Thursday, January 03, 2008

Adjusting... or not

So far my son does not seem interested in a schedule. Though I've tried, it has been to no avail. There doesn't seem to be a pattern... unless you count that usually every other night he will sleep for about 3 hours from 9ish to 12ish. I live for those times. Unfortunately, it generally means I get about 2 hours of sleep. He'll go down, then we get my daughter ready for bed. Then I can grab a bite to eat, brush my teeth and head to bed. It seems that no sooner does my head hit the pillow then he is starting to fuss to eat again.

Speaking of eating, that is one thing I can't complain about - breastfeeding is going very well. I think it was a big help that I've done it before. He's feeding patterns are different, especially that he will only eat on one side at a time (talk about engorgement when he has a long nap!), but other than that it is going well. I have yet to find the time to pump though so I'm worried about that. In the beginning we had to supplement with formula so he was fine with taking a bottle, but the last time he had a bottle was Dec 16 so I'm worried that he won't take one when I finally find the time to pump.

So far I've been extremely lucky - my husband has been off work all but one day since our son was born. The timing was just right because he got 2 weeks off for family leave or whatever it's called, then it was Christmas and New Years and they had minimal manning for those weeks. His coworkers covered him on the schedule so he could stay home with us. He did work basically a full day yesterday and I was surprised at how well we did without him, but once evening came it started catching up with me. Next week he is going to be out of town and I'm terrified. How the hell am I supposed to take care of a 1 month old who only allows me an hour or two of sleep at a time, and a very rambunctious 3 year old who demands a lot of time during the day? Sleep when the baby sleeps? HA HA HA! Next week will be a true test on my sanity... Oh yeah, did I mention that I have 3 cats with colds who need antibiotics twice a day? That's going to make next week so much more fun! I'm lousy at giving the cats medicine.

J is doing great though... he had his check-up on Monday. He was 11.02 pounds and 21 1/2 inches long. 90th percentile for height and greater than 97th for weight. Definitely a big healthy boy! He had to get his umbilical cord cauterized, as happened also with our daughter. I think it's called an umbilicus granuoloma. Basically part of it didn't heal right. Hopefully that will take care of it - my daughter had to have hers cauterized twice before it healed right.

Well, J is waking up from his nap and my husband and daughter should be home with lunch soon. Hopefully I'll be able to write a bit about my birth experience next....

Happy New Year everyone!

1 comment:

delaneydiariesmama said...

I know what you mean about feeling terrified when your husband will be out of town. Mine will be gone to England for a week when my son is 2 1/2 months old and my daughter is nearly 3. Terrified? That's putting it mildly for me. Scared absolutely sh*tless is more like it! :)