Friday, October 31, 2008

2 month stats

Christina had her 2 month well baby visit the other day. She is now 9 pounds and 4 ounces, which is still on the lower side, but she is showing a lot of growth from the last month, so that is good. As for her height, she is 22.5 inches, which is definitely good.

It is very weird that at two months old, my daughter is still not anywhere close to the size Nik's baby brother was when he was born. Alex was almost 11 pounds and 26 inches!! Can you even believe it? My daughter will likely be six months old before she is that size. lol

Happy Halloween

Today is Christina's first Halloween. We aren't going trick or treating since she is so little, but that doesn't stop her from getting dressed up. We had three halloween related outfits to get her into and of course we took pictures.

Grandma got her this costume:


My friend Lina got her this costume:


And, I got this Halloween sleeper from someone, I think a hand-me-down, but I can't remember:


I hope everyone is having a good one, Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

How is she sleeping?

Apparently, "How is she sleeping?" is the question to ask a new mom. I have been asked this dozens of times. So, for all to see, here is the answer to the infamous question . . . not good.

Christina has completely forgotten what we learned weeks ago. The baby that use to go to bed fairly easily, as long as we followed the same routine, is nowhere to be found. I shouldn't complain though, so much has changed for her. I use to nurse her and then give her a bottle in her crib. It was easy for her to doze off since she was already in her crib. Now, there is no bottle. And since we are back to 100% breastfeeding, she seems to hate being separated from me and will not fall asleep without me. Actually, I think it's just my breasts she doesn't want to be separated from, but hey, we are a package deal.

Plus, I am not the only requirement that Christina has for falling asleep. She also will not sleep without nursing. Literally, she must have the breast in the mouth, in order to doze off. See, I told you it is just my breast that she wants!

Even though she will nurse and fall asleep, the problem is that I can never get her from arms to crib without those beautiful eyes popping back open. And if she sees that I am (god forbid) putting her down in a bed that doesn't have me in it, she will not sleep . . no matter how tired she is.

When I take her to my bed, I can nurse her while we both lay down and she will drift off to sleep. Since she is already in a bed (and she knows I am not going anywhere), she will stay asleep. But, she should not be sleeping in our bed with us. I'm sure you can come up with at least one reason why.

Co-sleeping (as they call it), is a SIDS risk and on top of that, I don't want it to become a habit. Also, it takes a huge effort on my part to get out of bed without her waking up. I'm talking extreme skillfulness on my part, even if I just want to get up to go to the bathroom. Then, if she happens to wake up and see that I am not in bed with her, we all have hell to pay!

I obviously don't know what I'm doing with this whole sleeping thing. I can't go on letting her sleep in my bed. I don't know what is going to happen when the alarm clock goes off and I have to get up to get ready for work (starting Monday!!!)

I am going out tomorrow to get an infant sleep book, so hopefully the experts can help me. Because, I really need help.

In the meantime, anyone out there have any advice for me? (Click on "comments" at the bottom of this entry - in case you weren't sure.)

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Christina would kill me if she knew

Naked baby time, lol.

Here is a video from her birth day -





Here is a bath time video when she was about three weeks old -

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Is it over yet?

The day after my last post, I started to wonder if Christina really was healed from the tongue-tie procedure. She was still having episodes of crying where nothing could console her. It wasn't constant crying like the day of the procedure, but it definitely was not normal for her.

Then, it happened again the next day. I started thinking that it couldn't be her tongue because the crying seemed to have no pattern. I thought she might be constipated because she hadn't had a poopy diaper in a day and a half. I know formula can do that sometimes. But then, she had a poopy diaper and although she was fine that day, the next day she had another episode of crying.

Every time I thought we were in the clear, she would end up crying inconsolable again. I began to think that maybe I had a colicky baby on my hands. She fit the description of a baby with colic and had every single symptom. Still, I wasn't completed convinced.

Finally, something told me that it might be the formula upsetting her stomach. So, I decided to quit the formula cold turkey. I was planning on getting Christina back on breast milk exclusively anyway, but in order for me to find out if formula was the problem, I knew I needed to just eliminate it asap. So, I did.

Today, is day four of 100% breast milk for Christina. I even eliminated the bottle, just in case that was the problem. I know babies can get painful gas from the air in the bottle, so I figured I should just eliminate that as well. I didn't have any saved breast milk that I could have put in the bottle, so that was an easy decision.

