Juliet's First Week

I thought I might get to write this post from my computer, but due to the fact that I am like this most of the time (when not chasing around Elllie)

Means I will probably be writing it on my phone and it may be a bit piecemeal! 

Feeding
Juliet was discharged from the hospital weighing 5 lbs 13 oz (so down 6% from birth weight which is within an acceptable range) and the next day she was back  up to 5 lbs 15 oz so it is good she is starting to catch up.  We will go for a weight check at the doctors this week to make sure she is above her birth weight. 

My milk started to come in Wednesday, which was awesome because I had her on Monday night.  I was relieved that my milk came in quickly and I didn't have to worry about her getting enough nutrition.  Nursing the first few days in the hospital went pretty good - some nipple discomfort but nothing too major.  I had about 2 days of engorgement when my milk came in but things are settling down now.  I still leak quite a bit especially at night, but I think my body will regulate after a few days.  I started pumping once per day and only on one side to relieve some of the fullness.  I get about 4 oz which is a good bottle size.  Since the freezer at my mom's house is pretty packed we bought a freezer for our house's basement and Brian does "milk runs" on when he goes to our house to check on progress and drops the milk off in the freezer.  We put a note on the electrical box that says to call us if the electricity needs to be off for any amount of time.  I would be heartbroken if we lost a big stash of milk.  

Juliet seems to have 2 sessions of cluster feeding during the day - one in the early afternoon and one from 6-8pm.  I think the last cluster feeding is what is allowing her to get some pretty good stretches in at night.  Most nights she goes down at 10 pm and wakes up around 1:30/2 and then again at 5 am.  The 2 wake ups is very doable, although it takes about an hour to feed her and diaper her and get her back to sleep so I still don't feel very well rested, but overall I am happy with her sleeping because I remember Ellie was up every 2 hours at this age! 

Recovery
My recovery is going well - still bleeding but not as heavily as the first week.  
I am putting this out there because I want a record of it, even though putting my weight on the internet freaks me out a bit :)

Starting Weight: 131
Weight before Birth: 153
Total Weight gain: 22 lbs (which is funny because my mom gained the same amount with her first and second pregnancy as I did)
Weight right after giving birth:146
Weight 1 week after baby: 141

So the weight is coming off pretty well - I am down 12 lbs and have about 10 more to go before I am back at my starting weight.  I still have the post pregnancy belly but it goes down a bit every day as my uterus shrinks back to normal size. They say that by the end of the second week your uterus should be contained entirely in your pelvis - so I guess that will mean any left over belly is truly mine :)

2 Under 2
So I will technically only have 2 under 2 for about 2 months, but it is no joke.  Ellie wants to touch and see her little sister but isn't always the most gentle with her touching ( she gets a bit excited) and she loves to try to put stuffed animals in the rock n play with Juliet so we have try to prevent her from being smothered. Ellie does get a bit jealous of the attention Juliet is getting at times and will often "fake cry" when hears Juliet crying in the hopes we will pick her up instead. We try to give Ellie as much attention as possible but it seems it is never enough attention for an almost 2 year old! 

Brian has been home all last week and this week so he has been taking her to different activities to keep her occupied. 

I think it may be a little easier when Juliet becomes a little less fragile, but I can definitely see a lot of sister love in the future and that warms my heart.

Other Things
Winnie has been funny with her walks since the baby got home.  She will either not let you take her out or she will go out, poop, then sit down until you turn around and take her home.  Yesterday we took our first "full family walk" and Winnie finally got a good walk in.

I have been switching over Ellie's summer clothes to fall winter clothes and it is nice to know that in 2 years I can pull out these bins and Juliet will get to wear the clothes. I remember being so sad when putting away Ellie's newborn and 0-3 month clothes and other early clothes not knowing if I would get to put them on another baby.  I can't believe how lucky we got with these two girls. Life sure is crazy right now but I wouldn't have it any other way!