Archives
And in this corner, weighing in at...
Jake's just had another visit with the health visitor. She weighed him and we're pleased to announce that he's put on 1 lb 4 oz since he was last weighed 2 weeks ago. He now weighs 7 lb 6, which is above what would be expected, according to the chart. We're obviously doing something right!
Did you know...?
Here's an interesting fact told to me by the health visitor that we saw yesterday: Don't be alarmed if your newborn goes a day or two without a bowel movement. Babies, apparently, sometimes go 4 to 5 days without it. When I asked if they ended up fussing a lot because they have sore bellies, she said that they wouldn't necessarily get upset stomaches because they digest their food at a different rate to adults.
4 to 5 days! That would definitely put me in a mood.
A routine
Jake and I now have ourselves a little routine and it's working quite well for us. He demands, I provide. Nah, just teasing. It's not that bad. Our day works out like this:
The day starts with a feed at about 2 or 3 in the morning. We've decided to give him bottles of formula at night because it seems to settle him better. He goes back to sleep much more quickly with a bottle than he does with the breast and he sleeps longer. I get up for this feed and let Stephen sleep, as he's the one who has to get up for work at about 5:30 in the morning. He has such long days. At least I can catch up on my sleep after he leaves.
The baby wakes again some time soon after sunrise. If Jake wakes in time, Stephen gives him a bottle. If he wakes a bit later, I do it. Again, I'm reluctant to breastfeed him because I want him to go back to sleep and let me rest. It usually does the trick and he's out until about 9:30am.
At that point, I try to breastfeed. As you can imagine, my breasts aren't feeling that great by then, having not breastfed or expressed all night. Jake takes the breast eagerly, but now tend to throw a lot of it up. I do worry that he's throwing it up because he's getting used to formula, but to me, the advantages of giving him formula at night far outweigh the disadvantages. I console myself in the fact that he's had the benefits of my breast milk for the first month and a half of his life and that, if I have to stop (or choose to stop) breastfeeding now, I will without guilt. The one thing I never realized is how exhausting and physically-demanding breastfeeding is. Stephen and I are very keen for Jake's feeds to not become a dreaded thing. We want to enjoy Jake's infancy. For now, we have decided that I will continue breastfeeding Jake and supplimenting with formula. When the time is right for both Jake and I, we will continue with only the bottle. I will miss breastfeeding him, but not enough to ignore how easy it is to prepare a bottle, give it to him, and have him sleep peacefully.
Anyway, throughout the day, Jake feeds approximately every 3 hours or so. If I breastfeed him, he tends to demand feeding more frequently. If I can't settle him and he seems constantly hungry, I'll give him a bottle.
Incidentally, the health visitor suggested that Jake might be throwing up the formula because he'd over-filled him tummy - drank too much. That is a possibility, as he seems to drink loads!
Jake usually spends the morning lying in the middle of our bed, gurgling away to himself. He rarely cries or fusses and just entertains himself with his own hands. And sometimes a dummy.
Stephen comes home for an hour between 1 and 2pm. By that time, Jake has been awake all morning. Sometimes, he's in a good mood for his Daddy and sometimes he's not.
After a midday feed, Jake often falls asleep and stays that way for a lot of the afternoon. I make a point of feeding him again right before we eat supper, in the hopes that he'll fall asleep and let us eat in peace. That happens occasionally, but for the most part, he's wide awake and wanting to be held. Stephen holds him during dinner and Jakes often falls asleep in his Daddy's arm.
Jake gets another feed around 8-ish. This is planned so that he'll sleep until 11pm, when we'll give him a bottle that will fill his belly and get him to sleep through until about 2 or 3-ish, which starts our day all over again.
This is our schedule, our routine, and it works well for us... when Jake sticks to it, that is!
Shhhh...
Jake is finally sleeping. He's been a bit agitated this morning and all day yesterday too. And no matter what we do, he cries. He doesn't have very many 'bad days', but they are frustrating when they happen.
Here's a picture of our little angel (and me), taken a few minutes ago:
See? Eyes closed and peaceful. Just what he (and his Mum!) needs.
This little respite has meant that I've been able to get the washing in the dryer and make a bit of lunch. I've just consumed 2 yummy tortilla wraps with ham, cheese, lettuce and mayo. Oh and a nice cold glass of Diet Coke (well, the Tesco version of anyway). I feel much better with a bit of fattening grub in me!
Stephen should be home for lunch soon then Jake and I will probably go for a walk up to the post office to post of his application for a Canadian passport. Our moving plans are... well, moving along!
I love...
...velcro bibs. What a wonderful invention! I hate trying to tie the other bibs behind Jake's head. Next to impossible when he's so hungry and pissed off that he's thrashing about.
I've bought all new velcro bibs and I'm throwing out the old tie-up ones.
Jake hates...
Jake absolutely hates having his nappy changed. You'd think that he'd enjoy a bit of fresh air on his pink rump, wouldn't you? But that is definitely not the case. He screams the house down every time I start to undo his babygro. He knows what's coming. And throughout the whole process, there is no consoling him. He wails and wails until his babygro is done up again.
Loads of fun at night, as you can imagine!
£25k better off
We had our house valued by an estate agent yesterday and we have another coming today from a different company. When we started thinking about moving to Canada last year, we had the house valued then and we're very pleased to be told now that the house has gone up in value by about £25k in one year. I'm amazed. House prices in this country are plainly ridiculous.
We live in a small semi-detached house with 2 bedrooms and a large back garden. I suppose really that the major selling point for us though is that we're only about 40 miles outside London. Far enough away for houses to be 'affordable' and close enough for a daily commute.
The estate agent is sure that we'll get a very quick sale. Wow! We'll wait to hear what the second estate agent has to say then I'm sure this house will be on the market and we'll be one step closer to Canada.
Jake sheds tears
At almost 7 weeks old, Jake is finally shedding tears when he cries. I'm not sure how long tearless crying normally lasts, so I have no idea if Jake is on schedule. Being premature, we were warned that he might be a few weeks behind when it comes to notable 'firsts' like smiling.
But now our little guy gets all wet around the eyes when he wails. Poor thing!
