Overtired

Well.

Less than three hours sleep between 12:30pm and 10:30pm makes for a very. unsettled. baby.

While she then slept until almost 4:00 (so I got 4.5 hours sleep in a row!), I don't know that it was worth it to have to have one of us constantly feeding/patting/singing/ to her.

Physio

I had a follow up with the physio yesterday, after noticing pain in my pelvis while chasing after The Toddler.

Well, it seems it was more out of line than it was when I was pregnant. One side was pushed further down and back than the other, and she seemed to think I should have been in a support belt while pregnant. I'm kind of glad she found something, as I made the appointment myself and it had started to feel better recently.

After physically manipulating the bones in my pelvis, the physio also pulled one of my legs longer and then massaged my butt. Awesome. (It wasn't awesome). Because my glute muscle was compensating for my pelvis it was REALLY tight, and I really didn't it!

She then got me to stand on one leg and lift the other - the difference was amazing! I knew it was harder to move around, but just figured it's because I'm bigger than I have been (though I've lost a little over 2kg in the last two weeks!), but it was largely because of my hip.

Annoyingly, I'm only allowed to do walking, stationary bike and/or swimming (no breaststroke) for at least the next four weeks. She has given me some core/pelvic floor exercises to do and she will reasses at the next visit.

Now I need to return the gym gear I got excited and bought, because I should hopefully be smaller by the time I can use it.

(Quality) time

Similar to this time last time, I wonder about how much quality time The Bubby is getting.

Fortunately/Unfortunately for me, I have on record how much more I would do with The Toddler when she was a baby.

The Bubby sleeps a lot. She is awake for a little bit after a feed, then off she goes (when it's not night and she's not squawking at me). For example, yesterday afternoon she fed at around 1pm, and I sat and burped her while The Toddler watched tv. When the show finished, The Bubby was already asleep, so I put her in her bassinet. But then she stirred and woke, but The Toddler had already watched six episodes of Peppa Pig and I needed her to stop doing that before her brain turned to mush. So I left The Bubby and she put herself to sleep, while I put on some nappies and unpacked the dishwasher with The Toddler.

Poor thing. I hope I'm not making her stupid. I've already 'realised' that this is all I am, so I really should do a better job of it.

6 week needles

Same as the last baby, we had to get six week needles done.

I'm just glad The Bubby doesn't have tears yet - so she just looked angry rather than sad.

The poor little thing - she was very vocal about not liking it, and it seemed to take longer than I remember, and she 'cried' longer than I remember. Even halfway through the feed afterwards, she was still pretty distraught.

(Though, she did only wake at 3:30 and 7:30 last night!)

Addition

It feels like there could be nothing worse when a baby has gotten overtired, as you stand and hold and pat and sway someone who is so tired they are no longer tired - from 4pm - 6pm whlle you are trying to get things done.

Then you learn that yeah, there is, when you have and overtired and gassy baby from 6pm - 11pm.

They're much worse.

This is it

Last night in the shower I was pondering the new tattoo I'm going to get - wondering if I would get the 'it will ruin your chances for a good job'.

(Which I don't think is true these days anymore, as the 'younger' generations move up and up, there'll be more and more inked people out and about)

And I was thinking - yeah, well, does it matter? I work for the government, I'm not sure what I want to do... I'm on my last stint of maternity leave, then I don't know what my job will be when I return to work next year. And I don't really have any hobbies. Or anything else I'm particularly good at...

Where do I slot in?

I'm a 31 year old mother of two.

I really should give it my best go - it is all who I am now.

Development Check

I took The Bubby in for her development check yesterday.

She passed!

She now weighs 4.7kg, so she sits at the 50th percentile for weight, 25-50th for head, and 50th-75th for height.

Her hearing is good, her eyes are good (like The Toddler, she is drawn to the lights), and her hips felt good and her rolls are lined up. She peed while being measured (again). Her lips were nice and wet and the dint in her head is just her fontanel.

I only got 3 out for 30 on the depression test, but really, considering I have a toddler at home as well, it's okay to feel sad sometimes, or to feel like things are getting on top of me.

