One Month
Baby Frederick has been here an entire month! Bringing him home from the hospital feels like a lifetime ago. It's hard to believe that in one month, we've done Christmas, had the kids and Karl home on break, had the kids at home but Karl back at work, had the kids back at school, started meeting some friends, had two (yes, two) bouts of household water issues . . . . And yet I have no idea what we've been doing all day. Surviving, I guess. Snuggling the baby, too. He's both absolutely wonderful and clearly trying to kill us.
We all agree he's the cutest baby of all the babies. I tell him all the time that he's just really, really cute with his big eyes and perfectly round head and scrumptious cheeks.
He's also taking the title for our most challenging newborn. The first three weeks were relatively smooth -- sleeping in three-hour cycles with a little contented awake time mixed in. And then, wham! at three weeks he decided everything was terrible. He regressed to waking every two hours (or more often) and demanding to be held all the time. I imagine first-time parents think this is normal, but we know better. The other three were giving us at least one five- or six-hour stretch of sleep at this point. Poor fourthbaby is on the short track to early sleep training.
We're so tired that I don't really feel safe operating the car to drive the kids around. I'm trying to tell myself that this -- four kids age six and under -- is the most tired I will ever be for the rest of my life. It's all uphill from here!
Otherwise, he had a very good first month. He was back over his birth weight by half a pound when the home-visit nurse came to check on him at one week. At two weeks, we had our only pediatrician visit so far, and she corrected his tongue-tie. It wasn't as pronounced as Henry's, but it was definitely there. The correction immediately improved his nursing latch so I'm glad we just did it. He is eating well and developing very satisfactory cheeks and second chin. I'm guessing he's already up around 11 pounds, which makes the sleep situation even more inexcusable.
The big kids have been wonderful with him. Henry is still the best big brother ever -- we actually blame/credit him for the fact that we have so many kids. Ingrid, true to form, likes to cuddle him regardless of whether it's an appropriate time or whether he actually wants to be cuddled. Heidi is following in Henry's footsteps and seems genuinely concerned with the baby's well-being. If I leave him in another room, she asks, "Whea baby?" and inquires all day long, "Is he happy? Baby Fwedwick happy?" The only time she would throw him to the wolves is if he interrupts our bedtime stories and cuddles. It's fine if he sits with us, but if he starts to cry, she tells me, "Put him in the swing." We all have limits.
We're slowly, sleepily getting to know our new little love. He is super smiley (or he was, until last week). When he focuses on one of us, he rewards us with great big open-mouthed, squinty-eyed smiles. It's the best! I have a remarkable number of smiley pictures for a one-month-old.
Frederick likes to be bounced rather than swayed. I know this is a common baby preference. I still consider it kinetic sacrilege.
He likes lights. I used to put his seat in front of the Christmas tree so he could gaze at the lights. Now that it's gone, when he's cranky, we do a lot of bouncing under the dining room light fixture.
He has a sensitive stomach. Baby farts like a trucker and doesn't tolerate me eating strong flavors like onions or garlic. We've also had a number of terrible vomit situations in the evening. He wants to cluster feed and just doesn't have the stomach for it. He might also have a bit of reflux, as he seems happier to sleep inclined in the rock-n-play instead of flat on the bed with me.
He spends his mornings napping in the rock-n-play by the fire. Seems he likes to be kept very toasty. He's also amenable to hanging out in the Ergo (a good trait in a fourth kid). Beds, cribs, and blankets on the floor are NO GOOD.
Karl and I waited until the other kids were in bed one night so we could give Frederick his first bath together, like he's our first kid or something. He loves the bath and we often get in the tub together if he's cranky in the evening. But he hates to be naked or cold, so getting out of the bath is pure torture.
So we're plodding along from one brief naptime to the another and from one Grandma and Grandpa visit to the next. I don't like the feeling of wishing away the time -- I love the fleeting newborn phase, and since I know this is our last one, I wanted to savor it. I'm trying to relish the warm weight of ten sleepy pounds on my chest. Tiny fists. Funny wake-up stretches. Cooing noises. Smushy lips. Unbridled affection of new siblings. Rocking in the quiet hours of the morning. They're still magic, even after four rounds, and I'm soaking them in as well as I can.
 |
| The face of sleep deprivation |
We all agree he's the cutest baby of all the babies. I tell him all the time that he's just really, really cute with his big eyes and perfectly round head and scrumptious cheeks.
