Noah had his 2 month doctor's appointment this afternoon. There's not a whole lot to tell, but here are the basics:
-He weighed 13 lbs 4 oz. That's about the 90th percentile for weight. And it was a 2 lb weight gain from 3 1/2 weeks ago. His weight gain is still incredibly rapid, but it's slowed down slightly (in the first 5 1/2 weeks of his life he gained 4 lbs). Overall he's gained 6 lbs in 9 weeks. That's a lot. I hope it continues to slow down.
-He measured 24 inches. That is also at the 90th percentile for height. (Side note: I hate how innaccurate my doctor's office can be. He was 23 inches when he was 4 weeks old. At his last appointment, at 5 1/2 weeks, he was 23.5 inches. He's now 9 weeks old and the nurse was measuring him and said "Looks like he's 23 inches." So apparently he's shrunk half an inch in the past 3 1/2 weeks? I don't think so! I was watching her measure him and the top of the tape measure was nowhere near the top of his head. Plus I very carefully measured him a week ago or so, multiple times, and he was 24 inches long then. I said "That can't be right. He measured 24 inches a week or two ago. I don't think the tape measure was at the top of his head." So she measured him again and he was very clearly 24 inches, but she was sooo reluctant to agree to it, since she was an entire inch off before. But both Justin and I were staring at the tape measure, and his heel was obviously at the 24 inch mark. Bah.)
-Even though he's at the 90th percentile for both height and weight, he's at the 50th percentile for "weight for height." That means that of the kids his height (of whatever age), 50% of them are fatter than him, and 50% of them are skinnier than him. I'm happy about this. Both Justin and I are tall, lean people. So it makes sense for Noah to be right in the middle. He's not scrawny anymore, but he's not chubby. He's just right.
-He got his immunizations today. I did okay. I thought I would be way worse watching him get needles, considering I bawled like a baby watching the pediatrician examine him in the hospital, but I survived it unscathed. He didn't make a peep for his first needle, but he cried from the second needle. I scooped him up, held him close, and rocked and kissed him and he was completely quiet in about 30 seconds. Poor little dude. He's such a trooper.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Sleep at 9 Weeks
Ah! When I wrote 9 weeks I suddenly had a little freak out. Noah is 9 weeks old today!
Last night, in honour of his 9 week birthday, he slept 9 hours straight. 9 HOURS! He didn't get up to eat until 5:30. I had been up for good since 4:50 because my right boob, which is the only one I nurse from at night, was SO engorged. It was as bad as when my milk first came in. It killed just lying still on my back.
I decided to stop waiting for Noah to wake up and just get up and pump. Oh my gosh, moving was so painful. It felt like I had a bowling ball trying to break through my skin. At least it was just the right side though. When my milk came in it was BOTH sides like that.
I pumped 5 ounces in 2 minutes and then had to stop because I use the Avent bottles, which are only 4 ounce bottles so it was literally filled to the brim (I'm going to start pumping into the 9 ounce bottles instead). I went and emptied it into a bag and then pumped an ounce and a half from the left side, because it was pretty full too.
I am so happy that Noah is turning into a good sleeper all on his own. For the first few weeks he was up every hour or two to nurse. I remember being thrilled when he consistently went 2 hours. The first 3 hour chunk was amazing! Now we're all the way to 9 hours, and I didn't even do anything special to get us there. I have such a good baby.
Bedtime Routine
I don't know if our bedtime routine has anything to do with Noah sleeping so well. I can't remember exactly when I started doing it, so I don't know if it coincides with how he started to sleep longer and longer chunks.
Noah always goes to sleep between 8 and 9. And almost every evening, around 7:30, he gets whiney. Not a high pitched type whine, but more like a moan. If I haven't already gotten his bath stuff ready, I get it ready then.
You'd think if a baby is fussy, he would stay fussy through his bath. Not Noah. He stops fussing as soon as he even realizes he's going to get in the bath soon. If the bathroom isn't ready for him, I lay out his towel on the floor and lie him on there while I get everything ready. As soon as he lies on the towel, he knows it's bathtime and he just starts talking to himself instead of whining. He turns into a super happy baby. It's like his whining was "Mom, I'm tired, give me my bath so I can eat and go to sleep!"
We have such a nice bathtime together. We talk to each other, he tries to taste the water, he smiles at me, and he always opens his mouth wide when I'm washing his hands. He rarely fusses getting into or out of the water anymore. And he's happy as a clam lying there naked in his towel. But as soon as he realizes bathtime is over (either when I lotion him or he starts getting his sleeper on), the moaning starts again. We go to the bedroom where I swaddle him in a big receiving blanket, and he nurses until he falls off the boob with sleepiness.
Sometimes he's dead asleep when I put him down, other times he's adorably drowsy and wakes up a bit when I put him in his crib. He always puts himself to sleep if that happens.
I used to bath Noah every other day, and I always did it during the day so that his hair was nice and clean if we were going to go anywhere. 3 or 4 weeks ago I decided to start bathing him at nighttime with his Johnson and Johnson lavender bedtime bath stuff. I'm so glad I did. I don't know if the routine is helping him sleep longer, but I think we both like our little ritual. And I do think he accepts sleep easier when he's had his bath. Not that he had a hard time going to bed before; he really didn't. But now, he lets me know when he wants to go to bed soon, and as soon as his bath is done he's ready to conk out. It's great.
Last night, in honour of his 9 week birthday, he slept 9 hours straight. 9 HOURS! He didn't get up to eat until 5:30. I had been up for good since 4:50 because my right boob, which is the only one I nurse from at night, was SO engorged. It was as bad as when my milk first came in. It killed just lying still on my back.
I decided to stop waiting for Noah to wake up and just get up and pump. Oh my gosh, moving was so painful. It felt like I had a bowling ball trying to break through my skin. At least it was just the right side though. When my milk came in it was BOTH sides like that.
I pumped 5 ounces in 2 minutes and then had to stop because I use the Avent bottles, which are only 4 ounce bottles so it was literally filled to the brim (I'm going to start pumping into the 9 ounce bottles instead). I went and emptied it into a bag and then pumped an ounce and a half from the left side, because it was pretty full too.
I am so happy that Noah is turning into a good sleeper all on his own. For the first few weeks he was up every hour or two to nurse. I remember being thrilled when he consistently went 2 hours. The first 3 hour chunk was amazing! Now we're all the way to 9 hours, and I didn't even do anything special to get us there. I have such a good baby.
