Dr. Visit - 6 Weeks Old

Today we had our two week doctors visit to see how Sophia is progressing. She is now 6 lbs 11.5oz. 19 3/4 inches long. Both are in the 50% of premies her age. Her head size is in the 10%. So now she has a small head for her age. I think it looks normal I can't see a difference. Doctor says she is not worried. It has been a long day of running around and Sophia had just about had it by the time we got home. She stayed up for 2 hours crying and feeding, and crying and feeding again. She was fine as long as you didn't put her down. As soon as we did she was crying again. She just needed a little extra love today. Sam needed a break so he headed of to his friends house for a couple of hours. I was finally able to put her down after holding her for about an hour and a half. We will see how long she lasts. She is still cluster feeding but it is getting later in the night. Sam is hoping she changes it to the day soon. I think the lack of sleep is finally getting to him. I might have to start taking over soon or at least help out. He has been a great help to me so I am not sleep deprived at all. The least I can do is return the favor.

Sleeping Situation

Two days ago Sam decided he was tired of sleeping on the couch. He wanted to sleep with me in our bed and thought Sophia needed to sleep in her bed. Two nights ago I went to bed and Sam decided that was the night he was going to start putting her in her crib. I wake up in the morning to find Sam sleeping in Sophia's room with Sophia sleeping in the bouncy. I just smiled and didn't say anything. Later when he woke up I asked him how it worked he said she was used to sleeping in an upright angle because "WE" kept putting her in the swing. I kindly reminded him that "I" put her in the cradle and that "HE" puts her in the swing. I decided to try an experiment so at the next feeding I asked Sam if he wanted to try to put her in the crib since in was early evening and we would be up to test her. I waited until she fell asleep and put her in her crib. Needless to say she has been sleeping in her crib ever since. I guess sometimes it just takes a Mothers touch.

On and On and On

I am loving life. I am having such a great time taking care of our little bundle of joy. I like getting up in the morning(no matter what time) to take care of Sophia. I take Sam's time and feed her and hold her. I even enjoy giving her a bath. Sam and I agreed to trade off every other bath time but I just do it. Sam thinks I am better at it and so he just tells me to do it. I told him that he can't get better unless he tries. He loves taking care of her as well. His favorite(I am guessing) is after he gets done feeding her he lays her next to him on a pillow and cuddles with her. I have pictures to prove it. It is cute my little family.
I was looking at Sophia this morning and she has changed so much since we brought her home. She seems so big to me now. She looks longer and a little chubbier. I can't believe that I am already thinking she is getting too big too fast. She can't wear premie clothes anymore and she is actually fitting into newborn outfits. I just put her in a onesie that was too big last week and now it fits perfectly. Time goes by so fast I don't like it.
We have no plans for the weekend. I would like to go swimming and have a cookout. Bonnye is dying to babysit again so it might be a possibility. Bless her she just loves Sophia and can't seem to get enough of her. Meredith likes to help out too. It is great to already have people you can trust to leave your child with. Days are just running into one another and I couldn't be happier. I am so surprised I am enjoying motherhood and how it is changing me to a softer more calm side. I am sure friends and family are enjoying it as well.

No More...

Sam and I had a talk last night about my breastfeeding. It just does not seem to be working. I am not producing enough to make much of a difference. If Sophia feeds from me she wakes up an hour later hungry again and I don't have anything but formula to give her. When I pump I am getting half of what I used to which was not much in the first place. I feel like such a failure because my body is suppose to want to breastfeed. I am telling myself that it was our situation that made me unable start or really continue to breastfeed. Doesn't really help though. I am looking forward to not being so attached to pumping times or having to be back after 2-3 hours to get milk out. I will have more freedom. Also, I am having major back issues because of the size of my breasts (38HH crazy I know!!) I am hoping they get smaller quickly. I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday to ask her any remaining questions I might have about what will happen to my body. She should give me the OK to be able to start exercising again to lose some of this weight. I have not lost much since I gave birth. I am feeling very lazy and no strength. I would like to be an example to Sophia on what a healthy lifestyle is.
Today is going to be a normal day with my daughter. Sounds so crazy but I like the ring it has.

Our First Date Night

Tonight will be the first time we are leaving Sophia with a babysitter. Well actually it is Bonnye but aunts still count. Bonnye is so excited to have her hands on the baby. We have tickets to Micheal Buble. I am a little more excited about the concert than Sam but it is OK. I think he will have a good time. At this point I am not nervous at all. This is probably because I had to leave her every day for 26 days at the hospital. I will let you know how it goes.
Bonnye and Meredith came over to watch her. I think they had a good time. They played dress up with her and held her a lot. I know she loved it. We had a great time. It was such a fun concert better than I expected. Sam and I didn't worry about the baby and did not call once to check in. We got home, fed her, and held her. She is just so sweet and a cuddle bunny. I went to bed soon after we got home and Sam stayed up to do his shift. He even did it longer than normal so I could sleep a little more. LOVE HIM!!

