Saturday, July 31, 2010

Bath Time

We have started trying to get Nicholas on a routine (which is going amazingly well during the day, ok at night). After we eat dinner I am giving him a bath then he has tummy time or playtime. Last night I was able to get a couple of adorable pictures of him in the bath and during tummy time. When I was bathing him I sat him up in his sling because poor thing is almost ready for the actual baby tub, not the sling. While he was sitting there, he pulled the towel I had over him up and held on like it was a sheet in the bed. TOO CUTE! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture in time, but these are pretty cute too!
I LOVE this sleeper/hat set, but sadly my baby was NOT feeling the hat last night. I did manage to get a couple of decent pics right before the big meltdown over it! Ha!
He LOVES tummy time. He has always held his head up pretty well, so he enjoys lying on his boppy and looking around and he especially loves watching Spencer.
Daddy came in during this time last night. Here they are playing together. Notice his little
4-legged friend in the picture as well! Can you see Nicholas' big smile?! He LOVES his Daddy!

Friday, July 30, 2010

4 Weeks Old




Nicholas, you are FOUR weeks old already! Where is the time going?! Mommy only has seven and a half more weeks at home with you. :-( You are doing so good this week, with the exception of a couple rough nights. Your medicine seems to really be helping you and you are so pleasant and happy! You are so much more alert this week. You are enjoying watching people and things and even tracking us as we move around the room.

You will be ONE month old on Sunday, which makes me sad to an extent. I want you to stay little and cuddly for a long time, but at the same time, I am excited to watch you grow. I think you will be close to eleven pounds on Monday at your one month check up. You eat 4 ounces every three hours on the dot and between that and the 2 tsp of cereal in every bottle, I think you are doing great. :-) You appear to have grown in length as well, but we'll see.

You are starting to really like your swing and of course you have always loved your bouncy and boppy. This week we have been out and about some. It seems to be good for both of us to get out. Monday we went to the grocery store for the first time, Tuesday Aunt Melissa kept you for a couple of hours while Mommy and Daddy ran a couple of errands, Wednesday we went to see Gigi at work and to Old Navy, and today we went to mommy's office and you stayed at Gigi's house for Mommy to get her hair cut. You and Beasley (my parent's dog) are good friends now. He definitely loves you! haha!

We tried to put you in your own bed on Tuesday night, but you weren't really happy. You like your cozy newborn napper on the pack n play. We are ordering your birth announcements this week. Mommy is so excited to get that done and to see them. I think they will be adorable, just like you!

You are a precious, sweet, beautiful baby. You have brought such joy and love to our house. Mommy and Daddy love you so very much!!!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Some Pictures

I wanted to share some pictures my sister in law, Melissa took of Nicholas. We did his initial newborn photo shoot when he was 5 days old, but he didn't cooperate very well, so he had another this past Tuesday at 26 days old. MUCH better! I'm saving my fav for his birth announcement, so you'll see it then!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Many Faces of Nicholas

My baby LOVES making faces! I've been trying to catch some of my favorites, but it is hard juggling a camera and trying to get them in time. Here are some of the best ones so far.

He is such a little mess! He is developing quite the personality we think. I can't wait to see how much he grows into his own self over the next few months!

He is doing much better with his reflux. Every day is better than the last. We have been working hard to keep him elevated after a feeding, get his zantac down (which is quite the ordeal!), and burp well. It seems to be helping. He is a lot less fussy, sleeping well, not grunting much at all, and the best part to me, he seems to be getting on a schedule! Thanks for your advice, thoughts, and prayers! They are working!

We haven't been or done much the last week because it has been 100 degrees here every day (or storming as it was yesterday), but yesterday morning N and I went to Kroger about 20 minutes away and I am hooked! Why have I not discovered this place earlier?! They have a Starbuck's inside!!!! I was in heaven!!!! Plus, between coupons and the discount card thingy, I saved $15!

Today was Michael's day off, so we had his sister and grandmother come watch Nicholas for a couple of hours while we ran a few errands. While we were out we went by Verizon and I ordered my new phone!
I ordered a Droid Incredible. I've done a lot of research on them and I am hoping I like it. I am a little nervous about the touchscreen since I am coming from a Blackberry curve. Does anyone have this phone (or another Droid)? If so, what are your favorite apps? Any advice for transitioning to a touchscreen?