Bedtime Routine
I don't know if our bedtime routine has anything to do with Noah sleeping so well. I can't remember exactly when I started doing it, so I don't know if it coincides with how he started to sleep longer and longer chunks.
Noah always goes to sleep between 8 and 9. And almost every evening, around 7:30, he gets whiney. Not a high pitched type whine, but more like a moan. If I haven't already gotten his bath stuff ready, I get it ready then.
You'd think if a baby is fussy, he would stay fussy through his bath. Not Noah. He stops fussing as soon as he even realizes he's going to get in the bath soon. If the bathroom isn't ready for him, I lay out his towel on the floor and lie him on there while I get everything ready. As soon as he lies on the towel, he knows it's bathtime and he just starts talking to himself instead of whining. He turns into a super happy baby. It's like his whining was "Mom, I'm tired, give me my bath so I can eat and go to sleep!"
We have such a nice bathtime together. We talk to each other, he tries to taste the water, he smiles at me, and he always opens his mouth wide when I'm washing his hands. He rarely fusses getting into or out of the water anymore. And he's happy as a clam lying there naked in his towel. But as soon as he realizes bathtime is over (either when I lotion him or he starts getting his sleeper on), the moaning starts again. We go to the bedroom where I swaddle him in a big receiving blanket, and he nurses until he falls off the boob with sleepiness.
Sometimes he's dead asleep when I put him down, other times he's adorably drowsy and wakes up a bit when I put him in his crib. He always puts himself to sleep if that happens.
I used to bath Noah every other day, and I always did it during the day so that his hair was nice and clean if we were going to go anywhere. 3 or 4 weeks ago I decided to start bathing him at nighttime with his Johnson and Johnson lavender bedtime bath stuff. I'm so glad I did. I don't know if the routine is helping him sleep longer, but I think we both like our little ritual. And I do think he accepts sleep easier when he's had his bath. Not that he had a hard time going to bed before; he really didn't. But now, he lets me know when he wants to go to bed soon, and as soon as his bath is done he's ready to conk out. It's great.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
2 Months Old
At two months old, Noah:
-weighs a little over 13lbs, and is at around the 90th percentile for weight
-measures 24 inches. That is also at the 90th percentile for height.
-is at the 50th percentile for "weight for height." That means that of the kids his height (of whatever age), 50% of them are fatter than him, and 50% of them are skinnier than him.
-is transitioning into 3-6 month clothing (I base all my sizing on Carter's, who makes the longest, skinniest clothing out there and it fits Noah the best. Anything shorter than Carter's I don't consider to really be the same sizing, even if it says it).
-wears mostly Pampers Baby Dry size 1 diapers, occasionally a Swaddler or a Huggies.
-should probably be in size 2 Pamper's Baby Dry diapers because he's pooping up his back on a fairly regular basis, but I have about 400 size 1 diapers that I don't want to waste! The Swaddlers are a bit bigger though, and will fit him for longer.
-absolutely adores the mobile that came with his pack and play, even though it's only 3 boring beige bears that go around in a circle. He can smile up at them for over 20 minutes!
-is starting to enjoy his activity mat a little more, but it's kind of boring because it's small and nothing does anything (although right now he's smiling up at the dragonfly). He recently started to stare at the animals and smile and laugh.
-usually lets Mom and Dad enjoy dinner together by quietly swinging in one of his swings - usually the Fisher Price aquarium swing because it's portable so we have it in the kitchen.
-loves to have naps in his Fisher Price Nature's Touch cradle swing going side to side.
-is still swaddled at nighttime and occasionally during the daytime for a nap or a fussy period.
-has fewer and fewer fussy days.
-absolutely loves being in the bath, even though he still occasionally fusses getting in or out. However, if he's fussy before the bath, being in the bath makes him happy.
-pooped IN the bath for the first time last night.
-has become incredibly smiley in the past week, even though he started smiling back at 3 weeks old. He is now very smiley, not just a few times a day.
-has started to laugh during this past week.
-loves to talk and coo.
-has recently discovered his tongue and pushes it around his mouth and lips a lot.
-loves to stand, and jump which he's been doing since 3 weeks.
-grunts while he pushes himself up. He's going to be a rocket in his jolly jumper when he gains enough neck control.
-has very blue eyes.
-has lots of hair growing in where it all fell out on the top of his head. It's hard to tell whether it's blond or brown; it all depends on the lighting.
-throws up a LOT.
-has decreased the frequency of his pees and poops during diaper changes
-can go to sleep on his own at nighttime when placed in his crib drowsy with a full tummy, but only occasionally falls asleep on his own during the day.
-generally sleeps for about 5 hours at the beginning of the night, and then 3-4 hours for the next stretch, although we have had a few 6 hours periods at the start of the night.
-has a record of sleeping 7.5 hours, from 8:15pm to 3:45am. This just happened last night!
-doesn't get his diaper changed at night so that he and mom both sleep better.
-is becoming better at entertaining himself when he's awake so Mom doesn't have to be permanently attached to him.
-nurses about every 1.5 to 2 hours during the day. We're very lucky to make it to 2 hours, though.
-almost always starts nursing on the right side, so that if he makes it over to the left side the letdown isn't as strong and won't choke him as easily.
I'll update this post on Thursday when he gets weighed and measured at the doctor's office.
-weighs a little over 13lbs, and is at around the 90th percentile for weight
-measures 24 inches. That is also at the 90th percentile for height.
-is at the 50th percentile for "weight for height." That means that of the kids his height (of whatever age), 50% of them are fatter than him, and 50% of them are skinnier than him.
-is transitioning into 3-6 month clothing (I base all my sizing on Carter's, who makes the longest, skinniest clothing out there and it fits Noah the best. Anything shorter than Carter's I don't consider to really be the same sizing, even if it says it).
-wears mostly Pampers Baby Dry size 1 diapers, occasionally a Swaddler or a Huggies.
-should probably be in size 2 Pamper's Baby Dry diapers because he's pooping up his back on a fairly regular basis, but I have about 400 size 1 diapers that I don't want to waste! The Swaddlers are a bit bigger though, and will fit him for longer.
-absolutely adores the mobile that came with his pack and play, even though it's only 3 boring beige bears that go around in a circle. He can smile up at them for over 20 minutes!
-is starting to enjoy his activity mat a little more, but it's kind of boring because it's small and nothing does anything (although right now he's smiling up at the dragonfly). He recently started to stare at the animals and smile and laugh.
-usually lets Mom and Dad enjoy dinner together by quietly swinging in one of his swings - usually the Fisher Price aquarium swing because it's portable so we have it in the kitchen.
