3 Weeks

I can't believe Luke is 3 weeks old already. I know I'm going to miss alot in this update.

First of all, I have to say this new motherhood thing is easier the 2nd time around. I think a big part of it is that I'm not nearly as nervous about things and know that for the most part, I can't screw things up too bad. Eric and I also have decided that at least the first few weeks are "survival mode", so we're not getting worked up about setting routines or anything like that yet. I'm also, amazingly, not documenting everything. I am not keeping track of what's in each diaper, how often they are changed, all the feedings, number of hours slept, etc. I try to keep in mind a general idea of the last time he ate, just so I know when he cries if it's likely he's hungry. Anyway, it's either our attitudes, he's an easier baby, or some other factor, but I'm much happier this time. By happier, I mean no hints of post-partum depression. I've only cried 2 or 3 times since we've been home. Compared to every day for the first 6 weeks with Grace.

When we checked out of the hospital, Luke's discharge weight was 9 pounds 15 ounces. We were told that he needed to be at his discharge weight at the 5-7 day weight check and back to birth weight at 2 weeks. We did a weight check appointment at 6 days and he had lost weight and was down to 9 pounds 12 ounces. Also at that appointment the doctor thought he looked a little jaundiced, so she took some blood to see if we needed to do anything regarding treatment. We got a call that afternoon that his bilirubin levels were high, so they had a "Wallaby" blanket delivered that we had to have Luke hooked up to until his weight recheck on Thursday (about 36 hours). Having him hooked up to the blanket was a real challenge because while we could hold and feed him, the blanket had to stay plugged in at all times, so we were pretty much confined to the swing and rocking chair and then at night, I plugged him in next to the bed and cosleeper. Luckily on Thursday when they rechecked him, he was better, so we got to keep him off of it for good. Regarding the weight issue, we supplemented with formula after a couple of feedings (just 1 or 2 ounces) for a couple days and at the recheck 2 days later, Luke gained 9 ounces and was back up to 10 pounds 5 ounces, so all was good.

Regarding feeding. We have pretty much been exclusively breastfeeding. Luke was a natural and latched on in the delivery room. On the 2nd day, I had a lactation consultant come visit and she recommended that I keep trying him on both breasts and that I get a pump to try to get the right side stimulated. Luke wasn't really interested in the right side as the nipple is much flatter and just not as "ready" for feeding. They brought me a pump that evening and after a feeding, I hooked up and pumped for about 10 minutes. The left side gave us some more colustrum, but the right side didn't produce a drop. That 10 minutes with the pump brought back so many negative memories from my experience with Grace, so a couple hours later after our next feeding when it was time to pump, I just said "no." I decided I can deal with one breast only and I'm not going to torture myself with pumping again. I'd rather use formula. Except for those couple of days when we've supplemented after a feeding, I've been exclusively breastfeeding on the left side. At our 2 week appointment Luke had regained his birthweight and he seems content after each feeding and eats every 2 to 3 hours, so I think we're doing just fine. I can give him all the credit though, because it's been relatively easy. I haven't had cracked or bleeding nipples, he immediately latches on and doesn't ususually fall asleep while eating. He gets a full meal in about 10 to 15 minutes and we've even fed in public. I think not being stressed about how to feed him helped. I wasn't against formula, but since breastfeeding is working and mostly enjoyable, I'm going with it. I especially like that I don't have to actually "get up" over night. I just prop myself up with pillows in bed, get him out of the cosleeper and when he's done I try to put him back and go back to sleep. No bottles to prepare or warm up, just need me and him. I'm not sure how I'll handle things when we go back to work. I just bought a manual pump that I'm going to try out next week after feedings. I didn't really want to pay a bunch of money for a electric double pump for work, but if possible, it would be nice to pump at work, so he can still have breastmilk during the day at Amy's. The other option would be to give him formula during the day, so I don't have to pump, but I'm concerned that would negatively effect my supply for the other feedings, so I'll have to see. I may have to pay for a better pump, but I'm going to give it a try for 2 weeks at home before we go to Iowa to visit.

Sleeping is interesting. Not sure why, but I am not nearly as exhausted as I remember being with Grace. We've been trying to have Luke sleep in a cosleeper that I borrowed from Samara. It's nice to have him so close at night when he needs to eat. Especially since he fusses and grunts a bit before he cries, so most of the time I can get him started eating before he is actually crying. Although lately, he refuses to sleep unless he's being held or next to me, so I've been sleeping while holding him or laying next to him in bed. I am not giving up on the cosleeper yet, but again, this is survival time. We can undo any of these bad habits later. On a brighter note, we're starting to get longer stretches at night. He was only going 2 to 3 hours even at night, but this week we've had a couple stretches closer to 4 hours and he will do 3 hours easier. We even had one night that went from 11 p.m. to 3:50 a.m., so that one was great. Hopefully, a bigger baby will start sleeping though the night sooner, but I feel pretty good overall, so I'm not going to complain much.

I'm still not sure what to do with him when he's awake. He will sit in the swing or bouncy seat while awake for 10 minutes or so, but other than that he likes to be held alot. He's getting used to the sling, because I can't just hold him all day. He'll also lay on my lap while I'm typing (what we're doing right now). He does like tummy time too, so we'll get on the floor on a blanket. I'm ready for him to start interacting more and can't wait until we get the awake smiles. Grace will like that too. She likes to make silly faces at him and gets sad when he doesn't laugh or smile at her. We keep telling her he's still too little, but I think it'll be good for her when he can respond.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'm pretty sure there's a diaper to change, so I should go take care of that and get a snack before I go pick up Grace.