Dear Seth,
You are 11 weeks old today and by now I guess you're probably getting tired of reading about nothing but naps and sleep habits. So let's talk about eating a bit. Truth be told, you'll probably never be all that interested in any of this, since you're a boy. Anyway...
You love to eat....er, correction, you love the boobie. I think if you had your way you would be nursing about 12 hours a day. Pretty much any time you are not sleeping you would prefer to be hanging out with a nipple in your mouth (and a pacifier is by no means an acceptable substitute, although you do settle for it sometimes). You are a big rooter, and I can't cradle you in my arms at all without you craning your neck looking for a boob, even if you've just finished eating. When you're not hungry, you'll still open your mouth wide, stick your tongue out and lick at it like a strawberry ice cream cone. Even though we got off to kind of a rough start, all in all you have turned into a really good eater - about 90% of the time. I've learned to appreciate the "joy" of nursing, but my neck does get sore from staring down at you the whole time. You can latch yourself on now with very little assistance as long as my nipple is at least in the vicinity of your mouth. My favorite times are your first couple meals of the day - when you first wake up, and after your morning nap. Those times I bring you into bed with me and you are still partially asleep and very serene. While you're eating your free hand roams all over the place groping and absently opening and closing on whatever it happens to come in contact with, be it my finger, my shirt, your face, your other hand, or my boob. That last one isn't all that cute because it usually means you're scratching me with your razor sharp claws. You really love to linger over your meal too, long after you're really done eating, and most of the time I have to detach you myself or else we'd be there all day (or all night). Sometimes during the day you'll even look up at me out of the corner of your eye and start "talking" with your mouth full. Someday you'll learn that isn't polite but for now it is super cute.
So, having said all that it's not too surprising how big you are getting. You're probably about 14 pounds now and my back is seriously sore from lifting you and carrying you around. I'm afraid I haven't figured out the ergonomic way to pick a baby up out of a crib, I can't exactly lift with my legs. Max weighs less than 10 pounds and when I pick him up he feels so fragile compared to you. Fragile is NOT a word I would use to describe you. You are getting super strong. You can stand up on your feet for a long time while we balance for you under your arms, and you look so proud and happy while you're doing it. We've started sitting you in the Bumbo too, and while the first few days you were pretty tippy, now you're catching on and sitting up fairly straight most of the time. Whenever I tell people how old you are they act really surprised, like "oh, is that all?"
Just in the last few days you seem to have discovered your fingers. Whereas you've been shoving your fist in your mouth since the day you were born, you now have your hand open most of the time, poking your fingers around in there and sometimes even gagging yourself.
I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention your sleep habits, for the record. You are now sleeping about 12 hours a night, waking up to eat 3 or 4 times. I try to "pacify" you if it's been less than 3 hours since you ate last... sometimes it works and sometimes not. Usually we get up in the morning around 7 or 8am and you're down for your first nap within about an hour of waking up. You take at least 4, sometimes 5 naps a day. The first two are anywhere from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours long - if the first nap is short, usually the 2nd one is longer, and vice versa. The rest are almost exactly 30 minutes each, as if you've set your little internal egg timer, so I don't count on getting much done during those. I aim for getting you down for the night between 7 - 8pm. Our bedtime routine is still evolving - bath roughly every other night, then pajamas, and then you are usually offered one last bite to eat. If I've timed things right you almost always go right to sleep with very little hassle.
Well that's about it for now. It's after 2am and I should really try to go back to sleep.
Love, Mama
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Coincidence?
So a week after I reported that crazy dog to animal control... Spokanimal shows up on my doorstep wanting to check licensing on Buttercup (I let it expire forever ago). So we had to pay the $15 + $20 "late" fee. Max apparently is off the books - an illegal alien if you will. I had to snatch him up and go hide in the bedroom as he tried to run out and say "hi, I'm here too!"
We got the bill from the hospital today for Seth's stay in the NICU. Over $45K. Whew, that is IN-SANE. And that's not counting the other bazillion we had to pay for the neonatologist and radiology.
My limit on alcoholic beverages in a sitting has officially dropped to 1. Yesterday Eric and I left Seth with auntie Jen and went out for an early dinner, our first date since Valentine's day. I had a huckleberry martini and a margarita, and have had a headache ever since. Ugh. Hangovers are bad enough when all you have to do is lay in bed all day. Totally not worth it when you have to suck it up and take care of an infant.