-loves to have naps in his Fisher Price Nature's Touch cradle swing going side to side.
-is still swaddled at nighttime and occasionally during the daytime for a nap or a fussy period.
-has fewer and fewer fussy days.
-absolutely loves being in the bath, even though he still occasionally fusses getting in or out. However, if he's fussy before the bath, being in the bath makes him happy.
-pooped IN the bath for the first time last night.
-has become incredibly smiley in the past week, even though he started smiling back at 3 weeks old. He is now very smiley, not just a few times a day.
-has started to laugh during this past week.
-loves to talk and coo.
-has recently discovered his tongue and pushes it around his mouth and lips a lot.
-loves to stand, and jump which he's been doing since 3 weeks.
-grunts while he pushes himself up. He's going to be a rocket in his jolly jumper when he gains enough neck control.
-has very blue eyes.
-has lots of hair growing in where it all fell out on the top of his head. It's hard to tell whether it's blond or brown; it all depends on the lighting.
-throws up a LOT.
-has decreased the frequency of his pees and poops during diaper changes
-can go to sleep on his own at nighttime when placed in his crib drowsy with a full tummy, but only occasionally falls asleep on his own during the day.
-generally sleeps for about 5 hours at the beginning of the night, and then 3-4 hours for the next stretch, although we have had a few 6 hours periods at the start of the night.
-has a record of sleeping 7.5 hours, from 8:15pm to 3:45am. This just happened last night!
-doesn't get his diaper changed at night so that he and mom both sleep better.
-is becoming better at entertaining himself when he's awake so Mom doesn't have to be permanently attached to him.
-nurses about every 1.5 to 2 hours during the day. We're very lucky to make it to 2 hours, though.
-almost always starts nursing on the right side, so that if he makes it over to the left side the letdown isn't as strong and won't choke him as easily.
I'll update this post on Thursday when he gets weighed and measured at the doctor's office.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Matt and Lynsey's Wedding
My little brother got married on Saturday. Justin and I were both in the wedding. It was insanity, to say the least. Try being in a wedding with a nursing 8 week old. Needless to say I was of absolutely no help as a bridesmaid. It was all I could do to look good and make sure my child was clean and fed. That is an amazing feat when your baby has just recently started pooping up his back.
Noah did amazingly well all day. Seriously, he couldn't have been more well behaved. He only cried once, but it wasn't his fault. We had him out in the freezing cold wind and he was so scared he was screaming. He has never screamed like that before. Ever. It was absolutely terrible. I was almost crying myself and I just wanted to scoop him up, hop in the van, and drive away from it all. I was even saying "I don't care about this picture! I want to go!"
Luckily the photographers both had babies just over a year old, and they're both still nursing. So they completely understood my near meltdown, and they were very accommodating with me feeding the baby during pictures.
So the day went like this:
We got up at 5:30 am and left the house at 7am to drive the hour to the city where Matt and Lynsey live. We got to the hair place at 8. Noah had last eaten at 6:30, and he rarely makes it 2 hours, so when I immediately got in the chair to get my hair done I was already thinking "Oh crap... I hope he's okay until I'm finished." The guy doing ym hair was very nice at first, but he misinterpreted what I wanted done and I ended up looking bald. He thought it looked fine, but it really didn't, so I made him change it. I was really nice about it, but he turned into a complete jerk.
During this time Noah pooped up the back of his sleeper, so Justin and my dad took him to the bathroom to change him. By now it's been over 2 hours since he last ate, and I'm already kind of freaking out inside. It's one thing to try and hold your baby off between feedings on your own. It's another thing when you are being KEPT from feeding him when you know he's hungry. That's terrible. And while Justin and Dad were changing him, he ended up screaming. Of course. It wasn't very loud because I was in the front and they were in the back bathroom with the door closed. But I know my baby's cry, and I could hear it and it was breaking my heart.
My hair was finally done at 9, and I was supposed to get my makeup done. I just mentioned to my stylist that I needed to go feed my baby and he was like "Well, I don't know if you can, we're on a schedule."
Are you kidding me man? Screw the schedule! My child is an hour past when he usually eats and he's hungry! I really don't care about your stupid schedule! I was so pissed. I did go feed Noah, but by then he was really tired, so even though he was hungry, the suckling made him start to fall asleep. Which made the feeding take longer, and I'm not convinced he actually ended up with enough to eat.
After I fed him I got my makeup done and he fell asleep in Justin's arms. At about 10 Noah and I left the hair and makeup place to go to Lynsey's house where we were going to get ready and take pictures starting at 11:30. Lynsey had a schedule all typed out, so I knew what time we were supposed to do what and I could try and feed Noah and stay on the schedule.
I started feeding Noah at 11, and was in my dress right around 11:30. Unfortunately, a bridesmaid was missing, and didn't show up until 12. So I was upset because we wasted picture taking time, which screwed up the feeding schedule.
My sister in law, Hilary, was with me during this time taking care of Noah. Her son, Elijah, was with my brothers and parents. Hilary got Noah to sleep, but by the time we left Lynsey's house for the church it had already been 2 hours since his feeding. But it was 1:00, the ceremony was at 2, and I wanted to feed him as close to the ceremony as possible so that he wouldn't cry during it.
Hilary and I left before the rest of the wedding party. The bridesmaids and groomsmen were supposed to travel in rented vans together, but obviously I couldn't be a part of that. We got to the church at 1:30 and I fed Noah. Again, it was 2 1/2 hours between feedings, which he never does during the day. I was feeling so bad that he was being underfed.
My mother in law came to the nursery about 10 minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start and got Noah from me to take care of him during the ceremony. I quickly finished getting ready. It went great. After the ceremony suddenly we were taking family pictures, which wasn't what we were supposed to do. Noah was already crying from the wind, so I fed him in the van. But it was very uncomfortable. I had to take down my entire dress, cover it was blankets, protect Noah's outfit... there were so many layers of fabric that it was hard for him to reach my boob! It was kind of a fussy feed, but he was okay. Meanwhile they're waiting for us so we can take our family pictures. As soon as we got outside Noah started to cry because of the wind. It only escalated. I tried blankets and a soother, but I didn't anticipate this problem and didn't have a blanket that was warm enough. So the screaming continued.
As soon as we got him back in the warm van he calmed down. Hilary sat on the seat rocking him back and forth while we continued to get some pictures taken for a few minutes. Then we popped him in his carseat and drove to the university to get bridal party pictures taken. Hilary took Elijah to their hotel to have a nap, and my mom and dad came with us to take care of Noah.
