Nolan is three weeks old! He is still the best little baby we could ever ask for (biased, maybe? Yes, but we're allowed)! We're getting more into a regular schedule with our 3 hour and 4 hour feedings. Jason has gone back to work this week, so Nolan and I have been working on forming our daily routine with things to do, places to go, chores to finish, etc. As of right now, we get up in the morning after our 9:30am feeding, get ourselves ready for the day, and spend some awake time hanging out. This is the most alert time Nolan has during the day and I try to keep him awake as much as I can! After drifting off to sleep, our next feedings are at 12:30 and 3:30pm, where I try to get things done around the house and off my to-do list while he sleeps. Jason gets home around 5:00pm, we get dinner together, and Nolan usually eats around 6:30pm. I get two quick feedings in around 8:30pm and 10:30pm to top him off before night. Bath and bedtime is after his 8:30pm feeding, and then he's good until 2:30am and 6:30am, which is when Jason wakes up for work. This schedule works out great for us, so we're hoping we can keep it this way for a little bit!
As far as his weight gain progress- last week Friday, we saw the doctor and he had lost weight from his previous weigh-in. He went from 6 lbs 15 oz. to 6 lbs. 11 oz. At this point, the doctor wanted us to supplement with formula. I really wanted to keep him on a breastmilk diet if I could, so we agreed I should try exclusively pumping to see if Nolan wasn't latching and getting milk, if he was falling asleep too often at the breast, or if my milk was not calorically dense enough for him to gain weight. Over the weekend we exclusively pumped for all feedings, and went back for a weight check on Monday. From Friday to Monday, little piggy had gained 1 lb. 2 oz! His weight shot up to 7 lbs. 13 oz. We were all in disbelief, so we weighed him twice just to make sure, and sure enough, it was correct! So, at this time, we're sticking to exclusively pumping. It's a lot of work having to pump out what I immediately feed him, but down the road it should get easier as my supply builds. The doctor warned that my supply may drop off if I don't nurse every now and then, but we've tried a couple times since, and it's still a frustrating process. Most often times, we both end up in tears, and it's just not worth the stress! So, making my first tough mommy decision thus far since he's been born, we've agreed to strictly pump and if my supply falls off, we'll go from there and supplement with formula. So far everything has been going great, and I'll be doing everything I can to exclusively pump and keep up my supply for as long as possible!
Nolan is becoming more vocal and has started to make some coos and other sounds other than just crying. He has started to smile big open mouth smiles, and we're almost sure they are not due to gas! He still loves to be talked to and listens intently, making many different facial expressions while he listens. He has discovered the T.V. this week, as it's usually always on in the house, and tends to move his head towards it's direction when we're changing his diaper or if he's in his swing. We've stopped swaddling in his arms at night time, and swaddle only from armpit down, since he's made it very clear now that he needs his hands readily available and likes to flair his arms in the air when he's in a deep sleep.
He has become much more alert and can follow faces really well now. He stays awake a little bit more than last week. He likes to stay awake after his morning feeding, but most other times during the day, he still enjoys getting plenty of sleep! Which I can't complain about... most moms would love to have their baby sleep so much!
Next week, little man is going to be ONE MONTH old! I can't believe how quickly it's flying by, already. Until then!
BIG open mouth smile... caught his first one on camera!
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