We got the bill from the hospital today for Seth's stay in the NICU. Over $45K. Whew, that is IN-SANE. And that's not counting the other bazillion we had to pay for the neonatologist and radiology.
My limit on alcoholic beverages in a sitting has officially dropped to 1. Yesterday Eric and I left Seth with auntie Jen and went out for an early dinner, our first date since Valentine's day. I had a huckleberry martini and a margarita, and have had a headache ever since. Ugh. Hangovers are bad enough when all you have to do is lay in bed all day. Totally not worth it when you have to suck it up and take care of an infant.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wrong again
Seth is just full of surprises. Last night the last peep I heard out of him was a little after 9pm when I gave him a pacifier and got into bed myself. Daddy gave him a bottle at 1am and then he didn't wake me up for breakfast until 4:55am! Yay! Mama didn't even have to take her morning nap (instead I showered finally!). He's still sleeping now so it's tempting to go lay down. However I noticed the box of Nyquil on the counter and Eric has been snoring extra loud this morning so I think I'll just skip it. The last thing I need is to get a cold, yuck.
Last night before Eric went back to work, Seth and I were sitting on the stairs saying goodbye. Eric was making his funny faces and saying "Yay!" over and over again to Seth. All of a sudden with a big smile on his face, Seth laughed! It sounded like he coughed 3 times really fast but it was obvious what he meant by it. Eric and I looked at each other and high fived. It was a great parent moment. I'm so glad Eric got to share that first laugh with me. I am sure he worries sometimes that he's going to miss out on that stuff being at work so much of the time. I know I would.
<TMI>
So... I think maybe I'm going to get my period soon. I've been feeling all the telltale signs the last few days. First I felt that ovulation pain, and then I started feeling a little crampy. I'm guessing that skipping that one feed during the night has been just enough to let my body think it should go ahead and get fertile again. Ugh. It has been about a year since I've had to deal with the monthly visit and I'm not looking forward to it. Plus I've been around a couple of 12-14 month old kids this past week too and it makes me TERRIFIED of getting pregnant again too soon. I've got my birth control pills sitting on the kitchen table but I am still a little nervous about taking those, too, despite reassurance that they do not make me any more likely to have another miscarriage. So you know what that means.
</TMI>
It's overcast today and it's supposed to rain this afternoon. Might be a good day to just fill up my gas tank and then go for a drive while sipping a hot drink from Starbucks. I haven't had a caramel macchiato in awhile. Mmmmm.
Last night before Eric went back to work, Seth and I were sitting on the stairs saying goodbye. Eric was making his funny faces and saying "Yay!" over and over again to Seth. All of a sudden with a big smile on his face, Seth laughed! It sounded like he coughed 3 times really fast but it was obvious what he meant by it. Eric and I looked at each other and high fived. It was a great parent moment. I'm so glad Eric got to share that first laugh with me. I am sure he worries sometimes that he's going to miss out on that stuff being at work so much of the time. I know I would.
<TMI>
So... I think maybe I'm going to get my period soon. I've been feeling all the telltale signs the last few days. First I felt that ovulation pain, and then I started feeling a little crampy. I'm guessing that skipping that one feed during the night has been just enough to let my body think it should go ahead and get fertile again. Ugh. It has been about a year since I've had to deal with the monthly visit and I'm not looking forward to it. Plus I've been around a couple of 12-14 month old kids this past week too and it makes me TERRIFIED of getting pregnant again too soon. I've got my birth control pills sitting on the kitchen table but I am still a little nervous about taking those, too, despite reassurance that they do not make me any more likely to have another miscarriage. So you know what that means.
</TMI>
It's overcast today and it's supposed to rain this afternoon. Might be a good day to just fill up my gas tank and then go for a drive while sipping a hot drink from Starbucks. I haven't had a caramel macchiato in awhile. Mmmmm.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Yawn
Yeah I am glad it is Wednesday. Only two more days until the weekend! Whoohoo! Mandy and I were just discussing how before we had kids we couldn't understand why moms who weren't working would look forward to the weekend. Like, isn't every day a weekend?? Uhm, no. Most certainly not.