Friday, July 23, 2010

Three Weeks Old

Nicholas, you are THREE weeks old now!
You have DEFINITELY been a different baby this week! In some good ways and some bad ways. Bless your little heart, you apparently have a terrible reflux problem and have been very fussy. However, you have also been such a sweet cuddly, loving baby. You love to look around and be awake. You seem to be afraid you'll miss something if you go to sleep! Today Mommy noticed you like to watch your mobile in your crib while you are trying to take a nap. (you only nap in your crib right now)

Saturday you had your first ER visit. You had severe diarrhea and reflux, but no one is really sure what was going on with you. Mommy cut out diary, spicy, and garlicy foods from her diet. Seemed to at least help the gas and poop situation.
You are now using Dr. Brown's bottles to help with your reflux and Dr. Spraggins wants you to have 1/2 tsp of cereal for every ounce of milk you drink. You are doing great with that! You down those bottles super fast, but don't spit up!!! Mommy is happy! You also take 1/4 tsp of zantac twice a day. We are hoping that helps, soon!

When you went to the dr you weighed 9 pounds and 13 ounces!!!! I'm thinking you'll be at least 10 1/2 pounds at your one month visit! WOW! It still seems funny that after everyone kept asking if I was REALLY as pregnant as I was, you were such a big baby! You were just hiding in my ribs!

Mommy can't believe you will be ONE month old next Sunday. I am going to order your one month birthday cake tomorrow. :-)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Dr. Appointment Update

After another LOOOOOOOOOOONG night that was spent with me on the couch and Nicholas in his bouncy seat, I called the pedi office bright and early. They said to be there in an hour! I was thrilled to get in so fast! I pumped real fast and threw clothes on both of us and brushed my teeth and got there with 10 minutes to spare. Whew!

Right before the Dr. came in, Nicholas had an entire bottle, which was good, she got to see him at his finest. The back and neck arching, screaming, wheezing/grunting, and irritable. She does believe he has more of a reflux problem than a gas problem and suggested we start him on 1/2 teaspoon of rice cereal per oz of milk at each feeding. Hopefully that will give the milk some texture and thickness and will eliminate some of the reflux and spitting up. We are also going to start him on zantac. Hopefully between the two Mommy and Nicholas can get some sleep soon!

Thanks everyone for all of the advice and stories about reflux last night and today. You are the best! If N continues to be a good boy this evening, I'll take his 3 week picture and do a post.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Lunch Date and Tummy Trouble

Today has been a busy day for Nicholas and I! We had a very, very rough morning. Nicholas got up at 1:50, 3:15, 5:30, and 7:45 this morning. He has been having a very hard time with his tummy lately. We are starting to think he may have some reflux issues. I spoke with the nurse at this pedi office today and she thinks so too. He can only sleep if inclined and will not lie flat, grunts for at least an hour after every feeding (which leads me to believe he may be aspirating), and he stiffens up and arches his back and neck and screams a lot (usually after feedings). He doesn't have projectile spit up, but does spit up almost immediately, but will not burp, no matter what you do. Any suggestions? I plan to get an appt to see his dr tomorrow. Something has to be done, soon! We are both tired and miserable.

When I finally got him to sleep around 11:30, yes, he was up and screaming from 7:45-11:30, I got ready and we drove to Cleveland to meet Daddy and his family for lunch! It was great to see them and they all LOVE Nicholas so much (but really, who doesn't?!). We had a nice lunch at Chili's. He had his picture taken with his Mamaw (Great grandmother), Michael's dad (who doesn't have a grandfather name yet!), and Granddad (Great grandfather).
He is SO LOVED and Michael and I LOVE that!

Last night we decided we wanted to go to our favorite restaurant, but was afraid it would be too crowded for Nicholas, so he got to spend an hour or so at my parents house for the first time. We also love that they live on the way to most of our favorite places to eat! Just kidding Gigi, that isn't the only reason he came by. He just missed seeing you!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Some CUTE Pictures and a Trip To The ER

We had an interesting weekend to say the least. Let's just preface all of this with Mr. Nicholas is awake, alert and ready to learn now! He has spent the past five days looking around and checking it all out. :-)

Friday my dad's sisters, Tina and Karen and my cousin Jessi came to visit. They were here about two hours and unfortunately, my camera was dead. :-( It was so good to see them, they live in Atlanta so we don't see them that often, but I was so happy they wanted to come see Nicholas. We had a tasty lunch of chicken salad croissants, fruit, chips, and banana pudding my mom whipped up for us. It was also Gigi's last day to stay with us. We missed her here with us today! Mommy was busy cleaning bottles, giving bath, and doing all the things she helped with.