Once we arrived at the university Noah errupted. He had one of his volcano vomits, where it goes EVERYWHERE. It ended up even pooling under his bum in the carseat. It was not awesome. He was fine, but it was a huge cleanup, and he was onto his fourth outfit of the day.
My mom changed him while we got some pictures taken. When I got back to the van my parents were beside each other talking to Noah as he smiled like crazy up at them. They looked just like Justin and I look with him when he's doing his constant smiley stuff:) So cute.
I nursed him again during pictures sometime around 4, then went to the country club to wait for the reception to start. We were late getting introduced, so by the time we got in and seated at the head table I had to immediately leave to nurse Noah (while the MC was talking... I probably looked so rude).
The evening was a blur. If I wasn't nursing or changing him I was shoving dinner into my mouth quickly. I don't know where time went, but I missed out on so much. I did my speech with my sister, but I feel like I wasn't really present for anything. I wasn't present for my baby, I wasn't present for the reception... I couldn't give anything my full attention.
I feel sad that I wasn't able to involve myself in my brother's day the way I would have liked to. He is the second nicest and sweetest guy I know (the first being my husband), and his siblings are so important to him. I wish I could have been there, mentally. I hardly even talked to anyone! There was just no time. However, my child survived the day, even though he was underfed and overtired. He was a model baby; everyone was so impressed by him. And he slept really well that night and napped for 2 really long naps the next day. One was 2 full hours, and the next one was over 3 hours and then I woke him up. That was the longest nap of his entire life.
Here are a couple of pictures of Noah and I at the end of the night (Noah was already in his 5th outfit... a pair of jammies for the ride home). We didn't get any pictures of the 3 of us. These are the only ones we got.
Noah did amazingly well all day. Seriously, he couldn't have been more well behaved. He only cried once, but it wasn't his fault. We had him out in the freezing cold wind and he was so scared he was screaming. He has never screamed like that before. Ever. It was absolutely terrible. I was almost crying myself and I just wanted to scoop him up, hop in the van, and drive away from it all. I was even saying "I don't care about this picture! I want to go!"
Luckily the photographers both had babies just over a year old, and they're both still nursing. So they completely understood my near meltdown, and they were very accommodating with me feeding the baby during pictures.
So the day went like this:
We got up at 5:30 am and left the house at 7am to drive the hour to the city where Matt and Lynsey live. We got to the hair place at 8. Noah had last eaten at 6:30, and he rarely makes it 2 hours, so when I immediately got in the chair to get my hair done I was already thinking "Oh crap... I hope he's okay until I'm finished." The guy doing ym hair was very nice at first, but he misinterpreted what I wanted done and I ended up looking bald. He thought it looked fine, but it really didn't, so I made him change it. I was really nice about it, but he turned into a complete jerk.
During this time Noah pooped up the back of his sleeper, so Justin and my dad took him to the bathroom to change him. By now it's been over 2 hours since he last ate, and I'm already kind of freaking out inside. It's one thing to try and hold your baby off between feedings on your own. It's another thing when you are being KEPT from feeding him when you know he's hungry. That's terrible. And while Justin and Dad were changing him, he ended up screaming. Of course. It wasn't very loud because I was in the front and they were in the back bathroom with the door closed. But I know my baby's cry, and I could hear it and it was breaking my heart.
My hair was finally done at 9, and I was supposed to get my makeup done. I just mentioned to my stylist that I needed to go feed my baby and he was like "Well, I don't know if you can, we're on a schedule."
Are you kidding me man? Screw the schedule! My child is an hour past when he usually eats and he's hungry! I really don't care about your stupid schedule! I was so pissed. I did go feed Noah, but by then he was really tired, so even though he was hungry, the suckling made him start to fall asleep. Which made the feeding take longer, and I'm not convinced he actually ended up with enough to eat.
After I fed him I got my makeup done and he fell asleep in Justin's arms. At about 10 Noah and I left the hair and makeup place to go to Lynsey's house where we were going to get ready and take pictures starting at 11:30. Lynsey had a schedule all typed out, so I knew what time we were supposed to do what and I could try and feed Noah and stay on the schedule.
I started feeding Noah at 11, and was in my dress right around 11:30. Unfortunately, a bridesmaid was missing, and didn't show up until 12. So I was upset because we wasted picture taking time, which screwed up the feeding schedule.
My sister in law, Hilary, was with me during this time taking care of Noah. Her son, Elijah, was with my brothers and parents. Hilary got Noah to sleep, but by the time we left Lynsey's house for the church it had already been 2 hours since his feeding. But it was 1:00, the ceremony was at 2, and I wanted to feed him as close to the ceremony as possible so that he wouldn't cry during it.
Hilary and I left before the rest of the wedding party. The bridesmaids and groomsmen were supposed to travel in rented vans together, but obviously I couldn't be a part of that. We got to the church at 1:30 and I fed Noah. Again, it was 2 1/2 hours between feedings, which he never does during the day. I was feeling so bad that he was being underfed.
My mother in law came to the nursery about 10 minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start and got Noah from me to take care of him during the ceremony. I quickly finished getting ready. It went great. After the ceremony suddenly we were taking family pictures, which wasn't what we were supposed to do. Noah was already crying from the wind, so I fed him in the van. But it was very uncomfortable. I had to take down my entire dress, cover it was blankets, protect Noah's outfit... there were so many layers of fabric that it was hard for him to reach my boob! It was kind of a fussy feed, but he was okay. Meanwhile they're waiting for us so we can take our family pictures. As soon as we got outside Noah started to cry because of the wind. It only escalated. I tried blankets and a soother, but I didn't anticipate this problem and didn't have a blanket that was warm enough. So the screaming continued.
As soon as we got him back in the warm van he calmed down. Hilary sat on the seat rocking him back and forth while we continued to get some pictures taken for a few minutes. Then we popped him in his carseat and drove to the university to get bridal party pictures taken. Hilary took Elijah to their hotel to have a nap, and my mom and dad came with us to take care of Noah.
Once we arrived at the university Noah errupted. He had one of his volcano vomits, where it goes EVERYWHERE. It ended up even pooling under his bum in the carseat. It was not awesome. He was fine, but it was a huge cleanup, and he was onto his fourth outfit of the day.
My mom changed him while we got some pictures taken. When I got back to the van my parents were beside each other talking to Noah as he smiled like crazy up at them. They looked just like Justin and I look with him when he's doing his constant smiley stuff:) So cute.
