Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Five Weeks and a Video?

The video is iffy...blogger is telling me that my video is uploading, and will appear when finished, but I have to say that I don't have the best of luck with uploading pictures and/or video...as stated many times before. I don't have a lot of time to trouble shoot either, so...if it doesn't work, well rest assured that it's Luke and he's cute. I took it yesterday, as he was deciding to nap (or not!) and he was just being sweet.

Which is pretty much par for his course. He is so, so, so sweet. He's becoming more and more and more expressive and is awake for longer periods too. I love that! We've been having fun dancing and singing when he's awake...and taking videos and pictures and trying to play with our toys. Still not so coordinated on the toy front, but able to really get into the music and dancing! He's staring more at toys that dangle, but honestly, most of the time just seems to be having all sorts of private conversations in his head.

I know this is going to sound like bragging, and I DON'T mean it to...we are just grateful and I want to be able to remember these days on those nights when this does NOT apply...Luke is a WONDERFUL nighttime sleeper. I feed him, change him, swaddle him, hat him, paci him, cuddle him and then lay him down (on his Angel Care monitor!!!!) and turn his little frog white noise machine on. He lays there pretty alert and just looks all around--kind of like Maggie Simpson. He may make some little billy goat grunt noises, but no crying (if there is a little jag, it's about 15-30 seconds and then he stops) and he puts himself to sleep. Sometimes he'll lay there for 15-30 minutes...no noise, just a few little grunts here or there as he looks around and sucks his paci, and he'll fall asleep. No rocking him to sleep. No nursing him to sleep. No special music. No driving him around the neighborhood. We just put him down, give him lots of kisses and some strokes on his cheeks and head and that's that. I told John last night that he has not had ONE SINGLE NIGHT of crying and not going to sleep at night since he's been born. One or two nights, he was up often, but once he was up, nursed and changed, he'd go right back down. He is simply amazing and such a good, good baby. We are blessed and I told John not all babies are like this...his response, "I know...everyone tells me horror stories. I count my blessings every day!"

Me too.


We are weighing him every day at about the same time to see how growth is going. The first time we weighed him on this scale, he was 6 lbs., 8 oz. Yesterday, he weighed 7 lbs., 3 oz. We first weighed him on January 29, so that basically means that he's gained 11 ounces in 9 days--which exceeds the whole "an ounce a day" parameter and makes me happy, regardless of whether or not he's on a growth curve. (He's not, ha ha!) Those growth curves actually aggravate me a bit, especially considering he was 6 lbs., 2 oz. at birth and two weeks early...there's no accounting for early birth on those charts, and honestly, Luke being that heavy almost 3 weeks earlier than Matthew was (only 4 ounces difference in their birth weights) really makes me think about what a PEANUT Matthew was...that light, that far along gestationally, THAT long (22 inches!)....Holy cow, was he little! Anyway...Luke gained almost a pound in 17 days his first month, and seems to be gaining adequately (as opposed to on average) so we are trying an experiment in Baby Food Boot Camp...our sweet cousin Donna in California is a BreastFeeding Guru by profession and has basically told me that Luke is doing fabulously, our family grows babies long and lean (both sides, save the long part on my side--all the boys on my side get it, the girls don't!) and that I need to pull back on all that I am doing so we can see what Luke will do on his own--without all the extra pumping, supplementing, etc. Sooooo....I'm pulling back on the pumping...gradually trying to get to once a day just to have a little extra to supplement if I feel we need it as well as letting Luke "lead the way" as Donna said...no more waking him up and force feeding him--I'm going to let him wake up and feed as his body dictates and see how things go. If he continues to gain adequately, HOORAY! If not...well, we'll go back to Boot Camp and reevaluate our options. I can say that no matter what, as long as I can make breast milk, that's what he'll have. Well...not as LONG...at least for a year...none of that 5 year old breastfeeding for us (no offense to those who do)...but in any event, even if I exclusively pump (Epping...who knew there was a term?) and supplement with some formula for bulk, fine with me. I just want to make sure he gets breastmilk if at all possible. So far, he is sort of waking up and wanting to eat on his own about every 4 hours or so, and before bed and in the middle of the night feeding, I am still supplementing an extra ounce or so just because I know his tendency is to sleep longer in the night and I want to make sure he's not hungry. That said, we are really only in day one of Operation Pull-Back. We'll see how the next few go...

