Baby Smiles

Here are a couple of pictures we caught of baby Kate smiling. She is much more alert now and "talks" to us with coo's and ahh noises. She definitely has at least one dimple when she smiles really big.

She really is a good baby-sleeps from 10 or 11pm until 3ish and then goes back to sleep until around 7:30 or 8am. She is hardly ever fussy which is a definite difference from her big sister Amelia. The only issue we are having is her weight. She lost the normal amount of baby weight (was down to 7lbs 11oz from 8lbs 7oz when we left the hospital) and then we went to the doctor for a weight check a week later after my milk came in and she was still at 7lbs 11oz. I, of course cried in the office thinking I was starving my baby since we had only been nursing the whole time. She was peeing and pooping and not crying too often so I figured that she was getting enough. We have had to supplement with formula with all of the kids except Mia at the beginning-so it is nothing new, but I was really hoping to exclusively breastfeed. We started supplementing with formula and pumped breast milk bottles after every feeding with Kate and she has since gained 4 oz back. She will be one month old on Monday and probably won't be back up to her birth weight by then. I feel terrible, but she is really doing fine. The doctor said I have not hurt her in anyway and that it is good that she didn't lose any weight, but you still feel like you suck as a parent. I typically am an all or nothing kind of person which is why in the past once we have started supplementing, I kind of gave up on the breastfeeding. It seemed like so much more time to breastfeed the kids and then give them a bottle. Why not just give them a bottle and be done with it? I have a different attitude this time around. I have been trying to pump at night when she sleeps so I can build up my supply and give her more breast milk instead of formula. I know all of this isn't that big of a deal in the long run-I wasn't breastfed and I turned out ok, but it is something that an initial new mom or even mother of 5 stresses out about. Probably too much information for most of you, but I wanted to vent and to keep everyone updated about little Kate. I will post again sometime next week about her weight when we return to the doctor.

Speaking of our doctor...God bless her! She is totally awesome and makes you feel so much better about everything. Matt and I joke that we are on the VIP list there. She has personally called us several times before regarding something or another. Often when I call to get one of the kids in for a sick visit, the receptionist will say that they are full, but she will check with the nurse and ironically they can always fit us in. Helps to have a handful of kids that help pay their bills I guess!

Anyway, that is enough blogging for the day! Hope everyone else is doing well. More posts this week!