She has needles on Monday (oh no!) and then we're drawing to the end of our appointments. She will have a hip ultrasound next week (and again at 6 months either way), I have to see the endocrinologist and physiotherapist and then that's it for a while.

Bring on the Thursdays and Fridays where I can just sit and rub my nose in her gorgeous hair all day.

Jeans

I had to go in for anther glucose test this morning, to make sure the gestational diabetes was just gestational.

I wore a pair of non maternity jeans.

Granted, they're the biggest jeans I own, and tummy trimmers, and I'm wearing my recovery shorts, but I'm in!

Stretch

Oh man!

The baby did her usual two hourly feeds for most of today/tonight. Rather than the standard 6-8 feeds a day, she is doing more than 10/12.

But.

Last night, after feeding at 9:00 and not being settled in her bassinet until just before 11pm, she didn't wake again until 3:30am. That's 6.5 hours!

If only she had settled quicker, I would have got 5.5 hours sleep. But I'll take my 4 hours and run with them!

(Well, not run, because I've still got a lot of jelly, but I'll fast walk with it).

TGIW

I love my daughters. They're both awesome.

And I know people have been having babies and looking after them since the start of existence (otherwise, no existence).

But it's a hard slog Monday to Wednesday being home alone with the two of them.

Today was a fine example, with The Husband being at squash after work until 7:30 last night (normally he's home after 8) and then he plays network games with his friends from 8:30. The baby fed and squirmed for hours as per usual, until I finally got a shower at 11pm (The Husband held her and she wanted a feed by the time I exited the ensuite). We visited the zoo (it cost less than 3x the amount of one visit to get a 12 month pass) and The Toddler walked the whole way, but then when we got home spent an hour in her cot crying instead of napping. And then I had to juggle the babies and bags out to the car to get to family dinner. And of course, little to no housework gets done when The Bubby only wants cuddles, so we sit in our messy house with the tv on and the boobs out.

At the moment, and for the next few weeks, all my appointments are on Thursdays and Fridays. It's going to be amazing to have nothing to do except for sit with The Bubby and watch her grow -  I can't believe it's almost been six weeks already.

But I can't imagine how my mum managed with four of us under the age of five, or those mums who don't have daycare to give them some sort of break.

Smiles

We got baby smiles yesterday.

I was sitting with The Toddler, watching YouTube clips to get her drowsy for a nap, with The Bubby in the rocking chair next to us. The Toddler jumped down and was peering at her sister, right up close in her face as she is want to do.

And The Bubby smiled at her.

Cue me sitting right up close in her face with my phone, asking her "Who's a smiley girl?!" and 20 blurry shots of the cutest damn smile on the silliest chubby dimpled cheeks you ever have seen.

Tick tick

I love it when, for some reason, The Bubby decides to just sit and gaze at the boob without feeding, giving the occasional gas smile.

Then giving an obligatory suck or two ten minute later, before going back to just staring at it.

After a night if cluster feeding for 4.5 hours followed by 2 hours of crying.

And this stating comes halfway through a feed which, while is 4 5 hours after the last one, is less than 2 hours after the crying stopped.

Which is also occurring with a feed that required 2 nappy changes after peeing while getting out in to a new nappy, and then starting in that new one just as it was bing secured.

No, wait. No I don't. It's annoying as butt.

Bullseye

For someone with seemingly no control over most of her bodily functions, The Bubby has an uncanny nap for being able to grab and pinch a nipple when she is gassy/cranky/meant to be feeding.

Burp

I cursed it.

After a good run of good sleeps, I got to spend 1:00am - 3:30am in the nursery with The Bubby, trying to burp her. She got fed twice during that time, she was fussing and bobby and thrashing around.

On the bright side, she only made noise once - when she timed a thorough head thrashing with me trying to check if she was hungry, resulting in her whomping her head on my engagement ring.

I got back in to bed at 3:30, and she was with me not long after that, as she was still carrying on. I gave in, got up, turned on all the lights and fetched the Gripe Water (which is now living in the nursery to avoid me putting it off so long) - when she burped five minutes later, it wasn't even that impressive a burp.

