The New "Normal"

So life for the past three weeks has been one GIANT learning curve. John and I are now calling this the new "normal". Normal meaning functioning on little sleep - pretty much living from one feeding to the next. The second week was a bit rougher because Reese had pretty much become the sleepiest baby in the world and would not stay awake to breastfeed. She lost some weight, so the pediatrician had us give her the milk through a bottle. So in order to keep up the milk supply, at every feeding John would give her a bottle and I would pump. Then we would have to hold her upright afterward for about a half hour so that it would all stay down because of her reflux. As she gained her weight back, Reese became strong enough to relearn the art of breastfeeding which I had no idea took so much patience on both our parts! That has made things a bit easier. So anyway, breastfed babies eat about every 2.5 - 3 hours. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later. Add all the diaper changings to the mix and the rare moments when she is awake long enought to have some conversation with her and you have some pretty tired Chilcotes.

I have found that a tired John is not a very trustworthy person when awakened in the middle of the night. More than once, he has tried to convince me that the baby just ate when in reality it was three hours ago! I have also had the worst diaper changing experienc yet at the ungodly hour of 1 AM. No one should experience what I experienced that late at night. Let's just say that by the end of it, Reese, the door two feet away fromt the changing table and me were all covered with what was in Reese just a moment before.


With all of those experiences, it is still the most amazing life we could have asked for! We have been overwhelmed by the support of friends and family. We have received meals almost everyday, gifts throughout the week, and most importantly prayers and encouragements! I don't think we could have survived these first few weeks without them.

These pictures are all just from today. We had an eventful morning of eating, bathing and napping. (We learned that using the kitchen sink was a whole lot better than using the baby bath tub. Our mom's could have told us that!) I can see why mothers have been warning me for the past so many months that the time goes so fast. Look how big she is getting! Yes, I'm already mourning...



We love you all!
- Nicole, John, & Reese


- a side note from John: In the kitchen bath picture, you can't see it, but my shirt's pretty wet. I was in the middle of carrying a naked Reese from the nursery to the kitchen after changing her, deciding that we didn't need a diaper for a 10 second transport. Just as I stepped into the kitchen, she decided to let it flow...all over the kitchen floor and my stomach! At least with a girl the streams go down!

1st week home

Well, it's been an interesting week at the Chilcote house. We got home on Sunday and Tuesday morning we went to the Pediatrician for the first time. Reese had been doing great although she remained a bit yellow from the slight jaundice we noticed in the hospital. We were curious to see what her biliruben level would be. On the good side, she had regained almost all of her birth-weight and was 7lbs 10oz. But she was still yellow in her face and chest, so our pediatrician decided that we needed some extra treatment for the jaundice. Rather than go into the hospital and lay under the UV light, Reese was put on a "Biliblanket," which is a plastic "blanket" with fiber-optic strands of UV light pumped into it.

To make a long story short, we kept Reese wrapped up in the Biliblanket non-stop (except to change and bathe her) and it was quite cumbersome at the beginning. Eventually, we got used to wrapping her up, holding her, and even feeding her with the blanket around her torso. The bad part was, the blanket was attached by an inch-wide tube that connected to the light-source. So we set up camp all week in the living room and let Reese sleep in the pack-n-play. Nicole took the couch and I took the floor.

Along with the biliblanket, we needed to up her feeding schedule. The UV light helps her body to break down the biliruben (her liver will do this once the levels are down enough. Right now it's just too much for her to handle on her own) and then she needs to have lots of wet and dirty diapers to remove the toxins. So we started feeding her every 2 hours instead of 3 hours. But this challenged Nicole's body to produce enough milk quick enough. So we've been doing some formula in-between breastfeeding. A side issue is, as Reese's body works on eliminating the biliruben, she is really sleepy. She probably sleeps 20+ hours a day! That makes it even tougher to feed her every two hours. Sometimes she'll even sleep through a diaper change! We do what we can to wake her for the half-hour feedings. Normally you want your newborn to sleep through the night, but that's not our case. Let's just say the last few nights have been rough! It's exhausting trying to wake a sleeping baby!

BUT, today we finally got the green light to put the blanket away! Reese is lying in her pack-n-play all by herself and tonight she'll get to sleep in her bassinet for the first time since Monday. We are so excited! Hopefully we can re-establish a routine with Reese over next week.

On a lighter note, Nicole's mom has been with us all week and her dad came yesterday. Reese is their first grandchild. It was awesome to introduce Reese to her grandma and grandpa! It's been great having Roslyn here. While we work with figuring out what Reese needs,

Roslyn's kept up with laundry, dishes, and food. We're looking forward to just enjoying some time with them tonight and tomorrow.

Keep checking back for more updates next week! Love you all!

We're Home!

It's Monday morning and we've survived our first night at home! It actually wasn't that bad. We came home yesterday around 11. Nicole's mom, 3 brothers and 2 friends were there to meet us! It was a full house, but that's nothing new! We had tons of friends and family visit us in the hospital, so why should it change! She got used to many people holding her and loving her. But now it's just Nicole's mom, and honestly, we'll be glad for a change of pace.



Reese seems to be loving her new place. She has figured out how to sleep in her carrier, her pack-n-play, her bassinet, and her parent's arms! I'm sure you're all wondering about the pets. Lucy and James have been acting like nothing's changed. Simon's staying down in the basement and avoiding the whole thing. So everything's like it has always been.







We've got our pediatrician's appointment tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully she'll have a great visit. She's really a great baby. She only cries when she's naked and a little bit when she's changed. She actually enjoys laying and getting her diaper changed, but when we're done cleaning her up, she can't wait to get her clothes back on. She had her first bath today and did really well. It was quite funny seeing Nicole and I wipe her down and wash her hair on the Nursery floor. Watch for a video soon.

Nicole's doing great too. She's recovering well from the C-section and is enjoying fitting into clothes again! (Check out the earlier posts and see how big her belly was!) It's amazing to see her take care of Reese. I'm doing my best to help with the feeding process, especially during those twilight hour meals. We find times to take naps when we can, but too often we find ourselves staying awake so we can stare at our precious little girl.

Thanks for checking our blog. We'll try to keep you updated on how we're all doing. It's amazing how Reese has changed so much in the past few days. I can't imagine what documenting her life would be like without blogs and digital cameras!

Love you all!
John, Nicole, and Reese

August 1st - Day 3

Here are a few more pictures of Reese.