Our 1st Conversation

It was such a magical moment!!!  


Around 8:30 Wednesday night, I had Baby Kate facing me as she sat on my lap... our eyes locked... she smiled and cooed at me for about two minutes as I told her what a pretty girl she was... 


Pat was sitting next to me and was equally as amazed... it is so hard to believe how much she has grown in just the 8 weeks since her birth... even more amazing when we think that this time last year, she was just a dream in my heart...

I'm JUST A Snack...

Not even an appetizer...

Certainly NOT a FULL Meal...

And that makes me really sad!!!

I've been trying to come to terms with this for about seven weeks...

Almost ever since my milk came in 5 days after Baby Kate's birth...

After Baby Kate lost more than 10% of her weight after birth because my milk didn't come in, 

I have worried about my breast milk...

Was she getting enough??? Was it nutritious enough???

The times that I just breast fed her, she would be fussy and unhappy... very restless and cry unless she was literally attached to my breast... so that is what we did for hours after hours...she only slept for 5-10 minute mini naps...

Then we went to the pediatrician for her two week check up... I was told that she needed to gain more weight since she was still below her birth weight, so breast feed then supplement...

So I breast fed, supplemented with formula in the bottle, then pumped... I was exhausted and miserable...  Baby Kate would still take the average amount of formula (2-3 ounces) in a bottle for a baby her age after breast feeding...

I began to wonder why I was making myself miserable with feeding her basically 3 ways when the bottle was filling her up and meeting her needs... clearly breast feeding wasn't...

At Baby Kate's 1 month check up at 5 weeks old, the pediatrician suggested just breast feeding for 30 minutes then bottle feeding... we also discussed a nap schedule and clearly Baby Kate was not getting enough sleep... I stopped pumping and was so much happier!!! Baby Kate continued to drink the average amount of formula (3-4 ounces) after breast feeding for 30 minutes... and began to sleep for a longer amount of time...


Now, at 8 weeks, Baby Kate is drinking 4 or 5 five ounce bottles of formula a day and breast feeding during her early afternoon nap, at bedtime and in the morning... I wish I felt that she was getting a meal each time, but feel confident that she is only getting full when she has a bottle of formula...  Baby Kate is taking much longer naps, is clearly happier, and has had a huge growth spurt...  now her naps are usually 2+ hours once in the late morning and twice in the afternoon... she does usually sleep from @ 11 at night until 5:30 or 6 in the morning... breast feeds, then goes back to sleep until @ 9 am...


I keep reminding myself that the lactation consultant at the hospital told me that we are lucky to live in a country where she can be fed formula... but clearly my heart is with breast feeding... I keep telling myself that all of us have our individual strengths and mine isn't breast feeding... and that is OK... 

I am hoping my body will continue to produce milk for our nap time, bed time and early morning breast feeding sessions... I just love our special time and would be so sad to have it end so soon!!!

Legs!!!

Baby Kate has discovered her legs and couldn't be happier moving them in the air!!!

After waking from her nap before bed... Baby Kate stretched her arms and legs for about 10 minutes...

Appearing to have worn herself out...

Then fell back asleep... I thought she was asleep for the night, but I was wrong...

Oh well... before too long, she will be sleeping in her own bed and she and I will not have our late night photo shoots...

7 Weeks of Heaven on Earth!!!

I'm STILL SO IN LOVE!!!! 

I love everything about Baby Kate!!!  I even think her gasiness is adorable as it sounds like machine gun fire...her poop doesn't stink... and her spiting up hurts me more than her...

I think I finally have her feeding needs figured out as she seems content and is actually sleeping for several two hour stretches during the day... at least once in the morning and once in the afternoon... before she would take 15-30 minute catnaps... she is drinking @ four 5 ounce bottles a day... the anti gas formula was causing her poop to stick to her, so I switched her to 1 scoop regular and 1 scoop anti gas and 1 .5 scoop of one or the other to make her 5 ounce bottle...  I tried the Breastflow bottles again and a lot of formula spills out of the side of Baby Kate's mouth since the outer nipple collapses- breaking the seal- as she sucks...

For the past two nights, she has been congested... I even had her sleep in her bouncy seat on my bed so that we were still next to one another...

This morning, I had to use the bulb syringe to suction out her nose... I just hated doing it, but she was so congested!!!

Baby Kate has also started "talking"... she makes the cutest cooing sounds ever... she is observing more and more... looking around at everything...

I have finally felt comfortable enough to put her in the bouncy seat on the floor of a room that Sarah and Anna are in while I am close by...

