Time has flown by as we've adjusted to the newest member of our family. But, the labor, delivery, birth and time spent at the hospital all seem a distant blur in my memory now. Funny how labor will do that to you. :) I definitely need to scribble down a few notes about the day of labor, before I completely forget everything!
Because Callum was born in a different hospital from Logan, our regular pediatrician didn't get to see him the first day he was born. So, his first check up with Dr. Safir was actually earlier than usual, last Friday morning.
While waiting to see Dr. Dave, I decided to cut Callum's fingernails, since I hadn't yet done that and they were so super long that he was already cutting his face anytime he grabbed it. :(
Unfortunately, I cut the tip (or two) of his fingers, which threw him into a raging fit. Jon immediately grabbed him from me, scolding me for being so extremely cruel and practically amputating our newborn. I told him to relax. I did it with Logan when he was a newborn too. It's like the required initiation into our family.
Jon failed to see the humor in that comment.
Following tradition, a pic of Callum wrapped up in the blanket that my mom and aunt were brought home from the hospital in, and every other child born on my mom's side of the family, since then.Thankfully everything looked great during his checkup. Callum is a strong muscular little guy who's very aware of his surroundings. Unfortunately, just like Logan, he has some weight gain issues. We knew this could be a possibility but I was really hoping it wouldn't be. However, he weighed 6lbs, 13oz, which is about a pound under his birth weight (in just 4 days!) and, given my history of battling a low milk supply, Dr. Safir wants us to be more aggressive this time around.
So, we're back to supplementing again. UGH.
We've been given the weekend to see if we can turn his weight around and get it back on the upward trajectory. We'll go in again tomorrow morning to do another weigh in and see. We've been instructed to continue breastfeeding and supplement 2-3 times a day. Dr. Safir knows I'm pumping in addition to nursing, and said to definitely use whatever breastmilk we have expressed first, before moving to formula. But, if we're out of breastmilk, then onto formula we go.
I supplemented with formula for Logan and he has turned into a wonderful kid (if I do say so myself!). And yet, the news still shook me emotionally. I had a rough couple of hours after the doctor's appointment, coming to terms with the news.
So, what am I doing?
I've spent the entire weekend with either a baby or a Madonna-looking S&M device attached to my boobs, to try and stimulate my milk supply as much as possible. So far it seems to be working, since we haven't yet had to break into the can of formula to supplement Callum's meals. But GODDAMN it's exhausting and hard work.
I'm basically nursing Callum every ~2-3 hrs during the day (he seems to be able to go longer at night so we're feeding him every ~4 hrs, or whenever he wakes up, to take advantage of the much needed sleep). After I nurse, for about 20-30 minutes, I then pump for another 20 minutes (we rented a hospital grade pump to help).
I also called my OB, and put in a request for a prescription of domperidone, a hormone supplement meant to help boost my milk supply. We'll see if that helps any as well (I didn't know about this option when I had Logan, since the drug is still pretty new in the States, and wasn't readily available then...)
We've spent Callum's first week getting to know his little squeaks and squirms - when he needs to burp, feed, or poop. He and I just got out yesterday afternoon to enjoy some of the beautiful weather we had this weekend for a short walk - it was quite lovely and he stayed awake the entire time, obviously taking in all the new sounds we heard, along the way.
His little umbilical stump also fell off yesterday, which seems so much earlier than with Logan! But very cool since it's one of those first big milestones that you look for during the first weeks of your newborn's life. :)
Jon and I are still re-learning all the newborn parenting tricks of the trades that we have long forgotten from Logan's days.
We've also had plenty of visitors of course. Callum has already met several of our close friends. My parents have visited quite often (most notably my dad since he sets his own hours), which has been helpful, especially during the week when Jon is out running errands and I need someone to just hold Callum so I can pump, shower, or God forbid, take a piss. ;-)
Jon's brother Aaron happened to be in town for work these past two weeks, so he, Jon's sister Catherine and husband Danny, all visited this weekend as well which was great.
Aunt Catherine also made a beautiful cake to welcome baby Callum into the family! :) (Thanks again Cat!)
Many have asked how Logan has adjusted to the arrival of his new baby brother. And I'm pleased to report, so far, so good! He had a good, but rocky time, with my parents while Jon and I were in the hospital. He definitely missed us, even though he enjoyed the extra attention and spoils that my parents gave him. You could tell since, he was literally SINGING, when he woke up the first morning we were all home together as a family again. Jon and I chuckled as we listened to his random notes bellowing out from his room - he spent a good 15 minutes just lying in his bed performing his greatest hits. It was clear he was happy to be home again, in his own bed, and with his Mommy and Daddy just across the hall.
One thing we've noticed since Callum was born, is how much BIGGER Logan now seems to us. He truly is the BIG kid in the family now! :)Since then, Logan's been very curious about Callum - I'd say more so than when at the hospital. At first he called Callum "Mommy's baby brother", but now he's identified with Callum as his own baby brother. He joins us in bed in the mornings and asks where his baby brother is every time - and when he sees Callum, he softens his voice to this squeaky little baby voice and says "Hi baby brother" while petting Callum's head really softly. He also likes to lay his face down close to Callum's face or top of his head, smiling when Callum's downy soft hair "tickles him". He has helped Daddy feed Callum a bottle of milk, watched while I nurse (at first he thought Callum was "eating you Mommy!") and tries to give Callum a pacifier anytime it drops out of Callum's mouth.
His interaction with Callum has been the most adorable thing ever and we love it. :)
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