Every ounce counts

Lorena is getting big!  Today she weighed 4 pounds and 7.8 ounces...very close to 4 1/2 pounds.  She is getting a double chin and has so much more fat and muscle tone in her legs.  Lorena is doing great overall.  She has been gaining about an ounce a day which the nurses say is excellent weight gain.  Deb (our NP) said Lorena will be home in 2 or 3 weeks.  I was thinking it would be more like a month, so I am pretty excited (and nervous) that she could be coming home in just a few weeks!  Lorena will be 6 weeks old tomorrow....so hard to believe.

Lorena is now being fed 42 milliliters every 3 hours.  I think this is about 1 1/3 ounces each feeding.  She takes about half of every other feeding with a bottle, and the remainder is given through the tube in her nose.  I did breastfeed her today for the first time!  It is quite a process.  First the nurse weighs Lorena.  Then I attempt to breast feed her.  Then she is weighed again to see exactly how much milk she consumed.  Today she got about 10 mils from her feeding, which is only about a 1/4 of what she needed.  It tires her to nurse for a prolonged period of time, so the nurse gave her the remainder of the feeding through her tube.  Then I have to pump for 15 more minutes and then store that milk for a later feeding.  Deb and our nursing consultant (Audrey) were really happy she got that much on her first time feeding!  I have heard breastfeeding will bring your closer to baby and make you feel more attached.  I assumed this wouldn't happen to me since I have had to be sort of detached from her since she was born.  I would say that today was the hardest time I had leaving her.  I do feel closer to her after breastfeeding. It is a good feeling....but also makes things more difficult because I really don't want to be away from her now.

Lorena had another eye exam on Tuesday.  Her eyes are still premature and she was diagnosed with slight ROP (I talked about this in a post several weeks ago).  This is normal for preemies and she will be seen by the eye doctor again in a week.  She will have to be seen once every few months after she goes home.

Every ounce of weight gain counts for Lorena!  Every ounce of weight loss also counts for me.  I started Weight Watchers again this week.  I followed the WW plan and lost about 20 pounds before I got pregnant with Lorena.  I want to lose my baby weight to feel better about myself, fit back into my pre-baby clothes, and be a healthy role model for Lorena.  Dan's mom is our WW leader in Marysville and she is doing a great job.  If you are nearby and are interested in WW, check it out on Monday nights.

stretching today

Daddy admiring his daughter

stretching a few days ago