2 weeks old (and 1 day)

It's hard to keep up these days, what with all the poop, spit up, pumping, feeding, laundry, nap attempts, crying, as well as all the non-baby stuff. But I don't want to get behind and forget stuff so I'm going to try a really short update of the first 2 weeks of sweet G's life.

The good stuff:
-He's gained 9 ounces this week.
-he grew 1/4"
-He's not too fussy.
-His poop doesn't stink that bad.
-He's so dang cute!

The tough stuff (but we're hanging in there):
-Not latching on
-Tongue tie
-Birth trauma
-His misshaped head (due to being posterior during pregnancy)
-My armpit lump

It's not as bad as it sounds. Unless it doesn't sound bad at all, then it's probably worse than it sounds.

Here's my quick version of what all that means. We've spent a lot of time (and money) the past week or so with nurses, doctors, lactation specialists, massage therapists, chiropractors, the Internet, and a speech pathologist (via telephone to my brother in Alaska). It was nice to have one person I needed this week that was free and in the family!

Garrett has yet to latch on, so I pump and we bottle feed. We shield and syringe fed, and finger fed a lot too. It's been exhausting and sometimes overwhelming, but not impossible. And I'm not letting the fact that my babies lips/tongue and my nipples are not compatible make me feel like less of a women or a bad mom. That statement comes after many tears and many pep-talks from everyone listed above and mostly my mom and my husband.

We've learned a lot about this little kid because of this issue and we're finally getting things under control. He has slight tongue tie due to being posterior. We might have a little procedure done to help fix that, but when my brother is here from Alaska for Halloween and checks G out, we'll have a better idea about that. Taylor will be opinion #4 on the tongue tie, and I'm feeling like its not quite as bad as opinion #1 said it might be. We've learned that posterior babies are stuck in the birth canal and it can be very painful and traumatic for them. I was dumb enough to think that because my champ of a kid turned on his own and came out the "normal" way, that everything was fine. It never occurred to me that being stuck in someones pelvic bone during 54 hours of contractions could cause a lot of pain and trauma to a little 6 pounder. Turns out it does. Sad, I know. It was recommended to us that because of his head issues (from being posterior) that we look into Cranio Sacral Therapy. Kids with this problem grow out of it over time but we just want to get some relief in G's neck, head and jaw. Everything on him from about the shoulders up is tight and tense, this therapy is suppose to help release that pressure. I had no idea what it was, but thanks to a really smart nurse who did a 2 hour in-home consultation and evaluation of G, and the internet, I know what it is now. I spent 2 days calling around to find the best and most educated massage therapists and chiropractors of this treatment. And after a lot of conversation with a few people and some great referrals, I found one of each. We took G to a massage therapist on Tuesday and he loved it, he was so relaxed! And on Thursday he had the same treatment from a chiropractor. After much thinking, talking, praying and evaluating with Paul and my AMAZING mom who came to both appointments and has helped pay for a lot of the above stuff, we're going with the chiropractor. G will have 3 treatments a week for 3-4 weeks and then we'll have another evaluation and we'll go from there. My hope is that we'll be done in 4 weeks or less, but we'll see!

(At the massage therapist)

And the lump. I found it in my left pit the day after we brought sweet G home. My doctor looked at it a couple days later, ordered an ultrasound of it, and removed it the next day. It had ruptured and was slightly infected, and took 3 times as long as she said it would, but she got it out and its nothing to worry about. It did however damage some milk ducts which has resulted in less milk on the left side. I still get enough for G, but the whole feeding thing is day to day for us and I'm learning to be ok with whatever we need to do to take care of our baby.

So that's it for the first 2 weeks. We're loving it though. And can I just say how much I love my mom?? I always knew she was amazing, but being a mom now and seeing her as a Grandma in action, I love her even more, (if that's possible). She's had several sleepovers with G, and its been so helpful. She also cleans, cooks, comes to appointments, babysits, and helps out financially as well. And a huge thanks to my dad too! He finally got my mom back after her 3 week trip to Europe with her sister, and then I took her for 2 weeks. He's been super supportive and helpful as well. I have an amazing husband, and we both have amazing parents and families. I don't think it could get much better.These are the faces my munchkin makes when he's trying to fall asleep. Best part of my day! And I can't believe I caught these with my camera. I impressed myself.
Wow, what if I would have told you the long version??