Baby Pics

Today we went to get newborn pics of Sophia. The photographer is the same one that did our wedding. We have free sittings for life which helps out with the price. We go back every year around our anniversary to get pictures and now we can include all Sophia pictures as well. We did several different poses including Sophia is in Pea pods sacks, a cute hat, on Sam's hand, me holding her, both of us with her, and body parts. I am sure we are going to want a lot of photos we will probably end up buying them all. We have no shame. The photographer said she had the sweetest disposition and so well behaved. I know what you are thinking that is not Diana's child...well that is Sam's child thank goodness. We got the best baby award. I can't wait to see the pictures.

The Best Poopy Story Ever!!!

I have been concerned about Sophia not pooping for a couple of days. I called the doctor and they informed me I could go get Karo and feed her 1 tablespoon for 1oz. or get glycerin suppositories. I woke Sam up in a hurry because Sophia started crying. I knew it was because she had not gone to the bathroom. On the way to the store Sam called me to tell me she had pooped right after I left so I went back home. Later today I went back to the store and picked up the suppositories just in case. When I got home I gave them to Sam and let do the dirty work. As soon as he put it in she started pooping. Sam had removed the diaper from underneath her and so she pooped all over her outfit, blanket, and best of all SAM!! She had her on the couch and I was afraid it was going to get on it so Sam held her by the legs until I could lay a diaper under her to catch it. She just kept pooping. We would start to clean her up and she would start again. Finally she stopped and we thought the best thing to do is give her a bath. I gave her a bath and let her relax. She even fell asleep while I was bathing her. I got her out the tub, wrapped her in her towel, and set her on the bed to put a diaper on her and put some clothes on her. She started crying again, I looked down and she was pooping again all over the towel. I grabbed a diaper to put under her and waited for her to be done. I cleaned her again, dressed her, then I held her because she was pooped. I looked at Sam and he had poop all his hands and his face. I had in under my nails and on my hands. Luckily we covered the rest of us so we wouldn't get it on anything else. Needless to say we started a load of laundry. I feed her at 9pm and she had another poopy diaper but at least she didn't get either one of us this time. I have a feeling she is not done yet so we are going to tread very carefully.

No Spit Up Today

Sophia made it through the rest of the day and this morning with no spit up. I think it was a little reflux and sitting her up helped. We are also not feeding her more then 55CC. We had increased it to 60CC but I think it was a little soon. She is waking up every two hours at night. I am hoping she switches to late afternoon soon for Sam's sake. I am going to try and get out today. I am going to wander to the grocery store and buy stuff. I haven't got out much since Sophia has been born. I went to take her to the doctor and I had to run and meet a friend took about an hour. I have a feeling I may be a little while at the store. Besides that just another day in the life of being a mom.

Sophia is Not Feeling Good

Sophia has spit up 5-6 times over the past 24 hours. It is not really a big deal since she never seems bothered by it. She does not project anything it just kind of bubbles and goes done the side of her face. It happened yesterday morning, last night between 11-2am, and then this morning around 8am. I called the doctor and she said to watch her for today and lets see what happens. She thinks it is probably just a little reflux. I have to sit her upright or 45 degree angle for an hour after feeding (which means putting her in her swing or car seat. I tried to breastfeed her for the 9am feed time but she feel asleep after 5 minutes. I made a bottle just in case I did not produce enough for her. The bottle was clearly not needed so I used it for her 11am feed. I am going to try again all day and see if we can't get a thing going. It is easier in the long run to just feed her by breast instead of feeding her then pumping. It takes about 30 minutes off the process. I could use an extra 30 minutes after every feeding. I am going to see how today goes but I am loving every day even if she is not feeling well. She is just the best baby...so easy. God new that was all I could handle. I don't even mind less sleep and like I said Sam is a major help in the over night area. He stayed up until 10am to make sure she was ok. Too sweet I have the sweetest family. Bless them!

I AM WOMAN!!!

