Plan of attack....

We had our second pediatrician appointment today.

The first was last Thursday where we discovered she had a mild case of jaundice and dropped from 6 lbs. 5.1 oz at birth to 5 lbs. oz.....needless to say we were concerned.

The appointment today proved to be successful. Originally, our second appointment was scheduled for this Thursday; however, we were becoming concerned with Olivia's weight and eating habits in the evening. Namely because she is an angel during the day and eats with such passion like clockwork every 2 hours but from 10 PM until about 5 AM she is a completely different baby - needing to be pacified by breast, not really eating but draining my breast of any milk or rest, as well as lack of rest for me + Dad (Dad gets her up since I am still a little sore from the surgery and stays up with me for moral support/make sure I don't fall asleep while holding the baby + I nurse). Jason and I are zombies in the evening but get by during the day with the aid of the beautiful weather (but not without living in fear of sundown as we have joked about!). Anyhow, to our surprise she is now a whopping 6.96 lbs!!!! What a relief to know that my breast milk is doing its thang and her jaundice has gone. Not a relief, you ask?....what are we going to do about her evenings?

Well, we're attempting our plan of attack as I type this - the plan of attack to teach her to differentiat between night + day. Hopefully this will work so wish us luck...

During the day, have her sleep in her rocker to differentiate beds between day and night.
Begin closing down the house about 8 PM...dimming lights, closing shades, turning down television, avoiding direct activity with the baby (ie, talking, entertaining, etc.)
7 PM bath (or other activity - ie, walk in the park, family outing, etc.)
8 PM feeding by breast
10 PM (hopefully she does her 2 hour increments after her bath!) feeding by breast
....then if the increments become the normal, dreaded every 30 minutes we will supply her with some formula and/or organic gripe water
...and THEN the hopeful every two hours....

Oh, and a word of advice....
never attempt child-rearing unless you are married to your best friend. We could not do this without the unspoken bond Jason + I share. We always know when to pick up where the other left off when the other becomes frustrated. Oh, and most of all...always hold on to your sense of humor.

Sorry this is so scatter-brained and inconsistent...just wanted to have another documented chain of events of our adventures for our daughter to witness our love + sacrifices...and perhaps use on her own children.

xo