So I had a night of feeding at 10pm (I woke her for that one after she'd been sleeping on The Husband all evening), 1:30, 2:30 (back asleep at 4am) 6am and 9am.

And of course I couldn't get a nap today as The Toddler decided to rip up one of her favourite books and decide that me coming in to her room to get it meant that there would be no nap. And she stuck to that opinion for more than an hour and a half before I gave in and got her up.

Babies. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

(Though I must say The Toddler has been extra lovely since getting up, so now I feel double terrible that she has some sort of Stockholme Syndrome after refusing to sleep for so long).

Second weigh in

After waiting over an hour in the waiting room, to have only two people go in, we were in and out relatively quickly today.

Chubby bubby is now 4335g - a gain of 455g in two weeks.

Which is, of course, great. But the typical worrier in me has me thinking about how she gained more than that in the previous fortnight....

I know that she couldn't keep putting on that much weight each week, but it goes to show how even a good result can appear to be a worrying result.

She is now in the fiftieth percentile for weight, height and head width - nice and average.

They also didn't seem too worried over the fact that The Bubby grunts continually like Peppa Pig. I guess we'll ask about that in our pediatricians appointment that is coming up.

Bra

After last weeks debacle of a bra fitting (girl in early 20s telling me I should be one cup and one band size up from pre-pregnancy, not even looking at a measuring tape, then suggesting  a bra three sizes smaller than the one that was obviously too small for me), I took the only good bit of advise they offered me and dragged The Bubby out in the cold to a different store that specialised in giant pregnant boobs.

Only to find it closed.

Google showed me only one other store in Canberra (also one of the most expensive) stocked this particular brand, so we hauled butt across town to check it out.

The ladies were lovely, both wanting to hold The Bubby while I got fitted, clucking over her. Apparently she has my eyes and nose, and definitely my eyebrows.

I was marched to the change room and told to take off all tops but leave my bra on.

And when she came back in, she gave me a look somewhere between sad and disappointed. 'This is to very good for you. Now turn around'.

Just using her eyes, she returned with a bra that was not the brand I was initially after, but the one she said was best for me. She told me that as this is my second child, my boobs will be 'softer', so we really want to 'lift them right up there'. She had also made a comment about not messing around with me too much during the fitting, so that I didn't get too stressed (which could cause leakage) - I loved the way she just knew how breastfeeding boobs are unpredictable and pretty much have a mind of their own.

She told me I could wear my 'gross' ones at night, so that I don't ruin the new ones, and I walked out of there $120 poorer for my two Elle McPhereson crop bras (that are a completely different size to any others I've ever worn).

Sadly, I'm quite excited about wearing one tomorrow!

Don't curse the blessings

I'm probably going to ruin this by declaring it publicly, but we've had three nights in a row where the baby has gone for 5 hours between feeds.

It is accompanied by an arsenic 'hour' from roughly 5pm-11pm, but once you're on the other side of it, it's totally worth it.

In fact, last night I was asleep just before midnight, awake briefly at 12:30 when she called out, up feeding from 4:30-5 and then feeding 8-8:30.

That's pretty fantastic.

(But yes, I'm currently drinking a pepsi, I had a mocha with breakfast, and all the chocolates in the house and I are on a first name basis).

The Good Wife

Durp.

It took me more than four weeks to realise that rather than having the husband set up a mattress on the floor of the nursery every so often when he needs a full nights sleep (he refused), I should just feed the baby in the nursery.

It's pretty much the same - I still have to get up, I'm still sitting up, the iPad is portable and I'm just as warm (yay gas heating and giant purple dressing gowns) - plus this way I'll be able to use the guilt points for sleepins on weekends (win Win WIN!).

Going it alone

Today was my first full day home alone as a mother of two. Two under two.

The Bubby was wonderful and gave us her first five hour break, with a feed just before ten, and then again just before 3am. I think I got almost four hours sleep in a block (BLISS), then another few hours before she woke up at 6:30. Both feeds she was nice and efficient, didn't get gassy and put herself to sleep after a grunting medley in the bassinet.

