nursing update

Abby and I have tried the nursing thing. I really wanted her to have the immune, etc. boost breast milk gives. Plus, what could be more natural or cheaper? Isn't the human animal amazing that we can not only create but sustain new life?

However, it hasn't gone well. Abby wouldn't take to it and, though we've worked on it for two-and-a-half months with slow, steady progress, it still isn't working. Last week, after a particularly stunning feed (good, I mean), things went downhill. She rejects the breast every time. Instead of bursting into tears and blaming myself for terrible mothering, I've taken this as a sign that it's time to move to formula. Abby'll still get milk because of my fabulous Medela Pump in Style, but that's probably a limited time option. So, Similac, here's to you--I doubt you're doing poorly in this economy.

On a related note, if anyone reading this is willing to be signed up on the Similac site, you'll get coupons for formula in the mail that I could so use. Let me know.

precision

one doctor had the good sense to suggest that our preoccupation with scientific precision might be disturbing the delicate balance of body chemistry--Motherhood and God by Margaret Hebblethwaite

All new mothers worry, right? My worry in past weeks has been that Abby eat enough. How do we tell if she's eating enough? (1) she has 6-8 wet diapers and at least 1 dirty one every day, (2) she eats for at least 30 minutes each time, (3) she eats 6-8 times per day. You can see how this might become ridiculous. I kept charts for the first month or so--when the diapers happened, precisely how long she ate. I worried constantly when she dipped to 7 feedings a day. There were tears, I'm not going to lie.

It's not that I'm not worried now, but I don't count things any more. She pees like a champ (sorry for scatalogical references, but you're reading a baby's blog, so what do you expect?) and is gaining weight well. And, though we haven't arrived at Nursing Nirvana, things are going very well these days. I suspect that my stress over numbers contributed.

how we're progressing

Vital stats:

• Abby's 9lbs 3oz at last weighing, in the 75th percentile for weight.
• She's grasping our fingers when we touch her palm.
• She smiles, probably not intentionally, but we'll take it.
  
• She's finally allowed to sleep through the night, which she does admirably. I say finally because, though she slept a lot at the beginning, she needed more feedings to gain weight and thus we had to wake her up every three hours. Now we get up when she cries, which is about every 4-5 hours. Yay!
• Nursing has gotten exponentially better--the first couple weeks were awful--but is still problematic.
• She continues to be the cutest baby ever. Seriously. Have you seen the photo?
• We're totally in love.