He's also taking the title for our most challenging newborn. The first three weeks were relatively smooth -- sleeping in three-hour cycles with a little contented awake time mixed in. And then, wham! at three weeks he decided everything was terrible. He regressed to waking every two hours (or more often) and demanding to be held all the time. I imagine first-time parents think this is normal, but we know better. The other three were giving us at least one five- or six-hour stretch of sleep at this point. Poor fourthbaby is on the short track to early sleep training.
We're so tired that I don't really feel safe operating the car to drive the kids around. I'm trying to tell myself that this -- four kids age six and under -- is the most tired I will ever be for the rest of my life. It's all uphill from here!
Otherwise, he had a very good first month. He was back over his birth weight by half a pound when the home-visit nurse came to check on him at one week. At two weeks, we had our only pediatrician visit so far, and she corrected his tongue-tie. It wasn't as pronounced as Henry's, but it was definitely there. The correction immediately improved his nursing latch so I'm glad we just did it. He is eating well and developing very satisfactory cheeks and second chin. I'm guessing he's already up around 11 pounds, which makes the sleep situation even more inexcusable.
The big kids have been wonderful with him. Henry is still the best big brother ever -- we actually blame/credit him for the fact that we have so many kids. Ingrid, true to form, likes to cuddle him regardless of whether it's an appropriate time or whether he actually wants to be cuddled. Heidi is following in Henry's footsteps and seems genuinely concerned with the baby's well-being. If I leave him in another room, she asks, "Whea baby?" and inquires all day long, "Is he happy? Baby Fwedwick happy?" The only time she would throw him to the wolves is if he interrupts our bedtime stories and cuddles. It's fine if he sits with us, but if he starts to cry, she tells me, "Put him in the swing." We all have limits.
We're slowly, sleepily getting to know our new little love. He is super smiley (or he was, until last week). When he focuses on one of us, he rewards us with great big open-mouthed, squinty-eyed smiles. It's the best! I have a remarkable number of smiley pictures for a one-month-old.
Frederick likes to be bounced rather than swayed. I know this is a common baby preference. I still consider it kinetic sacrilege.
He likes lights. I used to put his seat in front of the Christmas tree so he could gaze at the lights. Now that it's gone, when he's cranky, we do a lot of bouncing under the dining room light fixture.
He has a sensitive stomach. Baby farts like a trucker and doesn't tolerate me eating strong flavors like onions or garlic. We've also had a number of terrible vomit situations in the evening. He wants to cluster feed and just doesn't have the stomach for it. He might also have a bit of reflux, as he seems happier to sleep inclined in the rock-n-play instead of flat on the bed with me.
He spends his mornings napping in the rock-n-play by the fire. Seems he likes to be kept very toasty. He's also amenable to hanging out in the Ergo (a good trait in a fourth kid). Beds, cribs, and blankets on the floor are NO GOOD.
Karl and I waited until the other kids were in bed one night so we could give Frederick his first bath together, like he's our first kid or something. He loves the bath and we often get in the tub together if he's cranky in the evening. But he hates to be naked or cold, so getting out of the bath is pure torture.
The winter air is terribly dry and Frederick sneezes a lot. Always two sneezes, and then he makes the sweetest cooing noise afterward, like it was very satisfying.
So we're plodding along from one brief naptime to the another and from one Grandma and Grandpa visit to the next. I don't like the feeling of wishing away the time -- I love the fleeting newborn phase, and since I know this is our last one, I wanted to savor it. I'm trying to relish the warm weight of ten sleepy pounds on my chest. Tiny fists. Funny wake-up stretches. Cooing noises. Smushy lips. Unbridled affection of new siblings. Rocking in the quiet hours of the morning. They're still magic, even after four rounds, and I'm soaking them in as well as I can.
Comments
Post a Comment