When you're smiling...

Oh when you're smilin'....keep on smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
Ah when you're laughin'....keep on laughin'
The sun comes shinin' through

-Louis Armstrong

Beautiful baby smiles :) = lovelovelove

On a positive note...

After that totally negative post...

This kid is sleeping through the night! We are getting a consistent 6-7 hours every night for the past week! Hell yes!

And here is a video of his adorable self having some fun:

One month photo:

(taken by me)

Newborn photo:

by: Megan Noonan Photography

Breastfeeding drama [my breast needs rest]

Well we are learning and learning on this breastfeeding thing. After our meeting with the lactation consultant, we felt very confident in our ability to feed our baby. Once we got home it was a different story. Its so much harder at home for some reason. And I honestly thought I had a really good grasp on what I needed to do. I think we are still latching incorrectly at times, and he only gets a full 3oz at my first morning feeding when he's gone 6-7 hours between feedings. At his other feedings he's getting 1.5 - 2 oz and we are having to supplement to make up the difference. The worst part of this supplementation is that we are supplementing with pumped milk....pumped milk that comes from each of these feedings. If I am pumping enough to finish the feeding, why isn't he able to pull it out on his own? It has to be something with my latch. He is only effectively sucking part of the time it seems.

I am pumping 15 minutes after every feeding and another 15 minutes in between feedings. I am also taking fenugreek and eating oatmeal 3 times a week or more, as well as trying to have a couple of dark beers during the week, all to try and get my supply up. Granted, it hasn't been a week yet, but it is frustrating all the same. I would like to be able to feed my baby w/o having to break out a bottle of breastmilk. At the rate we are going I don't know what I will do when I go back to work the first week because I won't have any extra milk pumped! Its honestly making it more stressful, so I am trying not to think about it since that will probably effect my supply too.

My one complaint about Potomac Hospital stems from this issue that we are having. They have little to no breastfeeding support available for new mothers. I feel like if we had had help with latching and technique from day one, I wouldn't be suffering the supply issues I am now.

This site has been particularly helpful to me in these struggles:

Breastfeeding Videos

as well as:

kellymom

Fabulous 5!

Well we are a little over 5 weeks post partum and I think we are getting the hang of things...at least I thought we were...

We took little C to the doctor on his one month birthday and discovered that he had still not gained his birth weight. Frustrated and concerned we headed home with the resolution to call a lactation consultant. We set up an appointment for the following Wednesday and began supplementing with formula in the meantime, hoping to get his weight up to an acceptable level, as well as upping his feedings from every 3-4 hours during the day to every 2 hours.

Got to the consultant today and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that he has gained his birth weight and then some. He went from 8lb 4oz to 8lb 12oz in a week! Finally! But the little guy is still long and skinny; I guess we aren't destined to have a super chubby baby! He just keeps getting longer and longer. I think he will be on the taller side like my side of the family...I am 5'9, my brothers are 6'2 and 6'3 (give or take a little).

So....good news! We are dealing with thrush again, but we will get through it! One day at a time! We are also starting to get longer periods of alertness and he is smiling and cooing a bit :) I am loving being a mommy; its such an adventure, and my little guy is such a sweetheart!

This mommy also made a trip to the doctor in the past week for our post partum checkup and got the all clear to exercise! Its good to know I am healing just fine and even better to know I can start working out and getting back into pre-baby shape. I even went for my first jog/walk yesterday and man am I out of shape!

Stationery card

Hello Baby Boy Birth Announcement

Turn your favorite photo into a birth announcement.

View the entire collection of cards.

RAWR!!!

It means " I LOVE YOU " :)

I love you too my little lion!

3 Short & fast...

3 weeks old and practicing the 5 S's :

Taken from : http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/274

(I take no credit for the below article)

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The 5 "S's": How to Turn on Your Baby's Calming Reflex

1. Swaddling: Wrapping makes your baby feel magically returned to the womb and it will keep your baby from flailing his/her arms. If not done correctly, the baby may cry even harder. Remember to swaddle snuggly. Loose blankets may be a choking risk. Also, don't overheat your baby. (Babies should never be sweaty and flushed.)

2. Side/Stomach: Newborns are easier to calm when they're lying on their side or stomach. This triggers the calming reflex by imitating your baby's position in the uterus. Lying a baby on his/her back can sometimes trigger a falling reflex and make your baby feel insecure. Keep in mind the side/stomach position is great for calming crying, but babies should only sleep on their backs.

3. Shhhh: "Shhhh"ing your baby imitates the sound he/she heard in your uterus, which was as loud as a vacuum cleaner. Place your mouth two to four inches from your baby's ear and make the "shhhh" sound. It must be loud enough to match the sound of your baby's crying, or he/she won't hear it.

4. Swinging: Rhythmic moving imitates the jiggling your baby felt inside the uterus and activates the calming reflex. Ways to use motion are: baby slings and carriers, dancing, infant swings, rocking, car rides, bouncy seats.

5. Sucking: Putting a pacifier, finger or breast into a baby's mouth satisfies hunger and turns on the calming reflex.

For more information about Dr. Karp and his techniques for calming crying babies, go to www.thehappiestbaby.com.

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These rules save our life at times. Carson is doing great though! I can't believe 3 weeks have already passed!

PP Survey!

How far along were you when you had your baby? 39 weeks 6 days

How long was labor? 19 hours, 1 hour pushing

Total weight gain: 50lbs

Total weight loss since: 33lbs

Back into your own clothes yet? Tops yes, bottoms almost!

Did you get stretch marks? Nope

Did you deliver vaginally or by c-section? Vaginally! 16 hours w/o a working epidural! I got some blissed out painfree time in the last 4 hours and for the pushing!

Best moment this week: Starting to get into a real routine I think!

What I miss about being pregnant: Not much honestly! lol

How big is baby: 8lbs 7oz at birth...8lb 4oz at first pediatrician visit

Baby's temperament? Content and happy, fussy from 7pm - 10pm

What I am looking forward to: Sleeping through the night and working out!

2 Weeks Post-Partum - Learning the ropes!

Ok, so we are a few days over 2 weeks...We are figuring things out though I think!

Two doctors appointments later and we have been battling thrush as well as mastitis, but we are getting through it one day at a time. Thankfully my milk supply has yet to be effected! Poor baby had a painful tongue and I had some painful boobies, but we are tough cookies! He is latching with much better consistency, and we are even doing bare boob without the shields sometimes! He's a little piggy sometimes though, nurses 30-45 minutes at times, and finishes in a milk coma his face covered in milk!

We have started using cloth diapers during the day, finishing off the disposables at night and when we go out during the day! I love using the cloth dipes! Right now we are using prefolds with Real Nappies covers and they are working beautifully for us; love his fluffy butt :) We might try some AIOs at some point, but I've got 8 dozen prefolds and a dozen covers, so for now we are okay. The AIOs might actually be used mainly for day care and outings I think.

Speaking of going out, this kid is a trooper! He has been drug all over Woodbridge, and he does so with minimal fussiness and sleeps most of the time we are out. We went to a Borders yesterday and stocked up on books for our little guy! BD reads to him as much as possible, and it actually seems to calm him.