The Toddle woke up just after 8:30. Well, who knows what time she actually woke up (she stirred at 6:30 when The Husband got up to ride to work, but she resettled), but just after 8:30 is when I heard her. Poor thing. She'll get used to the fact that mummy sleeps like the dead when there's a newborn in the room.

The day actually went really well. I think I was expecting it to be terrible and expecting me to be terrible, but both girls were happy all day. The Bubby only cried out to be held a few times, The Toddler went down for her nap quite easily and was happy with all our activities (she only watched tv while I fed The Bubby). We were housebound with the rain, so we tidied my room, ate some noodles at the bench, made french toast, entertained The Bubby in the rocker while I did the dishes, went to visit my dad in the afternoon and picked up The Husband from work.

Granted, there was a period of ten minutes where The Bubby did an actual vomit over me and on to the splash mat in her room, and while I was repeating my 'we'll be fine' mantra, I walked in to the family room to see the back door wide open and The Toddler splashing in rain puddles in her socks, then one of the dogs threw up twice in his crate.... but overall, a success.

Dear Bubby - Month One

Dear Bubby,

After you were fussy last night from 6pm-10pm, then The Husband brought you in for a feed at 12:30, you slept through until 4:30am and I was composing a blog post in my head about how we were finally turning a corner and how happy and proud I was and how great it was you were also having these short feeds...

But then it was 6am and you were still fussing and The Husband didn't get to bed until after 2am and woke up when you did, so he took you to try to settle you. I woke up 45 minutes later, not realising I'd fallen asleep, to find that he was still holding and patting you. I took you back and fed you and he only got another 30 minutes sleep before The Toddler woke up.

It's not very kind of you to only give him 2.5 hours sleep the night before he has to return to work, and it's Mothers Day so he is obligated to let me sleep in. And, because you were fussing again, it's not a good idea to leave me so tired that I fall asleep with you beside me in the bed. That's a very bad idea.

On the whole though, it has been a good month. Excluding the tiredness and the tears, it's been great. You are adorable. You are easy and quick to feed (even though you like to come back for a topup an hour after your feed), you are quick to change and you are (usually) quick to settle. Perhaps I'm just extra optimistic because I find myself putting extra effort in to being happy when The Husband is tired, or perhaps it's because it's Mothers Day and The Toddler gave me a glittery rock that has "You are my rock" written on it in texta, or perhaps it's because I think you were smiling at me today. Who knows? But let's ride with it.

Height & Weight: You're a bit over 3.8kg. I would include your height, but your blue book is in the boot of the car and it's cold and dark outside! I promise to update once I take you in on Thursday for your fortnightly check. That said, I do remember the nurse commenting that you had gone up one percentile step for your height, weight and head, so I think you're doing well.

Sizes: We've moved you out of the 0000's and in to the 000's. Initially, it was laziness on my part because you had pooped/spewed/wet through all of the 0000's we had in the drawers, but then we saw you fitted the 000's just fine. This was of course after I had bought you six new 0000 suits, because of the poop/spew/wetting mentioned above.

I bagged up all your 0000's this evening, and it was (surprisingly) a little sad. I've been very vocal on the fact that we only plan on having the two of you, so I'm at a bit of a loss with what to do with your clothes... sell them? Save them? Keep them for loaning to friends/family? Keep them for giving away? Charity? Leave them in the cupboard for years until I have some idea?

Eating: Needless to say, this is pretty bland for you. But, you have been gassy the last week or so, and I"m not sure what's going on. I'm keeping the Infacol beside my bed to give to you at night, but I always forget to do it before your feed and if I remember at all, you get it between the two sides. You are feeding every three hours on average - there were quite a few days of 2.5 hour feeds, there have been quite a few evenings of cluster feeds lasting 4-7 hours, and also a few periods of 4 hour breaks. I am hanging on to the fact that some women in my DIG with 6 week old babies are getting five hours between feeds overnight, and tryting to ignore the fact that our friend that visited yesterday with a baby five weeks older than you is still only getting 2.5-3 hours overnight.

