Today was Caroline's 2 month check-up with the doctor. She's doing great! She still seems like a skinny little thing, and today I found out why. She weighs 11 lbs. 10 oz., which is about the 65th percentile for weight (up from about the 40th percentile at 2 weeks), but she's 23 3/4 inches long, which is 90th percentile for height! It looks like our girl is going to be a tall one! She also has a 90th percentile head, which means she has plenty of room for her wonderful, smart brain to grow!
They don't really ask about milestones at the 2 month visit, but she seemed to be on target when the pediatrician tested different things. She wiggled around for him quite a bit, and when he tested to see if she would straighten her legs on the table, he was actually able to let go and let her "stand" briefly on her own. He said she was very strong for her age!
Poor Caroline had to get 4 shots today, which offended her deeply. But she nursed right after and was eventually able to calm down. It took her a while, though, and she sounded awfully pathetic trying to nurse while simultaneously sniffling and hiccuping. The nurse in our doctor's office is so sweet and wonderful, but that didn't stop me from wanting to punch her in the mouth for hurting my precious baby! She said that giving shots is the hardest part of her job, poor thing. Of course, Caroline has probably forgotten all about the shots at this point, but I'm still mildly traumatized by them!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
First bottle
With all the nursing problems we were having at the beginning, I didn't want to introduce a bottle to Caroline too early. I figured, since she could get the milk much easier from a bottle, she'd probably decide it was just too much work to nurse, and she'd start to prefer the bottle. But since we finally worked through all the problems we were having, I decided it was time to give it a shot.
It did not go well. We did everything "they" recommend when we tried it. She was hungry enough, but not frantic. Jimmy gave the bottle while I stayed in another room. He held her facing away from him so that she wouldn't associate the position with nursing. Apparently, he put the bottle in her mouth, and she looked at him like he must have lost his mind. Then she screamed. It was not just any cry -- it was a deep, gutteral wail that told us she was deeply offended that we would even TRY to offer her something as cold and impersonal as that plastic bottle, even if it WAS filled with Mommy's milk. She got a couple of drips from the nipple, but apparently Jimmy couldn't get her to suck on the thing even once.
After several minutes of trying, Jimmy finally gave up. Once he got her calmed down, I nursed her, and she looked extremely relieved. I'm not going to lie to you. I was more than a little relieved that she didn't just take to it right away and never look back. Yes, I'd love to be able to leave a bottle with her if I have to leave her in the church nursery or something, but if she doesn't take one, I'm sure we'll all survive. I'd much rather have a long and successful nursing relationship than to have her decide she prefers the bottle, though it would be nice to find a happy medium in there somewhere!
So we'll keep on trying. I'm thinking of leaving her in the nursery tomorrow night during choir practice and leaving a bottle with them to see if she'll take it when I'm actually out of the building. Anna never would take one at all, so it wouldn't surprise me if Caroline refuses it altogether, too, but I figure it's worth a shot to see if someone she doesn't know can get her to take a bottle!
Oh, and just as an update, Caroline is now somewhere in the 11 1/2 pound range! Woo-hoo! She's been gaining about 1/2 pound a week over the last 3 weeks, so she's doing really, really well now that I've stopped supplmenting her. She has her 2-month checkup on the 30th, so I'll get the "official" weight then, but I'm thrilled with her weight gain so far!
It did not go well. We did everything "they" recommend when we tried it. She was hungry enough, but not frantic. Jimmy gave the bottle while I stayed in another room. He held her facing away from him so that she wouldn't associate the position with nursing. Apparently, he put the bottle in her mouth, and she looked at him like he must have lost his mind. Then she screamed. It was not just any cry -- it was a deep, gutteral wail that told us she was deeply offended that we would even TRY to offer her something as cold and impersonal as that plastic bottle, even if it WAS filled with Mommy's milk. She got a couple of drips from the nipple, but apparently Jimmy couldn't get her to suck on the thing even once.
After several minutes of trying, Jimmy finally gave up. Once he got her calmed down, I nursed her, and she looked extremely relieved. I'm not going to lie to you. I was more than a little relieved that she didn't just take to it right away and never look back. Yes, I'd love to be able to leave a bottle with her if I have to leave her in the church nursery or something, but if she doesn't take one, I'm sure we'll all survive. I'd much rather have a long and successful nursing relationship than to have her decide she prefers the bottle, though it would be nice to find a happy medium in there somewhere!
