It's hard to believe that tomorrow marks one whole month since our sweet Lucie entered the world. At times it feels like it's been a year (usually when I am up with her at 2 am), but most of the time it feels like she has just entered our lives.
Since I have been so preoccupied with other things this past month, I will do a quick overview of how things have been going.
Sleep- this is by far the first thing people ask about when they meet Lucie, "how is she sleeping? Is she sleeping?" She has been an exceptional sleeper this past month. We've had a few rough nights, but more often than not, Lucie sleeps for about 3.5-4 hours when we first put her down at 10pm. She wakes up to eat and within an hour is back asleep in her crib. Then momma gets another 2-3 hours of sleep before Lucie wakes us up between 5 and 6am. I am thankful and say a little prayer every time I get 3 full hours of sleep because I know a lot of new mommas don't have that luxury.
Feeding- this has been the most stressful part of the last month for momma. We initially had some issues with Lucie latching poorly (which we were able to overcome), only to find out that this momma has a really low milk supply. I have been going to see a lactation consultant 1x weekly the last two weeks and with supplementing Lucie on formula as well as breast milk she has been steadily gaining weight, but it still makes me feel terrible that I can't produce enough milk to feed her properly. More important than anything is that Lucie is gaining weight and I totally am on that page, but I am still really hoping that with the work and interventions I might be able to increase my supply and provide her with this important nutrition for the next few months. It's very disheartening because everything you read in books and on the internet says, "everyone can breastfeed and it's easy and all you need to do is keep breastfeeding to produce more milk". I realize I am a minority, but this general philosophy is so hurtful to people like me who are doing everything they can to make it work and for some unknown reason our body betrays us and will not cooperate. My advice to the world: Breastfeeding is not always easy for everyone, so don't assume that because it might have been a breeze for you that it is automatically the same for the gal next door. Let's call this one a work in progress... Lucie is eating well though! As of 8/24 she weighed 7lbs 12oz which is an improvement.
Growing- Lucie is still rocking her cute newborn clothes, and probably will be for at least the next couple of weeks. She has so many cute clothes that people have given her in the 0-3 month range for summer that I am really, really hopeful September stays warm so that she will have an opportunity to wear them :) Lucie is getting very long. I think they measured her wrong at the hospital because she's about 21 inches long now, and at birth they measured her at 17.5. 3.5 inches in just a month is a lot of growth, so I think that the hospital might have gotten it wrong.
And now, she's awake! Must go. I will upload some photos of our little princess soon.
Love to all! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers- they are all felt and appreciated by our family!
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