Schedule

We're just 5 weeks in but already have fallen into a comfortable schedule with Taylor.  We are so blessed she is a great eater and sleeper -

Here is the schedule we're working on:
2am - Feeding
7am - wake up and Feeding
9:30 - Feeding
10 - pump
12noon - Feeding
1-3pm - Nap
3pm - Feeding
6pm - Feeding
9pm - Feeding
10pm - nighttime routine

For the 2am feeding, I generally have to wake her up.  We ran out of cloth diapers so we've been using disposable at night and last night she went 10 hours without a change...and without complaining so the wicking disposables are probably the way to go but guess we haven't let her go that long with cloth so we won't know.  The worst part of her schedule is that I need her to get up and have a good feeding in the morning because I'm so engorged.  I pumped the last few mornings right at 7:30 (after the first feeding) because we had workings building a new fence in the back and therefore I had to pump early to not freak those guys out.  However, I think my body is producing a lot in the early morning to accommodate that so I hope it will to not produce so much in the early morning.

When I pump, I generally go for 20-30 minutes and will get around 140-160 ML.  Or about 5 ounces.  I'm definitely over producing right now but like to have a bit of a stock pile in the fridge/freezer.  I also might donate some milk to friends that weren't able to nurse.  Apparently one pumping would sell for about $27 - kinda crazy so if I'm able to give away some my friends might appreciate it.

Taylor is a bit fussy at night/evening.  We are following Baby Wise (mostly) and are working on keeping her away after feedings.  Apparently feedings become a crutch for falling asleep so we're trying to get on the Eat - Play - Sleep schedule which seems to be working.  She is still falling asleep or not fully waking up for the middle of the night feeding and, if I changed her diaper I know she would wake up but so would I.  She's not hard to get to sleep but I have a hard time going back to sleep after that feeding. 

Taylor media

Here's a link to the professional photos we got taken of Taylor at 2 weeks

Here is the slideshow we put together of the first month.

Milestone: umbilical cord

Today, Taylor lost her umbilical cord stump.  It's day 17 and I think that's pretty average - especially since it's winter and I believe air is supposed to help dry it out...she rarely has her belly exposed since it's so cold out.  It's been the first few days on our own.  Jarad, Camille, Archer and Avalon arrived on Dec 26 and left on January 4.  It was great having them here and am so happy our house was able to accommodate the whole fam.  Avalon is super chatty and Archer is still working on his words so he "grunts" a lot to try to get attention but no one knows what he wants so I think it's a frustrating time for both him and those around him. 

They're great but it was a lot of energy in the house so we're equally enjoying the quiet times.  We actually have had friends over every day/night since Thursday so tomorrow will be our first day without any visitors. 

I think we're on a good schedule - for example, Taylor went to sleep last night around 9:30 and then  I got up with her around 2 for a feeding - her diaper was clean but at the end of the feeding I had to change it.  She went back to bed around 2:30am and then I got up with her again at 5 for another feeding and again, put her back to bed until 8am.  Each of these times, I had a mental timer to get up and she was kinda stirring but not crying at all.  I change her diaper to wake her up enough to eat.  The night before, Chris got up with her at 4am for the feeding and gave her a bottle of pumped milk.  The first problem with this plan is that she decided she didn't want to go back to bed and he was then up with her until 5:30.  The other problem is that I had gone from 11am to 7am without nursing so I was desperate for her to nurse since my milk is now totally in.

During the day, she's on a good routine of feeding every 2.5-3 hours.  She stays awake for about 30-60 minutes after and then naps anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours between feedings.  We're following Baby Wise so she'll nurse immediately after waking up and then we want to keep her awake after feeding.  I laid her on her back under the pad with mobile and she was totally interested and not crying.  Not sure if it's usual for a 2-week old to be wide awake and not fussing but it's so fun when she is.

For recording purposes, I started weighing in at 140 - my personal heaviest and just breached 180 when I went into labor.  The day we came home from the hospital I weighed in at 160 and in the last week I've lost 3 more pounds.  My goal is to get down to 120 - I healthy and comfortable weight for me so I want to lose the remaining 17 pregnancy pounds as well as the 20 pounds that...well...is extra and unnecessary ;)

Big Weigh-in

Taylor lost more than 10% of her birth weight before leaving the hospital - She weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces when she was born on the morning of the 22nd.  On the 25th when we were preparing to leave the hospital she weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces.  Our family doctor made a special trip the next day to weigh her again and was happy that she then weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces - due largely to the fact we were giving her formula because my milk still hadn't come in.  Apparently with a c-section it often takes longer to get one's milk and, in my case, I lost an abnormally large amount of blood so it took even longer.

On December 29, we went back to the doctor, now exclusively nursing and she weighed in at 7 pounds 4.5 ounces.  This wasn't abnormal since the birth but since the last weigh in, she wasn't gaining enough so we had yet another weigh in on January 3 and now she weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces.  Woohoo!  We were introduced (forced to use) a nipple shield in the hospital and we tried not to use it because it supposedly can affect milk supply.  After consulting with several people, it sounds like it does not affect milk supply because the material is much thinner than it had in the past.  My supply seems to be great but it is annoying to always need this "device" so the task is now to get her off the shield.  Always something to work on ;)