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| Lauren, 7 days old. Photo by Bethany Miller. |
Our peanut was born a little over a month ago, on September
29, 2012. These past four weeks have passed in a blur, between sleepless
nights, nearly constant feedings, and lots of wonderful visitors. I’ve been
amazed at the feeling of completeness Lauren has brought to our lives. It just
feels right, the three of us.
Weight: 7 lbs, 8 oz.
Lauren started out life at 7 lbs, 11 oz, and dropped a pound
in the first week. She’s been working on gaining it all back, although she’s
not quite there even yet. At first the slow weight gain was thought to be
because her tongue was tied. At two and a half weeks, Lauren visited the ENT
who zapped the frenulum with a laser to loosen her tongue. Feedings got a little
quicker and Dan and I were certain she was gaining weight, but after a visit to
the doctor yesterday, she is still 3 ounces away from her birth weight. After
some questions and observations, the doc prescribed some Zantac for Lauren, as
she seems to be suffering from excess acid coming up into her esophagus (baby
acid reflux). We just started this yesterday, and hopefully this helps Lauren
gain weight and reduces her afternoon and evening fussiness. I also have a
whole list of techniques to (hopefully) keep her happier by keeping her upright
more.
Routine:
Mornings with Lauren are beautiful. She is happy to let me
do a few chores, participate in tummy time, and read her a few books. We spend
most of the morning in her room, just hanging out, although if I want to get
anything done, it needs to happen in those few hours of happy time. I think I’m
going to be using my slow cooker a lot in these next few months! That way
dinner is made while Lauren happily watches from her bouncy seat.
Afternoons and evenings are a bit more challenging. She
seems to only be happy while nursing and doesn’t really like to sleep. Again,
hopefully these things abate as I figure out how to keep her upright longer
(baby carrier) and as the medicine kicks in. Even so, I love watching her
throughout the day. She makes some of the funniest faces after nursing or as
she wakes up.
Bath time is not a hit yet, and we haven’t really settled
into a night time routine.
Sleeping:
Lauren has given us some good nights (4 hour stretches of
blissful sleep!) and rough nights (I never want to see the clock every hour of
the night). We are kind of on a college student schedule. Sleep by 11/midnight/1
a.m., up by 9 or 10. The only way she can sleep in her bassinet is if she is
firmly swaddled, so we are very glad that she has some swaddle sacks.
Milestones:
Lauren managed to flip herself from her tummy to her back last
week. I think it was a fluke of how her arms were positioned under her. She
didn’t seem bothered by rolling over, but she has yet to repeat this trick.
Also, we’ve gotten a few smiles. Whether they are from gas or emotion is hotly
debated, but they are smiles, nevertheless.
Favorites:
Lauren loves sleeping in her Ergo baby carrier as she is
toted around and has tolerated several walks in her stroller. Playing with toys
is not happening at this stage, but she is learning to follow the rattle with
her eyes. So I guess her favorite toy right now is a black and white rattle. My
favorite items are the ones that help her sleep: swaddle sack, baby carrier,
and whatever else is working at the moment.
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| 4 weeks old. |
1 comment:
Lauren looks good! Lucas had as GI reflux and kidney reflux and did not gain his birth weight until about 1 1/2 months then grew slowly from there but is fine! Hopefully her fussyness will decrease. The only thing that seems to work for me is constant attention and going outside!
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