Noah is 4 1/2 months
When Noah was really little, Justin used to walk around with him and hum "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." I thought it was silly, but cute (Justin was a baseball player until he "retired" in 2006).
Today Justin was putting Noah down for a nap and Noah was being quite fussy. Squirming, crying, refusing to settle. Justin tried all the usuals: "shhh"-ing, bouncing, rocking, walking, etc. Finally I'm in the kitchen and I hear him humming "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Noah quieted right down. At first I thought he was just distracted by the humming, but he totally went to sleep. Good for Justin! I thought to myself. And I congratulated him when he came out of Noah's bedroom. (That nap ended up being an hour and 45 minutes, by the way! He woke up after 45 minutes, talked to himself briefly, and then put himself back to sleep!)
Well, I was just putting Noah down for another nap and he was upset again. Squirming, crying, refusing to settle no matter what I did.
So I decided to copy Justin. I started humming "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Within seconds Noah stopped crying and his eyes started to flutter closed. He was asleep within a minute or two.
What a weirdo:)
Friday, August 6, 2010
Oh. My. Gosh.
The worst thing happened this morning. While I was burping Noah he did an enormous poop that I just knew was going to go up his back. I immediately held his sleeper away from his body and looked down the back of it. Sure enough within seconds there's a whole bunch of poop seeping out the top of the diaper. I'm trying hold him steady with one arm, hold his sleeper away from his back with the other hand, and I'm trying to undo the snaps at the front of the sleeper with my teeth so I can take it off before any poop ends up on it.
He proceeds to puke all over himself and me, but I can't do anything about it because all my hands are busy. I start knocking my elbow against the wall and yelling for Justin (he's in the garage on the other side of the wall that I'm knocking my elbow against). Justin comes in and helps me take off his sleeper. No poop gets on it. Yay.
I cover Noah's lower back with toilet paper before I lay him down on the change pad so that poop won't get all over IT. I put some toilet paper over his poopy penis so that he won't pee all over everything. Usually I use a washcloth for this, but I didn't want to get poop on the washcloth.
I'm not really paying attention to anything but Noah's bum. It was a HUGE poop. Like, a 9 wipe kind of poop. Noah is being really good, making happy noises and chewing on something.
His bum is finally clean and I say "You're such a good boy, Noah!" and look up to his face...
HE'S CHEWING ON HIS PENIS TOILET PAPER. WHICH IS COVERED IN POOP.
I immediately dug all the toilet paper out of his mouth and nursed him right away. It was really the only thing I could do. I was laughing my head off, but feeling like the worst mother! My kid was chewing on poop!
He proceeds to puke all over himself and me, but I can't do anything about it because all my hands are busy. I start knocking my elbow against the wall and yelling for Justin (he's in the garage on the other side of the wall that I'm knocking my elbow against). Justin comes in and helps me take off his sleeper. No poop gets on it. Yay.
I cover Noah's lower back with toilet paper before I lay him down on the change pad so that poop won't get all over IT. I put some toilet paper over his poopy penis so that he won't pee all over everything. Usually I use a washcloth for this, but I didn't want to get poop on the washcloth.
I'm not really paying attention to anything but Noah's bum. It was a HUGE poop. Like, a 9 wipe kind of poop. Noah is being really good, making happy noises and chewing on something.
His bum is finally clean and I say "You're such a good boy, Noah!" and look up to his face...
HE'S CHEWING ON HIS PENIS TOILET PAPER. WHICH IS COVERED IN POOP.
I immediately dug all the toilet paper out of his mouth and nursed him right away. It was really the only thing I could do. I was laughing my head off, but feeling like the worst mother! My kid was chewing on poop!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Randoms
Noah was awake for almost 4 hours before he went to bed tonight. It was kind of crazy. He woke up from his last nap at 3:15. He was cranky an hour later, so I tried putting him down for a nap, but he just wouldn't sleep. I rocked him for 20 minutes, and nothing. So I gave up, and he just decided to stay awake.
He was rather hilarious. He kept yelping and hollering. He wasn't crying, just yelling. It was quite funny. And when I was giving him a boob before his bath, he kept popping off and just yelling. With his eyes closed.
He had his bath and was on the second boob by 7. He was asleep a few minutes later, but kept dream feeding for 20 minutes (I had like, 3 letdowns in that time. It was very strange).
Oh, he also rolled independently from his back to his stomach, this morning. And he threw up a LOT today.
