Moving Right Along, a short note

I'm happy to say that Jareth is meeting all of his developmental milestones. He is cooing and smiling and mouthing back to us when we talk to him. He turns his head to find sounds and really focuses intently on our faces. His play time consists of us singing songs to him along with lots of tummy time with toys thats play music and light up. He has figured out how to make one of his toys turn on by hitting it. Every week there is something new!

Where Has the Time Gone?

Jareth is now 8 weeks and 3 days old and time is flying by! I can't believe it has been two months since I was writing about labor cakes and whether or not I wanted to medically induce. Now I'm watching my little guy sit in his little booster seat and bat at the toys attached to it. There can't be anything better than motherhood.
The past few weeks have been great. We got to take Jareth to his godmother's baby shower. Danyell and Branden are expecting their own little boy in January. They already have a little girl, our god-daughter Mayci. Everyone there was excited to meet Jareth. Then it was Thanksgiving and Jareth celebrated his first in Cookeville with some of my family. He got to meet his great grandmother along with great uncles and aunts and cousins. And he rolled over thanksgiving night! On black Friday we went to Nashville for a little shopping and to see his other set of godparents, Erin and Mike. We have also squeezed in time to visit with Jareth's grandparents. We saw Jon's parents along with his brother and sister-in-law the weekend before Thanksgiving and my parents made a trip up here last Sunday.
Now it's already Christmastime. Just 8 more days to go and we will spend Jareth's first Christmas in Athens. (It would be easier if we just moved there! )With as fast as time seems to flying by, we will be chasing him around the house before I know it!

Patience and Persistence

I haven't written in a while due to both the holiday and the demands of mommyhood. But I wanted to take the time to write about my experience thus far with breastfeeding and colic and what each has taught me.
Breastfeeding definitely has its ups and downs and although its very natural, it has to be learned. While I was pregnant Jon and I attended a breastfeeding class at the hospital. We learned all about the benefits of breastfeeding your baby along with different latch techniques and much more. One of the fun facts that really stood out to me was that formula only has about 30 nutrients in it as opposed to breastmilk's over 200! I was really excited to breastfeed and as soon as Jareth was born I asked the nurse when I would be able to feed him. Within the hour I was nursing. The first time was great. Jareth seemed to know exactly what to do and did a full 15 minutes on each side. I thought it was going to be easy. Famous last words, right? Well, three hours later it was time to feed him again. This time Jareth completely forgot what he was doing and I ended up with a small blister. Three hours after that there were two blisters and after the next feeding I was raw and ready to give up. Then my lovely nurse introduced me to the "nipple shield" and God bless her! I love that thing! We figured out that there was a...well, anatomical issue. Lets just say there isn't a lot to latch onto and we had to figure out how to get the most out of what I have. So, I used some lanolin until I healed and used the shield to feed him. It was such a better experience. I still use it 7 weeks later, not everytime but a lot of the time. Some people think you shouldn't use it, but in my opinion its fine. He is still getting the benefits of a breast fed baby, skin to skin contact and of course breastmilk. It doesn't hurt anymore when I feed him without the shield but he seems to be able to get more milk when I use it. So, we still use it and I recommend it to any new breastfeeding mom!
The second thing I want to write about is the "C" word. Yep, COLIC. When a baby has colic he or she cries throughout the day without reason. Some colic babies only cry in the morning or afternoon and some cry on and off throughout the entire day but each crying for hours at a time. There isn't much you can do for a baby with colic. Swaddling, singing, rocking, and all the regular stuff can help sometimes but most of the time you just have to wait it out. Sometimes it's a lactose issue and breastfeeding moms are told not to eat/drink milk products and formula fed babies are switched to soy to see if that helps. Recently studies have shown that babies with colic who are given pro-biotics have less crying time. There is some controversy surrounding colic. Some people say its just a phase that has to be waited out while others press home remedies and medicine. I say there is a balance between the two. Jareth went to the doctor yesterday after a week of persistent crying. After a physical exam along with blood, urine, and stool tests the doctor said he was perfectly healthy but has all the symptoms of colic. To rule out a lactose problem I am staying away from milk products and also caffiene in case that is bothering him. Also we are puting him on biogaia which is a pro-biotic. (at $40 a bottle I sure hope it does something for him) For me on an emotional level its been a tough week. It's kind of bittersweet. After a week of worrying that he was sick or in pain I am glad to find out that he is healthy. But I am sad to find that there isn't much I can do for my baby during these long fits of crying. It breaks my heart not to be able to console him. I fearfully wonder what could be going on inside of him chemically to make him cry so much. I've barely put him down this week and nothing has gotten done around the house. But I realized that the chores can wait. As long as we have clean clothes and dishes everything else can wait. Both Thursday and Friday we just spent the day in bed and cuddled. What seems to help Jareth most is tight swaddling and warm baths. He also likes to lay chest to chest. Colic isn't supposed to last longer than three months of age. Hopefully it won't last that long but at least there is an end in sight.
Between breastfeeding him and his colicky behavior, Jareth has taught me a lot of patience and persistence.

