So, I should have been 39 weeks pregnant with Finnley today. Instead, she is a whole 2 weeks and 4 days old. Still somewhat amazing to think that she is here with us in the "real world". So, what has transpired in that time?
Sadly, at 1.5 weeks old our happy and content baby girl started "spitting up". And, when I say "spitting up", I mean she was a gurgling / bubbling fountain that seemed to not stop until her stomach was empty. After several voluminous episodes over a pretty short period of time, we called the pediatrician's office. After taking her in, we found out that she probably has reflux (or GERD). The spitting up was quite scary, but it wasn't the end of the world. Things took a turn for the worse, though, when feedings started to turn our sweet little girl into an inconsolable and obviously uncomfortable wee one. This led to yet more calls to the ped's office and yet another doctor's appointment. The good news? Ms. Finn Finn had gained 7 ounces in 4 days. She had surpassed her birthweight and was weighing in at a whopping 6lbs and 6oz. Go, little Finn! The bad news? Definitely sounds like reflux.
Our poor little girl is now on Zantac twice a day. She hates it. It "tastes like crap" according to the doctor. This is obvious. She threw it up twice last night. Fun! In addition to the Zantac, we must take "reflux precautions" with her every day. This means: frequent, smaller feedings; she must remain "vertical" or upright for at least a half hour after a feeding; she cannot be jostled after a meal (no diaper changes or clothes changes); she must be burped as much as possible during and after a feeding (although she rarely burps); etc. Even with taking these precautions and with the Zantac, she is still having a tough time. It breaks mommy's heart to see her little girl arch her back, go red in the face, flail her hands and legs, and scream after a feeding. It sometimes takes me up to an hour to really get her to fully calm down and go back to sleep. I hope over time the Zantac gives her some relief.
Outside of that, Finnley is a beautiful and wonderful little girl. It is so nice when we see her "smile", even though these aren't "real smiles" quite yet. It is so good to have moments of awake time that aren't coupled with discomfort where she just looks up at us in wonder. She is our little miracle. I wish the best for her and hope that relief is soon on the way. She deserves that much.
Mommy is still a "milk machine" and will be for the time being. We will try having Matt give her the first official "bottle feeding" of breast milk this weekend. I hope to start introducing a couple of bottles a day to get some relief for myself. I will still have to pump, but it would allow daddy to bond with his daughter and for mommy to take a brief break. We will see how this transition goes. I am still non-commital as far as how long I will exclusively breast feed...but we are almost three weeks in thus far. That is three weeks that she has been given the "best".
More to come as I have more free time (yeah right) to post. Enjoy the couple of new pics for now!
