Sleeping in the night

Notice that I write sleeping in the night and not through the night. I laugh any time anyone asks if Miss C is sleeping through the night. Really who sleeps through the night anyways. I certainly don't...my cat who is a master of sleeping even wakes up in the middle of night, sometimes this coincides when I wake up, I think she is hoping for food.

No Miss C is not sleeping through the night but she has managed to sleep for 4 hours in the night...in a row. This is what I call her first shift usually from 9 to 1. Then she wakes up, eats and generally goes back down without even knowing that she even woke up. The second shift is trickier this usually happens around 3am, notice that while she can sleep 4 hours for the first shift the second is only 2 to 2 1/2 hours. This is where I try to sneak in a diaper change and this is inevitably where she pees mid-diaper change which then means outfit change. I am usually cursing at my self wondering how I could let this happen yet again, fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me, fool me for the 6 billion times...why don't I learn. There is no sleeper out there that is quick to change her out of so by the time we are done she might require more food. I have been known to crack during this feeding and if she does not want to go back to sleep this is where I sleep with her in the single bed in her nursery. Actually, she sleeps I wait till she falls asleep and wait for 30 mins or an hour and then try to put her back in her crib. Sometimes I fall asleep and wake up to her grunting and squirming. She isn't awake. Ceilidh suffers from morning gas and while she doesn't wake up you can tell she is trying to work through something "complicated". This can be from 5am till when ever I crack and pick her up third shift. I have tried several things to relieve pressure or move things along, rubbing back, warm blanket on her tummy, putting her on my lap on her tummy, vibrating chair. She isn't truly happy till a couple of diaper changes later. So that is our night. I must say it isn't bad and it's amazing what you get use to. The nurse this week mentioned that once they hit 12 pounds they are then capable of sleeping through the night which is 6 hours. Ceilidh is only 10 lbs 9 oz this week.

I don't think we will hit 12 for another 3 weeks. But nap time during the day is better I think she has 5 naps during the day, really her and the cat could be partners in crime. They need to combine their forces and nap together.

Hitting the double digits

This week Ceilidh has hit the double digits in weight. Our little girl is now in the 10 lb range and I can sure feel it when I pick her up. Although the cat still weighs more then she does.

Swimming, napping, and puking are the highlights of this week.

What happens when you sleep on damp hair.

I will start with the napping. Why is it the babies won't nap when you know they need to. Sadly we learned this the hard way. She had two horrible days where we didn't force her to nap, although in our defence we never had to before she napped willingly on her own. The result was a fuss pot of a baby. The whole evening she just could not be consoled. This was the weekend so at least both M and I were dealing with this together. After ruling out everything else I figured it might be the napping issue so Monday come hell or high water I made sure she napped. This meant her sleeping in my arms a few times, not so comfy for me but what a much happier baby.

Puking. This is another fun event. I have become the master of directing Ceilidh to get puke on things that are easy to clean. I can always tell when she is about to do it but can never prevent her. We have tried many things. I spoke to the nurse and she has let me know that for babies their valve to their tummies doesn't fully close till they are one. And some babies are more sensitive of this then others. Guess which one I have. So as long as she is gaining weight, which she is, and she has no other issues or signs of illness ie no fever then we will have to just embrace her sensitive gag reflex. Joy! Might make people think twice before asking to hold her. Of course this  usually happens right after feedings.

Lastly swimming.

Ready to swim in her bathing suit

This week I took Ceilidh swimming in an indoor salt water pool. I know the weather is hot but outdoor  pool water generally is not warm (plus our local pool only opens on the 18th) so indoor pool guaranteed warmer water. Now while Ceilidh likes her hair being washed she does not like bath time in general. Taking her swimming was a gamble. But it worked out really well. While I did not dunk her completely in she enjoyed the water from her chest down. We started with testing the water with her feet while I held her close to me and then continued slowly submerging her ever so slightly.  And while I can not wait for the day where I can play with her in the water like the other moms I went with I am totally proud of her. And her next bath time wasn't as traumatic so maybe its a change in times.

