Four weeks old

Mila is four weeks old now and I am enjoying more and more each day of not being pregnant anymore. 

Her unofficial stats for one month are:

Height: 19 1/4 inches

Weight: 6lbs 

I weighed her on our home scale, so give or take a few ounces. 

She is still sleeping well at night, averaging two feeds per night. This is a vast improvement from the older three when they were this age. She is almost like clockwork for her nightly feeds: 12 or 1am and 4am. Works for me kiddo! 

This is a newborn sized outfit and it fits her quite nicely. Not overly huge on her, but still plenty of room to grow. Now if only all newborn clothes fit her like this. 

She continues to nurse well and is having lots if very wet diapers every 2-3 hours. Which helps me feel more relaxed that she is eating enough. Still nursing every 2-3 hours during the day and cluster feeding during the evening. 

We had her newborn pictures and family pictures done a few weeks ago. They turned out really well and the photographer was amazing!! We had family pics done in 45 minutes! Which was a lifesaver with four kids who have attention spans of about 3 mins each. 

Mila continues to be a laid back baby and just kind of goes with the flow of our family. I hope she stays this easy! The kids are really enjoying having her as a baby sister!

Favorites and 3 weeks old

We'll start with the baby because I'm sure that's what everyone really cares about. :) I can't believe she is three weeks already. Where does the time go?! 

We are still learning about each other but I think we are getting the hang of things. She is nursing so much better and we aren't using the nipple shield anymore. We've been working on a routine of sorts. It pretty much looks like this:

-nurse every 2-2.5 hours during the daytime

-cluster feed every 1-1.5 hours in the evening

-sleep from 8-9pm until 1-3am. Feed and change and go back to sleep. 

Now this is where it starts to get harry. Either she's up for two hours or she sleeps and wakes up around 4-5am and then by the time I get her fed and back to bed, the other kiddos are up.  So, we are still working on it but at least I am getting a good 4-6 hour stretch of sleep each night. Which helps me feels somewhat more human during the day. 

I've also been fighting some severe allergies. And I can't take anything because it can cause your milk supply to decrease or dry up. It's been miserable but I'm finally starting to feel better and I'm able to breathe again. Thank heavens for the neti pot! 

Since all children were up at 6am this morning, we decided to go to 8am mass. The girls wore their matching dresses and they both fit them really well. 

I might make more because literally, Mila's wardrobe is severely limited. We have newborn stuff, but it's still huge on her. At least a dress she can wear now and as a shirt still as she grows. 

Speaking of shirts, I got a bunch of stuff from Old Navy with the old navy cash that I had. And from that order I have some new favorite items!

One is this boyfriend cardigan. Love, love it! Soft and comfy! I got the gray and white. I loved it so much I ordered the camel colored one as well. 

I also got some tanks called tamis. They are soft and long and great for layering! I ordered the green and white and loved them so much I ordered the blue and the pink. 

Old Navy is having 30% off today with code 'thankyou'. Can't beat that!

Two week appt

Mila had her two week appt today. Her stats were:

Weight: 5lbs 5oz

Height: 18.5 inches

She is nursing much better these days. She's been cluster feeding in the evenings before bed and then usually gives me a longer stretch of sleep. Last night she gave me a 6 hour stretch, but usually it's 4-5 hours. My allergies have really spiked in the past two days and I can't take anything because it can dry up your milk. I've been miserable so that extra sleep really felt good. 

We've been using the sling a lot while out and she loves it. She gets all snuggled and sleeps the entire time. It's great for picking the kids up from schoolbecause then she isn't in the carseat the entire time. I also use this time to get her a little vitamin D from the sun since breastmilk is deficient in that. 

I've been enjoying my time at home. We've been on walks/bike rides and she really enjoyed the stroller. It rides so smooth. 

Her cord finally fell off yesterday. Most of the newborn cloth diapers are still too big around the legs for her. We have one cover that actually fits her and that's the Bummis super bright. 

It's on over an Orange Diaper co newborn flat in the kite fold. 

Her preemie prefolds fit but with only one cover, it's hard to cloth diaper full time. So we are mostly using sposies still. Even the newborn diapers go up past her belly button. 