He was rather hilarious. He kept yelping and hollering. He wasn't crying, just yelling. It was quite funny. And when I was giving him a boob before his bath, he kept popping off and just yelling. With his eyes closed.
He had his bath and was on the second boob by 7. He was asleep a few minutes later, but kept dream feeding for 20 minutes (I had like, 3 letdowns in that time. It was very strange).
Oh, he also rolled independently from his back to his stomach, this morning. And he threw up a LOT today.
Scooter
Since I posted about it yesterday, Noah has started scooting all the time! If he could get enough traction with his knees and feet he could go far! And if he could just coordinate his arms with his legs he'd be crawling in no time!
I had kind of figured that Noah wouldn't crawl, that he would walk first. It's not that I think he's going to walk when he's 9 months old or anything, but a lot of kids these days walk before they crawl. And Noah has always had such strong legs (standing when he was 3 weeks old), and has been less motivated to do tummy things, so I figured walking would happen before crawling. I think he might prove me wrong, though.
I had kind of figured that Noah wouldn't crawl, that he would walk first. It's not that I think he's going to walk when he's 9 months old or anything, but a lot of kids these days walk before they crawl. And Noah has always had such strong legs (standing when he was 3 weeks old), and has been less motivated to do tummy things, so I figured walking would happen before crawling. I think he might prove me wrong, though.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Things I Don't Want to Forget
Noah is 4 1/2 months
-Noah scooted himself forward this afternoon! He was on his tummy and was getting frustrated, so he bunched his knees underneath himself and pushed off and scooted forward a few inches! I couldn't believe it. He never puts his knees underneath himself anymore. When he was younger and had tummy naps I always kept his knees bent and his bum in the air, and he almost never straightened his legs on his own. But now he refuses to keep them bent and straightens them right away. This was a first!
-Yesterday Noah got his second haircut. I did it alone, so there was no one to take pictures. A second haircut isn't as monumental as a first haircut, anyway, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Who would have thought my little one would need 2 haircuts by the time he was 4 1/2 months old? He could have probably used more than 2 by now, but I waited so long for the first one. Looking back at pictures and videos, I realize that I won't be making that mistake with my next child.
-Today Noah keeps getting stuck on his side. He rolls from his back or his front to his side and then his legs prevent him from going anywhere else. He can't seem to coordinate them properly. It's pretty funny. I wonder if he's getting any closer to being able to roll over whenever he wants.
-I'm teaching Noah to reach up to me when he wants to be picked up. Sometimes he almost seems to be getting it... in a spastic, uncontrolled way.
-Last night Noah was awake for 3 1/2 hours before he went to bed. He just never wanted to go down for his last nap of the day. He was a pretty good boy, though, considering that's a very long period of time for a 4 month old to be awake when he only has half hour naps to recharge his system.
-When he's in his exersaucer, Noah spends pretty much his entire time leaning forward trying to eat his toys, which are pretty much stationary. He's such a mouther!
-Noah is constantly getting distracted by the TV and Justin while he's nursing. It's getting to the point that I can't really watch TV while he nurses anymore because he keeps popping off and turning around to watch it! Or if Justin is sitting beside me Noah will pop off and arch his back so that he can smile at Daddy upside down. It's hilarious. But he really needs to learn to eat better.
-On that note, Noah is now consistently going 2 hours between feedings. I really think he has the potential to go longer if he would eat more in one sitting, but he just doesn't eat as much as I think he could if he would really pay attention to what he's doing. He often doesn't even drain one boob, much less make it over to the other side. It seems like as soon as the edge is taken off his hunger, he wants to go play instead. I've tried everything, but I also don't want to force feed him. Maybe he just has a small tummy.
-Noah scooted himself forward this afternoon! He was on his tummy and was getting frustrated, so he bunched his knees underneath himself and pushed off and scooted forward a few inches! I couldn't believe it. He never puts his knees underneath himself anymore. When he was younger and had tummy naps I always kept his knees bent and his bum in the air, and he almost never straightened his legs on his own. But now he refuses to keep them bent and straightens them right away. This was a first!
-Yesterday Noah got his second haircut. I did it alone, so there was no one to take pictures. A second haircut isn't as monumental as a first haircut, anyway, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Who would have thought my little one would need 2 haircuts by the time he was 4 1/2 months old? He could have probably used more than 2 by now, but I waited so long for the first one. Looking back at pictures and videos, I realize that I won't be making that mistake with my next child.
