Doctor's Appointments

Jillian went back for her weight check yesterday and she now weighs 8 pounds and 12 ounces. We were very excited that she is gaining weight and doing well! I was very happy and I feel much better about breast feeding now that I know that she is getting what she needs and is growing. I also had my doctor's appointment yesterday and the doctor said that I am healing nicely. She was concerned about my blood pressure because it was still high (158 over 98). She thinks it might still be residual effects from the pregnancy and wants me to come back to check it again in 6 more weeks. If it is still high then I will have to go see my regular doctor to discuss what to do about it.

Jillian is starting to enjoy baths a little more. She doesn't cry as much and kicks her legs and moves her arms around when you pour the water over her. She is always so calm, relaxed, and happy after her baths.

Now that Jillian is growing she is starting to fit into more of her clothes

Ultrasound results

Jillian went for her hip ultrasound last Friday. She did great and didn't even cry until they handed her back to me. It didn't even seem to bother her when they said they were popping her hip out of socket to check it! Even though the technician couldn't tell us anything officially, she did tell us that we shouldn't spend our weekend worrying about it. The doctor called with the results on Monday and said that everything looked normal. We are happy that everything turned out ok. The doctor said she keeps finding little things wrong with Jillian that end up being nothing - but she would rather be safe than sorry.

Here are a few random pictures!

Mom stayed with us for about 10 days to help us with Jillian. James and I both really appreciated her help and I was sad to see her leave - as you can tell in the picture we were both crying.

Aunt Mel came to stay with me the first two nights James went back to work so that I would not have to be by myself. She also got us "scheduled." The first day she was there she started asking me about a schedule and my response was - "she's 2 weeks old." She also asked if I was swaddling her and I told her that Jillian did not like to be swaddled. She said she didn't believe me. Needless to say we now kind of have a schedule. Jillian takes a good 3 hour nap in the morning and between a 2 and 3 hour nap in the afternoon. The other times she is up, she nurses every 2 hours. At night she is doing really well and sleeping between 4 and 6 hours all swaddled up.

1st time eating out with mom and dad and Mel. She slept the whole time but we enjoyed it

Our 1st dress

Looking at her toys hanging from her activity mat

Jillian is 2 weeks old

We went back to the doctor yesterday for Jillian's 2 week checkup. This was actually the 3rd time we have been to the doctor so we feel like pros already. We have been back a few times for concerns about weight gain and initially for concerns about Jaundice. When Jillian left the hospital she weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and when we went to the doctor the Thursday after she was born she weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces. This was during the time when the doctor and we were very concerned because she had not been going to the bathroom much and wasn't eating well. Over the first weekend, I did a lot of pumping because I wasn't sure how much milk she was actually getting and we supplemented with some formula as the doctor had told us. When we went back to the doctor on Monday, Jillian weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and we were really pleased. On that same day the lactation consultant got on to me about using a bottle too soon and told me to not use bottles anymore. Well after one week of nothing but breast feeding, Jillian only gained 3 more ounces and is still not back up to her birth weight. The doctor said it wasn't horrible but she should be gaining more weight. We will go back in two more weeks for another weight check to see how she is doing. I've been trying to feed her more often - trying to do every two hours but sometimes she doesn't wake up and its more like 3 hours. The other problem is that Jillian is a very slow eater and was taking about an hour per feeding. The doctor suggested only feeding her for 30 mintues and stopping her so that hopefully she will want to feed more often and hopefully she will learn to eat more eagerly when she is feeding. I hope it works and she starts gaining more weight.

The doctor was also concerned about the development of Jillian's hips. It was something about them not being symmetrical. She has ordered an ultrasound to be done at Dell Children's Hospital and we are still waiting for word on when that will be done. The doctor said that if there was a problem, now would be the time to correct it. She would have to wear some sort of harness to help correct the problem if need be. We'll keep you updated on the results.

Overall Jillian is a great baby. She rarely cries unless she is hungry are wet. She has been sleeping really well at night - she usually wakes about 3 and a half to four hours for a feeding at night so we are getting some sleep. After a feeding she is sometimes awake but if we lay her in her cradle she will eventually fall to sleep on her own. She has been more awake during the day and seems to be looking around a lot more. She is smiling alot in her sleep and it is very adorable. She really likes her papasan chair but is not really a fan of the swing yet.

1st doctor's appointment - playing with daddy

Chilling in my big girl bed

Jillian also likes sleeping in her boppy pillow - she has really cute sleeping positions

1st shopping trip - we had to make a trip to carter's to do some exchanges

1st walk - yes mommy is doing much better and has started walking. The weight is coming off quickly which I'm really please about. I actually was able to wear my pre pregnancy jeans the other day.

My other favorite place to chill

1st trip to church for Ash Wednesday. Jillian stayed awake the whole time and as soon as church was over she was out like a light. She didn't do as well in Church on Sunday but that was because she was hungry.

Chilling on the floor with mommy and Bandit after church

Best Buds?

Jillian's umbilical cord fell off. I've never been a fan and was happy when it fell off last Sunday evenning. After I finally found it in her sleeper, I showed it to James and then threw it away. I know some people save them but I had no intention to do so.

The next day we had a doctor's appointment and we were telling the nurse that her cord had fallen off. She asked if we had kept it and I told her no. James then proceeded to ask me what I had done with it. I told him that I had thrown it in the trash. He questioned which trash can, asking if it had been the one in Jillian's room. I said yes and he just made a face. I thought he was upset with me because he had wanted me to keep it. At this point James and Granny were both laughing and I had no clue what was going on. As soon as the nurse walked out, James informed me that Bandit had eaten Jillian's umbilical cord! Apparently Bandit was being his normal self that morning and barking at an animal out the window in Jillian's room. He knocked over the trash can and the next thing James knew he was chomping down on something very crunchy sounding! Very disgusting but a great story for the baby book! Who knew they would become such close buds so quickly.