Now 6 weeks old, Eli is still getting up at least once a night and most of the time, twice. That's ok! He eats, burps, and goes right back to bed. Although, there is the occasional spit up where more than just him has to change clothes. I have had nights where I have had 3 different sets of pajamas on and so has he. He's staying awake for longer periods. Right now that means 2 or 3 hours once or twice a day. The rest of the time he is only awake about an hour and a half. Usually our day consists of waking around 6 or 6:30 to eat. Stay awake until about 9 and eat again and then sleep until about 11:30. Eat again, awake until 1:30ish and then sleep until about 2:45 or 3:00. Eat, awake until 4:00 and then back to sleep until about 5:30 and then awake until about 8:30. Take a short nap and then eat around 9:30. Right back to sleep and then awake around 1:30 for food, back to sleep, and then awake at 4:30, back to sleep and then up around 6:30 for the day. His fussy time is usually around 8:00 to 9:00 in the morning or around 10:00 to 11:00 in the morning. He's a pretty happy baby in the evening unless, of course, he needs to burp or has the dreadful hiccups. His hiccups seem to make him quite mad and that doesn't help him get rid of them. Tonight, for the first time, I resorted to sugar water to help. After an hour of my ear drums hurting and my legs hurting from pacing the floor, I caved. One ounce later, he was happy and lying on the floor. Why didn't I think of that sooner?
Dylan is coping well with being the big brother. We do hear "I love you, Mommy" or "I love you, Daddy" a lot more than we used to. That's not a bad thing, but sometimes you know he's saying it because he's feeling insecure. Chris was gone two weeks ago for the whole week and by Wednesday you could tell it was affecting Dylan. He wanted me to lay with him for naps and before bed time. He would say, "Do _____ like Daddy does". I'm glad he missed him. I want him to know how important his Daddy is to making this family run smoothly. It was a good experience for us all even though I don't want it to happen very often, if ever again. Dylan likes to hold Eli. It usually doesn't last very long but it's great that he tries. He will go check on Eli when he's crying and he's glad to go get things out of Eli's room for you, like a burp rag to help clean up a huge spit up mess. He says Eli is his buddy. I hope that remains true as they get older. I want them to have a bond beyond being "brothers".
For those of you who know me, this is going to come as a surprise. I haven't made or drank sweet tea in almost 3 weeks now. Other than the juice in my smoothies, I haven't had any of it. I have only had, and this is the big shocker...only one glass of chocolate milk in the last 8 days. I have been drinking water and I finally switched to Ozarka water. I've been trying to eat more vegetables and fruit. It's hard for me to just sit down and eat fruit so Chris and I decided to make smoothies a part of our diet. We buy frozen fruit and stick it in a blender with a little bit of orange or apple juice and some ice. Voila! I'm still struggling with finding time to do a daily exercise. I'll get there, though! I'm determined to get back to pre-pregnancy weight within 6 months. It took almost a year and a half with Dylan. I didn't care for being like that. With the fall coming and cooler weather I hope to be able to get outside more before winter keeps us indoor too much. We're working on eating more whole grains. I think the hardest part for me is cutting out sweets. I'm addicted!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Friday, August 03, 2007
1 Month Almost Gone
All kinds of things have happened in the last 3 1/2 weeks and I don't know where to begin so I'll just ramble for a while and hopefully, you'll pick up on the majority of it.
How can you forget so much in such a short period of time? What am I talking about? Well, I can't remember Dylan's fussy time of the day or even how fussy he was. I can't remember how much he was eating at what age. I can't remember how many times I had to get up with him each night. Those are all the bad things you say. Yes, and that's why people are able to have more than one child. If God allowed you to remember all those long miserable nights where you were up and down 3 times for an hour at a time, you got peed or pooped on in the middle of the night, or even better spit up on twice, you had to change their clothes more than once and yours also or how much they cried all day and you couldn't figure out what was wrong...well, that's why God doesn't leave that fresh in your mind.