Saturday morning I had a fussy baby, but I really needed to work on some pictures for his birth announcements. When he went to sleep I took a few pictures with my friend Brittney. Here are my favorites.




Isn't he just PRECIOUS?!

Saturday during Nicholas' 4:30 feeding he seemed fussier than normal and had three dirty diapers. I thought it was odd, but waited to see what the next feeding would bring. He continued to be fussy and have 1o more dirty diapers by 1:30, so I called the peds office. They said because he was born at 38 weeks and had so much trouble eating early on, they wanted him to go to the ER. That was not what I thought they would say! I just called to find out what to give him. Poor baby had labs drawn, multiple abdominal xrays, and a stool sample (which he pooed all over the doctor working on him! Ha!) in his three hour visit. In the end it was decided he just had gas, reflux, and probably ate something in my milk that didn't agree with him. We came home with some mylicon and gripe water and changed our bottles to Dr. Brown's. By today we have had a new baby! He is happy, eating better, and sleeping! I'm a fan of the bottles, even though they are a HUGE pain to clean.

Yesterday was wonderful. Because Michael is off from work on Sundays and Tuesdays, he helps with the night time feedings on Monday and Saturday nights. He did the midnight feeding and the 7am feeding and I got a broken TEN hours of sleep!!!! I was a new woman yesterday! However, I did just lay around and watch TV. Haha!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Lost Update, 38 Weeks

Just saw this sitting in my posts waiting to be published and thought I would publish it for fun. I never got my picture (which makes me SO SAD since I went into labor that same day), but I had already written my weekly update the evening before I went into labor. So, I thought I would post it even though there isn't a picture.

How far along? 38 weeks! We will meet our miracle baby, Nicholas ONE WEEK from today (if not before!)!!!!!!
How big is Baby? 20 inches, 7 pounds (according to my OB). Size of a watermelon.
Total weight gain/loss: 29 pounds, but almost 5 of that we know is fluid since I gained so much in one week. My OB thinks I might have as much as 10 pounds of fluid as swollen as I am. I HOPE SO! Lost one pound this week.
Maternity clothes? All I wear, but even those are starting to get uncomfortable
Stretch marks? Not yet, hoping I can make it another week without any!
Sleep: No longer in my vocabulary, getting harder and harder at night! I'm pretty sure I could take a nap in the mid afternoon though.
Best moment this week: Hearing his heartbeat on Monday and finding out that I am already starting to dilate!!!
Movement: LOVING it! He isn't as active as he was because he is so big and I have a very small torso. I still feel kicks and hiccups, but that is about it. He is sitting ALL in my right rib cage and it is VERY painful.
Food cravings: SONIC ICE! It is my new obsession.
Gender: It's A BOY!!!!!! Nicholas Allen Ledford.
Labor Signs: Still having backpain and contractions on and off. Pretty sure things are starting to happen. Too bad I don't need to have practice contractions! Ha!
Belly Button in or out? It is almost flat. However, it is basically still an innie.
What I am looking forward to: I'm starting to get super excited that we are only 7 days away from meeting Nicholas!!!!
Milestones: WE ARE FULL TERM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Two Weeks Old

I am so sad, my baby is already two weeks old! Time is flying! Before I know it, it will be time to plan his first birthday (wait, who am I kidding, it is already planned! Ha!).

We went to see the nurse yesterday for a weigh in and you topped the scale at 8 pounds 14 ounces! You are a BIG boy!!!! We go back to see Dr. Spraggins on August 2. I am thinking you'll be close to 10 pounds by then.

You are still sleeping almost four-five hours at a time during the night! YAY!!!!! You pretty much never cry unless you are hungry or need a diaper change. You still do not like being naked, but doing MUCH better about getting a bath.