Vaccination time

Yesterday Ceilidh got her first vaccinations. Ouch, one on each thigh. But I must say though she cried she took it like a champ. Nothing that an offering of breastfeeding couldn't fix. She quickly forgot about her needle woes and focused on other things. I often wonder if she remembers all those procedures done on her in those first few weeks of life. Two needles must be a walk in the park compared to the rest. But no fever or side effects of her first vaccinations and she got major cuddles the whole day.

Summer dress

Outfit after summer dress got spit up on.

On other news she is still packing the weight on. While though the doctor tells me that she is in the 25th percentile for weight and height I can see she is gaining and growing which is the important part. Not only have I had to change her infant carrier straps to adjust to her new found growth I have also had to designate clothes as too small.  Her cheeks are definitely filling out more so that she is starting to look like me. Cheeks I have plenty of. She is also starting to make cooing sounds. Sounds other then the grunts she usually makes, more ahs and bas. She also has a new found love for her fingers as she sticks them in her mouth. I am trying to offer her the pacifier as compensation but she still likes those fingers more. We will keep trying.

9 weeks and 9 lbs 10 oz

Long time no post

 I keep thinking about this blog really I do and
then something else side tracks me when I do
have a moment. Taking a nap is high on the priority list.
So what have we been up to since the last post. Well our weight issues still continued. We were doing so well that if you remember from the last post we went to breastfeeding alone. And then we had a hiccup where her weight did not rise as much as it should. We went back to topping her up by bottle with some of my pumped milk. She did finally come around to gaining the 1oz a day they recommend for her age group. The the timing could not be more perfect as she now is not a fan of the bottle anymore. She will take it if it is her sole meal which means she is hungry but does not want it as a top up. Only draft for this kid, leave your bottle behind. She has a friend who is exactly the same age as her (they are an hour apart) and she has also gone through the same no more bottle phase.
We are actually at the point where she is starting to outgrow clothes, and clothes that I thought were to big for her are now starting to fit. Like the blue hat her cousin had especially made for her. When we first tried it on it was too big and now it is just right. I love it because its a lovely colour and yet still feminine with the flower on the side. Reminds me of flapper girls. She is wearing it today on her 8th week picture. Wow 8 weeks have just flown by. Other milestones include her sleeping for 5 hours. Unfortunately for me they were not through the night but it still shows it is a possibility although she has not repeated that since.

She is also starting to enjoy bath time a little more. She tolerates her hair and face being washed. Although still kicks up a fuss when we place her in the tub to wash her body. I am told that other kids like baths but we are still waiting for this to happen to her. Still also waiting for her hair to curl. She still has a lot of it, if it has fallen out I have not noticed. I can not get over as to how much people comment on her full set of hair. Who knew hair on a baby was such a commodity. I never paid attention to it before and honestly I still do not. Okay that is my update for now. As you notice the post will be more sporadic.

Right after bath time

 

Bonding over a bottle

Last week we not only saw our family doctor but also saw Ceilidh's surgeon for a follow up appointment. Ceilidh is up to 7 lbs 11 ounces as of Tuesday and yesterday we weighed an even 8 lbs. Hopefully this will continue to be on the rise. She is now just feeding on the breast except for an evening meal which is when her and M can bond over a bottle. His bottle is sold at the beer store and hers is provided by milkman aka me.

 A sleep after a good bottle.

The surgeon who is amazing as usual let us know that all is well for now but she may require some further surgery at a later date. Why the future surgery you may wonder, especially since all is back in her tummy. Well right now her tummy puckers a bit from where the organs were put back in and this may settle on its own or it may require future surgery. The reason to wait is to see if this problem will resolve its self as she grows. But the surgery will not happen any time soon, her next follow up is in a year time. And she will probably be followed up for at least a few years.
On other news,  I went to go visit my work place. Weird not to be there, but I was happy to visit and show off little Miss C. She was fussy though. It is the first time I have seen her overtired. When we go to our groups she is generally not handled so much and sleeps through it mostly. Like baby sign language today. She is a slacker and slept through 99 percent of the class. I cannot get over how many wonderful groups there are in my community. Worth all my taxes.

