Naomi Is ONE Month

This has been the month of all months. Honestly, I can’t even believe our sweet Naomi is one month old. Unfortunately, we’ve had to spend it in the hospital, but on the bright side, she has been growing like crazy and progressing as needed. My only complaint is that she hasn’t quite grasped drinking her ENTIRE bottle, so we are only working on feedings. Once she gets them down, we can go home. So if you aren’t tired of praying for our family yet, we need prayers that Naomi can come home soon! 

In her short little life, Naomi has brought so much joy to our lives. We love having her apart of our family and know that she really does complete us. I love thinking that we are a family of four. That we have worked so hard for her, it’s been a true team effort to get her to where she is.

  

At birth, she weighed 4 lbs. 2 oz. as of last night, she weighs 5 lbs. 10 oz.! She is a little chunker now! We have loved watching her grow and really become a different baby than a month ago. She is starting to cry more, squirm when her diaper is being changed, she has even pulled my hair! It’s exciting to watch! She loves having her hands up by her face, usually touching her face or in little fists of fury. She also grunts a ton and makes cooing noises. Josh and I have become pros at NICU life and I think Josh should make a career change to a NICU nurse. We have had fabulous nurses in Atlanta and Charlotte and we have been so happy with the care Naomi is receiving. Now, baby girl, time to start chugging those bottles!! 

This last month has also been full of a lot of adjustments. With Charlotte, I wasn’t producing any milk, but with Naomi, I am. These days I am a pumping machine. Actually, I don’t want to give myself too much credit. I do forget or don’t wake up in the middle of the night to pump. Like I said, adjustments! But I am still producing milk, much to my surprise. Naomi has been on straight breastmilk since she’s been born. It’s quite the accomplishment for me, since I wasn’t really able to do that with Charlotte. BUT, I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. I know it’s good for her being in the NICU and being so small. So as long as the milk is flowing, she’ll get it! Another adjustment is having to leave her every day. I cry at least once a day because I’m leaving my baby and, well, the bottle feeding situation has been frustrating. Those two things have really affected me, but I know it’s all part of the process. I don’t necessarily feel guilt, I know a lot of this is out of my control, but it’s just not what I’m used to. Luckily, I know it will get better! One last thing that has been difficult, is finding the balance between Charlotte and Naomi. They both need me, but I can only be with one of them at a time. Josh has been great in switching with me. We swap hospital and house duty. WOW, adding another kid to the mix (and after 5 1/2 years) is no joke! But it is so wonderful at the same time and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!