So we'll keep on trying. I'm thinking of leaving her in the nursery tomorrow night during choir practice and leaving a bottle with them to see if she'll take it when I'm actually out of the building. Anna never would take one at all, so it wouldn't surprise me if Caroline refuses it altogether, too, but I figure it's worth a shot to see if someone she doesn't know can get her to take a bottle!
Oh, and just as an update, Caroline is now somewhere in the 11 1/2 pound range! Woo-hoo! She's been gaining about 1/2 pound a week over the last 3 weeks, so she's doing really, really well now that I've stopped supplmenting her. She has her 2-month checkup on the 30th, so I'll get the "official" weight then, but I'm thrilled with her weight gain so far!
Do you think they're really sisters?
A lot of people have asked me where all of Caroline's dark hair comes from. Anna is so blonde now that it's hard to believe her hair was BLACK when she was born! But after getting Caroline's portraits taken the other day, I noticed that one of the pictures looks a lot like one of Anna's portraits from around the same age. Sure, there are some differences in their facial expressions, but I think both of them look like they're about to start talking and revealing all the secrets of the universe.
So here I give you Anna at two months along with Caroline at two months!
So here I give you Anna at two months along with Caroline at two months!
First Road Trip
Last weekend, we decided to take a road trip to Abilene for our college's homecoming weekend and Jimmy's 10th reunion. There were all sorts of choir events going on, and our old choir director is retiring this year, so we wanted to be there to see him one last time, as well.
The trip is usually about 5.5-6 hours from Houston to Abilene, but we figured it would take longer with a nursing infant. Boy, did it ever! Our first mistake was timing our getaway. Caroline typically nurses every 2.5 hours from the start of one feeding to the start of the next. So if I nurse her for 30 minutes, we have a two-hour window for travel.
The goal was to wake up, get the car packed, feed Caroline, and load her up as soon as she was done nursing. Unfortunately, that didn't quite happen, and by the time we finally got on the road, we had already lost an hour of our window. So we had to stop an hour or so into our trip to nurse. Fortunately, we found a great park where Jimmy and Anna could go run around, and the weather was delightful, so I just rolled down the windows and fed Caroline in the car. She seemed to like the breeze, and I got some great smiles and coos while we sat there.
Shortly after that stop, it was time for lunch, so we had to stop again. Then we had to make a pit stop about an hour later, and Caroline was ready to nurse again an hour after that. So 4 hours into our trip, we had already stopped 4 times! I was getting concerned that we'd NEVER get there! Fortunately, after the second time we stopped, Caroline decided to take a nice, long nap, so we made it to Abilene without having to stop again.
Friday night, we had a choir barbeque followed by a rehearsal. After an hour or so of rehearsal, it became abundantly clear that Caroline was not going to just hang out with me, so I decided to take her to the nursery that was provided. She stayed there for about an hour and did okay, but they did say she fussed some. By the time I got there to check on her, she was just starting to really wail, so I fed her again and decided to take her back to the hotel for the evening. I'm really glad I got to sing in that rehearsal, though, since I didn't get to sing in any of the events that weekend. It was amazing singing with our old college group. From the moment Doc raised his hands for the first time that evening, the sound was gorgeous, and it was like we had never been away.
Saturday morning, Jimmy sang in an alumni concert, and then Anna, Caroline and I went with some friends to pick out bridesmaid's dresses for my friend Joyce's wedding. Joyce's fiance was with us, and the poor guy ended up pulling childcare duty for my kids and my friend Angie's two kids. I started trying on dresses first, since Caroline was asleep in her carseat (a rare treat!). Of course, as soon as I got myself halfway buckled into the steel-belted undergarment the saleslady had given me (I swear, it had about 60 hooks on it!), Caroline woke up and screamed. She timed it just perfectly so that there were no women around, so Nathan had to take her out and figure out what to do with her. He did a great job bouncing and rocking and making little noises to try to settle her down. I told Joyce that any guy who would work that hard to comfort a baby he'd never even met before was definitely a keeper! nathan said he saw it as "practice"!
