I had to do laundry for Evie this evening because I realized that we'd gone through every single infant bib in this house with all of her spitting up. Does anyone remember back in June when I whined about having so much (too many onesies, etc.)? At the time, I couldn't figure out why I'd need so many bibs and why people kept giving them to me. Well, now we barely have enough to make it through a day. The good news is that our pediatrician calls Evie a "happy spitter," meaning that her spitting up doesn't bother her (it doesn't make her cry unless it goes up her nose or unless we're a little too enthusiastic about wiping her face and chin). But, she goes through bibs and burp cloths (and shirts/outfits) like nobody's business. I might actually go out and buy more bibs. Wow.
Speaking of bibs, I had a huge scare just a bit ago. I went in to check on Evie (typical new mom thing, making sure she's still breathing) and found her with her bib up over her face. Her little arm got underneath it and then she flipped it up and over in her sleep. She didn't seem to mind, but I had a mini-freak out about her suffocating. Any advice?!? I also don't want her spitting up in her sleep and lying there with a wet outfit for hours. Rambling on, she's not really lying there but instead sitting there. We have her sitting in a bouncy seat, in her crib (so that we can see her on the monitor) to keep her head elevated and the food in her tummy. She likes the bouncy seat, so that's not an issue right now, but we're going to try propping up the rockers on the moses basket stand so that she can still sleep in our room and at an angle. We haven't found a good wedge that fits in the moses basket and we don't want her in her bouncy seat on the floor because Phoebe sleeps there and I'm still being very cautious about Evie and furbabies interacting.
...Speaking of the pups, they are doing great with Evie here. I will try to write more specifically about it at another time, but in general the dogs seem to understand that she is a "baby creature," just as dogs generally understand not to be too aggressive with puppies. For Evie's part, she seems unfazed by them, even when Phoebe barks at the dogs across the street whose owner lets them run around off-leash (argh). Yesterday, J was holding Evie and Phoebe came up and licked Evie's bare leg. That is completely 100% normal, loving Phoebe behavior, so I'm encouraged. (I thought it was really cute when Phoebe was a puppy to train her to "kiss" me on command. It hasn't been nearly as cute in the past 7 years as it was when she was a tiny little pup, but she has firmly ingrained in her doggy brain that humans like to be licked. Sigh.)
Moving on, cloth diapering is going well, with the exception of J still being intimidated by the whole thing and being hesitant to jump into it with me. He'll get there. I did my first "fluffy laundry" today because we had used almost all of our prefolds as burp cloths in the hospital and in the hotel and they all needed to be washed. Along with that, I washed a little over a dozen diapers which were actually used on Evie's bum. The first thing that happened when she got home yesterday was a change into a newborn prefold, since she needed a change anyhow and I had everything set up and ready to get started. My only issue right now is that some of the poop stains aren't coming out in the wash, so I'm going to have to work on that in the next couple of days and figure out why. She doesn't love to be changed, but she is definitely more happy with being wiped now that she has soft cotton wipes from a warmer. She likes to lie on her changing pad with her fresh diaper and gaze at the mural on the wall. She seems in awe of Rabbit, the grass and the tree in the corner. I don't think she's noticed the rest of the walls yet. :)
The B0ppy and play gym are also big hits. She loves to nap in it in her P@ck 'n' Pl@y (keeps her head up and food in, again) and recline to see the "magic B@by Ein*stein musical star" at the top of the play gym, which Jen told me months ago is "worth every penny you'll spend for the gym." Sure enough, she is mesmerized by the lights and music. Too cute. Thanks to my mom's best friend, V, who got it for us as a shower gift!
I'm going to try to record milestones on the blog, so that if I get behind on writing in her baby book, I can refer back here. So, here is a cute one; at exactly one week old, Evie "found her thumb." It remains to be seen whether or not she'll turn into a bona fide thumb sucker, but she certainly has the makings of one:
Sorry for the close-up, I was holding her and the camera at once.
I'm going to wrap it up so that I can get in a shower before she wakes up for another feeding, then I'm off to bed. Tomorrow we're having a special visitor; a student from the school I recently taught at is coming to the house to interview me and take photos for a feature story in the student newspaper. Hopefully Evie will be cooperative and make cute faces for the camera.
But, before I go, I want to mention some things about feedings. I keep meaning to post about it, but haven't quite gotten the energy together to write eloquently on the subject. So, here's the outline of the post I'm going to write sometime:
- News flash: Lucy and Evie had/have completely different personalities! J and I need to stop comparing them, but it's so hard not to.
- Evie wants nothing to do with my breasts unless they have formula gushing from them!
- J and I just don't feel up to the work involved in 8 feedings a day with nursing supplementers (Lact-Aid, SNS).
