Newborn Photos

When Preslie was a week and a half old, we had her newborn photos taken. I would've loved to have her photos done earlier than that, but I wanted to wait until her jaundice cleared up.

My co-workers were generous enough to gift us with photo sessions for Preslie for when she was a newborn, three months, six months and nine months. How awesome is that?!

The photographers were from Manhart Photography and they did a great job.

See for yourself...

And here is her birth announcement...

Your questions, answered

I wanted to do a post to answer some questions people have been asking me. Plus, I figure it's good to document all this so I can look back on it and be able to use some of this if there's a Baby Pino 2.0.

Are you breastfeeding?
Yes, we are now breastfeeding. But it's been quite a journey.

When Preslie was born she had an almost-severe case of jaundice. When we were released from the hospital we had to go to the pediatrician's office for three additional days after that, and her little heels had to be pricked each time. :( Since she wouldn't cry the first couple days after birth my milk took longer than normal to come in. Which led to her losing weight kind of rapidly and hence her jaundice getting worse.

So I was somewhat forced to start her on formula. We tried one brand at first but she was having issues with it, so then we switched to Similac Sensitive and she seemed to be doing okay on that. Once my milk came in I would nurse her and supplement with formula because she'd cry so much after we'd nurse that I thought she wasn't getting enough breast milk. Eventually, all she would do was cry each time she would have breast milk, so I chalked it up to her being allergic to my milk (even though I adjusted my diet).

When she was around three weeks old I made the decision to just put her on strictly formula, and no longer breast milk. I thought it would just be easier for me, she'd be happy and full and I wouldn't have to stress so much. After that I'd try to justify to myself that I was making the right decision and she'd be fine on formula, etc. etc. But in the back of my mind I still wasn't 100% okay with it.

So about a week and a half ago I decided I just was not ready to stop nursing. I didn't want to look back a year later and regret not giving it another shot. I had a goal going into this parenting thing to make breastfeeding work and I knew I'd be disappointed in myself if I didn't give it a little more effort. The fact was that she nursed beautifully, latched on great and could go from nursing straight to a bottle and back with no issues at all.

Keep in mind that between deciding on her being on formula and then me making the decision to go back to breast feeding I had started to let my milk dry up and stopped pumping. I could KICK myself for doing that! Luckily, when I made the decision to continue to breastfeed I still had a supply left, although it was very small. The past two weeks it's been an incredible challenge to get my supply up to where it needs to be to meet Preslie's demands. As of today I've gone through all the frozen breast milk I had stockpiled away, so my supply better kick into overdrive tomorrow or else we'll be in some trouble.

Side note: I've been doing everything "they" say to do to increase my supply - drinking Mother's Milk tea, taking Fenugreek, pumping and nursing constantly, drinking lots of water and making sure to eat enough. I want to get back to what I was producing before (which was anywhere from 20-26 ounces per day), rather than what I'm producing now (which is only 10 ounces per day). If you have any other suggestions, please help a sister out!

The current status is that Preslie is doing wonderful on breast milk! She's digesting it easily and she's not crying in pain from gas or constipation. Looking back now I realize that her system just couldn't handle the combination of breast milk and formula - it had to either be one or the other.

What kind of schedule do you have Preslie on?
This is Preslie's schedule as of right now:

2am or 3am: Feed and then right back down to sleep
6am or 7am: Feed and then right back down to sleep
9am: Feed
9:30-10am: Play
10am-12pm: Nap
12pm: Feed
12:30-1pm: Play
1-3pm: Nap
3pm: Feed
3:30-4pm: Play
4-5:30pm: Nap
5:30pm: Feed
6-6:30pm: Play
6:30-8pm: Nap
8pm: Bath
8:30pm: Feed
9pm: Bedtime 

We use a lot of the methods from Mom's on Call for Preslie's schedule. It's made things much easier because if she's fussy or crying we usually know why based on what time it is (i.e. she's hungry or tired).

How is Preslie sleeping?
She sleeps great at night, going five to six hours the first stretch and about three hours the second stretch. This week though, naps have been another story. She's been fighting them like crazy. She usually takes two naps in her crib and two naps in either the swing or bouncy seat. But she's just not having them this week. We're trying to keep things consistent though and she'll get the hang of things eventually. Oh, and she doesn't usually nap the full two hours during her naps. Sometimes it's an hour and sometimes it might be more.

Are you using a pacifier?
Ah, the great paci debate. Yes, we use one. About 80% of the time she wants nothing to do with it. The other 20% of the time she'll take it when she's tired and then will spit it out herself. I'm not too worried about her being hooked on it and if she does, then we'll just break her of it when the time comes and deal with it then. But for right now it works for us and soothing her.

