Lots of Firsts

Well, this week has been full of firsts. Sunday, Jesstine was just not herself. She was pulling on her ears a lot. She was not nursing well (okay, that is not unusual, but I thought we had gotten pretty good at it). She seemed like she had a stuffy nose. Sunday night, she had a fever of 100 so I called the doctor's office. I was told by the on call doc, who knows me and my story well, and she recommended that we take her in. Well, since the doctor's office was closed, that meant the "big house." We went to the ER and by the time she was seen the fever had subsided and she seemed in good spirits. They wanted a chest x-ray to be sure they weren't missing anything. (Stephen went with her for that thank goodness, or I wouldn't have been able to handle it! It was the scariest thing for her and him!) They found some congestion and said that she probably has a virus, but there isn't anything we can do for her. We will be waiting a little to see if her temp. goes down before we make that trip again!

Today was my first day back to work since Jesstine got here. I called twice to check on her. She was fine both times! If she can only manage to stay away from the curious Anakin she will do great! Thank goodness Grandmom has a spray bottle instead of a light saber! She has had to use it a few times for sure!

Those of you with tips on nursing, feel free to call me! I am still really struggling. After reading a few things, I wonder if my supply is just not what she needs it to be. I have tried everything that I heard of to do to help us. She likes to dawdle and I am not patient. My sisters and my mom have said that by this point their babies were all going 15 mins. on one side! It takes her at LEAST 20 mins. Last week, I thought we had it down to 15 mins. on each side, but something changed and now she wants to nurse FOREVER! Even 20 mins. didn't satisfy her. The only thing that I can think of is that I don't have enough so she keeps sucking until she is satisfied which is never so she just stays on. I have never been able to have her just pull off when she is finished. I have always had to take her off myself. That usually results in her still wanting more or wanting back on in 15 mins. or so. Any tips would be useful! I am trying to pump mostly and see if that works. Most of the time I can't pump enough to give her a full bottle. I always end up having to top it the rest of the way off with formula. Even then, I am trying to save some up each day so she has my milk to eat at Grandmom's house each week. I am game for any help you can give me! The lady at the BF clinic acted like I should just let her suck all day long! I can't do that! I have to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, and work! I don't want to be tied down to my house all of the time. Is that wrong? Comments are greatly appreciated on this topic!

Until next time, I pray that all of you are doing well. I will soon post pictures of her again! We will be getting professional pictures done at two months. We got a free 8 x 10 and no sitting fee at a really expensive place on the east side of town as a gift from my OB. We will be booking that soon!

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen, and Jesstine

Trial Run

Okay, so I only have a week and a half before I go back to work. I know that I only work 2 times a week and each time is just for 4 hours, but Jesstine is still SO young! I am not looking forward to it just yet. I am, but I am not. I am excited that I will actually be teaching music this year. I am not excited to leave my daughter for that long. I know she will be in good hands though. Grandmom will be taking care of her for the most part. Sometimes Stephen will work from home on Wednesday mornings to help take care of her. That is the plan anyhow! I know that things can quickly change. SO, because I am going back to work shortly, we decided that we all needed a trial run. It has also been a while since Stephen and I have had a baby free date night and one that didn't consist of staying home and watching what was on the DVR or a movie between Jesstine feedings! We decided that yesterday would be the most convenient time for such a thing. We chose to do it around the same time that I would be leaving her when I went to work. Okay, so we didn't manage to get out until 2:30 and I will need to leave my house at Noon when I work! But, we did leave her for a little over four hours. It could be a good thing or a bad thing that it just so happened that this was a day of growing for Jesstine. Those of you with children know that a growth spurt at this age means a lot of eating and sleeping with very little playing. She was VERY sleepy yesterday. When she ate, she got down to business and ate fast. Then she would almost always go back to sleep. Needless to say, until we were on our way home, she was mostly asleep and did a great job. When she did wake up she even gave Grandmom some great smiles and happiness. She ate her bottle very fast and she didn't cry until right before I got there to pick her up. Then she ate for about 15 mins. and was asleep as we made our way home. Needless to say, I believe it was worse on me than on her! She did great and there are no signs that she missed us at all. Thanks so much Grandmom for a wonderful afternoon (for Jesstine and us)!

