7 Weeks

He actually stuck his thumb in his mouth today (8/12)  It was so cute!
He ended up doing it a few times during this week--but mostly (or only) while in baby carriers.  I think it's easier for him not to lose the thumb or fingers when he's restrained like that.

 
Speaking of baby carriers, sometimes it's the only way he calms down during those 2-5 really fussy hours before bedtime.  Both Dave and I have utilized them, but mostly me, honestly.  


He's so big.  He fills out his car seat.  At my last post-partum visit, he weighed 12.7 pounds.


Now that we're home, he's back to sleeping a lot during the day and he's calmer during the day.  We stopped giving him Zantac in the morning for a couple of days and he was fine, but we still gave it to him at night.  Then, the fussiness started resuming during the day so we went back to Zantac twice a day.  We also started giving him gas drops.  Throughout the week, that calmed him down considerably because for a couple of days there he had to be held all day long.  He HATES the Zantac and cries and gags and spits when we give it to him. He loves the Mylicon and the gripe water (the latter of which he hasn't had much this week) and sucks them right down eagerly.


He's pooping less--2-4 big ones a day--which is helping to keep his rash away.


He's not a fan of tummy time when he's awake, but he naps on his tummy and stays asleep better that way.  Rosie said that the lactation nurse at the hospital told her that babies weren't having as much problems with reflux until they started sleeping on their backs.  I'm thinking that his tummy naps (sometimes on the couch and sometimes on my chest) are helping him calm down during the day.  He's only fussy before bed now--but he's sometimes inconsolable at that point of the day for a couple of hours. 

Sometimes the swing helps, sometimes not.  One day I put him in there swaddled and he fell asleep for a couple of hours.  Another day he was awake in there (swaddled) and stayed calm for about 10 minutes.  Mostly if we swaddle him in there while mad, he doesn't like it.  When awake and content, he tolerates the swing (usually unswaddled) for 5-10 minutes.  Bunny was the same way, but we never tried to put her in there swaddled.

We're trying to get him to take the pacifier and failing miserably. 


He hates the car seat and the car.  If he's upset, it doesn't help to calm him like it did with his sister.  He'll just scream and scream until the ride is over or until he's exhausted and falls asleep.  When the latter happens, sometimes he then wakes up after a rest and starts all over again.  If he is hungry or his diaper needs to be changed while in the car/carseat, then the "calming" motion of the ride does nothing to assuage him.  His sister is often helpful in trying to calm him in these cases.  She talks to him, rubs his head/face/tummy, and tries to give him the pacifier. However, sometimes she's a bit too rough.  Often, when these things eventually stop working, she freaks out because his fussiness bothers her as much as it bothers me.  She'll start imitating him but I put a stop to it immediately because one screaming kid at a time is enough.


When he is content, he is un-fazed by Bunny's playful and constant touching and kissing--even when she's being rough.  He seems highly amused by her and often reserves his best smiles and coos and "laughs" (no real laughter yet) for her.


He cries so much more than he used to.  Still more laid back than his sister, but a fussy baby nonetheless.  He has a shrieky, high-pitched cry when he's really uncomfortable; an angry, growly one, and then the grunting, fussing that happens before he gives in to an all-out cry.  It's like he's trying not to cry but eventually he just gives in and does so when his needs have reached immediacy.


There were a couple of nights this week that he stayed awake an hour or two after his feedings.  Thankfully, that doesn't happen every night or every feeding or I'd be a zombie by now.

He sticks his tongue out when making his stretchy faces or just when looking around.  It's not something he is aware of or does for social reasons

He got his first sniffles/cold this week.  It was barely the sniffles and didn't even inhibit breathing or nursing, but I shot some breast milk up his nose and aspirated it which may have helped keep it from being a full-blown cold.  I also put drops of breast milk in his ears.  He hated it, but it helped to drain the snot. 

 Some days we take afternoon naps together (some days I get work done instead) and these are the best, calmest moments of the day.  It helps me to catch up on the sleep I miss waking up to feed him during the night. 

 He wore one of the outfits I knit for him (before he was born) to church on Sunday.

 Sleeping like this is not normal, but it looks like something Bunny used to do so I took a picture. 

 His observant and/or I-just-woke-up face

 He can be pretty happy and giggly when he wakes up.  As long as he is not tired, hungry, or having tummy troubles, this is what he looks like.  He is a happy little guy despite the reflux and gas issues. 

 I'm not sure why he does this with his fists sometimes, but it's darling.  Usually one of them is curled inward and the other sticks out.  If he's really excited his fingers open and his arms and legs move energetically.

He lifts his head like this for tummy time on my chest but doesn't like tummy time on the floor. 

He visited my school for the first time and met some of the people there.

He has started to enjoy a bit of playtime on his back, but it's not a regular thing.

He used to scream at every diaper change but as he realizes that this means a dry and momentarily naked butt, he cries less and less--unless he just woke up and wants to be fed NOW, and then he screams like you're breaking his little heart.

This happens some mornings and I love it.  Daddy is such an amazing man and I believe this particular morning he took Baby Bear out to the living room about 5am so I could catch up on some sleep.

One of the ways I burp him/hold him when he's fussy and/or gassy or has reflux.

Nursing is our favorite.  It's so relaxing, usually for both of us. 

He thinks that certain, mundane objects are so hilarious and smiles flirtatiously at them--such as our boring, black couch. 

He's still pretty good taking the bottle.  We only do it once a week or so and every time we let so much time pass between bottle feedings, I'm afraid he won't want it but he always takes it easily (so says his Daddy)

You can tell how big he's getting when you look at him in the bouncer.  He was never small but he was much smaller compared to the bouncer when we first brought him home.

Excited to look at the light out the window.  Still one of his favorite things.

His big sister gave him a wonderful blanket for some playtime on his back.

Bunny loves to get near him and snuggle him, kiss him, talk to him, etc.  She also likes to be near me when I'm holding him.

We try to take walks often now that it's not as hot during the day.  Hopefully we can keep this up a good bit into the Autumn, before things get to cold.  Sometimes Baby Bear likes the walks because he gets to look at all the daylight, and other times he reacts violently to being in the carseat--which I've already mentioned that he hates. 

We let Bunny, his big sister, hold him about once a day and she's getting better and better at doing so now that Baby Bear is getting sturdier and she's had some practice.

 

 I love how similarly Bunny and Baby Bear look as babies--and yet they keep their individuality as well.  I can't wait to see the little boy he'll develop into and how he'll resemble all of us!

Dinner time at our house when Daddy's home.  Actually, anytime he's home for a meal, we try to sit down to it together because we don't often get family mealtime at dinner with his schedule. 


Bunny chose both of their outfits on this particular day.