Erin here...
So when Xander was first born and before my milk came in, it pained me that the little guy was so *hungry* and obviously wasn't getting enough from me. Within 72 hours (time is fuzzy, but we were still at the hospital) my milk arrived and nursing was going well, but the boy was still *hungry* all the time. We've been home for over 2 weeks now and the boy is still *hungry*; I feed the kid for 30-45 minutes every 1.5-3 hours, 24/7. Thank goodness Jake takes one of the feedings around midnight or I'd never sleep for more than an hour at a time. In truth, all I do all day long is feed the baby, or change his diapers- and usually his outfit at the same time.
I used to be ( was it only 3 weeks ago?) a successful business woman, respected for my brain and my work ethic. Now, I am a milk factory. It is enough to make me wonder what good it's doing.... until we went to the doctor yesterday and found out Xander's latest stats:
The goal for a "2 week" appointment is that the baby should be of good color, have regained birthweight, and be showing signs of awareness and activity. They also do followup work on some screenings (thyroid, etc.) and make sure the parents are doing ok.
At birth, Mr. Xander Lewis was 21.5" long and 8 lbs 8.4 oz. He lost almost 10% of his body weight in the first few days, and almost an inch off his height once his cone head went away.
At his "2 week" (19 days old) checkup, Xander was
22" long- in the 90-95th %ile
9 lb, 9.5oz- in the 75th %ile
14 3/4 inch head diameter- in the 50-75th %ile
In other words, it may be exhausting to Moms, but for babies, milk really does a body good!
Somehow, even though I miss the mental challenge of my career, for right now, I'm feeling rather good that what I'm doing is, in fact, a worthwhile vocation.
7 years ago
You seem to be successful engineer. That "milk factory" is quite efficient, runs 24/7, never breaks down and yields good pharmaceuticals for mother and child as a by-product of milk production. If GE ran that efficiently, trains would never arrive late and would have plenty of capacity for growth in demand.
ReplyDeleteIt is also not surprising that the two of you have decided to raise an over-achiever. I think that is in the genes.
and I am also glad to hear Alliswell. 10% lost is not abnormal at all, but isn't it nice to Know that everything you are giving Xander is tailor made, changes with every feeding to suit that moments need, never has to be mixed measured or warmed upand helps him grow so strong so fast? Keep up the great work - it is work, but good work. In facta worthwhile vocation :) -Kate
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