6 Weeks Old

This week Maddex really started letting his personality show.  He began smiling and he smiles all the time now!  He also is beginning to learn what he likes and does not like, what he wants and what he doesn't want.

We have noticed a huge change in his size.  I am not sure if you can really tell in the pictures, but I can feel it when I am holding him and see it in his face.

I have been going out with him a lot more.  On Thursday we went to the grocery store together.  He started screaming while I was in line at the deli.   Thank goodness I brought the front carrier with me, so I strapped that on and slid him in it and tried my best to get everything on my list.  We also spent a few whole days out-one at the pool party and another at our family picnic.  For the most part he was pretty good during those outings.  Yesterday I had a lunch date with Lauren and he was AWESOME!   He slept most of the time and when he woke up at the end of our meal he fussed a little until I fed him and that was it!   Then last night happened!  He screamed most of the evening, and kept me up most of the night.  I guess that is what I get since the night before he slept for almost 12 hours!  During the first stretch he slept for 6 hours before waking up for a feeding.  Then he slept for another three and when I took him out of his bed he didn't want to eat he just slept for the next 2-3 hours on my chest.  It was awesome to get some sleep, but not awesome the next night when we got barely 4 hours.  I am so ready for him to have more of those 6 hour stretches, but for now he seems to enjoy waking up every 2-3 hours.

- The Weekly List -

6 Weeks Old
Total weight gain/loss:
Mom: I am maintaining at about 4-5 pounds under my prepregnancy weight.  I can start running again later this week.  Hopefully I can catch up on sleep again, because right now I don't have the energy to do any exercising!  

Maddex: Kiel weighed him on our scale on Saturday and it read 12 pounds.  That seems about right.  Maddex has been pretty consistently adding close to 1 pound a week.  He better slow down soon!
 
Maternity clothes? None!

Sleep: He still stays awake for most of the day. I shouldn't complain about my lack of sleep last night because he at least has his days and nights straight.     

Best moment this week: Seeing Maddex smile with Kiel.  Hearing his laugh-I caught this on video and will share it tomorrow!  Feeling that Maddex is really starting to know I am his mommy.    

Miss Anything? Getting 8 hours of sleep in a row.  Chocolate.  Ice cream.   


Looking forward to: Hearing an awake laugh.  His dream laugh is the cutest!  

Likes:
Mom: 

-When I can comfort my baby.

-When I bring him out and he cooperates.

-Seeing my baby smile.

-Talking with my boy.  I love when he responds to my voice.  

-Watching him track Kiel and I as we walk around the house.  

Maddex: 
-Being rocked until I fall asleep

-Warm wipes

-Bumpy roads

-Being in the swing

-Listening to Michael Jackson Lullabies in the car. 

Dislikes:
Mom: 
- Hearing him cry

-When he cries and we are out

-That what I eat can cause him discomfort.  I wish I knew exactly what it was! 

Maddex: 
-Being in my car seat

-Dirty diapers

-Being in the heat

-Falling asleep when I am not ready!

Firsts

Mom: 

-Brought Maddex to the grocery store alone. 

-Brought him out on a lunch date.  

Maddex:

-Smile

-Pool party

-Family picnic

New Friends 

Kate and Oliver

Lots of Mommy's co-workers at the pool party

Great Uncle Joe and Great Aunt Rita

Cousins Ann Marie and Michael

Lots of Mem's extended family members at the picnic

My Breastfeeding Story

Everyone has a breastfeeding story.  Before I started breast feeding I just assumed that it came easy for everyone.  I was a little nervous about doing it, but since so many people had done it before I figured I'd catch right on.

Not so much.

Right at the beginning we had a major glitch.  Maddex developed jaundice at just 2 days old and needed phototherapy for 24 hours as well as more milk than what I was producing.  The pediatrician on duty that day happened to be the one we chose for Maddex.  He really wanted to start formula feeding right away to get the bilirubin out of his system.  I was hesitant at first, but I knew that getting Maddex healthy was my top priority.

The nurses were awesome.  Since I was concerned about nipple confusion, they started cup feeding him.  It was cool to see a two day old slurping from a little medicine cup.  Then a lactation consultant came and taught me how to tube feed.  We used a little syringe and attached a thin tube.  We ran the tube down my breast and along my nipple so when Maddex created the right latch, suction would make the formula leave the syringe and go right into his tummy.  This made me feel better because even though I wasn't producing enough milk to satisfy him, he was getting something and he had to work at latching on.