Saturday night, we went to an alumni banquet, where Jimmy got to sing with the alumni choir again. After that, we went to All School SING, and Caroline did great while we were there! Sunday morning, we drove to Sweetwater to attend church with some friends and then ate lunch at their house before heading home.
The drive home actually went MUCH better than the drive up there. I nursed Caroline before we left, and then we put her in the car and went. She made it about 3 hours before she woke up wanting to eat, and then she made it the rest of the way (over 4 hours!) without needing to stop again. We got home Sunday night around 11:00 after finally leaving Abilene at about 4:00 -- not too bad!
The trip is usually about 5.5-6 hours from Houston to Abilene, but we figured it would take longer with a nursing infant. Boy, did it ever! Our first mistake was timing our getaway. Caroline typically nurses every 2.5 hours from the start of one feeding to the start of the next. So if I nurse her for 30 minutes, we have a two-hour window for travel.
The goal was to wake up, get the car packed, feed Caroline, and load her up as soon as she was done nursing. Unfortunately, that didn't quite happen, and by the time we finally got on the road, we had already lost an hour of our window. So we had to stop an hour or so into our trip to nurse. Fortunately, we found a great park where Jimmy and Anna could go run around, and the weather was delightful, so I just rolled down the windows and fed Caroline in the car. She seemed to like the breeze, and I got some great smiles and coos while we sat there.
Shortly after that stop, it was time for lunch, so we had to stop again. Then we had to make a pit stop about an hour later, and Caroline was ready to nurse again an hour after that. So 4 hours into our trip, we had already stopped 4 times! I was getting concerned that we'd NEVER get there! Fortunately, after the second time we stopped, Caroline decided to take a nice, long nap, so we made it to Abilene without having to stop again.
Friday night, we had a choir barbeque followed by a rehearsal. After an hour or so of rehearsal, it became abundantly clear that Caroline was not going to just hang out with me, so I decided to take her to the nursery that was provided. She stayed there for about an hour and did okay, but they did say she fussed some. By the time I got there to check on her, she was just starting to really wail, so I fed her again and decided to take her back to the hotel for the evening. I'm really glad I got to sing in that rehearsal, though, since I didn't get to sing in any of the events that weekend. It was amazing singing with our old college group. From the moment Doc raised his hands for the first time that evening, the sound was gorgeous, and it was like we had never been away.
Saturday morning, Jimmy sang in an alumni concert, and then Anna, Caroline and I went with some friends to pick out bridesmaid's dresses for my friend Joyce's wedding. Joyce's fiance was with us, and the poor guy ended up pulling childcare duty for my kids and my friend Angie's two kids. I started trying on dresses first, since Caroline was asleep in her carseat (a rare treat!). Of course, as soon as I got myself halfway buckled into the steel-belted undergarment the saleslady had given me (I swear, it had about 60 hooks on it!), Caroline woke up and screamed. She timed it just perfectly so that there were no women around, so Nathan had to take her out and figure out what to do with her. He did a great job bouncing and rocking and making little noises to try to settle her down. I told Joyce that any guy who would work that hard to comfort a baby he'd never even met before was definitely a keeper! nathan said he saw it as "practice"!
Saturday night, we went to an alumni banquet, where Jimmy got to sing with the alumni choir again. After that, we went to All School SING, and Caroline did great while we were there! Sunday morning, we drove to Sweetwater to attend church with some friends and then ate lunch at their house before heading home.
The drive home actually went MUCH better than the drive up there. I nursed Caroline before we left, and then we put her in the car and went. She made it about 3 hours before she woke up wanting to eat, and then she made it the rest of the way (over 4 hours!) without needing to stop again. We got home Sunday night around 11:00 after finally leaving Abilene at about 4:00 -- not too bad!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Portraits!
Today, I took Caroline to get her first portraits taken. I was feeling kind of guilty because I hadn't done it yet. I had Anna's done every month for the first year (the cheapy ones -- Wal-mart and Penney's, mostly), but with all the nursing issues we had early on, I just didn't have the time to go to a portrait studio and wait around with a cranky baby.
