"Grandmom Trif likes rocking me in the glider." 

"I love looking at those ceiling fans" 

We went to the doctor for a weight check last Thursday (4-14) and Robert was only up 1 oz. The doctor wanted to see him again on Monday and Robert gained 10 oz in 4 days. Unfortunately, he was also running a slight temp. (99.4) the doctor didn't seem concerned, he said Robert may have a cold, but he also took a urine sample to be sure that he didn't have a urinary tract infection - a possibility with the orange-ish streaks we've been seeing in his diapers. I, personally, don't think that he has a UTI, I just think he was dehydrated.

We have been continuing the formula... to my dismay. I hate it. I feel inadequate, like I can't provide nourishment for my own child. I am still working on my supply and intend on calling a lactation consultant soon. Robert has continued to latch on well, but he has a problem with falling asleep while he eats.

Bobby goes out of town next week. Robert and I will visit Gram and Pape Gladu in Horsham for a few days. (Mommy is beginning to like this whole "not working" thing... much more than she thought she would - going back to work is going to be hard!)

Robert "Spike" Trifiletti III rests after a bath. 

Robert Naps this afternoon. 

A Book of Mondays

A Book of Days, so it's been told
is a picture each week until you're one year old.
You're getting so big, my how you've changed,
One cannot stop what time has arranged.
So cherish these moments, frozen in time,
because no matter how big, you'll always be mine.

Robert has a book of Mondays. Each Monday for his first year of life, we will take his picture. By the time he is one year old we will have 52 (or in our case 104 - 2 each week) pictures of his first year of life.

This idea came from one of the moms at the daycare where I work. She claims it was her 'idea' and we encouraged her to patent it... and maybe sell it to Hallmark. She could make a killing.

I made a "Book of Tuesdays" for my nephew, Oliver last year when he was born. He is nearing the end of his first year and now Robert's "Book of Mondays" has begun.

The breast is best?

Its 3am... time to eat - again! I have Robert on my lap, latched on the right side, and a bottle of formula in front of me.

Robert has not been gaining weight properly. Most likely due to the improper latch I posted of earlier. And although we seem to have made some improvement, my body doesn't want to produce enough milk to feed this little guy. We have been to the pediatrician twice and both times he recommended supplementing with formula. Robert's weight was down to 7 lbs 15 oz, and I was in tears in the dr.'s office. The truth was evident... My baby was going to have to drink formula.

I was reluctant to start it for two reasons: 1. fear that Robert may like the bottle nipple better than my own and 2. the breast is best.
I have read all about 'nipple confusion' when a bottle os offered too soon. Also, a baby sucks on a bottle nipple or pacifier differently than he would at the breast. 'Suckling' from the breast is much harder work than 'sucking' from a bottle. Some babies may prefer the ease of a bottle flow and wean themselves from the breast at a very early age. I digress.

I started to give Robert 2 oz of formula at most of his feedings (after offering the breast - we are still trying to increase my supply) The formula makes him gassy, and he hasn't quite figured out how to suck the bottle nipple efficiently. But his skin is less dry - better hydration - and he seems very content after his feedings.

Hopefully this isn't something we will have to continue, but for now its working.

Robert ponders some thoughts on a sunny morning chilin' with Dad. 

Robert enjoys some playtime with Mommy last weekend in Philly. 

Robert looking refreshed after a bath on 4 April 2005 

Busy weekend...

Robert had quite the busy weekend.
We left Friday afternoon for Robert's first trip to Gram and Pape Gladu's in the Philly area. We planned to attend a wedding for my cousin on Friday evening. And we did attend the wedding, barely. I had to leave in the middle of the ceremony to feed Robert in the car. Now that we have this breast feeding thing down pat, Robert wants to eat ALL the time. (Bobby is so proud - his son is a boob man!) After the wedding, we visited with my grandmother. She was excited to meet her 4th Great Grandchild.
Aunt Germaine and Uncle Rob were visiting from Pittsburgh for the weekend. It was so nice to be able to spend some time with them. Robert was so excited to meet them! We took tons of pictures with them.
On Saturday, we visited Great Grandmom and Great Grandpop Salerno (Bobby's grandparents) and Great Aunt Kathy, Great Uncle Rick and 2nd cousins Ricky and Nicole. They, too, were so excited to meet Robert. Of course, Robert needed to eat while we were there... so he and mommy had some quality time together. Our visit was short, but very nice.
And Robert got some cute presents too. He loved that!
On Sunday, we visited Great Grandmom Trif and Great Aunt Carol and Great Uncle Tom in Phoenixville, PA. Robert had to have a meal there, as well. He is one hungry dude. But sometimes I think he just wants to be anti-social.

