Family Tree Consists of 3: Lillian's Week 3

This was a good week. Lillian started to grow and Kevin and I learned a lot from this week.

Nursing: I had gone to see a lactation consultant this week to get some help on latching. We have been using a nipple shield and unfortunately Lillian is addicted. Well the LC didn't really do much. She watched me try to nurse without the shield and just told me some tips I had already read online. So we were only there about 15 minutes hen came on home. The one thing I did get out of the appointment was after feeding her on each side just try and get her to latch onto my nipple to get her use to it again and it will be more drawn out since I just used the shield. We have been trying it and so far I have been able to get her to latch on a few times. She does really get much milk or last long but I'll take the baby steps so we can get rid of this thing. Other than that she has been eating well. She has gotten very gassy lately and spits up often. It's usually not a lot.

Sleeping: because of the tummy issues she has been having a hard time falling asleep. We had been letting her cry it out when she was fussy. But lately it's not just a fuss so we would try and burp her again or rub her tummy. Well, yesterday was an exhausting day for mommy. Lillian was in pain and just wouldn't sleep and mommy just wanted a nap and couldn't so daddy stopped by the store on the way home and got both gripe water and gas drops. We used the gripe water first and it kind of settled her down so at the next feeding I gave her the gas drops and it was like my old baby was back! She fell right to sleep after the next 3 feedings. I was so happy we could give her some relief. It was a little hard to wake her up for her night feeding though because she was so exhausted from not sleeping all day. That is the only issue we have had so far. We did get her on a schedule this week. She is eating about every 3 hours and then wakes up once in the middle of the night to eat. We went back to Atlanta to visit family last weekend so the schedule wasn't perfect and Lillian was either in her car seat or someone's arms sleeping. So This week we are going to try and stick to her schedule a little better. I have been using my friends blog The Journey of Parenthood for advice and this is where I got the schedule since it was kind of what she had already been doing except in 4 hour increments instead of 3 but 3 is working better for us now. We are using her 2 week schedule. If you are pregnant or have a child under 3 you should read her blog she was great advice and is raising her children in a godly way.

Doctor Appointment: We did go to the pediatrician this week. Lillian weighed 9 lbs so she gained back 14 ounces since her last appt. at 4 days old, and she was 22 inches long. We decided she has a long torso and little legs like mommy because all of the 3 months onesies fit but none of her pants fit. We have to roll the waist every time. The doctor also pointed out she has a stork bite on the back of her head that will not go away but nothing to worry about, it's basically a birthmark. He said some babies have it on their forehead and it eventually fades but the ones on the back of the head and neck generally won't. I was thankful he pointed that out. He also pointed out two little white spots on the roof of her mouth. He called them epstein pearls and said they are normal as well and they are not thrush. That was our first appointment with the pediatrician here in Huntsville and so far I'm very happy with them.

Other happenings:

She started to get the baby acne this week but no cradle cap yet and doesn't look like she has lost any hair yet.

Lillian loves taking a bath but we quickly realized you must keep the water running or she gets fussy. The water isn't running on her or into her little tub just in the bathtub behind her. I guess she just likes the sound of it. Here is a picture of her first real bath after her umbilical cord fell off this last week.

Here are a few pictures from this weekend visiting family in Atlanta. We had a yummy belated Easter Dinner with Kevin's family Saturday night (sadly we didn't get to see two of our nephews though because they were sick) and Sunday we basically spent all day at church. My little brother and his fiance had a wedding shower and then after evening service there was a going away party for my parents who are moving after 28 years of being in metro Atlanta. Because of all the events Lillian got to see all her aunts ( & future Aunt Jill) and uncles on my side of the family.