Knowing that Baby Kate was under my constant supervision and showing no signs of distress, I was surprised to see her expression when I downloaded this photo... it has given Pat and I lots of chuckles!!!  I hope you enjoy it!!!

This is the way I saw the interaction between Baby Kate and Sarah...

I also left her alone with Queeny and the twins while I went in for my post partum check up and the Valentine's Day Parties at the elementary school... the first time I have left her home with the twins and one adult other than the time I left her with her Daddy and 6 of her siblings (the twins were napping, so they didn't count) and Lizzy went with me... usually I take Baby Kate with me at all times... this week, the two of us went to the elementary school for a conference, the middle school conferences for Patrick and William and to the grocery store... she rides along in the Baby BJorn, facing my chest... I just love it, but it is really starting to hurt my back so I am planning on making the sling this weekend...  I just love "wearing" Baby Kate!!!

6 Weeks Old and...

SO INDEPENDENT!!!

This week, Baby Kate has been in the swing several times... 

 

 She even took a two hour nap in her swing...

On Sunday night, she was busy starring at the butterfly mobile and lights...

She also spent time in her bouncy seat...

 she loves just looking around... even Callie stopped by to visit...

Baby Kate has been very busy moving her hands... she has grabbed my hair several times... twice she has fallen asleep with her arms above her head... I even saw her looking at her hands... 

Baby Kate has even tried to hold her own bottles...

I am so in love!!!  I try to spend every available minute hugging, cuddling, snuggling, watching, observing, kissing, and nursing Baby Kate...  Pat was out of town on business from Wednesday afternoon until Friday night... Then we celebrated Patrick's 13th birthday with a sleepover for my nephew and their friend from school... when Pat got home, he remarked that Baby Kate seemed a lot more alert... I couldn't agree more!!!  Saturday afternoon we spent nursing and napping... pure bliss!!!  I did sneak off for a snack break while Baby Kate snoozed...  

Pat and I both think we have seen her start to smile...

5th Week Photos

Bath Time!!!

Photos by Lizzy

Daddy's Wish Come True!!!

Pat's wish for Baby Kate was that she would NOT inherit his straight, fine hair... 

check out those curls after a shampoo!!!

Snuggling with Daddy!!!

Every night, Daddy feeds Baby Kate her last bottle of the evening, burps her, 

then snuggles with her before bedtime...

5 Weeks Old!!!

Baby Kate rediscovered her fingers and fists... she has been busy experimenting with different finger combinations, hands, and her fists... definitely hasn't decided which combination she prefers and also still enjoys the pacifier...

She has really been using her legs to push off of my legs when we are nursing in bed and when she is held in an up right position... she continues to enjoy staring at the ceiling fan in my bedroom...

She fits perfectly in Carter's 0-3 footed sleepers and 3 month sleepers are just a bit too long...

Pat and I have both seen her smile, but not at anyone or anything in particular...


Baby Kate had her 1 month check up on her 5 week birthday, January 31st, 2012, and is doing great!!!  She weighed in at 9 pounds 6 ounces, length of 22 inches and head circumference of 14.75 inches...  She is 75% for length, 50th for weight, and 50th for head circumference... Dr. Diehl, her pediatrician, declared her tall and skinny... When I told Pat the news, he joked, "Just like him..."  We discussed her feeding schedule and decided to breast feed her for 30 minutes, then offer her a 3 ounce bottle of formula as a supplement if she seemed hungry... interestingly, she always drinks the entire bottle...


I tried using the Breast Flow bottles which are supposed to be most like breast feeding and feeding her more formula and offering her the bottle after each time nursing during the day... she was spitting up a lot more and I could hear her refluxing then swallowing... it was heartbreaking...so we are using the slow flow nipples and bottles from the hospital... on Sunday, I decided to start using a formula for extra gas and spit up...

On Monday, February 6, 2012, Baby Kate:
Nursed in bed @ 5:30 am
Nursed in bed @ 7:30 am
Nursed in bed @ 9:15 am
woke up @ 10:30
nursed on couch @ 10:55am-11:10am 11:20-11:25*
drank 4 oz bottle on 1/2 regular formula & 1/2 "gentle" formula from 11:25-11:55-
nursed in bed @ 1:40-3:25 pm- dosed off within 7 minutes of breast feeding and nursed off and on
4:30 pm 4 oz of 1/2 regular formula and 1/2 gentle formula
7:45 pm  4 oz of gentle formula
9:00 pm 4 oz of gentle formula- this is the first time she has seemed to still be hungry- usually this feeding is later at night- closer to 10:30

*When Mrs. Kathy is here, I skipped the nursing and bottle feed, then run errands with Baby Kate