As hard as the first week was, it flew right by. I have to admit, it's kind of hard for me to keep track of the days anymore. Except for pediatrician appointments, days and specific times mean very little.
Saturday night, on his one week birthday, his little cord stump fell off. Now he's got a little outie bell button. Diaper changing is much easier now.
Over the weekend, Liam had to stay on his blue light to knock out the jaundice. Now that he gets enough food, his fave thing to do is sleep, so that helped with him having to stay on the light so much. We also laid him by the window more to get some Vitamin D. Monday morning, we took Liam to his daily pediatrician visit. His weight was up to 7 pounds, 3 ounces. He gained 7 ounces over the weekend, and is officially above his birth weight! We had to get his heel pricked for the fourth time to check his bilirubin level. He's always been asleep when they prick his heel, but of course he wakes up and screams until they are finished. Then he goes right back to sleep. Thankfully, the level had gone down 8 points over the weekend, and we were able to stop the blue light therapy. Now he gets to wear clothes like a normal baby! He shouldn't have to get his heel pricked anymore either. Monday was the first day I drove him around town. Before that, Will had been our chauffeur. Thankfully, Liam seems to really like riding in the car. It puts him to sleep.
Speaking of sleep, he seems to be a heavy sleeper. We don't alter our noise level while he naps, and he doesn't wake up. There was a storm Sunday night, and we had our patio door open to hear the rain. Lightning struck something (hopefully just a tree) and there was a really loud boom noise that scared me to death. It made the cats go run and hide under the couch, and it made the smoke detectors beep briefly. Little man jumped a little, but did not wake up. And yes, at the hospital, they checked his hearing and it was perfect.
Liam still doesn't have a schedule, and wont for a while. We are still in reacting and survival mode. Things are calming down some, though. Some nights, he stays awake for 4 or so hours in the middle of the night. I feed him, change his diaper, rock him to sleep, then he'd get a gassy pain and start crying. So I'd hold him while he works out his toots. Then he'd get the hiccups, which eventually upset him. And then the cycle would be repeated until mama (me) was delirious from lack of sleep. I think he's been going through a bit of a growth spurt lately because he's been eating a little bit more than before. Overnight Sunday, I was up with him for a long time, and he finally fell asleep about 6 in the morning. So we both slept until noon, waking up for another (this time low-key) feeding in the middle.
However, there are some nights when he does really well. Last night, for instance: I fed him a little after 11:00 p.m. and we all went to bed at midnight. He woke up once about 3:30, and I fed him and cuddled and rocked him for about an hour. Then we both went back to sleep until about 7:30 or 8:00. I know it's normally not that easy, but to get a night like that occasionally is nice.
I have not given up on breastfeeding. I was thinking it was a lost cause, but I've kept on trying. There actually has been improvement in the past couple of days. At each feeding, I try breastfeeding first. Before, he just always got frustrated and usually wouldn't even latch on. I feel like my supply is getting better, although it may not be as much as it should. I've found that he will take one side using the football hold and the other using the cradle hold. Now he will sometimes nurse for a good 20-30 minutes. It's not every time, though. And he usually still is hungry afterwards, and I have to give him formula. There was one feeding on Monday where I was able to just breastfeed, and he seemed to get full. However, he was ravenous at the next one, and I had to give him formula. So maybe he just got sleepy that first time. As of right now, I still have to supplement feedings with formula. I haven't completely decided what to do. I really want breastfeeding to work. Even if I end up just pumping and giving it to him in a bottle, I want him to get as much breastmilk as he can. He doesn't seem to like going back and forth from breast to bottle, and bottle wins out most of the time.
Today, I've discovered that Liam now has thrush. So the inside of his mouth looks like it's covered in milk, which is what I thought it was at first only it didn't go away. It doesn't seem to bother him or affect feeding, though. The pedi called in medicine for it, so I have to start giving that to him today.
Starting yesterday, Will went back to work half days. Yesterday afternoon on our own went well, mostly because he slept away most of it. We've been by ourselves this morning, and it's gone fine as well. But then again, I haven't had to deal with much more than just a sleeping Liam while Will's been gone. I still haven't been able to accomplish much around the house yet. Hopefully I will start cleaning soon. I need a to do list.
Now that Liam's jaundice is pretty much gone (I still see some of it in his face), we have a more accurate idea of what his skin tone is. The jaundice made him look tan, but he is actually a fair-skinned child. I knew he couldn't escape that with me as his mama.
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