6 weeks old

I'm going to take a quick break before describing our extended hospital stay to just write a regular entry about regular baby things.

Q and I went to the pediatrician yesterday--it was our longest stretch so far between doctors' visits (unless you count her RSV immunization last week). Her jaundice is still present, being uncommonly stubborn due to both our AB-O blood incompatibility and me being a diabetic. The doctor said that considering the length of the jaundice, I now had the option to put her on formula for 48 hours to see if that would bring it down (we suspect it's breast milk jaundice, which should eventually flush out on its own, formula or not). I politely declined, citing our long and very difficult journey to establish breastfeeding. Also, I have read that in rare cases, jaundice can last 2-3 months, and I think that is what we have here. Q's levels are definitely decreasing--I can tell by how yellow she is--albeit slowly.

We also discussed her fussy/crying period in the evening, but it sounds to me like there's no sure and fast way to remedy that, and I might just have to do the best I can for the next couple of months (colic usually goes away by about 3 months, though in some cases it can last up to a year... and this child has been notorious for taking her time). The night before last was horrendous--6 hours of crying! Last night, though, she merely had a "fussy" period from 8pm to 12am where she wouldn't go down and was squirmy and noisy with some occasional light crying. It was still tiring, but not soul-sucking.

And THEN! She let me sleep for 6 uninterrupted hours! Sure, I woke up with my right boob leaking all over the bed, but it was a small price to pay for 6 straight hours. I woke up at 6am feeling well rested and pumped a bit of milk off the top before feeding her and then making myself an egg, coffee, and an english muffin. Now she's sleeping peacefully in the swing beside me with her arms held up high over her head. I like this kid; she's always ready for a robbery.

I was looking up Q's percentiles yesterday. At 10.3 pounds (10 lbs 5 oz) at birth, she was above the 97th percentile. However, between being sick and being at the hospital for so long, Q gained weight very slowly in the following month, and at 10.5 pounds (10 lbs 8 0z), which is what she was last week at her immunization, she now falls in the 60-something percentile. Now, a percentile in the 60s is lovely, but not when it drops from the 97th percentile. According to her weight this week (10.6 pounds at the doctor's office), she is gaining about 20 grams per day, which is on the very low end of acceptable (acceptable range being 20-100 grams per day, I believe). I plan to take her back to the breastfeeding clinic on Monday and trying to get her feeding a little better.

However, Q still has big, chubby cheeks on her, lots of little arm rolls, and is generally a healthy-looking and content baby (minus those evening hours, nicknamed "the witching hour" by parents all over). Part of me is relieved that she's not growing TOO fast--I don't plan to pop out a lot of babies, and I know this tiny-baby phase passes all too quickly. So even through the fussing and the doctor's appointments and the stress, I am trying to enjoy what a tiny person she is and how totally dependent she is on me. This will probably be the only time in her life she is completely dependent and tucked fully under my protective wing.