One Week Old!

Now that we've got a little baby here, time seems to go by so much faster. How is my sweet baby already over a week old?! Although I want her to grow and put on a little weight, I wish we could just freeze time right now and just keep her how she is!

Weight: When Lizzie was born, she weighed in at 5 pounds, 4.7 ounces. It is typical of babies to lose up to eight percent of their body weight before being discharged from the hospital, and she did lose some of it -- when we left the hospital one week ago today, she was five pounds even. At her first check-up last Thursday, she had gained an ounce and a half... woohoo! Mommy and Daddy were very pleased, and Mommy felt a bit of relief knowing that Lizzie has been getting enough food while nursing. We will have her two week check-up next week and will get her new weight then.

Medical Issues: As mentioned in my previous post that told about Lizzie's birth, she had a little bit of a rocky start and needed some help breathing. That seems to have been an issue that only showed itself right at birth, because she's done beautifully now.

After bringing her home from the hospital, we were concerned about her eating habits, however. Because she as born three weeks early, she sleeps. A lot. As in, she would rather sleep all day than eat once. Which means we had a worried mama on our hands! It was impossible to wake her enough to eat for more than two or three minutes at a time. I made a couple of calls to the hospital birthing center to seek guidance, and they told us to "make her as uncomfortable as possible". We sprinkled water on her, put a cold wash cloth on her, had her nurse in only her diaper, tickled her, gave her a bath... and none of it worked. She hardly made a peep, and certianly didn't open her little eyes and she began to skip feedings altogether. We thought maybe she had some jaundice, so we called her doctor and were able to bump her follow-up appointment up one day. He looked her over and said she looks perfect -- her billiruben levels were just fine, so no jaundice, and he just explained that she's three weeks early, so she will spend more time sleeping to catch up. We also visited with a lactation consultant, who put my mind at ease by telling me everything was looking great in the nursing department and that as Lizzie gets a little older, she'll become more interested in feeding. She also gave us little syringes to give her some milk with if we feel she hasn't been eating enough. Luckily her eating has really picked up since then -- we're now nursing almost once an hour for 10 to 20 minutes!

We will go back to the doctor this Thursday for an ultrasound on Lizzie's hips. The pediatrician who saw her in the hospital thought it sounded like there was a little click in her right hip, which can indicate hip dysplasia (which is no big deal once it's found early -- just a harness for a few months to correct it). Her doctor, however, didn't think he heard anything at her recent appointment, so we're hoping it was nothing.

Sleep: As mentioned previously, she was sleeping all. The. Time! As in, couldn't wake her for anything. However, we did notice on Friday (five days old) that her little eyes were opening up for longer periods of time. She'll have maybe three "wakeful" periods during the day now, for about 30 minutes each. Otherwise, she sleeps very soundly, snuggled up in Mommy or Daddy's arms typically :)

Clothes: When she was first born, we thought she would be a great candidate for preemie-sized clothing. We were wrong! While Lizzie is a peanut and doesn't weigh a whole lot, she's too long for preemie clothes. According to the tags, they fit babies that are 17-inches long -- but she is 19-inches, so they just won't work for those long legs! So instead, we're swimming in newborn clothes. She has a handful of sleepers that at least kind of fit right now, along with a few onesies and a couple of pants that work as well. The pants that work make her look like she could be part of the SlimFast promotionals, but at least they stay up for the most part. We have her baptism this weekend and I bought a beautiful little white dress from BabyGap awhile ago for her to wear. Unfortunately, it was the smallest size it came in and was way too big for her until Grandma Kathy came to the rescue and altered it for us!

Visitors: Grandma and Grandpa DeCock, Auntie Jenny, Grandma and Grandpa Bristow and Auntie Megan have all come to visit now that we're home. We've been out visiting others, though! We went to Andy's work, my school (the third graders loved her!) and to Great Grandma and Grandpa O'Brien's house. This weekend we'll have lots of visitors for her baptism! She'll get to meet her aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as one of our dearest friends and one of her baptism sponsors.

Diet: Milk! Baby girl nurses great now, feeding every one to two hours.

Baby Gear Love: Mommy is loving the Boppy for nursing purposes. We're also loving the Aiden and Anais swaddle blankets to wrap Lizzie up tight in at night -- without being snuggled in, she will wake herself up and not get into a very deep sleep. Though it's not exactly baby gear, we're never without our Sony Nex-5n digital camera lately. It's always packed in the diaper bag, no matter where we go :)

Crying: Generally speaking, non-existant. If I push it too far and don't nurse her when she starts showing signs that she's hungry, she'll belt out a good cry for a few seconds to let us know she's not happy. If her diaper is dirty, she'll fuss a little over that, but calms down right after the change is over. She used to cry when getting her diaper changed and during a bath, but she doesn't seem to mind them anymore... in fact, she loved her sponge bath on Saturday night, especially when she got her hair washed. Her little head tipped back and turned from side to side -- it was too cute. Otherwise, we don't hear much from her. Here's to hoping this is the kind of temperament she'll have in the coming months!

Mommy News: I'm not sure if it's luck, or the yoga and walking I did while pregnant, but I feel great. I was never very uncomfortable after giving birth, just careful with taking it easy and listening to my body. I was up and moving around without a problem by the next morning after she was here (not that I wasn't up and moving the day of her birth, but just not moving as easily). Now, however, I feel like nothing happened! I'm wearing most of my pre-pregnancy clothes at this point, aside from a few pair of jeans that were just the right size before I was pregnant. In all honesty, I'm hoping I don't end up fitting back into those pants. Instead, I'm hoping to use the weight that I have left and keep it on because I feel I could have used a little extra weight on me before. Plus, I'm pleased with how I look, so why worry about losing it? I'm trying to eat a lot to compensate for the nursing so I don't lose any weight at this point. After giving birth to her, I lost eight pounds, with around four or five more pounds coming off in the days that followed. I'm hoping I don't lose any more than that.

It also took me awhile to put being pregnant behind me. When I went into labor, I still had three weeks of being pregnant left. And while we thought she might arrive early, we hadn't anticipated her coming this early! So initially, I was a little emotional. Though I was happy she was here, I was sad that she wasn't inside anymore. I missed her kicks and rolls, her hiccups, and just looking pregnant. I think part of that is the fear that we won't ever get to be pregnant again and now it's over, but another part is just the crazy pregnancy hormones. I've completely gotten over these feelings now, and am instead trying to soak up every moment of her time as a "newborn" -- it goes way too fast! I may have already shed a few tears over her getting older -- even when she was one day old, I wanted time to slow down! But those feelings have eased, too. Again, I think it was the post-partum emotions.

Milestones: We are so proud of Lizzie when it comes to having tummy time! She has amazed us with her ability to pick up her head and turn it from side-to-side during her time on her belly. Sounds silly, but we're parents now... these little things excite us! You should hear the screams and cheers for her coming from our house in the evenings :)