How can two children be so much alike, from the same parents, and yet so different? Dylan was sooooo easy to put on a schedule. Out he popped and in the hospital we established a 2 1/2 to 3 hour feeding schedule and when we got home it just continued. At least, I think so. See that's the problem. I can't remember. So, then we have Eli. There's no scheduling in the hospital now. They'll bring them to you every hour if they think he's hungry and then they'll wait up to 6 hours if they don't. How crazy is that? Then, you come home and he wants to eat now and maybe again in an hour. They say most babies are fussy in the evening. Not Eli. His fussy time is between 8 and 10 in the morning. Eli is so much stronger than Dylan was at this age...at least, I think so. Again, that's the problem. I can't remember. I think I'm going crazy.
They say you should have a first smile some time nearing the end of the first month. No, gas bubbles that produce smiles don't count. I've seen him smile but I'm talking about a responsive smile. That means you do something or say something and then he makes eye contact and smiles. I haven't got one of those, yet and we only have 5 days left before month one is over. That's ok, though. We'll get it!
They say babies can only see 8 to 15 inches away and then nearing the end of the first month they can start to concentrate on objects up to 3 feet away. To be honest with you, up until about 3 days ago...I wasn't sure he could even see me when I was 6 inches in front of his face. He wouldn't make eye contact at all. Now, he'll actually follow my face if I move it around right in front of him. That's cool!
They say babies should be eating 6-8 times per day on average 3-4 ounces per feeding. Well, there are days we eat 3 ounces a feeding and then there are days, like today, where he eats 2 ounces one feeding and then the next he gobbles down 6 ounces and is still gnawing on his fist wanting more. That's crazy!
They say breast fed babies are given a natural laxative in the breast milk and formula fed babies are more constipated. Well, I can assure you that is true with both of my children. Dylan had diaper rash only once or twice in his diapering days. Well, those are completely over...but you know what I mean. Eli had diaper rash a time or two in the hospital but once we got home and got our Super Duper Diaper Doo, he hasn't had it again. We put a little on after every diaper change. And, yes, he has problems with his bowel movements. You definitely know when he's doing his duty and it's not always daily. So why didn't I breast feed? It didn't work out. I was going to pump 4 times a day and I did that very consistently until he was 3 weeks old and then I just felt like I wasn't really getting a whole lot pumping. I was still having to supplement a lot. I was spending that much time not sleeping or spending time with "my boys". So, I backed it down to 3 times a day and then 2 and then 1 and then none. I'm done! I did it that way so I wouldn't get engorged. It worked ok. Eli being a formula baby was not my plan. I really wanted breast feeding to work out, but when it didn't I knew in the back of my mind that pumping and bottle feeding wasn't going to be permanent. Then, I just decided to not worry what everyone else thought and formula feed. Dylan turned out fine and many other babies have, also. He may be sick more often and he may not have regular bowel movements, but we'll work out all of those jitters and he'll still have a great life because he will be, most importantly, LOVED by his father and mother.
How can you forget so much in such a short period of time? What am I talking about? Well, I can't remember Dylan's fussy time of the day or even how fussy he was. I can't remember how much he was eating at what age. I can't remember how many times I had to get up with him each night. Those are all the bad things you say. Yes, and that's why people are able to have more than one child. If God allowed you to remember all those long miserable nights where you were up and down 3 times for an hour at a time, you got peed or pooped on in the middle of the night, or even better spit up on twice, you had to change their clothes more than once and yours also or how much they cried all day and you couldn't figure out what was wrong...well, that's why God doesn't leave that fresh in your mind.
How can two children be so much alike, from the same parents, and yet so different? Dylan was sooooo easy to put on a schedule. Out he popped and in the hospital we established a 2 1/2 to 3 hour feeding schedule and when we got home it just continued. At least, I think so. See that's the problem. I can't remember. So, then we have Eli. There's no scheduling in the hospital now. They'll bring them to you every hour if they think he's hungry and then they'll wait up to 6 hours if they don't. How crazy is that? Then, you come home and he wants to eat now and maybe again in an hour. They say most babies are fussy in the evening. Not Eli. His fussy time is between 8 and 10 in the morning. Eli is so much stronger than Dylan was at this age...at least, I think so. Again, that's the problem. I can't remember. I think I'm going crazy.