-Today Noah keeps getting stuck on his side. He rolls from his back or his front to his side and then his legs prevent him from going anywhere else. He can't seem to coordinate them properly. It's pretty funny. I wonder if he's getting any closer to being able to roll over whenever he wants.
-I'm teaching Noah to reach up to me when he wants to be picked up. Sometimes he almost seems to be getting it... in a spastic, uncontrolled way.
-Last night Noah was awake for 3 1/2 hours before he went to bed. He just never wanted to go down for his last nap of the day. He was a pretty good boy, though, considering that's a very long period of time for a 4 month old to be awake when he only has half hour naps to recharge his system.
-When he's in his exersaucer, Noah spends pretty much his entire time leaning forward trying to eat his toys, which are pretty much stationary. He's such a mouther!
-Noah is constantly getting distracted by the TV and Justin while he's nursing. It's getting to the point that I can't really watch TV while he nurses anymore because he keeps popping off and turning around to watch it! Or if Justin is sitting beside me Noah will pop off and arch his back so that he can smile at Daddy upside down. It's hilarious. But he really needs to learn to eat better.
-On that note, Noah is now consistently going 2 hours between feedings. I really think he has the potential to go longer if he would eat more in one sitting, but he just doesn't eat as much as I think he could if he would really pay attention to what he's doing. He often doesn't even drain one boob, much less make it over to the other side. It seems like as soon as the edge is taken off his hunger, he wants to go play instead. I've tried everything, but I also don't want to force feed him. Maybe he just has a small tummy.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Sleep... Mine and His
I think I may have found a way to deal with my restless legs. For the past 3 nights I have stretched all my leg muscles and then Justin has givn my legs and feet a full rub down. It seems to have rubbed the wiggles out all 3 nights because I had a much easier time sleeping. Well, when I was allowed to sleep.
The laws of the universe seem to dictate that when I can sleep well, Noah doesn't, and when I can't sleep well, Noah does.
That certainly rang true for the first two nights. I was sleeping quite well, but that first night Noah woke up 4 times and ate twice (once at 2:30 and once at 5:30). The other two times he woke up we ignored him and he went back to sleep. The two times I fed him there was no way he was going back to sleep. He then woke up for the day around 7:45. The second night he got up to eat at 2:30 again and woke up for the day at 6:45am. By yesterday afternoon I was exhausted. (You need to remember that everytime he gets up I am awake for at least 2 hours because I have such a hard time falling back asleep, even if I would have been sleeping well if he HADN'T gotten up.)
Then LAST night was way better. He didn't wake up to eat until 5:20. Yay! I slept from 9:30 until a little before 5 (waking up about 5 times, peeing twice). Then I was able to fall asleep again shortly after 6:30 and slept until Noah got up at 7:30. I think I got almost 8 hours total!!
Noah's being a little dorky-pants about going down for naps today. He really doesn't want to for some reason and is throwing little hissy fits. He did the same thing for his last nap of the day yesterday. Justin just spent 15 minutes trying to put him down and everytime Noah hit the mattress he started crying again. Now it's 5:15 and I put Noah in the swing because if he has this nap too late (although it's already getting too late) he'll go to bed too late. I did the same thing for the last nap of the day yesterday.
Ok the swing didn't work. No nap I guess. He'll probably have a short one while he's nursing, next. Bedtime will have to be way earlier.
The laws of the universe seem to dictate that when I can sleep well, Noah doesn't, and when I can't sleep well, Noah does.
That certainly rang true for the first two nights. I was sleeping quite well, but that first night Noah woke up 4 times and ate twice (once at 2:30 and once at 5:30). The other two times he woke up we ignored him and he went back to sleep. The two times I fed him there was no way he was going back to sleep. He then woke up for the day around 7:45. The second night he got up to eat at 2:30 again and woke up for the day at 6:45am. By yesterday afternoon I was exhausted. (You need to remember that everytime he gets up I am awake for at least 2 hours because I have such a hard time falling back asleep, even if I would have been sleeping well if he HADN'T gotten up.)
Then LAST night was way better. He didn't wake up to eat until 5:20. Yay! I slept from 9:30 until a little before 5 (waking up about 5 times, peeing twice). Then I was able to fall asleep again shortly after 6:30 and slept until Noah got up at 7:30. I think I got almost 8 hours total!!
