Milestones:
My baby rolled over for the first time this week! I was practicing from tummy to back with him during tummy time. He did it a couple times with some help from me and then he did it all on his own! I was happy. I love watching him grow and do new things. Now that he isn't spitting up as much I can actually put him on his stomach more often. For a while I could never because he would always spit up and sometimes have projectile vomit. Poor guy.
Also, lately it seems as if he is going to flip over from his back to his tummy and it scares me. If he gets really fussy or if he cries when I put him to bed sometimes he arches his back and twists so much that it looks like he is almost going to flip over. He probably won't do it for a while though, I just hope he does it for the first time when I'm there and not in the middle of the night. He is such a squirmer at night. When I get him in the morning, almost every time his whole body is the complete opposite way that I put him to bed. Or he will be completely sideways in his crib, and his head will be pushed right up to the rails.
He still loves to stand on his feet, and tries to do it whenever he is sitting on me and there is a hard surface under his feet (like a chair).
When I wrote his 3 month post I had mentioned that sometimes it sounds like he is laughing but I didn't know for sure. Well the day after I posted that he did that same sound but way longer and then I knew it was a laugh for sure! It was music to my ears! It totally made my day. He was crying kind of like a fake whiney cry and I started laughing at him to cheer him up and he started laughing too! It was the best. The next day we made him laugh again, and this time Derek was there so he got to hear it too and I recorded it. Ah, I LOVE those baby laughs, they just make everything in the world seem brighter for a moment.
He is getting a lot more sociable and interested in what's going on around him. He gets distracted more easily when he's eating. The sounds he makes are so comical. When he first starting cooing he used to always say "agoo"in a gurgling way. Then he started to always say "oww". Now he always talks with his mouth closed! He loves to bite on his bottom lip with his gums. So it sounds like he's trying to impersonate a bee. He makes buzzing and humming sounds and it creates little bubbles on his lips, I guess he's blowing raspberries?
Another thing he started doing this month is biting and sucking on EVERYTHING! At first he would suck on his whole fist! Then he recently started sucking on fingers. I think it's so cute. Blankets, burp cloths, toys, clothes, anything you give him he grabs it and puts it in his mouth and seems very excited. He is really good at grabbing things that are on him, but he hasn't really intentionally reached for a toy that's hanging over him yet. He doesn't really swing at them either, he just likes to put things in his mouth, haha. If he does have a grip on something above him though (if I helped him grab on) he will sometimes do a mini sit up to try to bring it to his mouth! Silly boy. He kicks A LOT and he just started grabbing onto his legs and feet and trying to eat those too. I love when he does that.
Solids:
I am not starting solids until Noah is 6 months old and seems ready. But when I do I am thinking about skipping the whole rice cereal, mush/puree thing and just giving him normal food. I haven't decided for sure but for some reason this just sounds more appealing and natural to me. I read about it in a magazine and they called it "Baby-Led Weaning". I ordered the book online and briefly started reading it but it's pretty self explanatory.
Basically you let your baby feed himself from day 1 instead of force/spoon feeding him. This way they learn how to eat themselves and studies show that they could become better eaters. Kids always want to do things themselves, so why not let them have fun with it. When they first start solids, it's more for the fun and learning than nourishment anyways. Obviously you don't give them foods they could easily choke on. You start with things like bananas, avocados, and give it to them in a piece they could easily hold and bring to their mouth.
Here is a link for some more info..
http://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/feeding-baby/baby-led-weaning-101.aspx
I don't know, it just sounds exciting to me! It's not like a new concept or anything, there are many moms who already do this with their 3rd or 4th kid and just don't really talk about it or name it. And in many other cultures this is already the norm.
Here is a link for some more info..
http://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/feeding-baby/baby-led-weaning-101.aspx
I don't know, it just sounds exciting to me! It's not like a new concept or anything, there are many moms who already do this with their 3rd or 4th kid and just don't really talk about it or name it. And in many other cultures this is already the norm.
Nursing:
The frenectomy helped, but he was still having many of the same issues: excessive spitting up, fussiness after eating, couldn't do tummy time, needed to be held up for a while after feeds, and causing me some pain. The only thing different was that he was actually willing to eat, he wasn't refusing it anymore which was the main issue of course.
