Reese is now 7 1/2 weeks old! There has been so much happening and not enough time to blog about it. So, here is a rundown of things that have been a happening over the course of the last month:
- Reese weighed 7lbs. 10oz. at his one-month checkup on May 4th. Today, May 27th, he weighed 9lbs!
- He has been sleeping through the night since the second day we came home from the hospital. He used to wake me up every two hours on the dot for a feeding, but now we can go in 4-5 hour stretches, and sometimes even longer!
- He has smiled since week two of life. The smiles are more frequent now, especially when his tummy is full! He is such a beautiful little guy.
- He is cooing lots and lots too! We love hearing him "talk" to us and we can't wait to hear what his voice will sound like someday soon.
- He has the best faces ever! We think he'll be a little comedian just like his Uncle Drew was when he was little. We love the furrowed brows and cross eyes that he makes quite often. He makes us laugh on a daily basis.
- He has been rolling over from back to side and sometimes belly since week two of life. He is such a strong little boy. He lifts his head and stands/pushes against our bellies very well.
- He is finally wearing size 1 diapers and starting to fit into newborn clothes!
- We just started him on rice cereal because he seemed oh so hungry and I didn't feel that he was being adequately fed by me. He has been doing so well being spoon fed the cereal. No throwing up or major spit ups yet and it really helps him sleep through the night. He slept from 9:30pm to 5:00am two nights ago!
- I went back to work on May 18th after being on maternity leave for 6 weeks. My time off went by really fast and it has been hard to be back and away from my son, but I know he is in good hands. Zac gets to spend time with him as well as my mom, Zac's mom, Aunt Tammy, Keely and whoever else might be available to help.
- He is now on a rotating schedule of breast milk and formula since so far I have not been able to produce enough milk for three bottles a day while I am gone. (Man, formula is expensive, even though I haven't had to buy any yet.)
- He loves his swing and sadly I must admit that it is where he sleeps the majority of the time. We've tried the crib but as soon as you put him down he wakes up. I think it is just way too big and has a lot of empty space that it freaks him out a little bit.
- All in all, we are really impressed with just how advanced and strong this little man is. We are so proud to be parents to such an amazing and really good baby. He amazes us each and everyday with his new advancements or smiles. He really melts our hearts and has a huge fan club wherever he goes. We love him to pieces!
One last thing: We had asked for prayer for Reese concerning his health and I'd just like to report that, Praise the Lord, everything is okay! We had found a lump above his left breast and were concerned about either a calcium deposit or a swollen lymph node. I took him to the doctor today and he said he is just fine! It is from hormones in my breast milk. I am to do nothing to it and let it heal on its own. As long as it doesn't become red and irritated or engorged anymore he should be just fine. Praise the Lord!!!
Amy,
ReplyDeleteSorry I haven't responded sooner. Congratson your little Reese. He's a doll.
I'm sorry you're having troubles getting him to sleep in "normal" arrangements! I feel your pain. First, one encouragement many people gave to me was these early weeks are just survival mode. Do whatever it takes to get your baby to sleep! I knew I shouldn't have let her sleep in the swing so often, but it worked, so I gave myself grace! My pediatrician finally encouraged me that I needed to transition her. Her advice, which worked, was to just go with it! I was so nervous about it. I think Addison was just ready for it as well, which was around 9 weeks. She wasn't taking great naps in the swing anymore anyway, so I decided to just start with her naps. I ended up going to the crib at night quick, too, because I didn't want her to get mixed messages about where she sleeps.
Practically, I swaddled her tightly (but left her arms free), and used a sleep positioner (ours is two triangles velcroed to a little blanket thing. I think that helped her feel a little more secure. Because the swing was on an upward slant (and also questions about reflux), we also raised the mattress up a little the side her head was on. We put a blanket under the mattress to get a good, level raise. It took a bit of work with the pacifier and whatnot at first, but eventually she just got that the crib was where she slept. We did let her cry for a few minutes before going in and comforting her with a pacifier.
A few weeks ago she was having a funny choking thing happen so we started sleeping her on her side, using the positioner. She's slept that way ever since.
I would also try to not pick her up once I put her in the crib. It was a long week putting up with her crying and trying to help her, but it eventually paid off.
Let me know if you have other specific questions. Good luck!
-Kendra