End of blog

Hello bloggy friends. I started this blog to chronicle my journey to motherhood. When I started the blog I thought it would take some time to "get knocked up", little did I know...now that Harper is here it is too hard to maintain 2 blogs. So, I am going to stop updating this blog and go back to my tri blog (although I'll just be running this year probably). I hope that you will all update your links and follow me over there, there will be plenty of Harper updates as I now work on becoming a marathoning mamma.

http://www.trainingtotri.blogspot.com/

tips please

Okay ladies I need a few tips on this breastfeeding. How in the world do you control the other boob when she's feeding on the opposite one? My milk squirts everywhere and we are making such a freaking mess. Also, do you have to use breast pads in your bra forever or does this milk eventually calm down? If I so much as look at my nipple it comes squirting out, which is great for parlor tricks, but no so much for day to day life! I feel like we both need a bath by the end of feeding time. Also, do any of you have lazy suckers? Harper does great for about 5-10 mins and then loses interest. I know I am making enough milk b/c it is dripping out everywhere. But she is still hungry after the boob and will drink about 2 oz supplemental (either breast pumped or formula) in a bottle. My doc has me cutting back the amount of supplemental, so do I just have faith that once the bottles are totally gone she will be hungry enough to pay more attn to the boobs?

Here's Harper fine tuning her thumbs sucking skills:

Get ready for some cuteness

Today we took Harper on our first family outing to the holden arboretum. It's a big old garden for those of you who don't know what an arboretum is. It was a little hot, so we didn't stay long, but got some great shots. She did really good, but didn't eat for me at the park, I think she was just toooooo sleepy from the heat.

1 week old

I can't believe it's already been a week. This time last week I was just starting to get ready to push! In the first week Harper has figured out how to suck her thumb, is getting pretty good on the boob, has pooped way more than I thought possible and is way cuter than I could have ever imagined. She still has not cried one time since we brought her home, she sleeps like a champ and loves water. Her cord fell out today, so I washed her bottom off in the sink after a huge butt explosion and she loved it! So, bathtime should be easy enough.

Here's a video for her aunts:

Doc recheck

We had a follow up with our ped today and the jaundice is gone. Yahoo. Also she is just an ounce below her birth weight. I've been supplementing with the formula, but the doc and I discussed and he gave me a plan to get her off the formula/bottle/pump cycle. Basically I will boob first until she loses interest, then give her 2 oz of follow up milk (breast or formula), every 4 days I will drop that follow up milk an ounce until it is gone completely. Right now I can only get her to latch with the nipple shield, but starting Tuesday I will go to the boob circle group and hopefully the lactation consultant can help get me past that, but I'm much more interested in getting off the pump cycle than I am worried about the shield. I hope to get her just exclusively on the boob, then do that for a few weeks before I re-introduce bottle of breast milk, I mean I am not going to be the one to feed her everytime. Ahh it's all so complicated! Good thing I am such a big fan of lists and plans!

Home sweet home

Yeah we are home. We got home Wed night around 8 pm. Harper has a mild case of jaundice, so they made us stay a day after the neurologist to getting her eating, pooping, peeing, etc. I guess they thought we'd just go home and stop feeding her, sheesh. They had me start her on some formula since my milk wasn't in and they were concerned with how much she was eating. So, we did a day of that and whatever I could pump and got our walking papers. We went to her pediatrician on Thurs morning and her jaundice is getting better, we go back Sat for a recheck. She only has a mild case.
Everything is right with the world. She is such a little cutie. I just adore her. She loves starting and me and Gary and makes the funniest faces when she is awake. Mostly she is asleep. We are doing tummy time right now and she went on her first walk today. I walked a mile, it was fine, but I could feel that my core aches when we got back. Oooh the work I have to do. Don't even want to think about it. Today I start cutting out all the excess sugar I have unfortunately allowed myself.
My milk is in, but she's a lazy eater. I can only get her to latch on with a nipple shield at this point. Our eating routine is boob first, usually she'll do that for about 20-30 mins then lose interest, then on to a bottle of pumped breast milk ( I usually have about 1-1.5 ounces in that), then on to these little similac 2 oz bottles they gave me from the NICU. Its such a lonnngggg process. But I am glad she'll take the boob even if it's with a shield. I will worry about breaking that habit later. I plan to attend a breastfeeding group at the hospital starting next Tuesday until we are just boobin it. She has a really good latch, she just doesn't eagerly got at and she can't seem to get my nip without the shield.
I also plan to go to a new moms group starting next week that they have near my house.
Tired, I will blog more in the coming weeks I am sure, but for now even though we do nothing, it seems like we're constantly busy. You all know how it is. I have to make sure to blog though so my sisters can see all the updated info on their newest niece!

All clear - yahoo

Well after 48 hours of hell the neurologist saw her and declared her perfect. Thank goodness, but man oh man the stress. I mean I know they have to be better safe than sorry. She is off the IV now and she can be in the room with me, but I still have to take her back, she can't stay in here for good, so when I go to sleep she goes back to the NICU and I hope they will discharge her tomorrow. It's now all dependent on how they think she's eating. I think she's eating pretty darn well, but it's not up to me!