At some point during our stay he stared using a bottle.  I wasn't totally opposed to it at the time since he was still trying to latch onto me.  But the bottle really made him a lazy feeder. The first few days at home were really hard for me.  He seemed to prefer the bottle to the breast and that created a lot of work for me.  Our routine quickly became breastfeed, bottle feed with expressed milk, pump.  It is a long process and requires a lot of equipment!  I really wish he would just latch and stay latched until he was full, but that just isn't the case for us.

As I shared my story and concerns with other moms over the past few weeks, I learned that they all have had breastfeeding struggles.  Not one mom has said it was easy.  Many stopped nursing well before they wanted to because it just became too hard.  I can totally understand that!  I almost gave up when we were two weeks in, but I stuck it out.  Partly because I know all the benefits of breast milk and partly because it is so much cheaper than formula feeding.

Today, at nearly six weeks, I am happy I stuck it out.  In someways it has gotten easier.  I am producing more milk and can satisfy him.  But he still is lazy and needs the bottle.  I am lucky that I can stay home with him until he is 5 months old.  I know I will be able to continue breastfeeding until then.  I just don't know how successful we will be once I head back to work.  My goal today is to continue until Christmas.  He will be close to 6 months old by then.

I guess we will just have to wait and see how we do!

My advice to a new mom is to stick it out if you can.  Just when you think you want to quit give yourself another day or two.  You may be surprised at what you and your baby can do!  Good luck and know that breas feeding is a TON of work!  Everyone has a story and every drop of your milk you give your baby is worth it. Even if you can only give him a few drops of colostrum in the few minutes after birth that is better than no breast milk at all.

Week Five Photos

Maybe it is me, but this kid just gets cuter and cuter every day!

Snuggle time with Daddy before he left for the weekend

Mom, get that thing out of my face!

I Mean Business

Burp

My First Red Sox Cap is still too big!

Who is that in the mirror?

First of many trips to Olive Garden

Walmart trip

Auntie Corey got this for me at the gender reveal party waaaaaay back in February

Passed out in bed with Daddy

my precious boy

modeling the bink

He was "talking" right before this video.  THere is a surprise at the end...

Happy boy!

Big boy!

The HMS boys at the pool party- O and Dex

Not sure how I feel right now

My screaming face

Maddex playing with his new kick and play gym

5 Weeks

We are still dealing with the whole stomach issue.  Although, he seems to be getting a little bit better he still has 2-3 feedings a day where he pulls off the breast or the bottle crying.   For the most part it seems to be happening from 8-10 am and 5-8 pm.  The mid day feedings and evening feedings are fine.  I was beginning to think they coincided with the time we gave him his medicine so yesterday we didn't give him any.  That didn't help either.  I just can't seem to figure out what is causing him to cry.  Clearly, it is not my milk since the mid-day feeding can't be much different than the morning feeding before or the evening feeding right after.  And usually when we give him the bottle after the breast it is milk that was pumped the day before.  If anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or thoughts about what is going on please let me know.  He still is displaying characteristics of acid reflux-the arching of his back, throwing his head back, hiccups, crying during and after feedings.   The crying during feedings is the worst.  He is obviously hungry and ravenously latches on, but the after taking 1-3 sucks he pulls off and starts crying (or screaming in some cases) then when I get him calm he latches on again just to repeat.  It breaks my heart and I want to fix this as soon as possible!

This weekend was my first weekend as a "single mom."  Well, not really.  My sister spent the whole weekend with me and my mom was here most of the time too.  I probably could have done okay without them, but I was sooooo very happy to have them here.  They kept me sane and they even got up with him on Sunday morning so I could catch an extra hour of sleep.  While they were here Maddex got to experience his first (and last) trip to Sam's Club.  (The service there was horrible for the "Open House Day" and I will never give them any more of my business!).  We also hit up Olive Garden for the endless soup, salad and bread sticks.  Going out to an all you can eat restaurant with a newborn is not a good idea.  I think we all only had one serving of each and we got out of there as fast as we could.  He wasn't too bad, but after our order was taken he started crying and wanted to be held for the remainder of our stay.  After that we supported Sam Walton again by going to Walmart, where (shockingly) we experienced bad service again.  On a positive note, Maddex fell asleep while being pushed in the carriage and cooperated while Mommy had to deal with clueless employees!

Today Maddex is heading out for his first play date.  Hehe! Yes he is only 5 weeks and he will be "playing" with a 14 week old.  I can't wait for some adult interaction and to chat up on some survival tactics from a mom who is just slightly ahead of me in this whole parenting game.