As I have been talking about breastfeeding it has not been a good subject for me. I decided to get over myself and do what is best for Sophia. We woke up this morning and we came, we did, and we conquered!!! She was a champ and I think I was not have bad myself. We feed for over 20 minutes on one side and the other one does not work so I had to attach to it for a couple of minutes to see if we couldn't get it to come in a little better. We will see.
Last night Sam feed Sophia at 11:30pm he might have feed her again at 1-2ish but I don't know. I will have to ask him for sure I was sleeping. The doctor told us not to wake up up at night to feed her so she can start sleeping longer through the night. Only feed her if she wakes up. She was so good. My alarm went off at 5am this morning and she was still sleeping so I let her so I could as well. I reset my alarm to get up at 7am(two hours later can you believe it). I woke up her and we breastfeed. This day is going to be great! She is still awake in her cradle. She has been awake for 1 1/2 hours. I don't know when she is going to wear herself out but hopefully it will be soon. Toby has to go potty and I am waiting for her to go to sleep. At least she is self-soothing and it not crying. Thank God for small blessings. Although I think that is a major favor. Oh I almost forgot...I changed my first poopy diaper as well. Thank goodness it didn't smell. Go me!

Dr. Visit

First I have to talk about what happened last night or more so this morning. Sam came in at 4ish and tried to put Sophia in her bassinet so we could sleep together. We have decided she does not like her bassinet. She made noises, was restless, etc... Sam was so frustrated. It was so cute but I could not tell him that. I just told him that is was ok and to come to bed. He said she is fine out in the living room and when he brings her in her she makes noises and is restless. He ended up taking her into her own room and put her in her crib. 5 minutes later I was in there getting her because my shift started. I needed to change and feed her. So that is where my story comes in. I feed her and was holding her when she threw up on me. It was not a big deal but I had to change her again and me. Then she decided she didn't want to go to sleep so for two hours I has to hold her and wait it out. This is definitely teaching me patience. On to the Docs visit...
Sophia has gained an inch and now weighs 5lbs 9ozs. The doctor says she looks great. She said Sophia is in the 75% of weight (which means she is eating good like her daddy) and in the 25% of head size and height(which she gets from me). Basically she is short and fatter. I think she is beautiful. Doc says she wants her to gain an ounce a day and she is gaining 2. The doctor says for us to keep doing what we are doing. She has already started to cluster feed which means she is eating closer together and then sleeping for a longer period. This started late at night and then switches to late afternoon and she will start sleeping through the night. We had our first outing today. After the docs appointment we went to Chik-fil-a to meet Moms friends. We were pooped after that and came home. It was a good day.

Day 5

This week has been incredible. Sophia is such a good baby. I couldn't feel more blessed. First Sam and I are in shifts like I said earlier. She has never pooped on my shift only Sams'. (I LOVE HER!) She has peed on Sam twice now. She didn't cry when I gave her a bath and she is just a cuddle bug. We have got our system down. I wake her up and change her, feed her, hold her until she falls asleep, and then I pump. After that I have a couple of hours to myself to get the house cleaned, do laundry, cook, etc...I will at some point maybe today try and breastfeed again. Right now I am still pumping and frustrated.
Mom and Dad came over today and spent the day with me. Sam had been working on 5 hour sleep over the past 2 days so I let him sleep until he woke up. We hung out both Mom and Dad were able to hold and feed Sophia. She loved it they loved it and I loved it because I got a little break. We ordered pizza and we watched a movie when Sam woke up. Went to bed later than I should have and now I am a little tired as my new world is.

First Day Home From The Hospital

Sam and I decided we are going to work in shifts. I have the 5am-5pm shift and Sam has the 5pm-5am shift. We do help each other in the middle of the day and take turns doing things around the house. Our first night Sophia was making some whizzing noises and so we decided to make the full shift and not fall asleep just to make sure. Sam tried to put her in the room with me and I couldn't go to sleep and if I woke up I had to check on her. She was in there for less than an hour and I told him to take her out. We are going to let her sleep in the cradle his mom gave us or the swing. She loves the swing and so does daddy.
This morning after her 5am feeding I was able to sleep on the couch for a little while before her 8am feeding. The morning was peaceful. She is such a good baby. She never cries and is just a happy baby. I finally crashed around 1pm and woke Sam up and asked him to do the 2pm feeding so I could take a nap. He did and then we went to the store and I never got my nap. I tried to breastfeed at 5pm. It was interesting to say the least. I can never position her right to get her to suck for long periods of time. We did it for about 10 minutes and I gave up. Sam finished with a bottle while I pumped. I am going to keep trying but what I really want to do is quit and give bottles. I am not a quitter so I am going to keep trying for a little while. Sophia just eats and sleeps. She is such a joy. I am tired but it is worth it. I hope it keeps going smoothly. Life is very simple right now. Feed every 3 hours and sleep (her not us too much) in between. Don't really see the light of day and I am starting to smell. I might take a shower tomorrow.
I do feel like Toby is being a little ignored. I can't take him out and leave the baby alone so unless Sam is up it makes it very difficult. I don't get to play with him. Sam tries harder than I do. I want to but I am tired. Toby doesn't know what to do with Sophia. He stays away from her. If I am holding her he might go and smell the swing but then he will run away. He will figure it out. She is his responsibility to keep safe when we are out of the room. He will figure that out soon. I am going to bed because I am off shift. I need to catch some ZZZ's.

