Ups and Downs

Olivia in a quiet peaceful moment with mom. You can probably tell this is a close up from the last photo, since I didn't manage to take any new pictures yesterday.

Well, everyone says there will be ups and downs. In the medical sense, Olivia's doing just fine, but yesterday was a challenging day for all 3 of us it seems. The poor little girl had to have her nasogastric tube changed which, as you can imagine, isn't much fun even if you know what's going on . Of course she cried. The whole thing exhausted her so that she didn't have the strength to nurse, which had been the plan, as we're trying to wean her _on_ to the breast from the tube feedings. And it's not common knowledge (not for me at least) that breastfeeding, although mother and baby have instincts and hormones that make it work, is still something that both need to learn how to do, and can have its frustrations, like when your baby is so tired from struggling and crying that she can't manage to latch on and get the comforting, nourishing milk she needs.

Even nappy changes were challenging yesterday, and seemed to also happen just before we were hoping to breastfeed her, tiring her out yet more; we (Bob at least) are still learning how to do it quickly, and yesterday she had a knack for feeling that the nappy was off and she had a clear shot at the bed or daddy's hand. Yes, I crossed a parenthood milestone myself yesterday and was pooped on for the first time. It wasn't that bad, actually, after all it was _her_ poop! I'm sure the parents out there understand- not sure I would have a few months ago.

By the end of the day all three of us were tired and fortunately we all three got to rest. Suzanne got the best night's sleep she's had in a week, Olivia was peaceful most of the night, and I got an extra hour as well (actually not of sleep in the end, but of time to do chores), becaue last night we switched from BST (British Summer Time, equivalent to daylight savings) to GMT.