Jax began his first week with Christmas festivities and completed it with a New Years celebration! Jax reminded us just how much newborns sleep in the beginning, only to wake for feedings and maybe 15-20 minutes of "alert" time when he looks around. He was introduced to the vibrating bouncy seat and swing, 2 of his favorite places to snooze besides mommy and daddy's chest!
First doctor's appointment: Since he is still under Kaiser, we went back to visit Dr. Harbert (Taj's first pediatrician.) At his 2- day appointment, he weighed 6 lbs. 12 ounces (18th percentile), 20.5 inches long (74th percentile), and head circumference 35.5 inches (39th percentile). On his 3rd day, his umbilical cord dried up and fell off.
I don't know if it's because we left the hospital soon after he was born or we would have encountered this regardless, but once my milk came in I realized that Jax was having difficulty latching on during breastfeeding. This frustrated him so much he would shriek and cry at the breast, and ended up losing more weight than expected. He lost 12% of his body weight in just 3 days, so I went to the lactation clinic to get help and even with their guidance I noticed he still wasn't properly latching, he was gulping in more air (that caused him to be really gassy), and gave up readily. So I began pumping around the clock, giving him breastmilk out of the Born Free glass bottles we used with Taj, and one happy boy he became! Even though he is still the slowest drinker ever and a gentle sucker, he eats really well (3 oz. every 3 hours). I also began giving him the Biogaia probiotic drops that alleviated Taj's colic when he was a newborn (doesn't hurt to get a head start on this in efforts to prevent a fussy baby.) And at night i tried giving him 1-2 bottles of formula to fatten him up even more and he slept for much longer stretches, allowing me to get 4 hour increments of sleep back-to-back! He is an awesome sleeper for being a newborn, most nights i only get up once to feed him and pump! I am happy to report that at his 5 day follow-up appointment he was back up to 7lbs., and finally pooped at the doctor's office (he was constipated for a few days.)So besides visits to the doctor and lactation clinic, Jax had fun chillaxing at home, watching and listening to his crazy big brother, and loved being held. He also got to meet Sam, and Auntie Dina came to visit from Italy!! Dina spoiled the boys with cute gifts, and brought me a JAX charm to add to my necklace that already has the TAJ charm that she got me last year (now I wear both boys' names around my neck!)
At the end of the week, Auntie Laura came over to meet Jax for the first time as well!
As I mentioned, Baby Jax is a superb sleeper and napper, and boy does he snore and make the funniest noises when he sleeps! He sounds like a little chipmunk! Video coming soon! Jax is a very sweet baby. He is easy going, and when alert, he loves to look at the art on our wall in the livingroom and look at faces. He loves being held, and when you put him up on your shoulder, he turns his head easily from side to side. What a strong neck he has! I love watching him sleep and his sleep smiles. In honor of his first week birthday, I attempted to take some artsy newborn pics of him. I was able to capture some precious poses of him sleeping, here is a little teaser:
Birth announcements are being printed..... and we look forward to my friend Kristen coming down again to take family portraits, this time with Jax out of my belly :)
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