One Month Old!!!

Kylie is one month old today!!!  She can lift her head during tummy time, support her head when she is being held, almost smile (it's more like a smirk right now),can focus on faces, follow movement and sounds, and is sleeping anywhere from 5 -8 hours at a time at night!  She always knows when Mama comes into the room too :)

I can't believe it, how did the last four weeks go by so fast?  I admit, the first week was possibly the most difficult time of my life so far.  Rex and I had absolutely no idea what we were doing.  Neither of us and been around any age of baby for about twelve years, and I never babysat as a teenager.  All of a sudden here we are with a tiny little person that is completely dependent on us.  Scary. As. Hell.  Plus we were having some major issues with breastfeeding.  We left the hospital with Kylie eating with an SNS (Supplemental Nutrition System) on my finger because of a latch issue.  At the hospital if she latched on correctly she wouldn't nurse, but if she was nursing, she wasn't latching on correctly.  Ugh.  And it turned out that I had a low milk supply which was also making it harder for us to nurse.  So when Kylie would latch correctly and try to nurse, she wasn't getting any milk and would pitch a fit.  So the lactation consultants had me use the SNS wtih breastfeeding instead of with my finger.  And they also had me use a nipple shield to help Kylie latch on correctly, but I am still trying to wean her off that damn thing!!!

SNS

Within the first week and a half we met with a lactation consultant at the hospital about four times partly to check Kylie's weight to make sure she wasn't losing too much.  It was not what I imagined breastfeeding to be at all though.  I couldn't just plop Kylie at my boob to nurse, no I had to fill up the SNS with pumped breastmilk or formula, and use the nipple shield.  And Kylie tends to flail around a lot in the beginning of the feeding and would knock the nipple shield off or pull the SNS tube out of her mouth getting milk EVERYWHERE.  I also had to pump for about 10-15 minutes after each feeding to boost my supply.  So the first week saw a lot of crying from Kylie and me, a whole lot.  Rex and I did give in a couple of times and give Kylie a bottle (Breast Flow by The First Years, they're great because they're made to work like breastfeeding). 

Breastflow Bottle

But I am so glad I stuck with breastfeeding because both Kylie and I enjoy the closeness it allows us.  So if you are having a tough time breastfeeding, don't give up!!! Just set short term goals for yourself.  Even if it's something as simple as, "I will breastfeed for one more day," do it!!!