We've had another busy day! We started the day with Courtney and Lauren coming to bring breakfast and visit for a little while. Spencer was SO glad to see Lauren. She didn't even notice the baby, she was too busy playing with Spencer! Thank you Courtney for everything over the past two weeks!!!!
After they left my mom and I got brave and decided to attempt a trip to the mall. He was doing great until we were there about an hour then it happened...our first diaper blowout in the car seat! We got him cleaned up and the seat to where he could at least sit in it in the middle of Belk. Fun times, let me tell you! Then, I had to run in BRU for a gift and some pumping supplies. By the time we got home we were both EXHAUSTED!

Well, we were home long enough for him to eat a bottle before my Nana, Aunt Kelly, and cousin Katie came by. They stayed for about an hour and visited and held him. Here is a picture of my Nana and Nicholas.
After they left we both just passed out on the couch sitting up! I was so tired! Nicholas makes funny faces all the time, but I can never catch them on camera. Well, here is one. I thought it was funny.
Tonight, Rodney and Sarah came over for hamburgers and now we are all about to get in our pjs and crash before the bedtime bottle. Tomorrow is going to be another day full of visitors. Some of my dad's family is coming up from Atlanta to visit for lunch, so I'm sure I'll be back with pictures then.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

2 Week Dr. Apptointment and 40 Weeks

Today is Nicholas' due date! I've thought about it all day. For nine months we counted down to this day, not knowing he would arrive two weeks ahead of schedule! All of a sudden, July 14 didn't mean a thing! It has been kind of funny because today might be the most alert he has been during the day. I think there is some truth to the thought that he has been so sleepy because he simply wasn't ready to come out. It is so hard for me to believe that he will be TWO WEEKS old tomorrow! Time is flying by already. It also means I have to go back to work ten weeks from today. :-(

This morning we got up and got dressed early to go to get weighed in at the pediatrician's office. I didn't get a good picture of him, but here he is modeling his froggy outfit (my favorite!) before we left.
I was right, he is almost 9 pounds (and probably will be by the weekend!). He is 8 pounds and 14 ounces!!!! I am so happy and relieved to know that the bottlefeeding/pumping is working for him as well as it is for me. Everything looked great and I can't believe I forgot to tell this, but his little cord stump came off last night while we were gone. It has been quite the drama. Monday I put him in an outfit I bought two years ago because I was worried he would outgrow it before he got to wear it, it is a shirt and pants pj kind of outfit. Well, about three hours later my mom noticed it had rubbed his stump almost off and it was just kind of hanging there. AHHHHHH!!!!!! I felt like a terrible mommy, so I googled and tweeted it and decided it would be ok to wait until today to see the Dr. Well, last night while we were gone he had on a little gown and during a diaper change, my mom noticed it was gone. It was found on the floor and we were all relived Spencer didn't get it first. Haha! I know, a little crazy, but for some reason I've stressed that would happen when the time came. (Don't laugh, I've told y'all I'm a little OCD, neurotic! Ha!). Well, he has a cute little innie and I'm happy that Spencer didn't eat it. :-)

After his appointment we went to the OB office to pick up some paperwork and then to my office to meet all of my work friends and Dr. Smith. We had a good visit. We stayed almost two hours and he was PERFECT! He ate a bottle and had a poopy diaper, but never even cried. He was also awake 90% of the time we were there! He is such a good little boy! He just sat in his travel system and charmed everyone! He seriously is the best baby I've ever been around and COMPLETELY worth the long wait we went through to have him! I love being a mommy more than I ever thought I would!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Patio and A Night Out

I know, I didn't do a good job keeping up. Sorry! I've been a little more sore (probably from doing so much! Oops!) and tired, so I've been trying to sleep when I can. Plus, I still had about 25 thank you notes to write when I went into labor, so I've been working on those, slowly, but surely. If you are still waiting on one, I PROMISE, it is coming!

On Sunday we had a nice, quiet day. We got up around 10ish (we are still only getting up once or twice for about 30 minutes at a time during the night! Woohoo!), got dressed, then took our first trip to Lowe's. I meant to take pictures, but forgot my smaller camera. Nicholas took his first ride in his travel system and seemed to love it. He was perfect! When we got home we spent most of the afternoon on our patio. Here is a picture of it so far. We had a massive, huge, dining set that we sold and now we are loving our new sitting area.

Michael's sister, Melissa and her friend Lisa came to see Nicholas, but again, I forgot to take pictures. I've been slipping the past few days.

