Well, yesterday our little man was 9 weeks old, and he’s getting more and more talkative these days. Full of those gorgeous gurgles and coos, it’s getting quite easy to get him to smile now (especially when you tickle his cheeks, chin or bottom lip), despite the constant grizzles caused by the constipation (why is it all the books, midwives, plunked nurses, etc say that breast fed babies do NOT get constipated?? What the heck do they call it then?? We had this problem with Gordy too when he was a baby... so obvious he’s trying to do something, and CAN’T. Surely that’s classed as constipation?? *grrr*). Reading a review on a type of fish oil capsules we have for Gordy, that said they’d helped this person’s 6 month old son with constipation, I’m starting to think maybe we should be giving this stuff more often to Xani. I’d been a bit reluctant to start trying it THIS young, but if it’s likely to help in that area, and NOT cause any problems in other areas, I’m thinking that maybe it’s time to put away my worries and give it a go. I hate seeing him in so much discomfort. I’ve even stopped the Gaviscon he was having for his reflux in the hope that might help ease things, as I’d been told by the Plunket nurse that this can cause constipation as well. The reflux seems to have settled... he still occasionally does the burp and grizzle thing, but not as often as he was before we started giving him Gaviscon, and some of the other symptoms seem to have faded as well. Guess it’s back to the wretched “hurry up and wait” game again. *mutters*
Slowly our night times are improving. As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve found as long as I give Xani a bath and then a rub down with the Johnson’s lavender baby massage oil each evening, he’ll definitely sleep for 6-8 hours... usually closer to the 8 hour mark. Now I’ve just got to try and put the bath time later in the evening, around 9/10pm seems to be best so far, so that we actually get a reasonable amount of sleep as well, before he wakes up demanding his next feed. I can feel the sleep deprivation ever so slowly receding, so here’s hoping it stays that way.
We finally have Xani smiling properly on camera now, thanks to Karl’s efforts. He took two gorgeous photos earlier this afternoon while bouncing him in the bouncer while working on the computer (something he does regularly when I’m trying to get something done... in this case, the rabbits’ cage cleaned). One was a smile, and the other was a full on beautiful grin. So I’ll get those posted up (or Karl will) once they’ve been tidied up a little. Hopefully there’ll be many more photos from now on with these lovely smiles!Well, time for me to put the rascally rabbits away before they get too drenched (although they do seem to rather like running around out in a light drizzle), once I’ve put a tired grizzly Xani back in his cot that is...he’s currently drifting off to sleep in the bouncer while I’m typing this.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Waterboy!
Right now I have the house to myself, with music up loud and actually have time to sit and write up blog entries, and it’s only been a couple of DAYS since the last one, not weeks!! This feels soooo weird. But Karl has taken both the boys to the home show, which I wasn’t interested in checking out after being totally bored with it last year, so thought I should make the most of actually having spare time.
I’ve been wondering just how many different nicknames Xani will get as he grows up. So far he’s had Xani or Xan (nothing more than name shortenings, but still a nickname… Xani seems to be what he gets called more than his proper name, which is probably due to my habit of shortening names where I can), Yoda (given to him by Karl when he was born because he looked very much like the Star Wars character, with his face all scrunched up and those big eyes, but he’s pretty much grown out of this one now), Quasi(modo) (this was my one, because when he hunches his shoulders, and again with those big wide eyes, he looks sooo much like the hunchback from the kids’ movie “Hunchback of Notre Dame) and then there’s “Toad” which he’s had almost since day 1, and is very much living up to at the moment. Constantly poking his tongue out, that wide-eyed look that’s almost bug-eyed, and his legs constantly kicking out like a frog/toad hopping, all gained him that nickname, but even more so is his apparent love of water! As long as he’s not too tired and grouchy and already grizzling when we start the bath, he absolutely loves it. Lies there on the little supportive ramp I bought for him (I had one for Gordy when he was a baby, and he always loved it too), and kicks like mad, arms swishing about, gurgling and cooing (and quite a few “almost” smiles), then cries when I take him out. I’ve tried him in both the baby bath and the big bath, but the bigger the space the better it seems. So I can’t wait to take him swimming for the first time! He sometimes seems to be trying to kick himself backwards off the ramp, especially if I keep my hand below his bottom so he can’t slip downwards where his face would be in the water. So it seems he’s determined to escape… probably wants to go and float like he does when I’m in the bath with him. Bath time has definitely become one of my favourite parts of the day. Even Gordy has had a bath with Xani, and yesterday, thanks to a MAJORLY horrible nappy causing him to need hosing down (the joys of being “bunged up” for a while… the aftermath is absolutely horrendous, and sooooo stinky!!), Karl got to wash him for the first time, while Xani had his first ever shower. Apparently he absolutely LOVED it, and when Karl brought him out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and snuggled against him, Xani was lying there, eyes wide, cooing quietly. A definite success Daddy!!
