Post Partum Week 2

I cannot believe that Noah is already two weeks old! This week was a very eventful one :) He progressed quickly through out the week moving off oxygen, maintaining his respiratory levels, temperature and his bilirubin levels all on his own. On Thursday we were told that he would be dismissed on Friday :) Just in time to celebrate being two weeks old at home with Mama and Daddy!!! :)

His bilirubin levels went back up on Tuesday/Wednesday so instead of doing the bright overhead phototherapy, they put him in the biliblanket. Matt enjoyed this very only because it made it look like his son was being turned into Captain America ;)On Thursday he was given his hearing test and passed with flying colors. Here is a little picture of him all rigged up :)
Here are a few other pictures of Noah before we took him home to stay :)
On Friday morning we got to take our little boy home and FINALLY got to dress him in some cute clothes!!! :) YAY! Here is our sweet boy getting ready to leave the hospital :)My two most favorite boys in the whole world...home together at last! :) Updates On Mama:
Weight: -19 pounds, 11 pounds to go! woo hooo So I looked it up, who knew you burn 500 calories a day breastfeeding :p
Pain: Minor cramping for everything to shrink back down to normal size. However, I have experienced some engorged boobs which OMG are horrible. Hot compresses and heating pads have become my best friend. Normally it happens when I got too distracted by holding and cuddling on Noah at the hospital to pump every 3-4 hours...so its my own doing.
Breastfeeding/Pumping: He has a hard time staying on the boob once latched because he does this little thing with his tongue that will push out the boob/bottle, its easier to keep the bottle in. I spoke with his doctor before he was discharged and he told me not to get discouraged but it may be better for us (me and Noah) to keep up with the bottle for now until we hit 37-40 weeks gestationally. He still needs time to develop his skills and the bottle is easier and we also know how much he is eating.

So very happy to have our little boy home :) Friday night was probably the most anxious I had ever been in my life. At the hospital they would keep Noah on his stomach because he could breathe better that way, so anytime he is put on his back he rolls over to his side. Needless to say I didn't sleep much I was up constantly checking on him making sure he was breathing when he wasn't making any noise. We got through that first night and the following nights have been much better :) Nights are exhausting, but he is on a good schedule. He feeds every 3 hours, so he wakes up and he gets a diaper change, then a bottle (he is too worked up and fussy at night to even attempt the boob), then I pump and wash everything. Normally takes an hour from start to clean up and then I'll get 2 hours of sleep in before the next feeding. Matt has been amazing helping out though, I'm truly blessed to have such an AMAZING husband. We have an awesome project manager that allowed Matt to take as much time as was needed due to Noah being in the NICU for two weeks. So he was off the first two weeks and took an additional week to help me out with Noah. :) I love being a Mommy. From the first few days Noah has been home this is what I have learned:
1. Noah HATES to be naked with a passion. Which means he screams bloody murder at his 2am diaper changes...poor dear.
2. He always has gas :p
3. He is a good little eater....little porker in the making.
4. He makes sucking noises and grunts when he is awake during the night and ready to eat. He rarely cries, but he makes angry faces when he is hungry and it not given a bottle right away.
5. There is guaranteed poop in pretty much every diaper :P
6. Napping with that sweet little boy on my chest is the greatest feeling in the entire world :)