I nursed him again during pictures sometime around 4, then went to the country club to wait for the reception to start. We were late getting introduced, so by the time we got in and seated at the head table I had to immediately leave to nurse Noah (while the MC was talking... I probably looked so rude).
The evening was a blur. If I wasn't nursing or changing him I was shoving dinner into my mouth quickly. I don't know where time went, but I missed out on so much. I did my speech with my sister, but I feel like I wasn't really present for anything. I wasn't present for my baby, I wasn't present for the reception... I couldn't give anything my full attention.
I feel sad that I wasn't able to involve myself in my brother's day the way I would have liked to. He is the second nicest and sweetest guy I know (the first being my husband), and his siblings are so important to him. I wish I could have been there, mentally. I hardly even talked to anyone! There was just no time. However, my child survived the day, even though he was underfed and overtired. He was a model baby; everyone was so impressed by him. And he slept really well that night and napped for 2 really long naps the next day. One was 2 full hours, and the next one was over 3 hours and then I woke him up. That was the longest nap of his entire life.
Here are a couple of pictures of Noah and I at the end of the night (Noah was already in his 5th outfit... a pair of jammies for the ride home). We didn't get any pictures of the 3 of us. These are the only ones we got.
Almost 2 Months
Tomorrow Noah will be 2 months old. I needed room in his dresser for more 3-6 month clothes, since he's almost out of his 0-3 month stuff (so so sad). Last time he was measured he was 24 inches long, so technically I probably should just completely give up the 0-3 month stuff. I just have a hard time doing that. Yesterday I figured I might be okay to finally put away his newborn clothing, whihc he hasn't worn since he was 3 or 4 weeks old.
I wasn't.
I bawled. Like crazy. I was so so sad to see it go away. I miss my scrawny chicken-legged newborn baby. Why is that phase finished so incredibly quickly? I love this new smiling and laughing phase so much, but I really miss the tiny phase.
I'll be posting more tomorrow when Noah is actually two months old.
I wasn't.
I bawled. Like crazy. I was so so sad to see it go away. I miss my scrawny chicken-legged newborn baby. Why is that phase finished so incredibly quickly? I love this new smiling and laughing phase so much, but I really miss the tiny phase.
I'll be posting more tomorrow when Noah is actually two months old.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Pictures From Noah's Second Month
Yesterday Noah turned 8 weeks old, which means it's been 4 weeks since I posted any pictures of my little Bambino. Shame on me! Here are some pictures from the last month:
1 Month Old:
5 Weeks Old:
6 weeks old:
8 Weeks Old:
Monday, May 10, 2010
Mother's Day 2010
I distinctly remember last Mother's Day... I started spotting after an IUI cycle, so I knew I wasn't pregnant, and I cried while sitting in church. It was not a nice day.
I was so thrilled and thankful to be able to celebrate my first Mother's Day yesterday.
Justin bought me a lovely card that had a message from him, and a message from Noah in it. The message from Noah was so cute:
Mom,
Thank you for putting up with me when I am fussy.
Thank you for keeping the rash out of my bum.
Thank you for bathing me, and making me feel good and clean.
Thank you for feeding me such excellent milk, and helping me grow big and strong like Dad.
Thank you for loving me.
You're the best mom ever!
Noah "Bambino"
P.S. Sorry for peeing on you.
Noah amazingly slept until 8am, rather than getting up for good at 6. We got ready and got to church on time. I was in and out of the service to nurse, change a poopy diaper, and walk with a slightly fussy baby (who turned out to just be hungry). There's not a lot of sense in me attending church, but hey, at least we try.
After church we went to my parents' house for a visit, and then to Justin's parents' for a visit. Both visits were very enjoyable. We didn't get home until after 8, but I got Noah bathed and fed and in bed around 9. He went to bed awake and put himself to sleep!:) I love my kid.
He slept until 2:30 this morning, nursed, then went down until 5:45, nursed, then went down until 7:45. Unfortunately, I've been awake since 2:30am. I wasn't able to fall back asleep. (Sometimes I really hate myself.) But luckily Noah has given me a really great day again today. It's 2:30 and he's on his third nap right now. The first one was about an hour and 15 minutes, the second one was about 2 hours, and now he's napping again, but my friend was here and I was distracted so I don't actully know what time he went down. I think he might be going on 45 minutes now. He's acting more like a normal 7.5 week old again and actually sleeping. Saturday was horrible. He barely slept all day.
The thing is that he's not sleeping as completely and soundly as he used to during the day. So the trick is when he wakes up, I don't pick him up unless it's very clear that he's not going back to sleep. I just pat his bum and bounce the mattress and he usually goes back to sleep. It's gets him to nap for longer.
I was so thrilled and thankful to be able to celebrate my first Mother's Day yesterday.
Justin bought me a lovely card that had a message from him, and a message from Noah in it. The message from Noah was so cute:
Mom,
Thank you for putting up with me when I am fussy.
Thank you for keeping the rash out of my bum.
Thank you for bathing me, and making me feel good and clean.
Thank you for feeding me such excellent milk, and helping me grow big and strong like Dad.
Thank you for loving me.
You're the best mom ever!
Noah "Bambino"
P.S. Sorry for peeing on you.
Noah amazingly slept until 8am, rather than getting up for good at 6. We got ready and got to church on time. I was in and out of the service to nurse, change a poopy diaper, and walk with a slightly fussy baby (who turned out to just be hungry). There's not a lot of sense in me attending church, but hey, at least we try.
After church we went to my parents' house for a visit, and then to Justin's parents' for a visit. Both visits were very enjoyable. We didn't get home until after 8, but I got Noah bathed and fed and in bed around 9. He went to bed awake and put himself to sleep!:) I love my kid.
He slept until 2:30 this morning, nursed, then went down until 5:45, nursed, then went down until 7:45. Unfortunately, I've been awake since 2:30am. I wasn't able to fall back asleep. (Sometimes I really hate myself.) But luckily Noah has given me a really great day again today. It's 2:30 and he's on his third nap right now. The first one was about an hour and 15 minutes, the second one was about 2 hours, and now he's napping again, but my friend was here and I was distracted so I don't actully know what time he went down. I think he might be going on 45 minutes now. He's acting more like a normal 7.5 week old again and actually sleeping. Saturday was horrible. He barely slept all day.
The thing is that he's not sleeping as completely and soundly as he used to during the day. So the trick is when he wakes up, I don't pick him up unless it's very clear that he's not going back to sleep. I just pat his bum and bounce the mattress and he usually goes back to sleep. It's gets him to nap for longer.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Sleep and Nursing at 7 Weeks
Noah turned 7 weeks old yesterday, but decided to give ME a couple of birthday presents.