So anyway, I decided to go to a nicer studio to make up for not getting the pictures done every month. I'm so glad I did! I made an appointment for 9:00 a.m. and hoped for the best. Caroline is usually in a pretty good mood in the mornings, so I figured we might get one or two good smiles before Her Royal Highness decided she was done with the portrait thing. Fortunately, she was in a GREAT mood and was very smiley for the camera. At one point, the photographer had a highchair set up backwards with Caroline propped up on her elbows with her head up. Caroline thought that was the greatest thing, and she smiled and cooed and stuck out her tongue. The photographer and I were just cracking up!
So here are Caroline's first portraits. We got a few in her cute fall outfit, and then I got some naked baby pictures because you just HAVE to capture all that naked cuteness while they're little!
Here are a couple in her fall outfit. I'm into the brown and pink thing right now, and I just thought this jumper with the striped shirt underneath was adorable! Unfortunately, I had forgotten that overalls are a pain to photograph (the straps are always going all wonky and riding up and stuff), but I'll remember from now on! Even with the strap issues, though, they turned out really cute, and I still love the outfit!
These are the ones where she was so happy to be up on her elbows. If you can't see the tongue sticking out in the last picture, click on it to see it larger. It's a classic Caroline face!
And here's a classic pose that I just couldn't resist. Just look at that grin!
I actually got out of the studio for less $$ than I thought I would, given all the pictures I bought. The photographer took 100 pictures (yes, that's ONE HUNDRED pictures!), and I managed to eventually narrow it down to 8 poses, plus they threw in a couple of composite pictures and a CD with all 100 pictures on it. I was very impressed with the studio and the photographer, so we'll definitely be going back! Now I just need to find a time to take Anna and Caroline in together so I can get some sister pics!
So anyway, I decided to go to a nicer studio to make up for not getting the pictures done every month. I'm so glad I did! I made an appointment for 9:00 a.m. and hoped for the best. Caroline is usually in a pretty good mood in the mornings, so I figured we might get one or two good smiles before Her Royal Highness decided she was done with the portrait thing. Fortunately, she was in a GREAT mood and was very smiley for the camera. At one point, the photographer had a highchair set up backwards with Caroline propped up on her elbows with her head up. Caroline thought that was the greatest thing, and she smiled and cooed and stuck out her tongue. The photographer and I were just cracking up!
So here are Caroline's first portraits. We got a few in her cute fall outfit, and then I got some naked baby pictures because you just HAVE to capture all that naked cuteness while they're little!
Here are a couple in her fall outfit. I'm into the brown and pink thing right now, and I just thought this jumper with the striped shirt underneath was adorable! Unfortunately, I had forgotten that overalls are a pain to photograph (the straps are always going all wonky and riding up and stuff), but I'll remember from now on! Even with the strap issues, though, they turned out really cute, and I still love the outfit!
These are the ones where she was so happy to be up on her elbows. If you can't see the tongue sticking out in the last picture, click on it to see it larger. It's a classic Caroline face!
And here's a classic pose that I just couldn't resist. Just look at that grin!
I actually got out of the studio for less $$ than I thought I would, given all the pictures I bought. The photographer took 100 pictures (yes, that's ONE HUNDRED pictures!), and I managed to eventually narrow it down to 8 poses, plus they threw in a couple of composite pictures and a CD with all 100 pictures on it. I was very impressed with the studio and the photographer, so we'll definitely be going back! Now I just need to find a time to take Anna and Caroline in together so I can get some sister pics!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Caroline gains weight -- at last!
It's time for another update on the nursing situation. This one is a GREAT update!
About a month ago, a La Leche League leader referred me to a lactation consultant at a nearby hospital who dealt with the same issues we've been dealing with when her 3rd baby was born. I spoke to her on the phone almost every day for the first week, and every couple of days the second week. She was absolutely invaluable because she had actually been through this and knew exactly what I was feeling and how dependent I felt on the supplemental nursing system (SNS) and the scale. She said that she finally had to just trust her body and her baby and just lock the scale in the closet and stop the supplements cold turkey. I was very nervous to do that, especially given my supply issues, but I saw an increase in my supply when I started up one of my medications again, so I decided to give it a shot about 2 weeks ago. At that point, she was 6 weeks old, and her latch and suck had magically improved, just like everyone said it would, so I decided it would be worth a try to see if nursing her frequently would improve my supply.
