Happy Collin...and Mommy

Collin is doing wonderful today. He is getting more from me when he nurses (from 1.5 to 2 ounces) which makes me happy. I do still have to pump and feed him a bottle because he is still hungry after he nurses. We are getting there though. He did not used to get that much from nursing. I think his mouth is feeling better now that the thrush is cleared up so he will slowly get more from nursing. Yeah, I won't have to pump as much.

Since he is eating enough to be content, he is a happy baby and is not very fussy between nursing. He stays alert more and let's grandma Holmes and I play with him......and pick on him. Hey, I cannot help it.

He did well last night again. He went at least 4 to 5 hours between being hungry after 11pm. Grandma Holmes did have to get him out of his crib a few times because he woke up and was a little fussy. She was able to calm him down and he quickly went back to sleep.....as long as she was laying next to him. I am in trouble when she leaves.....and so is she. hahaha

Musical Bath

This morning during Collin's bath, he decided to play some body tunes for grandma and I. He warmed up with several "small notes" and then ended with a long, loud "note" and a few small "souvenirs". The end of the "song" was followed by a "clear fountain". I am so glad I decided to bathe him in his tub bath instead of a sponge bath in his crib.

Collin essentially slept from about 12:30am until 7:30am today. He did wake up around 4:30am and acted like he was hungry. I tried to nurse him on both sides and he fell asleep so I put him back to bed. He was probably worn out from the adventures yesterday and the feeding frenzy the last two days. Now, after nursing, he will drink at least 3 ounces from a bottle. Yesterday, he was averaging 4.5 ounces and even had 5 ounces one time. He must be in a growth spurt. I weighed him this morning and he still weighs 8lbs and 9.6 ounces (different scale from the doctor's office so him might have gained some weight).

We are going to class again this morning and get to see Addison and her mommy. The rest of the day, we plan to hang around the house which is fine with all 3 of us.

Out On The Town

Collin is very warm natured like his mommy and daddy. This morning, when I first started to nurse him, I thought he really warmed up fast against my side. Turns out the little squirt peed on me and him. I guess that was his way of telling me that he did not like the outfit that grandma picked out for him to wear this morning.

Collin got to see a lot of Houston today. My sister's wedding is next Saturday so I needed to find a wedding dress that I can nurse in. Yep, I am crazy because I plan to bring Collin to the wedding. Well, all of his potential babysitters will be there so I really don't have much of a choice. Plus, he is eating like crazy now days so I doubt I will have a reserve of milk built up by then for anyone else to be able to feed him while I am gone anyway. We did find some potential outfits for the wedding. I plan to have a "fashion show" tonight to see if overall outfit looks good. Then, it was time to eat and we went to Houston's because I knew it would be dark enough to nurse there. Well...it was so dark that Collin ended up giving me a hickey on my boob because I could not tell that he was actually latch on the side and not on the milk source. Can you believe it? WAY too funny. After lunch, we were off to the dentist for me. Then a quick stop at Target before we met my sister, Lisa, for a wedding dress fitting. She sure did look beautiful....even in the flip flops she plans to wear under her dress. We made it home in time for Collin to eat....again!

The best news of all for today is that Collin slept from 11pm until 6am. Grandma said he woke up around 4:30am but went right back to slept. I FINALLY got some really good sleep. After the 6am feeding, he went back to sleep after a little while and I got another nap. I still feel tired but I bet I will feel this way until Collin is 18 years old.

He is eating like crazy now. After nursing, he will typically drink another 3 - 4.5 ounces of expressed milk. I was hoping to be able to start storing some milk by now but he is eating everything I have.....even the stuff I had already frozen a few weeks before. His growth spurt came early for sure.

I have not heard back from the lactation consultants yet. I guess they are so stumped that they are too embarrassed to call me back. I will show up to the support group next Monday to see if they have an answer if I have not heard back from them by then.

