Alisa is Growing

Alisa is 8 weeks old today! She smiles a lot when you talk to her and she's holding her head up a little on her own now (still wobbly though). She is awake a lot and more alert during the days and can track some things with her eyes. She has a bit of cradle cap, mostly on her brow area with just a bit on the front part of the top of her head. She also has baby acne that is more visible when she's hot or crying. She has always slept really well at night (waking up to nurse usually just once between 3:00 and 5:00am). She makes cute and funny noises, especially when she's dreaming. She is truly a delight.

She is still a slow eater though and she has a reflux problem so she spits up a lot. We are supposed to keep her upright for at least 20 minutes after a feeding so that makes the feeding process about an hour. For weeks now she's been crying like clockwork every 2 hours during the day to eat and since it takes an hour to nurse, burp, change her diaper and hold her upright I only have an hour off afterwards to get things done. Craig is usually on baby duty during that hour so it's very helpful.

We've had to go to the pediatrician every week since her birth so they could check her weight. It took her just over 2 weeks to get back up to her birth weight, then she didn't gain anything the following week. Then she gained 5 oz, which is the minimum weekly expected weight gain. Then again she gained nothing (uh oh). Then finally she gained 10 oz and then 8 oz last week. We don't have to go in again until her 4 month checkup in August and shots since she gained enough weight 2 weeks in a row. Hooray! We didn't like going there because we had to wait so long in the waiting room and then again in the exam room after the nurse weighed her. Alisa would eventually start fussing and be hungry again. Plus, the $20 co-pay starts to add up quickly! We do like the pediatricians though (we've met with 2 of them)...otherwise we would have looked for a new one at another office. Anyway, Alisa is in the 25 percentile for her weight (currently 9lbs 15 oz) and just over the 50 percentile for her height (22 1/2 inches).

I was exclusively breastfeeding her but since she didn't gain any weight during a couple of weeks the pediatrician said we should supplement with formula a few times a day or whenever it seems that Alisa was still hungry after nursing for up to 15 minutes on each breast. So far we've just been using formula samples that the hospital and other places have given us. It's a hassle to breastfeed AND then give her a bottle but we gotta do what we gotta do. My friend told me about some quick steam sterilization bags that you use in the microwave and those have made the bottle thing much easier. We're not sure if I'm not producing quite enough milk (my Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome may affect it) or if Alisa just isn't 100% effective at removing it or if she's getting just enough but spitting up so much that not enough goes through her. The pediatrician had me pump my breasts every 2 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night for 2 days to see how much I was producing. Craig fed Alisa what I pumped with enough formula added to equal 3 oz. According to that experiment, I don't produce as much as she needs. However, a breastpump is not as effective at removing milk as a baby. I go to a breastfeeding support group twice a week so I can mingle with other moms and ask the lactation consultant questions. I have weighed Alisa on the scale there before I nurse her and then after to see how much milk she drank. That's been very reassuring as she always drinks 3 oz. Well, until this week when she drank 5 oz! Anyway, the plan is to continue nursing her and supplementing with bottles as needed. We give Alisa medicine every morning and night to help with her heartburn caused by all the spitting up. That is helping because she hasn't screamed like she used to after spitting up.

Here is Alisa content and sleeping after nursing (4-18-07 and 4-21-07):





Alisa playing air guitar in her sleep (4-22-07):



Bath time (4-24-07):





Striking a pose in her sleep (4-24-07):



Here she reminds me of a baby bird looking up for food with an open mouth (4-26-07):



4-28-07:





Totally relaxed in a deep sleep (4-29-07):



She loudly sucked her arm for a bit and it was so cute (4-30-07):



5-2-07:





Alisa loves sleeping on Daddy's chest (5-2-07):



Tummy time (5-15-07):





Her first trip to the beach was to St George Island (5-17-07):



So serious...



...but not for long (5-20-07):



More time spent sleeping on Daddy (5-22-07):







5-24-07:







More tummy time (5-26-07):











Looking more mature (5-26-07):



Sleeping soundly (5-26-07):



Silly girl (5-27-07):



Smiling a lot these days (5-28-07):



Smiling at Daddy (5-30-07):



Making spit bubbles (look closely to see them) (5-30-07):



Getting better at holding her head up (5-30-07):



After a bath (5-30-07):



Band-aids from her 2 month shots (she had 3 shots on one leg and 2 on the other!). She screamed and turned red while the nurse was sticking her with the needles but she calmed down as soon as I picked her up afterwards. She slept a lot the rest of the day. (6-01-07):



Chillin' on the changing table (she loves lying there)(6-02-07):