Liz' Life: 5 Weeks

 Five Weeks

Sleeping: Every night is different. There have been a couple nights that she's slept for 5 hours at a time but for the most part it's only 2-3 hours at a time. She still doesn't like to sleep in her crib. As soon as I put her down she starts crying.

Eating: I took Liz to the doctor last week since she was vomiting a couple of her feedings and her ped said she probably had acid reflux and told us to add rice cereal to her formula. Since then she hasn't spit up or vomited once! She's eating anywhere from 3-6oz.

Activity: She's getting to stay up more during the day. She has started to like her swing a little better but doesn't like to stay in there long.

Likes: She likes to be held a lot and loves to eat and be sung to.


Dislikes: She hates being put down for long periods of time. She doesn't like diaper change time.

Highlights of Week: My former coworker came to visit her for the first time.

Pics from the week:

Mommy and Elizabeth

Daddy and Liz

Showing off her jewelry

Great Grandma (GG) feeding Liz

Liz and her Abuela

Father's Day Recap

Daddy & his little sweetie

On Saturday Elizabeth and I took her daddy to Chili's because he loves their chicken fried steak. On Sunday morning I woke up and picked us up breakfast and gave him the cards from Liz and I and a little book called Daddy's Girl. Unfortunately I couldn't buy anything else as I don't have a job. But I think he had a good 1st Father's Day anyway. That afternoon we went to my foster family's house. They cooked steaks and potatoes and we had homemade icecream for dessert. It was a very nice relaxing day. It was Liz' first time around puppies and they have 3 dogs. It was so funny to see doggie Lexie be so protective over her. She had to be laying beside her the whole time we were there. It was so cute. I can't wait to see what next year's father's day brings.

Grandma Deb with dogs Lexie & Elle

Liz' Life: 1 Month Old

Elizabeth,

You are a month old today! Mommy can't believe how fast it has gone by. You are so adorable and I love watching you sleep. That is when you are most at peace. You are getting heavier every day and that's because you love to eat! You're like mommy in that way. You are eating between 4-6 oz at every feeding. You love to be held and only like to be put down for a short time. You are still sleeping a lot but I love it when you are awake and not crying. You always stay up for an hour or so after your 2 or 3 am feeding.  You have learned to like bath time with daddy and you like it when we read to you. You started getting fussy the past few days and Doctor thinks you have Colic and I feel so bad for you. You slept for 5 hours straight last night for the first time and missed your 10 p.m. feeding. I think it was because you were laying on momma. You did so good on this photo shoot. I was really surprised that you didn't cry at all and you were actually awake. Elizabeth, mommy and daddy love you so much and we can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy


Pics from 1 month photo shoot:

Happy 1st Father's Day!

 Happy 1st Father's Day to my wonderful husband! I knew since we first got together over 8 years ago that I wanted you to be the father of my children. You are a great person who is so smart, funny and sweet. Thank you so much for being so wonderful to me through our pregnancy even when I would cry for no reason. Thank you for being so understanding when I cry for no reason now! Thank you for being my rock through the delivery of our little girl and helping me to not be scared. Thank you for helping me make such a special little person. She is so lucky to have you as her dad. I know you will always be there for her and she is going to learn so much from you. I hope she has your temperament. Even if I don't tell you enough I want you to know I'm lucky to have you and am so thankful for all the things you do! I hope you have a wonderful 1st Father's Day!

Love,

Your wife

Breastfeeding Update

I decided yesterday to no longer pump. My supply had gone down from 2-2.5 oz to 1 oz down to now .5 oz. I have struggled with this decision and had been feeling guilty about the whole breastfeeding situation even though I said I wasn't going to. It's a hard to decision to make because you want what is best for your child and you don't want people to judge you. I've unfortunately always been the type of person to worry about what everyone thinks of me and I didn't want to be looked at as a bad mom.

After talking to a friend yesterday who wasn't able to breastfeed her baby I felt a lot better about my decision. It is not my fault that I have really large breasts and flat nipples. I can't change that. I can't help it that my daughter didn't latch on and the nipple shield didn't work for me. I can't help that my milk supply wasn't as much as I would like it to be. My daughter got the Colostrum which is the most important thing and she received breast milk via bottle for 3 weeks. I can't be mad at that. She had been getting formula since she was born because of Jaundice and it helped her to get rid of it and get back to her birth weight. So formula is the best choice for us.