Comfy nap

Flying sole and getting sprung

I did promise to let everyone know how we are doing and how the first week went. And also to elaborate on the circumstance of us getting sprung from CHEO. Well it was a very tense time for my self. We had been trying all sorts of different methods to get Miss C out of the big house and I will now admit in my eyes things were not going well. In retrospect I think I was just rushing it. She would have done fine on her own time but I just really wanted her home.
If you recall her issues were feeding sans feeding tube. Well let me tell you she has no problems eating these days and when she is bottled she takes it down in no time, a far cry from the 50 minutes she use to take. I still remember calling M in tears just the day before she was released because things were just not working in terms of just breastfeeding her alone. She wasn't getting enough and had to be topped up by bottle which to me just meant failure and a longer stay. At the time I was spending the night in order to prove that I could feed her all night long. In the end, I capitulated to letting her bottle (with breast milk of course) and then give her breast as a top up. After all I felt this was the only way I could get her to gain weight which was the only way I could take her home. She did gain the weight and since her release has been gaining just fine. Though I will be weighing her tomorrow, last Thursday when I weighed her at the clinic she was a good 7 lbs 7 ounces. She had put on 3 ounces from when I measured her on the Tuesday. Fantastic!
And when the doctor said I could take her home I was so elated. I had to ask him to repeat the good words. And then I had to convince M this was not yet another belated April fools joke. Why do things concerning Ceilidh always seem unbelievable.

One Month Old and not cooperating

What have we been up to last week and today. Well as some of my posts have mentioned we have been getting to know one another. We are also trying to break our dependence on pumping and bottling. The first step is to admit you have a problem. Actually it isn't a problem but it is really time consuming pumping and bottling. So we are learning how to breastfeed. Apparently, I wasn't doing it properly and hence why she wasn't getting enough. The things I have learned about babies and eating, crazy.  To those women who do breastfeed, wow you make it seem so easy. I have been seeing an amazing lactation consultant and with her help I hope to be bottle free. Well maybe not completely free since it is good to have it on standby when I want a night out but you get the point. And today on our first day alone we went to our first play group. Of course I almost missed it since I thought it was at a different time but I managed to get my act together and little Miss C was the picture of cooperation. I hope to continue to attend all sorts of events with the mothers in the area. It makes me feel like a normal person again. And it gets me past any anxieties I have around doing things with Ceilidh in tow.  Okay so that is it for now. Thanks for reading.

Have Pump need Power.

Yesterday there was a very strong wind storm in the area. Even today some places are still without electricity. Anyone who was outside yesterday can attest to all the debris on the roads and the strong winds. I was out visiting the lactation consultant in Merrickville so that we can get Miss C solely on the boob and stop the whole bottling thing which will hopefully mean the end of pumping. So what does all this have to do with the power outage. Well I still have to pump to get milk for Miss C at least till we go Direct from the Source. And do you know what powers the pump...electricity.  Hard to pump when there is a power outage. Luckily as mentioned the Lactation Consultant has been my savior in more ways then one. I was able at least to keep Ceilidh satisfied till the power came back on 5 hours later. Worse case scenario I guess I could always pack up my pump go the the hospital and use there power. They always have a generator. Of course how silly would I look "Hi my medical emergency is the need for power to pump milk for my child".

Doing what she does best, its a gift.

Well at least this week my mother has been around to help and of course to tell me how I should be doing things. But I guess what mother wouldn't be giving out advice. It will be interesting to see how I do next week when I go solo. I have all sorts of appointments for Miss C so this will be fun juggling traveling, feeding, pumping see why I want to get rid of pumping and just go Direct from the Source. Its like DirectBuy but without the scam. I will keep you posted.