Another bonus that seems to happen when Xan has a bath… he has a nice big long SLEEP afterwards. I’ve noticed after most of his baths he tends to sleep longer than the usual 4 hours – quite often he sleeps for 6-8 hours afterwards, which is absolutely lovely, and now has me trying to aim his bath for later in the evening to try and get him to sleep through the night. Last night, he had his bath around 8/9pm, and didn’t wake up til about 4.30am. 7.5/8.5 hours sleep!! Of course, silly me didn’t make the most of it by getting an early night, and didn’t get to sleep til just after 1am, but I think that might change if this is going to become a regular thing. We’ll see!Well, time to try and quickly get one of my other blogs updated as the boys will be back shortly… it still feels really weird (but most definitely in a GOOD way! *s*) saying boys/sons etc, LOL!
I’ve been wondering just how many different nicknames Xani will get as he grows up. So far he’s had Xani or Xan (nothing more than name shortenings, but still a nickname… Xani seems to be what he gets called more than his proper name, which is probably due to my habit of shortening names where I can), Yoda (given to him by Karl when he was born because he looked very much like the Star Wars character, with his face all scrunched up and those big eyes, but he’s pretty much grown out of this one now), Quasi(modo) (this was my one, because when he hunches his shoulders, and again with those big wide eyes, he looks sooo much like the hunchback from the kids’ movie “Hunchback of Notre Dame) and then there’s “Toad” which he’s had almost since day 1, and is very much living up to at the moment. Constantly poking his tongue out, that wide-eyed look that’s almost bug-eyed, and his legs constantly kicking out like a frog/toad hopping, all gained him that nickname, but even more so is his apparent love of water! As long as he’s not too tired and grouchy and already grizzling when we start the bath, he absolutely loves it. Lies there on the little supportive ramp I bought for him (I had one for Gordy when he was a baby, and he always loved it too), and kicks like mad, arms swishing about, gurgling and cooing (and quite a few “almost” smiles), then cries when I take him out. I’ve tried him in both the baby bath and the big bath, but the bigger the space the better it seems. So I can’t wait to take him swimming for the first time! He sometimes seems to be trying to kick himself backwards off the ramp, especially if I keep my hand below his bottom so he can’t slip downwards where his face would be in the water. So it seems he’s determined to escape… probably wants to go and float like he does when I’m in the bath with him. Bath time has definitely become one of my favourite parts of the day. Even Gordy has had a bath with Xani, and yesterday, thanks to a MAJORLY horrible nappy causing him to need hosing down (the joys of being “bunged up” for a while… the aftermath is absolutely horrendous, and sooooo stinky!!), Karl got to wash him for the first time, while Xani had his first ever shower. Apparently he absolutely LOVED it, and when Karl brought him out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and snuggled against him, Xani was lying there, eyes wide, cooing quietly. A definite success Daddy!!
Another bonus that seems to happen when Xan has a bath… he has a nice big long SLEEP afterwards. I’ve noticed after most of his baths he tends to sleep longer than the usual 4 hours – quite often he sleeps for 6-8 hours afterwards, which is absolutely lovely, and now has me trying to aim his bath for later in the evening to try and get him to sleep through the night. Last night, he had his bath around 8/9pm, and didn’t wake up til about 4.30am. 7.5/8.5 hours sleep!! Of course, silly me didn’t make the most of it by getting an early night, and didn’t get to sleep til just after 1am, but I think that might change if this is going to become a regular thing. We’ll see!Well, time to try and quickly get one of my other blogs updated as the boys will be back shortly… it still feels really weird (but most definitely in a GOOD way! *s*) saying boys/sons etc, LOL!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
SMILES...and sleep deprivation
Has another month really gone by already?? Exactly one month since my last entry, it seems, with Xani turning 8 weeks yesterday. So many little things have already been and gone, without taking time to note them in here... but then, that’s what happens when there’s a demanding baby to tend to, plus a house to finish unpacking. Spare time for blogging – yeah right! But, we’re almost there!! Only about half a dozen more boxes to sort through and unpack, then it’s DONE!! Xani even has a bedroom now, rather than a cot tucked away in one small corner of a storage room. So… progress, somewhat!
