She is healthy and happy. She is 10 lbs and 22 inches. The doctor was glad to see that she is tracking objects and focusing which is what they would look for in any infant her age. This is great news for her neurological development.
She only gained a pound and a half from our last appointment which he said was on the "lower side of acceptable" and said that if things continue like that or get worse we may need to consider supplementing.
It was all I could do not to cry right there.
You see, I've been struggling with breastfeeding and feeling very frustrated with it. Claire nurses for up to an hour and then still acts as if she is hungry only to feed again an hour later. It gets to be very hard some days when Reed really needs my attention and I'm not able to give it to him 100% because Claire needs to eat.
I wanted so badly to provide this for her. I know that breast milk is what is best for her and her neurological development...but I'm not gonna lie, there have been days I have been reduced to tears due to my frustration with feeding and feeling as though I will never be able to get a break or leave my house for more than an hour.
After a really rough day last week in which Claire seemed to want to eat all day and never seemed satisfied, Dane and I made the decision to start supplementing her feedings. I still nurse whenever I can and I pump when she is getting a bottle but there are times when it is absolutely necessary for her to get formula rather than settling in for an hour of nursing. Like when we're trying to leave for church in the morning and she needs to eat.
I battled my mom guilt for a while on this one but am at peace with our current situation. I know that she is still getting mostly breast milk and found that Enfamil actually makes a formula specifically for supplementing.
I know this is not my fault. I simply don't produce enough to keep up with her growing body's demand. My mom had the same problem. And my dad reminded me that God has a plan which even includes how much breast milk my daughter will receive ;)
I have to be satisfied with just doing my best and trusting that He'll take care of the rest.
We'll go back in a month and I'm anxious to find out her weight gain then.
Overall she is a pretty easy baby. Of course we've had a couple rough days and a few "bad" nights, but she really does pretty well. She sleeps for about 3 hours at a time and usually goes right back to sleep after eating. She's starting to smile now and the doctor said we can be on the lookout for her social smile soon.
We continue to be encouraged that her neurological development seems to be appropriate for her age.
Reed wants to hold her a lot. He likes to squish her "chubby cheeks" and look at her tiny feet. He often says "I just love her so much!" He has to be reminded to be gentle and still struggles with sharing the attention (he seems to forget how to listen to us on those days...) but I know that this phase will pass and we will survive.
In other non-kid related news...we are putting our house on the market this week. How crazy are we? We have no idea if it will sell, but we figured it doesn't cost any money to try. We'll leave it on the market a few months and see what happens. We'll be at peace with whatever God's plan is for us and our family right now.
