Birth Story

I am sitting here on the now constantly used couch in beautiful sunshine thinking about how three weeks ago today, at nearly this hour, Griffin came into our world. Three weeks is such a small amount of time, but it feels as though he has been a part of our lives for much longer. He is wrapped to my chest as he sleeps, squeaking and cooing (and sometimes sounding like a dinosaur) and I can think of no better feeling than this.

Andrew has set up a blog for our family and we’ve been wanting to start writing entries for, well, three weeks now. I only recently have felt like I have the energy to sit and type up some of my thoughts about his birth. The actual labor feels like a distant memory already, so I thought I should get it down sooner rather than later.

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Flurry of Doctor’s Visits

It seems that we live at the doctor’s office these days.  Nothing serious, just a lot of visits that basically come down to making sure Griffin is getting enough to eat.

Griffin was nine pounds at birth, but quickly lost almost a full pound. Since this is more than 10% of his body-weight, the doctors get a bit nervous and want to check on things regularly.  Between lots of lactation lessons and supplementing with formula (via a tiny tube from a syringe) we have been trying to get his weight back up.

We were taught this technique, called finger feeding, as a way to reduce nipple confusion and to encourage a good latch during breastfeeding.
We were taught this technique, called “finger feeding”, as a way to reduce nipple confusion and to encourage a good latch during breastfeeding.

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