It's been kind of a rough week and the tiredness is catching up with me. It is so hard to go to bed early though, especially on a day like today when I've had hardly a minute to myself. Today is the first day in a long time that I didn't even get a chance to take a shower, yuck. I guess I'll be changing the sheets tomorrow. Anyway, quick update - I did report the dog situation to animal control. A guy came by and took my "statement" and gave me the option to press charges. I opted not to, because he said either way he was going to go talk to the people and let them know they need to keep their mutt under lock and key. That's really all I wanted.
Oh-kay, off to bed, even though I really want to watch Project Runway. But I can't, because my afternoon nap deprived son is going to be waking up every couple of hours all night, I can feel it.
It's been kind of a rough week and the tiredness is catching up with me. It is so hard to go to bed early though, especially on a day like today when I've had hardly a minute to myself. Today is the first day in a long time that I didn't even get a chance to take a shower, yuck. I guess I'll be changing the sheets tomorrow. Anyway, quick update - I did report the dog situation to animal control. A guy came by and took my "statement" and gave me the option to press charges. I opted not to, because he said either way he was going to go talk to the people and let them know they need to keep their mutt under lock and key. That's really all I wanted.
Oh-kay, off to bed, even though I really want to watch Project Runway. But I can't, because my afternoon nap deprived son is going to be waking up every couple of hours all night, I can feel it.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Seth 10 weeks
Dear Seth,
You are 10 weeks old today, whoa! You're growing up so fast! Part of me can't wait for you to grow up even faster. I'm so excited for you to start doing fun stuff, like reaching for things, playing with your toys, talking (so you can tell me what's wrong), playing basketball, things like that. But then the other part of me wants you to still be 8 lbs, 0.5 oz again, so I don't throw out my back every time I lift you out of the crib. Seriously, this growing thing has got to stop. I can't afford to buy you new clothes every week. Just for the record, you're wearing Pampers size 2 diapers now, Gerber sleep 'n' play size 3-6 months, and various onesie sizes depending on the brand.
We had a pretty good day today. You took a long nap from 8:30am-10am, and I slept a good portion of that, which was nice. In the afternoon we went to the post office to mail a package, and then up to see Auntie Natalie where she works at the old folks' home. We went for a little walk after that and you had a little catnap in the stroller. Finally we went home and you had a little bit of a meltdown before you finally passed out, only to wake up still fairly cranky a mere 20 minutes later. So you had a bath and went straight to bed!
Here's the thing - on most days your naps get progressively shorter throughout the day. As the day goes on it also gets more and more difficult to get you to actually fall asleep. If you were in a better mood that whole time I would assume you just weren't that tired. However, by around 3pm or so you start acting like Oscar the Grouch for the majority of your awake time, including while you're eating - and I'm not a fan of that. You're just a big fake faker too sometimes. You'll be all whiny and yawning and rubbing your eyes one minute, and the next minute you're smiling and cooing and gooing at me (or at your monkey mobile, which you love by the way). Anyway, my biggest clue is that when you do wake up from your 20 minute power naps, you're usually a lot happier at least for a few minutes, so we're going to keep trying.
In other news, just over the last week we've had to break out the bibs (and I realized we have about a hundred of them!). It seems if you're not drooling you're spitting up all over yourself, or my shoulder. Especially if you've just had a pretty good meal, I sit you up and *BUUURRRRP* out comes a little more than just air. I've had to get more diligent about having a burp rag handy at all times and the laundry is piling up a lot faster than it used to.
Anyhoo, it's been a wild ride so far, can't wait for the next 10 weeks!
Love, Mama
You are 10 weeks old today, whoa! You're growing up so fast! Part of me can't wait for you to grow up even faster. I'm so excited for you to start doing fun stuff, like reaching for things, playing with your toys, talking (so you can tell me what's wrong), playing basketball, things like that. But then the other part of me wants you to still be 8 lbs, 0.5 oz again, so I don't throw out my back every time I lift you out of the crib. Seriously, this growing thing has got to stop. I can't afford to buy you new clothes every week. Just for the record, you're wearing Pampers size 2 diapers now, Gerber sleep 'n' play size 3-6 months, and various onesie sizes depending on the brand.
