We got our family's picture taken professionally before Addi was 10 days old. We did this with McKenna (she was about a month old) and I really wanted to capture the "newborn" stage with Addison. The pictures turned out beautiful and I know we will treasure them forever. We also got a generation picture with us four girls since Mom was still with us! I went with 4 outfit changes for the girls (HA!) and we made it into 2 of them...with only 1 really turning out :o) A Mom can hope right :o)
McKenna continues to be perfectly wonderful with "Baby Addison". She continues to say, "Her so cute!" whenever she sees her. She also wants to "hug her head" and "see her eyes" and "touch her". There hasn't been any jealousy (knock on wood and thank you Jesus!) and she is such a good helper. I know McKenna would like for Addison to be able to play with her. McK doesn't understand why Addi has to sleep so much and loves it when "her eyes are open!" :o)
By Friday of the 2nd week, things started getting worse with breastfeeding. I was going through what seemed to be the "normal" aches/pains with breastfeeding, but it wasn't getting any better. In fact, it was getting more painful instead of less. Finally I did some "research" and diagnosed myself with mastitis, a breast infection. I called the OBGYN explaining my symptoms and she called in a prescription for me. I went downhill fast! It felt like I had the flu - high fever, sweats, chills, among other hurts. I was so thankful my mom was there! I just needed to sleep and that would have been impossible without her help! By Sunday I really hadn't improved and called the doctor again. They called in a different prescription and had me come in for an appointment on Tuesday.
By this point, Addison had stopped taking my milk. She outright refused no matter how hard I tried. She was having really tough nights, being awake and very unsettled for about 3-4 hours at a time. She usually became wide awake (and very unhappy) from about 11pm - 3am. This was every night! We just couldn't figure it out. We literally had to sit and rock her or hold her up on our chest until the 4 hours was over and then she'd lay back down and be fine. She was perfect through out the day, but come 11pm you could forget about sleeping! One of the nights she hadn't eaten in far too long (in my opinion) so we tried some formula and she inhaled it! Ugh...what to do?!
We went for Addison's 2 week check-up Monday, and she was up to 9lbs and 21.5 in. The doctor walked us through how to take care of her little clogged tear ducts in her eyes, was impressed that her belly button had already fallen off (ick!), said that her incredibly odd hiccups were normal, and said the word COLIC when I explained her nightly episodes...SIGH. Definitely not a word you want to hear, but at least we now knew how to better help her through her nights. I also shared our breastfeeding woes with the Pediatrician and she suggested we move to a formula that is specifically made for babies with colic. I would continue to pump through the infection, but Addison needed a formula that would be easier on her digestion. She also said for us to use "gripe water" to help settle her tummy. I was armed with some good information and determined in my heart that this colic thing may be a long tunnel, but there was light at the end of it! The Pediatrician said that Addi will grow out of the colic by about month 3-4...sigh...We can do this!
Tuesday was my OB appt. They confirmed my self-diagnosis and talked me through some options. We decided to continue on the antibiotics, pump until the mastitis is gone, stick with the colic formula, and be finished with breastfeeding. So that was that. It felt good to have something resolved and a decision finalized with what would be best for both me and Addison.
McKenna got some GREAT one-on-one time with Gigi. They played play-doh every day, hide-and-seek, tag, read books, sang songs, played in the water table, played on the neighborhood playground and swung in the swing! Gigi taught McKenna some new songs that her preschoolers sing. McKenna loved the song "These are my glasses, this is my book" the best.
Ellison and Shelby Voiselle came for a visit...Time with Daddy is always fun!
I supervised and took pictures while Gigi gave Addi her first bath. I felt like I needed a crash course in remembering how to do everything. Addison didn't mind her bath. She enjoyed getting her hair washed (what girl doesn't?) and smelled so sweet after we lotioned her up!
Addison is not a BIG fan of her swing or papasan chair. She will sit happily for about 10 minutes right after she eats. She has fallen asleep on occasion, but that has been rare. She also doesn't seem to get a kick out of the "vibrating and/or song" features with her pack-n-play or papazan chair. McKenna loved these features, but not this chick! I'm hoping she'll learn to enjoy her swing more the older and more alert she gets!
Addison doesn't not like being on her back. She likes to be up against your chest, belly to belly, over your shoulder. She is a tummy sleeper too! After 1-2 rough nights, we just flipped her over and it really seemed to help. She is very strong and has good neck control. She is able to turn her head side to side, so I haven't felt worried about her being a stomach sleeper! The pressure on her tummy really seems to comfort her.
We were thrilled that Pop could come for a few days! McKenna adores Pop and soaked up all of his attention. Pop got some good snuggles in with Addison too, but what we REALLY used Pop for was to burp Addi! He is a pro at getting that girl to burp. It took forever sometimes, but Pop stayed with it and got the job done!!! :o)
We got to go to church the Sunday after Addi was born and it was so good! It was fun to be up and out of the house, showing Addison off, and worshiping God whom we were so thankful to! I always love when mom and dad can come to church with us here in Jax. Our church family is so good to us! One of the pastor's wives set up meals for us for TWO WEEKS!!! We had someone bring us dinner every single night for the first 2 weeks! It was SUCH a blessing and we could not even begin to express how thankful we were!
Our girls are so pretty in pink!
Grandma Joan and Kelsea Kirton, along with Mama Martha and Auntie Ginny (Braddock) came to get some snuggles and brought fun gifts! Our friends spoil us rotten!
Gigi got the girls these PRECIOUS big/little sister shirts and bows. This was the best we could manage for pictures while Mom was here. I'm hoping to get some other good ones before Addi outgrows her onesie!
The first 2 weeks FLEW by! Although some of the days (and nights) seemed much longer than others, they really did go by quickly. Before I knew it, it was time to send Gigi back to Oklahoma to wait on Grandbaby #3 from Keith and Hannah! I wasn't necessarily "ready" for Gigi to leave, but I knew we had to do this on our own sooner or later. It was time for our family to just be the Burke 4! I had to keep repeating, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..." :o)
2 comments:
So happy to know that you all are doing well. Grant is just like Addi. He is a belly sleeper for sure and he hates the swing as well. You would think all kids love it, but not ours. Can't wait to meet the newest addition!
erin, your family is precious! congrats on your newest addition. i'm so glad you take the time to post the stories and the pictures as i love reading and seeing your little ones! :) love you!
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