Sleeping: This is a bit of a sore point. At first, you were super easy to put to sleep - I'd just pop you in and you'd be off. The last week or so, you've needed/wanted to be held and then we have to wait until you're pretty much passed out before we can sneak you in to bed. That said, you were a lot more awake between feeds today, so I am hope Hope HOPING that you will go down easy tonight after feeds. We're still parking your bassinet in the sun during the day to try and remind you that hey, daytime is for awake and noisy and nighttime is for shhh and sleeping, but you're being quite belligerent on this point.

Language: Heh. None. You did make a few new squeak noises that sounded like you testing out noise, but it was dark and I was tired and I didn't give it more than a thought before all I could think about was sleep. Sorry buddy.

Firsts & Milestones: Pretty much everything is a first for you this month!
 - You are getting stronger with your head, even though we don't get you down on the floor as much as we 'should'.
 - You've had four baths or so (I know, we're terrible) and I did the last one and you were pretty happy in there.
 - Today, I think you were grinning at me, which has resulted in me taking every opportunity I can to stare at you and move you around so it looks like you're staring at me, then grinning at you like an idiot and asking you to smile. You have my dimple.

I love you, buggaboo - please sleep for mummy and daddy?

Witching hours

The Bubby cluster fed pretty much nonstop from 5pm - 1am yesterday.

I am confident that there is enough milk, due to her weight gain and the fact I can express 200ml in less than 10 minutes every second morning.

I downloaded the Wonder Weeks app (after downloading a white noise app, which was nice for me but didn't make much difference for The Bubby), which indicated the first WW occurs at 4.5 weeks after their due date. For what it's worth, The Bubby was born 9 days early, but hit four weeks old yesterday. Signs of the first wonder week are:

- Crying without a normal reason such as a dirty diaper, hunger or sleep 
- Only quiet when she is with you
- Suddenly wants much more physical contact. For instance, your baby only wants to sleep when he lies in your arms, or he suddenly wants to sleep feeling belly-to-belly contact.
-Wants to be breast fed much more often. This is very normal and very good.

Um, this is EXACTLY what she was like last night. She settled on The Husband for 20 minutes so I could shower, but then she kicked off again and came in for a 6 minute feed. Then she was noisy in the bassinet and would settle on The Husband almost instantly, repeat repeat repeat.

 It got to 12:30 and we were out of ideas. I was literally at a dead end. I just couldn't see an answer - she'd only sleep on him, but she can't sleep on him, so.....?

 Our next step was to be to whip out the dummies that I'd bought for her before The Toddler was weaned off hers - we can't give The Bubby a dummy during the day because there is no doubt in our minds that The Toddler would crack her nut and want one. So we agreed if she wouldn't go down the next time, we'd get the dummy.

 Then I accidentally went straight to sleep while the husband struggled to keep his eyes open for another 30 minutes to get her fully settled.

 Of course, she woke up at 3am and 6am for a feed, but they were both super short and she went straight to sleep afterwards. And she's been sleeping peacefully all morning, including an action packed visit to my parents house for breakfast.

Please let this week pass and return to normal...

All good

Before anyone freaks out - I'm fine, just tired.

The sun is out and I found some chocolate, all is well.

Doubts

I am beginning to regret each time I proclaimed how The Bubby was much easier than The Toddler. At the moment she is about the same. And the tiredness builds up and the doubts pile in and you forget all the good things you can do and do do, and you wallow and rise up for brief instants to joke and laugh and then you settle back in to your rut. And I know this is roughly how I was feeling at the same time with The Toddler.

When The Husband sees me eyeing off his new jumper and then tells me I can't wear it because I'll stretch it out, it's fact. I have boobs (that are bigger than a 14G accoding to 18 year old at the shop yesterday so now I have to go to a specialist shop just to get a damn maternity bra) and he is slim with all his triathlon training. But all I hear is how I'm big and gross and saggy and just shouldn't bother.

When his parents comment that the baby is squirmy, is gassy, is hungry, is getting chubbier and chubbier, all I hear is that I should already know these things and should have fixed them already, why haven't I done that and seen it and know that.