They say you should have a first smile some time nearing the end of the first month. No, gas bubbles that produce smiles don't count. I've seen him smile but I'm talking about a responsive smile. That means you do something or say something and then he makes eye contact and smiles. I haven't got one of those, yet and we only have 5 days left before month one is over. That's ok, though. We'll get it!
They say babies can only see 8 to 15 inches away and then nearing the end of the first month they can start to concentrate on objects up to 3 feet away. To be honest with you, up until about 3 days ago...I wasn't sure he could even see me when I was 6 inches in front of his face. He wouldn't make eye contact at all. Now, he'll actually follow my face if I move it around right in front of him. That's cool!
They say babies should be eating 6-8 times per day on average 3-4 ounces per feeding. Well, there are days we eat 3 ounces a feeding and then there are days, like today, where he eats 2 ounces one feeding and then the next he gobbles down 6 ounces and is still gnawing on his fist wanting more. That's crazy!
They say breast fed babies are given a natural laxative in the breast milk and formula fed babies are more constipated. Well, I can assure you that is true with both of my children. Dylan had diaper rash only once or twice in his diapering days. Well, those are completely over...but you know what I mean. Eli had diaper rash a time or two in the hospital but once we got home and got our Super Duper Diaper Doo, he hasn't had it again. We put a little on after every diaper change. And, yes, he has problems with his bowel movements. You definitely know when he's doing his duty and it's not always daily. So why didn't I breast feed? It didn't work out. I was going to pump 4 times a day and I did that very consistently until he was 3 weeks old and then I just felt like I wasn't really getting a whole lot pumping. I was still having to supplement a lot. I was spending that much time not sleeping or spending time with "my boys". So, I backed it down to 3 times a day and then 2 and then 1 and then none. I'm done! I did it that way so I wouldn't get engorged. It worked ok. Eli being a formula baby was not my plan. I really wanted breast feeding to work out, but when it didn't I knew in the back of my mind that pumping and bottle feeding wasn't going to be permanent. Then, I just decided to not worry what everyone else thought and formula feed. Dylan turned out fine and many other babies have, also. He may be sick more often and he may not have regular bowel movements, but we'll work out all of those jitters and he'll still have a great life because he will be, most importantly, LOVED by his father and mother.
Potty Train Who?
Ok, so I've never potty trained before. I've been potty trained obviously, but never tried it on a child. Everyone keeps telling me Dylan is ready to potty train. As far as I can tell, he's the right age, he's smart enough...but really who is being potty trained? I'm the one who gets him up in the morning and takes off his shorts and pulls down his diaper and sets him on the toilet and tells him to go pee pee. I'm the one who, every hour, tells him to go pee pee on the potty. Since the pull-ups are so hard to get up and down I have to go with him. I have to help him pull them down and them back up when he's done. Then, I have to say "What do you do when your finished going potty?" And he says, "Cwose da wid and flush da toilet". Then, I have to get the soap for him and turn on the water because he can't reach any of it. And, yeah, if he goes #2 on the potty...who has to clean him up? He doesn't do it. Periodically, you have to ask him if he still has his carrots and then he gets a prize for keeping his carrots all day. His diaper is the kind that has a picture of carrots on the outside and when you pee in the diaper, the carrots smeer and fade. So, his goal is to keep his carrots but he laughs and is proud when his carrots are gone. Although, he's also proud when he keeps his carrots. Does he truly understand? I don't have a clue!
I know I sound a little negative. I guess I just don't know what I'm doing. I'll keep doing it because hopefully some day he'll come to me and tell me he has to go potty. For now, I'll just keep asking him if he still has his carrots.
I know I sound a little negative. I guess I just don't know what I'm doing. I'll keep doing it because hopefully some day he'll come to me and tell me he has to go potty. For now, I'll just keep asking him if he still has his carrots.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)