Sunday, January 23, 2011

Life....

So life with a newborn is unlike anything I have ever known before. We have the sweetest, most beautiful little girl with us...but life has been a bit crazy to say the least.

We have been having trouble finding the right food for Lucy. I tried breastfeeding but that didn't work for very long at all as our little girl simply stopped latching about a week in. So I pumped...and pumped, and pumped and pumped. We supplemented with formula since no matter how often I pumped, I just couldn't produce enough. She seemed really fussy and so we switched formula several times. We finally tried a soy formula around the end of the year. That was when we noticed her first bloody diaper. What a scary moment for this mama! A fast phone call to her Dr only told us to hang tight and see if it happened again.

So we stopped all breast milk in case she was allergic to something and put her on Nutramigen (a very expensive formula) which is supposed to be very easy on baby tummies. She did fairly well on that for awhile and then 2 weeks ago, more bloody diapers.

We ended up being referred to a pediatric GI specialist who concluded she has allergic colitis and is most likely allergic to both dairy and soy, causing her intestines to become irritated and bleed. So now we are on Neocate ( also VERY expensive) but should solve our problems.

In addition to her tummy problems (and more likely as a result of) we have a very fussy and high maintenance baby on our hands. She eats constantly and refuses to sleep much at night, no matter what we try. I read all these books and websites and blogs warning new moms not to let their babies sleep for more than 3 to 4 hours at a time during their daytime naps. I would LOVE for her to sleep for 4 hours at a time, day or night.

So in addition to worrying about her little tummy...I am surviving on VERY little sleep. I am praying that this new formula is the key and settles her little tummy making her a happy baby...and in turn allowing Pat and I to be happier parents.

What is funny is that while she was in my tummy, she was the most laid back baby ever. Never kept me up at night and wiggled here and there, but nothing crazy. And the little girl we currently have, has a STRONG set of lungs and opinions.

Hopefully we settle into a manageable routine soon.

In other news...we finally got her newborn pictures back!!! It's amazing to see how much she has grown in the past 7 weeks....she looks so tiny in these pictures!








Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Time for a bath!

Lucy has now gotten her first sponge bath and real bath. She did really well with both, which Pat and I were both pleasantly surprised with! She doesn't much like getting her hair washed, but other than that...she was a real trooper!

Here are some pictures!!

Daddy did a good job...even if Lucy looks a little ticked here



First time for an actual bath!


So cute!!

Baths are exhausting!!!