Noah's being a little dorky-pants about going down for naps today. He really doesn't want to for some reason and is throwing little hissy fits. He did the same thing for his last nap of the day yesterday. Justin just spent 15 minutes trying to put him down and everytime Noah hit the mattress he started crying again. Now it's 5:15 and I put Noah in the swing because if he has this nap too late (although it's already getting too late) he'll go to bed too late. I did the same thing for the last nap of the day yesterday.
Ok the swing didn't work. No nap I guess. He'll probably have a short one while he's nursing, next. Bedtime will have to be way earlier.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
A Post About Me
This blog has basically become a blog about Noah. That's all there is really time to talk about, and frankly when you're a parent your life is taken over by that little one and you forget that you're a seperate person. I say this in a good way.
A few people have kindly wondered how things are going with me lately, considering all the things that have happened in the last year. So here are the updates on me.
First, the good:
My burcitis is completely gone. It's funny; when I was pregnant it was the most excruciating ain everytime I laid on either side. It felt like my hip bones were two spikes digging into my skin. Literally as soon as I gave birth that pain went away. I had Noah at 1:54pm, and by the time I "went to bed" that night it was almost 100% better ("went to bed" is in quotations because I couldn't sleep a wink that night. I was way too keyed up, plus I had Noah in my arms all night).
My pubic bone injury is now healed. It took awhile, actually. It felt a LOT better as soon as I gave birth; the pain was probably at 20% of what it was before I delivered. But 20% of excruciating is still painful. It probably took about 3 months for it to stop hurting when I moved in certain ways or went on a walk.
My back is fine, too. It was so bad the week before I delivered (damn chiropractor went out of town... horrible person)... between my back and my pubic bone I was completely bedridden, using crutches to walk, and even with the crutches I was in tears because the pain was so bad. My back was pretty much 100% better as soon as I delivered.
Now, the bad:
I'm still anemic. I'm still taking my PregVit and extra iron, but I still have low iron.
My colitis is the same.
I got a Live Blood Analysis done in the middle of June. They look at your blood cells live and they can see all kinds of problems. I'm not going to list all the issues I have, because that would take forever. But apparently almost all of my problems are caused by candida (yeast). The naturopath said that was the cause of my colitis. Unfortunately, I can't treat that until I'm done nursing, because the supplements aren't compatible with breastfeeding. I plan to keep breastfeeding until Noah is at least a year, so I have at least 7.5 months before I can do anything about my candida overgrowth. Which means I have a long time of dealing with my array of issues.
I'm sleeping like CRAP. Noah is sleeping really well, and I should be able to get at least 9 hours a night. But I'm lucky if I get 5 or 6. I just wake up and cannot fall back asleep.
I'm pretty sure I have developed restless leg syndrome. My legs don't hurt, but they're just uncomfortable. I'm only comfortable in a position for about 5 minutes, and then I HAVE to move because my legs are uncomfortable. 5 minutes isn't long enough to fall asleep. So I don't.
It drives me crazy. Last night I could have slept 8 hours straight before Noah even woke up to nurse. But I woke up after 5 hours and lied there awake for another 3 hours before he got up. I could have slept another 2 1/2 hours after that until he got up for the day, but I couldn't get to sleep because I couldn't get comfortable.
That's 10.5 hours that I could have slept, but I only got 5 hours. Do you know how insane an insomniac gets? I should mention that when I say I got 5 hours, that's not 5 hours straight. I wake up at least every hour during that time and have to fall back asleep. You know how they say a baby's sleep cycle is 30-40 minutes and they wake up a bit after that amount of time and need to learn how to put themselves back to sleep on their own? I FULLY wake up everytime my sleep cycle restarts and I have a hard time going back to sleep. Maybe I never learned to self soothe. And no, I can't nap. Noah only naps 30-40 minutes at a time. That's not enough time for me to even fall asleep.
I used to just look forward to night time when I could go to sleep... before I was pregnant, anyway. I didn't really like the daytime, and I just looked forward to getting in bed every night and being unconscious.
Now I don't like night time at all. I like daytime. I look forward to the morning when Noah wakes up and we get to hang out for the entire day. I really enjoy my days now that I have him. I love looking forward to a new day. I don't think I've ever looked forward to everyday like I do now that I have him in my life.
I don't know how I function in such a sleep deprived state, but I do. And I still enjoy life.
A few people have kindly wondered how things are going with me lately, considering all the things that have happened in the last year. So here are the updates on me.