When the baby is being gassy and squirmy and I'm trying to burp her before I feed her, and the Husband asks why isn't she feeding because she was sucking her hand, and of course I try to feed her and she attaches straight away, I feel like an idiot for not trying to guess what I think she is feeling and just do what she needs.

When I can't settle her and The Husband can, and he shows me what he was doing, I feel incompetent.

When he jokes that he is the 'active' parent, all I see is that I spend roughly an hour in every three with The Toddler in front of the tv as I try to feed The Bubby and stop The Toddler from stomping on the dogs feet or opening the fridge or smacking The Bubby. And that it's not really that hard to sit in front of the iPad with a boob out. And all I see is all the ways I don't do enough for The Toddler, I don't show her enough patience or enough fun. When she wants to put away the hand mirror and I'm trying to put her hair up and she cracks it and The Husband says 'just let her put it away' and I don't realise that I was even not hearing what she was saying, and putting it away makes her happy, I question where I have 'been' for the past two years. Like when I am trying to put together all the Mothers Day gifts and she is pulling things off the table and I joke to her 'enough of you! go away!' and her face drops, she says 'away' and she pushes her chair out and walks away from me to the kitchen...

These are things I think about the night after I was up from 1-4am with a gassy cranky baby. When I had four hours of broken sleep, a day of errands with a baby that turned on all her charm and slept peacefully in the carrier and spaced out her feeds to 3.5-4 hours apart. When she has been in the bedroom with me in the dark for an hour, screeching and squirming. When we listen to the soundtrack from the movie from which her name is taken, both of us her crying, my tears doubling for the fact she can't produce any yet. When I find myself putting her down on the bed because it doesn't matter if I'm trying to cuddle and pat her or if she lays on the mattress because she is just going to cry anyway. When I answer her cries with 'enough' or 'be quiet' or 'stop crying'. When I finally admit to myself that I can't take much more of the screeching and find myself shifting her around without the tenderness that a mother should. When I take her out to The Husband and tell him I'm done and I don't know if he can see my face in the dim light but all he can say as he's asking me if I'm okay and to come back is that it will always be hard. And for the first time in as long as I can remember I actually cry myself to sleep.

90 minutes

Sitting up and patting a baby for 90 minutes is definitely easier after a 3 hour block of sleep, than after a 1.5-2 hour block of sleep.

Technology

I wait when The Toddler was a newborn, and I'm saying it again - I don't know how patents survived without the technology we have today...

- Tiny Towers and Candy Crush games to keep you awake while feeding overnight

- Forums to meet women due at the same time as you - I have met some truly amazing women through my DIGs

- Facebook to keep in touch with friends and 'normal' life

- iPad/iPhone for instant googling of wonder weeks, poo charts and even just the news. And blogging. And watching movies/tv. And taking photos of adorable babies and toddlers.

- YouTube - for entertaining The Toddler when she is sulky or when The Bubby is feeding/sleeping or when mummy just wants to sit and check her email/Facebook/candy

- Media PC - The Toddler is watching (a lot) more tv than I would like, but I've got to keep her contained and entertained while feeding The Bubby (or when I feel like I've had negative sleep and can't face doing anything). We have 100s of episodes of Playschool, Peppa Pig, Sesame Street and Wiggle and Learn recorded, and there is always at least one child friendly show airing on one of the ABCs.

Did you know...

A screaming gassy baby from 3-5am will cause you to question of 7am is too early for a vodka, because that's the only way you think you're going to make it until you can have a nap.

Gotcha

The Bubby was still soundly asleep last night as it closed in on three hours since her last feed and me being more than ready to start sleeping.

She had a normal feed and settled quickly in bed.

'Now, I'll see you at 4:30 and 8:30 please, miss'.

As her grunts entered my dreams I looked at the clock as I pulled the waterproof mat up on to the bed to lay down feed. It was 5:30. I couldn't work out if I was tireder than usual from my five hour block of sleep, or more awake than usual.

It wasn't until halfway through the feed that I realised it didn't matter, because I'd forgotten that I'd fed her at 3am, and had been asleep for less than two hours.

I am not a big fan of 2.5 hours between feeds at night, and 3-4 hours during the day...

