The last two weeks

The last two weeks were a bit tougher than the first. Sleep deprivation finally set in during the second week, making everything tougher and more frustrating. Nighttime feedings grew longer as Alex preferred sleeping, rather than nursing, and I had my first "bad mommy moment" (I actually told her to "shut up and go to sleep" after an especially long nursing session/paci plugging that lasted over two hours. I immediately started crying and apologizing to my little angel... I don't think she noticed, but it still made me feel bad.)

We took Alex in for her two week check-up last Thursday (Aug. 28). Although technically 3 days too soon, she passed with flying colors and continued to show an increase in weight. Her stats were:

Weight: 6lbs 6oz (10%)

Height: 21 in (75% - although I think the nurse measured a little too large. There's no way she grew an entire inch in a week and a half.)

Head: 34 cm (10-25%)

So, our girl is tall and skinny. As I prefer round, chunky babies over scrawny, little ones, I decided to pump more this week so that I could feed her a mixture of breast milk and formula. I don't know what they put in that stuff, but it is definitely more fattening than any milk I could every produce. She seems to like it, and probably even prefers the bottle over me (less work on her part). The only problem is that she eats a lot faster, so she spits up a little more than she does when she nurses. Nothing like Addie did, though.

I took her in again yesterday just to follow-up on her weight. Well, I must be doing something right because she gained 9oz in 8 days. She's now almost 7lbs! Whoo hoo! And it only took her 3 weeks to get to the size of a small newborn! ;)

In addition to feeding, pumping and diapering, I've spent my days trying to feed myself, catching up on blog reading (so I don't feel so disconnected from the world) and thinking about, but primarily neglecting, the house work. I hope to work out a nighttime feeding routine soon that provides more sleep for the two of us, so that I can retain at least some of the brain function I previously had. I would also like to start working out - at least on some level - so that I have a bit more energy to get me through the long days and even longer nights ahead.

This is a very precious time in my little angel's life, and being a second-time mom, I know just how short it is. I want to be able to enjoy every minute of it, and to do that, I have to crawl my way out of this coma-like state. Wish me luck, I'm not perfect, but I'm doing my best.

Enough about me, here's a few pictures of our two girls.

Alex at 2 weeks old:

Addie riding her big girl bike:


Addie test driving a baby gift from Kris' manager. She really got a kick out of the ducky bath (pronounced "gucky bath").