It's Finally Here...Sophia is Coming Home

It's morning and I couldn't go to sleep very well. I am too excited. I didn't even go to bed until 1am and got up at 7:30am. I am used to not sleeping very long anyway. I am sitting here watching the morning news thinking of all the things I would like to do before we leave. None of it seems too important though. I am just taking moment to be with myself. T,he calm before the exciting storm.
Sam and laid in bed last night and talked about finally bringing Sophia home. What we want for her and rules to abide by to make her life better, expectations of each other, what we want for her, our worries and things we are looking forward to. It was nice to be able to have the lines of communication open to tell your worries and fears plus your hopes and dreams. I can't wait to watch Sam being a father. He is going to be unbelievable. We also didn't forget about Toby. We realize over the past couple of weeks we have not had him at the center of us. He is feeling left out. I told Sam I think he will have a new goal in life when Sophia comes home. I want to see him interact with her. I think he will be very protective.
Well I will write later when we get back if I am not feeling too overwhelmed. Wish us luck not that we need it.
Stats about Sophia are she weighs 4lbs, 13oz

One Day to Go!!!

I talked to the doctor today and she has approved for Sophia to come home tomorrow. Sophia had a brady(the heartbeat gores down) during feeding which is a concern. The doctor said she was not worried about it. She said it happens to most babies but they are not hooked up to a machine. She gave us a choice of leaving her there a couple more days if we were worried or we could take her home. Sam and I talked about and decided that if the doctor was not worried about it we shouldn't be. Also, when I was talking to the nurse she said that Sophia gets her bottle she doesn't pace herself so as long as I watch her and pace her she would be fine.
Sam and I have been running around the last two days trying to get everything we need. I hope we have everything we need. We are very excited and a little nervous (me not Sam). I can't believe she is finally going to be here. Life as we know it is over. We are on to a new adventure. I can't wait. I need to go to bed and get some sleep for the last time.

4th of July

We keep getting more and more good news. Today the doctor told us to she expects Sophia to come home on Tuesday. She passed her hearing test and was getting vaccinated for Hep B. I was told to bring her car seat tomorrow to test her to make sure she can breath OK while sitting in it. I am going to asset giving her a bath to make sure I know what I am doing. Also, I have to watch a CPR video before we can bring her home as well. I have a lot to do tomorrow anticipation of her arrival on Tuesday.
Today however I breast feed again for the second time. It's not as easy as it looks. I get very frustrated with the way they told me to do it. I might try a different way when I get home that seems easier to me. Sam also feed her a bottle. Funny story... Sophia had not pooped since Friday so I guess when she finally did it was a lot. Sam was changing her diaper today in his lap and she had a poopy diaper. While he was changing her she decided she was not done yet. She kept pooping and pooping.(side note it looked like soft serve) When she finally stopped he pulled the diaper out from under her. She decided she needed to pee and so she did all over the blanket and his shirt. I was laughing so hard. It was greatness. I was a proud mama. I can't believe that it happened to him first. Happy 4th everyone!

35 weeks

Yesterday I was not feeling well. Sam is getting mad at me for doing too much and not taking care of myself. We did not go see Sophia because Sam made me take a nap. I slept for most of the day. So I guess he was right.
Today we got a call from the doctor. She said Sophia took 5 bottles yesterday. She is doing well and decided if she keeps on her path she will be set to come home mid next week. I am hoping but being cautious because I don't want to get upset if something happened. We are very excited but we don't have a lot of time to get everything in order. Between now and then we have to finish the nursery, find a pediatrician, clean the house, do all the stuff the NICU wants us to do before we can leave, etc... I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I started getting everything in order and I WILL get everything done because once I get to bring her home I don't want to have to leave the house for a while. Wish me luck. I am counting 4-5 days and counting!

She is Getting So Big

Sophia is sitting stronger every day and it doing great. She is still at 4 bottles a day but she is working on it and will do it in her own time. I am not patient as everyone knows so it is hard for me to watch and not be able to do anything to help her. I know everything is in God's plan so she will come home when he is ready. She weighs 4 lbs 10 oz.
I am feeling more comfortable with her but she is just so small. All the nurses like to tease me about how uncomfortable I am with her or anything doing with her. They seem ready and willing to teach me. I am hoping to try breast feeding tomorrow. We will see. I am heading to take a nap.