Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Leo - Week 3

My baby is growing up too fast.  I know everyone says that... but it's true.  I need him to stay a tiny cuddly infant much, much longer.  I don't even mind the diapers or getting up in the night.
Leo however has different plans.  He wants to be big NOW.
He is a very independent baby and I don't like it.   When he's fussy he'd prefer to be laid on in the floor so he can move and stretch out on his own... and mommy would like to scoop him up and rocking him :(
Thankfully he only has maybe two of these fussy episodes per day.  He really is so good.  I've been told that baby's demeanor is reflective of the parents and I've tried to be as relaxed as possible with him and Lee is very laid back so maybe it's true (although truthfully I'm not that relaxed... lol)

In week 3 our diapers and 0-3 months clothes started fitting much better - which means he's growing fast! :(

I read that in week three (does that mean the week before he turns 3 weeks or the week after though?) many babies experience a growth spurt and will often cluster feed.  This week there were several nights in a row where from about 8-10pm Leo was never satisfied, all he wanted to do was eat!  I got really worried at first that I wasn't producing enough milk because he basically left my breasts completely deflated after each feeding... but after a couple of days they got the memo and are back to being gigantic.
A little note about breast feeding... it has continued to be quite painful for me at the start of every feeding, but I read that pain the first 15-20 seconds is very normal, but if it lasts longer than that it is not.  However, there are also things I've done that have made it better.  Starting with my cream - Newman's Nipple Cream.  I got a script for it in the hospital and it is amazing, but like an idiot there were a couple days in a row where I forgot to use it or didn't feel the need. WRONG. use something!  Lanolin or whatever you prefer.  I got back in the habit of using it after every feeding and things have much improved.  Also, giving myself some time to "air out"... basically just sitting around topless for about 10 here and there.  And finally, something that really helped when I was in a lot of pain for a couple of days was to have Leo start nursing on the less sore breast first and then after a couple of minutes switch him to the other side when he was less starved and ravenous.
I have a baby book and it described 5 styles of baby eaters and Leo is most  definitely the barracuda.  "This little guy attacks the breast and gets down to business.  Mom's nipples sometimes pay the price for this style in the beginning weeks"
awesome.

So yea this baby book is amazing btw.  Baby 411 by Dr. Ari Brown and Denise Fields.
Lee got it for me for Christmas after the pediatrician he worked with recommended it as the best baby book.  It has so much great information!  We sometimes just sit around and Lee reads stuff out loud to me while I nurse. lol.  We're so exciting.  But really... we've learned lots of great tips and  things to look for.
For instance: Did you know that instead of patting a baby on the back to burp them a more effective method is to rub upwards on their back?  Leo burps within minutes (sometimes seconds) after every feeding and has never spit up (knock on wood).

Last week we gave Leo his first bath in his little whale tub and he loved it.  He loved it the first time so much that he pooped in the water :)  Apparently the warm water relaxes them so they just let it go... haha
The next bath went even better with no poop.
We waited until his little belly button was completely healed and actually it might not be yet.  His cord fell off pretty early and bled for a couple of days.  Our pediatrician said that he had an umbilical granuloma, which is a piece of the cord that didn't fall off.  It's so tiny that you can barely notice it, it's like a little piece of skin in the center of his belly button that sticks out.  About the size of sprinkle (weird, but thats the only thing that size I could think of)  We might have the doctor apply silver nitrate to it the next time we go back to make it fall off.
Did you know that a lot of hospitals are doing full immersion baths right away now, skipping the sponge bath?  I guess as long as you allow the belly button to fully dry they don't think it's a problem.  Interesting. We did wait though.  It's not like a newborn gets that dirty. lol

He does poop though!  Remember when I said his poop stunk?  Well it stopped.  It still has a small odor but nothing compared to what it was at first. Lee said maybe it was his body transitioning to digesting the milk? Whatever the case, we are glad he is less stinky!
We've been going through 10+ diapers a day... probably more like 12 some days.  He pees and poops a lot!  Today he pooped, I went to change him and he pooped in the new diaper before I could even fasten it, and then I got another diaper and he pooped in that one as soon as I had fastened it.  It's so hard to know if he's going to keep pooping and I hate to let him sit in a dirty diaper.
After that experience I put him naked in his tub with a cloth diaper under him and let him air dry for a couple minutes.  This is supposed to prevent diaper rash.  I have been using a combo of both disposable and cloth wipes.  I have used the wet wipes to clean him off and a dry cloth to dry his bottom and wipe away any of the left over wipe residue ( I do feel like the disposable wipes leave a residue, do you?)  We'll probably switch to only cloth wipes soon, once we go strictly cloth diapers- for laundry purposes.
Today he wore cloth diapers for the first time!  The pre-fold style... and I learned I need some more practice putting them on a squirming baby and the different techniques! haha  But he hasn't leaked anything out of them yet!  But I am definitely not ready to have him wear them over night... no way I could put one on half asleep. haha

And in the sleep department things are pretty much the same.  We get at least one or two good 3, 3.5 hour stretches and then about 2 hours.  He doesn't really have an in between.
We did move him to the bassinet part of the packnplay this week.  He had been sleeping in the napper portion for about 2 weeks but I felt like he was getting too big for it already and was wiggling around.  In the bassinet though he moves about a 90degree angle.  If I put him in horizontal when I go to get him he's vertical. haha I'm not sure how he manages this swaddled though!

Leo did have his first outings this week.  First we walked to the CVS down the street, then we went to church on Sunday, and to visit my office where I worked on Monday!  I was so nervous about taking my tiny precious baby on the highway here.  People in Detroit cannot drive. at all.  I fear for my life when I drive on 94 alone!  And the speed limit is 70!  Not fun.  But we did make it to church and without serious issues made it through service :)  and thankfully we can walk to the chiropractor!







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