I had a follow up meeting with my lactation consultant and she said he was still a little tied and recommended the frenectomy again if we were willing. I was upset and didn't want to do it again but decided that if it was going to help him even more then that was the best thing to do because I absolutely did not want to give up breastfeeding. I figured the procedure could not be worse than getting 5 vaccinations at once, or getting circumcised. So I took him to get it done again. Poor baby. He did much better this time though, he wasn't fussy that night at all. And they didn't charge us for the procedure again luckily.
So after about a week or so I noticed a huge difference. He started eating pretty normal! He went from spitting up after almost every feeding (many times in large amounts) to only spitting up once a day or sometimes every few days! And occasional spit up or even daily spit up is not uncommon for a baby so I'm not complaining about that anymore! He still sometimes gets a little fussy right after he is done, but as soon as he finishes burping he is fine. And I don't even hold him up after he eats anymore. I can usually put him right down to play after he burps a few times. He seems to now be comforted by nursing instead of distressed. I love it! Last week was awesome, he did really, really good.
However the past few days I have been a little concerned about my milk supply. It was really sudden. It seems like just a couple weeks ago I had an over supply. I read that around 3-4 months your milk can really start to regulate and I am wondering if that's what is happening here. Since Noah was tongue tied and frustrated, most of the time he didn't eat very much. I bought some Mother's Milk natural tea and I'm going to see if that helps. I just don't feel as full as I normally am.
It could also be due to stress.. maybe? I'm not sure. Lately we have been SO busy with getting the basement done, getting ready for my mom to move in, working on Dustin's house, new callings, babysitting Talon & Sophia 8-12 hours a day several times a week, and summer/family activities. This is on top of having a baby, and Derek trying to get good grades in school while working full time. I always say it but I don't know how people (including my future self) have 4 or 5 kids plus a career plus an important calling etc. I guess it somehow works out.
Anyways, last week I tried to start the transition for Noah from feeding every 2.5-3 hours to every 3-4 hours. He shouldn't be on a newborn feeding schedule anymore. Instead of waking him up to eat I would let him sleep until he woke up naturally and then feed him. I thought this was a good way of doing it to see how long he could actually go. Sometimes he would sleep a half an hour or more longer, so I just went with the flow. He was starting to get really fussy and acting weird. Not napping good, waking up earlier in the morning, just not himself. I thought maybe he was sick or something at first but then I realized hey maybe it's just because he is completely off his normal routine. So I put him back on his normal day and he seemed much better. So I started again yesterday and it seems like so far today he is doing great. I really think he needs to switch up his schedule because lately he isn't sleeping for his last nap so I think he needs to drop it and things need to be rearranged.
If I can continue to exclusively breastfeed until Noah is 6 months old I will be really proud of myself. If I can make it until he is at least 1 year old, which is my goal, then I will feel like a champion! It has been pretty tough with his tongue tie problem. He is still causing me some minor pain at times but it's tolerable right now. If it continues on for long or gets worse I might meet with the lactation woman again.
Oh and yesterday was Noah's 4 month appointment. Up until now I was amazed at how quickly he grew. Every time he would get weighed I was shocked at how much weight he had gained. But this time he only gained 1 pound since he was about 2.5 month. He weighs 13 lb. now. So he dropped in percentile for weight. He used to be in the 50% but now he is in the 25%. But that's okay. At least his height and head circumference went way up in percentile. So the doctor said she wasn't worried at all.
However the past few days I have been a little concerned about my milk supply. It was really sudden. It seems like just a couple weeks ago I had an over supply. I read that around 3-4 months your milk can really start to regulate and I am wondering if that's what is happening here. Since Noah was tongue tied and frustrated, most of the time he didn't eat very much. I bought some Mother's Milk natural tea and I'm going to see if that helps. I just don't feel as full as I normally am.
It could also be due to stress.. maybe? I'm not sure. Lately we have been SO busy with getting the basement done, getting ready for my mom to move in, working on Dustin's house, new callings, babysitting Talon & Sophia 8-12 hours a day several times a week, and summer/family activities. This is on top of having a baby, and Derek trying to get good grades in school while working full time. I always say it but I don't know how people (including my future self) have 4 or 5 kids plus a career plus an important calling etc. I guess it somehow works out.
