Alot of firsts

We have almost survived a month! It is hard to believe that Tori will be a month old this coming week! It is very exciting for us because she is starting to be more and more awake. We can't wait for her to be able to interact with us all the time. We are anxious for her to start sitting up, crawling, eating food, and all that stuff, which I know sounds crazy but we both like that age. I'm sure there will come a time that we wish she was little again though! I do love cuddling her!

First off, Kelly has posted the pictures of Tori! You can check some out on her blog at nickandkellymccormick.blogspot.com and there are more on her photography website, kellymccormickphotography.com She did awesome and I can't wait to get some! Kelly, I am already looking forward to her 6 month pictures!

Tori weighs almost 8 and a half pounds. I've been seeing a lactation specialist at least once a week so it is nice to be able to see how much she weighs. I'm struggling with low milk supply because my milk was delayed in coming in due to the c-section so if anyone has tips on how to boost milk supply please share! Tori is currently getting about 30% breastmilk which is awesome compared to what she started at and that doesn't include what she takes directly off the breast since you can't measure that. It is hard work to breastfeed her, then give her a bottle, then pump, it is a never ending cycle, but for some reason I will not give it up, maybe because I like a challenge or maybe because I know how good it is for both of us. The lactation consultant has told me everytime that I've seen her that Tori is so lucky that I work so hard to get her breastmilk and that most moms would have given up by now. It always makes me tear up for some reason! Stupid post-pregnancy hormones!

If everyone could say a little prayer for us this week we would appreciate it. Tori's belly button isn't healing properly. When we were at the doctor a little over a week ago she said if it was still oozing stuff out of it in a week or two to call and they would take a look at it again. She threw out the word surgrey like it was no big deal, but of course I am scared to death that it will come to that! They tried to cautrize it but that didn't work, hoping they can maybe try again? I'm calling the doctor on Monday or Tuesday so we should know more then.

Okay, now for the fun stuff! New pictures!

Mocha, the dirty diaper sniffing dog!

Sittin on her boppy!

She is finally big enough for her sleepers, although her feet are too big for some of them.

First trip to Olive Garden! Snoozed through the whole thing!

Tummy Time!

Not too big of a fan, however she can push herself onto her back.

Mocha keeping an eye on her.

Daddy showing Mocha some loving!

First time being submerged in a bathtub. She looks happy because this was the beginning of the bath. The window entertained her for a very short period of time.

Now shes mad! Look at that curly hair.

Happy bathtime is over!

Look at that hair!

First time with a pacifer. It has penguins on it which are my favorite! We are being very careful with the pacifer so she doesn't become addicted. She just gets it after meals when she still acts hungry, but isn't. It tides her over until her tummy tells her brain that she is full, that is if she takes it. She is smart enough to realize no milk comes out of it.

Devin has been cooking. This is a "fatty" which consists of a weave of bacon, then layers of whatever. This time Devin chose sausage, hasbrowns, eggs, and cheese. Then you smoke them for a few hours. Heart attack waiting to happen.

What it looks like after you roll it up to put on the grill.

Two weeks old....

WOW! It is so hard to believe that we have been parents for two weeks! Time really does fly! I have a few short minutes while Tori is napping so I thought I could bring everyone up to speed on what has been going on.

The morning of June 29, I went in for a scheduled c-section. We had scheduled it the Thursday before so it wasn't a surprise to us as it was to everyone else. We chose only to tell our parents and siblings because we wanted to be able to enjoy some time as a family of three before being flooded with visitors. The c-section went great, as expected. We had a c-section because they were concerned about the size of the baby (ha!) and because my cervix was unfavorable and they didn't want me going past my due date because of the gestational diabetes and low fluids.

Anyways the day before the surgrey we had to go to the hospital to kind of pre-register and reality really sunk in for me. I was bawling when we left the hospital that day, I wasn't neccisarily scared, but you always wonder what if!

We got to the hospital at 6:30 on June 29 and I had a special nurse there! A friend of mine that I went to school with since Kindergarten was going to be taking care of me and be in the delivery room. It was such a relief because I knew she wouldn't let anything happen to me or Tori and that she would be there to explain everything to me. She prepped me and got me all hooked up to everything and before we knew it they were taking me back to surgrey. Devin had to wait for them to get the spinal in before coming back and it was the longest twenty minutes of my life! As soon as it was in they let him back and it seemed like five minutes later Dr. Reinerston was asking if I was ready to be a mom and I asked if I had a choice in the matter, then we heard our little girl crying! He came and showed her to me and then took her to Jenni who did all of the tests and cleaned her up. Jenni also came and got Devin from my side and had him cut the cord and hang out with Tori. It kinda sucked being on the table with no one to talk to, but I liked knowing that he was with our little girl. After they were done, they flopped her on my chest and then we were off to recovery! As they were wheeling me into recovery they played the lullaby and the parents in the waiting room knew that it was for us. So cool!

Our hospital stay was great, until the last night. All babies lose weight in the first few days, but if they have lost 10% of their body weight it becomes a problem, so a nurse talked to use about supplementing with formula because my milk wasn't enough which upset me, but we knew that it was what was best for Tori. If we hadn't started formula that night we probably would have had to stay another night. To make a long story short we are still supplementing with formula and breastfeeding and pumping as much as possible, which is hard work! As of yesterday she was back up to 7lbs 8oz, so she just needs to gain two more ounces by her appointment Thursday.

Okay I will quit rambling and start posting some pictures!

Dr. Reinerston with Tori. I forgot to mention one of the nurses took our camera and was running around taking pictures in the delivery room.

First family photo!

Not as big as we expected!

BEST NURSE EVER!

Daddy played dress up with Tori before leaving the hospital!

Finally an outfit that fits somewhat!

Ready to go home!

Mocha meeting Tori! She has been great with her!

Talkin on Devin's cell phone.

Watchin Daddy play softball!

I will try to post more pictures when time allows. Now that we are settled in and have somewhat of a routine down we would love to have visitors! Just please let us know when you are coming so we aren't surprised or in the the middle of nursing. Speaking of nursing, time to go do that again...

Thanks for checking in!