Letters from the Evans: Five days new!

I actually wrote this post on Friday but for some reason it didn't publish (I could recognize that it was probably sleep deprivation that caused the problem, but I choose to blame Blogger). Anyway, happy reading a few days behind :)

Today Miss Emma Lou is FIVE days old! That seems remarkably fast, actually. We had a busy day in store for our little lady while Clara was at preschool. While I told Emma the plan, she let me know how enthusiastic she was:

First we went to the pediatrician. I finally got around to switching Texas Children's Pediatric Offices a few weeks ago since there is one closer to our house than the one we had been going to previously when we lived in Tomball. I am a HUGE fan of our new doctor!! I left irritated with our previous pediatrician almost every time, but I left this office feeling knowledgable, and encouraged - rather than upset and confused. A very pleasant change.

Clean bill of health!

Emma Lou was 7lb, 3oz when she was born. When we left the hospital on Wednesday (at 3 days old) she was down to 6lbs, 9oz. By today (day 5) she was back up to 7lb, 1oz! This means our sweet girl is getting plenty of milk and really getting the hang of nursing, which is very good news indeed.

This would also be when baby girl peed all over herself :(

[Note: the below paragraph is about nursing struggles, don't read if it makes you uncomfortable!!]

I'm actually struggling a little more with nursing this time than I did with Clara. I have been miserably engorged - noticeable to the point where the doctor pointed it out without me even needing to say anything, and a few friends have asked me about it. Yes, it's been that bad :-/ That makes it hard for Emma to latch properly. Even with a shield her latch is painful for me, which has led to nipple pain. It's kind of a vicious cycle. Thankfully I KNOW that if I give it 2 weeks or so we will be past all of this and it'll be fine, it's just a bit painful process to get there.

Anyway, while we were at the doctor's office I managed to leak completely through my bra, tank top and shirt so we ran an unplanned errand to the nearest Kroger to pick up a few more breast pads. Motherhood is joyful, but not necessarily glamorous :)

Kroger

The doctor visit and grocery store run caused us all to work up an appetite, so Emma had her first meal out. Granted, milk was the only thing on the menu for her, but Bryan and I enjoyed some tacos :)

Emma took a siesta on the way to our next stop, the chiropractor.

Cheeks!!! :)

Emma was in such a funky position in the womb, that I thought part of our latch difficulties might be because it was uncomfortable for her to move her head to the right angle. I know many people think we're very strange for taking our less-than-a-week-old child to the chiropractor, but it helps! Dr. Steck showed us a few tricks to check how her neck movement is going to help us know when to go back if her latch doesn't improve. Sure enough, when he showed us the tricks she wouldn't turn her head more than ~30* to the right, but would go all the way left. Crazy, right!?

She got an adjustment on Daddy's chest, and then I nursed her right after because she was a little ticked off and hungry, and she latched on so much better! voila! :)

Bryan and I then ran into Target very quickly to get some more baby wipes. When I saw this large bouncy yellow ball I knew it would make Clara BEYOND excited, and for $2 I felt justified in the unplanned expense :)

She loves it!!

"Ball! ball! yellow ball! weeeee!"

I heard Clara explaining to Emma all about her new ball and her day at school while I put away the diaper bag and clara's backpack.

I wish I could have caught their one-sided conversation because it actually made me tear up it was so sweet, but I did get this little snippet which shows Clara's enjoyment of her new ball:

Then I decided to get the new baby carrier out (Boba 4G for those curious) and learn how to put it on and adjust it to my size while Bryan was there to help me get it situated. I think Emma was a big fan if her sweet little snooze is any indication :)