Bless his little heart...he is a Peanut, but he has SUCH LONG LEGS...long SKINNY legs...which do not work so well with the sweet little newborn sized cloth diapers of which I have a stash. His rise is just so long, comparatively, he seems to leak and soak his clothes every time. I ended up moving into our one-size diapers yesterday--definitely bigger and bulkier on his little body, BUT...they allow for his long rise, and he's not leaked a diaper in almost 24 hours! Hooray! Guess I'll be putting those newborn diapers on eBay! Other than that, cloth diapering is not terrible at all and I think John likes it too. I think secretly, we are both just thrilled to not have the extra expense of disposable diapers, and I do all the 'hard' work of rinsing for John, but we are both pretty glad we went cloth. Plus, Luke just looks so darned cute in them!

Hard to believe today he has been born for 35 days. I still sort of feel like I am in withdrawal from all the 'spotlight' so to speak of being pregnant and all the appointments and focus on getting him here safely. I'm starting to get restless, but in a "I wish I could feel more accomplished" way... I apologize to so, so, so many friends that I need to call/email/catch up with---one sweet one said, "It's ok...you're busy!!!"

I told her that if my house was cleaner, and my taxes were done and my thank you notes were finished and all my shoes were back to organized by color and style, MAYBE I'd feel like I was busy...but they aren't! I don't feel busy, and yet, I just don't have ANY time....this last 15 minutes here to write this seems almost like an eternity!

I wouldn't have it any other way, though...my new perfume is spit-up, my hair is crunchy from it! My time is spent in the cycle of feed Luke, change, cuddle, laundry, eat something quickly and repeat and I am just fine with that. These days are already going by so quickly...I don't want to wish a single second away.

Here's hoping the video works...Blogger is swearing to me it will. We'll see!

25 comments:

  1. Love the video. He is so stinkin' sweet!

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  2. Lori, he is so friggin cute! Love the video :)

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  3. Hey girl!
    I am so sad I didn't get to spend more time with Luke before we moved. Hmph. Maybe you will have to come visit K, C, and me this summer so we can visit the zoo and go to the beach with our babies :). A and R can join us too!

    Anyway... I wanted to let you know that there are preemie growth charts. Unfortunately, babies born between 1-6 weeks early aren't really considered "preemies" for growth purposes. K was right on the cusp (born 5 weeks early) and though she is a preemie because she was born prior to 37 weeks, she wasn't a preemie in the eyes of our pedi when it came to growth. She was compared to full-termers her whole first year (and it took about 4 months for her to get on the chart at all). BUT... If you are curious about preemie growth charts then I can give you a link (I need to find it - Amanda W gave me the reference about 18 months ago so I would need to dig it out). I think it is from Mayo Clinic.

    Lastly, my girlfriend (her hubby is a TPS grad and is part of VX-20) has a non profit organization in the Pax River area for single moms. It is called "The Crib". If you are willing, she will take your NB diapers as a donation to those mothers. Let me know if you are interested and I can hook you two up. John could just drop them off at her husband's building on base.

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  4. I love the video- and your blog. Don't know if you saw my previous comment, but I have a blog award for you! http://livinthedream07.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-first-award.html

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  5. Yay, the video worked. Lori, he is so precious!!!

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  6. Jordyn just made the growth chart at almost two. I just tell the Doctors a chihuahua does not make a great dane.

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  7. Love the video! (Online, though, I got a little creeped out by the noise machine -- sounded like Darth Vader. Any moment I thought I was going to hear, "Luke. I am your father.")

    Keep us posted on Operation Pull-Back.

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  8. Grow, Luke, grow! It sounds like you're all doing wonderfully. I just love him!

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  9. What a sweet video! Sounds like you're doing great with feeding Luke. I think those growth charts worry a lot of parents unnecessarily. He's happy and healthy and growing and you just couldn't be a better mommy to him!

