Ruby Jo, 3 Weeks

Tuesday, June 17, 2014
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Sorry, guys! My sister and nephew came to meet Rube the Tube and help out for a couple weeks. It's been so exciting that I'm a bit late with this post. Better late than never though!


Height/Weight: No official word on height and weight, but she sure does feel a lot squishier and is looking like she'll be sizing out of newborn diapers pretty soon. 

Routine:  Ruby's so much more alert now than she was a week ago. Since she's having more alert stretches for longer, I've been trying to take advantage of the time during the day by reading her a couple soft books and playing with what appears to be her new favorite toy--a soft lady bug that offers her a bunch of dangling toys to try and hit with her ever-more-muscular arms. We're also going on walks to the park everyday. Ruby sleeps through every single one of them, as she loves the feeling of being strolled over bumpy terrain. 

Sleeping: Seemingly gassier every day, sleeping can sometimes be difficult. She goes down pretty quickly if she's resting in the crook of my arm and laying on my tummy, but the crib transfer can be tricky. Transitioning to the vibrating baby chair, then to the crib has been buying us a little more resting time. 

Eating/Feeding: Ruby has graduated to between 3 and 4 ounces per feeding. She loves to eat but does get a gassy, so she requires a lot of burping along the way. No progress on breastfeeding and no progress on the amount I can pump. It's disconcerting but I'm doing everything I can do. 

Sizes: Still wearing newborn sizes but they're getting tighter and tighter!  

Milestones: We took our first bath! Ruby hated it, but seemed to like the following ones a little better. Her motor skills are improving every day and she's able to punch objects (mainly the accoutrements of the aforementioned lady bug toy) with advanced precision when she wants to. She also seems to be on the brink of smiling, so I'm hoping that will come soon! 








Ruby Jo, 2 Weeks

Wednesday, June 4, 2014
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We're a solid two weeks into Ruby's life and still in wonder of this amazing little girl!


 Height/Weight: We went to the pediatrician for another weight check on Saturday (the third since she was born) and she weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs., 1 oz. That's over her birthweight! She's still a pretty lanky looking baby--due in large part to inheriting her dad's long limbs. Grant says he can tell that she's bigger since we brought her home, but she seems about the same to me. We don't have another checkup for two weeks. I'll be excited to see how big she is then, but it's nice to get a break from having to visit constantly. 

 Routine:  I've noticed that she's definitely more active at night than she is during the day... just like she was in the womb! I've started trying to turn the tide by keeping nights as boring as possible (no talking, no music/TV, dim lights) and daytime as exciting as possible. This involves a lot of me singing along to Disney Radio. 

Sleeping: Trading off nights has been working out well. It's amazing to look forward to a whole night without having to change diapers or do feedings (sure, it's interrupted by pumping every two hours but it could be worse). She's been fussier than she was in the first week, but she usually just needs to be burped or re-swaddled, so we're pretty lucky in that respect. 

Eating/Feeding: No progress on the breastfeeding front but I have noticed an uptick in the amount of milk I'm pumping. Need to be happy with baby steps. I think she's going through a growth spurt right now because she's been cluster feeding every so often. Super fun when you're up with her all night!

Sizes: Still in newborn sizes, though I can tell that she's grown and they're getting tighter. Maybe only a couple more weeks until she gets to start wearing all of the adorable clothes we have in 0-3!  

Milestones: Ruby's umbilical cord fell off while I was transferring her from the changing table to the rocker for a feeding... and Homer promptly tried to eat it. Hopefully soon the scab on her belly button will fall off and we can start tummy time! She's been lifting her head a lot to look around the room and she's so strong! Sometimes Daddy has her lay on her back and grab onto his finger, and then do pull ups. It's amazing! She'd so much more alert every day and it's so much fun to get to interact with her more and more. 









Ruby Jo, 1 Week

Wednesday, May 28, 2014
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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.