To start with, even though he didn't get much sleep yesterday he was a very good baby. He seems to be a bit more content lately. Yesterday I was able to fold a load of laundry and unload the dishwasher all while he was awake. He was just lying there entertaining himself! I did have to switch his surroundings a couple of times to stop some minor fussing, but he was great! He loves the mobile that goes with his pack and play. I didn't think he would, because it's really kind of boring. It's just 3 beige bears that go around in a circle to the song Rock-a-Bye Baby, but he just lies there and smiles at it. He can go a good 10 minutes doing that now! I wish I hadn't returned the mobile that goes with his crib bedding. I didn't think it would be of any use to us. But I guess this one is good enough. When he's bored of that one he probably wouldn't want to stare at the other one anyway.
The second present he gave me was sleeping through the night (STTN)!! In the technical form, anyway. He nursed at 8pm and was asleep by about 8:30. He didn't wake up for his next feeding until 2:40am!! It was incredible! I always wake up at least 8 times a night, and last night was no exception, but when I woke up and saw that it was 2:38 and he hadn't nursed yet I bolted out of bed! I went to the bathroom quickly and then Noah cried a bit so I got him out of bed to nurse him. He was back in his crib within half an hour, so I was back to sleep until 6am, when he woke up to nurse again. 6am is when Justin gets up for work, and when Noah always decides to wake up. So even though that's really early, it was fine. I was thrilled! We skipped a whole nursing session last night! He slept for 6 hours!!! And I think I got a little over 7 hours of sleep total, so I'm feeling amazing, mentally.
It seems a bit strange to me that sleeping 5 hours straight is considered sleeping through the night. I mean, waking up at 2:30am to feed doesn't really seem as if that's sleeping through the night. Maybe if he made it to 4 or 5 I'd think of it more along those lines. But regardless, I'm so happy that he slept for as long as he did, even if in my mind it's not sleeping through the night.
Oh, and with the one less nursing session, his diaper wasn't nearly as bad this morning as it usually is. That's a bonus! I stopped doing that one change at his second nursing session, because it seemed that those times that he slept past 6 after I changed his bum were just flukes. Every other time I've tried changing his bum at the second nursing session he just wakes up more, takes longer to go back to sleep, and still wakes up between 6 and 6:30. So what's the point?
Okay, onto the nursing. I am so sick of my left breast. It acts like it's on speed. I have started to always start nursing on my right side, which is far more manageable, and only give Noah my left side if he's still hungry after the right side. I think my right side is starting to catch up with it's milk supply, but now that I'm always nursing that side and he's always draining it, he does tend to nurse on both breasts at most sessions now, eve if the second breast only gets 5 minutes.
It's not that I want my left side to dry up. I still want it to produce. But Noah seriously can't handle going on that side first. My letdown is so ferocious. When I pump I can see what's happening in his mouth, and I feel so bad for him. I have 7 holes that milk sprays out of with such force... it's like child abuse. When he goes on that side second, I've already had 2 or 3 letdowns, so the letdown isn't as strong once he gets on that side. He's much more likely to be able to handle it. But if he goes on that side first he's constantly choking and unable to breathe. It really scares him. I feel terrible.
This morning at 6am I tried putting him on the ferocious left side first because it had been 10 hours since that side had let anything off and it was pretty full. After 2 minutes I decided to just put him on the right side because he was being tortured. After I was done nursing him I wanted to just let a little bit off the left side, so I pumped. I just have a manual pump, not some super duper electric pump. But no word of a lie, I pumped for not even 2 minutes and I got 2.75oz. I stopped then because while I don't want that side to dry up, I do want it to stay calmed down. I don't want to have to carry a pump with me for the rest of my life! Ok, that's dramatic. Obviously it won't be for the rest of my life. But it could be for the next year!
It really is amazing how quickly our breasts adjust to our kids. It was only 4 or 5 nights ago that Noah started going 5 hours at the beginning of the night. The first night he did that by 1am my breasts were so engorged that I couldn't sleep. By the time 4am rolled around when Noah got up for the second time, my left side was unbearable (he only took my right side at 1am). The next night I wasn't engorged, I was just really full. And then last night he went all the way until 2:30am and my breasts were, again, just full. Not overly so, though. And even though at 6am it had been 10 hours since my left side had been nursed on, it still wasn't engorged. It was just really full.
Our bodies are really amazing things. I can't get over it.
During the day Noah is starting to go a bit longer between feeds. He used to eat every hour, maybe hour and a half. Now he goes an hour and a half or an hour and 45 minutes more often. Occasionally he'll make it to 2 hours, but only maybe once a day.
I found a soother that he can keep in his mouth easier. I was using the Avent ones, but they really suck... or don't suck, however you look at it. Noah always tries to nurse on his soother instead of sucking on it, and the Avent soothers immediately fall out of his mouth when he does that.
I tried the Gerber Nuk soothers and they stay in his mouth better. If he's actually hungry and is tries to nurse on it it'll still pop out, but not as easily as the Avent ones. If he doesn't want it, he'll reject it (he'll gag on it, like a drama queen). But if he actually just wants to suck, he can keep it in. This is helpful for me, because before I found this soother a few days ago I was having to nurse everytime he wanted to suck, even if he wasn't hungry. This meant I was nursing every hour. I still sometimes nurse him every hour, but that's because Noah legitimately wants to nurse. But if he's not hungry, the soother soothes him:) (good thing, since it's called a "soother").
So that's where my kid is at. I wish I had brought him to the weigh in yesterday. I'm pretty confident he's at least 12lbs now, but it's nice to know for sure. Our 2 month appointment isn't for another 2 weeks, so maybe I'll take him to a weigh in next week.
To start with, even though he didn't get much sleep yesterday he was a very good baby. He seems to be a bit more content lately. Yesterday I was able to fold a load of laundry and unload the dishwasher all while he was awake. He was just lying there entertaining himself! I did have to switch his surroundings a couple of times to stop some minor fussing, but he was great! He loves the mobile that goes with his pack and play. I didn't think he would, because it's really kind of boring. It's just 3 beige bears that go around in a circle to the song Rock-a-Bye Baby, but he just lies there and smiles at it. He can go a good 10 minutes doing that now! I wish I hadn't returned the mobile that goes with his crib bedding. I didn't think it would be of any use to us. But I guess this one is good enough. When he's bored of that one he probably wouldn't want to stare at the other one anyway.
