It has been so great to have Amelia home! Not having her with us 24-7 for 25 days had made even the times that we have to get up in the middle of the night so sweet (when we’re awake enough to remember them ;-)). Wednesday, August 15, Amelia was a month old. Mommy & Grandma Gwen took Amelia for a check-up & she’s doing great. She’ll still be on iron until 3 months old as well as a common baby multi-vitamin. She’s still pretty gassy, but we’ve started giving her baby gas relief drops & her tummy’s been much better. Her weight (compared to her height) is still a little low, but easily expected after being so sick & we expect she’ll have no problem now that she’s home & eating so well! She did great on all her “reflex tests”. Friday Daddy & Mommy took her to be vaccinated against tuberculosis & her first hepatitis B shot. She didn’t like the pricks, but quickly got over it… two little shots are nothing compared to what this girl’s been through. She’s a very happy & observant baby.
Her official stats (birth first & then 1 month):
Weight: 5 lbs 8.5 oz (2.5 kg… when she was most critical, her weight had dropped down to 2.3 kg = just about 5 lbs) – 5 lbs 10 oz
Length: 48 cm (18.9 in) – 51 cm (20.1 in)
Head Circ.: 33.5 cm (13.2 in) – 34 cm (13.4 in)
The major challenge this week has been working on getting her off the bottle. It’s completely understandable, but Amelia got into a bad habit of being bottle fed (much easier for her & she’d get full a lot faster- also probably part of her gas problem). She’s still breast fed some while in the hospital & at home, but when she’s very hungry gets frustrated & then mad… we know her lungs are better & so do the neighbors. There are no lactation consultants in the DR, no real support for lactation frustration in Jarabacoa, but a friend in the States helped with some tips, encouragement & guidance via Facebook chat the other night & we’re now going on almost 2 days of almost only breast feeding. Amelia’s proving to be strong-willed even at only a month old & gets pretty upset when she’s hungry & will not suck or stop crying. Daddy (& Grandma when Daddy’s at work) have been great help at getting Amelia calmed down in these times to try again. We’re trying to be ready for feeding before she gets overly hungry. When she is overly hungry, Mommy will give her a half ounce or ounce from the bottle, burp her & then she latches onto the breast with very little problem. Poor kid, breaking this bottle addiction is tough, sometimes she just needs something to take the edge off a little ;-). Hopefully in the next day or two the bottle can completely be put away, except for when Mommy can’t be with Amelia. Up until now, PTL for breast pumps & bottles, but it’s a lot of work having to do the work as if breast feeding & bottle feeding (pumping, sterilizing bottles, bagging & freezing & unfreezing milk, feeding). We know that the fact that she’s had breast milk, even while in the NICU has helped her so much & we’re so thankful that Mommy is “a good cow”.
We’ve talked with Hector’s mom & wanted to let you know that he’s home (released a day or two before Amelia). He’s stable & improving, but ask you to continue to pray for him & his family. His mother accepted Christ at the hospital & as we continue to keep in contact by phone, pray that we would be encouragers in the growth of her relationship with the Lord as He brings HEALING & SALVATION to Hector & his whole family (same word in the Greek).
Recent Comments