Anyways, last week I tried to start the transition for Noah from feeding every 2.5-3 hours to every 3-4 hours. He shouldn't be on a newborn feeding schedule anymore. Instead of waking him up to eat I would let him sleep until he woke up naturally and then feed him. I thought this was a good way of doing it to see how long he could actually go. Sometimes he would sleep a half an hour or more longer, so I just went with the flow. He was starting to get really fussy and acting weird. Not napping good, waking up earlier in the morning, just not himself. I thought maybe he was sick or something at first but then I realized hey maybe it's just because he is completely off his normal routine. So I put him back on his normal day and he seemed much better. So I started again yesterday and it seems like so far today he is doing great. I really think he needs to switch up his schedule because lately he isn't sleeping for his last nap so I think he needs to drop it and things need to be rearranged.
If I can continue to exclusively breastfeed until Noah is 6 months old I will be really proud of myself. If I can make it until he is at least 1 year old, which is my goal, then I will feel like a champion! It has been pretty tough with his tongue tie problem. He is still causing me some minor pain at times but it's tolerable right now. If it continues on for long or gets worse I might meet with the lactation woman again.
Oh and yesterday was Noah's 4 month appointment. Up until now I was amazed at how quickly he grew. Every time he would get weighed I was shocked at how much weight he had gained. But this time he only gained 1 pound since he was about 2.5 month. He weighs 13 lb. now. So he dropped in percentile for weight. He used to be in the 50% but now he is in the 25%. But that's okay. At least his height and head circumference went way up in percentile. So the doctor said she wasn't worried at all.
Sleep:
He is still sleeping through the night, usually around 9-10 hours straight. We are still swaddling him, but I really want to wean him off of it. I am scared he is going to flip over one day and not be able to breath (I'm really paranoid about these kinds of things unfortunately). I have tried leaving one arm and both arms out when I put him down for a nap during the day but he can never fall asleep and then it really disrupts his nap and he gets upset. Usually he doesn't make a peep all night and wakes up happy around 7:00 - 7:30 am. But this week 3 nights in a row he woke up crying at 5:30 am because his arms got out and it wakes him up. Once I re-wrap him he goes back to sleep but this tells me he's not ready for it. I am going to try weaning once or twice a week and hopefully soon he won't need it anymore.
Noah is really sensitive with his wake time. He has a small window where I need to put him down for his nap and if I keep him up even just 5 minutes longer, he has a harder time falling asleep. He gets over tired and over stimulated easily so I make sure to put him to sleep before he gets to that point. He doesn't like distractions when he sleeps either. He must be like his mommy.
Love:
I just love my son so much. Sometimes when I am feeding him, I look at him and just wonder how anyone could not want to do this. How could anyone not want to be a mother. How could you not want to love and nurture this little being that is so innocent and pure. He brings so much joy to my life each day. I have always suffered from ongoing feelings of depression and anxiety and I've noticed ever since I was pregnant and especially since Noah was born, I have been so much happier on a daily basis.
I love everything about him. I love staring at his long, straight eyelashes when he's sleeping or eating. I love the way he looks up at me with his big, round, sparkling eyes like I am the love of his life. I love his chubby hands and his michelin man arms. I love his flat, little feet and the olive tone of his soft skin. I love his round and smooth cheeks and double chin. I love the way he grabs onto my shirt when he's nursing. I LOVE his gummy smile and his sweet little chuckles. I love the fact that God loves us so much that he blesses us with the opportunity to have this beautiful journey of parenthood. I especially love the thought that Derek and I get to watch him grow up and start a family of his own and watch them grow and so on. I am so excited for our life with our children and I can't imagine it any other way. This is what life is all about - family.
Love:
I just love my son so much. Sometimes when I am feeding him, I look at him and just wonder how anyone could not want to do this. How could anyone not want to be a mother. How could you not want to love and nurture this little being that is so innocent and pure. He brings so much joy to my life each day. I have always suffered from ongoing feelings of depression and anxiety and I've noticed ever since I was pregnant and especially since Noah was born, I have been so much happier on a daily basis.
I love everything about him. I love staring at his long, straight eyelashes when he's sleeping or eating. I love the way he looks up at me with his big, round, sparkling eyes like I am the love of his life. I love his chubby hands and his michelin man arms. I love his flat, little feet and the olive tone of his soft skin. I love his round and smooth cheeks and double chin. I love the way he grabs onto my shirt when he's nursing. I LOVE his gummy smile and his sweet little chuckles. I love the fact that God loves us so much that he blesses us with the opportunity to have this beautiful journey of parenthood. I especially love the thought that Derek and I get to watch him grow up and start a family of his own and watch them grow and so on. I am so excited for our life with our children and I can't imagine it any other way. This is what life is all about - family.
4 Months old
No comments:
Post a Comment