You are now three weeks old! Oh my GOODNESS! The time has just flown by. We had been told that it would, and I'm begging that it slows down! I don't want you to get big- I want you to stay small forever and ever. You're easier to cuddle that way! And you're incredibly stinkin cute as an itty bitty baby. I really should have gotten this letter written and posted within the first week of your life, but I have been soaking you in and learning how to adjust being a family of THREE now.
Your delivery into this world was similar to your sisters- incredibly easy and quick! The only differences is that you're alive and I didn't develop a hematoma this time. I'll post the detailed version later.
We've had a few bumps in the road regarding your health- when we left he hospital, your bilirubin levels were at 5.4- higher than normal, but not bad. Just a few days later though, it was up to 17 and you were dehydrated. You refused to stay awake to nurse, so I had to pump and practically force feed you every few hours. You lost almost an entire pound in your first three days of life. I realize that it's normal, but it still scared the heck out of me! Thankfully you never had to be hospitalized and we finally have everything worked out. You're back up to birth weight (you were actually 2oz heavier at your appointment last week) but now we're working on your belly button problems. You have an umbilical hernia and umbilical granuloma- both of which you can blame on your SUA. Our pediatrician isn't worried about your hernia- your guts aren't sticking out or anything, but your granuloma is still oozing. We've had two silver nitrate treatments done to it so far, and it's still really gross. But I've finally found a way to keep your clothes from being stained by the blood and the ooz! Panty liners! They stick to your shirt, and your belly button can still get airflow! I thought it was a GENIUS idea.
So far, you're an incredibly easy baby. You sleep, eat, and poop. You've peed on me almost every day, and haven't had any poopy blow outs yet. You do NOT like sleeping in your bed- you prefer to sleep next to me in mommy and daddy's bed. You're still wearing everything in a newborn size, and even then some clothes are still too big! The dogs acknowledge your existence, but they don't really try to interact with you- Eva will bring you a ball every now and then, when neither daddy or I will throw it for her.
I am so incredibly blessed to be your mother. I am loving every moment we have together, even the ones when you're screaming because I've sprayed saline up your nose. It's hard to imagine that I should have been doing all of this with your sister just a year ago. Now that we have you, she's beginning to seem like a distant dream instead of my past. I feel terrible for feeling the way I do. Isn't that funny? Me feeling horrible because I'm finally happy and no longer dwelling on her death? She's definitely still a part of our family and I think of her often, but it's just in passing and I don't linger on those thoughts for long. Our family finally feels like its almost right again.
And now, some of my favorite pictures of you from your first few weeks of life!
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| I can really see the resemblance between you and Lilly in this photo |
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| You were not happy about being in the car at this point in time! |
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| You were stretching, and I happened to catch this lovely face! |