First, the good:
My burcitis is completely gone. It's funny; when I was pregnant it was the most excruciating ain everytime I laid on either side. It felt like my hip bones were two spikes digging into my skin. Literally as soon as I gave birth that pain went away. I had Noah at 1:54pm, and by the time I "went to bed" that night it was almost 100% better ("went to bed" is in quotations because I couldn't sleep a wink that night. I was way too keyed up, plus I had Noah in my arms all night).
My pubic bone injury is now healed. It took awhile, actually. It felt a LOT better as soon as I gave birth; the pain was probably at 20% of what it was before I delivered. But 20% of excruciating is still painful. It probably took about 3 months for it to stop hurting when I moved in certain ways or went on a walk.
My back is fine, too. It was so bad the week before I delivered (damn chiropractor went out of town... horrible person)... between my back and my pubic bone I was completely bedridden, using crutches to walk, and even with the crutches I was in tears because the pain was so bad. My back was pretty much 100% better as soon as I delivered.
Now, the bad:
I'm still anemic. I'm still taking my PregVit and extra iron, but I still have low iron.
My colitis is the same.
I got a Live Blood Analysis done in the middle of June. They look at your blood cells live and they can see all kinds of problems. I'm not going to list all the issues I have, because that would take forever. But apparently almost all of my problems are caused by candida (yeast). The naturopath said that was the cause of my colitis. Unfortunately, I can't treat that until I'm done nursing, because the supplements aren't compatible with breastfeeding. I plan to keep breastfeeding until Noah is at least a year, so I have at least 7.5 months before I can do anything about my candida overgrowth. Which means I have a long time of dealing with my array of issues.
I'm sleeping like CRAP. Noah is sleeping really well, and I should be able to get at least 9 hours a night. But I'm lucky if I get 5 or 6. I just wake up and cannot fall back asleep.
I'm pretty sure I have developed restless leg syndrome. My legs don't hurt, but they're just uncomfortable. I'm only comfortable in a position for about 5 minutes, and then I HAVE to move because my legs are uncomfortable. 5 minutes isn't long enough to fall asleep. So I don't.
It drives me crazy. Last night I could have slept 8 hours straight before Noah even woke up to nurse. But I woke up after 5 hours and lied there awake for another 3 hours before he got up. I could have slept another 2 1/2 hours after that until he got up for the day, but I couldn't get to sleep because I couldn't get comfortable.
That's 10.5 hours that I could have slept, but I only got 5 hours. Do you know how insane an insomniac gets? I should mention that when I say I got 5 hours, that's not 5 hours straight. I wake up at least every hour during that time and have to fall back asleep. You know how they say a baby's sleep cycle is 30-40 minutes and they wake up a bit after that amount of time and need to learn how to put themselves back to sleep on their own? I FULLY wake up everytime my sleep cycle restarts and I have a hard time going back to sleep. Maybe I never learned to self soothe. And no, I can't nap. Noah only naps 30-40 minutes at a time. That's not enough time for me to even fall asleep.
I used to just look forward to night time when I could go to sleep... before I was pregnant, anyway. I didn't really like the daytime, and I just looked forward to getting in bed every night and being unconscious.
Now I don't like night time at all. I like daytime. I look forward to the morning when Noah wakes up and we get to hang out for the entire day. I really enjoy my days now that I have him. I love looking forward to a new day. I don't think I've ever looked forward to everyday like I do now that I have him in my life.
I don't know how I function in such a sleep deprived state, but I do. And I still enjoy life.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Hives
On Sunday evening Justin and I discovered that Noah's back was covered in hives. It's now Wednesday evening and the hives are still around, and have spread up his back and to his front. I think they're a bit better than yesterday (not quite as bright red), and this whole time he really hasn't seemed to be bothered by them. He's happy as a clam. But they're still really bothering me.
It looks like an allergic reaction, but I haven't changed anything. No new soaps, detergents, clothes, fabrics, pet exposure, perfumes, and no new foods in my diet. I thought they would go away after a couple of days, so when they were still bad last night I called Telehealth. After asking me a bunch of questions, the nurse concluded that it must be a viral infection that lasts 3 or 4 days. She said it's not very common for a breastfed baby, but it can happen.
I have to say, I'm a little concerned about Noah's immune system. He's exclusively breastfed, so he shouldn't really be getting sick. But he got a cold when he was 3 1/2 months old, and now a viral infection causing hives at 4 1/2 months? What happened to the antibodies he's supposed to be getting from my breastmilk?