As for what’s been happening, well, here we go, IF I can remember them all.
When Xani first came home, his sleeping pattern was pretty regular, usually sleep for 4 hours, then up for a feed (usually taking anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour), nappy change, cuddles, etc and back to bed after half an hour to an hour for another 4 hour sleep. You could almost set your clock by his 4 hour naps. Then, it all fell apart when he was about 4 weeks old and suddenly seemed to decide that sleeping just was NOT a cool thing to do! Nerves and tensions already frazzled due to that wonderful thing that new parents are gifted with - sleep deprivation – ended up soaring even further as our little man simply refused to sleep. He’d drift off in mine or Karl’s arms, but as soon as we’d put him down in his cot, he’d wake up again and start grizzling, only to settle pretty quickly once more when he was picked up. Yeah, I know. Making a rod for our own backs, but he’s just so wonderful to cuddle, and it’s so sweet when he falls asleep in my arms, that it was very hard to resist getting him up if he was crying. Oh, and then there was the fact that trying to ignore the crying til he went to sleep tore me apart. I’ve tried, on several occasions, to switch off and just leave him til he’d cried himself to sleep, but then it just ends up with EVERYONE miserable. So much easier to give in, get him up, and cuddle him while we watch a movie, or rock him, etc, until he drifts off. After a few days of this, with me wondering just where my sweet, placid little boy had gone, I started thinking maybe it was reflux. I’d noticed he quite often seemed to bring something up, only to swallow it back down again, plus he’d be grizzly after a feed, spill quite often, start crying with quite a shrill cry for no apparent reason, and just little things like that. So when I went to visit a friend of mine whose 5 children had all had reflux, I asked her what the signs were and they all certainly seemed to fit. So I mentioned it to the MW when she came around for her final visit, and she agreed that it sounded like reflux so to take him to the Dr and get some infant Gaviscon. The following week Xani was due for his 6 week jabs anyway, so we spoke to the Doc then about the reflux and got the Gaviscon… which has definitely led to a happier, more contented baby (although he still doesn’t particularly like his cot, especially at night, but I think that’s now more habit than anything else), thankfully. The only problem now, with the Gaviscon anyway, is that the poor little man has a hard time filling his nappy with anything but wee. He makes plenty of smells (which has me constantly checking the nappy, only to find it still clean…ugh, lil prankster already!!), but actual “deposits” tend to only happen every 2-3 days now, and the last few hours leading up to them are always less pleasant as he gets rather irritated (not surprising when things are bunged up and he can’t remove the cork!!). But still, we’re slowly getting there, and I’ve started giving him some boiled water every now and then to try and help loosen things up, which he really seems to like, although he seems more interested in chewing on the teat of the bottle rather than drinking the water. Is it possible he’s teething already? Maybe. Bit on the young side, but not unheard of I suppose… heck, there’s even been babies BORN with teeth apparently (ouch for the poor mum with breastfeeding… that’s one thing I’m not looking forward to, as I never had to worry about it with Gordy as he was onto formula by the time he gained any chompers). So I keep checking the gums, but no sharp bits poking me back yet. He seems to rather like the dummy though, especially when it has “paracare” (similar to pamol) or bonjela smeared on it. Bad habit I know, but when he wouldn’t stop grizzling before we got the Gaviscon, it was the only thing we could think of. I’m slowly weaning him off his “flavoured dummies” though, and am going to start putting one or two dummies in the fridge and see if the chill helps his gums.
