Baby Talk: Connor- 1 Month

   Today is my first time to link up with Kristin for her Baby Talk series on Tuesdays!  Hopefully now that Connor is on a little bit more of a schedule, I can get back to blogging regularly and join in each Tuesday :) My baby boy is going to be 1 month old (holy cow!) on Thursday so I am going to share a little of what has been going on in our lives the past several weeks......

 

     Weight/Height-  On 6/5 Connor had his 2 week apt and he weighed 9.6 lbs and was 21.25 in.  I am sure by now he is well over 10 lbs.....he is a very good eater!     Sleep-  We have had some bad nights here and there but for the most part he is still a great night sleeper!  We have gotten into a pretty good nighttime routine......we start giving him a bath around 8:30, then I feed him from 9ish - 9:30/9:45 (depending on how much he falls asleep while eating) and he is in his sleeper by 10.  Then he will wake up between 1-1:30 AM and have a short feeding (usually around 10-15 minutes), then sleep until 4:30ish, eat and then go back to sleep again for a couple hours.  We are usually up and out of bed around 7.  I eventually want to start the whole nighttime routine earlier...maybe 7 or 7:30? He is napping a little better this week too.  Usually will take one long nap in the morning and one long one late in the afternoon.  Other than that, he just takes short cat naps here and there.     Feedings-    Still doing a great job at breastfeeding!! During week 3 we started giving him 1 bottle of breast milk each day so that he would get used to taking a bottle.  He does great with it!  We are using the Tommy Tippee anti-colic bottles and give him 2-3 oz in each bottle.  And it's my husband's job to give him the bottles...that way he doesn't get confused with me giving it to him.  I tried giving him a bottle once and he refused to take it from me, but as soon as my husband offered it to him, he took it.  Last week was rough...he was BF every 1-1.5 hours, which is A LOT.  I was exhausted and frustrated.  But it seems like the past several days we have gone back to 2ish hours between feedings.  I am also pumping twice a day...once mid morning and once in the afternoon.  My supply is not as good as it was the first couple of weeks so I am only able to pump a couple of oz. each time right now but I am starting to drink Mother's Milk tea and taking Fenugreek supplements to hopefully that will help.  I have friends who went from pumping 2 oz at a time to over 10 thanks to the tea/supplement!  Poor guy had a hard week last week....terrible reflux, gas, spitting up and screaming fits.  Doctor says it is colic :(   So, to help with the reflux/stomach issues our doctor has him on a baby zantac and another medicine.  I give both to him 4x a day and we have seen the biggest difference in him!! He doesn't scream after he eats and he sleeps much better and just seems much more comfortable.  I felt so bad for him last week (and even felt bad for myself...I thought I was going to lose my mind a couple of days) so, I am so happy he is feeling better this week.      Clothing/Diapers-  Still in size 1 in Pampers Swaddlers.  Still wearing NB sizes and can fit in a few smaller 0-3 month outfits.  As much as I love how little he is right now, I can't wait until he can wear more 3 month outfits....I have some REALLY cute ones :)   Favorite Equipment-  He is still loving the swing, boppy lounger and rock-n-play sleeper.  All are at an incline so it helps with his reflux/spitting up issues.  I also tried the Moby wrap for the first time and he seemed to love it!   Big Moments/Favorite Things:  - Mommy and Daddy had our first date night out on Friday 6/7 and it was so nice!! We missed our little guy and definitely talked about him our whole night out but it was nice to have some time out of the house, just the 2 of us.  I had my first drink in 10 months, so that was fun :)  We had a drink at 1252 Tapas Bar then dinner at Uni Sushi! - He is starting to grip things....loves holding our fingers and he grabs hold of my necklace when I am holding him on my chest. - HATES HATES HATES being cold.  He screams bloody murder when he is cold.  As soon as we swaddle him, put a hat on or take him outside he is perfectly fine.  -LOVES being outside.  He loves the warm temps and our swing.  Many times a day I take him outside and just swing with him. He usually will go right to sleep or calm down if he was upset.  Swinging outside with him is one of my favorite parts of the days. - Loves bath time!! Just like swinging outside...he loves the warm water and is so relaxed as soon as we get him in there.  We almost skipped bath time one night but decided against it since he loves it so much.  - He is starting to "talk" a little.  He tries so hard sometimes but nothing comes out but every once in awhile he makes cute little coo's and noises.  Melts mommy's heart.  - Smiling more while awake, especially in the morning. He has the biggest, cutest smile that lights up his whole face....I can't wait to see more of them :)   Postpartum Recovery:  I forgot to include this section a couple weeks ago, so this will be an update for the whole month...  The first week home from the hospital I was still a little sore but not bad at all.  After a week I was all healed and felt great.  Emotionally- not so much.  I cried A LOT the first week and a half.  I was not depressed but I was having some postpartum anxiety issues and baby blues.  I would cry when I would BF, when I thought about him growing up, when I saw my husband holding him, when other people held him, when he would look at me and most of all when I would think about something bad happening to him one day.  I would sit there and worry that one day something bad might happen to him and I would not be able to handle it....so then I would just sit there and cry.  I was worrying about something that MIGHT happen years and years from now.  I was a mess!  But thankfully it passed!  I still get a little emotional here and there just because I am so happy and so in love with this little guy, but I think that's normal :) I have lost the 17 lbs I gained while pregnant plus another 14!!! 31 lbs total!! WHOHOOO! Thank you breastfeeding 10+ times a day and a much, much smaller appetite than I have had in years!  I have my 6 week check up in a couple weeks and I am hoping to be cleared to start working out again....I can not wait to get back to running!         

