Can you believe this little guy belongs to me?? I still am struggling to wrap my head around his cuteness, let alone his existence. Now, while this post is almost a week late - I have a newborn, cut me some slack! - this picture was taken at the 3 week point. He's already growing!
Or I should say he's STILL growing.
And yes. I realize this will continue to happen. For a long, long time.
Now, here are the notable points of our 3 week development:
1) Spitting up! And gas! My goodness, these things appeared almost overnight. Last Monday we had a very fussy baby that would not sleep. We tried gripe water and now we know - gas was the culprit. The spit up has been... interesting. I don't really think it's gross. I'm just surprised by how much a baby can spit up without having any issues with colic (so far) or reflux (please, Jesus. Let's skip that part!)
2) Floor time! I include tummy time with this, since we started them at the same time. For the most part, E loves it.
I do think that when he isn't the happiest, it's usually because there's another culprit. Like gas. (See above.)
3) We went through a growth spurt! At least, that's what I think led to a recent period of cluster feeding. I wish I could take him to the pediatrician every week just to see how much he's growing. He is a great sleeper and eater... for the most part. (He's human. And new at it.) The sudden change in needs while he cluster-fed was startling to this rookie mom.
I also wanted to share some things that I've learned as a mom:
1) There is spit up and there is milk dribble. They are different. Sometimes they are accompanied by a burp. Sometimes they aren't. Either way, I can't get burp cloths through the wash fast enough. In fact, the only pack of burp cloths we own are from my mother-in-law. I thought it was silly to give us a set of plain burp cloths. Now I know! (Thanks, MIL!)
2) Sleeping and eating patterns can change on a dime. Last night we were cluster-feeding every two hours. This momma was struggling to stay with the program and her good attitude. (The attitude may have lapsed for a bit. Sorry, hubs.) Then suddenly, E went five hours between night feedings. That was the longest ever!! Needless to say, I was grateful for the extended sleep time for both of us.
3) Paranoia is like freckles. Yep. Freckles. I have freckles. You may never notice them, but I know they're there. And they're always present, right in front of my face. My fears are part of who I am as a mom in the same way that my freckles are part of my appearance. I don't think either go away. When E sleeps in his swing instead of his crib due to a fussy night, I have to consciously give him to God. We have a motion-sensing monitor in the crib to help prevent SIDS. The swing does not come so equipped. I know that it would be easy to curl up in a corner with my baby boy and never let him go. However, this is not practical nor faith-filled. Thus, I acknowledge my propensity to worry, confess the worry as sin, and ask God to continue watching my sweet boy.
4) There is no way to prep for this sleep schedule! I initially asked God to let E sleep well and sleep long (which in newborn speak means four hours.) Now, I ask God to change me to make suitable for E's sleep schedule. The cool thing is that He is. I have always been the full-8-hours-of-uninterrupted-sleep-required sort of girl. Now, I can nap off and on with him.
The next couple of weeks hold a lot of fun events. Can't wait to chronicle more adventures!
Most sincerely (albeit sleepily),
Stephanie
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