As always, we hope that you all are doing well! Thank you again for stopping by to see Jesstine growing in pictures and in words! Until next time....

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen, and Jesstine

One Month!

Well, we have made it through the first month! Wow time flies!!! Stephen goes back to work tomorrow. For those of you who don't already know, his company awards its employees who have worked for ten years with a sabbatical. It is essentially an extra 4 weeks of paid vacation that must be taken at one time. We chose to use it for him to stay home some extra time with me and the baby. I am going to miss him not only as I usually do, but because he has been SUCH a help around her. I think it may be worse on him though because he has to be away from Jesstine during the day!

Well, Jesstine has been doing GREAT! Breastfeeding is still a challenge and we do a lot of bottles here and there. We are still working on not falling asleep (sometimes both of us, but mostly her) during our feedings. She is gaining weight and is up to 7 lbs. 10 oz. as of this past Wednesday. She has had a stretch of nights where she has slept anywhere from 5-7 hours. As you can see by the time on this post, that was NOT the case tonight.



So, I leave you with her one month picture, plus a picture that has been very popular with my family members. I think that I caught her smiling on camera. She has been smiling a lot more lately and I have even caught a couple of moments where she is attempting to laugh. Right now it is just a squeak, but it is music to my ears.



In Him,

Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine

Jesstine Jonelle, 1 month!

Bald IS beautiful!

The first smile that has been captured on camera

FINALLY!

Okay, you would think I would have gained a little more in the patience department after having to wait for two years to have a healthy baby! Well, we have been waiting anxiously for Jesstine's cord stump to fall off! We got up yesterday morning to feed and change her, and it was gone! Literally, we could not find it! We had to undress her in order to locate the stubborn piece of dead tissue! The reason why I write that as if I am frustrated is because we all three were frustrated with the stinking thing! Yes, it really did start to stink! The doctor even cultured it because it was so smelly, we were all worried it had an infection of some kind! Needless to say diaper changes and bath time has been a whole lot easier lately!

So, Jesstine was four weeks-old yesterday. The reason I failed to post an update with picture is because I am waiting for Sunday when she is exactly one month old. My sis-in-law took a picture of her boys each month in the same chair. I think that is a wonderful idea because it shows how they are growing each month. So, you will have to wait at least a day. I can't guarantee that it will be there ON Sunday because I have been terribly busy with her. Let's just say she hit a growth spurt and wants to eat about every hour to hour and a half it seems! I will tell you that she is already up to 7 lbs. 10 oz. We are happy for that! She has finally passed her birth weight. That accounts for the increase in appetite lately I am sure!

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen, and Jesstine

Three Weeks-Old!

Well, we have made it to the third week. She is growing very well! We are still struggling with the breastfeeding. That is mostly due to the fact that she takes SO long! Also we both have a case of thrush! It came to a head last night and she moaned in her sleep all night long. Poor girl! We went to the doctor today and she is up to 7 lbs. 1 oz. That is only a couple of oz. away from her birth weight. I also was given some medication to help boost my milk supply to hopefully motivate her to eat more quickly! Here are a couple of pictures that we took in the last few days! She is SO cute!

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen, and Jesstine

A special blanket given to us by Miss Lynessa, a friend from a prayer group.

A special shirt Gandmom bought a long time ago. Sometimes it is VERY true!

2 weeks old and sleeping only during the day!

Photo Album

Okay, so I now have an online photo album. Don't worry, I will still post a few of my favorites on the blog. I just thought it would be easier for everyone to see Jesstine in all of the great pictures if I were to have a link to one location. Everything is set up in "sets." Each one has a description that tells you what is in it. Some have a lot of pictures and others have just a few. It may change some through out the next few weeks as I get more familiar with the sight (which was free by the way because I have a yahoo email address!).

Enjoy!
Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine