One Week

Yesterday marked 1 week since I had my little boy!

This makes me really sad. Life was going in double time with Savannah, and now triple time with the 2 of them!

Our first week home was perfect. We got home Wednesday and Bryant stayed home from work. On Thursday, we took little Deagan to get his billiruben levels tested because he is jaundiced. They had gone up from an 11 to a 15.5. When we got home, my dad was cleaning up Savannah who had just thrown up all over the couch. I felt so bad. For my dad, and for my little princess. Bryant didn't want to go to work and leave me with a new baby and a sick toddler, but I told him to go because I had my dad there and my mom was getting off work a little early to come spend the day with me. When my mom arrived, she snuggled Savannah all afternoon while my dad did some yard work for me.

(I hate when she's sick! I feel so bad!)

Friday, my dad came back over so I could take DJ back to the hospital to be tested again. His levels went up again, but only to a 15.8, which wasn't a significant jump, and the nurse said that where he is having regular diapers and is eating well, that he didn't need to come back in again (hallelujah!) 

Saturday was my first day all on my own with both kids, and it went a lot smoother than I expected. Savannah was back to feeling 100% and I was feeling much better too. But we still just spent the day being lazy and watching a lot of TV and reading lots of books. That night, I left Bryant alone with the kids and took my sister out to dinner and to do some shopping. It was so nice getting out for a bit.

Sunday was our laziest day. Bryant took Savannah to church and I stayed home with DJ. When they got home, DJ and I continued to stay in bed almost the entire day. 

Today, I made it a goal to get back to life as usual, which means I get to catch up on all the cleaning that I didn't bother to do this past week. But I didn't get very far. I did 1 load of dishes and 2 loads of laundry, and I cleaned the living room about 10 times, but it never ever stays clean. Ever... And I went to the grocery store.

Deagan has been such an easy baby, just like his sister was. I'm so lucky to have easy-going babies! He sleeps really well, usually giving us 3-4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. He sleeps worse if he's alone in his bassinet, so he usually ends up next to me for most of the night. Savannah co-slept for 6 months, I don't plan on allowing Deagan to go that long.

He eats like a champ! (and a little piggy) Savannah and I spent many a long day and night fighting over breastfeeding. It took us a long time to get the hang of it. Part of it was her jaundice was so bad that eating exhausted her, and I was constantly trying to keep her awake, and because of that, my milk supply was very low, and it took a lot longer to come in. With DJ, he took to it like a pro and eats really well. During the day, he eats about every hour and a half, and at night, he can go up to 4 hours between meals. I'll be interested to see how much weight he's gained when we go to his doctors appointment next week.

Savannah isn't sure how to handle a baby brother yet. She really loves him, but she's also not happy that he takes up some of the attention from her. She always worries about him when he cries. She will come and rub his arms and legs, and say "don't worry baby, don't worry". She also thinks his pacifier is pretty cool, and is constantly trying to shove it in his mouth while saying "open mouth baby! Say ahhhhh". The first thing she asked yesterday morning when Bryant got her out of her crib was if she could hold the baby. I have to keep an eye on her because I've found him with stickers all over his head, and Savannah's "pixie dust" around his neck (A.K.A a carrot shaped necklace with bubbles in it she got for Easter. She's a little obsessed with all things Peter Pan these days. Pirates, Tinker Bell, that show Jake and the Neverland Pirates, you name it!)

On the other hand, if I'm feeding him, she will tell me to put him down and throws a fit if I don't. Today, she kept asking me to put him down and go play with her in her room. She never asks me to come play in her room. In fact, she usually shuts the door and won't let me in her room, like some teenage girl.

I knew there would be a bit of jealousy, but I don't think it's going to be a problem at all. It will take a little while for life to balance out and for us to get a new routine. Pretty soon she will realize that the baby is someone who will always be around and she will get used to him. She will especially love him when she can play with him.

I'm feeling really great too. My recovery for this baby was so much faster than with Savannah. I'm at about 98% right now. My back is still a little sore, and I feel like the muscles in my stomach and legs feel weird now that they are adjusting from suddenly not having to carry around a 9lb bowling ball all day, every day. It's amazing how good I feel now that I'm not pregnant. Things are so much easier. I can breath easier, I have no heartburn, no charlie horses, no cramps in my hips (weirdest. feeling. ever) I sleep more comfortably, which, even though I'm still getting up a few times a night, just being able to rest well when I DO sleep makes a huge difference! I went out for a short walk and was just amazed at how easy it was! My whole body didn't hurt with each step. I can't wait until I get the OK to start exercising. Even though I hate exercising more than pretty much everything else on this planet, I'll just be happy that I can get out and move again!

Anyways, It's late, both my babies are asleep and I should be too.
Goodnight world.

1 Week!

Savannah was 1 week old yesterday.
Is it weird that I already think she's growing up too fast?
I take pictures of her everyday because she changes everyday. It's been the best week ever.

(She makes the best faces!)

I'll try to finish this post tonight because Savannah is washed, diapered, clothed, fed, burped, cuddled and soundly sleeping next to her daddy while he sings her beautiful music and I surprisingly have a tiny bit of spare energy (thanks to a brief nap) so I decided to write about our week before I crash and get woken up in an hour and a half by her. But you never know with babies, any second she could have a diaper blow out, a screaming fit or need to eat again.*

But I love it.