The second present he gave me was sleeping through the night (STTN)!! In the technical form, anyway. He nursed at 8pm and was asleep by about 8:30. He didn't wake up for his next feeding until 2:40am!! It was incredible! I always wake up at least 8 times a night, and last night was no exception, but when I woke up and saw that it was 2:38 and he hadn't nursed yet I bolted out of bed! I went to the bathroom quickly and then Noah cried a bit so I got him out of bed to nurse him. He was back in his crib within half an hour, so I was back to sleep until 6am, when he woke up to nurse again. 6am is when Justin gets up for work, and when Noah always decides to wake up. So even though that's really early, it was fine. I was thrilled! We skipped a whole nursing session last night! He slept for 6 hours!!! And I think I got a little over 7 hours of sleep total, so I'm feeling amazing, mentally.
It seems a bit strange to me that sleeping 5 hours straight is considered sleeping through the night. I mean, waking up at 2:30am to feed doesn't really seem as if that's sleeping through the night. Maybe if he made it to 4 or 5 I'd think of it more along those lines. But regardless, I'm so happy that he slept for as long as he did, even if in my mind it's not sleeping through the night.
Oh, and with the one less nursing session, his diaper wasn't nearly as bad this morning as it usually is. That's a bonus! I stopped doing that one change at his second nursing session, because it seemed that those times that he slept past 6 after I changed his bum were just flukes. Every other time I've tried changing his bum at the second nursing session he just wakes up more, takes longer to go back to sleep, and still wakes up between 6 and 6:30. So what's the point?
Okay, onto the nursing. I am so sick of my left breast. It acts like it's on speed. I have started to always start nursing on my right side, which is far more manageable, and only give Noah my left side if he's still hungry after the right side. I think my right side is starting to catch up with it's milk supply, but now that I'm always nursing that side and he's always draining it, he does tend to nurse on both breasts at most sessions now, eve if the second breast only gets 5 minutes.
It's not that I want my left side to dry up. I still want it to produce. But Noah seriously can't handle going on that side first. My letdown is so ferocious. When I pump I can see what's happening in his mouth, and I feel so bad for him. I have 7 holes that milk sprays out of with such force... it's like child abuse. When he goes on that side second, I've already had 2 or 3 letdowns, so the letdown isn't as strong once he gets on that side. He's much more likely to be able to handle it. But if he goes on that side first he's constantly choking and unable to breathe. It really scares him. I feel terrible.
This morning at 6am I tried putting him on the ferocious left side first because it had been 10 hours since that side had let anything off and it was pretty full. After 2 minutes I decided to just put him on the right side because he was being tortured. After I was done nursing him I wanted to just let a little bit off the left side, so I pumped. I just have a manual pump, not some super duper electric pump. But no word of a lie, I pumped for not even 2 minutes and I got 2.75oz. I stopped then because while I don't want that side to dry up, I do want it to stay calmed down. I don't want to have to carry a pump with me for the rest of my life! Ok, that's dramatic. Obviously it won't be for the rest of my life. But it could be for the next year!
It really is amazing how quickly our breasts adjust to our kids. It was only 4 or 5 nights ago that Noah started going 5 hours at the beginning of the night. The first night he did that by 1am my breasts were so engorged that I couldn't sleep. By the time 4am rolled around when Noah got up for the second time, my left side was unbearable (he only took my right side at 1am). The next night I wasn't engorged, I was just really full. And then last night he went all the way until 2:30am and my breasts were, again, just full. Not overly so, though. And even though at 6am it had been 10 hours since my left side had been nursed on, it still wasn't engorged. It was just really full.
Our bodies are really amazing things. I can't get over it.
During the day Noah is starting to go a bit longer between feeds. He used to eat every hour, maybe hour and a half. Now he goes an hour and a half or an hour and 45 minutes more often. Occasionally he'll make it to 2 hours, but only maybe once a day.
I found a soother that he can keep in his mouth easier. I was using the Avent ones, but they really suck... or don't suck, however you look at it. Noah always tries to nurse on his soother instead of sucking on it, and the Avent soothers immediately fall out of his mouth when he does that.
I tried the Gerber Nuk soothers and they stay in his mouth better. If he's actually hungry and is tries to nurse on it it'll still pop out, but not as easily as the Avent ones. If he doesn't want it, he'll reject it (he'll gag on it, like a drama queen). But if he actually just wants to suck, he can keep it in. This is helpful for me, because before I found this soother a few days ago I was having to nurse everytime he wanted to suck, even if he wasn't hungry. This meant I was nursing every hour. I still sometimes nurse him every hour, but that's because Noah legitimately wants to nurse. But if he's not hungry, the soother soothes him:) (good thing, since it's called a "soother").
So that's where my kid is at. I wish I had brought him to the weigh in yesterday. I'm pretty confident he's at least 12lbs now, but it's nice to know for sure. Our 2 month appointment isn't for another 2 weeks, so maybe I'll take him to a weigh in next week.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Leaky Tap
I didn't jinx myself! Last night was really great for Noah again. He got out of the bath at around 7:30 and started to lazily eat off and on until about 8. He was very sleepy after that, so even though he hadn't gotten one good feed in, we put him to bed anyway, sometime around 8:15 or 8:30. I can't remember exactly.
He slept until 1:15am! It was about 5 hours between feeds! My breasts were incredibly full waiting for him to wake up. I put him on the right side, because that's the side that he nurses from better, so I always put him on that side for his first feed so that he gets nice and full and will sleep for longer. If I put him on the left side he always has to pop off because of my forceful letdown. Often he won't go back on because he's too tired, so he'll only get a couple of minutes of nursing in. I think he nursed on that side for about 18 minutes (way longer than he used to) and then went right back to bed.
As per usual, he never made it over to the left side. He has never taken both breasts at nighttime, and only occasionally does that during the day. Needless to say, when he woke up at 5:15 (4 hours between feeds!:) I'd been awake waiting for him to eat because my left breast was so painfully engorged. He couldn't really latch properly, which was fine because I was dripping like a tap before he even got on. He could have just sat there and done nothing and gotten a full meal.
I knew he'd be popping off quite a bit, because if my letdown on that side is normally equivalent to a garden hose turned on full blast, then when I'm engorged it's about equal to a fire hose. I woke Justin up to help me during the feed because anytime Noah popped off there'd be milk going everywhere. Way more than the burp cloths and receiving blankets could handle.
Justin brought me a cup so catch the milk in. I decided to actually freeze the milk this time, instead of wasting it by dumping it down the sink.