Yesterday it was rainy, so we just hung out at home and cuddled most of the day. I did run out with my mom for a few minutes to pick up the 172 pictures we took the first week at Walgreens. Ha!

Michael is really doing a great job as a Dad. I couldn't do it without him, especially the late evenings and early mornings. Last night he sat up with him waiting on his early morning feeding so I could get some sleep. I ended up getting about 4 uninterrupted hours of sleep last night! I did get this picture. How sweet?!
Today was rainy again and Michael's day off, so we had yet another lazy day. As in, Nicholas and I didn't leave the couch from 11am-4pm! Ha! We did have our first night out without him. Michael had a mandatory dinner at the country club in the town where his dealership is and I was invited, so my parents came over and we got dressed up and left for a few hours. I am happy to say that I got in a dress I bought a year ago that is smaller than what I was wearing when I got pregnant! Woohoo! Breastfeeding (or in my case, exclusively pumping) is the best diet I've ever been on!
Tomorrow we start the day off early with a pediatrician appointment. I am thinking he will be pretty close to birth weight if not more. He has noticeably gained weight, so I am excited to weigh him.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

First Day Alone

I told you I'd get caught up! Don't forget to check out the story of our first week as a family below.

Today was the first day Nicholas and I were alone. Well, ok, I'll be honest, I did call Gigi over to help while I took a shower. I love the fact my parents are only 12 minutes away! Ha! We had another good night. Nicholas woke up for about 20 minutes for a quick change and bottle around 2:30, I woke up at 4:30 to pump, and then another bottle at 5:15. I still managed to get about 7 hours of sleep!!!! I feel so blessed to have a good sleeper (at least this far). He is just so good!

Around 11 I decided I needed to have a shower and my mom and dad offered to come help watch Nicholas so I could take my time. I was so excited to have the time and feel like actually washing and styling my hair for the first time since Monday BEFORE he was born. I've been either washing but not styling or wearing it natural (curly) ever since. While I was in the shower, they gave Nicholas a sponge bath and he seemed so awake and happy!

When they left I found this sweet gift from a blog friend! Thank you so much Christy! It was so sweet of you!!!!
We spent the rest of the day alone until Nicole and McKinley came by to bring dinner. I LOVE my friends and we are so happy that they are helping us by bringing dinner. It definitely helps so much! They made us a very tasty baked ravioli, salad, and brownies! YUM! We love our new patio set and after dinner we sat outside and relaxed.
HELP! We have had three leaky pee-pee diapers today! Any suggestions? I tried going up a size, but too big for us!

Nicholas' First Week

It has been driving me crazy that I have not updated the blog to tell the story of Nicholas' first week. I had planned to update daily starting in the hospital, but when we were there, I didn't feel like it and I have been so busy at home, it just hasn't happened. I started with last Friday and will go through yesterday. Starting tonight, I will do my VERY best (but can't promise) to update nightly.

Friday, July 2, 2010
We started the day with some visitors from my office. I work very closely with Dana and Kristy. Dana and I have worked together as RN and MA since I started there almost five years ago. She has prayed with me and for me as we waited for our miracle. She finally stopped crying long enough to take a picture with Nicholas. :-)
My Nana came with my Aunt Kelly and cousin Katie to see him. It meant a lot to me for them to meet. She actually came twice that day, once again later in the evening with my great Aunt Peggy.My Aunt Kelly made our favors for us. I didn't have them until the 2nd day considering he decided to make an early debut! Haha! They were sugar cookies with light blue icing and brown monogram. ADORABLE!

I had a busy day FULL of visitors, but unfortunately I wasn't feeling well, so very few had their picture made. That night, Melissa and Matt came back to see him. I thought this was a sweet picture of Michael, Melissa, and Nicholas.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Saturday was a very quiet day, thank goodness! All the steady stream of visitors, difficulty nursing, and my pain made me crazy on Friday. It was a hard day. I felt better on Saturday and stayed on top of my pain meds, which I think helped a lot. The only visitors we had were Brian and Karen. That afternoon we took some pictures because we thought his little outfit was so cute. We had dressed him that morning for his hospital pictures. These next two pictures melt my heart and make me want to cry they are so sweet. Michael is so in love with Nicholas and it shows. He lights up everyday when he gets home from work and is always excited to see him.
Not my best picture, but I still like it.
That night my OB suggested that Michael go home and get our house and Spencer ready for us to come home the next night, so Gigi (my mom) came to stay with us that night. We had a good night and it was good for all of us.

