growth spurt @ 6-7 weeks

Owen must be going through a growth spurt he ate at:

11:00 pm last night
3:40 am (4.25 hours of sleep for mommy!)
6:20 am
9:30 am
12:00 pm
2:45 pm
4:45 pm
6:45 pm

Chris and I have been holding him since 8:00 pm with a paci trying to get him to wait a little, my boobs need some rest and we want to get him nice and full for bedtime.

looking left, kicking left

Owen likes to look to his left.  He usually stares at the wall on the changing table or while in his crib.  Chris was the first to notice this and wonder if it is something we should be worried about, he did a little google research and basically Owen is probably fine, but this is something that is common and can lead to the need for physical therapy if not caught early enough.  At his age they said to just turn his head for him.  When he is on my shoulder getting burped he gets lots of time turning to the right.  I am not really worried (yet) as he has great head control and will look both ways and I do find him sleeping with his head both ways a lot.  Anyway, last night I noticed as he was looking to the left that his left leg was the dominate leg kicking while he was laying on the changing table.  That got me worried that one side of his body was more dominate, but then I turned his head to the right and his right leg got a kicking!  It must be a right/left brain thing at this stage of development.  Chris and I found it to be very interesting. Also, I find that he doesn't look upward very often, I wonder if it is due to his wonderfully round head (c-section babies have pretty heads when born).

Has anyone else noticed their baby prefers to look one direction?  Thoughts? 

Owen: 6 weeks

look at my almost smile!

Mommy update: This week started off very rough for me with a fever and a conclusion that I have mastitis.  It was disappointing to be so sick with Aunt Robyn in town, but she was a great help with Owen!  She was even willing to change his cloth diapers!  I was able to get an antibiotic called into the pharmacy early evening on Saturday to start the process of getting better.  Thankfully, the first night was a weekend evening and Chris was willing to get up and change Owen's diapers while I fought off the cold chills and got ready to feed him.  Sunday evening, my precious boy slept 4 hours and 45 minutes for his mommy!!  Though, I did have to get up and change clothes because I sweated and drenched my clothes and sheets.  It was so bad I had to put a towel down and change my pillowcase.  By the time he woke up I was feeling better and was able to change and feed him myself.  Monday, I was still not a 100% my breasts are still hot to touch and red.  My Dr's office called to check on me and if it wasn't better by Tuesday I was going to have to go in for an appointment.  Tuesday, they had me come in and checked me out, but I was fine and was told to continue the antibiotics.   Wednesday, I was feeling much better and more like myself.  Owen has been doing great with his sleeping now that I have realized that he needs to eat on 1 or 2 two hour shifts before bed.  Its like he needs to stock up some calories so he can sleep for 4-5 hours!!!  I am loving the extra sleep and sometimes he will even give me a second 4 hour sleep stretch!!

hi!

 

i like to talk during tummy time!

enough already!  

 

 

 

 

whew that was hard work!

 Owen updates:

• You started making bubbles with your mouth.
• You will make eye contact for several seconds and it melts my heart.
• You will follow the monkey rattle sometimes with your eyes.
• You noticed the TV this week and watched it.
• You still like tummy time and love falling asleep on your tummy (like mommy used to!)
• Everyone comments on your completion and they are constantly reassuring me that indeed you are a beautiful baby!
• You look big in the pictures, but in person you are a small snuggle cuddle bug!
• One of my favorite times is when I get to rescue you from your crib and swaddle.  You immediately put your hands up by your face and when I lift you up your little body arches your back with your legs pulled up at your chest and I kiss and hold you.  We walk down the hall to the sofa and I feed you and you act like you have never eaten before!  I love that I can give you what you need.
• Your daddy is so sweet with you.  Everyday he gets home from work and can't wait to kiss the both of us.  He goes and takes off his dirty work shirt and washes his hands and then if you are not eating he picks you up and snuggles with you.  You are so loved.  You can make a funny face (that I see all the time), but its new to daddy and it becomes new to me again because your daddy is so excited about you!
• The rest of you family loves you so much.  Your neana stopped by for an hour just to hold you when she was traveling our way.  Your aunts, uncles, and cousins all can't wait for their turn to hold you and snuggle with you.  
• Even in church you get passed around between friends!  Everyone loves to hear your little coos and grunts and smell your baby scent!  So far you have been really good at church. 

