The Long Road Home: So How is the Newbie Brooks Doing, You Ask?

Mr. Brooks is two weeks old today. I can't believe it's already been two weeks since I birthed this boy! Time flies when you're having fun, right?

We are pluggin' along here and working through the lovely newborn schedule. We are cosleeping with Brooks, although we have a middle of the bed ' nest' for him to sleep in, a beside the bed cosleeper, and a rocking bassinet all in our room. But for some reason, I feel really compelled to cosleep. I have no idea why, as this was not the plan. But from the moment he was born I immediately felt I needed tons of skin to skin with him. I did the same with Preston, but we did allow him to sleep in the bassinet beside our bed, and did not cosleep.

I remember moments after I delivered Brooks, we were all still in the water, the nurse came over and attempted to put a hat on Brooks. I was still operating in an alternate universe and on a high from just giving birth, but I remember specifically processing what the nurse was trying to do, and all I could was muster was a curt, " No", to her putting the hat on him. He was fresh and pure and I didn't want him already being "dressed" and being subject to all the things we *think* babies need or should be subject to. All he needed was his Mamma's warm skin; he didn't need a hat. For those that think I'm weird for not complying with the hat thing, research actually shows that hats really aren't necessary. The mother's body temperature will actually increase or decrease based on whether the baby is too cold or hot in order to return the baby's temperature to homeostasis. wow, cool!

After I was moved to the bed from the pool the nurse then asked to put a diaper on him. Again, I declined. Who cares if he pooped or peed on us. He was fresh and new and just perfect. He has plenty of time to wear chemical laden diapers in his life. But in that moment I wanted to hold on to his purity and not interrupt that. So we kept him diaperless until morning. Kevin and I took turns snuggling with his perfect naked skin on our skin. He did end up pooping on me and peeing on Kevin. :)

For some reason, I just can't put this baby down. I wear him, I hold him, I rock him, I nurse him every two hours, I allow him to comfort nurse as he needs, and he and I cuddle with him right up against my skin all night long. He loooves it. I don't know why I feel like these are the things I need to do, but it feels very instinctual, so I'm going with it. God and my body know what's best. so I'm trusting these are the things he needs from me. If he knows I'm in the room or hears my voice, this calm guy goes into psychotic screaming mode. He demands his mamma often. It does make it more challenging to also care for Preston, but we work it out. Preston is so awesome. He is an incredible help with his brother and does not seem jealous one bit!

Brooks has been struggling with some jaundice. He has been pretty yellow, very tired, and feeding poorly. If he decided it wasn't time to wake up, even for food, there was no way I was getting this boy to nurse. So frustrating. I tried every trick I know, but he just wasn't eating enough, and I knew it. His stools were not right either, neon green and stringy, not the typical orange/seedy color of a healthy breast fed infant. In light of all of this, I took Brooks into his pediatrician this Monday, instead of waiting until his two week check up to reassess his weight and get help from the doc. At 12 days, he weighed 7.14.5# ( with a diaper on, so probably a few ounces less) which is still not back up to birth weight. They like them to be back to birth weight by two weeks of age. And he only gained 3 ounces in exactly one week, which should have been about 7 ounces, when he was last weighed at his pediatricians at 5 days old when he weighed 7.11.5# with a diaper on. So not on track.

I suspected this. Very discouraging. His doc wants me to give him this week and see how he does, and take him in for a reweigh this Friday. She said if he is still not on par with his weight then ' we have to do something else'. There is a fine line between not letting your baby suffer and making sure you make the very best choices for them. I am not one to supplement with formula or offer bottles of even breast milk too early, as this could cause him not to go back to the breast at all. Neither of these things are what I believe is best for him. Soooo...I'm been working hard and praying like crazy for God to intervene and help me help Brooks. I've been pushing hard and basically forcing him to eat every two hours around the clock. He's done pretty well, surprisingly. His stools are getting a lot better and his color looks less yellow. I sure hope some weight gain is also happening! I def don't want his doc to put the pressure on me to supplement. That's def not a place I'm comfortable with. But I know God is good, and he has already let us know that this boy is special, so I know he will meet all of our needs. We have also given him a pacifer this week, as it gives Kevin somewhat of a chance to soothe him on his own. We have also casually tried swaddling him, but it has not been going well, so we haven't been doing it often. We're much more relaxed this time! Ha!

With Brooks being so sleepy and tired....either due to his disposition or all the bilirubin ( jaundice) in his body making him really sleepy, it has really affected my milk supply. I had tooons more milk with Preston. So I'm drinking my More Milk Plus tea, taking honey and fennel, taking my placenta pills, pumping some, and applying fennel to my breasts, and of course, trying to nurse as much as I can get Brooks to nurse. I sure hope all rebounds well. I'm trying not to be discouraged.

I've been taking my placenta pills since a few days after birth, and so far so good. I started with one pill a day, and now I'm at two a day. I may increase again to see if I notice a sudden increase in my milk supply. I feel great though. Great energy levels and no depression...yet. I'm very hopeful that they are working and all keeps up!

This is my first week home alone with both boys flying solo. It's still a work in progress on finding our groove, but I know soon enough I'll be a pro. I will admit, Monday, on my first day alone, when I had to take Brooks to his doc appointment, it was quite a struggle. I now have to get three people fed and dressed, along with four dogs pottey-ed and fed too, and two kids loaded up and out, and in someplace. Preston was a typical almost-two year old. He threw two fits and I had to carry Brooks with one arm and drag Preston where I needed him to go with the other arm as he screamed and tried to sit on the floor. Preston also repeatedly opened the exam room door and ran all over the clinic and threw a fit when I had to again drag him back to the room. Good times! :)

Life is good. We had our newborn/family photos last weekend. I do have some birth photos back, and I will share those. They are beautiful! Sooo glad we had this precious moment captured! We are so blessed to be a family of four. What a truly amazing gift.