The hormonal rash that covered his face, chest and upper back has almost gone too… it got quite bad at one stage with some of the spots looking extremely pus-filled. As for weight gain, well, that never seems to have been a problem. Despite being a very quick feeder (that still hasn’t changed), he’s gaining, on average, around 200g each week. When the plunket nurse came over on Monday, he weighed in at 9lbs 8oz (my brother’s birth weight apparently… ouch!! Poor mum! It was bad enough pushing Xani out at 6lbs 14oz, nevermind trying to squeeze him out the size he is now!), so is most definitely “thriving”, as MW, Plunket Nurse, AND Dr all put it. Guess I’m just a good “cow” as SOME people call it (*mutters about those certain people, then moos under my breath*), but then I know my milk comes out under a LOT of pressure, as little Xan has an annoying habit of pulling off just after he’s got the flow going properly, which sends milk spraying everywhere… including up his nose and in his eyes. *sighs* Only 8 weeks old and already playing with his food! The shocked look he gets on his face, before the breast gets quickly and firmly shoved back in his mouth to at least try and get the milk back under control, IS rather funny though. Hehehehe!I have discovered that Xander loves movement, and not necessarily moving toys etc, but HIS movement! He’s at his happiest when he’s being bounced (the harder and higher the better), gently thrown up in the air (although he barely leaves my hands), dipped backwards, danced around the room, rocked… well, you get the picture. This little boy does NOT like staying still for long – and here was I, thinking he’d be quieter than Gordy. Doesn’t look very promising so far. Arggghhh!! Ah well, I have to admit I’m rather enjoying being more active with him. It just means not a lot gets done usually cause I’m too busy playing and dancing with Xani when he’s doing his usual “grizzle every time I get put to bed, until mum or dad gets me up again” routine. Bah! Time for housework later. LOL! He also loves having his cheeks tickled and played with – something that was clearly evident when he started giving a couple of REAL smiles on Sunday when I was playing with those gorgeous chubby cheeks (hey, I can’t help it… they are just so deliciously, adorable and chubby I can’t leave them alone, and he makes the cutest fish faces (and scowls, LOL) when I gently squeeze them or “eat” them). Karl even got his first real smile this morning by playing with Xan’s cheeks and chin. I had thought the smile I got a quick glimpse of on the Saturday as I was pulling him back up after “dipping” him backwards (another game he LOVES, evident when I pull him up and he starts trying to lean backwards again straight away) had been a once off, or I’d been seeing things. But no, there’s been definite repeat performances since. I can’t believe it… my little boy’s SMILING!! LOL!! We were soooooo looking forward to this stage. Now it’s the giggles and chuckles I’m looking forward to. It just means I’m constantly trying to tickle him, or do silly things just to get that gorgeous reward of a beautiful smile (you know, the kind that just really melts you and you can’t help BUT smile right back!). I seriously hope my neighbour doesn’t spend much time looking out his windows *blush*. Goodness knows what he’d think! It moments like these (that need MINTIES!!) that make me absolutely love being a mum again. After so many years, I’d forgotten just how wonderful it is watching them go through all the stages. That delightful innocence and wide-eyed curiousity about this huge strange world we live in… I seriously just can NOT get enough!
As for what’s been happening, well, here we go, IF I can remember them all.
When Xani first came home, his sleeping pattern was pretty regular, usually sleep for 4 hours, then up for a feed (usually taking anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour), nappy change, cuddles, etc and back to bed after half an hour to an hour for another 4 hour sleep. You could almost set your clock by his 4 hour naps. Then, it all fell apart when he was about 4 weeks old and suddenly seemed to decide that sleeping just was NOT a cool thing to do! Nerves and tensions already frazzled due to that wonderful thing that new parents are gifted with - sleep deprivation – ended up soaring even further as our little man simply refused to sleep. He’d drift off in mine or Karl’s arms, but as soon as we’d put him down in his cot, he’d wake up again and start grizzling, only to settle pretty quickly once more when he was picked up. Yeah, I know. Making a rod for our own backs, but he’s just so wonderful to cuddle, and it’s so sweet when he falls asleep in my arms, that it was very hard to resist getting him up if he was crying. Oh, and then there was the fact that trying to ignore the crying til he went to sleep tore me apart. I’ve tried, on several occasions, to switch off and just leave him til he’d cried himself to sleep, but then it just ends up with EVERYONE miserable. So much easier to give in, get him up, and cuddle him while we watch a movie, or rock him, etc, until he drifts off. After a few days of this, with me wondering just where my sweet, placid little boy had gone, I started thinking maybe it was reflux. I’d noticed he quite often seemed to bring something up, only to swallow it back down again, plus he’d be grizzly after a feed, spill quite often, start crying with quite a shrill cry for no apparent reason, and just little things like that. So when I went to visit a friend of mine whose 5 children had all had reflux, I asked her what the signs were and they all certainly seemed to fit. So I mentioned it to the MW when she came around for her final visit, and she agreed that it sounded like reflux so to take him to the Dr and get some infant Gaviscon. The following week Xani was due for his 6 week jabs anyway, so we spoke to the Doc then about the reflux and got the Gaviscon… which has definitely led to a happier, more contented baby (although he still doesn’t particularly like his cot, especially at night, but I think that’s now more habit than anything else), thankfully. The only problem now, with the Gaviscon anyway, is that the poor little man has a hard time filling his nappy with anything but wee. He makes plenty of smells (which has me constantly checking the nappy, only to find it still clean…ugh, lil prankster already!!), but actual “deposits” tend to only happen every 2-3 days now, and the last few hours leading up to them are always less pleasant as he gets rather irritated (not surprising when things are bunged up and he can’t remove the cork!!). But still, we’re slowly getting there, and I’ve started giving him some boiled water every now and then to try and help loosen things up, which he really seems to like, although he seems more interested in chewing on the teat of the bottle rather than drinking the water. Is it possible he’s teething already? Maybe. Bit on the young side, but not unheard of I suppose… heck, there’s even been babies BORN with teeth apparently (ouch for the poor mum with breastfeeding… that’s one thing I’m not looking forward to, as I never had to worry about it with Gordy as he was onto formula by the time he gained any chompers). So I keep checking the gums, but no sharp bits poking me back yet. He seems to rather like the dummy though, especially when it has “paracare” (similar to pamol) or bonjela smeared on it. Bad habit I know, but when he wouldn’t stop grizzling before we got the Gaviscon, it was the only thing we could think of. I’m slowly weaning him off his “flavoured dummies” though, and am going to start putting one or two dummies in the fridge and see if the chill helps his gums.