This first week of her life has been a fairly eventful one. Starting Monday, the day after we brought her home, we have had to go to the hospital every morning to get her heel pricked for blood samples for a biliruben test because she's been jaundiced. The first day she was a 9 and they said that was a little high, but nothing to worry about. The next day, she had jumped to a 16. This was a huge jump, but still not enough to need to take any action. They had me come down to the pediatrician to get her looked at and the doctor said she was a little yellow and a bit lethargic, but nothing to worry about yet. He also had me make an appointment with the lactation consultant for the next day because I mentioned that I've been having a hard time keeping her awake during feedings and she had gone from 7lbs 8oz, to 6lbs 12oz. That was roughly 10% of her birth weight which is normal, but we just didn't want to risk her losing any more. He also told me to start supplementing with formula just to get her weight gain going.

(She was smiling in her sleep and my Mom and I were trying to get a picture but we kept missing it. This half-smile was just as cute though!)

The lactation consultant was great! She showed us a few tricks to keep her awake while I fed her and she gave me her home phone number just in case I had any other questions and she invited me to come back any time I needed any help. She said that I was doing exactly what I needed too and that Savannah was doing what she needed to do, just the jaundice was wearing her out and that she would do better once she got over it. She also said if we had to use a phototherapy light that that would make her even more tired because it would be just like sitting out in the sun all day.

Well, sure enough, the next day her levels rose to an 18 and the nurse called a home hospice care for me to bring whats called a biliblanket. It's a biliruben light on a paddle that straps to her back and shines a light, and she would need to wear it 24 hours a day. Poor Savvy J was so tired and worn out and I was really worried about her. That afternoon Bryant's parents and brother wanted to go to lunch with us while my Dad and brother and sister babysat and I was all for it until 5 minutes before we left and I kind of had a breakdown. (dang hormones!!!) I was so upset about leaving my sick little girl. Poor Bryant felt so bad. He kept telling me that she would be just fine and that out of any problem we could have had with her, this was probably the easiest because it was extremely treatable and she wasn't in any pain. I told him that I just couldn't leave her and that he should just go, but my dad cheered me up when he said "for crying out loud! I've raised 4 kids, she'll be fine for an hour!"

So we went to Jason's Deli for lunch and it felt so good to get out of the house for a bit.


So we started her on the biliblanket and kept her on it for 2 1/2 days. I got a call from the nurse saying her numbers went back to a 16.9 and to go ahead and take her off the light. So today we took her in one more time to get tested (thank goodness! I don't think I could take much more of watching people prick her poor little heel) and the nurse called me saying that it went down to a 14.7 which means she's getting better without the light. So we don't have to test her anymore and I can tell that she has so much more energy and instead of being awake for 5 minutes at a time, she's awake for up to an hour and a half at a time. This has also really helped in our feeding times. She's eating more and for a longer period of time. The doctor wanted her to gain 2 ounces by Thursday and she was up to 7lbs so she had gained 4 ounces!

She's also had a lot of visitors this week. My friends Janine, Shaun, Hettie and Katie have all stopped by and brought her presents (and Shaun brought me a pack of cokes! Thanks Shaun!) and our good family friend Fred came over ("grandpa Fred") my aunt Lynae and her husband Daron, my aunt Kris and her husband Dan, and my grandparents have all come to see and cuddle her too. My youngest Brother Sawyer has even brought a bunch of his friends by over the week to show her off hahaha!

And lets not forget her Grandma and Grandpa Stokes were here all week! I wish they had been able to stay a bit longer because the next time we see them she'll be 3 months old!


(Savannah with the biliblanket. She looks like a little glow worm! And she sleeps like her daddy with her arms up above her head. When I swaddle her, I have to keep her arms out or she gets fussy and wiggles them out!)

My neighbors little girl who loves to tease our chickens and chat with my dad came by today and when she saw Savannah she said "she's got a big head... is she zero?" When I asked "Zero what?" she said "you know, Zero years old?".

Haha, yes, she's Zero years old I guess. Then she grabbed a cookie from the kitchen and sat and watched a bit of snow white with us.

It's been an amazing week. A tiring, stressful, eventful week, but the best week ever! I'm already bummed that I only have 5 more weeks before I have to go back to work. We are hoping that I will only have to work 1 day a week. Bryant is trying to convince me to be a full time stay at home Mom, but during the school year he won't be able to work as much so I'll probably need to pick up a couple of days. I think it will work because he is usually home in the evenings and I usually work nights during the school year. Plus, my parents are looking for any reason to get us out of the house to babysit.

(This was the last photo of me pregnant. I took it the night before I had Savannah and It was also the night before I was 39 weeks pregnant to the day. Can you believe that just a week ago I was pregnant and HUGE!?)

*This post was finished an hour ago, I just needed to put a couple more photos in it, but Savannah woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep. She's now sitting in her swing, happily sucking her pacifier and watching me as I finished this up. Lets hope she falls asleep soon because the last bit of my energy is now officially gone...