Gain Weight Otis!

Ingrid and I made a sign that said that while Otis was in the NICU.  And it has worked!  Otis is home with us again, weighing about 5lbs 8oz and gaining steadily.  Or at least we hope so...I found that nursing him doesn't give the calories he needs because he can't suck hard enough yet.  So, we are back to bottles of fortified breast milk.  He's sucking them down like a champ and will hopefully have gained enough weight when the visiting nurse comes back tomorrow. 

Ingrid is pretty cool with having a little brother.  He is now officially "Bub" and she has to kiss him and say goodnight to him.  I love seeing her as a big sister! 

I tried out our XS Bum Genius today, it totally fits!  I have smalls in other brands, but they still look pretty huge.  And I have some prefolds but they need to be washed still, so we're still using the disposables the hospital sent home with us.  Today I had the BG on, though, and it looked so enormous and cute I had to take pictures.  Can't wait to be strictly cloth diapering again!

Dehydration

Whew!  After all the tests they ran on my little 5lb baby, it turns out that he was just dehydrated.  Good that it's nothing serious, but horrible because he had to get so much done to him when all he needed was a heat lamp and a bottle...

I feel bad now that I was so against bottles.  Truth is, I still am.  The drs. kept saying he needed formula to supplement the breast milk, as it has more calories and that's what he needs right now.  But I think that's a lot of crap.  Breast milk is made specifically for him, isn't it?  I get that he needs to eat more often, but it can still be my milk.  I am not paying for formula when my body is overflowing with free milk made just for babies...Anyway, we are now going to do breast feeding and then top it off with a bottle of expressed milk, to make sure he's getting enough.  As long as it's my milk I'm okay with it.  Still hate pumping but I'll do it so I don't have to go through another night at the ER!!

Otis was doing really well last night when I went to visit, hopefully he'll be able to come home Saturday after his antibiotics are done.  And this time I will make sure he gets his feedings and gets enough!!  Poor kid just doesn't realize how small he is, and we keep forgetting how early he was. 

So here's to a better 2011!!  Happy New Year everyone!