My Two Girls

So, I guess Abigail and Olivia look more alike than I thought they did. The pictures below were both taken one month from their due dates or around January 23 2008 and 2013 respectively. Still find it crazy that they had the same due dates 5 years apart.

I am a huge believer in breast milk and I truly believe it's best, but could someone explain this to me?

Breast milk = fussy
Breast milk= fussy
Breast milk = fussy
Formula= happy, smiley
Breast milk= fussy

Kinda discouraging to me. :)

Friday, January 25, 2013

I tell ya, 5+ years of constantly fretting about your child's weight takes its toll. Olivia has gained nothing in 6 months. She is such a poor eater and it doesn't help that she's been constantly sick almost for months. I have her on vitamin C, a high quality vitamin and thank goodness she drinks Pediasure. It doesn't matter what I fix, she only takes a few bites and is done. Every night, without fail, she says her stomach hurts and can't eat anymore. The other night, she ate a few bites of chicken and an hour later, she was still chewing on the chicken! She does that with other food as well, like carrots or apples or any kind of meat, until finally I just let her spit it out. It's almost like she can't sit down to eat unless we tell her how many bites until she's done. How in the world is she going to eat once she goes to school without someone supervising her? And if you've never had a child who doesn't eat, it's hard to explain. Abigail is already tons different. You put anything in her mouth and she'll suck on it. Olivia has never liked anything in her mouth.

I don't know, I just want to see Olivia growing and thriving. I know she's going to be small and skinny. In a time of the obesity epidemic, that's fine. But I just know how little she eats and that's what bothers me. If she ate well and was still small, I wouldn't worry, ya know? I keep wanting to turn a corner and we never do. Anyway, so that's what is on my mind at 5 am while my other child is ravenously hungry. Please continue to pray for her growth and health.

Speaking of that, we will be participating in the March for Babies this year on April 6th. Since we didn't do it last year, I'm hoping to come back strong this year. We would love all previous team members to return and to gain many new ones. I will be posting a link to my personal page soon. Thanks for all of your past, present and future support. It means so much!!

Weight Loss

During my pregnancy, I gained over 40 lbs. If I had gone full term, I'm sure I would have gained over 50 lbs. LOL! Well, two months later I have lost 30 lbs and wore regular jeans yesterday for the first time. Yay!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

So, I think we finally got a handle on what's wrong with my husband. We believe that he has inappropriate sinus tachycardia or IST. It can often be hard to control, however, sometimes it will go away on its own. He was started on beta blockers and we're praying that it helps. During this whole ordeal, we also learned that his cholesterol is 235 and his triglycerides are over 470! So, we'll be making quite a few lifestyle changes around here. Happy to finally have some answers and get him on his way to feeling better.

Wednesday, January. 23, 2013

Good news is that Abigail's face has really cleared up. Not sure if the acne ran its course or if the detergent/soap change contributed. Now I just wish I knew why Abigail was so unhappy all of the time. She is either eating or crying. I remember Olivia ( other than her witching hour ) being a happier baby. Olivia was always laying on blankets on the floor. Abigail lasts 5 minutes when put down while awake before she starts screaming. I have been giving her an extra bottle of formula per day. She will nurse for 2 hours, take a 4 oz bottle and nurse some more. I just can't quite keep up with her. I did order some fenugreek to see if that helps my supply. Isn't it ironic that I have one child who doesn't eat and another who eats all of the time?

And here I was asking all of you for advice about breastfeeding. . .guess I should just ask Olivia. Pink Gogum seems pretty happy. Hahaha! We were watching a movie, I looked over and this is what I saw. :)

Two months

Abigail turned 2 months old on January 20th. She weighs a little over 9 lbs.

Breastfeeding Advice?

Okay, so I did something that you are not supposed to do. . . I supplemented with formula. Not that formula is bad, but I know once you start supplementing, you'll never keep up with your baby. For the past week or so, Abigail has started getting really mad while nursing. I think she's getting impatient waiting for the second let down when a bottle provides a constant flow. And I can tell that she is just so hungry. And for the first time since we brought her home, she lost weight. ( I weigh her every other day.) So, after nursing her for 30 minutes and having her scream, I fed her a bottle that she sucked dry. Then, she happily continued nursing. I'm not sure how to increase my supply other than nursing, pumping and drinking water. I'm trying to relax and sleep as much as I can, but i don't have a lot of control over that. The other day, she literally nursed from 10:30 am to 3 pm. And THAT didn't even seem to help. So any advice to boost my supply? I planned on nursing her for a full year, but I don't know how I'm going to keep up. She is an eating machine! LOL! She's also 2 months old today and about 9 lbs. But, I'll have the official picture posted another day. But this is how happy she is with a full tummy! And in the second picture, you can tell her sister has been playing with her. :)