- Amazingly (since I have perfectionistic tendencies, putting it mildly) I've come to terms with the fact that my ideal of adoptive nursing is not going to pan out.
- Evie's first reaction to donated breast milk was "ick!" because it tastes different from formula, of course. Who knew babies were so picky? Everyone but me.
- Evie's second reaction to donated breast milk, mixed with formula, was "yum!" We're working from there.
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I feel awful that I haven't met her yet :( Definitely this week. Monday perhaps? Try out the pregnancy sleeping wedge (for a moses basket prop). We used that for G in his bassinet. It doesn't go all the way to the edge, so you have to be careful that they don't slip off the edge. You can get it at BRUS. Fits nicely. Thinking about you constantly. I LOVE HER.
ReplyDeleteOh stains....Make sure you're doing a cold rinse of everything before you do any washing. wash on sanitary.
Karen, she's beautiful! I love the thumb-sucking picture!!! Listening to you talk makes me realize just how little I know....I guess you learn as you go, huh?
ReplyDeleteShe's a beauty...I love the thumb sucking picture - to me that's the quintessential baby picture, thumb securely in mouth!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're getting the hang of it. I hope the breast milk donations continue to go well...I want to talk to you more about that at some point. I too have had a strong attachment to the idea of adoptive breastfeeding but the more I read, the more overwhelmed I feel about it. Also regarding formula vs breast milk, I read somewhere that babies who have formula first often have a hard time with breast milk because of all the added flavor in formula. Hopefully mixing it will work for you!
Melba
+Hillary: "It doesn't go all the way to the edge, so you have to be careful that they don't slip off the edge." This statement confuses me! Huh? :) my wash routine yesterday was 1. short cold cycle with a pre-soak and no detergent and then 2. a normal hot cycle with detergent, eCover fabric softener (took PUL out) and an extra rinse. I wanted to hang dry, but by the time I finished it was too late in the afternoon. I'm spraying poopy diapers with Bac-Out before they go in the pail, could that be doing it? We don't have a sanitary cycle, just "hot" on our Maytag HE machine.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing I've found for getting out all stains is powdered Oxyclean. I add it in addition to the dreft (or All Baby, depending on which I'm using.) My little guy is almost 14mo and I have had exactly 3 items that are permanently stained in all that time. Some items I've soaked overnight in a sink that has a scoop of Oxyclean added. EVERYTHING comes out beautifully. I've done this since he was first home (4 weeks preemie) and even though he's allergic to normal detergent, the Oxy has never been any trouble.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you have new mom worries and check Evie frequently while sleeping, consider getting an Angel monitor. It has the sensor pad that goes under the mattress (or under the Moses basket for you.) Preemies are notorious for sleep apnea, so I was very greatful for my Angel monitor. I used it in conjunction with my video monitor most of the time.
Also, for burp cloths, consider a package of Gerber Weave flatfold cloth diapers. A pack of 12 is about 10.00 at Target. They aren't useful for actual diapering (too thin) but they are fabulous for a spitter. They are huge, so they keep you clean (even if folded in half), they are VERY absorbent despite their thinness, and they dry super fast so you can get a good bit of use out of one before having to wash it. I gave up on burp cloths early on once I discovered these.
It sounds like you guys are really finding your rhythm! It is so wonderful to get these updates and know that happy endings really do exist!
I was going to suggest the cloth diapers as burp clothes too but t beat me too it. Seriously, they work great.
ReplyDeleteAs for the bib over her face...it happens. With my boys, I used to safety pin the bibs on the bottom of the outfits so they wouldn't flip up. Each bib had one outfit it went to and I just washed them together like that, and had some clean ones ready for middle of the night changes. You might try that for awhile. Soon she won't spit up so much and you won't need it as much.
Love the thumb sucking picture! So cute!
I like your idea about putting the bouncy seat in the crib/pack n play. We got one as a gift, but I am loathe to put it on the floor since that will put Snippet at doggie-level.
ReplyDeleteThe pics are Wonderful! She is such a beauty!
I do have a suggestion (though, of course, only informed by the internet) for the sleep-time spit-up problem. I just bought one of those sheet savers that you tie across the crib or bassinet. They catch any of the nastiness that doesn't end up on the baby and save you at least having to change the sheets in the middle of the night. I bought one to try because the online moms talked about how great they were, and most of them bought 3 or 4 to get them through especially bad nights.
PS----Forgot to mention how much I LOVE that little stripey shirt!!! So cute!!!
ReplyDeleteI am interested in the donor milk, did you need a docters perscription, was it easily available, what about the cost. I am also in the proses of adoption, and went through a similar emotional struggle than you have about adoptive breastfeeding.
ReplyDeleteP.S she is beautiful.