Weight Update

We went to the pediatrician this morning. Collin now weighs 8lbs and 9 oz which is over a pound from last week. The doctor was really happy to see the improvement in his weight but still wants me to check in with her this Thursday to make sure that he continues to gain weight. This is good for Collin but means there is no change to the schedule we have been keeping. Last night, he slept from 11:15PM until 4:45am. However, he did not go back to sleep until late this afternoon. During that time and after the doctor appointment, he was hungry every 2 hours or even less. He was also more fussy today. I am sure it's because he is exhausted from not sleeping since this morning. I hope this means that he will sleep good tonight too.

Daddy is out of town this week so Grandma Holmes flew in from Dallas to help out. She will be here until Saturday morning.

Stump the Consultant

Collin and I went to the lactation support group this morning at the hospital. I explained to the lactation consultant the problems we were facing (not getting enough milk while nursing but having enough milk supply) and she was stump about what the problem could be. She said that Collin looked and sounded good while nursing and was surprised to see that he only ate .3 ounces in 40 minutes. However, he gulped down 3 ounces of expressed milk I had brought with me. She took notes about our situation (week by week events) to talk to her peers to see what they could think of and call me back with suggestions. I have not heard back from her yet.

I guess Collin heard our conversation this morning with the consultants, because this afternoon, he ate more while nursing. He got 1.6 ounces (up from .5 to 1 ounce) but still not the 3 ounces he needs regularly to continue to gain weight. So...I continue to pump to make sure he is getting enough milk. Possibly, his mouth DOES feel better from the thrush and he will continue to nurse better and better each time.

I have an pediatrician appointment in the morning to follow up with the doctor about his weight gain. Since he is gaining weight, I am sure she will be happy with the progress.

All Smiles

Collin sure is smiling a lot these days. He has the cutest dimple on his left side. He is probably smiling because he is eating more and feeling more satisfied these days. He also knows he is seeing Addison tonight. We are meeting his parents at the Saltgrass Steakhouse for dinner once daddy gets home. I sure am smiling a little more because he is gaining weight and is more happy in between the times he is eating. He will actually lay in his pack 'n play and look out the window for at least 20 minutes. He really likes to listen to the birds and looks toward the sound of the train when it goes by. There is nothing wrong with this boy's hearing!

This afternoon, ex-neighbors, Brad, Rachel and Rowan, stopped by for a quick visit. Collin had just finished eating and was in a really good mood.

More Suggestions

I still had not heard back from the pediatrician yesterday regarding Collin's weight gain and lack of sucking while nursing. I did, however, hear back from the lactation consultant. Because I am producing enough milk, she thinks that Collin is not being efficient when nursing because his mouth hurts to suck because of the thrush. She said that we need to clear that up first and then worry about what to do about his sucking if that continues after the thrush clears. Many moms in the hot climate are facing thrush with their babies so she said that it's really common right now. So, to help clear up the thrush, I sanitized and washed anything that Collin or I touched in the last week: sheets, towels, burp cloths, clothes, bottles, pumping supplies, etc. This took half the day but I am sure it will be worth it. Then, she said that I am still extremely sore because we are passing the thrush back and forth. She recommended for me to not continue to wear the breast pads I am wearing but to air dry. Now, I am back to living in a dungeon again because I cannot have the blinds open and air dry. Also, I did notice while pumping, since I am doing this up to 8 times a day now, that my nipples turned purple after I pumped. She said that this is likely because I am swollen from the thrush so the pumping cone is probably too small now. I had to buy a larger one yesterday and this seemed to help some. I still turn purple but only half the nipple now.

Now, I have to wash mine and Collin's hands, wipe off the medicine from my nipples, weigh Collin, nurse him, weigh him again to see how much he ate while nursing, pump, feed him what I pumped, sanitize everything, put medicine on my nipples, wash our hands again and then have about 20 minutes before I do that all over again. I can't say I am bored these days.

He IS gaining weight though so it's all worth it. Last night when I weighed him, he was 8 lbs and 6 ounces on the rented scale.