The roads were snow covered as I came home last night. I had to drive below the speed limit, but I got home safely. I pumped for a few minutes before class and wore pads for the first time since I've had Ian. I was so scared I'd have spots on my sweater although the only time I've leaked the last 2 months has been during the night. He had 4.5 ounces while I was gone, and I only pumped 2.5 ounces. I nursed him right before I left and nursed him right when I got home. I was gone for 5 hours - it was the longest I was separated from him since we came home from the hospital.
I thought Bible study might be cancelled this morning because of the snow, but it wasn't; so I went for the first time in three weeks. I didn't stay for the small group time after the DVD because if I had, Nadia wouldn't have gotten a nap. I kept Ian with me and put Nadia in the nursery. It didn't go as well as it did 3 weeks ago. I did find success with keeping her awake during the car ride home by handing her pretzels one by one. As soon as we got home I put her down as we had to leave at 1pm for Ian's doctor appointment. We didn't get home until 11:20 so that didn't allow for a very long nap although lately she's only been taking a 90 minute nap, which doesn't seem long enough since it's her only nap and she's sleeping about 10 hours at the most at night. I am open to suggestions regarding what to do to get her to sleep more!
We were at the doctor's office for about an hour total today. It was an exhausting hour as it's hard to entertain Nadia in an examination room especially while caring for a screaming 2 month old simultaneously. Ian wasn't a happy camper. He didn't like his temperature being taken, head circumference being measured, etc. and of course didn't like the shots. I find immunizations to be very hard emotionally. Thank goodness we get a break from those for a few years with Nadia. I look forward to getting to that stage with Ian as well. The doctor he saw last week told me to give Ian .6ml of Tylenol every 4 hours, but the doctor today said .4ml. I looked it up online this evening, and the doctor today gave the correct dosage considering Ian is only 7lbs. This office is just as inconsistent in weighing a baby as the last one was. The NICU is consistent - either weigh naked or weigh with a dry diaper and subtract the weight of the diaper. Last week the nurse weighed him with a (wet) diaper on and today he was weighed without a diaper. When I had weighed him this morning at home he weighed 7lb 5oz with a dry diaper. Without a diaper he weighed 7lb 3oz. A dry diaper doesn't weigh 2 ounces, but I know there will be little fluxuations in weight over the course of the day depending on how full his belly is at the moment, etc. Still since they weighed him differently last Tuesday compared to this Tuesday, it made it seem like he only gained 2.5 ounces in a week, and I know he gained a little more than that. The doctor said he should be gaining 1/2 to 1 ounce a day. With adding in the difference of the diaper, he figured that Ian had gained at least 1/2 ounce a day last week.
Ian's weight today was 7lb 3oz which is the .3% (less than 1 percentile). At her two month appointment, Nadia weighed 8lb 15 1/4 oz (and his birth weight was only 1 ounce less than hers). Ian was 21.5 inches today (7.5%) compared to Nadia's length of 22 inches at 2 months. His head circumference was 37cm (4.1%). All of Nadia's measurements at 2 months put her at less than the 10th percentile, but by her 4 month appointment she was at 21% for weight and 35% for length. I hope something similar happens with Ian! Of course if he had stayed in the womb 5 more weeks, I am sure these numbers would be very different.
After getting home from Ian's appointment, I tried to nurse him, but he was out of it. I only had 10 minutes anyhow. It was too hectic of a day. I spent 2.75 hours on the road today, and Ian screamed during a large portion of the time he was with me in the car. I know most babies sleep in their carseat, but neither of my children slept much in the car when they were very young. Since the last time I nursed him was around 12:50pm (compared to 2:30pm yesterday), I pumped at an earlier time in my office. I pumped 4.5 total ounces today but part of that was when I got home as he didn't nurse well At All when I tried to nurse him at 8pm. He was still pretty out of it from the shots. If I hadn't given him 1.5 ounces by bottle at the doctor's office, then I would have pumped enough as Paul gave him 4 ounces during the time period he watched the kids (3-8pm). Usually I don't give Ian a bottle, but I thought it would be too hard to try to nurse Ian at the doctor's office while also keeping track of Nadia. I have to say I really don't like pumping. It makes me concerned about whether my supply is adequate. I wasn't concerned about that during the 2 weeks that Ian gained 12 ounces, but now I'm stressed out about it again because of his slower weight gain (which is understandable given his illness considering Nadia lost 1 lb the first week she had the same bug). How much should I expect to get when pumping? I know that the baby is able to get more from you than you get from a pump (at least that's what I've read and been told by nurses). Both days the first time I pumped I got 2 ounces total (probably 2/3 of that from the left side and 1/3 from the right), and then both days I got less than that the 2nd time I pumped. I pumped three times today and only got 4 ounces total. I will say that each time I pumped 10 minutes at the most (sometimes less) and less than one hour passed in between my 1st and 2nd pumping sessions today. Well if Ian goes back to gaining 6 ounces a week then my confidence will increase and my stress will decrease.
I was only stressed out about nursing with Nadia during the first month. Things went smoothly with her months two through five and then got stressful again during the 6th month when she started weaning herself off of me. She was totally weaned (her choice, not mine) by the 7th month. Maybe my supply is fine or maybe the shield is causing a problem? I know it can interfere with your supply. I guess I need to try to wean him off of it in the near future if at all possible. He's fine once he's latched on (with the shield), but I have to say that even with the shield getting started takes WAY more time and energy than it did for Nadia when she was this age. I am still nervous that it will be much worse without the shield.
1 comment:
When Henry was two months old, I recall getting about 4oz each time I pumped, usually with a two-and-a-half to three-hour break in between pumping sessions.
Can you call the lactation consultant you talked to after your visit to the ER for advice about weaning from the shield? She might ease your stress a bit.
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