... for the baby that is, not me! As of week 10, lil Jacob has been sleeping through the night at 8-9hrs straight and now almost 12-13 hours straight! It is quite a milestone as I've had to go back to work. I'm not as lucky at night - I still have to get up and pump every 4 hours. I'm already counting down the days until I no longer have to pump.
A brief recapo of Jacob's newborn stage:
1st month:
Mommy~
- I was under the ancient Chinese tradition of 30-day confinement "zuo yue zhe" and Chinese herbal diet consisting of "ma you ji" or sesame oil chicken broth with rice wine or "mijiu", ate pig liver, etc... i know... gross! My diet was so rich this month that I only lost a few lbs.
- the first 10 days I was forced to drink some sort of Chinese herbal drink that looked/tasted something like poison
- I wasn't supposed to step outside the house and get wind blown in my face - however, i broke this rule at least 5x's during the first month to go out to eat at some yummy restaurant (K-bbq, The Cannery, Blue Coral, The Ritz, etc etc)
- Not supposed to lift anything heavy - this one actually makes sense b/c i really did feel pretty weak and sore - I had to be pushed around in a deskchair b/c it was hard for me to walk during that 1st week.
- Not supposed to wash your hair or even take a shower - this one is ridiculous. When I had enough energy, I jumped in the shower as fast as I could!
- Nursing: let's just say I cried a river on a daily basis.
- Stool: Went through 12 diapers/day then down to 8 by the end of the first month
- Feedings: Nursed 12X's/day or every 2 hours and down to 8x's per day by the end of the first month
- Weight gained: 3 or 4 lbs
- Sensory: Jacob was super alert from the get go - even the neonatologist and ped said Jacob is very alert. He was always moving his arms and feet around. Made lotsa funny animal noises at night and would make us laugh=P Starting to slip in a smile hear and there. Starting to focus better, but not track.
- Baby Jaundice: Within the first few days of birth, Jacob's bilirubin levels shot up to 22+, which is pretty severe if not contained. We took him home for just 3 days before he had to be readmitted into the hospital for 72 hours to get phototherapy or "blue light" to help break down the bilirubin in his skin. He was pretty yellow, poor thing. He was such a trooper through all the heal-pricks to test for bilirubin levels. During those 3 days he was in the NICU, I couldn't stay over with him b/c the hospital is just no equipped to let parents do so. So I came in twice a day to nurse him. I pumped and brought him milk for the rest of the feedings. The NICU gave us a buncha freezer storage bottles to store the milk, which I still use today. I was able to get some good tips from the nice nurses. So going back into the NICU wasn't all that bad, though we missed having Jacob around for those 3 days. It was also good for me to get some rest.
~Mommy
- Energy coming back, but still not the same.
- Still feeding and pumping like crazy.
- Glad to be out of Chinese confinement haha. Able to freely leave the house and eat whatever I want.
- I even squeezed in a few walks with the baby in the stroller, not necessarily to get exercise, more like to get out of the house for fresh air! There were a few wks at a time where I lived in my PJ's and didn't leave the house... haha. Can we say cabin-fever!
- Losing weight gradually b/c of non-stop BFing.
- Gaining weight b/c of non-stop feeding. His pediatrician has warned mommy to "watch his weight".. haha... how?!
- # of poopy diapers decreased to an average of 8 per day.
- sensory: starting to track better! excellent neck control, probably b/c he sleeps on his belly:P
- starting to smile every single day!
- gaseous: lil babies at week 6-8 go through a period of slight colic here where they are completely inconsolable. the likely culprit is gas, especially if the baby is breastfed. we tried using Mylicon, which kind of worked. I think I need Miracle-ear soon tho from baby's outbursts haha.
- sleeping at longer intervals during the night! Jacob went from waking up every 2 hrs to feed during the 1st month to 3-4hrs , then 5 -6hrs during the 2nd month!
3rd month:
~Mommy
- I finally got my energy back!! I could even go jogging... just for a few mins tho haha. I'm able to work, run errands, take care of baby with less difficulty now!
- No more pain! Finally got the hang of it!! First two months of BFing were horrific. Wanted to give up so many times! I know everyone has a different experience but for me, BFing was much harder than labor/delivery. Seriously!
- I had to get used to dropping off Jacob at my aunt's house who has a nursery in her house. I'm still not liking the fact that she watches 4 or 5 other kids besides my lil baby. She is a relative, so I feel a lil better. I only work a few times a week, so it's not too bad.
- The pro's of BFing...To date: I've lost 29lbs! I gained about 35lbs during pregnancy. So i'd be happy if i lost 6 more lbs... but losing another 10lbs would be icing on the cake haha.
- sidenote: It's really ironic how when I was pregnant, I was on an awful low-carb diet and was GAINING weight. Now I eat whatever the heck I want, including all the carbs I want like CAKE, and am LOSING weight.
- Another sidenote: I discovered this new bakery in Irvine called Layer Cake Bakery... wow.. they have some damn good cakes - not too sweet, not too heavy - just right! I've tried their tiramisu cake, tres leches cake, green tea/white choc cake, carrotcake, boston cream pie cake, red velvet cake, napoleans, fruit tarts, hahaaa. This bakery so happens to be directly on the way from my work to day care. There was a 3 wk period where I had a slice of cake everyday!! Chuperman sharply warned me of diabetes tho.. so I've toned down my sweets..sigh.
- gaining lots and lots of weight - he has 20 rolls on his body! Jacob brings new meaning to double chin. He's got no neck. Well, he does but let's just say his neck is well insulated. Actually, his entire body is well insulated hahaaa. I think he weighs like 16.5lbs now!
- sleeping through the night! like last night, he slept for 13 hrs straight. woke up to feed this morning and went back to bed and is still sleeping right now haha. The kid loves to sleep and eat like Momma Piggy! haha
- smiles and laughs every single day!
- Jacob is a social baby - loves being around family and even strangers haha.
- loves tummy-time, especially listening to Chuperdaddy playing the piano and guitar, grandpa or "Ah-Gong" makign funny faces, singing, playing the guitar.
- Loves going places! We took Jacob on his first ever trip to Palm Springs! He was such a good baby - we didn't have to stop on the way there or back. He just loves cruising along for a car-ride or a stroller-ride. Below pic: SO happy to be on vacay in Palm Springs!
- Likes to make vowel sounds... his fave coo's are "ouuuu" and "ehhh". Jacob has accidentally said "hello" "ok" and "hi".. no seriously!
- Jacob has his very own freezer now! Due to mommy's oversupply - we got a 5cu ft deepfreezer to save all the hard-pumped milk for jacob. Deep freezed mommy's milk at 0 degrees F can be stored for 1 year. whereas normal freezer can stored for only 3 - 6 months.
