I can't believe it's been a week since Ruby came into this world... I equally can't believe it hasn't been a month. The days are all so busy and full of love that they're all blending into each other.
Height/Weight: At her weight check yesterday, Ruby was 6 lb., 10 oz. That's nearly back to birth weight in the first week! Given all of the breast feeding issues we've been having and the fact that she was premature, this is pretty remarkable. We have another appointment on Saturday to make sure that she's reached or surpassed her birth weight and then we don't have to go back until her 1-month checkup! Not sure if she's gotten any taller but she was 19 3/4 inches at birth and those legs go on for days.
Routine: Because we were trying to get her weight back up (she dropped down to 6 lb., 1 oz. at one point), we've been feeding her every two hours on a schedule. This entails me attempting to breast feed (both with and without nipple shield), then supplementing with first a bottle of whatever I was able to pump previously followed by a bottle of formula, then finishing off with a pumping session for me. It has been exhausting. The whole process start to finish takes over an hour, so when you're waking her every two hours it can get pretty harrowing. The past couple days, since she almost hit her birth weight mark, we've been doing bigger feedings at night (around 10 and 1) so that we can both get two 3-hour chunks of sleep at night. This has made all the difference in feeling rested--most days it's all I get.
Sleeping: Because she was a preemie Ruby sleeps a little more than the average newborn... but our lactation consultant says that she's more alert than average when she is awake. She usually naps after every feeding then goes down for deep sleeps at night. Grant sleeps through the late night/early morning feedings and I've noticed that she's very alert during these periods of time when it's just the two of us.
Eating/Feeding: Breastfeeding has been difficult. We have problems on my end with my anatomy and her end with a lack of strength due to coming so early. We met with a lactation consultant on Monday and worked out a game plan that includes heavy pumping until she's ready to do the work herself. I'm not producing enough milk right now to satisfy her needs so we're supplementing with formula. That said, Ruby's a lot like her mommy in that she'll eat whatever you put in front of her. She has a healthy appetite and often wants to keep feeding after the recommended 2 oz. per feeding. Go Ruby, go!
Sizes: Ruby's wearing newborn sizes in both swaddlers and clothes. Thank goodness we thought to get a fair number of newborn onesies, since baby girl likes to poop and pee while you're changing her diaper and sometimes requires multiple outfit changes in a day. On a selfish note, all of the really cute stuff that we own doesn't start until she's into 0-3 month sizes, so I'm excited for her to grow up and be able to wear them.
Milestones: Her poo went from green to yellow and seedy, marking a digestive development and clear lack of jaundice. She also had her full blowout projectile poo all over her changing table. I was changing her diaper and she fart-pooped, spraying it all over everything but her own butt and diaper. Thanks, Ruby. I've also noticed an uptick in smiling--mostly when she's dreaming. It's still not a reaction to anything specific, but I can tell that she's practicing for the future.