I'm not convinced it's viral. Today he had little streaks of blood in his poop. He has had this once before, but it never happened again so I just ignored it (I don't want to be a mother who freaks out over every little weird thing that happens). It was his second poop today (the first one didn't have any blood), and his third poop since the hives appeared. This was the first time there was any blood along with the hives.
I'm not sure if they're related, but when I logically combine blood in poop with hives, I again come back with ALLERGY. I feel like it must be something I'm eating and passing on to him. But I haven't had anything new in my diet at all. It all makes no sense.
Maybe I'll call telehealth again tomorrow and find out what they say then. I don't know if the blood thing will happen again, but I don't know if I should wait for it to, because Noah only poops every 2 or 3 days lately (normal for a breastfed baby).
On another note, his sleeping has been better. Two nights ago he slept 10.5 hours straight until 6:30am and then got up to eat then and ddn't go back to sleep. Last night he slept 9 hours straight, got up to eat, and then went back down until 8:30, so he was down for 12.5 hours.
I'm not sure which one I prefer. Sleeping straight through but getting up early at 6:30, or getting up at 4 or 5 and then going back to sleep until 8:30. I guess it just depends on the night.
He's been having some longer naps again. Yesterday for his last nap of the day he slept an hour and 45 minutes straight. I didn't even have to go in and soothe him. This morning he slept for an hour and 45 minutes again, but I had to go in and soothe him once (I gave him the soother). of course, the rest of his naps are his usual cat naps. Today was worse than usual after that first nap, actually. He got all messed up because we were at the dentist, and he only ended up having two 20 minute naps after that.
He is also doing better in the bath and the car again. Far less fussing. I do have to give him toys in the car though. He's just too aware to deal with staring at nothing during our 25 minute car rides. He's fine for 10 minutes and then gets annoyed. And in the bath I have to give him something to put in his mouth or he gets cranky. He LOVES putting things in his mouth. When I wash his face he ties to eat the washcloth the entire time and gets frustrated when he can't.
It looks like an allergic reaction, but I haven't changed anything. No new soaps, detergents, clothes, fabrics, pet exposure, perfumes, and no new foods in my diet. I thought they would go away after a couple of days, so when they were still bad last night I called Telehealth. After asking me a bunch of questions, the nurse concluded that it must be a viral infection that lasts 3 or 4 days. She said it's not very common for a breastfed baby, but it can happen.
I have to say, I'm a little concerned about Noah's immune system. He's exclusively breastfed, so he shouldn't really be getting sick. But he got a cold when he was 3 1/2 months old, and now a viral infection causing hives at 4 1/2 months? What happened to the antibodies he's supposed to be getting from my breastmilk?
I'm not convinced it's viral. Today he had little streaks of blood in his poop. He has had this once before, but it never happened again so I just ignored it (I don't want to be a mother who freaks out over every little weird thing that happens). It was his second poop today (the first one didn't have any blood), and his third poop since the hives appeared. This was the first time there was any blood along with the hives.
I'm not sure if they're related, but when I logically combine blood in poop with hives, I again come back with ALLERGY. I feel like it must be something I'm eating and passing on to him. But I haven't had anything new in my diet at all. It all makes no sense.
Maybe I'll call telehealth again tomorrow and find out what they say then. I don't know if the blood thing will happen again, but I don't know if I should wait for it to, because Noah only poops every 2 or 3 days lately (normal for a breastfed baby).
On another note, his sleeping has been better. Two nights ago he slept 10.5 hours straight until 6:30am and then got up to eat then and ddn't go back to sleep. Last night he slept 9 hours straight, got up to eat, and then went back down until 8:30, so he was down for 12.5 hours.
I'm not sure which one I prefer. Sleeping straight through but getting up early at 6:30, or getting up at 4 or 5 and then going back to sleep until 8:30. I guess it just depends on the night.
He's been having some longer naps again. Yesterday for his last nap of the day he slept an hour and 45 minutes straight. I didn't even have to go in and soothe him. This morning he slept for an hour and 45 minutes again, but I had to go in and soothe him once (I gave him the soother). of course, the rest of his naps are his usual cat naps. Today was worse than usual after that first nap, actually. He got all messed up because we were at the dentist, and he only ended up having two 20 minute naps after that.