I dripped/sprayed almost 3 ounces! I didn't even pump or anything, I just leaked 3 ounces. Last time I did that I dripped 2 ounces, although I wasn't engorged that time. I should have kept that stuff too, but I wasn't using a clean cup.
My left boob is insane. Seriously. Who leaks that much milk without even trying?
He slept until 1:15am! It was about 5 hours between feeds! My breasts were incredibly full waiting for him to wake up. I put him on the right side, because that's the side that he nurses from better, so I always put him on that side for his first feed so that he gets nice and full and will sleep for longer. If I put him on the left side he always has to pop off because of my forceful letdown. Often he won't go back on because he's too tired, so he'll only get a couple of minutes of nursing in. I think he nursed on that side for about 18 minutes (way longer than he used to) and then went right back to bed.
As per usual, he never made it over to the left side. He has never taken both breasts at nighttime, and only occasionally does that during the day. Needless to say, when he woke up at 5:15 (4 hours between feeds!:) I'd been awake waiting for him to eat because my left breast was so painfully engorged. He couldn't really latch properly, which was fine because I was dripping like a tap before he even got on. He could have just sat there and done nothing and gotten a full meal.
I knew he'd be popping off quite a bit, because if my letdown on that side is normally equivalent to a garden hose turned on full blast, then when I'm engorged it's about equal to a fire hose. I woke Justin up to help me during the feed because anytime Noah popped off there'd be milk going everywhere. Way more than the burp cloths and receiving blankets could handle.
Justin brought me a cup so catch the milk in. I decided to actually freeze the milk this time, instead of wasting it by dumping it down the sink.
I dripped/sprayed almost 3 ounces! I didn't even pump or anything, I just leaked 3 ounces. Last time I did that I dripped 2 ounces, although I wasn't engorged that time. I should have kept that stuff too, but I wasn't using a clean cup.
My left boob is insane. Seriously. Who leaks that much milk without even trying?
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Sleep at 6 Weeks
I'm worried I'm jinxing myself by writing this post, but here goes:
Noah has been doing a much better job with his sleeping at night. At the beginning of the night he consistently goes 3 to 4 hour stretches between feedings. It's getting so that it's more like a 3 1/2 to 4 hour stretch. However, after that second feeding, he always wants to eat within 2 hours. I wonder why he doesn't last 3 or 4 hours after the second feeding.
At the recommendation of a nurse, we had stopped changing his diaper at nighttime to lessen the interruptions for both him and me. The diaper changes really wake me up and I often can't fall asleep for hours afterward. Because of this, the nurse told me just to skip the diaper change unless we know he's pooped, and to even put him in a size 2 diaper if we need to so there's more absorbent area (we haven't done that).
For a little over a week we went change-less at nighttime. But now I'm trying to fit a change in at the second feeding. Noah always wakes up at 6 - 6:30am, even if he's just eaten at 5:30. I think it's a diaper thing. If his diaper is too full, he fusses a lot and won't go back to sleep.
It sucks changing him, because it wakes him up after he's all dead asleep from the nursing. And it wakes me up more because even though Justin does the diaper change most of the time, he doesn't know how to swaddle well enough so that it lasts, so I have to re-swaddle Noah after the diaper change. And then usually I have to nurse him again to make him sleepy, and to try and fill him up more to make him go longer between feedings... although that doesn't seem to be happening.
I think changing him at that second feeding is working. We did it the past 2 nights, and he slept until about 7:30-7:45 each time.
I know a lot of people whose baby is sleeping through the night at under 2 months old. I could name 4 right off the top of my head. And these are people I know in real life, not on blogs. All I think of when I hear that is my baby books and how they say that a baby this young should not be sleeping through the night, and you should mention it to your doctor if they are because it could be a concern.
Of course, I only think about that because I'm insanely jealous and wish that my baby would do that too! But I am happy with the way he is sleeping now. It's way better than the hour or two he was going between feedings overnight for the first month of his life. I remember being thrilled when he started to consistently go 2 hours. And the first 3 hour stretch was amazing. I feel very lucky that he's now making it through some 4 hour stretches. (But, if you can believe it, even though I go to the bathroom after every time I nurse him, I still have to wake up before he wakes up to go to the bathroom again. I've always been like that. I pee like 4 times a night. It drives me nuts).
Noah has been doing a much better job with his sleeping at night. At the beginning of the night he consistently goes 3 to 4 hour stretches between feedings. It's getting so that it's more like a 3 1/2 to 4 hour stretch. However, after that second feeding, he always wants to eat within 2 hours. I wonder why he doesn't last 3 or 4 hours after the second feeding.
At the recommendation of a nurse, we had stopped changing his diaper at nighttime to lessen the interruptions for both him and me. The diaper changes really wake me up and I often can't fall asleep for hours afterward. Because of this, the nurse told me just to skip the diaper change unless we know he's pooped, and to even put him in a size 2 diaper if we need to so there's more absorbent area (we haven't done that).
For a little over a week we went change-less at nighttime. But now I'm trying to fit a change in at the second feeding. Noah always wakes up at 6 - 6:30am, even if he's just eaten at 5:30. I think it's a diaper thing. If his diaper is too full, he fusses a lot and won't go back to sleep.
It sucks changing him, because it wakes him up after he's all dead asleep from the nursing. And it wakes me up more because even though Justin does the diaper change most of the time, he doesn't know how to swaddle well enough so that it lasts, so I have to re-swaddle Noah after the diaper change. And then usually I have to nurse him again to make him sleepy, and to try and fill him up more to make him go longer between feedings... although that doesn't seem to be happening.
I think changing him at that second feeding is working. We did it the past 2 nights, and he slept until about 7:30-7:45 each time.
I know a lot of people whose baby is sleeping through the night at under 2 months old. I could name 4 right off the top of my head. And these are people I know in real life, not on blogs. All I think of when I hear that is my baby books and how they say that a baby this young should not be sleeping through the night, and you should mention it to your doctor if they are because it could be a concern.
Of course, I only think about that because I'm insanely jealous and wish that my baby would do that too! But I am happy with the way he is sleeping now. It's way better than the hour or two he was going between feedings overnight for the first month of his life. I remember being thrilled when he started to consistently go 2 hours. And the first 3 hour stretch was amazing. I feel very lucky that he's now making it through some 4 hour stretches. (But, if you can believe it, even though I go to the bathroom after every time I nurse him, I still have to wake up before he wakes up to go to the bathroom again. I've always been like that. I pee like 4 times a night. It drives me nuts).
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