Sunday, July 4, 2010
The best July 4 I've ever had! The day we brought our special little miracle baby home! Our OB came in around 11 not long after Michael came to get us and released us. We dressed him in his special little outfit Nana gave him and took a few pictures before loading up and heading home.
When we pulled up we saw our stork. SO CUTE! He should be flying home today, but not before leaving our personalized bundle.
I couldn't wait to introduce Nicholas to his room! Here we are in front of his bed where I showed him his bedding and his cute mobile.
He seemed to like his lion that sits at the opposite corner of his bed. (yes, I know to take it out before he actually sleeps in there)
I thought this was a sweet picture. I just HAD to lay him in there for a few seconds for a picture! Ha!
No one was there when we came home which was perfect. We all took a long afternoon nap and got comfy before my parents came over around 7:00 with homemade BBQ for dinner. YUM! While they were there my mom and I gave Nicholas his first bath at home. He wasn't a fan!

Monday, July 5, 2010
A very quiet day!!! We had a decent first night at home and Michael took this picture of us taking a nap. (he doesn't get in our bed. That was just a quick nap. He sleeps in his pack n play)
After we got up and moved around a little, I decided I needed to go to BRU to buy a breast pump since we were having so much trouble. We had one someone let us borrow, but we needed our own for long term use, so my mom picked me up and we ran to BRU quickly to get a few things I realized I needed. Michael and Nicholas did great while I was gone!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Tuesday was a rough day. We only got about three hours of sleep and had a constant stream of visitors. We love to have visitors, but I was very nervous and having a very hormonal day over our breastfeeding issues, so it was a hard day. We also took his newborn pictures, but very few came out because he was so fussy. We are doing a retake soon. Bless his heart! I ended up having to call my parents to come over that evening because I just couldn't take it anymore. I had a huge breakdown and was just so frustrated. I felt better by the time we went to bed and N did us a HUGE favor and slept 6 hours straight!!!! Also, a HUGE THANK YOU to Courtney for bringing us dinner. It helped my sanity that day!

Here he is swinging for the first time. I think he likes it!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Today is the day Nicholas was supposed to join us had he not decided to join us the week before!

We started the day at the pediatrician's office and got a great report. He weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces, up 3 ounces from when we left the hospital! Woohoo! Thank goodness for breast pumps and bottles! Ha! That afternoon we went to see a lactation consultant. It went well, but we STILL had latching problems. Here we are modeling our shirt Chea sent us. THANK YOU!
That night, we sold our patio dining set on craigslist and took our first trip to Walmart patio department to buy our new set. I'll blog more on that later. He had a VERY busy Wednesday!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Happy One Week Birthday!!!! I did a post on Wednesday with some pictures, so I won't show those again, but Thursday Michael went back to work and Gigi stayed with us. We made our first trip to Target to get a few things Mommy needed. He was PERFECT! He loves being on the go, which is great for us! That afternoon, my cousin Koko came to see him. Please pray for her, she is in Honduras on a mission trip with church.

Friday, July 9, 2010
We had our third night in a row of only waking once and sleeping for extended amount of time! Gigi got to our house early to help us get ready to go out. We gave N a bath and he was so awake, alert, and happy this time! Yay!
After we got ready we ran downtown to leave a fruit arrangement for our OB and his nurses. I honestly cannot say enough about them. I feel so sad that I won't be seeing them at least biweekly anymore. We've spent a lot of time together over the last year!

A few of you on twitter have asked how Spencer is doing. He is great. He LOVES his new brother. This is how I found them Thursday afternoon. SO SWEET!!!!

Update on me: I am feeling better than I have been both physically and emotionally. We decided that pumping and bottle feeding is the best option for our family. I am much happier and a lot less stressed not having to deal with the latching issues. I know that I should have kept working at it, but it just wasn't worth it to me. I've waited all this time to have N and I wanted to enjoy every moment, not spend it stressed out. I also have to say that I have lost all of my pregnancy weight!!!! I still need to lose about 10-15 more of infertility drug weight, but I am VERY excited to be back to my prepregnancy size a week postpartum.