One Month!

Miss Luci hit the one month milestone on Saturday! Somehow this has been the quickest but longest month of my life...maybe it is the lack of sleep? On a good night she sleeps about 3 to 3.5 hours...maybe 4 hours at a time, and on a bad night she is up every few hours. We have started taking a bath every other night, and after the initial scare of being naked in some strange substance she actually calms down & likes it! Then we put on baby lotion & a little sleeper, eat & then go to sleep. On a bath night we start the process sometime around 8:30p and on a non-bath night somewhere between 9p and 9:30p. Then I run to bed & try to get to sleep as quickly as possible before she wakes up! Some mornings she's up after the 5a or 6a feeding, and some mornings I can get her to sleep until 8a or so. I think she's going to be a morning person...usually we only see the smiles first thing in the morning. These particular smiles were for Grandma Rosonke...I had the camera out & kept asking her to smile at the camera for Grandma Rosonke (Grandma Pierse was here at the time) & she obliged!

Clay is on vacation this week and Luci & I are delighted to have him around for 7 days straight! He's started getting up at night with us at least once just to hang out & keep me company. It helps the time go a little more quickly as I battle the burp beast! Our little one has some serious trouble burping...she is in pain until she gets it out, and then is in pain for a bit afterwards...not so fun at anytime, but especially not fun in the middle of the night. If we don't win the battle of the burp she might sleep for an hour, but when she wakes up it will be twice the battle it was before she fell asleep. I've tried all of the burping positions (high on the shoulder, across the knees, sitting & holding her chin in my hand, and one I invented that is sort of sitting, leaning over the arm position), I've tried a gentle pat & a firm pat, with a cupped hand and with a flat hand...and nothing seems to work consistently. If anyone has a secret weapon out there I'd much appreciate the advice! My forearms are seriously exhausted from all of this attempted burping!!

Grandma Pierse left on Saturday and Aunt Brooke came back Sunday night. She stays until Thursday and then Grandma Rosonke arrives on Friday. Clay & I feel incredibly blessed to have such strong support from our families...thank you families...you are the best!

Happy Birthday Grandma Pierse

Grandma Pierse is this week's hero...and Luci is so glad she was able to spend her Grandma's birthday with her yesterday. Happy Birthday Grandma Pierse!!

Luci's reflux seems to be improving. Each day is a little different (some better than others), but I think overall things are looking up. She is back to eating on a 3 hour schedule during the day - which is much easier for me than the 2 hour schedule. Last night she slept 4 hours at a time so I'm feeling pretty refreshed - for awhile there she was up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours...that was rough...thank goodness I had Harry Potter during those wee hours to keep me awake & going. I now only read it at night when I'm up with Luci...I'm determined to make it last as long as I can! I'm so sad the saga is coming to an end!

The first family photos...

Reflux it is...but still growing like a champ!

Miss Luci was diagnosed with GER (Gastroesophageal Reflux) this morning by Dr. Bhakta. He gave us a few suggestions that Dr. Brooke had already given us (smaller but more frequent feedings, good burps and keeping her elevated 30 minutes after eating), in addition to prescribing Zantac & another antacid. Hopefully they'll work and provide her (and her parents) with a bit of much needed relief.

The good news is that despite this reflux the kid is "growing like a champ" per Dr. Bhakta! She weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs, 2 oz this morning! That is up over 2 lbs in 10 days! Poor thing...she must have my metabolism...

I think she looks more & more like her daddy everyday...even the nurse this morning thought so! This is Dad's favorite little sleeper from the Oswicks - he calls it her "Dr. Seuss Sleeper." Something to do with the stripes?!?!

Luci gives a shout out today to Aunt Jen & Uncle Paul. She can't wait to meet them...she told me herself. She loves her lemon outfit & sweetpea boppy from them! Happy Anniversary Aunt Jen & Uncle Paul!

Thanks to Miss Amanda...

who was last nights savior; she came over and soothed Luci so I could get a few hours of much needed sleep. Amanda definitely has the mommy touch - Luci calmed right down the minute Amanda started talking to her. With her mommy skills it is no wonder Clara is the happiest little girl ever!

