almost 2 weeks

Daphne will be 2 weeks tomorrow evening. Wow. I can't say I mind that time is going by a little quickly. Not that I don't want to savor these early months, especially since this is most definitely my final baby. But this stuff is hard! I forgot how crazy the newborn weeks are, especially breastfeeding, which, it turns out, even if it goes relatively well, is hard work. Despite latching on great within minutes of being born, I experienced insanely sore nipples (to the point of cracking and bleeding), using nipple shields off and on, which, once my milk came in I think inhibited milk flow and hence supply just a bit. A weight check on Monday revealed that Daphne is gaining but not quite at the rate we expect/want - up just two ounces since the previous Wednesday. She was refusing to nurse on one side and I was pretty lazy about pumping that side when she didn't. But after just a few days of pumping more regularly, nixing the shields, and drinking Mother's Milk tea (who knows if it works but it doesn't hurt to try), my supply seems fine and Daphne is up to 9 lbs 2 ounces - just three ounces shy of her birth weight - as of this past Wednesday. I can pump 2-3 ounces on the left side now in about ten minutes, compared to mere drops just a few days ago. And I can get her to latch on after several frustrating minutes. The other side is no problem. So it's getting better but I still feel like we're in the thick of the tough early weeks as far as nursing goes. She nurses about every two hours during the day and we've had to wake her for most of those feedings. Then she cluster feeds and is somewhat fussy beginning in late afternoon until an hour or two past Eli's bedtime. That's been tough. I feel completely tethered to the baby and like I'm missing a whole lot of Eli time but, again, I know this is just the way it is and things will level out over time. Nights are not too bad - she goes for a fairly long stretch of about 4 hours and then two stretches of 3, but most nights have been a little different so she's definitely not settling into any predictable pattern just yet.

Other than being a little frustrated with breastfeeding, the other thing that seems impossible is a morning shower. And that wouldn't bother me so much if Neal wasn't headed back to work in another week. I'll then be on my own with both kids after about 7:30/7:45 am, trying to figure out how to squeeze in getting Eli ready for school between half-hour, two hour apart, nursing sessions, and hoping for a morning nap after we get home from drop-off, not in the car. I have a feeling that I'll be doing a fair amount of nursing in the car in the preschool parking lot!

On a more positive note, Daphne is starting to stay awake a bit more during the day, with some nice, calm, "active alert" periods. We've enjoyed some floor time, time in the bouncy seat magically coinciding with meals, and just generally gazing into each other's eyes. Eli's been great with his baby sister. Occasionally he has to be reminded to not, for example, jump on the couch, scissors in hand, while I'm nursing her, and sometimes that bothers him. He wants to be as rambunctious as ever. But overall I think he's handling the transition pretty well.

Here are a few pictures from the past two weeks. A sleepy Daphne ready to head home from the hospital:

A sleepy Daphne at home:

For the first five or six days all she wanted to do was sleep during the day and her fussy/cluster feeding stretch noted above began around 11 pm. That was rough since we weren't exactly sleeping when the baby slept during the day. Eli commented a couple of times, "She thinks she's nocturnal!" Indeed. Then she had three nights where she wanted to sleep 5-6 hour stretches, hence the temporary supply issues. Babies, man! Anyway, speaking of big brother:

And, finally, eyes open!

 

Sometimes I think she looks just like Elias and other times, when her eyes are open, I think she looks quite different. It'll be fun to see how she changes over time.