I guess I have been pretty quiet on the Jessica front in terms of the blog lately, but that is mainly because nothing big has been happening and everything has been pretty much status quo, smooth sailing if you know what I mean.
Hello world - or should that be kitty?
My beautiful daughter is currently sitting around 42 centimetres long and weighs in at just over the 2.5 kg mark, though this varies as she tends to lose a little, gain a little now that she is almost exclusively feeding on the breast.
And yes, her hair is still red.
Talking about the breast, we finally figured out how to get Jessie to consistently drink from Chantelle, after making the call that C’s nipples were simply to short and large for Jessica’s small mouth to properly form a vacuum around, leading to the introduction of nipple shields which elongate the nipple and now allows Jessie to happily suck away to her heart’s content.
Combined with the breast feeds are the usual cup feeds to supplement, and only recently did she lose the nose tube for good, meaning that the tube feeds have now also completely stopped. On recommendation of the physio the nurses have also begun to bottle feed, in the hopes that the increased stimulation will improve Jessica’s breast feeding attempts.
Little one taking a nap on Mommy's shoulder
Shame, Chantelle continues to drive in to the hospital on a daily basis, having to spend most of the day there in order to feed and just care for our daughter, with the result that she is pretty tired and frazzled at the moment. I have scaled back slightly, not visiting on Monday and Wednesday evenings any more, but for the most part I try to spend a good hour or two with my little one in my arms as much as possible. Both sets of grandparents have now had the pleasure to meet the little monkey, and needless to say, they are as pleased as punch, though I’m not quite sure Jessica has actually seen Monty’s face just yet – it is almost permanently covered by a camera each time he has been to visit! :)
The hospital, Dr. Edson and the fabulous nursing staff continue to be good to us, and thankfully Discovery has also been playing along quite nicely, meaning no strain or trouble from that end of this business, which is a pretty good thing at the moment.
Oh, and have I mentioned yet how cute my little daughter is? (Well, she is only the most cutest baby in the world you know! :P)
Big stretch from the star attraction!
Anyway, now for the fantastic, fabulous, splendiferous news we have all been waiting for – on Monday we finally got the green light for Chantelle to “room in” on Wednesday meaning that if all goes well, Jessica will be back home with us at Country Mews come this Thursday!!!
The nursery is already complete (and looking stunning, pictures still to come, I promise) and all we need to do is pick up one or two small little items to supplement what we already have in place.
In other words we are ready and absolutely thrilled at this momentous occasion.
Now the fun and games can really begin! :)
P.S. Up until now I have managed to avoid changing a nappy. Needless to say, that is about to change… guess it is time to man-up after all! ;)
P.P.S. You want more photos? Well the photos from weeks 5 and 6 are now up in the gallery! (Don’t say I don’t spoil you)