Thanksgiving! (amongst other things)

Sorry for the delay in getting this updated.  I had plans to get things going this week, but Michala had other plans for me. 

Michala’s first week was fun, but really stressful.  Nursing has been a little challenging.  Tim and I went in to visit the lactation consultants at the hospital every day to see if we could makes things go more easily.  They were always able to get her latched on right away (but of course it didn’t work that way at home!).  Then the night before Thanksgiving, she completely forgot how to latch on.  Michala cried off and on for 5 hours because she was hungry and I was crying because she was so upset.  I’ve never heard a baby cry herself horse before.  It was horrible.  We were finally able to get her to take a bottle after I had pumped.  Again we went into the lactation office (yes, on Thanksgiving morning) and they figured out that she uses her tongue backwards.  Not sure how that happens, but what it means is that she pushes things out of her mouth instead of sucking it in thus not allowing her to latch on correctly.  So I’ve been pumping and then giving her bottles.  While that’s inconvenient for me (I feel like a dairy cow), it’s been great for allowing others (mainly Tim) to feed her and help me out. 

This week has been TONS better than last week.  Michala and I are finally getting into some sort of routine and I get to at least count on a shower every day…  Some days are better than others, but overall things are going well. 

We were finally able to get an appointment with a physical therapist yesterday to help work her jaw & tongue muscles and teach her to use them correctly.  We have a bunch of exercises to do with her several times a day now and hopefully she’ll get back to breastfeeding soon. 

We are enjoying our baby.  She’s a great source of entertainment.  She’s constantly making funny faces and noises.  Who knew that so much noise could come out of something so small.

Michala still has her nights and days mixed up, but everyday gets a little better.  She’s usually only getting me up twice a night now.  However, I’m also having to wake up every 2 or 3 hours to pump so that I can stay ahead of her and that usually translates to me waking up every hour or so.  It’s great when she eats, gets changed, and then goes right back to sleep, but that doesn’t always happen.  Sometimes she takes an hour or so to get back to sleep which is no fun.  During the day I try to wake her every two hours or so so that she isn’t just sleeping for the entire day…which she would gladly do.  Tim helps me out at night when I need him, but for the most part I try to just let him sleep.  I get to sleep in a bit most mornings after he goes to work.  

My parents came to town to help with Michala the day she was born.  They were a great help and took good care of us.  I don’t know how people adjust to having a baby all by themselves…  I’d forget to eat if someone didn’t remind me.

Below are some pictures of our Thanksgiving together.  My brother, Brian, got to come visit for a few days and these are the pictures that he took of the day.  Mom cooked an awesome meal and I didn’t have to help clean up any of it; how awesome is that!  I think Thanksgiving should go that way every year :)

 

 

 

Here is a video of our sweet baby.  I’ll try to be better at updating the blog on a more regular basis…