Newborn Photos!

We finally got our newborn photos back and we think they turned out pretty great!  Norah was 12 days old when we went to visit Photography by Karensa in their studio in Everett.  We were happy to use these wonderful shots in our birth announcements that you all should have received last week.  Here are the full size versions.  These have also been added to smugmug for print ordering if you're interested. 

 

 

 

 

 

Visits

Peanut finally went to sleep today so this will be my quick blog catch-up post.  We have spent the last several weeks enjoying lots of time with family.  Norah has really liked visiting with everyone and is pretty amenable to being out and about and loves to be held by pretty much anybody.  She didn't even scream when Auntie Katie got her turn. ;-)  Good job, Norah! 

Here is the stats update - Peanut weighed in at 9lbs 6oz at our last visit and is growing fast!  She is currently up to about the 50th percentile for her age which is the highest she has been to date.  She is starting to outgrow the newborn clothes and we are finally getting a chance to use some of the wonderful outfits we got from Cousin Annika!  We are still working through our feeding issues and Mama is determined not to give up until all avenues have been explored.  We have many appointments this week that should help get us some more answers.  Norah has granted us lots of smiles and even one or two laughs.  She is starting to reach directly for things and grab them, albeit a little uncoordinated in her efforts.  She rolled over once on the scale at the Breastfeeding Center appointment and the nurse was a bit surprised.  We've seen her roll to one side but not make it all the way over just yet.     

Below are some shots of our holiday and other adventures since Mid-June. 

Father's Day BBQ - June 15th

                      

 

Visits with Friends - June 22nd

 

Query Family Picnic - June 29th

 

Braun's in Westport - July 4th

 

 

Thanks to Auntie Katie for the outfit below

 

 First Trip to the Ocean

 



 

 

 

Two Days Old

Hmm.  What to do when your baby woke you up at 3:00am, ate and calmly went back to sleep at 4:30; however, you, not so calmly could not fall back asleep?  It's 7:00am now and I'm still wide awake.  Looks like a nap is in my near future.  In the meantime, ...blog it.

Norah is 1 month old!  Stay tuned for her current and the first of many monthly photos.  I hope to post this later today.  Similarly, we had new official newborn shots taken when she was 12 days old.  We are still waiting to get those photos from our photographer.  However, we did receive the disc of photos taken in the hospital by Bella Baby Photography.  I'm happy to share these with you today in a little slideshow I threw together.  For fam, the album has also been posted on SmugMug and you can order prints there if you want.  Norah was just two days old!

 

 

 

P.S. The results of the baby poll were updated sometime ago but I forgot to post about it.  Congrats to the overall winner, Annika, who guessed accurately by assuming her cousin would also be overcooked! :-)  Scroll back to the baby poll post and click the link for it, you should then be able to see the results and rankings for all the guesses.  Thanks for participating!

 

Om Nom!

Admittedly I am a bit behind on my blog posts.  Thus, there may be one or two coming today depending on how much time I have before the peanut starts screaming for more food.  Speaking of food, let's start with that...

Feed Me Seymour!
No, I'm not going to write about the delicious tiramisu my sister brought over a week or so ago, albeit it was divine.  Thanks, Auntie Laura!  I'm also not going to go into details about my love and longing for some iced Starbucks right about now, even if it is decaf.  I'll save those musings for another day.  What I would like to document on this family blog is our current challenges of finding the perfect sustenance for little Norah's discerning palate. 

It's been a long hard road over the last few weeks since being discharged from the hospital.  We have been struggling with the social messaging of "Breast is Best" and the fact that Mama's milk is insufficient.  Due to any number of reasons, most likely the extreme edema/swelling I had post long-labor followed by surgery, I did not get any milk whatsoever until well into Day 9 after Norah was born.  The peanut was starving and before we even left the hospital she had lost more than the acceptable percentage of body weight.  They allow up to 10% loss within the first week and she was down by more than 13% when we were discharged at 3 days old.  We have had no choice but to supplement her diet with formula. 

We have been working with the Post-Partum/Breastfeeding Center at Evergreen and they have been great.  We've been to see lactation consultants 6 times in the last two weeks and have tried tube and syringe feedings, deep tissue massage, pumping, tea, herbal supplements, medication for the edema and now we are trying a new medication to increase prolactin, the hormone that promotes milk production.  We have also been referred to Occupational Therapists at Seattle Children's for evaluation of Norah's latch and tongue.  We do not think she is tongue-tied but she may need some tongue training to help with proper milk transfer. 

The feeding process has been incredibly frustrating.  What seemed like a relatively easy pregnancy has now turned into a very difficult first few weeks with the newborn.  When we were doing tube and syringe feedings our whole process of meal time was taking close to 2 hours and then Norah would be hungry again 15-30 minutes later.  This was very taxing on Mama and Dada because it meant no rest for the weary.  We have since switched to a bottle for premies and that seems to reduce the time for the process down to about 1 hour and 15 minutes but it is still a lot to handle.  It's helpful when David isn't working that he can do the bottle and burping while Mama pumps but it's still a lot.  We are hopeful with the new medication, more time for swelling to reduce and the upcoming evaluations that we will get to a full supply of breastmilk and be able to wean little one back off the formula.  However, if it doesn't work out at least we will know that we tried absolutely everything possible! 

Growing Strong
Breast may be best but not starving the baby is better!  Luckily, peanut is perfectly healthy and growing strong.  She was born at 7lbs, got down to 6.2 and at our last appointment on June 14th she was up to a big 'ol 7.8!  When she was born so small we had to buy a few more newborn sized outfits because all of the 0-3 month clothes were swimming on her.  She is slowly starting to outgrow a few of her sleepers and the puffy cheeks she had at birth are back in full force.  Whether it's breastmilk or formula we are happy that she is healthy and growing and changing every day.

Capture the Peanut
Many pictures are coming soon including pro photos taken in the hospital by Evergreen's contracted Bella Baby Photography.  We also had our official newborn shoot at 12 days old with Photography by Karensa.  We will be posting these shots in the coming days/weeks once we get them from the photographers.  However, Mama had a chance to do a makeshift photo session of our own at 1 week old and here are some of those shots.  Additionally, for the fam, a few albums of these and shots from the hospital have been added to SmugMug.  Enjoy!

 With Grandma's Hand-Knitted Blanket and Hats

Tiny Hands

   

Our Favorite Shot of Norah and Dada at Home