Andi and KC + Amelie makes 3!: One Week Old, & More Firsts!

July 1, 2012

6 days old

Since our little bean is so tiny and the only things in her wardrobe she fits into are 5 itty bitty Onesies, I picked up some Carter's side snap t-shirts, thus doubling our time before needing to launder. I also mussed up her hair a little - isn't she adorable?

But Daddy fixed it! First time using the hair brush...

Baby's 1st Fauxhawk ;)

It's kind of ridiculous how small she is in comparison to my phone...

Also, she fits inside the Boppy!

Meanwhile, Dex thinks shower puffs are delicious!

Mommy's first shower alone w/ Amelie

(we have a TINY bathroom!)

And also, 2nd time pumping, I got 4 oz :D

Curled up w/ my little bean

July 2, 2012

1 week old

Mom, it's too early for pictures!

Daddy showing Dexter some love

Too sleepy for her photo shoot ;)

At 1 week post-partum, we had a visit from our doula, Shilo. She came to check in on us, and reported that she was very impressed with how well we were doing, especially considering I had a c-section and we had zero outside help. Basically, KC and I are rock stars!! KC got us to pose for a picture.

Of course, after that it was time for me to take 5,000 pictures of my adorable little angel.

Here is a mere sampling..

Amelie and I were lucky enough to have a visitor! Jenny was in town all the way from Oregon, and she came to see us. I used to work with Jenny at IRC before she moved away, and I miss her a lot! <3

Cutest sleeper ever!

In other news, my breasts are way larger than her head...

...and my feet/ankles are still pretty freaking huge!

But isn't she the cutest thing??

She swims in all things "newborn" though!

So, like many new mamas may do, I had a mild freak out that night. Amelie seemed very warm to me, so I was paranoid that she had a fever. I know babies tend to be warmer than adults, and there is no cause for concern as long as the temperature is under 100.5. Still, I commenced taking her temperature with every device we had (that would be 3). The only thing I didn't do was take it rectally (I draw the line somewhere ;). I used the fancy temperal thermometer across her forehead, the digital one under her arm, and and old elementary school style forehead reader.

They all read differently, which drove me bonkers! But thankfully all of them were under 100.5. Nevertheless, I figured it was better safe than sorry, and I stripped her down to her diaper and did skin-to-skin contact by laying her across my chest, inside my shirt.

Mommy's First Freak Out ;)

Since babies cannot regulate their own temperatures very early on, being close to their mother (or father) helps their bodies level out and stay in tune with mama. It's also called "kangaroo care," and is very effective! It's also great for bonding, and for improving breast feeding outcomes. Much to my relief, Ami took to it very well and cooled off in no time. *whew!*

Meanwhile, mama's pitting edema was no joke!

Gross, huh??

Speaking of gross... Later that night, when I was changing Amelie's diaper, a crazy thing happened! Her cord stump fell off! It had been hanging by a thread, but we weren't trying to help it along. We were just waiting for it to come off on its own accord. I must say, though, it was kinda nasty how it spun around in a circle. Well, I rolled her to her side during a diaper change, and when I rolled her back, this is what I saw:

And this is what her belly button looked like:

I guess cloth diapers and a bath are in her near future!!

(once it heals a little better)

July 3, 2012

8 days old

Fuzzy little bean, freed from her Woombie

Since the doctor was worried about Amelie's biliruben count (jaundice), we went and got her 3rd heel stick to check her blood for her jaundice level. A little bit of jaundice is completely normal in exclusively breastfed babies, and is not much of a concern as long as the bilirubin level isn't skyrocketing above 20. The doc wanted to make sure Amelie's was on a downward trend. Her highest level was at 17.8, but today it was only 14.6 - wahoo!

After returning from the lab, we gave Ami a few minutes of early morning sun time.

Sun time & eating well/pooping are the best defenses against jaundice!

During my pregnancy, I had a serious case of "baby brain," which is why KC and I (very affectionately) referred to Amelie on occasion as the "brain eating parasite." I think the best example of this would be the time I was thinking in my head that I wanted my ice packs to help combat a headache, but didn't know where I left them. Instead of asking KC if he knew where they were, I asked him if he had seen my 'hearing aids.' What the..?? I don't even have hearing aids. My brain made some bizarre jump and that's what came out. I had hoped that once Amelie was born, this would all go back to normal and I wouldn't be so forgetful. Unfortunately, baby brain gave way to mommy brain! Many times I caught myself walking around the house like this, long after I had finished nursing Ami:

Oopsie! Let's hope I don't do that in public!

Since my feet have been so swollen STILL, my dear friend Miranda recommended I try to eat watermelon to bring some of the swelling down. I do recall hearing during pregnancy that watermelon is a bit of a diuretic, so I figured it was worth a try, even though it's probably one of my very least favorite fruits.

Since I'm lazy, KC got me a pre-cup bowl from Fry's :)

Watermelon is mealy to me so I had to motor through...

Milk drunk baby fits on Daddy's arm :)

Milk drunk smiles :)

Baby fingernails are sharp! I'm so paranoid about her scratching herself, but I don't have the cajones to use the nail clippers on those tiny digits just yet. So we have baby nail files instead. Since she was already milk drunk, I figured it was as good a time as any to try them out!

Baby's first manicure