Today was a milestone for Jack: he rolled over! (From his front to his back.) I know, this is only exciting to me and Chris, but we gotta take our excitement where we can get it these days.
We were doing tummy time in the nursery and Chris went downstairs to get the camera, and while he was there, Jack lifted his head really high and suddenly flipped over. I don’t know who was more surprised, me or him.
Right now we’ve got three baby carriers: a Moby wrap, a sling, and a Bjorn. I use the Moby and sling quite a bit, and Chris prefers the Bjorn.
The sling is great for going to the store, during dinner and around the house. It’s easy to put on and easy to put Jack into. He’s usually pretty happy in it. It was great when I picked Chris’s parents up at the airport; he was tucked in close to me and I didn’t have to navigate the stroller through the crowds. It is not as snug as the Moby however so I have to be more careful and often use one hand to make sure he’s secure. When he’s covered up and I’m in a public place people often don’t realize there’s a baby in there.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Moby. When it works, it’s awesome, but even after two months I have a hard time putting it on just right. I’ve worn it a couple of times recently on walks on the trail near our house and it’s great to able to go places I can’t take the stroller. He gets quite a snug hold and I can definitely use both hands. He usually goes to sleep if we go for a walk. The beauty of the Moby of course is that there are multiple ways you can use it, and hopefully I’ll get a lot more use from the other holds when he’s a bit older. But it can be SO frustrating to get it on correctly. It’s like 18 feet of fabric. I have yet to brave wearing it if I’m not able to put it on while I’m at home.
I have started using the stroller a bit more recently. It really hasn’t seen much use. Pros: you can store other stuff in it; it’s easy to put Jack into; I can see his face easily. Cons: can only go on hard surfaces; Jack is further away from me; takes up space in the car; it makes you bring stuff you don’t really need. I mean I don’t really need to carry a diaper bag on a one hour walk.
I didn’t think I’d need different baby carriers, but I am definitely using them in different situations.
Every Wednesday morning I go to a mother’s group. While I’m there I weigh Jack. Normally he gains around 1 oz per day, but this week, he gained nothing. Zilch. So of course I am freaking out.
Now, given the fact we’re measuring him in ounces still, and that he can take in 4 oz at any given feeding, it’s a bit arbitrary. But I’ve been having some nagging feelings about the way he’s been eating lately. He’ll latch for a bit, then let go, as if he’s finished.. but then cry until I put him back on. I start getting paranoid he’s reverting to his patterns during the first month when he was not eating properly from me.
He seems fine. He’s had plenty of wet/dirty diapers; his activity level’s the same.. if anything he’s more alert. So maybe it’s nothing. But no doubt I’ll worry about it until he gains again.
He’ll be 11 weeks tomorrow. Nearly 3 months!
The other day I finished feeding Jack and had him up on my shoulder to burp him. He head-butted me (Chris refers to this as a “Glasgow kiss“) and burped in my face and I said, “You know Jack, there are very few people I would tolerate that from.”
Well, no one else, really.
Jack has been smiling a lot recently. He’s finally smiling in response to things we are doing instead of just his little “inner smiles”. It’s a lot of fun.
He is also looking around a lot more, actually tracking things like his mobile. It feels like he’s starting to engage with the world.
He puts some weight on his legs, and his head control is getting quite good. He is also cooing a bit, which is a lovely sound.
He loves music, being sung to, and dancing. Our favorite song to dance to right now is L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole.
He likes car rides. He’s been to the airport (to pick up his grandparents), various stores, a mother’s group, Crystal Springs, a friend’s house, his aunt’s house, and his grandparents’ house in Walnut Creek.
He is not a big fan of tummy time usually. Lately he moves his legs and ends up rotating 180 degrees on the blanket, but makes frustrated cries while he does it.
A little over 2 months since I gave birth, and my body is still changing. While I was pregnant, my hair stopped falling out. Just recently it’s started coming out again with a vengeance. Now, when I take a shower, I can pull enough hair out of the drain to make a wig. Well, a wig for a small doll anyway. It seems worse than before I was pregnant. I don’t really mind; I have a lot of hair to spare. But it’s a pain to start finding it all over the house again.
