Margot's first week

When we brought Margot home from the hospital last Sunday we had just learned that she was jaundiced and had lost a lot of weight (8% of her birth weight). We were lucky to be able to bring her home. We decided that we'd supplement with formula that night because my milk hadn't come in. So - we fed her about 1/2 an oz every feeding with a little egg cup. It was painful but we thought we were doing the right thing. On Monday the public health nurse came to visit and it turned out that she'd now lost 9% and we were close to having to take her back to the hospital. Yikes. So - the finger/syringe feeding began. We stuffed her full for the next twenty four hours. She was so full that even after burping she'd ooze milk out of the side of her mouth!

We lost a lot of milk down inside the folds of her neck and in the shot below, apparently down her back as well!

She was such a sleepy baby from having lost so much weight that we had to strip her down, burp her a lot and use all the nasty tricks like cold wet wash cloths to keep her awake. Sometimes it was a lost cause.

First bath. Sarah's being super helpful by squeaking Sophie le giraffe constantly.

Have you ever met a baby who liked being bathed? Margot certainly didn't appreciate it!

Back to sleep after the bath. She's been trying very hard to get a thumb or two fingers into her mouth all week. I think she'll be able to manage it soon.

Margot and her big sister Sarah having a cuddle. There are many of these every day at Sarah's request.

Grammie taking her turn at finger feeding. We were all exhausted after a few nights of doing this routine, let me tell you!

On Canada Day we went for a walk in the Corydon Village area. Dale got a book called Winnipeg Walks for Father's Day so we tried out one of the suggested walks. Its a book of walks with the historical information of the area in it. It was great fun! About an hour of walking was the right amount of me right now with baby Margot in a sling. We found a park for Sarah with swings and a slide so everyone was happy.

Sarah was given a couple of costumes by a neighbourhood family and this is her favourite - the cat.

Sarah likes to do some rearranging in her bedroom in the wee hours of the morning when she gets up earlier than us. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of cleaning up - this morning it was pretty tame - just some shoes lined up in a row. She'll be all set for basic military training when we ship her off on her 18th birthday! (kidding!)

Our visit with the public health nurse yesterday went well. My milk was in and Margot had gained 2 oz of weight back and she now has some fat on her. No more supplementing! Hooray! Unfortunately she spits up a lot, but I guess you can't have everything. The few summer newborn clothes that we have are being pressed into service. I guess its time to get to the second hand store and get more clothes for her.

Margot with a double chin!