Lilypie First Birthday tickers

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Hunter rolls over!


Hunter rolls over. I go a little overboard with the enthusiasm. He is 1 month and 3 days old.

Early morning feedings

I'm watching Buffy all over again. For those of you who have never seen the show, it has some of the best dialogue ever.

I've tried to put Hunter down after our night feeding three times, but the act of laying him down in his cradle wakes him up and then I have to start all over. He's perfectly content to stay on my lap, which means  that, of course, I have to go to the bathroom. So chances are I'll have to get him back to sleep a fourth time in a few minutes here. Some nights he's perfectly fine, but it feels like the majority of the time he can't help but wake up. Not a problem, I would hold him all the time if I could, but unfortunately life necessitates putting him down sometimes. He's such a snuggler though, I love it. His warm, little body nestled up against mine makes my heart melt. I could spend my whole life just watching him.

He does so many amazing things! He already working on so many developmental milestones and he's been on the more advanced end of everything! I know every child progresses at their own pace, so I'm not bragging so much as it's just really cool to see him growing and learning. He can already hold his head up, both during tummy time and when he's on anyones shoulder. I'm not exactly sure what the books mean by holding it up 45 degrees versus 90, I just know he holds it up and can manage it for quite a while. He also likes sitting up. Mom plays with him by laying him down and letting him grasp onto her fingers, then she pulls him up to sitting. He grips so hard! He's even able to communicate when he wants to go up and down. So she'll just pull him up and down for a little while and he is totally enthralled. We also do tummy time, of course. For the time being we usually put him on the table. It's up high, so it's more comfortable for people to watch him, and there's room to gather around. His feet  go wild when he's not trying to hold his head up. And this point it's mostly an either or deal, though sometimes he manages both. But his legs have the crawling motion down. Sometimes he seems to get frustrated because he doesn't have the mobility he desires yet. Once he gets his head control though he's going to be moving! I like to put him on the table with a blanket underneath him and then put my hands behind his feet so he has something to push off of. That way he gets to scoot around the table, which he seems to enjoy.

I can't believe how good he is at holding his head up already! He's getting to be such a big, strong boy! He's just about ready to go into 0-3 month clothes. He still fits into his newborn clothes, and 0-3 is still a little big, so I've been getting the most out of the smaller ones that I possibly can. We'll be upgrading soon enough.

Well, it would seem like fourth time was a charm. Hunter stayed asleep when I put him down this time, so it's time for me to follow suit and go back to sleep. I am falling sleep sitting here.                                                    

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sleeping Habits

So Hunter was such a good sleeper...note the past tense. He would sleep for 3-5 hour stretches all night, so I was able to get plenty of sleep. Now, however, he doesn't like to stay asleep longer than two hours MAX unless I'm holding him. So after one night of continually being woken up and last night seeming to be following the same pattern after Grandma put him down for me and yet he still woke up within two hours, I fed him (growth spurt anyone?) and decided to break my own rules: I let him sleep with me on purpose. Usually he winds up sleeping with me because we've both fallen asleep while nursing. Last night I curled up holding him and just went with it. And, wow!, I got six hours of straight sleep. David got online, so when Hunter went back down I didn't, but he's been asleep for a little over an hour now, and I'm going to miss church because I don't have time to shower now. I should have done it last night.

Back on point though, I don't roll on him, or mush him, or suffocate him. We woke up in exactly the same spot that we fell asleep in. So yay for a successful night of mommy sleeping. I definitely needed it.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Laundry

One of those perks of motherhood seems to be a daily load of laundry. Not only does Hunter go through two to three onesies a day, but I go through clothes at a rapid pace as well. We go through what feels like a dozen burp cloths a day, although I haven't actually been keeping track, because I use them for everything. And no, I didn't suddenly change subjects, the burp cloths and my clothes are related. One of the glories of breastfeeding is that you leak everywhere. Apart from the cloths that we use to burp Hunter and put under his bum when changing him (let me tell you, much easier to throw the cloth in the laundry when poop happens during a diaper change. I threw away a grand total of four diapers during one diaper change this morning. The poop just wouldn't stop. At least he hasn't gotten me yet), but then there are the occasions when a burp cloth just isn't handy, and thus my robe becomes a spit up catcher, because he only spits up in volume when I don't have a burp cloth handy.

I also soak through several every day because my breasts apparently think I have twins. Our schedule generally involves feeding on one side for 10-15 minutes and then switching to the other side (although I am reevaluating this at the moment). The second breast seems to think it's in competition with the first breast, because it won't. stop. leaking. I have to put a burp cloth underneath it to catch all of the milk. I also go through a couple of shirts every day because inevitably I wind up soaked at some point during the day. Anyone who knows my health history knows that tight fitting clothes, such as bras, don't always get along with me. So yesterday to save myself the trouble of soaking clothes or being in pain (some days you're just handed crappy options) I just wore a towel underneath my robe for the second half of the day. The first half involved seeing David off at the airport, and they tend to appreciate clothing there, so I suffered through it, in every way.

I've stopped washing changing pad covers and my bedding just for a little bit of spit up or urine. They get thrown in when I'm doing laundry anyway and have room, but otherwise it's usually just not worth it. I've also expanded my tolerance for spit up on onesies. At first any little bit of wetness warranted a change of clothes. Now, as long as it doesn't seem like it's going to cause chafing, I let it go until I would change him anyway. And yet still the laundry piles seem huge every day. There's always something to be washed and something to be put away.

On a completely different note, my weight keeps dropping. At this point I've lost about 35lbs. This is the skinniest I've ever been. I've always been used to dealing with a belly. Before I was pregnant it was the belly I always sucked in, and it sucked in well. I was able to look a lot flatter than if I let it all hang out, and walked around in an almost constant state of ab-clenching without even thinking about it. Then I got pregnant and I wanted a belly to show off. That and it's hard to suck in a baby. And originally after having the baby I thought I was back to where I was before I got pregnant. Except giving it two weeks has left me without much to suck in. I definitely have a pooch, there's definitely fat on my belly (and those awful stretch marks), but it's a skinny pooch, if that makes sense. Momma Mac generously took me clothes shopping last week, which was wonderful because I hadn't thought to bring any non-maternity clothes with me from Colorado, and I'm actually worried that they won't fit if I keep losing weight. I think I'm going to try to limit what I wear for another couple of weeks and see what happens, just in case.

Motherhood (and post 100)

This perfect little boy is mine. When does that finally sink in? And yet he's my whole world. He has blonde hair and blue eyes like his daddy. He has the cutest sneezes you've ever heard, which I'm still trying to capture on video. And he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Right at this moment he's lying on my chest and I can't bring myself to get up to turn the light off because I'm enjoying cuddling so much. I'm getting tired but don't want to put him down.

Breastfeeding is going splendidly, we both seem naturally inclined. He sleeps like an angel. I have to wake him up most of the time. And he's already grown! I don't know exactly how much, but I can tell he has. David says he's an inch longer. He's probably surpassed his birth weight by now, seeing as he managed to gain 7oz between a Friday and a Monday doctors appointment. He has another one this Monday so then we'll know for sure.

I'll try to write more and post some pictures. Now that David has left I should have a little more free time. All of my time recently has been monopolized by my men. And I need something to take my mind off the loneliness of his being gone.