The first week was tough. Really, REALLY tough. She nursed constantly, especially in the evening, when my supply seemed to be the lowest. Sunday evening, I gave in and supplemented her with a couple of ounces, just to get her through the night because she'd been nursing nonstop for almost 5 hours, and I couldn't hear her swallowing at all when she nursed. That was the last supplement she had.
The first week, she gained about 2 oz, which wasn't much, but at least she was gaining. She was also having copious wet and occasional poopy diapers (usually one or so a day). I was a teensy bit concerned about the low weight gain and the smaller number of poos, but the LC reassured me that Caroline was probably just utilizing all of the breastmilk she was getting and recommended sticking with it and seeing how the second week went.
Boy, am I glad we did! Last Friday, Caroline was 9 lb. 13 oz. on the hospital scale. Today, she was 10 lb. 7 oz! So she gained 9 oz in a week. I did a before/after weight check, and she gained about 3.5 ounces when I nursed her. Previously, the most she had gotten was 2 oz (that was only once), and it was usually more like 1.5.
I am so proud of Caroline for finally learning to nurse effectively, and I'm proud of myself for making it this long. So after consulting with 6 lactation consultants, 3 La Leche League leaders, a chiropractor, a craniosacral therapist, and a speech pathologist, Caroline is finally 100% breastfed, and I plan to keep her that way for a good, long time! She's still nursing for 45 minutes every 2-3 hours (usually closer to 2), so I'm not getting any long chunks of time to get anything done, but I'm hoping she'll start spacing them out on her own in the next few weeks as we both get better at this nursing thing. Evenings are still difficult, and she cluster nurses from about 5 p.m. until bedtime around 11:00. She's sleeping well at night, though, and we usually get a 5-7 hour chunk in there somewhere so that we can actually get some sleep!
Anyway, there's the update. Thank you all again for your help and prayers during our difficult time. I think the prayers really worked! I'll update with new pictures as soon as I can!
About a month ago, a La Leche League leader referred me to a lactation consultant at a nearby hospital who dealt with the same issues we've been dealing with when her 3rd baby was born. I spoke to her on the phone almost every day for the first week, and every couple of days the second week. She was absolutely invaluable because she had actually been through this and knew exactly what I was feeling and how dependent I felt on the supplemental nursing system (SNS) and the scale. She said that she finally had to just trust her body and her baby and just lock the scale in the closet and stop the supplements cold turkey. I was very nervous to do that, especially given my supply issues, but I saw an increase in my supply when I started up one of my medications again, so I decided to give it a shot about 2 weeks ago. At that point, she was 6 weeks old, and her latch and suck had magically improved, just like everyone said it would, so I decided it would be worth a try to see if nursing her frequently would improve my supply.
The first week was tough. Really, REALLY tough. She nursed constantly, especially in the evening, when my supply seemed to be the lowest. Sunday evening, I gave in and supplemented her with a couple of ounces, just to get her through the night because she'd been nursing nonstop for almost 5 hours, and I couldn't hear her swallowing at all when she nursed. That was the last supplement she had.
The first week, she gained about 2 oz, which wasn't much, but at least she was gaining. She was also having copious wet and occasional poopy diapers (usually one or so a day). I was a teensy bit concerned about the low weight gain and the smaller number of poos, but the LC reassured me that Caroline was probably just utilizing all of the breastmilk she was getting and recommended sticking with it and seeing how the second week went.
Boy, am I glad we did! Last Friday, Caroline was 9 lb. 13 oz. on the hospital scale. Today, she was 10 lb. 7 oz! So she gained 9 oz in a week. I did a before/after weight check, and she gained about 3.5 ounces when I nursed her. Previously, the most she had gotten was 2 oz (that was only once), and it was usually more like 1.5.