Luci had a great weekend and was sleeping well...then all of the sudden on Monday afternoon something changed and she became the baby who wouldn't sleep! She's spitting up a lot & maybe having a bit of reflux (we head to the dr. tomorrow for a reflux screening) that is interfering with her sleep. The worst part is listening to hear wrenching screams and body wriggles without being able to comfort her. Usually she gets very fussy, her face gets red, she's inconsolable...and then all is relieved with either a little toot, big spit up or a burp. It is heartbreaking to watch & I'm hoping I can get some solid advice from Dr. Bahkta tomorrow.

The little one is up...I'll try to post some more photos later today!

Aunt Brooke

is this weeks lifesaver...she watched Luci last night after the 9pm and 12am feedings so this new mom could get some sleep. And Miss Luci cooperated by sleeping from 3am to 6am! Then she slept from 6:30 to 7:30 before fussing. Brooke leaves tomorrow and now I'm dreading that, but Dad will be home shortly after she leaves so we should be all right. I feel very blessed to have had all of this help, and we are looking forward to Grandma Pierse returning when it is time for Dad to leave. Luci sends her thanks & love to Grandma Rosonke, Aunt Brooke & Grandma Pierse!

Luci Bird

Well everyday gets better, but each night seems to be two steps forward and one step back. Aunt Brookie Nae & Sunidh watched Luci this morning so I could go back to sleep...it is amazing what a little sleep does for my attitude and general physical well being. Not getting more than 2.5 hours of sleep at any one time for weeks is much harder than I anticipated. The lack of sleep combined with the spinal headache made the last few weeks really tough, but the good news is that the headache is finally getting better. As for Luci, she may be a bit tongue tied (yes, it is an actual condition) and while it shouldn't prevent her from speaking correctly, it is making nursing a bit more difficult. She sucks & sucks but doesn't get as much bang for her buck as someone without this condition would. Lucky for us Amanda hooked us up with a speech pathologist who specializes in infant feeding, so tomorrow we go see her & a lactation consultant at the same time. I'm really hoping they can give us some suggestions to make the nursing go a little better. As I was warned, it is hard...really hard. I just didn't quite comprehend how hard - which maybe was a good thing. She'd much rather just hang out & sleep than eat...until I take her off...at which point she starts behaving like a little starving bird...mouth open, tongue searching, eyes wide, head bobbing around wildly...thus earning her the nickname of Luci Bird.

The first doctor visit was yesterday and all looks well. She's not quite back at her birth weight - she's at 8lbs .6oz vs. 8lbs 2oz, but Dr. Bahkta said she looks great. We need to keep a close eye on her until we get this feeding trouble resolved, but hopefully the appointment tomorrow will help with that. As for her long self, the girl is already up 1/2 inch to 23 inches!! Our newborn is almost 2 feet tall! The worst part of the whole appointment was that her newbie parents forgot the diaper bag...so when she peed, pooped and threw up all over the scale at the doctors office we looked like the new parents we are as we had to ask for wipes & diapers. All the while I kept promising her we'd get better at this parenting thing...let's hope I honor my promise!

Luci sends a shout out to her Uncle Ben who turns 22 today. Happy Birthday Uncle Ben!! Aunt Brooke says we should have some rice in your honor...

We're alive!

My apologies to all of you well meaning callers...I've been avoiding the phone for almost a month now! There are just so many changes I'm coming to terms with that I can't seem to muster the energy for a simple conversation.

Obviously we made it through the birth, despite it going in a completely different direction than we had intended. I had the epidural, and boy was I ready for it by the time we relented. Unfortunately it ended up being a 'bad epidural' (Woodlands Mom lingo) and I started the Friday after Luci's birth with the worst headache I'd ever had in my life. A chat with an anesthesiologist confirmed it was indeed a spinal headache - a headache caused by a poke in the spine that causes spinal fluid to leak out...resulting in the worst headache ever. Fortunately you can get relief from the headache by lying flat on your back. This would be a perfect solution after giving birth, as I was exhausted, but it certainly made it difficult, if not impossible to care for our newborn. Luckily there is a fix (a blood patch), but it involves another needle in your back & a great deal of blood drawn...but I managed through it despite the nurse passing out (Clay had to help her sit down while holding Luci...it was quite an event). I felt great Friday & Saturday, but the headache came back Saturday night.

More to come later...the posts might be a bit choppy for awhile as I blog in between caring for Luci. Clay is on a trip & my mom went out for a walk so I'm on my own. Mom leaves tomorrow & I'll admit I'm a bit terrified to be responsible for this tiny blessing without her. She's been an unbelievable help & I hope someday I can do for Luci what mom has done for me.

Gotta go.