IT'S A GIRL! We had another sweet, perfect girl to finish our crazy big family off! We absolutely love it and her. We named her Lucy Mae! I need to sit down and type up her birth story!
This first month has been an adjustment like I knew it would be. They say going from 3-4 isn't a huge transition but each teach their own! It wasn't the worst transition we have ever had, but still took me at least a good 2-4 weeks to feel comfortable. The evenings are the craziest. I need to cook dinner, the bigs are playing/fighting after not seeing each other all day, the baby wants to cry and cluster feed and my husband isn't home until 6pm. Awful but everyday is a new day! Those are the times I feel like "what did we get ourselves into..."
Miss Lucy Mae is 10lbs 7oz and wearing a size 1 in diapers already! She only wore newborns for about 3 weeks. Newborn clothes fit but are getting a big snug. She sleeps in stretches of 3-4 hours at a time and luckily will sleep in her crib. I'll go into more about her breastfeeding pattern, but we are exclusively breastfeeding!
Lucy's personality is so sweet so far. She is a snuggle baby. She basically takes all her naps on my chest. She's my last baby so I'm soaking it ALL in for as long as I can. She farts so hard and so loud! The kids crack up all the time and the running joke is she farts like a man! She spits up a little, but nothing like our Scarlett. We are getting a few sleepy smiles but nothing awake yet.
Breastfeeding. From hour 1 she's latched great and been a smooth eater. My milk came in the day after we got home, so that was pretty on par with my last babies. When we left the hospital she was 8lbs 9oz. When we went for our second weight check at the pediatricians (first weight check my milk had just come in that day and she was still the same weight) three days later she was the EXACT same weight, so our ped recommended pumping and giving her the extra in a few bottles a day so we did. The next weight check was 6 days later and I had high hopes she's be at least 9lbs. She was 8lbs 9.5oz...she's only gained a half ounce when they should gain about 1oz a day. It had been two weeks now and she hadn't gained 1oz since we left the hospital. I was so discouraged. I cried right there at the scale when her weight popped up. I felt like a failure. Luckily our ped has a lactation consultant on staff and she asked if she could watch a feed and weigh her after to see what she was transferring. Sure. She latched great, ate for about 7-10 minutes (our feedings are usually 15 minutes on one side) and she had gained 2.5oz from just that short feeding! It was a relief that she was transferring the milk well and nursing great. The plan was to try to feed her from both sides, not just one and give 3-4 bottles off extra milk or formula on top of the feedings. Then she wanted to see us back in 2 days. They gave us a huge bag of formula and sent us on our way. The next 1.5 days I fed her either by bottle or breast almost every waking hour. The next check up 1.5 days later she was FINALLY 8lbs 14.5 ounces! Finally we gained weight! From then on we have been gaining weight pretty well. I have been using our food scale to double check. She's the fourth baby I've exclusively breastfed and they still throw me for a loop! Now when she's awake she usually eats every 2-3 hours.
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This month was busy and crazy but we absolutely loved it. We celebrated her first 4th of July here at home! She slept right through the fireworks exploding all around our neighborhood.
Lucy's sisters are in love with her. The first few days it was a constant fight on who got to hold her next. They asked all the questions about how she ate, where are her teeth, why does her belly button look like that, why does she cry....so funny. Now that the dust has settled Hazel knows she's in the house, but doesn't care too much either way. Scarlett will talk to her every now and then but prefers to play and rough house with her sisters. Norah is my lone ranger. She is still obsessed with this baby. She asks to hold her every day. She watches on how we comfort her and mimics it the best she can. This summer she's stayed home with me and every morning after her morning feed she lays on the floor with Lucy and talks to her, reads her books. She continues to be smitten and it really is the best thing. I never imagined how much love Norah could have for her baby sister. It literally brings tears to my eyes. We really are so blessed to have such amazing kiddos.
I am loving all the special time with our Lucy Lou. I'm so grateful for our village we have around us. Our family that has helped us transition (our Mamas are amazing) and our friends that brought meals those first few weeks. I'm even more grateful that I get this time with our last baby, unlike my husband who had to go back after two weeks. We love our Lou Lou so much!
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