We're eleven weeks into this whole parenthood thing and we're finally feeling more confident and like we almost know what we're doing. (And, of course, after I type this, everything is going to change!) Nothing has gone as I imagined it would, but I'm learning to go with the flow.
For starters, we have a little girl. No, I mean little. As of right now, at least. At her eight week appointment, she was an ounce shy of 10 pounds. That put her at around the 15th percentile for her height and weight. Last Monday (a day shy of 10 weeks), she was 10 lbs 4 oz. There are babies born bigger than what she was at 10 weeks old! She's perfectly healthy and growing the way she should, but this has posed a small problem: clothes. We stocked up winter/cold-weather clothes in 0-3 month and warm weather clothes in 3-6 months. Unfortunately, the weather isn't going to wait until she's big enough to wear her summer clothes. Thankfully, I have been able to find some outfits at consignment stores and on sale, and some of our friends have been generous enough to loan us some 0-3 month spring/summer clothes. I really don't want to go buy any more!
We also had to make the switch to formula much sooner than I had hoped. I wanted to nurse for six months, but nursing didn't work out for us. Pumping was exhausting, so I changed my "goal" to three months. My knee had other goals. After dealing with tendonitis and fluid build up on my knee for two weeks, I was finally convinced to take medicine to help it get better. This particular medicine made my milk dry up, so Maleah only got 10 weeks of breastmilk. I still think that's better than nothing, but it made me a little sad to have to make the switch so soon. She seems to be doing well on formula, though. It doesn't seem to bother her tummy, although it does seem like her intestines are doing a bit of adjusting if you know what I mean. ;)
Maleah has adjusted very well to her daytime routine. We wake her/get her out of bed around 7am and she follows this pattern every three hours: eat, diaper change, wake time, nap. Daycare hasn't seemd to mess with the routine as much as I thought it would. She has been sleeping less during the day, which means she is sleeping more at night. So, I can't complain!
Speaking of daycare, we love her school! She's only been four days so far, but we have no complaints. They are loving and compassionate ladies and they are doing a great job taking care of Maleah while we're at work! She seems to be adjusting well to being in the room with other babies and they say she eats and sleeps very well! That makes this mama VERY happy!
She isn't sleeping through the night just yet, but we are starting to see a shift in her middle of the night feeding. We think she's just not big enough weight-wise to go more than 4-5 hours without eating, so hopefully as she gains weight, she will sleep longer. People have told us (and I have read) all sorts of ways to try to get her to sleep through the night. Honestly, I'm tired of trying new things. What we're doing is working and she'll sleep through the night when she gets there! Lately she takes her dream feed at 10:30/10:45 and can sleep until 3:30 or 4, which is good! That's 4 1/2 to 5 hours. Blake and I take turns with the night feedings. One of us does the dream feed and the other does the middle of the night feeding and we swap roles every two days. It isn't easy and I'm sure there's some magic trick (not) to get her to sleep until 7am, but right now we can manage this routine and as they say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Our favorite part about her current age is that she has started to be much more interactive. She smiles more and with purpose and she "plays" with us. She also babbles and "talks" a lot! She loves, loves, loves music (as all babies do!) and enjoys time on her Baby Einstein activity mat. We like to take her out in the stroller, too, but we're waiting until the pollen count goes back down before we venture outside too much in the next week or two. She's been grasping her hands together A LOT lately and I'm hoping this means she's starting to figure her little hands out. So far she doesn't really reach out for things, but I think as she learns to control her arms better, that'll happen, too.
My favorite time of day is still around 8:00/8:30 p.m. when I'm rocking her to sleep. I always sing hymns to her during this time and it's hard for me not to get choked up while I'm singing! I have dreamed of singing hymns to my kids for-ev-er and it's just so sweet to be able to do so.
Eleven weeks and going strong... can't wait to see what's up next!
Random note on the clothes: Sam's Club actually has some really cute one-piece outfits for like $5-6 each. I think they are Carter's. They aren't fancy, but they are actually really cute!
ReplyDeleteIt really does get easier and easier, especially with the things you mentioned (interaction rising, sleep increasing -- even if gradually). Every age comes with its own challenges, but there are so many rewards that come, too!
We actually have bought some outfits from SAMs! They're super cute and at a great price. The problem right now w/ buying clothes is that I *think* she'll move up in a month or two, so I hate to buy clothes for such a short period of time!
ReplyDeleteI think just finally figuring her out somewhat has made a huge difference in how I feel as a mom! Like most (ALL) new parents, I just felt like I had no clue what I was doing for several weeks! Plus we kept trying all these "tricks" people were suggesting, but at the end of the day... we just had to be consistent and do what felt right to us!