4 Months

Adam is 4 months old today!

Recently Adam has discovered his toes, he loves to try to put them into his mouth. He is starting to enjoy tummy-time, he can push himself off the mat and hold his head up for several minutes. He can roll tummy to back but not back to tummy.  He can roll from his back to his side, so I'm sure he will be able to roll in both directions soon enough. He loves to blow raspberries. He will often fuss a little and then blow a raspberry, which makes Jeff and I laugh every time. Today Adam and I went out for a walk. Adam had been using the bassinet or the car seat in the stroller but today we went with the regular stroller seat.  I think he enjoyed it!

Yesterday we went out to dinner for Oma's (my mom's) birthday. Adam dressed up for the occasion.

Oh, and I got a haircut! It's the shortest I've ever had my hair in 30 years!  I donated my long hair to locks of love.

Adam is still waking up a lot at night. He's a hungry boy, especially at night time. Adam is still sleeping in our room in the Rock and Play. We moved the crib into our room and will start trying to transition Adam into the crib. And maybe one day he will even sleep in his own room... We have a long way to go :)

Happiest baby on the block

Adam has really grown these past few months, and I don't just mean in height and weight.  The once super fussy and colicky boy is now happy.  Like really happy the majority of the day.  I never could have imagined that my baby boy who cried or screamed during every waking moment could be so happy.  He's happy hanging out with me, he's happy hanging out with Jeff, he's happy with my parents, he's even happy at daycare, and he's happy just hanging out by himself.

Need to do some laundry? Sure, just place Adam on his play mat or in the swing and he will entertain himself by eating his hands or searching for his toes.  Need to take a shower? Place Adam in the bouncy chair and he will watch and listen to the crab (which lights up and plays music).  Personally I was worried that Adam would be kicked out of daycare because he was so high needs.  Sure he cries occasionally, but his teachers often remark that he is a great eater, he naps pretty consistently, and he seems pretty happy. And he absolutely LOVES other babies, especially girls! He's such a little lady's man, smiling and cooing at the ladies.

Sleeping has been an improvement.  We can put Adam down drowsy and he will fall asleep on his own.  This is a HUGE accomplishment because just one and a half months ago he took all of his naps either on me or in the carseat.  A month and half ago we moved to napping in his rock and play but we had to utilize the 5 s's (swaddle, swing, shush, suck, side). He really needed to be asleep to be placed in the rock and play, and sometimes it took close to an hour to get him to sleep.  Fast forward to today, he can be swaddled, placed in the rock and play with a pacifier and drift off to sleep on his own. Tonight was the best night so far. I got him ready for bed by lotioning him up (this really helps his eczema), a diaper change, and then fed him.  When he was done eating he looked pretty tired so I placed him in the swaddle, then in the rock and play, and gave him a pacifier. I kissed him on his forehead and said goodnight. I walked out, turned on the video monitor, and grabbed a glass of wine. Adam looked around the room for a few minutes but you could see his eyes getting sleepy. About 10 minutes after placing him in the rock and play he fell asleep. I didn't even have to go in to replace the pacifier once.

I don't want to jinx myself, but Adam is honestly a much happier baby than just a few weeks ago.  The changes are remarkable.  I think he just finally out grew the colic. But we still have a lot of room for improvement.  Adam's longest stretch of sleep is 4 hours usually followed by waking every 2 hours after that.  He usually gets up 2 or 3 times per night, sometimes more.  It's really hard to keep that schedule and go to work, but he's worth it.  Teenagers sleep in as late as possible, so I know one day Adam will sleep later and longer too (but hopefully way before he's a teenager). Oh, and Adam has yet to make the transition to the crib. We will get there, I'm just so thankful that I finally have a healthy AND happy little baby boy.

First Day At Work

The whole family survived my first day back at work.  It was so sad to leave in the morning, but it was nice that Adam was spending the morning with Jeff.  Luckily Jeff had a half day of class on Monday, so Jeff and Adam had father-son bonding time. Adam had a great morning with Jeff and then did really well at daycare. He ate well and took a good nap, but when he came home he was really, really, really tired. Nothing another good nap couldn't fix.  My day was pretty good too, the best part being that I got to show off pictures of my little boy. I went back to the operating room and had a great time, I missed it! It was an exhausting day for everyone, but we all survived.  The other good part was that I worked Monday, had Tuesday off, worked Wednesday, and had Thursday off. Now when I'm home all I want to do is snuggle with little Adam.  And if I can say so myself, he gets cuter and cuter every day!

Adam dressed up for my first day of work :)

Worn out at daycare

Someone wants to follow in his father's footsteps

My favorite, a little jumparoo action!

My husband is the best

It's true, my husband is the best.  Ladies, be jealous.  But not too jealous that you want to steal him.

Jeff really goes above and beyond caring for Adam and I every day.  And he does it all while making stellar grades and without complaining.  When I ask Jeff to take Adam in the morning so I can sleep a little more, Jeff just rolls out of bed and starts his day.  When I ask for a glass of water while breastfeeding, Jeff is back in an instant with water (and usually a snack too because I'm always hungry).  When I need someone to listen, he's there.  When I need someone to be strong for me, he's there.  He's a great husband and an even better father.  My heart swells and my love for Jeff grows as I get to witness his love for Adam every day.

Through my New Mom Group in West Hartford I found this blog:

http://www.thefussybabysite.com/blog/why-its-not-just-colic-or-fussiness/

I think it describes my relationship with Adam fairly well.  It's nice to have what I am feeling inside expressed in words and know that we are not alone.  Although I think I'm a lot more fortunate than most people with fussy/colicky babies.  I have a very supportive family that does not live too far away and like to come over to spend time with Adam and me.