While I was pregnant I also had a lot of nosebleeds. Well, not nosebleeds, but there was always blood when I blew my nose. That was strange, as I don’t think I’ve ever had a bloody nose in my life. Anyway that stopped shortly after giving birth.
I’ve really been lucky as far as recovering from labor. I stopped taking ibuprofen a week afterwards for my tear and it healed well. I’ve lost about 25 of the 40 pounds I gained. Except for the sleep deprivation and the continued nipple irritation I’m doing quite well.
But hoo boy, this weekend I saw a picture Chris took of me sitting on a bench and I still look pregnant! My belly is still big and I don’t fit into my non-maternity pants. I’ve been eating mostly what I want and not getting much exercise except for lugging Jack around and the occasional walk. I’m hoping to start easing back into running. The main obstacle is lack of sleep, and the fact Jack is not taking regular naps yet. I’m hoping he’ll start napping longer soon and then I can at least do things like a yoga DVD or ride the exercise bike in the garage. I would also like to go swimming.
Jack had his 2-month doctor’s appointment yesterday. He’s doing fine, his head size percentile stayed at 50th so the doctor’s happy about that. He’s 12th percentile weight, 20th in height. I kind of wish they wouldn’t tell me those numbers, since they don’t really matter, and it just gives me something else to worry about, like, Oh no, he’s not gaining enough! But the doctor’s perfectly happy with those numbers, he says he’s right on track for his growth pattern.
Then he had four shots. He cried during the shots but was fine afterwards, but later he developed a fever of 102 and wasn’t himself this morning. We gave him some baby Tylenol and he’s doing much better now. The doctor said to call if his fever gets up to 103.
Next appointment isn’t til 4 months! Woo hoo!
There are an awful lot of controversies when it comes to child-raising. Breastfeeding or formula, co-sleeping or in the crib, pick the baby up right away when he/she cries or let them cry it out.
I’m still sorting my feelings on the “crying it out” issue. Overall I’m a subscriber to the “pick them up when they cry,” at least in the first few months. I know that’s not really practical for everyone. I have the luxury of being a full-time stay-at-home mom with no other major responsibilities, so it’s almost always possible for me to pick Jack up when he’s crying.
Some people think you need to teach babies to be independent and they’ll quickly learn to settle themselves, so you need to let them cry a little. And some people think that by responding quickly every time they cry, the baby learns to feel safer and that someone will always be there for them, so they are actually more independent.
Clearly there’s no way to prove one way or the other, since you can’t do it both ways on the same baby, and clearly there are examples of emotionally sound adults who were raised in both ways. So does it matter?
Who knows. And who knows how long I will follow this. I think at least til he’s 3 months. It doesn’t mean I have picked him up EVERY time; sometimes I’m in the middle of doing something, like he’s in the car seat and I’m loading the car, and I know once the car’s moving he’ll be fine. Or I’m in the bathroom, or have my hands full.
I know there’s a middle ground: let him cry a little bit but a) not all the time and b) not if he’s really upset and c) not for too long. And he cries plenty when I’m holding him; it’s not like that automatically makes him better.
No conclusions on this, just some thoughts.
Well, after an insane first month of learning to breastfeed, it is going much MUCH better. Jack seems to have finally got the hang of it! He is gaining weight right on track.
I’ve still got either a breast yeast infection or just general irritation (been to a couple of doctors.. can’t diagnose yeast infections very easily apparently). So I’m sore a lot, but not so sore I can’t feed him.
He generally eats every 2 to 4 hours. I have been trying to get him to go towards the 3-4 end most of the time, but he’s been a lot fussier recently and it’s one of the things that sooths him. We did finally decide to try out the pacifier. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it often makes him feel better and he really loves it, and it gives me a break. On the other hand, I can just picture the day we have to take it away and it’ll be like going through an intervention with a heroin addict.
Sleeping at night has really been mixed. He had one fabulous night of 4.5 hours between feedings, but is generally more like 3. Last night was very rough; he was crying and screaming and didn’t really fall asleep until 2:30, then woke up at 5 to eat and 7:30.
Thankfully Chris is a heavy sleeper so generally I just feed him sitting up in bed, unless he’s really screaming, and then I’ll take him into the nursery.
That’s the Jack update for now! We’ll have guests the next few weeks so posting may be light.
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