Discriminating Audience

Lately, Alex can't be entertained by my dancing or singing while he's in the bouncy seat, so I have to directly interact with him.  Dan gets home at about 7:30, which is also the Alex's dinner time.  If I don't want to eat at 10 PM, I'd have to find a way to feed Alex and cook. 


Even if he's not fussing, I just don't like to take the chance that he'll be near me while I take out something from the oven or move a hot pot from the stovetop.  So, keeping him in the kitchen with me is out of the question.

So, these days, a hot full dinner is made possible by Dan feeding him while I make it.  Sorry Dan! You had a hard day, but here's a bottle!

August 31, 2007

Nurse-to-Sleep Becoming a Habit?

When Alex was a newborn, I was totally exhausted. I was nursing Alex to sleep in the early morning. He'd wake at about 5 AM and I would take to nursing him in my bed for that feeding. He'd fall asleep and so would I. Then he'd wake again at about 7 or 8, which I could handle as a waking time for myself.  That lasted only about 3 weeks after I started doing it. (Could have been longer, I suppose, had I started doing that earlier.)


He grew out of it. He eventually started dropping feedings, including the 4-5 AM one, and just sleeping through to 7 or 8. Now he needs a bottle to sleep for a nap only on certain occasions, like if he's having a rough day or if he just got a lot of happy stimulation beforehand.  It got to a point at which now, he lets me know he wants a nap even if we're playing at that time.

I hope it stays this way.

August 22, 2007

Teeth? Already?

I just felt a sharpness in Alex's upper gum. He was out of sorts all day yesterday and today he was really a handful. He didn't start crying from it all until about 7 this evening, but I think it was made worse by utter exhaustion because he wouldn't nap much. I gave him infant Tylenol and used Infant Ambesol, along with frozen teethers to help him, but obviously they do just so much.


I called my mom to tell her about it and she looked up my teething history in my Baby Book. I teethed much later than Alex is (him, 20 weeks, me, almost 8 months), but I teethed really quickly. I got my second tooth about two weeks after the first. My mom said that these first few teeth are really painful for babies and that these painful, icky days go on for a long while. She can't recall specifics though. I'm her youngest and in my 40s.

It kills me to think that he's in that kind of pain (I can recall my wisdom teeth coming in) but I can't give him anything powerful for the pain.
 

August 20, 2007

Roll Over! Roll Over! (The breakthrough)

This week, I reached my goal of spending more Tummy Time with my crotchedy hater of Tummy Time. I did it aaaaannnnnd....he rolled over this week! For a guy who hated, hated, HATED to be on his stomach at all, he was a bundle of milestones this week. He goes right up on his arms the minute I put him on his stomach. He now loves rolling from his stomach to his back - amazing himself the first time he did it. Now he can't get enough.

My pumping schedule, sadly, has to go. I've spent three weeks trying to get my supply back up by pumping every two hours and it just won't increase past 6 oz a day. I've been taking More Milk Plus for the same amount of time and that's still as much as I get. I wanted to keep him on some BM until he was 6 months old, but it seems I have to drop it when he's 5 months old. He won't latch anymore either.  Bummer.

But at the same time, I'm excited about the future, knowing that BF'ing had to end sometime.  Being freed from pumping 8 times a day will most certainly help with spending more time with him. I was spending some 3 to 3.5 hours a day on pumping. Our "play time" came with his on the bed with me while I pumped and sang to him...or watched Dr. Phil (Alex seems to like his voice.)

August 19, 2007