Gabriel's 1st Thanksgiving

This post will be a combination of what's happened this week and our Thanksgiving holiday celebration, with lots of pictures as usual!

• Gabe has a "poop face."  Usually it's accompanied by some grunting and leg flexing.  It's awfully cute!  I got a short video of it; it's hilarious!  Unfortunately, it's too big to upload to the blog, so you have to click on this link to view it.  Great ammo to show his first girlfriend, right?  Unfortunately, he was NOT finished when I stopped recording, but we have since learned to give him a few minutes before jumping up to change the diaper.
• Gabe started smiling this week.  (No, it's definitely not just gas, haha!)  He especially loves smiling for Auntie Debbie!

• We took a trip to the mall to get Gabe's first picture with Santa last weekend!  He was the youngest baby (3weeks!) to have his picture taken at that particular mall.  It took some time to get one without him crying!  He did request a new larger car from St Nick, but specified he did not want a minivan, haha!

Gabe looks so tiny in Santa's lap!

•  Boys pee through everything occasionally.  I'm not incompetent at putting on diapers, I swear!  Unfortunately, that meant that we needed outfit #2 for Thanksgiving just before we left for the family party!  Here's the "before" picture in the cute holiday onesie from Aunt Kristen (thanks!) and the "after" picture in the cute bow tie/suspenders outfit from Nonno (thanks!):

Outfit #1

Outfit #2, & 1st smile caught on camera!

• On the feeding front, we've dropped to 2 formula/breastmilk combination feeds from a bottle at night, with the other ones being back to direct breastfeeding.  I'm hopeful that his weight will be up at Monday's pediatrician appointment, at the same rate of gain or higher.  I want to see if she'll measure his length too, as that's another good indicator that he's growing well & he seems like he's all limbs!
• Our friend Nicole & her 6-week-old RJ came to visit earlier this week.  Both boys slept while their mommies caught up on each other's birth stories & swapped formula samples.

All dressed up to meet RJ

1st (sleepy) playdate with RJ

•  We are getting excited for tomorrow's baptism!  However, this mommy has "baby brain" now instead of "pregnancy brain!"  Remember how I was last-minute at booking a photographer?  Well today, while e-mailing the person count to the caterer, I realized that I never ordered a cake!  Luckily, the place I wanted to order from (Wholly Cannoli) was able to make it work & we will be able to pick up a yummy vanilla cake with cannoli filling first thing tomorrow morning.  Can't wait to share pictures of "Congratulations on Your Baptism Gabriel" written across the white & blue whipped cream frosting!

Here are some more pictures from the week:

Wake-up selfie, while mommy still had bed-head

Manly conversation with daddy

Checking out stage 1 of the exersaucer from Gina - we're not yet fond of "tummy time"

Enjoying Gabe's 1st snowfall from in the house

Sitting with cousins Chrissy & Hailey at Thanksgiving

Three Weeks!

Wow, time sure does fly!  Gabe is 3 weeks old today! 

Another snapshot of our exciting life in bullet style:

• On the 19th, Gabriel was up to 7 lbs 9 oz at his pediatrician appointment.  The doctor called him a "pokey gainer," which I took to mean that he was doing ok but not great in the weight-gain department.  At our breastfeeding support group, the lactation counselor said that equated to him gaining 13.3 grams per day on average, when normal is 20-30 grams per day.  Not terrible but not ideal.  I think he will be a tall string bean like his father, and at this point, at least he's gaining *something.*  I refuse to stress about it anymore.  So he's not like a lot of other babies and got back to his birth weight by 2 weeks of age.  Oh well!
• I need to start wearing my watch again, or maybe it's just baby brain instead of pregnancy brain now.  Thank goodness we are only 20 or so houses down the street from the pediatrician, because I was on the hunt for a baptism photographer online & lost track of time, so we ended up running late for our appointment.  I felt like such a terrible mother, but they were happy I called to let them know we were on our way.
• I did end up finding a photographer who was available on such short notice (I can't believe I let the time fly and waited so long to line up someone!) and at a reasonable price.  We all wish Auntie Chelsea was available to take photos at the church, but that's impossible since she is Godmother and needs to be in them, haha!  At least she will be joining us at the house to capture a few moments of getting Gabriel dressed ahead of time; then the photographer will take over at the church.
• Feeding plan:  The doctor wants us to continue formula supplementation in the same manner as we've been doing, but after a lot of thought, I don't see why this is necessary if I'm pumping the same volume of breastmilk and could be giving him that instead of the supplemental formula.  Not that formula is terrible, but there is that mantra of "breast is best."  So, in cahoots with the lactation counselor, I've decided to try dropping one bottle feed a night in exchange for doing a breast feed along with weighing him weekly at the support group meetings.  If he's still gaining at the same rate or faster, we'll try dropping another bottle feed for a breast feed until we get to all breastfeeding.
• Pumping has been going well - I have a stash of about 10 bags of 2-4oz each frozen already (the one good thing about supplementing with formula, I guess).
• Gabriel lost his umbilical cord stump on the 18th.  Thank goodness!  I swear, I must have been super-sensitive to the smell of it because I was so ready for it to be gone!
• Gabe got his first real bath (instead of sponge bath) since he lost the cord stump.  He *loved* being in the warm water!  Thanks to my coworkers for the bath sling that fits perfectly in our kitchen sink.  We are waiting to use the larger baby bathtub (thanks to my mom's friend Barbara for that one!) until he gets a little bit bigger, maybe back to his birth weight.

