Grandma got to meet her new grandson! It was a nice lazy week here, with lots of napping, eating, burping, diaper changing, cooing, smiling, crying, and all that good baby stuff! Even got Aaron's mom into Freaks & Geeks and she made it through the whole season/series. Fun stuff!
Sam is growing and growing and seems to be doing pretty darn well. It seems like his bowel movements are slowing, which is to be expected around this age, but it seems like sometimes that causes him discomfort. Still, he doesn't cry a whole lot and we're getting better all the time at figuring out what might be the cause of his discomfort. Sam surprised me by giving me a multiple 4-hour stretches between feedings. Last night was crazy. He didn't want to eat every 2-3 hours, but rather every four. When I tried to feed him too soon he cried. So devastating when a baby cries at your breast, I gotta say. Anyway, he fed well at 9:30 and then couldn't get to sleep. Finally at 11 he and I fell asleep. I expected him to wake up around 12:30 to feed, but guess what?? He didn't wake until 4 am!! That's insane!! Then I fed him, changed him, and we were back to sleep until 8 am. Terrific! I hope we get some more nights like that. Then he didn't feed again until noon. After that he was back to every 3 hours, but who knows. I'm trying not to worry about it (yes, my initial response was worry that he wasn't eating more frequently) and just go with the flow. As long as he seems happy, well-fed, feeds when he wants to, and is still filling diapers we're doing well. Plus he goes to the doc in a couple of days so I can make sure all is as it should be.
Though this makes for a lengthy and somewhat scattered post, I feel inclined to make a little list of the baby accouterments that have or have not been useful for us during the first two months...in no particular order:
pack 'n play... I put this on my registry thinking it was something extra and unnecessary. A few of my profs pitched in and got it for us. We love having it. I wanted it for when he is older as a less dog furry place to hang out sometimes, but the bassinet is really really useful. We keep it out in the living room so sam can hang out in there and take naps during the day. That way it helps him distinguish daytime from night time and I still get to stare at him as much as I want. I also have found that sometimes he wants to hang out and play but actually doesn't want to be held, so sometimes he lays in there, kicking and punching and cooing away, while I sing, read, make funny faces and rattle toys with him. It's really great. Haven't used it as a travel crib yet, but that's a bonus too.
receiving blankets...I don't know how many of these we have. People told me you want a ton. We were given a number of new ones and some hand-me-down ones too. I gotta agree. They are really useful. Great in the beginning for swaddling, also great for extra warmth here or there, or a padding (Sam likes to lie on your lap with his head on your knees, but I find my knees are awkward and bony so I fold a blanket up as a little pillow). I put some on our bed to catch leaks while nursing, we put some under him in his crib and pack 'n play to catch leaks without having to wash all the bedding. Anyway, I think people are right. They are useful.
bouncers/swings/rockers...These are useful but Sam isn't a HUGE fan. They aren't necessarily the savior for us as they have been for others, but maybe this will change. There are times when he really likes them, but usually they just work as a different way to hold him for a while when my arm needs a break, but I still need to sit there with him -- he usually doesn't entertain himself in them. I still am glad to have them though, and I think they will get more use still.
strollers and wraps...I really like both my moby and maya wrap, but right now Sam is too excited for the newborn positions but doesn't have enough neck support for other positions, so we aren't using them. We also only got an umbrella stroller so he can't use that for another month or so. I sort of wish I had something that worked for walks during these early months.
pacifiers... Sam likes his soothie pacifier, the kind the hospital gave us. We got a few others. I still feel weird sometimes about offering the pacifier, but it works. It calms him down. There are times he wants to suck but does not want food. I have learned this by having a baby cry at my breast. I dunno if I'll ultimately change my mind, but the pacifier has been a must for us.
diapers... Again, we like our bumGenius diapers. We don't have a ton so we do laundry everyday but it still seems worth it so far.
pre-folds... Not necessarily for diapering. I have to agree with my dad that the old-fashioned pre-folds are super useful for cleaning up a variety of messes -- they are our preferred burp cloth.
nursing bras... I found that when the milk comes in, you will indeed be a cup size larger than you were at the end of your pregnancy. After a number of weeks, once your milk supply regulates itself, you will probably be back to the size you were at the end of pregnancy. That might help determine how much of what sizes you might want to get.
nursing pads... This is annoying. I don't like having to get them, but when you start breastfeeding, you leak. It just goes with the territory. I haven't found reusable ones in town so I'd have to order them, but they are kind of expensive and I'm afraid I won't like them so I haven't ordered any yet. I have tried the Lansinoh pads which are nice because they are thin, but they seem to be particularly non-breathable so I find them uncomfortable. The Johnson & Johnson ones are weird because they are kinda thick and I thought I wouldn't like them, but they actually ended up seeming more comfortable for me. I still feel like I'm going through them too fast and I don't like producing all that waste so I should get some washable/reusable ones. But I also am not sure when I will finally stop leaking so I'm not sure if it's worth it. Hmmm.
bath chair... I really like this Summer brand infant bath chair. We don't have a good sink for bathing and I was nervous about using our regular bath tub. I didn't want one of those big plastic baby tubs, so when I found this I thought I'd give it a shot. It works great. I like this chair. Doesn't take up a lot of space and you can take off the fabric sling and throw it in the wash. Yay infant bath chair.
Guess that's all for now. I should let Aaron get back to his homework and take over baby duty. Plus, Sam is being super cute and chatty right now.
2 comments:
The pak 'n play was a lifesaver for us. It was our changing table and nap place at first. Later it became the outdoor play yard and travel crib. We used it regularly until E was about 2 or so. Worth every penny!
I really loved the pack 'n play too. We used it so much for both kids, Esp. when travelling.
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