Funny story

A nurse from Clackamas County Health came by to check on us today.  Whenever a baby spends time in the NICU they give the agency your info and since it is a free service, I figured there was no harm in getting advice from one more place.  She weighed Camille at the end of the visit.  Since they weigh babies nekkid, I took Camille's diaper off and wrapped her in a towel in case she leaked.

Camille weighs 8 pounds, 1.5 ounces!  We were thrilled since that means she's gained 6 ounces in 4 days despite losing one bottle from her schedule.  After we were done cheering, Camille completely emptied herself (number 2, of course) all over the towel and my shirt.

We didn't bother to reweigh.

How old is Camille?

That's hard to say. Camille was born July 1, 2010. Simple math tells you that Camille is 7 weeks, 4 days. Ah! It is not that simple though! Camille was born at 33 weeks, 6 days gestation. A term pregnancy is 40 weeks gestation so Camille's due date was determined to be August 13th. That means that she was born 6 weeks premature. For the next year, Camille will have both her chronological age (based on her birthday) and her adjusted age (based on her due date). Chronological age is used to calculate things like vaccination schedule and her adjusted age is for developmental milestones and weight. She may be 7 weeks old, but she looks like a newborn since she is only 7 1/2 pounds. Camille will have her first set of shots at her 2 month appointment (chronological age) which will be around September 1st. Her chronological age will be 8 1/2 weeks. Her adjusted age will be 2 1/2 weeks. So basically you just subtract 6 weeks (how many weeks early she was) from her actual age and you have her adjusted age. Her adjusted age is important. When term babies reach developmental milestones like holding up their heads, grasping toys, etc., they usually do so at around a certain time. We will use her adjusted age to determine if she is on track rather than her chronological age.

So, Camille is 7 1/2 weeks old (chronologically) and her adjusted age is 1 1/2 weeks. At this point, term babies are considering things like discovering their hands (2-3 months), smiling (1-3 months) and cooing (2-4 months). Camille will not likely reach those milestones for another month or so due to her adjusted age.

HOWEVER, Camille is a rockstar and can develop at any rate she darn well pleases. I've definitely seen some smiles already!

After the first year she will likely be caught up and the adjusted age will no longer be relevant.

The Honeymoon is Over

I can't believe I haven't posted in almost 3 weeks.  Feels like a lifetime when I think about how much Camille and her parents have changed.  She is truly an outstanding baby and we're just loving her!  I think things are going to change a bit this week and the bliss we've been experiencing may soon be shifting a bit.  Bill goes back to work tomorrow for one day (leadership training) and then next Monday he is back for good.  We have worked out this fabulous system that allows for both of us to get at least 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep each but there is no way it will work with Bill back at work.  He can't teach 150 middle schoolers on 3 hours of sleep so we have to adjust like most normal parents.

As we prepare to make this switch, Camille seems to sense that things are changing or something, because I'm sensing she is shifting as well.  Up until this point, Camille sleeps between feedings pretty exclusively, resulting in about 8 2-3 hour naps per day.  Camille also sleeps pretty well in her bassinet for 3-4 of these naps.  Now a delightful 7 week old baby, she is staying awake for longer stretches and has decided (just today) that the bassinet is not a lovely place to take her naps.  Uh oh.  Much more enjoyable place to sleep is on Daddy's chest or in Mommy's arms.  Uhhh oh.  Her adjusted age is 1 week and developmentally, kiddos aren't ready to be sleep trained until at least 4 months old.  Uhhhh ohhhh.  Stay tuned.

The positive side of this change in Camille is that she is awake more.  As if she could get any cuter, I do believe that baby got cuter!  Such a doll as she looks around with those enormous eyes!  She is starting to focus a little on things (faces, toys, lights) and it is so fun to watch her work it out in her mind.  I noticed her focusing on the TV this afternoon which freaked me out a bit so we'll have to start leaving the room when she wakes up and the TV is on.

She outgrew her first pair of pants this week and has 2 pairs of jammies that are on their last couple of wearings.  At lactation on Friday, Camille weighed 7 pounds, 11.5 ounces.  Officially 3 pounds heavier since birth!  We cut a bottle out of her schedule (she was eating 4 bottles a day) in the hope that she will nurse more to compensate.  We go back to lactation on Thursday and the answer will be in her weight gain.

I'm working on a post about why I hate the mall and hope to post it sometime this week.  That will be my goal.  Today my goal was to take a shower.  (I didn't get a chance yesterday.)  I accomplished that so we'll see about the post!

Sleep deprived line of questioning

Questions to myself at 3:15am:

1.  Why is the Goodnight Moon book out?
2.  Did Bill read Camille Goodnight Moon last night?
3.  When would he have read it to her?
4.  Was it out for the midnight feeding?  (no)
5.  How did the nipple shield (don't ask) get on top of the book?
6.  Did Bill come read her the book and move the nipple shield?
7.  When would he have come in here?
8.  Would I have noticed Bill take Camille out of her bassinet right by our bed and bring her in here?
9.  Did Bill take Camille out of her bassinet, come into her room, grab the book, read the story, pick up the nipple shield from the midnight feeding, put it on top of the book, bring Camille back to bed and return to bed himself all without me noticing?
10.  Am I sleep-reading stories to my child?

Wait a minute...Two babies???

The whole family trooped up the hill today for an appointment with the lactation specialist.  I'm sure all the doctors that cared for me and Camille did an excellent job and earned their paychecks (stay tuned for a future post on THAT) but I think the lactation specialists have been the most helpful part of this whole experience.  Of course their job is to help with all things breastfeeding, but they've also given great advice on the health and development of our preemie.  Today, after finding out that Camille weighs 6 lbs 5 oz, up 4 ounces since Tuesday (that's hella awesome for those of you that don't follow weight gain of preemie infants transitioning from bottle to breast), we worked on technique with a sort of hungry baby.  We were an hour early on her schedule so she humored us, but was much happier snuggling with Daddy afterwards.  (Imagine life about 2 hours after Thanksgiving dinner.  Yeah, you'll eat the pie, because it is there, but unbuckling your pants and lying on the couch is a little more appealing.)

We were talking about pumping and how to make it easier.  Since I have to pump every three hours, basically after every feeding, I essentially have 2 babies.  My beautiful, sweet Camille is baby number one and my trusty, hospital rental pump is baby number two.  Both babies require separate techniques.  Her suggestion regarding my pump baby was to make a special bra so that I can pump hands free.  My good friend suggested this to me a couple of weeks ago (thanks Melissa!) but I needed to hear the suggestion again after been knee deep in this to understand how helpful it is.  Basically, I just cut holes into an old bra and now I can pump and blog at the same time!  (Guess what I'm doing now!)  Genius.

I'm entering the part of the day that brings me huge relief.  It isn't the best part of the day, nor my favorite, those moments always include Camille.  Right now I'm pumping for the last time of the day.  When I'm done, I will go to sleep and I get a break until 9am.  This is really the only time I sleep.  Bill will wake up for Camille's 6am feeding and wheel her bassinet out of the room.  That is why I can sleep.  This child grunts, groans and stretches more than any creature I've ever encountered!  It is very hard to sleep to since my new, paranoid mama ears catch everything.  So 4:30 - 9am means actual sleep.  Goodnight!