I am so proud of Caroline for finally learning to nurse effectively, and I'm proud of myself for making it this long. So after consulting with 6 lactation consultants, 3 La Leche League leaders, a chiropractor, a craniosacral therapist, and a speech pathologist, Caroline is finally 100% breastfed, and I plan to keep her that way for a good, long time! She's still nursing for 45 minutes every 2-3 hours (usually closer to 2), so I'm not getting any long chunks of time to get anything done, but I'm hoping she'll start spacing them out on her own in the next few weeks as we both get better at this nursing thing. Evenings are still difficult, and she cluster nurses from about 5 p.m. until bedtime around 11:00. She's sleeping well at night, though, and we usually get a 5-7 hour chunk in there somewhere so that we can actually get some sleep!
Anyway, there's the update. Thank you all again for your help and prayers during our difficult time. I think the prayers really worked! I'll update with new pictures as soon as I can!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Caroline Smiles!
Caroline has been smiling for several weeks now, but we were never fast enough to catch it on film. A week or so ago, I was finally able to capture a few pictures of her adorable smile! She gets really smiley during diaper changes and even coos and "talks" to us, so that's where I was finally able to get the picture. Here are some of the best shots I've gotten so far:
I also love this picture of Anna and Caroline together. Anna just loves holding her baby sister!
In other news, things finally seem to be looking up in the nursing department. Last week, I tapered off the supplementing, and it went pretty well. So Saturday, I decided to go cold turkey and just get rid of them altogether. I was prepared to nurse her very frequently, since I figured she would need to nurse a lot to build up my milk supply. The daytime went pretty well, but she started to get fussy Saturday evening. She ended up nursing for almost FIVE hours straight Saturday night, but we made it through the day with no supplements.
Unfortunately, Sunday evening I started feeling like dirt, so I took my temperature, and it was nearly 100 degrees. I think it was probably a plugged duct, which can often cause flu-like symptoms and fever. Sunday morning, I still felt pretty woozy, but by Sunday evening I was feeling much better. Sunday went pretty much like Saturday, nursing wise, but I did end up giving Caroline a couple of ounces of supplement Sunday night because it was obvious that she wasn't getting much when she nursed at that point. Fortunately, Monday went MUCH better, and today has been even better than that. I can tell that my supply is better because I can hear her swallowing a lot more frequently during feedings, so maybe we're on our way to being completely done with the supplementing!
All this nursing business has taken up a LOT of time, and my house is a dump, but if I can get this baby 100% breastfed, it will be SO worth it! Since Anna never took a bottle (even on the rare occasion we would have liked her to!), I had no idea how much hassle it is to prepare milk, figure out a way to keep it chilled while you're out, figure out how to fit it in the diaper bag, and then figure out how to warm it while you're out. With Anna, when I wanted to leave the house, I grabbed the baby and a few diapers, and I was good. This whole hauling milk around thing is for the birds!
I also love this picture of Anna and Caroline together. Anna just loves holding her baby sister!
In other news, things finally seem to be looking up in the nursing department. Last week, I tapered off the supplementing, and it went pretty well. So Saturday, I decided to go cold turkey and just get rid of them altogether. I was prepared to nurse her very frequently, since I figured she would need to nurse a lot to build up my milk supply. The daytime went pretty well, but she started to get fussy Saturday evening. She ended up nursing for almost FIVE hours straight Saturday night, but we made it through the day with no supplements.
Unfortunately, Sunday evening I started feeling like dirt, so I took my temperature, and it was nearly 100 degrees. I think it was probably a plugged duct, which can often cause flu-like symptoms and fever. Sunday morning, I still felt pretty woozy, but by Sunday evening I was feeling much better. Sunday went pretty much like Saturday, nursing wise, but I did end up giving Caroline a couple of ounces of supplement Sunday night because it was obvious that she wasn't getting much when she nursed at that point. Fortunately, Monday went MUCH better, and today has been even better than that. I can tell that my supply is better because I can hear her swallowing a lot more frequently during feedings, so maybe we're on our way to being completely done with the supplementing!
All this nursing business has taken up a LOT of time, and my house is a dump, but if I can get this baby 100% breastfed, it will be SO worth it! Since Anna never took a bottle (even on the rare occasion we would have liked her to!), I had no idea how much hassle it is to prepare milk, figure out a way to keep it chilled while you're out, figure out how to fit it in the diaper bag, and then figure out how to warm it while you're out. With Anna, when I wanted to leave the house, I grabbed the baby and a few diapers, and I was good. This whole hauling milk around thing is for the birds!
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