I'm learning to not be mad about it and know that as long as my little girl is healthy that's all that matters. Liz goes for her next checkup in two weeks so we will see what the peditrician says about it then. Thanks for everyone's support!

Liz' Life: 3 Weeks

Three Weeks

Sleeping: There was a day or two where she slept for 4 hour stretches at night but we are still having trouble getting her to go to bed right after her night feedings. She takes an 1-2 hour naps during the day after her feeding and play time.

Eating: My milk is slowly starting to decrease. I'm now only getting an ounce in at a time. She is eating 4oz at every feeding.

Activity: She is still sleeping a lot during the day and is more active during the evenings.

Likes: She likes to be held a lot!


Dislikes: She does not like the bath nor to be changed or when I try to clean under her neck.

Highlights of Week: Daddy went back to work this week and it was just Liz and I. That was an experience! My sister came over one day and wanted to go to lunch so I took Liz out for the first time without my husband.

Pics from the week:

Professional Hospital Pics

At our hospital when we had Elizabeth they came in and took pictures of Elizabeth that we had the option to buy which we did. They came out so cute! Enjoy!

My Breastfeeding Story

Warning: May be too much info for some!

I always knew I wanted to breastfeed if I could. I always thought it was funny when people asked if I was going to breastfeed because you never really know if you can or not until it happens. I told myself while I was pregnant that I wouldn't be upset if I couldn't and we would just see what would happen. Well the day came and Elizabeth had trouble latching on. While we were at the hospital we had a lactation nurse come in and she said that she was having trouble because my breasts were too large. I was always afraid of that. I have always been a size D and when I was pregnant I grew to a size E! I even had dreams while I was pregnant that I was smothering her with my boob!

Not only did the lactation nurse say that my boobs were too big but she also said that my nipples were too flat and didn't stick out far enough for Elizabeth to really latch on to. So she suggested I use a nipple shield. That was a little bit of work to keep on my breast and especially with Liz putting her hands near her mouth she would knock it off. I did that for a week and then I decided to pump exclusively. I didn't want my baby to be so frustrated trying to get her food. I try to pump every 3-5 hours or so when I can but I am not producing a whole lot of milk. Our pediatrician suggested me drinking Ovaltine which is supposed to help bring more milk in but I pump for 10-15 minutes and only get 2-2.5 ounces usually. So I have to supplement the rest with formula. We have been supplementing with formula since she was born since she wasn't getting a lot from me and to help her Bili levels go down. I'm afraid that my milk is not going to last very long and she will be strictly on formula.

I have conflicting feelings about all this. I know a lot of babies are formula fed and there is nothing wrong with them but in a way I feel like I'm doing a disservice to her by not giving her more breast milk. Then on the other hand it is so more convenient to just give her formula. Either way I know that it does not make me a bad mom and in no way do I feel guilty about it. I am doing everything I can do and the most important thing is that my little girl gets fed!

For my readers who have babies, what is your story?

Liz' Life: 2 Weeks

Two Weeks

Sleeping: She is starting to stay awake more during the day. Still having a little bit of trouble getting her back to sleep after her late night feeding.

Eating: Not producing a lot of breast milk so she eats about 2oz of breast milk and then 2oz of formula at almost every feeding. If I haven't pumped yet she will get 4oz of formula. She's eating about every 3-4 hours.

Activity: My baby girl is already picking up her head for a couple seconds at a time and moving her head from side to side. She is so strong. She grabbed on to my hair the other day and I couldn't unhook her fingers.

Likes: She likes to be held a lot!


Dislikes: She is not a big fan of the swing or vibration.

Second Doctor's Visit: She gained her birth weight back and the doctor said her jaundice was almost completely gone! She got her first shot which of course she cried but we gave her a bottle right after and she was ok again.

Highlights of Week: We left her alone for the first time with her great grandma while we went to my brother-in-laws graduation. I was so stressed about leaving her and had really bad anxiety but she did great and I survived! Then this weekend we took her to her uncle's graduation party where a lot of Joey's family got to meet her for the first time. She  is sooo loved!