How Old is Royce: 3 weeks, not even to his due date yet. Royce's Size: About 6 pounds. Met his birth weight in under a week and has gained about a pound a week.
My Size Changes: Still feel puffy and swollen all over but better. We've lived off of kind family, friends, or neighbor's meals... give me all the pasta. Nursing/Pumping: Royce and I had no problems breastfeeding, he latched on and ate away on the very first try. It did not and does not hurt -- I've had a lot of people ask me that -- it's all about the latch. If it hurts, baby is on wrong. I also slathered Earth Mama Nipple Butter in the first week as a precaution but haven't needed it since. Our doctors and nurses said Royce needed to be on a 3 hour feeding schedule. We tried it for the first week... it was not working for Royce. He plainly said he wanted to eat every two hours. So I obliged. I also pumped between feedings and don't know that anything is more draining (literally). While recovering from natural labor, minor stitches from birth, and on a crazy schedule of: eat for 20 minutes, change diaper, and put down -- repeat in 1 hour and 30 minutes... I was a very tired mama. I'm sure you just said, "20 minutes to eat? How??" Being so little, he would fall asleep during feedings - I almost would too - but I'd have to take most of his clothes off, make him cold, so he'd stay awake and get a full 3 to 5 minute meal... this is how 20 minutes would pass even though his stomach was the size of a butter bean. Sleep: Royce does sleep through the night and has since day one, but what that leaves out are the every two hour feedings. We have the Owlet which has 3 different size socks for newborns, 3 months, etc. Well Royce, a 5 week early premie, didn't fit int he super small newborn size sock. Premie babies are more susceptible to SIDS so I was fairly on edge... In fact, Royce slept in my arms while I lay awake all night on the very first night home. I was too exhausted and excited to actually sleep anyway. The nurses as the hospital have magic swaddling skills that I attempted to master and found the Halo wraps are much easier. They are awesome velcro swaddles that come in fleece and premie sizes! We keep our house at 68 degrees and for a new person with very little body fat, he would be frozen. These swaddles saved us. He slept in the bassinet next to me for the next 3 nights, then we hit a wall and he would only sleep in the rock 'n play. I had serious issues because on the rock 'n play's information there is a warning stating this is not for sleeping and could cause suffocation... though on the box, there was a happy baby sleeping... ha. If you're interested in rock 'n plays for sleeping read more here to make an informed decision. I found an article that showed how you can safely roll up a small blanket or towel and place under baby's thighs so they'll have a better sleep. It did the trick and we went back to the bassinet and never looked back. Royce's Nursery: Pictures coming soon! We've incorporated a beautiful muted aqua to the pale neutrals. Looking forward to: These milk drunk, involuntary, smiles are killer!! I'm dying for a real one! Take Care,
