I can’t believe it’s been 3 weeks + 2 days since Ellery was born. It still feels like yesterday that we were in the hospital.
We had our 1 month pediatrician visit yesterday (a week early) in order to do a weight check. Ellery is currently 10 lbs 9.5 ounces! Growing minute by minute and already outgrowing a lot of her newborn clothes (some were already tight since she was such a big baby at birth).
With hurricane Sandy in the midst of it all, I haven’t had time to write any new posts (I just uploaded some photos from the past 3 weeks). I’d love to set a goal of writing a post a week like I was doing throughout pregnancy, but I think for now I need to get to it when I can.
These past few weeks have definitely had their moments of being beyond challenging, while other moments I just sit and stare at Elle and melt. I felt an instant bond with her from day one but it continues to grow every minute. I miss her even the short amount of time I will go and take a nap and Mach or Grammie Watts will take “watch.”
I wanted to touch on breastfeeding since this has been one of the more challenging things for us thus far. Ellery was a sleepy baby from the get go and so she wasn’t that interested in breastfeeding or eating right away. Because of this, my milk came in a touch late and so we called on a lactation consultant to come meet with us. Turns out, I actually have a low milk supply. As for all the reading I did during pregnancy about how EVERYONE can breastfeed and have no problems, well, turns out it is possible and extremely common to not produce enough milk. Luckily, the lactation consultant got me going on some herbs (totally safe ones) and pumping using a hospital grade pump. I’ve been able to bring up my milk supply a bit but still not enough to solely breastfeed. So, we are breastfeeding and supplementing with formula. I used to think formula was the devil, I really did, but turns out it is extremely necessary when you are dealing with low milk supply. I wish more people talked about how common this problem is. I’ve talked to several friends who have dealt with this issue and we all had the same reaction when it happened to us-we were devastated! Imagine being extremely hormonal after having just given birth and wanting to know you are able to provide enough milk for your new baby only to find out you can’t?! Then you remember all the stories you read in your breastfeeding book about how “breast is best” and how there is no reason everyone can’t breastfeed? Quite overwhelming and frustrating.
Ellery and I have begun to figure it all out though-together we are taking it day by day, hour by hour. We breastfeed until she is finished with that and then I top her off with a bottle filled with formula. Thanks to my friend, Helen we are using bottles that are the closest I’ve found to acting like an actual breast. They are called Tommee Tippeebottles. So far, they’ve been amazing and Elle has had no problem switching from breast to bottle.
What’s happening at 3 weeks?
We are beginning tummy time! This is when we place her on her tummy and let her work her neck muscles to try to lift herself up! It’s amazing what she is already able to do at 3 weeks.
Soon we will also work on sleep training, which her doctor said will be harder on us than her! Hopefully she continues her pattern of LOVING to sleep!
At this point she still can’t see more than 12″ from her face. She loves this toy that Auntie Jess got her. It’s an owl rattle that is bright blue with big eyes…she stares at it for a long time! It’s definitely her favorite item at this point.
What she is doing/loving right now:
Ellery loves to sleep on us, on her tummy. Sleeping on her back is not her thing at this point. She wants to sleep in something with an incline. She makes the most expressive facial expressions, including smiles from time to time. She also coos and makes these peaceful sounds when she is cuddling in for a good nap.Her hiccups that I used to feel inside me on a daily basis have continued. She still gets them a few times a day and I can’t help but miss feeling them myself from time to time.
She continues to have very active arms and legs! She LOVES waving them around and kicking her legs like crazy, very much like I felt in my tummy 🙂
Â
Â