Our boy is getting big - literally. He had a visit with the midwife Thursday, and he had gained 13 ounces in 10 days. Obviously, breastfeeding is going very well! He's now up to 8 lbs, 9 oz. Besides eating, this week has consisted mostly of little Z's parents trying to figure things out - how to get him to sleep at night, what his various little cries mean, how to give him a bath without freaking him out. Slowly but surely, we're getting a handle on all these things, although he occasionally throws us a curveball.
We have great sleeping nights, followed by constant-waking nights. A classmate from our prenatal class wrote the other day, "I never knew we could survive on naps alone." We're lucky that we do get occasional really good nights where he'll only wake up two or three times for a quick feed then go right back to sleep. Other nights, we're not so lucky. Shif and I have made a pretty good team, trading off wake-ups. She feeds, and I rock/shhhush/jiggle/sing/walk him to sleep when food isn't the issue. Somehow, though, I think she usually gets stuck with the diaper changes. We think he may have some issues with acid reflux so we're keeping upright as much as we can after he feeds and we've raised one side of his cradle. We've also found a swaddle technique that Boy Houdini seems unable to escape from. And we're also learning which of his many little sounds are worth getting up for and which aren't. In the meantime, we're dealing pretty well. Shif is one of those people who can fall asleep anytime, anywhere; and my years of chronic insomnia are coming in handy - I already know how to deal with sleep deprivation!
This week was full of excursions. Most days we got out for a walk, and we've had several errands to do, too. So far, Zain responds to his stroller, sling, and carrier all the same way - deep sleep.
Saturday, we went for our longest car ride yet - half an hour or so to visit Shif's family. This was a big test for us, because so far he hasn't been the greatest fan of his car seat. But the trip went smoothly.
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| Trying to avoid moments like these... |
We have great sleeping nights, followed by constant-waking nights. A classmate from our prenatal class wrote the other day, "I never knew we could survive on naps alone." We're lucky that we do get occasional really good nights where he'll only wake up two or three times for a quick feed then go right back to sleep. Other nights, we're not so lucky. Shif and I have made a pretty good team, trading off wake-ups. She feeds, and I rock/shhhush/jiggle/sing/walk him to sleep when food isn't the issue. Somehow, though, I think she usually gets stuck with the diaper changes. We think he may have some issues with acid reflux so we're keeping upright as much as we can after he feeds and we've raised one side of his cradle. We've also found a swaddle technique that Boy Houdini seems unable to escape from. And we're also learning which of his many little sounds are worth getting up for and which aren't. In the meantime, we're dealing pretty well. Shif is one of those people who can fall asleep anytime, anywhere; and my years of chronic insomnia are coming in handy - I already know how to deal with sleep deprivation!
This week was full of excursions. Most days we got out for a walk, and we've had several errands to do, too. So far, Zain responds to his stroller, sling, and carrier all the same way - deep sleep.
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| Sleeping in the sling (thanks, Aunt Lorna!) |
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| Sleeping in the carrier (thanks, Celia!) |
All these excursions are also giving us lots of practice in logistics: Do we feed before we leave or do we have time to make it before he wakes up and demands milk? What order do we get boy, car seat, and stroller down the stairs to the sidewalk? How many contingency outfits do we need to carry in the diaper bag? Our recent-parent friends Daniel and Miriam told us that we'll start immediately scoping out bathrooms every new place we go for their diaper-change-friendliness. This is so true. I successfully completed my first restaurant bathroom change yesterday.
Random scenes from a tiny boy's life:
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| Sunday brunch with Mommy and Adrianne - at the Bloordale Pantry, which has fantastically wide bathroom counters! |
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| Napping with Mommy |
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| And Mommy |
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| Do we have any pictures of him awake? |
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| We love these feet. |
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| A first.... pants!!! |
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| Hanging with Uncle Paul |
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| Diapers in the sunshine |
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| 'Guess what I'm doing???' |
Note: Starbucks at South Lake, Texas has no changing table. I had to do a pretend chair sit with my back against the wall while holding Wyatt on my lap for a diaper change. Don't worry though, you'll surprise yourself at how adaptable you are to each dirty diaper dilemma:)
ReplyDeleteI love reading about Baby Zain every week :) Thanks for all the pictures. (Glad you are not a mommy blogging slacker like myself.)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait any longer to come hold him....must book a flight. Maya asked me this morning when we are going to Toronto :) She asked if the subway can go all the way from our house to Toronto!
Leigh, the idea of the human change table never even occurred to me! I will keep this in mind next time I go to Starbucks. :-)
ReplyDeleteLorna, we can't wait for you guys to visit! And hopefully you can find a quicker way than subway. ;-) That's so cute.
LOL, I just noticed that I wrote that he gained 13 POUNDS in a week. Um... that's ounces...
ReplyDelete