We had a pretty good day today. You took a long nap from 8:30am-10am, and I slept a good portion of that, which was nice. In the afternoon we went to the post office to mail a package, and then up to see Auntie Natalie where she works at the old folks' home. We went for a little walk after that and you had a little catnap in the stroller. Finally we went home and you had a little bit of a meltdown before you finally passed out, only to wake up still fairly cranky a mere 20 minutes later. So you had a bath and went straight to bed!
Here's the thing - on most days your naps get progressively shorter throughout the day. As the day goes on it also gets more and more difficult to get you to actually fall asleep. If you were in a better mood that whole time I would assume you just weren't that tired. However, by around 3pm or so you start acting like Oscar the Grouch for the majority of your awake time, including while you're eating - and I'm not a fan of that. You're just a big fake faker too sometimes. You'll be all whiny and yawning and rubbing your eyes one minute, and the next minute you're smiling and cooing and gooing at me (or at your monkey mobile, which you love by the way). Anyway, my biggest clue is that when you do wake up from your 20 minute power naps, you're usually a lot happier at least for a few minutes, so we're going to keep trying.
In other news, just over the last week we've had to break out the bibs (and I realized we have about a hundred of them!). It seems if you're not drooling you're spitting up all over yourself, or my shoulder. Especially if you've just had a pretty good meal, I sit you up and *BUUURRRRP* out comes a little more than just air. I've had to get more diligent about having a burp rag handy at all times and the laundry is piling up a lot faster than it used to.
Anyhoo, it's been a wild ride so far, can't wait for the next 10 weeks!
Love, Mama
Friday, March 19, 2010
Houdini
Twice last night Seth managed to wriggle one hand free from his Swaddle-Me blanket. So of course said hand was in his face irritating him, so he was making his "I'm irritated" noises, which woke me up and - you guessed it - I was irritated ;) The first time was around 2:15am or so, way too early to feed him. Thankfully he went back to sleep fairly quickly with the help of his pacifier. But then of course he was hungry around 4ish...wakey wakey #2 for Mama. Then the hand got free again just before 6am and all hell broke loose. As I was trying to strap him back in I noticed his pajamas were soaking wet. So much for the Pampers Baby Dry diapers that I thought I would try since they are supposed to be good for 12 hours. Ha! Anyway, having to change a diaper in the middle of the night is traumatic enough, but having to change pajamas too is over the top. Let the screaming commence. And it did. And of course no sooner did I fasten the new dry diaper on then he peed in it too. All I can say is THANK GOODNESS it is Friday.
Yesterday Seth and I went for a walk down to Fred Meyer. I carried him in the Moby wrap most of the way down there while pushing the stroller. On the way we passed this house where a little girl and her dog were playing in the driveway. The next thing I knew the dog was running over and attacking me. Okay, "attacking" is kind of a strong word, but the stupid animal totally barked and growled and lunged at me from behind. I can't be sure if he actually nipped at me or just jumped up on me but I was totally freaked out and yelled "What the $%&#?!?" <--- insert really bad word. I felt really bad about saying that particular word in front of this little girl, not to mention Seth, but I was a little out of sorts. Some guy came running out of the house and grabbed the dog and said sorry and I just kept on walking. Yeesh. When I told Eric about it he said I should report it to animal control. I suppose I should... we walk by that house all the time - and what if instead of nipping my rear end, the dog had nipped right onto one of Seth's little feet dangling down? Yikes. So why do I feel bad?
Yesterday Seth and I went for a walk down to Fred Meyer. I carried him in the Moby wrap most of the way down there while pushing the stroller. On the way we passed this house where a little girl and her dog were playing in the driveway. The next thing I knew the dog was running over and attacking me. Okay, "attacking" is kind of a strong word, but the stupid animal totally barked and growled and lunged at me from behind. I can't be sure if he actually nipped at me or just jumped up on me but I was totally freaked out and yelled "What the $%&#?!?" <--- insert really bad word. I felt really bad about saying that particular word in front of this little girl, not to mention Seth, but I was a little out of sorts. Some guy came running out of the house and grabbed the dog and said sorry and I just kept on walking. Yeesh. When I told Eric about it he said I should report it to animal control. I suppose I should... we walk by that house all the time - and what if instead of nipping my rear end, the dog had nipped right onto one of Seth's little feet dangling down? Yikes. So why do I feel bad?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
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