A Good Day

Today has been a good day for many reasons. First, we had some awesome rain storms today.


The video was taken just after the fiercest part of the first storm. We had 3 total throughout the day. For those of you not in Phoenix, this may not be something noteworthy. But when you only get 7 inches of rain a year, getting 1+ in one day is huge. And there was wind. And lightning. And hail. I was loving it. Sophie, well, she slept through most of it.

[Parts in Blue written by Keith]
But even better than the weather was Sophie's day. Her feed log:
8:30 AM: 60 bottle 20 tube
11:45 AM: 80 bottle
3:30 PM: 15 minutes of breastfeeding
5:30 PM: 50 bottle 30 tube
8:30 PM: 75 bottle 5 tube
That's almost 85% (270 out of 320 prescribed) directly from the bottle (her daytime feeding schedule is set roughly as 80mL at 9, 1, 5 and 9), including two practically complete feeds. I also feel a somewhat vindicated, as I'm not a fan of the 4 hour feed schedule for Sophie. Owen was sub 3 hours for a long time. So her lack of strength might be a lack of energy from too long of a time to since food. I asked Dr. Aaron yesterday about flexibility in the feed because of that thought, so I think a fifth feed (or fourth and a half) may help. Plus, she latched on the breast for about 15 minutes. And actually got a good deal of milk from it, which really is a first. If anything was bad about her feeds today (and especially last night), it was that she spit up a lot of times. I am learning that I need to burp her more often, even when she is getting her milk from the tube.
Sophie also got some good sleep today, which meant that she also had some happy awake times. I used Megan's borrowed Baby K'tan during the rain and before during, and Sophie was very happy in it. After weeks of having a baby whose only awake times were spent crying, those are pretty special. The process of pooping continues to bother her, but tonight she even spent a couple of minutes on the changing table without crying, which might be a first. I remarked that today was a good day--perhaps a real turning point--a ray of sunshine on day that didn't actually have that much. Joanne overheard me telling Sophie this and got a little verklempt.

And Owen is very happy to have his baby sister home. While he seems to have some mom withdrawal, none of that seems directed at Sophie. He is excited to see her when he comes home from school. He asked to hold her again after dinner (which he didn't have much of--never start with dessert (the corn muffin)). He talked to her about the dog on his shirt, the flower on hers. He went to get her favorite car (the Sheriff for some reason we can't figure out). He went to get the letters of her name from the fridge.



After his bath, I brought Sophie up and I had Sophie on my lap and he climbed up, and we started to talking. "Sophie's not going anywhere" in a happy tone, he said. "Sophie's my baby sister! I'm her big brother!"

Then the night got better for me, as I got to put Owen to sleep. As Joanne mentioned, we moved him to a twin bed on the floor about 10 days ago. Now, rather than reading to him while sitting on a chair, we read while laying on the bed. So I read a story or three (Roo's Nature Day is the current favorite), then turn down the light, then we sing Old McDonald--he picks the animals. After I turn off the light he asks me to lay back down with him. Oh, how he snuggles! "Family nap daddy" "Don't go daddy" "Stay here daddy". If I start to get up, he'll grab my shirt or anything to keep me there. And I'd like to stay. It's one thing to have a sleeping toddler/baby on you who finds you comfortable. It's quite another to have them awake and want you there. It's tough to leave because I want to stay, but I know I don't want him to have the expectation that I will stay, as I don't want him to have that as a crutch to go to sleep. So I get up, he cries and asks for me. But when I close the door, he asks for Mommy. He's ready to sleep though, and has generally quite within a minute of leaving.

I didn't get a nap today like I had planned, but I did get some exercise (rowing), a shower (the mothers out there know how special that can be), and some appointments made. AND a blog post done.

That's a good day! :-)