Tomorrow we will either be heading to my coworkers house for a pool party or to Mommy and Me yoga.  The pool party is over an hour away and Maddex isn't too great in the car, but one of my other coworkers might meet me half way so she can sit in the back and entertain the boy.  If that doesn't work out then we will head to a free trial class of Mommy and Me yoga taught by the same woman who did my prenatal yoga.  Even if we don't make it to the free class, I plan on attending the regularly scheduled classes.

Tomorrow is also our 4 year anniversary (08-08-08).  Hard to believe we have been married for 4 years already!

On another note...This kid is looking more and more like his daddy every day.  When Kiel was away this weekend it was so nice to be able to look at Maddex and see Kiel's features in our little boy's face!

- The Weekly List -

5 Weeks Old
Total weight gain/loss:
Mom: - 48.5. Still melting away the pounds without trying.  This morning when I weighed myself I was 4.5 pounds below my prepregnancy weight.  I can't wait until Thursday when I go for my 6 week check up. I am hoping I get the okay to run.  I can't imagine why I wouldn't, I feel perfectly fine right now.  I am hoping to now get down to my wedding weight.  That means I have about 12 more pounds to go!  

Maddex: At the doctor on Friday (The gastroenterologist) he weighed 11 pounds 0.4 ounces.  He is growing like a weed!  He will be in size two diapers before we can use up all the size ones!  
 
Maternity clothes? Packed them all away yesterday!

Sleep: He is sleeping less and less during the day.  At night we still get one long stretch of 4-5 hours then after that it is more like 2 1/2 -3 hours for the next two feedings.   

Best moment this week: Spending the whole day out with Maddex at 2 stores and one restaurant and he was awesome!  When Kiel came home from his weekend away.  

Miss Anything? A full night of sleep.  I just want to lay down and sleep for a solid 8 hours without having to wake up.  We would have the opportunity at the end of the month when we go to a wedding, but I am not sure if I am ready to spend the night away from Maddex just yet!  


Looking forward to: Introducing Maddex to many of my family members on Saturday at our family picnic.  Having Maddex feel better.  

-Last week I said seeing a real Maddex smile and I got to see one.  But that doesn't count as his first smile since Kiel wasn't home for it :(
Likes:
Mom: 
-[LOVES] Baby Maddex!
-That I can be a mom
-Staring into Maddex's eyes
-Rocking Maddex to sleep
-Watching him sleep in my arms-he makes the cutest faces ever!
-Watching Kiel be a Daddy-He has been beyond amazing.  I picked the perfect husband!
-[I can't delete the above bullets since I love all of them so you will just have to read them over and over again every week!]
-When Maddex snuggles into my neck. 

-When Maddex wants the breast just to be comforted.  That makes me feel so special. 

-When he starts crying in his swing or bed and as I come into his view he stops crying.  

Maddex: 
-Being rocked to sleep
-Things that vibrate me

-My swing (That swing has been a life saver.  Sometimes he just doesn't want to be held and prefers time alone in the swing)
-Watching the ceiling fan
-People watching

Dislikes:
Mom: 
- Hearing Maddex cry.  
-That we still don't know exactly what is causing Maddex discomfort.  

Maddex: 
-Sleeping on a flat surface
-Eating with my body flat, I need to eat at more of an incline now. 

-Sleeping in the car. I much prefer watching everything around me.

-Going to bed while I am still awake.  Mommy needs to rock me to sleep first. 

Firsts
Mom: 
-Brought Maddex out to eat with Auntie and Mem. 

Maddex:
-Trip to a Walmart

-Trip to a restaurant-Olive Garden

-"Standing"- his legs are incredibly strong for a 5 week old.  He can "stand" from a scrunched up sitting position on my lap.  It is crazy!

New Friends 
"Uncle" Bolton-only for like 20 seconds before he left with Daddy for the weekend. 

It was a slow new visitor week.  

One Month Old!

This was really taken on his One Month Birthday, but I just didn't get a chance to post on August first.  he is getting so big!!!

Week Four Photos

(Blurry iPhone photo, but he just looked so cute after his bath!)

(I have lots of pictures of him sleeping since I send them to Daddy while he is at work)

(Maddex went for a walk with Mem and Papou.  Here is evidence of him squeezing his finger so hard it turned purple. He doesn't even know his own strength.)

(I sent this picture to my sister with the caption "exorcist baby")

(Swaddled and trying to sleep on the elevated sleep positioner.  He still couldn't stay in there for more than 10 minutes.  That's why we got the Nap Nanny.  I'll have to remember to take a pic of him in that.)

(Squishy face)

(Poop face!)