Since my breast milk supply wasn't exactly prepared to feed a (almost) two month old baby, it was not easy. For the most part, Christina has been breastfeeding every hour since we got rid of the formula. Thank goodness, I have not run into the problem of having empty breasts when she wanted/needed to nurse.

From what I have read, I believe that as she continues to nurse every hour, my body will eventually adjust and provide more milk for her at each feeding session, so that she will not need to nurse every hour. So far that has not happened, but I am still hopeful.

I am happy to report that Christina is really back to herself now. I think it is safe to say that the formula was the culprit for all of the crying. Thank goodness I was able to eliminate it, and figure this out.

Of course, solving one problem is never the end when you are a parent. Each day brings a new challenge.

Figuring out why Christina is not gaining weight . . . check
Getting Christina to gain weight . . . check
Finding a surgeon to fix Christina's tongue-tie . . . check
Having the tongue-tie procedure done . . . check
Getting through Christina's recovery . . . check
Teaching Christina to learn breastfeeding with her new tongue . . . check
Figuring out why Christina continues to cry when her tongue has healed . . . check

Now, what is next???

I am going back to work in two weeks. I have to say I am stressing out. CC is still not on a firm night time sleeping schedule. The breastfeeding, then bottle feeding, then breastfeeding has sort of thrown us off. I also have no clue how to get her on a napping routine. In addition to my concerns about her sleeping, I am going to need my milk supply to increase quickly. By the time I go back to work, I am going to have to be able to pump enough milk so that she can be fed by bottle while I am at work. If I don't have enough, I either have to quit my job, or give her formula. As much as I don't want to give her formula, I obviously cannot quit my job.

So I feel like I have to solve the sleeping and eating problems before I go back to work. I know I don't really have to, but it would make things much easier. If she isn't sleeping well when I go back, I'll just have to adjust to being up several times a night, and then going to work tired. If I can't pump enough breast milk for her to eat while I'm at work, we will just have to experiment with different kinds of formula and hopefully we will find one that doesn't upset her tummy. I guess it can be done, but I can't help but worry.

Plus of course, I don't want to leave my baby. But, I am trying not to think about that. Thank goodness for the first couple of months she will be taken care of by either Nik, my mom, or my sister Rachel while I am at work. That is a huge relief. Now when the end of January rolls around and she has to go to daycare three days a week, that is another story.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

My poor baby

Things have been pretty crazy lately. Just when I thought I had a good night time routine down for Christina, she decided that she did not like it. Two nights in a row, she absolutely refused to go to sleep at a reasonable time and in her crib. I've heard babies keep you guessing, so I guess this is her first chance to show Mommy who is really in control. Luckily, I don't give up easy :-)

Last night would have been the third night in a row that she wouldn't go to sleep, but we had much bigger problems to deal with than that. Christina was entitled to all of the fussiness she wanted yesterday because it was a very big day for her.

Yesterday morning, she finally got her tongue-tie corrected. My lactation consultant recommended an oral surgeon that she works with. He was great and agreed to help out with our situation.

Christina did really well with the procedure. The Doctor made Nik and I wait in the waiting room, which was pure torture, but I understand why. The last thing he needs are two upset parents in the room while she is crying. Of course she cried. She had to be restrained :-( But, the actual procedure was only 30 seconds and Nik and I were only out of the room for a total of five minutes while they got set up, and then clipped it. They actual used a laser and it didn't even bleed.

The Doctor said Christina was very cooperative for a baby her age. So, that was good. She also seemed to get over the experience quickly. I think the most upsetting part was just being restrained.

The Doctor said he used something to numb the area before doing the procedure, so her tongue might still be a little numb afterwards. But, he said she shouldn't feel any pain.

Nik and I thought all was well, and went home feeling relieved that it was all over. Christina was exhausted and slept for most of the afternoon.

Unfortunately, when she woke up, my poor baby was in so much pain. She pretty much would not stop crying for more than a few seconds at a time. I tried to feed her, but it seemed too painful for her.

Nik and I tried everything to calm her down, but nothing worked. Finally, we gave her some infant Tylenol. Eventually, she fell asleep again. When she woke up, she was still in pain. But, thank goodness, by the second dose of Tylenol she was able to finally eat without any pain.