The hormonal rash that covered his face, chest and upper back has almost gone too… it got quite bad at one stage with some of the spots looking extremely pus-filled. As for weight gain, well, that never seems to have been a problem. Despite being a very quick feeder (that still hasn’t changed), he’s gaining, on average, around 200g each week. When the plunket nurse came over on Monday, he weighed in at 9lbs 8oz (my brother’s birth weight apparently… ouch!! Poor mum! It was bad enough pushing Xani out at 6lbs 14oz, nevermind trying to squeeze him out the size he is now!), so is most definitely “thriving”, as MW, Plunket Nurse, AND Dr all put it. Guess I’m just a good “cow” as SOME people call it (*mutters about those certain people, then moos under my breath*), but then I know my milk comes out under a LOT of pressure, as little Xan has an annoying habit of pulling off just after he’s got the flow going properly, which sends milk spraying everywhere… including up his nose and in his eyes. *sighs* Only 8 weeks old and already playing with his food! The shocked look he gets on his face, before the breast gets quickly and firmly shoved back in his mouth to at least try and get the milk back under control, IS rather funny though. Hehehehe!I have discovered that Xander loves movement, and not necessarily moving toys etc, but HIS movement! He’s at his happiest when he’s being bounced (the harder and higher the better), gently thrown up in the air (although he barely leaves my hands), dipped backwards, danced around the room, rocked… well, you get the picture. This little boy does NOT like staying still for long – and here was I, thinking he’d be quieter than Gordy. Doesn’t look very promising so far. Arggghhh!! Ah well, I have to admit I’m rather enjoying being more active with him. It just means not a lot gets done usually cause I’m too busy playing and dancing with Xani when he’s doing his usual “grizzle every time I get put to bed, until mum or dad gets me up again” routine. Bah! Time for housework later. LOL! He also loves having his cheeks tickled and played with – something that was clearly evident when he started giving a couple of REAL smiles on Sunday when I was playing with those gorgeous chubby cheeks (hey, I can’t help it… they are just so deliciously, adorable and chubby I can’t leave them alone, and he makes the cutest fish faces (and scowls, LOL) when I gently squeeze them or “eat” them). Karl even got his first real smile this morning by playing with Xan’s cheeks and chin. I had thought the smile I got a quick glimpse of on the Saturday as I was pulling him back up after “dipping” him backwards (another game he LOVES, evident when I pull him up and he starts trying to lean backwards again straight away) had been a once off, or I’d been seeing things. But no, there’s been definite repeat performances since. I can’t believe it… my little boy’s SMILING!! LOL!! We were soooooo looking forward to this stage. Now it’s the giggles and chuckles I’m looking forward to. It just means I’m constantly trying to tickle him, or do silly things just to get that gorgeous reward of a beautiful smile (you know, the kind that just really melts you and you can’t help BUT smile right back!). I seriously hope my neighbour doesn’t spend much time looking out his windows *blush*. Goodness knows what he’d think! It moments like these (that need MINTIES!!) that make me absolutely love being a mum again. After so many years, I’d forgotten just how wonderful it is watching them go through all the stages. That delightful innocence and wide-eyed curiousity about this huge strange world we live in… I seriously just can NOT get enough!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)