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  10. Love your posts! Welcome to the world of not so clean houses, not so organized lives.... Because sweet little people take so much time that is so worth every minute! I am so glad Luke is such a good sleeper.... That is awesome!! It sounds like he is a pretty amazing eater as well!! You ROCK mama!!

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  11. Cracks me up--Boot Camp and Operation Pull Back! Is Daddy a soldier by any chance? :-)

    Adorable video!

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  12. Hi Lori, I don't remember how I found your blog, but your story has touched my heart. In regards to what you said about feeling busy but not like you're accomplishing anything... you could make a to-do list of all the important thing that you do get done each day; feed Luke, change diapers, cuddle, play, etc, so you have something to cross off :) I am a single mommy of 3 kids, and sometimes at the end of my day I look around my messy house and wonder just what I did. And it makes me feel a lot better when I remind myself of everything that got done in regards to taking care of my kids. Which really is the most important thing anyway :) Blessings to your family.

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  13. Awww Lori I LOVE the video he is so so so cute.... bless his precious heart. 35 days.... really ? Time is going too quickly... but don't you just love it. Xxxxxxxx

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  14. So sweet!! After it was off, my 2 yr old said "more baby!" She thinks he's cute too :) Glad you are more comfortable with the eating plan. He's just perfect for him!

    Your house will never stay clean again!

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  15. Luke is so sweet!! Just love him! I'm so glad he's sleeping through the night. Liam does pretty well too, but we usually rock him to sleep - I've never tried just laying him down to see what he'd do, but I don't think that would work for us, because he gets sooooo distracted. We have to lay him face-in against our chests so he can't look around the room to get him to sleep! Anyway, give Luke lots of kisses!

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  16. What a sweet video. I love those newborn noises. He is so sweet. Those big eyes are just precious!
    Congrats on the sleeping baby! I had one nonsleeper and one sleeper....gotta love the good sleepers! :)
    Enjoy your time with him at this tiny newborn phase. It passes quickly. The dirty laundry, dust, and dirt will be there for later on. :)

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  17. I cannot get enough of him! Those eyes are breathtaking!

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  18. The video was adorable! He is so sweet. I miss those days... All Blake wants to do is move now! Enjoy those newborn cuddles (I shouldnt even tell you that, I already know you are).

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  19. He's doing great! Sounds like you're getting great breastfeeding advice, and good for you for sticking with it and making it work!:)
    I never thought I'd breastfeed beyond a year, but here I am still nursing my 2.5 year old before bed and in our bed in the morning. We are planning to wean her by age 3...I don't want her to really have memories of nursing, because that just seems weird. And 5? Yeah, that's a little creepy even to this "extended breastfeeder":)
    I live in Berkeley, where I thought for sure I'd be in good company with tons of other extended breastfeeders, but wouldn't you know there are only 2 of us in my group of friends (with kids all about the same age) who are still nursing. I never thought I'd be one of the last ones! So funny how things change when you actually have a baby and do it all!:)

    Love reading all about your sweet boy...I came here from someone else's blog just before he was born:)

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  20. Oh my goodness. He is absolutely adorable! How do you get anything accomplished during the day; I would hold him and kiss him non-stop!

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  21. He is ADORABLE! His expressions are so cute, such big beautiful eyes. You're making me miss having a baby around.

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  22. Oh my gosh, could he be any cuter!? So adorable. Love, love, love his eyes! So happy for you Lori. So incredibly happy.

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  23. Ahh!! A month late but in time to see *gorgeous* photos of your 100% perfect baby boy! I am so, so thrilled for you! I know you are enjoying every new moment. Man, I feel like I was just holding a newborn and now I'm planning a first birthday party already! DON'T BLINK!

    All I got to say is, how the heck are you ever going to decide which of those beautiful baby faces to frame?!! I'd frame them all! :)

    Congratulations! Next time we take a road trip to SoMD I'll have to sneak into the nursery and steal him away from Lori Wyman's baby grips - ha!

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  24. Sorry, I was signed in under my husband's account!

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  25. This is the perfect age to stop waking them up at night! Hope it's going well! Everything will fall into place. I remember Rich coming home from work and I would think, "he must think I sat here all day and watched tv!" Time does just fly, doesn't it?

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