Bits About Brynley: TWO WEEKS!

We made it to TWO WEEKS, and what a roller coaster ride it has been!

Here's what Brynley has been up to this past week:

"DAY EIGHT"

• It was a rough night last night, trying to continually wake Brynley up to feed every 2 hours. I tried with a cold washcloth, tickling her feet, changing her diaper, but she slept right through it all
• At the pediatrician appointment, we got the news that Brynley was still down from her birth weight, weighing only 7lbs 4 oz and again proving that she isn't gaining back an oz a day like she should
• We have our next appointment on Friday to weigh her again. These appointments alone are exhausting but I know how important they are right now
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  We are now supplementing with a bottle after I breastfeed on each side, trying to get her birth weight up as much as we can
• Highlight of the Day: Letting Scot bottle feed Brynley
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• Here I am trying to get my baby girl in as much natural sunlight as possible. My neck and back ached for 2 days after this but I didn't care I just want my baby to get better
• We got the news from the lab this afternoon that the Bilirubin levels peaked yet again and are now at 18, which means that we now have to let her wear a "Billi Blanket" to help get the levels down
• I had a major meltdown after hearing this news and I feel like everything has taken a downward spiral
• 
•  "DAY NINE"
• We had to wrap Brynley in the "Billi Blanket" 24/7 to aggressively get her billirubin levels to drop
• Brynley is so yellow at this point, it makes me so sad looking into her little eyes and holding her lethargic little body
  
• It has been an emotional roller coaster since we got the news that Brynley's levels were so high
• I am pumping what Brynley isn't able to consume, once she falls asleep feeding and I can't wake her up. This is proving to be exhausting! I nurse, then pump, then bottle feed with what I pump
• Every 2 hours. Repeat. Every 2 hours. Repeat
• It is exhausting, but I will do whatever I need to do to get her to gain weight and get healthy!
• Mom came over to bring food and offer support and to help in any way that I needed
• Highlight of the Day: Letting mom bottlefeed Brynley
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• "DAY TEN"
• We got some morning sun so I placed Brynley on her tummy for some tummy time
• She didn't mind at first, but then started screeching
• I was shocked at how strong she was and was able to pull herself up!
• Brynley had another weight check today at her Pediatrician. Stats: weighed 7 lbs 6 oz (after weighing after I nursed and then supplemented with a bottle of my breastmilk) YAY!
• We got the call later that afternoon that Brynley's billirubin levels had dropped down to 15 and was the best levels they had been in 5 days!
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• Nana and Pawpaw came over to celebrate Nana's birthday (a few days early since Ryder would be gone on her actual birthday)
• One of my sweet friends from MOPS brought over some cookies, a meal for us, and toys for Ryder and a sweet outfit for Brynley. She gave me the support and encouragement I needed that it will get easier and that two kids isn't so hard. Hers are 2 years and 3 months
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• I loved having our first picture as a family of FOUR
• More sweet pictures of my family
• Highlight of the Day: Finding out that Brynley could come off of her "Billi Blanket" because her levels dropped so much, and seeing that she was gaining the weight back that she needed
• It ended up being a VERY long night of feeding almost every hour to two hours, and Brynley wasn't satisfied between feedings. She's either feeling better and hungry now or going through her 10 day growth spurt! I didn't mind even as exhausted as I felt, because I knew this was a good sign she must be feeling better since she was more alert to wake herself to feed
• LOTS of hiccups after feedings now. Sometimes they annoy her, sometimes they don't
• "DAY ELEVEN"
• Again, exhausted from the night of cluster feeding each hour, and Brynley still wasn't settled afterwards
• We are thinking this had to have been her 10-day growth spurt
• Or who knows anymore. I get more frustrated when I try to analyze why she does certain things. Scot just tells me that she is like this and I shouldn't get so stressed out
• We are learning Brynley's fussier around 8:30 or 9 (usually when we are most tired as it is our "normal" pre-baby bedtime and our bodies sense we should be settling in for bed)
• I'm still pumping every 2 hours after trying to nurse
  
• Highlight of the Day: Visits from Grammy and Grampa from FL today!
• Ryder has been asking about them for weeks and was so excited to see them
• I'm glad he gets to spend a few days with them and is soaking up all the attention
  
  
  