We brought Gram Gladu back to the Poconos with us. She is spending the week here since Bobby is (reluctantly) going back to work this week. We plan to have lots of fun!

Breastfeeding woes

***Hello members of the Lil' Trif fan club... This message should have been posted on Thursday, but for some reason, blogger wouldn't work on my computer. I saved it and now its finally pasted here for you to read. Our apologies for a lack of recent updates, and we promise to keep you all better informed in the future.

I underestimated this whole breastfeeding thing. Whoa. Its really hard! We were off to a rough start... We ended up taking Robert to the pediatritian for the first time on Tuesday. I became very concerned with the pinky color his urine was leaving in his diapers. According to all the books, this is normal in newborns - it is uric acid crystals and it occurs in babies until the mother's milk comes in. It is not normal after the milk is available. Well, my milk was in by Saturday and he was still having these crystals in his pee. I called the doctor and they wanted to see him. He obviously wasn't getting enough to eat (or drink). The doctor suggested supplementing with formula. Blah. I didn't like that idea. But I suppose if it best for the baby, I can't deny him the proper nutrients. I also am against offering him a bottle too soon. We do plan to start the bottle in a few weeks, but right now I want him to become acclimated with the breast, and apparently that wasn't working well.

Bobby and I started to really pay attention to ever detail of my breast feeding sessions (which occur every hour and a half - from start to start - so I am feeding him 12-15 times each day, round the clock! I wanted to really give breast feeding everything I had before supplementing. At each feeding, we paid attention to Robert's positioning, my positioning, how he latches on and how he gulped and swallowed. It seems the latching was the biggest problem.

Long story short, we think we nipped it in the bud... he is finally catching on. He is pooping and peeing like a champ, and he seems much more content. As you probably know, this kid likes to take his time with most things. He's probably a perfectionist. :)

Last night, we had to wake him up to eat. He slept from 11:30 until 4am. We were impressed.

Success

We had a good night last night! Robert had a very good feeding at about 11 and we were all in bed by 11:30. I needed to wake him up to feed him at 2:30am. I had some trouble getting him up... I couldn't believe it! We were up until about 4. Bobby put him back to sleep, with a bit of trouble. I needed to go back to sleep, I couldn't keep my eyes open. Robert slept again until 7am. When I woke up this morning, he was laying on his side. I asked Bobby if he put him to sleep on his side, and he said no. Having worked with infants, I know that rolling over doesn't occur until about 3-4 months of age... wow, if our little guy is trying already, he truely is a genius!

I think we are really getting the hang of this parenting thing. It's certainly challenging, but most definately worth it. Its such a rewarding experience. We love him so much, and he is such a joy.

I swear he is getting bigger each day...

Saturday, Robert's cousin Oliver Bean Hall came for his first visit. Along with Aunt Julie and Uncle Howard everyone had a great time meeting the newst Trif.

2 of 3: Eating and Sleeping

Well that first night home from the hospital is always a doozie. Of Course Robert slept all the way from the hospital about 40 min away, to Target, then home with out a cry. He made up for it at night. Quite the "sucker" he enjoys feeding. Probably is a little hungry and enjoying the few tiny drops of liquid he gets.

Thursday night was a little better. He had two 2+ hour stretches of sleep. I was slept through one of them to get about 3 - 5 hrs sleep. That is huge with a newborn. Mich slept about 2 hrs. Friday he again had a great long day nap, about from 12:20 - 245. Unfortunately we had to drive with him to wind gap so Mich could get some lab work done. Later that afternoon he did take another solid hour nap.

Every piece of literature that is available on breastfeeding answers supposed mom's questions about the baby not taking the the breast or not getting enough milk. We have the opposite problem, Robert loves the boob. If he is not sleeping, pooping or in a happy-content moment, he wants to suck on the boob. Now every parent thinks their kid is a genius but Robert truly is. He already knows that the pacifier is NOT a boob. So even though the hospital warns about boob confusion when using pacifiers, Robert is pretty damn smart.

This is just typical as we saw him swallowing and gulping while in the womb on a later ultrasound. And as much as his left arm was curled up into his chest and mouth, he loves that hand, especially in the mouth :-)

Last night (Friday Night) I think he slept well, I think 3 good stretches of sleep. I believe I was up for 2 of them but am such a damn heavy sleeper that I didn't wake up for one. If I could feed I would insist the wifey wake me up. But I try and make up for it doing stuff around the house during the day. My biggest struggle is getting Michelle to sleep when Robert is with me or sleeping. But I think after feeling the exhaustion of last night she is ready to start listening.

How about this for a cute picture. This is a happy Robert enjoying a thumb. He is a major "sucker": fingers, thumbs, my face :-), and of course the boobs ;-)