Adventures in Pooping.

My breastmilk supply hasn't been stellar. For the time being, I'm blaming it on the retained placenta. I've been trying to nurse Layla straight from the breast with a shield (she has a teeny tiny mouth and, sadly, it's a bit small for me), without a shield...it just wasn't working. We were giving her a bottle of formula at night (with much hesitation from me) just to help her and I get some sleep. I was feeding her every 30-60 minutes in the first few days home and I was a walking zombie- all while trying to recover from delivery. It was awful. I was able to keep up with nursing during the day but at night, I just couldn't handle it anymore. Matt and I were both frustrated with the lack of sleep we were all getting and it was really starting to affect us in a negative way. We bought gripe water (she was also having an issue passing gas and getting used to my milk) and that REALLY helped her pass gas, burp and get rid of the nasty hiccups she gets (like 4-5 times a day!). But she was still hungry. 

After the first week, her hunger was getting better but her gas issues were still the same. Matt suggested we switch to formula and I sat on the couch and sobbed. Formula? For my precious milk baby? No way! But, we agreed to try it for a day or so while I kept pumping to help keep up my weak supply and see how she did. The first day, she slept all day long and all night long (not that I'm complaining super hard about that. We ended up at the ER that night and I really needed the extra sleep at night). I also noticed that the formula was making her throw up. Not spit up- but THROW up. I mean big time. The first night, she completely soaked Matt! I had to laugh at him. He had to take a shower, she had to take a bath and we had to do a load of laundry! The second day, she became constipated. She tried and tried and tried to relieve herself in anyway she could but nothing worked for her. So, mommy tried to intervene. We tried the gripe water but that didn't help. We tried a warm bath and sitting in a big bowl full of warm water- that didn't help. Every time she pee'd I'd use the baby wipe on her bottom to see if I could get anything moving and that didn't help. Finally I said "you know what, I'm going to bottle feed her my breast milk. We'll know how much she's getting, and it will probably help her poop!" 

Well guess what? I was RIGHT! Her feeding schedule has changed quite a bit since coming home. It used to be VERY often that she'd eat. Then she'd go about 1-2 hours and now, we're up to about every 2.5-3.5 hours and she needs to eat and she eats quite a bit. I feed her on demand and it seems to work well for her and I. But, anyways, after her second bottle, she let it all go. And I mean ALL of it. Holy smokes. My mom went to pick her up for a snuggle and said "uh oh- LOOK!" and the back of her pants were COVERED in poop, her onesie was covered, the seat she was in was covered. I quickly took her and ran to the changing table. Poop was everywhere and guess what? She was still going! I was laughing so hard. Matt came into the bedroom and said "let's just throw these clothes out!" I told him no and to go get the tub so we could give her a bath. He came running in with a shopping bag to wrap around her bum so she wouldn't "leak" anywhere else. By the time we got her tub filled up with warm soapy water, she was finally finished. I was SO thankful. We washed her up and all was well. But seriously, I have never laughed so hard in my life- and trust me when I say, a post partum bladder is nothing like a pregnant bladder. NOTHING. 

Meanwhile, my girl is super cute and growing! She's heavy when we pick her up now and, I noticed that the headbands we bought her that were too big at birth are starting to fit now! She's growing out of her newborn onesies (I shed a small tear at that)...but oddly enough, her newborn pants still fit. Well, I guess it's not THAT odd. She's got my build- big on top, small on bottom. Chicken legs- she has them! Her legs have been SO small, in fact, that they've been too small for ALL of her cloth diapers :(. I'm going to try one tomorrow and see if it fits her- fingers crossed!

I haven't had much of a chance to take out the good camera lately so here are some of my favorite instagram moments :).

We get morning snuggle time every day. I am so in love.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is our FAVORITE Layla face. Seriously, she's the cutest baby ever!

<3 Her mouth makes me laugh. She can make it so small it almost disappears!

I just had to do it!

My favorite people on earth <3 Layla looks so itty bitty here!

Smooshy :)

Some of Layla's milestones are starting to be hit. She noticed her hands for the first time the other day. She slowly lifted them up, looked at them and started to play with them! It was awesome to watch her discover them! I'm sure she'll forget about them and then rediscover them but for now, she knows where they are and she knows that she can suck them. I always take them away and replace with her newborn soothie passy. She's also REALLY good at locating her passy. She spits it out when she's done with it, but she always knows right where it is and tries to put it back in her mouth all on her own. She's nailed it a few times but usually, mommy or daddy need to help her out. The best part of the passy is the soothie is the only one she'll accept. She HATES all other passy's. I've tried! She spits them out immediately and goes right for the soothie. I won't lie, I love it. She can hold her head up quite well when she wants to. We obviously still provide plenty of support for her but, if she's in the mood to hold it up, we don't stop her! Also, she's discovering her tongue in a weird way. I am all the time noticing her sticking it out or running it along her gums. And finally, she's getting better at being on her own. Before, she constantly needed to be held. She wanted to be rocked to sleep. She wanted to be placed directly on my chest to fall asleep. She wanted to snuggle every second of every day. Now, she's doing quite well sitting in her swing alone or sitting in her bouncy seat alone. Sleeping at night alone is another story...but, as long as she knows we're in the same room, she's usually ok. 

Meanwhile, I have my appointment with my OB tomorrow regarding the retained placenta. I'm a little nervous about the results and REALLY hoping that a regular ultrasound will show that everything is completely cleared up and I can leave with a birth control that I can take while breast feeding (aka breast pumping. ALL the time) and that horrible mess will all be behind me...but, I'm preparing for the worst. 

Tomorrow is my first day home alone with Layla. Wish me luck!