(This was right after I got home from BJs.  I made Kiel bring all the stuff in and then I wanted him to take a picture of me with my baby who I missed so much while I was shopping.  [See the BJs sized items behind me?])

(Another picture of him sleeping soundly.Only this time with Daddy!)

(Swinging in the swing that Broghan let him borrow)

(So precious!)

(My parents looked and low for an outfit with something about "Grandpa" on it for a little boy.  They finally found this perfect one!)

(Sleeping on Daddy again.  It only looks like he is sucking his thumb!)

(Doing a little wiggle on Mommy)

(Passed out on Daddy again.  And here you can see how Maddex is losing all of his hair on the front of his head.  He looks like an old balding man!)

I absolutely love this onesie.  This will probably be the last time he wears it too :(

(He was sitting and as I took this picture he toppled over.  Notice the face!)

He was being a good boy at the pharmacy with mommy

(That is Mommy and Maddex on the SmartBoard.  We got to video chat with the summer school students since I am not quite ready to drive 2 hours roundtrip alone with Maddex to school. But I promised them I would be there in September!)

Four Weeks

So I didn't take a four week photo in the same location, but tomorrow you will be able to lots of pictures from this week.  And tomorrow is Maddex's ONE MONTH BIRTHDAY!  So I will definitely have him posing with his sock monkey for that occasion.

To say this past week has been rough would be an understatement.  Little boy has had quite a difficult time with his tummy.  About a week and a half ago he started with these screaming fits after he ate.  They pretty much happened any time of day so I really didn't think it was colic, but Kiel did. On Wednesday I called the pediatrician because I knew something was not right and his "poopy" changed so I wanted to make sure everything was ok.  Our doctor seemed to think what he saw and what I described was a milk intolerance.  Sooooo, that began my new diet.   At first I thought, "No problem, I don't even like milk or cheese anyway."  But then I realized-no chocolate, no cookies, no ice cream!  Eeeek!

At first that seemed to work.  We had a great night on Thursday and a great morning on Friday so when I called the doctor on Friday with the update he requested I gave a great report.  And then Friday night happened, and Saturday, and Sunday.  He cried and screamed for about half of his waking hours. It was a rough weekend for us!  What we did notice is that his screaming began during or right after a feeding.  Clearly, what he was eating was not agreeing with him!  I had already completely eliminated milk so it had to be something else.  That is when we thought it could be tomato sauce.  I had been eating my Yiayia's greek meatballs and I ordered chicken parm when we went out to dinner.  That had to be it!  So I eliminated tomatoes and other acidic foods like citrus.   But still no difference.

On Monday we called the pediatrician again and they got is right in so Kiel could come before work.  While there the doctor was concerned about his screaming fits around meal time, but more concerned about the purple color he turns while crying.  Luckily (or not) Doc got to witness one of his fits since I had to feed him while there.  After that he decided he wanted us to see both a pediatric pulmonary specialist and a pediatric gastroenterologist.  The pulmonary specialist at UMass got us in that afternoon!  So yesterday my mom left work early to come and help me with that trip (Thank goodness!).  Thankfully, they thought that all of his symptoms pointed at acid reflux and not a heart or breathing problem.  They recommended we see a gastroenterologist and were happy to hear that I already had an appointment!

(The above paragraphs were drafted on Tuesday and then Maddex started crying and I got busy and never go back to my blog!  So here we go again....)

Last night (Tuesday) I picked up prescription liquid Pepcid for Maddex.  That was a whole ordeal.  No pharmacies around here carried it so we had to wait a day for it to come in.  I haven't noticed a difference with the medicine yet, but I think my restricted diet has helped a bit.  While we were at the pediatrician on Monday he called the gastroenterologist and described all of Maddex's symptoms.  The specialist recommended I also cut out all beef, in addition to dairy and citrus.  In all the reading I have done about newborn acid reflux, nothing said anything about beef.  But as Kiel and I thought more and more about it beef really could have been the trigger.  His first fits began after I had made meatloaf a few weeks ago and they got really bad when I was eating my Yiayia's meatballs.  So I haven't had beef since Friday and I am hoping that is the culprit.  I can say no to beef a lot easier than chocolate!!

Yesterday Kiel also picked up a Nap Nanny from a lady who was selling it on craigslist.  It is recommended for children with acid reflux.  My mom actually found it online a week or two ago when she was googling about babies not liking to be flat on their backs (another sign of reflux that Maddex has had since right after we got home).  The price for it new is a whopping $130, but I was happy to get a gently used one (looks brand new) for half the price.  Maddex slept in it last night and stayed asleep for a 6 hour stretch (9pm-2:45).  He then went back to sleep at 4:30 and woke up at 6:30.  That was the most sleep I have gotten since he was born.  I think the Nap Nanny is a definite keeper!!

