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!

The Hospital Stay

We were in the hospital after our delivery for 3 whole days and were released on the 4th day. We were so happy to be going home! I will say that we had a pretty nice stay. We had some amazing nurses taking care of Elizabeth and I and it was nice to have my husband stay with us the whole time.

When Elizabeth was born her Bili level was 8.6 which is right below the level of having Jaundice. The next few days her levels climbed little by little mostly due to not getting enough food from me. Because of this she also lost 9oz of her birth weight. When we left the hospital she weighed 6lbs 2oz and her Bili level was at 14. Because of this our pediatrician suggested we give her a formula bottle with each feeding to get her levels down. Every day since we left the hospital we have had to go back up to the hospital to get her levels checked. They climbed to 15 but have now started going down to 14.6. I am very lucky that she didn't have to be under any lights and so far we haven't had to bring home a Bili blanket. We just have to give her 20 minutes of sunlight through a window each day and give her a formula bottle with each feeding.

Here are some pics of our hospital stay:

Daddy & Liz right after being born

Our little family

Going home outfit

Liz' Life: 1 Week

 One Week

Sleeping: She sleeps most of the day. She is usually only up when I feed her and sometimes getting her to wake up to feed her is a challenge. She stays awake more at night on most nights.

Eating: Right now she is eating 1.5oz of breast milk and 1-2oz of formula at each feeding. This is to try to get her billi levels down.

Activity: Not much yet; a lot of sleeping mostly. When she is awake she is very quiet. She only cries when shes hungry. She moves her arms a lot and I love it when she stretches.

Likes: She likes to put her hands in her mouth which is really annoying when I'm trying to feed her.


Dislikes: She really hates taking baths. She cries through the whole thing.

First Doctor's Visit: She had her first visit on Friday. She had gained 6oz in just 4 days. Her ped said her lungs sound great. He also said that her head is a little small so we have to make sure it grows properly. Elizabeth wasn't born with Jaundice but she ended up getting it while we were still at the hospital so we've been going to the hospital to her checked every day since. At Friday's appointment her levels were going down. Because she still has Jaundice she didn't get her first shot. We go back tomorrow and hopefully she is back to her birth weight. She lost 9oz before we had left the hospital and as of Friday's visit is only 5oz away. Hopefully her billi levels have gone down. I'm interested to see how she takes getting her first shot.

Highlights of Week: Having family over to see our little girl.

We Had A Baby - The Delivery Story

That's right, 2 weeks before our due date, Elizabeth entered into this world! Last week my blood pressure had been really high and at my last doctor's visit she told me to keep an eye on it and call her if it got high. Last Friday I had a headache that wouldn't go away and my blood pressure was really high after taking a nap so I called my doctor and she told me to go ahead and go to the hospital to stay overnight to do another 24 hour urine. Of course as soon as I got to the hospital my blood pressure went down dramatically but I continued to have a headache. On Saturday the doctor gave me something for a migraine to see if my headache would go away and when it didn't she said she wanted to go ahead with the csection then just to be on safe side in case I did have preeclampsia and she didn't want to wait until the 24 hour urine was done.

Within the hour we were in the OR and Elizabeth was being born. I was so scared and nervous. I was nervous about the surgery but more nervous that Liz wasn't ready to come out and I wanted her to be healthy. My doctor kept reassuring me that everything was going to be OK. I got really nauseous during the procedure and threw up a little bit of fluid. Before I knew it Elizabeth was born. She weighed 6lbs 13 oz and was 19 in tall. She was born with a head full of dark hair with some light brown highlights. She is absolutely beautiful and we are so overjoyed.

Here's a pic of that day:

Stayed tuned for the rest of our hospital story!