It doesn't surprise me that Ann Bennett is already a month old. The past four weeks have been somewhat of a blur, flying by before I can
say brush my teeth.
Ahhh, life with two under two...
But, it sure has been sweet and we are trying to savor every ounce of and minute with our newborn baby girl.
The first few days with Ann Bennett were quite emotional and stressful. On Day 2, she choked on fluid that she was trying to cough up while John was holding her. I immediately ran out of the room to find help, screaming down the hallway. A nurse ran in, grabbed her, started hitting her back and sucking out what was lodged in her airway with a bulb syringe. At this point, Ann Bennett had turned blue and was convulsing profusely. We were terrified. Within seconds, she was breathing again. I buried my head into John's chest exclaiming, "Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord!" There was a moment during the commotion that I honestly thought that we were going to lose our baby girl and all that I could do was stand there and watch.
I want to erase those thoughts, feelings, and visions that haunt me from my mind, forever.
Because Ann Bennett had stopped breathing, they wanted to admit her to the NICU to run some tests and keep a close eye on her. So, for the next three days our precious babe was hooked up to an IV and wires, being poked and prodded. It was so heartbreaking, but we are incredibly thankful for the vigilance and care shown by the hospital staff.
On Thursday morning we were discharged. It was time to take our baby girl home and begin our every day as a family of four.
Our first week at home consisted of a lot of nursing, a lot of spit up, a lot of diaper changes, a lot of snuggles, and not a lot of sleep. It took Brooks about a week to adjust to not being the center of attention anymore. A good bit of tears were shed by both him and me. We are still learning to "share" mommy with little sister, which, at times results in a tantrum or two, but for the most part Brooks is such a good big brother. He follows me to the nursery when it's time to change Ann Bennett's diaper, he tries to put her pacifier in when she is fussing or crying, and he wants to kiss or touch her every chance he gets. Last week, he finally asked to hold her and did such a great job! It was the sweetest moment that made my heart burst into a gillion tiny little pieces.
Like her brother, Ann Bennett's growth started off a little slow. By her two week check-up, on August 22nd, she had almost reached her birth weight, weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces (45th percentile). She was 8 pounds, but went poopy while the nurse was weighing her, so she subtracted a couple of ounces. Eh. I felt like nursing was going really well, other than the fact that little bit tends to fall asleep while eating, and Dr. McAfee wasn't the least bit concerned since she was gaining an ounce per day, so we got the thumbs up to continue on with our routine of nursing every 3 hours, allowing us a 4 hour stretch at night. On September 7th, I could tell that AB was still hungry after some of our nursing sessions, so we started supplementing with pumped breast milk or formula. She is now eating 4-6 ounces at each feeding (when we give her a bottle).
Her height and head circumference was also measured at her two week check-up. She was 21 inches (79th percentile)…you mean to tell me she shrunk half an inch?!…and her head was 35.7 cm (62nd percentile). Today she is weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds, 7 ounces so we must be doing something right!
I wouldn't say that Annie B is a content baby. Goodness, I love her to death, but this month she was quite fussy when she was awake. She has some tummy troubles, a.k.a. gas pains, so we started using gripe water on the 16th. It's too early to tell if it is working, or not. Due to her discomfort, she likes loves to be held. If she could stay in our arms with her bottom or back being patted all day, every day she would. I love our snuggles, but it is making falling asleep for nap and night time difficult. With all that being said, she does have her "happy" moments. My mom was lucky enough to experience her first intentional smile on the 14th. She is especially smiley when she has a full belly and is being talked to. Sometimes she talks back with her sweet gurgles and squeals.
AB does not like to be swaddled. She prefers to have her arms free and hands near her face while sleeping. The sleep sack has been a battle. The kind that Brooks loved, she hates. He would also fall asleep almost instantly when swaddled and she puts up a fight for at least 30 minutes until the sleep sack wins. However, she is similar to her brother in that she has to have her pa pa in to fall asleep. Bad news for mom is, that joker falls out every few minutes, which results in a blood-curdling cry…over and over. Therefore, nights have been rough. Most babies go right back down after their middle-of-the-night feeding, but not our little firecracker. Our nights look a little something like this:
Bath: 8:00/Bottle: 8:30/Cradle: 9:00/Cry: for the next hour/Asleep: 10:00 or later/Wakes up: between 12:00-1:00/Nurse: 2:00/Asleep: 3:30 or later/Wakes up: between 4:30-5:30/Nurse: 6:00/Asleep: 7:00 or later/Wakes up: 8:30.
It would be awesome if I could go back to sleep at 7:00, but that is when big brother wakes up and is ready to go, and not stop, until 7:30 p.m. So, my mornings start between 4:30-5:30 every morning and I am getting close to no sleep. I am one tired mama!
During her "awake" time, we put Ann Bennett on the play mat for stimulation and tummy-time. She isn't a big fan of tummy-time, but doesn't hate it either. On September 10th, she turned her head from side to side while on her belly. I was so proud! She has a strong little neck and loves to be held upright, resting on our chest or shoulders. She does not like the "knee hold" like Brooks did. Really, she doesn't like to be in any position where she is on her back…
On September 16th, AB reached for and batted the mobile on the MamaRoo. I'm sure this was a fluke, but I wanted to note it anyway! We've got an advanced misses on our hands!
Some other random things to note:
Her umbilical cord stump STILL hasn't fallen off. It doesn't look like it's coming off any time soon either. Ann Bennett isn't a huge fan of sponge baths so I am super eager to give her a submerged bath. Hurry up, you nasty thing, you!
AB is wearing some leftover newborn diapers, but fits best in size 1 diapers. She grew out of most newborn wear pretty early in the game so is mainly wearing clothes in the 0-3 month range.
Our sweet girl has a strawberry patch on her right eyelid just like her mama when she was born. She also has a red mark on her inner left ankle. I don't recall it being there when she was born and am thinking it could be scarring from the tape around her ankle that held the monitor on her foot while in the NICU. She also has a brow furrow on her right eyebrow.
Lastly, Ann Bennett loves her mommy and sometimes only her mommy. End of story.
Happy ONE month, beautiful angel! Our lives forever changed for the better when you came along. This past month has been absolutely wonderful with you in it. We love you so much, Annie B!
