In five weeks, Belle has grown impressively. She weighs approximately 11 pounds now (up from 7 lbs. 6 oz). She's starting to hit some milestones. At a day old, she turned her head from the left to the right while on her stomach. Now she's lifting her head and upper body using her arms to push up. She's also starting to seek out places to settle her feet in order to "stand." When she's on her stomach, I can place my hand against her feet and she will push against it and scoot forward. I've seen some genuine smiles. Today she smiled at Henci while she and Sharon were visiting! The other day, I heard her first laugh.
She is just as active as she was in the womb and enjoys her dance periods throughout the day. When she was inside me, I frequently would feel her stretch an arm out and wrap it around my body. I've seen her do that now and I'm kind of glad that I'm seeing it from the outside and not feeling it from within. She is a generally calm baby and she loves bathtime. She finds it very soothing and she looks like she's swimming when she kicks in the water.
Belle has is very taken with her namesake. She sleeps in grandma's arms frequently which gives me time to connect with Willem; play with him, cook, get him to sleep, etc.
Since she has gained as much weight as she has, its rather obvious that breastfeeding is going well. My supply is still regulating and I'm waiting for let-down to become less forceful. She really doesn't like being drowned in milk and she will sometimes yell at the breast when it sprays too quickly for her taste. I've also found that because I have such an abundant supply that she will sometimes have the characteristic green poops from a fore/hind milk imbalance. I've been block feeding and getting Willem's help to get her hindmilk more frequently.
Tandem nursing is not going so well however. There is something off with Willem's latch where he is almost always leaving teeth marks on my nipple. I find that uncomfortable and very annoying. I have been attempting to get him to change his latch and I haven't been having much success. I'm considering ending that breastfeeding relationship because its become frustrating and stressful for me, especially when I tell him to unlatch because of discomfort and he either refuses or tantrums.
Generally I am coping the transition to 2 well. I am puzzling through the challenges and trying to be patient with myself as I reflect on effective ways to structure the day and get each of our needs met.
And a cute picture:
