefold Small (Yellow) 
2 Fuzzibunz One Size Diapers 

She is still wearing the XS Thirsties cover as tight as it goes, so it'll be a while before we need to go to a bigger cover.  The Flip covers right now don't seem snug enough on her legs.  Hopefully as she gets bigger they'll fit, but if not I'll get the bigger sizes of the Thirsties.  I love the Thirsties covers since the elastic around her thighs and back is snug.  When she has worn disposable diapers, she tends to leak (necessitating a clothing change) whenever she has a dirty diaper.  She hasn't had that happen that I can remember when she has a prefold that is snappied and her Thirsties cover.  The cover rarely even gets dirty with the prefold.  


When we went on our long (5 day) trip, we took her Thirsties covers and used the G diaper (small) liners.  Since the G diaper liners aren't fitted, the cover still got dirty.  However, we had much less need of clothing changes since the Thirsties covers kept it in.  We'll definitely do the same thing again when we travel next.


I keep the washcloths that I use as wipes in an empty wipes container.  I have a little travel bottle with a top that pulls up (like on a water bottle) that I put my wipes solution in and then I can squirt it on the washcloth.  To make the wipes solution, I just use a couple drops of baby wash in water that I boil and then let cool.


I do diaper laundry every day or day and a half.  I usually wash when I have about 6 prefolds left.  I wash the washclothes and prefold together.  First I do a cold rinse with no detergent.  Then I do a hot wash cycle with detergent (making sure not to use too much) and an extra rinse.  I dry the prefolds on regular.  I usually wash the covers and the hanging pail with a load of light or dark laundry on cold or warm, and then I line/hang dry them.


She had a diaper rash for about 2 weeks, and some of that time we used the disposable, but I was able to use the prefolds by getting some muslin and cutting it into little strips which I folded in half and put over the area that had cream on it.  I washed the strips separately from my prefolds and covers. 

I'll post my thoughts on the Fuzzibunz and Flips when I use them. 

Where for art thou, Prayer Buddy?

I know I've been away for awhile, but life has been kind of busy around here.  Between taking care of K, taking an online class, and traveling, I haven't had much time to post.

I still haven't heard from my Lenten prayer buddy, so I'm wondering who it was.

K is 5 weeks old as of yesterday. She's doing very well. I don't know her current weight since she has been back to the pediatrician since her 4 day visit and doesn't go back until 2 months.  She's still a great breastfeeder. She generally gives us a good chunk of sleep (4+ hour block) at night and usually goes back to sleep for a couple more hours after her night nursing. She usually takes pretty short daytime naps and doesn't want to sleep long anywhere other than on someone.  Thankfully I can get on the computer while she's eating or sleeping, especially if I put her in the Sleepy Wrap (it's like a Moby with slightly stretchier fabric).  She still gets pretty mad and screams when she wants something.  She'll sit in her swing and be calm sometimes and I put here in there so I can shower.  D has been great when he's around.  Since I'm not working, I generally do most of the night stuff so he can get enough sleep to be functional at work.

Here are some pictures of K and I'll try to post more and some video soon.

Family picture Easter 2011

Me holding K

Prayer Buddy

This Lent I had the privilege of praying for one of the "gateway" Catholic Infertility bloggers, All You Who Hope.    It was a honor to pray for her.  I offered up my labor and my weekly Eucharist adoration for her and her beautiful family.

K's birth story

I had been starting to get a bit anxious about when the baby would arrive after my ob appointment on Wednesday, April 6. I hadn't had any contractions or anything and my ob would be going out of town on Friday, April 15, which would be 40 weeks, 6 days. Also my dad was going to be in town for the weekend of April 9-10, but then he'd being going back to Qatar.

Friday, April 8 (which was 39 weeks, 6 days), I woke up at 2 am and went to the bathroom. (TMI warning) I was having my bloody show and when I went back to bed, my back was starting to bother me a lot. I couldn't fall back asleep because of my back and by 3 am, I was pretty sure I was in labor. Sometime around 3 or 4, I told Daniel that I was pretty sure that something was happening. I got up around 5:30 or so and my mom was up so I told her that I was pretty sure I was in labor. From the time that I started having contractions, they were never really more than about 5 minutes apart and were about 3 minutes apart almost my entire labor. I called the people that I nanny for about 6 and let them know that I was in labor and wouldn't be coming that day. Daniel headed into to work, but I ended up calling him after he'd only been there about 20 minutes and asked him to come home. I got in the bathtub for a while and that made me feel a bit better. Around 9, I got out of the tub and Daniel was timing my contractions, which were 3-4 minutes apart. We decided to go ahead and go to the hospital since the contractions were pretty close together, hoping that I was relatively far along.

We got to the hospital about 10 and I was only 4 cm dilated when they checked me. I was still having a lot of back pain (she was posterior), which I had the entire labor. They did the monitoring and then I got on the birth ball. During each contraction, I had either Daniel or the nurse apply pressure on my back. After a few hours, the nurse asked if I'd like to get in the tub, which made me feel a lot better. I told Daniel went I got in that it was glorious,. During every contraction, I would sway back and forth. I had been making slow but steady progress, but I stalled out at 7cm and the doctor broke my water in the hope that I would start progressing again. I wasn't drinking enough fluids so they gave me an IV at that time. I stalled again at 8 cm and my cervix was starting to swell, so I ended up having to get pitocin, which I worried would make the already intense contractions unbearable. I still chose not to get an epidural, although I did waver for a few minutes. They gave me the pitocin at about 6 pm, so I had been in labor for about 16 hours at that point. Before they gave me the pitocin, the baby was starting to have a higher heartrate and they wanted to get her out soon without having to give me a c-section. Also I was bleeding more than they like to see and that was worrying my doctor.

Thankfully, once they gave me the pitocin, it was only about 20 minutes before I was fully dilated to 10 cm and ready to start pushing. I pushed for about 10 minutes and then she was born at 6:42 pm. When she came out and they said it was a girl, I said “Come here, Kiara” and then they put her on my chest. I did end up tearing, but I'm not sure what degree it was. Once I was stitched up, Daniel went to go get my mom from the waiting room. She was on my chest for a while and then they took her to the warming table to do measurements. It was only a couple feet from me, but I wanted them to hurry up and give me back my baby.

We started working on getting her to latch within the first hour, but (TMI warning) it took a while for her to get the mechanics of my nipples down since they were on the small side. I ended up having to use a nipple shield for a while, but my milk came in on Monday night and she's now a champion breastfeeder. She likes to cluster feed in the evening and at night and she tends to sleep a lot during the day. The first few nights were rough, but now we know that most of the time she's hungry and I just feed her again and she goes to sleep. She definitely has a temper and when you aren't doing what she wants quickly enough, she screams like a velociraptor. She's really alert though when she's calm.  She was able to meet all of her grandparents last weekend.  We had her first appointment with the pediatrician on Tuesday, and she looked great and was only down about 4 oz from her birth weight.

Since she was so small when she was born, we ended up using disposable diapers (the newborn size not even the size 1 that they have at the hospital) for the past week. Her cord stump fell off yesterday, so I put her first cloth diaper on her today.