He is also doing better in the bath and the car again. Far less fussing. I do have to give him toys in the car though. He's just too aware to deal with staring at nothing during our 25 minute car rides. He's fine for 10 minutes and then gets annoyed. And in the bath I have to give him something to put in his mouth or he gets cranky. He LOVES putting things in his mouth. When I wash his face he ties to eat the washcloth the entire time and gets frustrated when he can't.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Good or Bad, Everything Changes
I get through any frustrating stage in parenting (for example, me being the only one who could pu him to sleep) by reminding myself that it's temporary. I just wish the good stuff wasn't temporary too!
Noah was such an amazing sleeper for quite awhile. He would be in bed for 12-13 hours at nighttime, just getting up to nurse once. He would sleep 8-10 hours straight every night (usually more like 9-10 hours), and would fall asleep again until 8 or 9 every morning. This was amazing for me, since it takes me HOURS to fall asleep after his nighttime feeding.
Well, that seems to be over. He is now only sleeping 11 hours, maximum. 7am is his new wake up time. Which means I've only been dozing for about half an hour before he wakes up.
Last night he decided at 2:40am that he was hungry. I tried waiting to see if he would go back to sleep, but things escalated quite a bit. By 2:55 it was clear he HAD to eat, even if it was earlier than normal.
When I put him back in bed at about 3:20 he was wide awake. He wasn't fussing, so I just left him in his crib, and eventually he put himself to sleep. Thankfully. But I didn't fall asleep again until after 6. And he got up at 7.
It is extremely frustating to lie there awake for hours and hours, wasting precious hours where I could be sleeping. I wouldn't mind Noah's new wake up time if I wasn't a retarded sleeper. I honestly have no idea how to fix it.
His daytime sleeping has also changed somewhat, although more for the better. The vast majority of his naps are still 30-40 minutes long, and a normal day consists of 4 of those. But now he actually has some naps that are longer, too. And very occasionally he will have a long nap where I don't have to soothe him back to sleep (he can't put himself back to sleep during the day). Like just today. He slept 7o minutes straight without waking up. It was amazing!
His awake periods are about an hour and 45 minutes long, now. Sometimes 2 hours, depending on what's been going on. His feedings are now more consistently 2 hours apart. He used to only go 2 hours once a day. Now he occasionally makes it 2 1/2 or 3 hours!
Right now he's jumping around in his jolly jumper, laughing at Daddy. He's hilarious how he jumps and jumps over and over again (his record is 17 jumps in a row) and then suddenly puts the brakes on. He straightens out his legs really fast to stop himself from bouncing anymore. It is so funny.
I also can't believe how much more coordinated he's become in the last week or two. He's so good at reaching for toys now. His movements are much less spastic than they used to be. If I hold a toy in front of his face, he reaches right for it without a lot of flailing around.
He then puts the toy directly in his mouth. Like he does everything.
I really love being a mom:)
Noah was such an amazing sleeper for quite awhile. He would be in bed for 12-13 hours at nighttime, just getting up to nurse once. He would sleep 8-10 hours straight every night (usually more like 9-10 hours), and would fall asleep again until 8 or 9 every morning. This was amazing for me, since it takes me HOURS to fall asleep after his nighttime feeding.
Well, that seems to be over. He is now only sleeping 11 hours, maximum. 7am is his new wake up time. Which means I've only been dozing for about half an hour before he wakes up.
Last night he decided at 2:40am that he was hungry. I tried waiting to see if he would go back to sleep, but things escalated quite a bit. By 2:55 it was clear he HAD to eat, even if it was earlier than normal.
When I put him back in bed at about 3:20 he was wide awake. He wasn't fussing, so I just left him in his crib, and eventually he put himself to sleep. Thankfully. But I didn't fall asleep again until after 6. And he got up at 7.
It is extremely frustating to lie there awake for hours and hours, wasting precious hours where I could be sleeping. I wouldn't mind Noah's new wake up time if I wasn't a retarded sleeper. I honestly have no idea how to fix it.
His daytime sleeping has also changed somewhat, although more for the better. The vast majority of his naps are still 30-40 minutes long, and a normal day consists of 4 of those. But now he actually has some naps that are longer, too. And very occasionally he will have a long nap where I don't have to soothe him back to sleep (he can't put himself back to sleep during the day). Like just today. He slept 7o minutes straight without waking up. It was amazing!
His awake periods are about an hour and 45 minutes long, now. Sometimes 2 hours, depending on what's been going on. His feedings are now more consistently 2 hours apart. He used to only go 2 hours once a day. Now he occasionally makes it 2 1/2 or 3 hours!