  
• I loved seeing Scot's parents hold Brynley for the first time
• We got a few hours of sun today and Brynley had another good sunbath
• We had a GREAT night and Brynley had two 3 hours of sleep between feedings
• Which leads to a more rested Mommy! Although no matter how much sleep I get, I continue to feel sleepy so maybe it's just my body making up for all of the lost sleep the past two weeks
• BEST HIGHLIGHT: Weighing Brynley on our baby scale. Weight up to 7lbs 8 oz woohoo!
• "DAY TWELVE"
• Feeling very rested after last night's feeding routine
• Also not having Ryder here, as much as I am missing him, has been a nice break to catch up on sleep and to get some one on one time with both Brynley and Scot
• I got to "sleep in" after the 5:45am feeding all the way to 9:30am!
• I was almost engorged from not pumping every 2 hours, but it felt soo good to sleep
• I loved seeing Scot hold Brynley and watch football like he did when Ryder was a baby
• Here's the scene around here this lazy Sunday afternoon, watching the Panther game and grilling burgers (veggie burgers for me)

• I haven't showered all day but I would rather spend my time snuggling this baby girl
• Brynley is having more "wakeful" times today and I love seeing her sweet eyes
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• "DAY THIRTEEN"
• After Brynley's last early morning feeding around 4am, she didn't go back to sleep until 6am
• It was nice not having Ryder in the house so that we could catch up and go back to sleep. Although I woke up by 7:45am and had to pump, I felt MUCH more rested!
• No matter how hard I try to swaddle the girl, this is usually the position I find her in after she has wriggled her way loose. We have both Aden + Anais swaddle blankets and Swaddle Me blankets by Summer, and she puts up a fight but eventually lets me swaddle her. However, this is the way I find her as she starts to rouse herself awake

Brynley's color looks better than the day we brought her home from the hospital!

We weighed her and she is now up to 7lbs 9oz, so one more day and hopefully she will be back up to her BIRTH WEIGHT!

I feel better that Brynley is going lonher periods during the late night/early morning feedings so we can get just a little more sleep than we have been getting. Right now I offer to nurse, then pump while Scot feeds her from a bottle and then whatever I pump I save on the nighstand for the next feeding.

I am learning that this is a lot of work just to get the breastmilk in her, but hopefully in a few more weeks she will be alert enough to nurse all by herself and go longer periods between feedings

I am feeling a little depressed though because at this point I do feel as if she is taking my milk from the bottle and being fed by Scot more than I am getting to nurse her. I know this is mainly hormones and lack of sleep talking, and it shouldn't matter how she is getting it, so long as she is getting the nutrients

• I'm trying to nap as much as possible today while Ryder is visiting with his Grammy & Grampa
• This is easier said than done, because now Brynley seems to have more alertness and more fussy times after feedings, and just when you think she is settled for a nap she wakes up again!
• Right now, Brynley takes her naps either on the Boppy, the swing, or her bouncy seat and sleeps in her pack and play next to me in bed for bedtime at night

Highlight of the Day: Interacting with Miss B today more than ever and having fun playing during her "wake time"

Another highlight was finally getting to take a nap or two and getting some sleep finally

• Tucker even got in on the playtime action!
• "TWO WEEKS"
• Another night of sleep between feedings!
• The hardest part about the late night (12am) and early am (4am) feedings to me, are when Brynley has fallen asleep and I think she's done nursing or feeding from her bottle, and a few minutes after putting her down, thinking she is going to sleep, I start to drift off to sleep myself, only to be awakened! (rudely I might add.. it's as if every nerve ending in my body shoots up awake at the sound of her stir)

• Ryder came home today after being away with his Grammy and Grampa at Dollywood. We got caught up on sleep and got some one on one time with Brynley and were able to get her better, but I really missed him while he was gone
• Right away he wanted to give her this sweet stuffed animal and pink carousel pony that he had picked out for her while he was away
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• Brynley's belly button is off, with the help of the silver nitrate we had Dr J put on it to heal it faster
• It's kind of gross and I will be glad when it is completely healed!
• We took a short trip to Target while Ryder was still with Scot's parents
• Brynley has been a sleepy baby today, but when she is awake she has long periods of "wake time"

• The picture is kind of blurry, but it showed one of the best highlights today: figuring out how to play with Ryder while feeding and settling Brynley down at the same time!
• Highlight of the Day: figuring out a way to pump, then nurse/bottle feed while Ryder entertains himself, and then play with Ryder while Brynley sleeps or has "wake time" We are still figuring this out, and besides breastfeeding and the whole "getting Brynley's birth weight up and jaundice levels down, this is what gives me the most anxieties of staying home with a newborn and toddler