Heart and tummy time

I got The Bubby down on the floor mat this morning so that a) I could eat breakfast, and b) she will learn to be independent a little earlier than The Toddler (who seemingly didn't see much of the floor until she was more than a few months old) (not that I don't love baby cuddles, it's just not going to be do practical with The Toddler as well).

It was so sweet to see The Toddler sitting near her baby sister and pointing out the body parts on a toy clown to entertain her, and doing that cute thing she does when she wants to look closer at something near the ground, which is to bend in half with hear head upside down like she's going to stand on her head, just to get a closer look.

Pump it

We had another slightly unsettled night last night.

The Bubby woke at 1am for a feed, but only did 4 minutes on the left side (with lots of groaning and pulling off and on) and a normal length of time on the right.

She woke again just before 5am (which is a good block of sleep for me!) but again, only did 4 minutes on the left. And she was on and off, and groaning and gassy, and squirmy and wriggly and grumpy. And wouldn't burp easily. And I could see her little face in the dim nightlight being sprayed with milk (after The Husband finally bathed her again and her hair was so soft and fluffy!). It took more than 90 minutes from the start of the feed before she was back in bed.

And then she was awake and hungry less than an hour after going to sleep.

After another disappointing feed on the left, I dropped The Toddler at daycare and raced to the local chemist to buy the first electric breast pump I could find (our cheapier from The Toddler's days no longer worked).

15 minutes and 140ml from the left, 10 minutes and 90 from the right.
Ahhhhhh. Such relief.

(the pump makes a funny rythym noise as it's working - at first it sounded like it was chanting 'Go! Go! Go!', then it sounded like it was insulting me...)

(Also - today marks one week of The Toddle being almost completely dummy free! They couldn't find it at daycare for her nap last Friday, so she napped without it (after gagging on the 'spare' one they offered her). So apart from one day on the weekend when she found one in her bed (and I snuck in and pulled it out once she was asleep) and yesterday at daycare when they found her dummy and gave it back to her (after saying 'yuck' she happily took it), she is done! We did have a minor setback last night when she was nagging for it from bed and then worked herself up in to a state, but I am hoping it was a one off (and The Husband settled her, so if worst comes to worst he can do it again).

First official weigh

I took The Bubby out and about today - we dropped The Toddler off at daycare, met The Husband at the hospital to drop off his referral for a bone density scan (his bones are 20-25% stronger than other people in his age group - hooray!), visited friends at work, bought some more 0000 suits with feet on them (brr, it's cold) and got her weighed.

The nurse I saw was one of the two who did the home visit - she recognised me before I did her (mental note, she has short hair).

So at birth, The Bubby was 3180g.
Checking out of hospital she was 3090g.
At one week old, she was 3210g.

Today, at one day short of three weeks old, she weighed 3880g.

The nurse said 'is that right?! That can't be right....'.

It was right.

The Bubby has now gained an average of 340g a week - on track with her older sister who was gaining an average of 360g a week before she was a month old.

I am so relieved.

I am so relieved that these short feeds (last night, she was only doing 7 minutes a side) are fine. I am so relieved that I don't need to find ways to try to force her awake and drink more. I am so relieved that I am hopefully producing another chunky roly-polly chubba bubba.

(now I need to go back and swap those 0000 suits for 000 suits - she won't be in 0000 for much longer at this rate)

Mock me

Of course, after publishing last nights post, The Bubby gave us a demo of what her lungs could do.

It wasn't as stressful as it could have been - I was sure it was stomach pain and I was sure it would end, it was just a matter of waiting it out.

I'd also like the high five my past self who thought to buy Gripe Water 'for when I needed it', so I was able to do something to make myself feel like I was helping her.

And as a way of showing her thanks, after feeding almost hourly from 5:30pm - 11.30pm, we only had wakeups at 3:30 and 6:30.

Not too shabby!

We've had some crying tonight as well, but not as much as last night. I'm hoping she gives us (at least!) the same big block of sleep.

On the bright side, if she doesn't, The Toddler is at daycare tomorrow so I can always have a nap or two during the day.