Right now he's jumping around in his jolly jumper, laughing at Daddy. He's hilarious how he jumps and jumps over and over again (his record is 17 jumps in a row) and then suddenly puts the brakes on. He straightens out his legs really fast to stop himself from bouncing anymore. It is so funny.
I also can't believe how much more coordinated he's become in the last week or two. He's so good at reaching for toys now. His movements are much less spastic than they used to be. If I hold a toy in front of his face, he reaches right for it without a lot of flailing around.
He then puts the toy directly in his mouth. Like he does everything.
I really love being a mom:)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sunday, July 25
This was a morning I'd been dreading for a few weeks. I was sheduled to be in the church nursery today, and Justin and I were also scheduled to serve coffee after church (provide the tea, coffee, and wash all the dishes). Why they would schedule us to do that with a 4 month old is beyond me.
The fact that I was in the nursery actually worked out well. I could feed Noah when he needed it so I wouldn't have to feed him during coffee time (although, 2 weeks ago I actually nursed him while I was in the church service... brave eh?). He was really happy the whole time. I'm still not comfortable putting him in there without me, though. I would need someone to be in there being his sole babysitter. I would hate for some kid to trip and fall on him or something. Or fo him to cry and them not know what to do. Plus the germs... yuck. Maybe eventually I'll have my little cousins take turns going in with him? I don't know. All I know is that at this point he eats too often and sleeps too often for me to put him in the nursery. I'm not going to drive the 20 minutes to church so that I can arrive 30 minutes early so that I can nurse him before going into the service. Having an uninterrupted church service isn't THAT important to me!
Anyway, by the time I was serving coffee he was tired and needed sleep. My mom and dad traded off carrying him around until I put my foot down and said my mom needed to put him to sleep. Luckily, a couple of days ago he got over his thing where I was the only one who could put him to sleep, so my mom got him to sleep with no fussing. Unfortunately, it was a very short nap (10 minutes?) It didn't seem to mess him up, though. He's been great today.
He has decided his new wake time is 7am again. That may not sound bad to you, but he wakes up to nurse around 4, and then I'm unable to fall asleep again for HOURS. I usually don't fall back asleep until after 6:30. So that gives me 20 more minutes of sleep before he gets up. It sucks. I liked when I was getting up at 8 or 9 and I had an hour and a half or two hours still to sleep.
I had Justin download some new children's music today. Whenever Noah is in his jolly jumper I play a Raffi CD to give him music to jump to. I love Raffi, but I am SO sick of those songs now! I'm in serious need of some variety.
Alright, off to put Noah to bed. We'll see how bathtime goes today!
The fact that I was in the nursery actually worked out well. I could feed Noah when he needed it so I wouldn't have to feed him during coffee time (although, 2 weeks ago I actually nursed him while I was in the church service... brave eh?). He was really happy the whole time. I'm still not comfortable putting him in there without me, though. I would need someone to be in there being his sole babysitter. I would hate for some kid to trip and fall on him or something. Or fo him to cry and them not know what to do. Plus the germs... yuck. Maybe eventually I'll have my little cousins take turns going in with him? I don't know. All I know is that at this point he eats too often and sleeps too often for me to put him in the nursery. I'm not going to drive the 20 minutes to church so that I can arrive 30 minutes early so that I can nurse him before going into the service. Having an uninterrupted church service isn't THAT important to me!
Anyway, by the time I was serving coffee he was tired and needed sleep. My mom and dad traded off carrying him around until I put my foot down and said my mom needed to put him to sleep. Luckily, a couple of days ago he got over his thing where I was the only one who could put him to sleep, so my mom got him to sleep with no fussing. Unfortunately, it was a very short nap (10 minutes?) It didn't seem to mess him up, though. He's been great today.
He has decided his new wake time is 7am again. That may not sound bad to you, but he wakes up to nurse around 4, and then I'm unable to fall asleep again for HOURS. I usually don't fall back asleep until after 6:30. So that gives me 20 more minutes of sleep before he gets up. It sucks. I liked when I was getting up at 8 or 9 and I had an hour and a half or two hours still to sleep.
I had Justin download some new children's music today. Whenever Noah is in his jolly jumper I play a Raffi CD to give him music to jump to. I love Raffi, but I am SO sick of those songs now! I'm in serious need of some variety.
Alright, off to put Noah to bed. We'll see how bathtime goes today!
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