This week I also had the opportunity to leave house without Maddex two times!  On Tuesday Kiel's parents came up so we could go out to dinner.  We didn't go far, only to a restaurant about 3 miles away and it was a relatively quick meal.  Surprisingly, I did not feel as anxious as I thought I would.  And then on Saturday I left Kiel alone with Maddex for the first time so I could go to BJs and load up on supplies!  Don't think that I didn't trust Kiel alone with Maddex before then, I just couldn't bring myself to leave the house on my own.

Last Wednesday was also the first time I left the house with Maddex.  It was to go to the pediatrician so that wasn't too bad.  If anything went wrong I had tons of medical professionals there to help.  Maddex does pretty well in the car.  He is usually pretty quiet, but he rarely falls asleep.  I swear, we have the nosiest kid ever!

- The Weekly List -

4 Weeks Old
Total weight gain/loss:
Mom: - 47. Yes I am 3 pounds under my prepregnancy weight.  I am not normal, but I think the fact that I am on a restricted diet is helping with the weight loss.  Instead of snacking on cookies I eat grapes, instead of cake or ice cream for dessert I eat sorbet.   But don't think that I am looking super skinny either.  I definitely still have that pregnancy pouch!   

Maddex: At the doctor on Monday he was 10 lbs 12 oz!  He is growing like a weed!
 
Maternity clothes? I have been wearing only workout clothes.  I love yoga pants!    

Sleep: For the most part I get a total of 6 hours of sleep a night with him.  Lately it has been taking him a bit longer to fall asleep after his middle of the night feedings and that is wearing on me a bit.  Monday night he was up a lot since he slept from 5pm-11pm only waking up to "snack" for a minute or two here and there.  Monday was a stressful day for him since we were in the car or at doctors' offices for at least 6 hours total.  

Best moment this week: Spending quality time alone with Kiel.  Luckily our relationship is still going strong despite our lack of sleep and all the attention the baby needs.  I am also happy that we think we have found the cause of Maddex's excessive crying and discomfort.  I just want him to be a happy baby!

Miss Anything? Now I can say chocolate!  It is all over the house.  But I must say it is much easier to "diet" when the food you eat impacts your child.  As badly as I want it, it is just not worth it! 


Looking forward to: Seeing a real Maddex smile.  I am pretty sure I have caught a few and Kiel has too, but we decided the "real first smile" would be one that we both saw together.  That should be coming soon! 

Likes:
Mom: 
-[LOVES] Baby Maddex!
-That I can be a mom
-Staring into Maddex's eyes
-Rocking Maddex to sleep
-Watching him sleep in my arms-he makes the cutest faces ever!
-Watching Kiel be a Daddy-He has been beyond amazing.  I picked the perfect husband!
-[I can't delete the above bullets since I love all of them so you will just have to read them over and over again every week!]
-Playing with Maddex.  He is starting to interact with toys.

-Maddex's voice.  He has also started "talking" to us and his toys. It is the cutes thing ever! 

-That we may have finally figured out what has been causing Maddex to scream bloody murder for several hours of the day.  

Maddex: 
-Being rocked to sleep
-Things that vibrate me

-My swing
-Watching the ceiling fan
-Making Mommy and Daddy walk me around when I am upset
-Holding my head back after I eat (Mommy thinks this has to do with his acid reflux)

Dislikes:
Mom: 
- Hearing Maddex cry.  
-That one month of my 5 month maternity leave is done. Only 4 more to go-bummer! 

-That most of this week has been spent trying to console Maddex.  I wish we could have worked more on tummy time and playing, but he was just so fussy all the time.  It really felt like if he wasn't crying he was sleeping.   That certainly was not the case, but it sure felt that way!

Maddex: 
-Sleeping on a flat surface
-Eating with my body flat, I need to eat at more of an incline now. 

-Wearing socks. (Somehow he always manages to kick them off!)

Firsts
Mom: 
-Went out with Daddy without Maddex

-Went out alone with Maddex

-Went out completely alone

[And I survived all three!  A few weeks (even days) ago I couldn't have imagined leaving the house without him or with him on my own]

Maddex:
-"Talking" to people and toys

-Grabbing for toys

-Medicine (He does not like the cherry flavor!)

-Babysitter

New Friends 
Mommy's work friends: Lisa and Anne

We have lots of parties coming up in August so he will be meeting many more people very soon!