I did not attempt to put her in her crib last night. She stayed up with Nik and I, then she slept in our room. We wanted our baby close to us, and didn't want her more upset than she already had been.

Thank goodness, today she is back to her old self. She has been nursing really well and having fun with her new tongue. I am so glad it is over and hope that getting this done pays off for her.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

My little piggy

Well, Christina is definitely making up for lost time. In addition to nursing regularly, she is also taking bottles of breastmilk mixed with formula. With all of that food, she is now gaining weight like a champ. It is incredible how much she is eating. She is eating much more than babies her age usually eat, but I'm sure that is just because she has to play catch up for awhile. I can tell that she is getting heavier and her cheeks are getting more and more full. She is as adorable as ever of course and each day she seems to be doing more things to win over mommy and daddy's hearts.

Nik and I are pretty much obsessed with taking pictures of her. I hope the flash doesn't do perminant damage, because often I will snap pictures of her over and over again. She is just so darn cute. I love digital photos. Digital photos make it possible for me to document her life, every second, if I wanted. :-)

Ok, so here are some of the newest:

My little darling -




Practicing her scary faces for Halloween I guess :-)



"What's that Daddy??"



"Hmph, now where's that milk?"


"Oh no you don't little girl, you are too cute for your own good!"


"Mmmm . . Yummy"


"Hmph, those dogs are weird"


"Mommy thinks I'm so cute"




Here are some older pictures that I never posted:

















Christina loves to do different things with her hands while she sleeps, here are some of her many poses:

"Yo, Yo, What's up?"




"Oh my!"



"That's ok with me"


"I'm just a hula girl"

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Picture Post

Here are some pictures I took of Christina today. She will be 5 weeks old tomorrow, oh how time flys!





Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Tongue-tied

So much has happened since my last post. The pediatrician and I discovered that Christina's problem is the tongue-tie. Luckily, now that we have figured that out, she has started to really catch up on her weight gain.

We no longer use the tube and syringe. I started using a bottle to supplement the nursing and that seems to be working. You can tell that Christina still has a tough time with the sucking, but it is still much easier than nursing.

Ultimately, the doctor says we need to have her tongue-tie corrected. Apparently it is an extremely simple procedure. At this young of an age, it is just one snip of the skin that is holding the tongue down. Since the skin thickens over time, in a baby as young as Christina, it probably won't even bleed. There is virtually no pain and no healing process.

Since tongue-tied children can also have speech problems, correcting it now only makes sense. Plus, even the bottle isn't so easy for CC. Once she has this procedure, she will be able to nurse and take a bottle with ease.

The problem comes into play when several oral surgeons told me that they won't do it on a baby this young. It's pretty ridiculous, given the simplicity of the procedure. I think that here in NJ, doctors are so afraid of being sued over the smallest thing, that they would rather turn away patients, then help them when they really need it.

I had a consultation with an oral surgeon who told me before scheduling the appointment, that he would do it on a (then) four week old. But when I met with him, he changed his tune.

Christina was practically hysterical because she was starving. I had nursed her earlier and I gave her a bottle at the office. But when the oral surgeon came in, the bottle was running low and CC was having a lot of trouble sucking the milk out.

The heartless surgeon that he is, saw CC struggling for food, and still said he would not do the procedure until she was six months old. So apparently, he couldn't care less about my infant starving to death.

His excuse was that she would move around too much. But, hello??, a six month old moves too. So what the hell?

Between the doctor's obvious cold heart and complete unwillingness to help, combined with the fact that CC was having a melt down, I found it hard to contain my tears.

Christina and I both cried the whole way home.

Since then though, she has been doing much better with the bottle and at her last appointment her weight gain was amazing. She is now seven pounds, fifteen ounces.

Now our game plan includes trying another surgeon. If that doesn't work out, we will just skip the procedure and keep a close eye on the little girl. I am so thankful that she is catching on to the bottle, and that she is still nursing.

I'm having trouble pumping enough to give her in a bottle, so I have had to supplement with formula. But if that is the only way to keep her healthy, then I've got to do it. I am working on building my milk supply though, and I hope to use as little formula as possible.

Other than the crazy feeding issue, Christina and I are doing fabulous. Now that she has a full tummy after nursing and a bottle, she is sleeping so much better. I'm enjoying everyday I spend with her and love watching her personality come out. More updates and pictures to come soon.