Feeding our Baby Girl

Today Caidy is 4 days old, wow how time has gone by! :) She is doing really well, both our midwives are very impressed with her weight gain so far and how much she eats. When we left the hospital she was 6lbs 13oz, today she was 7lbs even. I am so proud of her, she is defying all the odds. When we first found our about her clefts all we heard were the feeding problems we were going to have; nasal aspiration, spit up, inability to suck. Not our baby girl. She takes about 2.5-3 oz at a time, technically only needed roughly 12oz a day, she is getting and wanting more. Also I have been pumping to feed her, the first night she was home we had to supplement with some formula but since have not had to at all. I have been doing it every 2 hrs during the day and uaually twice at night. She definitely prefers the breast milk and I really want to give that to her at least until her first surgery, but I figure if we make it that long why not continue. Its not the most enjoyable thing I could be doing with my time, but both Leah and Elijah understand that Caidy needs milk and are more than happy to play with their toys in Caidy's room until I am finished. Elijah has tried a couple times to get a bottle, never having had one himself I think he just wants to see what Caidy gets that he has been missing. He hasn't had the opportunity to get anything out of them, James and I catch him too fast, but I think one of these days he will think Caidy is crazy for wanting to drink that stuff!! Next week we should be meeting with an orthodontist to fit a device that will go into Caidy's mouth to cover the holes in her palate. We are going to children's Hospital this Wednesday for a consultation, we are hoping to meet with the whole cleft team but may end up just meeting with the lady I saw when I was still pregnant. Which ever happens it will be great to get more information and get accustomed to the place we will be spending so much time at this next year.