Olivia's First Week

The pictures below are not in any particular order, but you may figure out that we are thoroughly enjoying our newest little girl.

The first week has definitely had its ups and downs. The best part is that we have a very healthy, very, very sweet baby girl. However, the first week has been rather stressful since we came home from the hospital. To summarize, Trisha's milk was a bit slow coming in, and she got the painful "thrush infection" that she usually gets when nursing after C-section, and then it passed to Olivia. She would not nurse--just screamed. Olivia went without a wet diaper or poopy diaper for 2-3 days. We finally realized it was probably the thrush thing again, but by then she was dehydrated. Trisha took her to the doctor, and she had lost more than a pound. Without improvement she would have had to go into the hospital. We have worked almost around the clock to get breast milk into her with a dropper and bottle. She is doing much better with appropriate diaper response. She and Trisha are both are taking medication for the problem. Slowly but surely she is beginning to attempt to nurse a little bit. Trisha is pumping to keep up her milk supply and has plenty for Olivia. It is just frustrating and complicated. We have to boil everything every time to avoid reinfection.

Except for the feeding times (which come often and seem to take a long time), Olivia is darling--sweet and responsive. She sleeps well and loves to just look around when she is awake. She especially loves to watch faces and be talked to. The kids love holding her because she is like a doll.

Trisha is recovering from the C-section, but that too has been painful of course. Tomorrow she gets her staples out which she says she dreads more than the C-section itself. Tomorrow we may also consult a lactation specialist who has already been very helpful. Hopefully this week will bring improvement in the feeding process; that is our prayer.

As you can tell from the pictures, this newborn has become the center of our world for awhile. It is nice to see the blog comments and pictures to know there is a world beyond celebrating poopy diapers and "latching on" successfully.

Love to you all, Grandma/mom