How are you doing?
I'm doing good. It's taken longer to feel like "normal" after delivery than I thought it would. Some women bounce right back, but for me it's required the whole six weeks until I've finally felt back to my somewhat old self again.

How much weight did you gain / have you lost?
I gained 18 pounds during my pregnancy. I was honestly shocked that I didn't gain more. I'm short as it is and have always had to watch my weight, so once I got pregnant I thought for sure I'd really gain a lot of "EL BEES." For some reason I didn't - which I'm not complaining about one bit!

At three weeks postpartum I had lost the 18 pounds. At five weeks postpartum I lost an additional seven pounds.

How are the dogs adjusting to the baby?
Stella and Kahlua are doing so great! We decided to not really make a big deal about the baby with them. We didn't do the "smell the baby blanket" thing with them or anything like that. We just brought Preslie home and acted like she's always been a part of the pack, and the dogs have just gone along with it.

Kahlua prefers to sniff Preslie every now and then, and will maybe lick her every once in a while.

Stella likes to lick Preslie's toes, hands and head. She also likes to be in whatever room the baby and I are in. Sweet girl.

Are you going to have more kids after this?
If it's in God's plan, we definitely want more kids. In all honesty, I miss being pregnant. Just knowing that Preslie was safe inside me and I could feel her kicks and movements, I miss that. I however do not miss the labor. Ha!

How do you like being home?
I've really enjoyed staying home with the little Squirt, but I do miss work. Not so much that I want to go back right now, but enough that when I do return I think I'll be ready.

Is motherhood everything you thought it would be?
It's exactly what I thought it would be, except way more baby poop. HA! So far it has been what I imagined. Remember, my goal for 2013 was to not have any expectations about this baby and how I wanted things to go. I was just going to take things as they came - and so far we've done that. You know the saying "Keep it simple, stupid?" I have to remind myself of that often! Sometimes I'll start to over think things about Preslie's mood or why she's being extra fussy or not sleeping or not pooping, etc. If I just keep things simple and remind myself that this too shall pass, and tomorrow is a new day it helps to keep me and our household sane.

Preslie Kay at One Month

I am in complete denial that our little girl is already one month old!

Like everyone always says, it goes by so incredibly fast. I honestly get sad when I pick her up out of her crib each morning and she feels a little heavier than the day before; because that means she's growing up and I'd just like her to stay little for a tiny bit longer. I am in no hurry for her to reach all the milestones (like teething, crawling, walking, talking). She can take her time so we can soak up her baby-ness as much as we can.

Here is what Preslie has been up to this past month...

~ She lost her umbilical cord stump within her first week. And just an FYI...it smelled! It had a horrible smell. The doctor said that was normal.
~ At three weeks she started lifting her head consistently.

Tummy time

  Not a fan

~ At four weeks she started lifting and turning her head towards our voices.
~ We started Moms On Call with her at three weeks.
~ She started sleeping in her crib for all naps and bedtimes at three weeks. I was hoping to have her in our room a little longer than that, but she is such a loud sleeper (which I've come to learn is common among newborns based on what my fellow mommy friends have told me about their little ones) that neither Kevin or I were getting much shut-eye because she was so noisy.
~ Last night (at one month old) she slept through the entire night! A full eight hours! That sleep was glorious!
~ This week she has been trying to work on her smile. She has a dimple in each cheek that are pretty adorable. She's also started cooing this week.

~ She eats 3 1/2 to 4 ounces every three hours.
~ On 4/17/13 she weighed 8 pounds 3.6 ounces (58th percentile). I'd guess she probably weighs about 9 pounds now. Her head circumference on 4/17/13 was 14.76 inches (97th percentile).
~ She is still wearing newborn clothes but is just about ready to start wearing some 0-3 month clothes.
~ Still in newborn diapers.
~ She was born with a full head of hair, but the hair on the top of her head has started thinning out and it looks like she has a receding hairline right now. Ha!
~ Her favorite thing right now is the swing. She loves the rocking motion and is just as content as can be while she's in there. Needless to say, it's been a lifesaver!

~ She also loves her bath, as per usual.

~ We've started putting her in her bouncer now that she has a little more control over her head. She's still getting used to it and will only last about 10 minutes in it for now. Once she starts kicking harder I think she'll enjoy the bouncing motion of it.
~ She attended her first birthday party for her two friends Mikaela and Kesara, who are twins!
~ She met more family and friends!

 Sheri and Preslie

 Alison and Preslie

 Margie and Preslie

Great Grandma Ruth and Preslie

 Uncle Matlee and Preslie

 Uncle Leo and Preslie

 Sevana and Preslie

I have no doubt that the next month is going to fly by that much faster. 

We absolutely adore our little one and think she is so fun and has the cutest personality already. We fall more in love with her each and every day!

.....Annddddd we're done.....