Owen: 5 weeks

5 weeks

• This week you really started looking looking into our eyes we love looking into yours.
• Your smile is more frequent, though I don't think you know you are doing it.
• When you have gas your cry sounds so painful and breaks our hearts.  We are trying the gas relief medicine, but are not sold that it really helps.
• We got out of the house a lot this week:
• Monday: Play date with a little boy Colin who is 13 days younger than you.  Yall ate, pooped and slept.
• Tuesday: It was your Neana's birthday so we made a big trip to Greensboro for the WHOLE day, you did great!  We shopped, ate lunch with soon to be Matthew's mom (krista), ran errands with Neana then headed to Aunt Sara's and Uncle Robby's house for more fun!
• Wednesday: your 1 month appointment with your pediatrician; you weighed 10lbs 10 oz and grew a 1/2" to 22"
• Thursday:  Playdate at our house with Grant and Jack (and their mommy Caroline!)  You slept almost the whole time!
• Friday:  Sophie and her mommy Anna came to visit and brought you presents.  You had some snuggle time with Anna and Sophie played with your toys!  Friday night Aunt Robyn arrived and was so excited to see you!!
• You've been sleeping regularly for 3 1/2 hour stretches at night.  We would love you to sleep a little longer, but if you need to eat I will feed you.  I love you so much.  There is a special moment when I lift you out of your crib and you look at me so hungry and I know I am going to give you what you need.  
• We dropped the nipple shield!!  Though we are still learning to re-latch, but we will get it.  You get frustrated with me sometimes, but in the long run it will be worth it for you to get all the good breast milk the natural way.

kicky kicky!

yawn

Super baby!

Owen: 1 month

Am I going to think this every week, that it is going to fast!

• You are starting to look us in the eyes, so amazing.
• We are so proud of your head control, you are ahead of most babies though you still flop and scare us from time to time.  I love looking at your face when you are holding your head up when someone is burping you.  You have the most serious look, it must take a lot of concentration to hold it up.
• You really like sucking: mommy, bottle, paci, your thumb, daddy's knuckle you dont care.
• You are such a good easy baby, you will fall asleep anywhere: crib, swing, anyone's arms, tummy.
• You do love being on your belly.  You will grunt and move your head around for 20 minutes before passing out.  Or on a rough night you like sleeping on your belly on mommy or daddy's bellies.
• You weigh 10 lbs 10 oz and are 22" long
• You tricked your parents by sleeping 2 four hour stretches 2 nights in a row, but are consistently sleeping 3 1/2 hours at night!
• We have started sleep training, we fill you full of milk, swaddle, rock you and put you in your crib.  Usually, you cry it out in about 15-25 minutes.  It is hard on us, but then you sleep so good.

There is so much more to say, but we are both hungry!

sleep training for mommies!

A fellow blogger posted this and I found it hysterical.  

http://www.babysleepsite.com/awake-training-for-parents/

Dear Fellow Babies,

OK, here’s my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 5 months. The first few months were great – I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, around the clock. Then something happened. Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse.

I’ve talked to other babies, and it seems like its pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 5-6 months. Here’s the thing: these Mommies don’t really need to sleep. It’s just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep – they just don’t need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.

It goes like this:

Night 1 – cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it’s hard. It’s hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it’s for her own good.

Night 2 – cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3 – every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don’t give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I know it’s hard! But she really does not need the sleep; she is just resisting the change.. If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it.

The other night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with:

-My sleep sack tickled my foot.
-I felt a wrinkle under the sheet.
-My mobile made a shadow on the wall.
-I burped, and it tasted like rice cereal. I hadn’t eaten rice cereal since breakfast, what’s up with that?
-The dog said “ruff”. I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.
-Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room.
-Too hot, too cold, just right – doesn’t matter! Keep crying!!
-I had drooled so much my sheets were damp and I didn’t like it touching me.
-I decided I was sick of all the pink in my room so I cried.

It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies’ internal clocks.

Sometimes my Mommy will call for reinforcements by sending in Daddy. Don’t worry Daddies are not set up for not needing sleep the way Mommies are. They can only handle a few pats and shhing before they declare defeat and send in the Mommy.

Also, be wary of the sleep sheep with rain noises. I like to give Mommy false hope that listening to the rain puts me to sleep sometimes I pretend to close my eyes and be asleep and then wait until I know Mommy is settling back to sleep to spring a surprise cry attack. If she doesn’t get to me fast enough I follow up with my fake cough and gag noise that always has her running to the crib. At some point I am positive she will start to realize that she really doesn’t really need sleep.

P.S. Don’t let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, no milk will come out.

Trust me.

Sincerely,
Baby J

Owen: 3 weeks

He has started making new noises!  New little coos and squeaks among his heavy breathing, grunts and whimpers!  He has got to be getting close to 10 pounds, my little chunker!! LOVE HIM!!!  He has outgrown 2 of his newborn outfits...so sad!  He is much more alert and we are enjoying staring gazing into his eyes!  He likes to have his arms free of the swaddle at night and is getting really good at finding his thumb. 

 Mommy:

• I drove this week for the first time, felt weird and yet nice to be "normal".   
• Down another 2 whole pounds!! Good job Owen, keep sucking the pounds off me!!!
• I am just enjoying our days together, we focus on Owen's needs first, then mine and then the household.  The meals that friends/family have been providing have been so crucial!  
• Here is my 3 week postpartum belly pic