Happy First Father's Day!

Yesterday we celebrated my husband's 1st Father's Day! We celebrated with our families on Saturday evening so we just spent the whole day as a family of 3 at our house.   It really is true what they say about how you never know how much you love you have until you have a baby....love for your new baby and love for your spouse.   Seeing how good my husband is with Connor makes my heart so happy and brings me to tears daily (happy tears!).  He is the best daddy and best husband and we are so lucky to have him!   Hope you had a wonderful day celebrating the dads in your life! :)  

     

Connor: 2 weeks!

Wow...I can't believe Connor is already 2 weeks (and 1 day) old! When people tell you how fast time goes when you have a baby, they are not kidding.   

    The past 2 weeks have been filled with so many emotions and memories and we are loving every second (even the 1 AM feedings) with our little guy.  I could stare at him all day and I give him at least 200 kisses a day.  He has brought so much happiness and love into our lives and I can not imagine life without him.    Here is a little of what we have been up to and how our little man is doing.....   Weight/Height-  When we left the hospital on 5/22 he weighed 7.11 lbs and at his first doctor apt on 5/24 he was back up to 8 lbs. and he was 20 3/4 in.  I had to take him back to the doctor last Wednesday, 5/29, because I was worried he had an infection in his eye and acid reflux and he weighed 8.15!!!!  So, I am sure by now he is over 9 lbs but we will find out tomorrow at our 2 week appt.    Sleep-  We have a great little night sleeper!  He usually sleeps 4-5 hours at a time at night.  Whohooo! We have gotten on somewhat of a schedule/routine in the evenings and it seems to really be working for him.  I feel rested pretty much every day and have only had to take a couple naps since coming home from the hospital.   During the day is a different story...although it is getting better.  He takes quick little cat naps all day long and takes 1 or 2 longer naps (2+ hours).  He loves the rock-n-play sleeper that he sleeps in at night and loves taking naps in his swing or on the boppy lounger....or on momma and daddy.  This baby loves to sleep skin to skin :)   Feedings-  Connor has done a great job with breastfeeding!  We have not had to use formula at all, so far. During the days he started out eating every 2-3 hours but the past several days it has been more like every hour or hour and a half. I am hoping he is just going thru a growth spurt and that in the next week or so we can get back to every 2-3 hours.  Most nights he will eat around 9 and eat and on for 45ish minutes, then he will sleep until 12:30-1.  Then he will eat again and sleep until 4ish.   I have to say, I LOVE breastfeeding way more than I thought I would.  It is definitely hard, painful at times and exhausting but so worth it.  I get all emotional when I think about the day that I will stop breastfeeding.   I also started pumping this week.  My body is producing A LOT of milk...way more than he is taking in.  So, I got Mastitis and it was awful.  High fever, flu like symptoms, extremely painful lumps in my breasts and hot spots.  Several people suggested I start pumping and storing the excess milk so I did and it has helped so much.    Clothing/Diapers-  Size 1 in Pampers Swaddlers.  I am a bad mommy and don't have many outfits that fit him right now so he pretty much lives in white onesies and a couple other onesies that fit.  We assumed he would be much bigger at birth so I did not buy or register for a lot of newborn clothing....well it turns out that is what he needs!  He has SO many cute things for when he gets closer to 3 months.  I haven't left the house much yet so I haven't bought him anything new but I plan on making a Target and Babies R Us run soon to get a few things.  Poor guy has one boring wardrobe right now ;)   Favorite Equipment-  Definitely the Rock-N-Play Sleeper, My Little Lamb Swing and Boppy Lounger.....Connor and Mommy love all 3 of these for sleeping or awake time.    -Smiles in his sleep a lot and started smiling some when awake during the 2nd week -He is very gassy....constantly burping, spitting up and tooting ;)  Gripe Water or Gas Relief Drops help though. -He loves to look at lights and windows.  I know he can't see very far right now but he is always staring out the windows or at a light that is on. -Loves to be swaddled and shushed.  We have been using The Happiest Baby on the Block techniques and they really work when he is all worked up and fussy.  -Hates to be cold -Loves to go outside and swing with Mommy...he usually goes right to sleep! -Everyone says how strong he is.  He is starting to hold his head up and he is constantly kicking and moving around.  Our doctor thinks he will roll over soon. -We had his newborn photo shoot last week!! Once I have all the pictures back from the photographer I will post some of them :)  Major cuteness overload :)   1st walk-  May 26th 1st bath-  June 1st 1st bottle (with breast milk, given by daddy)- June 2nd     And here are some pictures from our first couple weeks:   

 Spending time with Daddy outside on Memorial Day

 First walk around the neighborhood

 One of my favorite pictures :)

 Woke up Wednesday morning with a high fever and all the symptoms of Mastitis :(

 Tummy time with Daddy

 Baby Love

 So many things I should be doing but this is MUCH more fun

 The milk I pumped in just 30 minutes!      

First bath and he loved it....as long as he was warm

 

 

 Didn't love getting out of the bath...poor baby was freezing!