The hospital stay was long and difficult. I was in a lot of pain and recovery has been very slow. Katelyn wanted to nurse constantly and we were having a hard time with breast feeding. It's still pretty difficult but we're slowly getting better. When we got home we couldn't keep her happy at all and she gave us a good scare by not having a wet or dirty diaper in well over 24 hours. She started acting lethargic and limp and not like her strong little self at all. She also felt very light to me so I broke down and gave her formula. She sucked it down so quickly and I felt so awful. Poor kid was starving! Luckily my milk came in the next day so we only had to supplement with formula a few times.
She had her first Dr. appointment this week with the Pediatrition and is doing very well. She weighed in at 8 lbs 4 oz and 19.5" long. Not sure how she shrunk from birth so I'm going to chalk it up to bad measuring. :) Her appetite grows every day and so does the dirty diaper pile. That's great news in my book! She's very strong and makes so many noises. We are starting to learn her cues and Steven's very good at knowing which cry is hungry, gas, or wet. She loves to sleep on him and although she'll sleep in her crib just fine during the day, she wants to be close to us at night. I think we're going to have to get a snuggle nest co-sleeper for our bed.
We've used up all the hospital diapers and moved into cloth diapers. Steven is not loving it but the cost benefit makes it so worth it. He couldn't believe how many diapers we went through this week. We're also going through a lot of bottles since it's so painful for me to feed her at every feeding. So I'm pumping and we bottle feed about 70% of the time. I have an appointment with a lactation consultant on Thursday so hopefully we can get back to full time on the breast. She finds a lot of comfort in nursing and has a lot less gas than with the bottle.
Her belly button fell off on Sunday at 6 days old and she had her first bath to commemorate the occasion. Steven got it all on video and she loved it! I was prepared for a screaming baby but she just looked around and kicked her feet. It was the diapering afterward that she wasn't too happy about. I also set up my photo equipment and took a few pictures. Photographing a newborn is not easy.
I had my follow up Dr. appointment on Monday. We had to wait for two hours and amazingly she slept the whole time. I'm down to 178 lbs, blood pressure is back to normal, and I have a bladder infection. Physically I'm still having a hard time. The pain is slowly going away but I'm still very pale and yellow colored and every muscle of my body hurts. I don't have an appetite at all and of course sleep is hard to come by. I'm very emotional and have had a few breakdowns. Steven is so great at being my support and helping in every way that he can. He has unlimited patience for Katelyn's crying and if she wants to be held while she sleeps he'll do it all night long. I couldn't have asked for a better Daddy.
We had a few visitors this week and although I was a total zombie, it was nice that they stopped by. Our little girl is pretty popular and very loved.
These are some pictures I took at 6 days old.
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this week. :)
Big stretches!
Hanging out with Mommy
Talking to Grandma
Full belly and sleepy Mommy
Oh that face! Love it!
Cousin Charlotte will hold her for hours on end while she naps
There was a lot of this happening this week
She loves sleeping with Daddy
This is my favorite picture :)
Auntie Michelle has the magic touch, look at that arm dangling!
And my post partum picture.
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