And now for some photos!

Dad's little tough guy

bananas over mommy

He discovered his toes this week! 

Now if only he could get them in his mouth...

Happy Boy

This one is just silly

Sleep Deprivation

It's really tough to sleep in 1-4 hour increments night after night after night. I never knew I could be this tired and still function. I think another factor that makes sleeping tough is that you never know how long the next stretch of sleep will be. Will Adam sleep 1 hour or 4 hours? The best plan is to sleep whenever the baby is sleeping. But that doesn't leave much time to spend with the hubby, put stuff away, or just relax. But sleep deprivation can play tricks on your mind. Some days when Adam is crying, I think that if I were a better mother, Adam wouldn't cry so much. When Adam wakes up 10 times a night (it's happened), if I were a better mother, Adam would be sleeping better. And when you are really sleep deprived, you wonder how other new mothers are able to function every day when you feel like you can barely get by. None of these thoughts are based on reality. Adam is eating well and has almost doubled his birth weight. He is thriving. No, he doesn't sleep that great but he's only 3 months old. And he spends the majority of the day talking and cooing or putting his newly discovered hands in his mouth. He's a very happy and healthy little boy. See how sleep deprivation can play tricks on your mind?!

3 Months

Time is flying by!  Our little guy is now 3 months old!  My apologies for the negligence of the blog lately.   A few weeks ago I felt like I was crying more and having difficulty falling and staying asleep.  I think my anxieties over being a new mom were starting to become too much. Some nights it would take me an hour to fall asleep after feeding Adam, which is tough when he wakes up every 3 hours to eat.  And some nights I would wake up at 3am and be unable to fall back asleep.  I decided before things got worse, I would see by OB.  In hindsight I'm really glad I sought help early on because I'm already feeling better and sleeping more.

A few weeks ago Adam and I flew solo to Florida to visit my Oma and Opa.  Adam did super well traveling.  We had a great visit, Oma loved holding Adam and talking with him and Opa loved having a baby in the house.

Two weeks ago we moved to a new apartment.  It was a lot of work for Jeff and I to pack the entire place and physically move.  But it's worth it because we really like our new place.  We are still in West Hartford, about 2 blocks from our old place.  Our new apartment has 3 bedrooms, wood floors, and an updated bathroom.

We had a great weekend just now.  Lynn came for a visit!  She drove 8 hours from Pittsburgh just to meet Adam.  On Friday night we relaxed at home.  Saturday we went to West Hartford Center and had lunch.  Adam was very well behaved.  Afterwards Lynn and I got pedicures and massages.  Felt sooooo good!  And today we went for a walk before Lynn had to hit the road again.  Jeff, Adam and I then left to visit Nana and PopPop.  We had a great time visiting and are happy to be back home.

For Father's Day I made a collage with Adam holding letters. 

I think it turned out pretty well!

His shirt also says Daddy's All Star :)

Look who's three months old!!!

Bath time fun

Lynn came for a visit!

First visit with Nana and PopPop

8 Hours of Sleep!

On Thursday night I got 8 hours of sleep all in one stretch!  Nope, it was not because Adam slept that long.  I had been sleeping very poorly this week and I have not had more than 5 hours of sleep in one stretch for the past 10 weeks.  Usually I sleep in 2-3 hour spurts with my Little Dude.  On Thursday I had never felt more tired in my entire life.  I honestly felt like I could not keep going and I was in tears because I was just. too. tired. to. continue.  I told Jeff that I had to have a break, I needed to get some sleep, and it could not wait.  Jeff was a great sport and happily agreed to bottle feed Adam expressed milk while I got some rest.  I was there for Adam's last feed at 8 and then got in the car for Tolland.  I went to bed and slept 8 divine hours!  No crying, no fussing, no nursing.  Just 8 hours of straight sleep.  I was then back at our apartment by 7 so that Jeff could get ready for school.  8 straight hours of sleep just felt so good, I might have to make this a regular habit every so often.

How could I forget, on Wednesday Adam went to the pediatrician.  Adam weighs 13 pounds, 12 ounces and is 23 inches long.  Jeez, he's getting some healthy doses of breastmilk ;)  The pediatrician said that Adam has moderate to severe eczema and recommended stronger corticosteroids for treatment.  Eczema in infants can be triggered by food allergies.  I am giving up nuts, peanuts and eggs because these are common triggers and also the foods that Jeff has allergies to.  Anything I can do to help my Boo Boo!

But I did not agree with all of the pediatrician's recommendations.  Keep in mind this is our regular pediatrician's part-time partner.  She feels that Adam should not comfort nurse.  I allow Adam to comfort nurse because then he doesn't scream and will actually take a nap when he's tired.  He can be so fussy and colicky that nothing calms him except comfort nursing.  If it keeps him happy, he continues to be healthy, and I'm not negatively impacted by it, then we'll keep going with what works for both of us.

The pediatrician also did not think that cloth diapers would keep Adam dry enough for his sensitive skin.   Regular cotton prefolds will hold dampness on his skin.  She told me that she thinks he should be in disposables.  I informed her that we use microfiber which wicks moisture away, feels dry to the touch, and can contain a lot of fluid.  She brushed me off.  Some battles just aren't worth arguing over.

Now for a week of pictures:

Adam's shirt says "All I need is Grandma"

This is my favorite from the week