  

  Loving bath time!

• On Tuesday, Gabe & I took our first outing all on our own!  I'll admit that I was very nervous for several reasons:  I hadn't driven a car since October 28th (not that I forgot how but more like I was anxious driving with a newborn!), and I was worried Gabe would cry the whole time or nursing wouldn't go well while we were out of the house.  It turned out that I worried unnecessarily!  We went to the auto parts store, Stop'n'Shop, and Radioshack before a successful in-the-backseat-of-the-car nursing session.  Then we stopped over to visit our good family friend Father Henry.  Gabe was wonderful the whole time!  He slept a lot of the shopping part but was pretty alert for our social visit.  

  

  Trying out our Infantino carrier to go shopping - Thanks Theresa!

• My mom's seamstress Larissa finished Gabe's baptismal outfit, and we received it in the mail this week.  She made it out of part of my wedding gown, and it is JUST BEAUTIFUL!  I won't post pictures until the baptism because it would ruin the suspense and surprise, haha!  On a side note, it's not easy to track down white newborn socks, but I finally did it.

Sent this to my Aunties this week!

Chilling after feeding...

Big eyes!

 

Mama & her boy!

Captured his cute lips, nose, & eyes while sleeping - Awww!

Two Weeks Already!

Craig & I can't believe that Gabriel is over 2 weeks old already!  (And I apologize for the lack of blog posts, but this little newborn is keeping my hands full!)  So, on the urging of Godmother Chelsea, I am back to blog about our life with a new addition.

A bullet list might be more productive, as I'm sure this little one laying in my arms will only give me so much time to post!  So here goes:

• Breastfeeding is going well; we finally ditched the nipple shield that was suggested to use by the nurses at the hospital.  This is a major victory in my opinion!  We had a not-so-fun attempt at breastfeeding in the (parked) car with a nursing cover while out shopping the other day - you really need an extra set of hands to manipulate the nipple shield in addition to your child, a burp cloth to wipe up spills, your shirt & bra, & the nursing cover!  I'm sorry, but I refuse to be tethered to my home in order to breastfeed every 2 hours, so we have to conquer this.  More practice, probably!
• Pediatrician appointment #3 is on Wednesday.  We have been struggling with getting Gabe back to his birth weight (more on this in a moment), and the doctor recommended supplementing nighttime feedings with formula and limiting his time at the breast so he didn't spend all his calories sucking.  Right now we are doing 50% pumped breastmilk mixed with 50% formula for nighttime feedings (which I magically do at the same time as double-pumping).  Last visit, he was up to 7 lb 5 oz (better but still less than she would like) and we're hoping for a better increase this week since we have continued the 50/50 mix and breastfeeding is going much better.
• I honestly think now that Gabe's birth weight was artificially increased because of all the fluids they were pumping through my body during the (failed) induction.  We were both bloated for a few days post-c-section.  If that's the case, then he probably didn't *really* lose 12% of his body weight before he left the hospital and he's probably doing just fine in the weight gain department, and the supplementation is for naught.
• I have become a mother who has diaper preferences.  Never thought it would be possible!  But, after SEVERAL not-fun pee blowouts (as in he was soaked through the diaper, onesie, and pajamas) in the middle of the night (or twice in one night!), I learned to not like a particular brand of newborn diaper.  On the positive note, the increase in number of wet & dirty diapers is considered a really good sign that he is getting enough milk.
• I *can* survive on 6-8 hours of sleep a night that is portioned into 2-hour increments.  And I'm still smiling!
• Gabriel takes after his father in the gassy aspect of life.  Holy farts!  I really should have purchased that onesie that said "Don't look at me, that smell is coming from my daddy!"  Thank goodness he's cute, because the noises and smells that come out are not.
• Apparently, I have made the fastest, easiest recovery from a c-section that the hospital doctors & nurses have ever seen.  It's been a blessing, since it's allowed me to spend more attention and time on Gabriel and his breastfeeding needs.
• Making enough breastmilk doesn't mean you get bigger boobs.  I am resigned to not having the large "rack" I was looking forward to!  ::sigh::
• Craig is so adorable when he holds Gabe.  I am brought to tears if I think too much about it when I look at them together.
• Boy clothes are cute!  I have received a lot of beautiful new things from our friends & family, and my friend Janet gave us multiple bags of clothes from her two sons.  We are so grateful for everyone's generosity!
• Babies go through diapers like water.  I was nervous to obtain too many newborn diapers because I wasn't sure how big the baby would be, but now I am seeing how quickly Gabe goes through them.  (And how annoyed I am that I can have just changed a wet diaper when he pees in the clean one.  Not at him specifically, but at how much pee a baby makes.  And how I have learned to wait a few extra minutes after he farts/poops so that he "finishes" before I put on the new diaper.  I have picked up on his concentration face when he's pooping, which is so funny to watch!  He focuses on a spot far away, grunts, and pushes in & out with his feet.)
• Fenugreek (a supplement that supposedly helps increase breastmilk supply) makes one smell like maple syrup - seriously.  I thought this was a joke, but it really happens!  Craig keeps requesting pancakes, haha!
• When taking newborn photographs, it is best to crank the temperature of the room up to tropical.  Gabe passed out perfectly and was so mold-able for Godmother Chelsea & I to set him up in cute baskets and such.  Here are a few of our favorites (of the 297 that she took!) & what Craig & I ended up choosing for the baby announcement:

Gabe's baby announcement (front)

Gabe's baby announcement (back)

 I think that's about it for now.  Gabe fell asleep on my arm, and I want to make sure to have time to post some pictures before he wakes up to eat again in a half hour.  (2 hours is no longer a long length of time for me mentally!)  Here are a LOT (but in no way is this all) of the pictures we've taken, in no particular order...

Nonno, putting together the stroller base

Gabe & Auntie Debbie

Gabe & Hailey

Gabe in one of Daddy's ties

Gabe with Rachel & Mark

Mickey outfit from Auntie Debbie

"Suit" bib from Godmother Chelsea

Passed out after eating

Gabriel meets Grammy!

Test-driving the Moby wrap from Teresa

Moose outfit from my students

Rocker chair from Gina

Wow, 2 weeks old already!

Gabe & Auntie Lorene

Milk drunk!

Staring at the flying bears

Sent this picture to Uncle Gregory

Home Sweet Home?

After so many days (4!) with Gabriel in the hospital, surrounded by such a great nursing staff, coming home was bittersweet.  I myself was happy to return home after over a week at the hospital, but both Craig & I were nervous about caring for Gabriel by ourselves after having had such great support at the hospital.  Not because we don't have any experience with newborns, but because we knew that sleep would be elusive and there would be challenges ahead, like breastfeeding and establishing routines.

The LaTour Family - New & Improved!

We finally arrived home mid-afternoon on Wednesday the 5th.  The car ride was more painful than I'd expected (stupid c-section incision) even though it's only 2 miles.  Gabriel was a champ and slept the whole ride!

Gabe wasn't so thrilled to be strapped in!

But once in the car, he fell asleep.

Bringing Home Baby

The first afternoon & night were fairly miserable.  I was, of course, experiencing a hormonal rollercoaster of emotions, which, combined with little sleep and the stress of having a newborn at home, made for a very rough first day home.  That night, Gabriel slept about 1.5 hours between feedings, and we struggled to make the feedings a pleasurable experience for both of us (no one has yet to document the soreness of a woman's chest from initial breastfeeding that can fully explain how my body was reacting to this "torture!").

Such a cutie!

Mommy loves this precious boy!

The next morning was much better - I got to sleep (haha, that's funny) in my own bed next to Craig (finally after a week away!) and shower in my own bathroom.  I found it less-than-humerous that I now need a stepstool to get into our bed without tugging on my incision (serves us right for getting the extra-deep mattress, I guess).  Gabriel was in a much better mood in the morning, too.  He even slept about 3 hours between his first morning feeding and "lunch."  We made it through the day without much fuss (albeit for a little mishap with the drain pipe for the house...).

Our first pediatrician appointment was in the afternoon.  The doctor seemed nice enough; you can't beat an office that is a mere 1/2 mile away from home.  We had our list of first-time parent concerns to discuss, of course.  Gabriel is now down to 7 lbs 3.5 oz (almost a pound less than when he was born!).  This was of some concern, because doctors don't like it when babies lose more than 10% of their body weight after birth (he's down 12%).  We're hoping that the next few days will be better now that my milk has come in, and we're also adding in a little supplemental formula mixed with pumped breastmilk; we have a recheck on Monday to see if his weight has at least stabilized (and hopefully increased).  Otherwise, our little one is the picture of good health.  We did find out that they don't give any vaccinations until 2 months of age, so until then we have to be vigilant about who and what he is exposed to. 

So, here's to hoping that things continue to get better as days pass.  And now for a couple more cute pictures!

Our son, the future model - check out the pose!

Wearing his elephant outfit from Grammy