Six days old.
Well, anyway, she's doing great. Breast feeding is going pretty awesome I would say. I'm having to use a nipple shield with her for now, but with it she's doing great. With Blake, not even the shield would really get him to breast feed all that well. And let me tell you, she is all about that nursing thing. She eats so much! Which is great, because I want to make sure she's getting enough. It's so funny when she's done, because she will usually have a little bit of left over milk trailing out of her mouth. :) Got to love when babies are milk drunk! It feels so great knowing that I'm able to provide for her in such a way. Makes me realize even more what I missed out on with Blake (can't say I didn't try though), but it also makes me appreciate even more what I CAN do for her. This time around just feels like it's going so much more smoothly. I guess that's part of being a second time mom though, too.
So far cloth diapering is going great. I love it! Nate is really good with it too. I still usually will load the diapers for him, so all he has to do is the actual change, but he's good about doing the diaper laundry while I'm feeding her and what not. As in, he's not repulsed by poopy diapers. He really is an amazing husband and father. That in itself is so different than last time. I mean, my mom really helped out tons with Blake, but it's really nice have a father for my baby that is so incredibly in love. It's so sweet. Anyway, back to diapers, I'm still using the tiny gDiapers, and they are perfect for her. And, I feel like I'll be one of the lucky ones that will be able to use them for a good while. Yay for having smaller babies. :) I'm so glad I got them though. A lot of times at night lately I'll put on a newborn prefold (I use preemie prefolds in the gDiapers) and a small cover, which works for more absorbancy, but is so bulky and not as perfect as a fit. But, it's at night, and trimness isn't as big of a deal. I think I may try to just stuff two preemie prefolds into a gDiaper tonight though and see how that works. It's only sometimes that the gDiapers will leak at night anyway (and only because the prefold is absolutely saturated), and if the newborn prefolds fit in the diapers, I would so just use that. The newborn prefolds on her are still kind of big, like I have to get pretty creative to get them on her and away from her belly button.
Speaking of belly button, I'm hoping hers is okay. It keeps bleeding. Not profusely, but enough to leave dried blood around it all the time. It fell off on its own at 6 days (aka, we didn't mess with it at all and it just naturally fell off then), but it still gets irritated. When it first fell off, I quit snapping down the rise on her diapers, but once it kept bleeding I've since started snapping them down again. Hoping that will fix things, since it seems to effectively keep the diaper well away from it. The bulky prefold option at night however doesn't do as great of a job at staying away, and usually irritates it more. So I'm not sure if I should do anything for the belly button or not. It doesn't look infected at all, so that's good, but I still don't want it bleeding all the time. It doesn't seem to hurt her either, and when I gently wipe away the dried blood she doesn't seem bothered in the least. She goes back to see the midwife for a check up on January 3rd, so I may just wait and see if it stops by then and if not ask about it. Or I may finally break down and text her to see if I should be concerned. We'll see.
Another thing that I've discovered this week: Sophia LOVES bath time! I was so shocked. Blake just hated it, especially at the beginning. He did have a short period of time in his life where he seemed to enjoy it, but that faded as he got older (I think the bath actually made him more itchy from his condition). I was really expecting her to cry through out the whole thing, but nope, she looked SO relaxed. I wish I got pictures! Nate was at work, and I thought about waiting for him to get home, but didn't since I figured that she would be screaming the whole time anyway. How wrong I was. I really think what made a huge difference was the use of her flower tub from Blooming Bath. Although it's a little pricey (I got mine as a gift, or else I'm not sure I would have made the splurge honestly), I would SO say it's worth it! It's so soft and comfy, I want one for myself. And it wasn't just a fluke, I gave her another bath yesterday, and she still just LOVED it. The only part she doesn't like is when it's time to get out. It's so sweet though, I really wish she could have been born in the water! Even though I guess she almost was, since my water didn't break until right before she started crowning!
It's so crazy how much they change in the beginning. Even though she looks similar to what she did when she was first born, she also looks so different. I don't really see the changes day to day of course, but when I look back at pictures from her first day of life, I really see them. Which is crazy, since she's only 12 days old right now. On a super bright note, I really don't think she has Alagille's like Blake did. For one, she doesn't look like she's losing weight (her slight double chin definitely says she's well fed hehe), her poop is definitely mustard yellow and seedy (not pale at ALL), and although I think she may have been slightly jaundiced a couple days after birth, it was no where near the extent of Blake's, and hers is pretty much all gone now. Can we say relieved? Although I had a really good feeling about her being healthy, it was still in the back of my head, wondering if she would have it or not. This just gives me more hope that maybe I don't carry the gene and the next baby will also be healthy. I sure hope so! I don't want to put any child through what Blake went through, even if it doesn't end the same way his did. He was miserable, I could tell. Not from his life with us, but from the condition, and there wasn't much I could do to relieve him of it, and I felt helpless. So needless to say, I'm ecstatic that my little girl is 100% healthy.
Yesterday was her first Christmas and her first holiday. It was good, just very low key. We had some family over (My mom, both my sisters, Cheyne's boyfriend, and my mother in law) for Christmas "dinner" (more like lunch). Nate got me a wallet that I've been wanting but had been discontinued, and he wanted a cooking apron, so I made him one. We're kind of on the broke side right now, but it won't last. More reason to love cloth diapering and breast feeding. :) Sophia didn't get anything, besides life (haha), but we figured that she wouldn't know the difference. She seemed perfectly content anyway!
As far as me, I'm feeling great, other than sleep deprived. My bleeding is pretty much done, I've lost a lot of weight just from breast feeding (well, I feel like I have anyway, I'm skinnier at least!), and I haven't had any depression or anything. Nor have I really felt overly hormonal or anything. I'm proud to say that yesterday I wore normal jeans, not maternity! Woo! Size 2 jeggings, yes please. :) They're still a little tighter than I would prefer (not uncomfortable at all, but a slight muffin top still), but pretty proud since that was at 11 days postpartum. I'm on Christmas break right now from school, and when I get back all I have left is my preceptorship for a week, two days of live review (just a review for the NCLEX), and then GRADUATION. So excited to be done almost. Then i just have to get licensed after the test and I'll officially be an LPN. :) After I'm done with all that, I think I eventually want to take classes to become a birth assistant, and maybe work for my midwife eventually. I'm not sure if she's hiring or not, but I've heard she does often for birth assistants.
Well, this is actually pretty long, so I think I'll quit rambling now and leave you with some pictures of my sweet new life. :)
I plan to take a picture like this weekly and after one year make a book out of it. :)
She has Daddy's dimples. :) I LOVE dimples, so I'm kind of excited! And she actually smiles a LOT.
He's so in love!
Hehe, she's flipping off Daddy. But what a cute look she's giving him!
Mommy and Sophia! I love her SO much. :)
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