Overall, things have been decent. Mila has been a great tempered baby so far. I hope she stays this mellow. 

Our first outing

This past Saturday we made our first outing as a family of six. Hubby took the boys to Peytonn's soccer game and the girls and I met them for lunch afterward. Then we headed to the pumpkin patch. It was the first weekend it was open and the weather was perfect. 

The kids had a blast. We've been here several times over the years and there are so many good activities for the kids. They can just kind of run from one thing to the next. 

After they kids played for a while, we walked over to the corn maze. Then we hit up the pumpkin patch. 

Mila loved the ring sling and slept in it the entire time. It was so nice to get out of the house and get some fresh air. 

 The kids loved the tractor ride back from the pumpkin patch. 

The kids all took great naps after our outing! :)

Breastfeeding baby #4

Don't worry, this isn't going to be a "you should breastfeed your baby or else you're a terrible mother" kind of post. Far from it actually. 

This is my fourth baby that I've breastfed.  Fourth preemie baby that I've breastfed, at that. For me, it's something that I feel as though I have control over when my babies are in the NICU and you have all these people telling you what is happening with your child. When everyone else is oooing and ahhing over their newborn and smothering them with hugs and kisses, I pump. Again, it's one way that I feel I can bond with my baby when I'm unable to hold them. At least I feel as though they are still getting a part of me. I'm not going to lie, it's rough. Pumping every 3 hours even throughout the night with out a baby to hold or feed. 

With this being my fourth baby, you'd think I'd be a nursing pro of sorts. Wrong. The thing with nursing is even though I've done it three times over, every baby is different. Each nursing relationship has been different with each baby. 

Mila and I have gotten off to a rocky start with our nursing relationship. Since she is so tiny, it's been hard to get her to latch correctly. Which has resulted in very sore nipples for me and slow gain for her. After getting released from the hospital on Monday, we went for a weight check on Wednesday. Mila was still at her discharge weight from Monday. I became very disheartened. I felt like as my fourth, I should have recognized that maybe she wasn't eating quite as well as I thought she was. I mean, she gave me all the signs that she was doing fine: enough wet/poopy diapers, sleeping well between feedings, seemed content, etc. 

I spoke with the lactation consultant at the doc office and she gave me some good tips to try and solve our problems. I also got a nipple shield to help with the latch issue and Mila being so small. 

We went back today for another weight check and I'm happy to say that she was up two ounces from Wednesday. That's good progress. I can hear Mila gulping now when she nurses and I've been feeding her a little more often during the day. 

I feel like our nursing relationship is get better and better each day. We are learning about each other and improving. Mila's latch is getting better and my nipples aren't as sore anymore. Another nice perk is that now insurance companies must provide you with a pump for free. I just got my Medela Advance pump in the mail the other day. 

These things are not cheap and I needed a new one this time around. I'm so happy to have a really good model. I rented the hospital grade pump for a month to help get my supply established. I've already frozen lots of good milk. I'm hoping to stay home until the first of the year and I should have a good stash by that point. 

I'm not one of those people where I feel as though it has to be all or nothing. Each one of my kids has gotten formula as some point during the first year of their life. I nurse because I enjoy it and its free! My point of this post is mostly to say that just because you've nursed one or 16 babies, breast feeding can still be challenging. To me, it's worth it to do something that I enjoy with my children. It has benefits for both of us. I'm happy that Mila and I are working to overcome our challenges and make some great memories. 

And we're home!

Finally! I felt like our NICU stay was a day or two overstayed, but we are home now and that is all that matters!

We went from this:

To this:

 

In just a matter of days. Mila came home on day 9 weighing in just one ounces less than her birth weight: 5lbs 2oz. Newborn clothes are still huge on her, even Gerber newborn onesies which are like the tiniest things ever!

She has super skinny legs, she barely has any fat on her at all. Baby gowns have been our friends because I only need to roll the sleeves up. I got her just a few preemie sleepers to get us by until the newborn clothes we have start to fit her. Avonlea was chubbier than Mila when born and skipped the preemie stuff. So we don't have much that fits Mila at the moment, besides baby gowns. In the picture of us going home, Mila's feet are really about where the knees of the outfit are. They are definitely not in the feet of the sleeper. 