Dropping the Baby Weight

During my pregnancy I gained almost 40 lbs taking me from 130 lbs to 170 lbs at my last prenatal appointment. I weighed five more lbs than my husband. Eeeeeek! After giving birth to my 7 lb 15 oz baby along with the placenta I was excited to weigh myself. However, three days later at Jareth's first ped appt I had only lost five lbs. What many women, including myself, don't realize is how much you swell post birth. The doctor said I was probably carrying around a good five pounds of pure fluid. I didn't swell much while I was pregnant, just my feet sometimes if I had been on them too long. But after Jareth was born my feet, calves, hands, and face all swelled. I could feel my feet jiggle when I walked. It was strange to say the least. Finally about two weeks after giving birth the swelling was completely gone and I weighed myself again. In twelve days I had lost 16 pounds! I was super excited. I weighed less than Jon again! Since then I have lost six more pounds. Twenty-two pounds in five weeks isn't bad. Breastfeeding must be doing it for me. I haven't done much to lose the weight yet other than a few walks and trying to stay away from sweets. After my six week check-up my Ob will clear me for excercise and then it will be on! I plan to do some form of excercise each day. I have an elliptical and some free weights so I will be able to do a lot at home. To mix it up I will take Jareth to the park and walk. I hope to lose twenty more pounds and tighten up my tummy over the next four months. I think thats a pretty reasonable goal. I just hope the holidays don't set me back!

World's Best Dad, My Baby Daddy!

I absolutely have to take a moment to brag on my husband. I've always known I was a lucky woman and that Jon is an amazing husband but my biased opinions of him were confirmed the other day at Jareth's three week ped visit. After we were done with the doctor I went to the front desk to schedule Jareth's next appointment. With Jareth being so tiny everyone wanted to take a look at him. (Plus he is just amazingly adorable of course) Two of the office assistants started asking me how I am doing, how the baby is sleeping, his birth stats, and etc. One of them asked how my husband was doing with having a baby. I said that Jon was really excited about having a son. I told them that he gives Jareth a bottle and changes him once per night most nights and changes him in the morning before leaving for work so that I can sleep. They couldn't believe it. One of the girls said "Now thats a good daddy!" and the other said her husband never did that. One woman said that even though both her and her husband worked full time she was always the one who got up with the baby. The other said that she took time off from work and since her husband worked long days she and the baby slept in the guest room for the first couple of months so her husband could sleep. I didn't go into the other things that Jon does. For example one night he came home from work, ate and played with the baby for three hours while I napped. Another night Jareth was choking on mucus and I had a meltdown, feeling helpless, and he completely took over for the night and once Jareth was asleep he consoled me. Jon even took an extra four days off from work after his five day paternity leave so that he could spend more time with us and help take care of Jareth while I was healing. I'm a stay at home mom now and Jon works full time but he wants to get up with the baby and let me sleep. I almost feel bad that he does so much. He is such a wonderful daddy and a great husband. I thank God everyday for allowing me to have Jon. I should totally get him a World's Best Dad mug!

The Big "C"

I took Jareth to the urologist today for a consult on getting him circumcised. My Ob didn't want to do it at the hospital because there was a question about his foreskin and referred me to a urologist, although he nor the pediatrician saw an issues with it. I get to the urologist today and they decide to go ahead and do the precedure while we were there. I am all for circumcision and understand there are benfits to it but that doesn't mean I want my baby to be in pain even for a second. Plus after waiting almost three weeks I was completely comfortable with the way his penis looked and thought (and still think) he was perfect the way God made him. The plan had been for Jon to take him to get it done. I cried at the very thought of it so it made more sense for it to be a daddy/son thing. So today I was in mild shock when they decided to do it right then and there. As soon as the doctor said "okay let's go ahead with the procedure" I started to cry. Of course they see this in moms everyday but I still felt slightly embarassed at myself. After I gained composure they wisked Jareth away and sent me out to the waiting area where I continued to sob. About fifteen minutes later they brought him out to me. He was quite alert but very calm. I was relieved. I guess I expected him to come out of the room screaming or at least looking as if he had been through something torturous but he was fine. The nurse brought us back to a room where she showed me his circumcision and gave me directions for its care. Then we left and as soon as he was in the car he was out. He has been asleep for almost four hours straight now. Ive tried to wake him to nurse but he only did so for about ten minutes before getting cranky and going back to sleep. This won't be a very fun or restful night but I couldn't bear to make him stay awake after such a big day. I'm glad its finally done and it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. Now if I can only get the courage to give him a bath.....

Yes I Got the Epidural and All the Other Things I Said I Wouldn't Do

Basically everything I said I wouldn't do when it came to labor and delivery I did. First of all I said I wouldn't be induced. However I changed my mind when my nurse practitioner asked me how I was doing at my last prenatal appointment. I teared up complaining about my discomfort, exhaustion, and weight gain. She offered the induction and I took it! Forget all the facts and info I had been cramming into my head about pitocin and artificial hormones. I wanted my little guy out! He was offically served his eviction notice. Then on Monday morning two hours after the pitocin bag was hung and my water broken I begged for an epidural. I allowed my contractions to go off the charts only a few times before giving in. Again, forget all the negative side effects I had read and blogged about. I take no pleasure in pain and I do not regret it at all. Because of the epidural labor and delivery was a breeze. I felt nothing after it kicked in and actually really enjoyed the entire process. That's not to say that women who go the natural route don't enjoy their baby's births but I personally wasn't going to be able to enjoy the birth of my baby while I was in pain. Hats off to the ladies who can go the natural route; it is good for you and your babies. What else have I done differently than I thought I would? I said I wouldn't use a pacifier or a bottle until Jareth was at least four weeks old. Well, the day we brought him home he kept sucking and rooting and crying but not eating. So I gave in and grabbed a paci for him. As soon as he got a hold of it he fell fast asleep. The bottle started about a week and a half in. I was exhausted from nursing at all hours of the night so Jon and I talked about it and decided that he could give Jareth one bottle per night so I could sleep longer. It's much better than my cranky 4:00 am breastfeedings. Momma needs her sleep too, even if she is the one home with the baby all day while papa works.

So here it is, I confess that, although I had good intentions with my predisposed notions about birth and childcare, I had no idea how things were going to go!