Our first night home went pretty smooth. She woke every 3 hours to eat and then slept for about 1.5 to 2 hours after. I let her sleep from 4:30-7am and then woke her up to eat since her last feed was at 3am. 

Avonlea has done surprisingly well with her. So far, she adores the baby and gives her kisses. Avonlea still thinks the baby items are play things for her dolls and really that has been the only challenge so far. The boys also adore her and want to be near her when I am nursing her. We had a rather full bed this morning. 

The kids are in school during the day so it's been rather quiet around here today. Avonlea normally goes to the babysitter the first half of the week, so we have kept that the same for her. I forgot how quiet and easy one kiddo can be. :)

I've gotten some laundry done, dishes done, made some GF bread, showered, and relaxed on the couch so far today. It's soooo nice to be back home full time and not at the hospital for 12+ hours each day. That was really starting to wear on me both physically and emotionally. The boys were having a hard time with me gone for five days straight, so I decided to come home on Friday and just drive the hour each day to the hospital. Once they moved her to the CCN unit, they were going to let me 'parent over night' at the hospital, but she ended up being released the very next day. Much to my relief! 

I am ready for things to get back to normal again. Thank heavens for my husband who held down the fort and got the kids where they needed to be all week so that I could focus on Mila and getting her home. He never even got to hold her until she came home. 

He even got to feed her last night and I just pumped instead. I'm so blessed to have him and he is such a good daddy to our kiddos! After 4 preemies, he's definitely not scared to do diaper changes, feedings, etc. 

Mila goes to our regular doc tomorrow for a weight check and a once over. 

She's here!

Mila Josephine decided to join us on September 1st at 10:24am. She weighed in at 5lbs 3oz and was 18.5 inches. 

My water broke during mass at 34 weeks and 6 days. I was admitted that night to the hospital. I had every intention of going natural again this delivery. I was given cytotec orally every hour from 12-6am. By 6am, I was contracting every 2 minutes and I was 2cm and 75% thinned out. I was also having back labor again. And then I thought to myself, "I remember how horrible this is going to be and I really just want to enjoy it."  

At that point, I signed myself up to get an epidural and frankly, I'm so glad that I did. They started me on pitocin and my doc came to see me around 9:30am. Hubby had run out to grab some breakfast for himself. I was 4 cm. 

Miss Mila kept rolling away from the monitor and it wasn't picking up my contractions or her heartbeat. The nurses  were in and out of my room every few minutes. I text Hubby around 10:15am to see how long before he was back because I had a feeling it wasn't going to be long. Thankfully, he walked in the door a minute later. Doc checked me and I was complete. Three contractions later and miss Mila was born. 

Apparently the placenta had a premature abruption (where is starts to come away from the uterus prematurely) and they think Mila ingested some of the blood. The NICU team looked her over and took her to NICU. She was placed on cpap to help keep her lungs open and clear the blood out. Other than that, she is doing fantastic. All of her vitals have been great and as of right now there are no other issues. 

All day yesterday after delivery, she was very cranky and startled at every touch. This morning I went to see her around 5am and she was so much more at peace. Very calm and allowed me to touch her without startling. I spoke with the night nurse who also confirmed that she appeared much more calm. Her breathing has slowed to a more normal rate, which is great! 

Notice how relaxed her arms and legs are while she sleeps. Yesterday she looked ready for a fight at every minute. Her arms and legs were very tense and drawn up. 

She also has THE longest feet and toes! She obviously got those from her father!

I'm hoping to be able to stay until she is able to come home. I will get discharged on Tuesday but I'm hoping I can do Parent Overnight at the hospital until she is released. I did this after Avonlea was born as well. 

I'm hoping she will be off the cpap today and just have the nasal cannula. I'm also hoping to get to feed her today. I've been pumping and taking what little colostrum I am able to get, down to her in syringes. 

Please keep little Mila in your thoughts and prayers that she recovers quickly and gets to come home soon!