WARNING: a bit of a long post!
Tackling issues first...
Yes, you read correctly...our tiny toots (ya know, the little guy we've been braggin' about?!?) is actually considered a bit of a chub! Exclamation point?!? Well yes, for our preemie cutie, this is kind of a funny adjective to describe our little guy and well, Mommy and Daddy are to blame. Whoops. You see, we are first time parents and well, we are 100% CLUELESS. I admit it. Wholeheartedly...and without shame. Our little boy has gained 2 POUNDS in 2 WEEKS. We thought this was normal. Um, no. Apparently, tiny toots at this age are only supposed to gain about 1-2 pounds a month. Mommy and Daddy are overfeeding ours. Whoops again. Jack has now been labeled by our doctor as a "ferocious" eater and ol' Mama Abby and Daddy Braddy have been fooled by his trickery. You may remember me saying how Jack is only receiving breastmilk, but it is from me pumping, not from nursing. When I was learning the signs of breastfeeding, we learned that him "birding" or "searching" is a sign that he's hungry so we've been feeding him with the bottled breastmilk every time we see that sign and his obvious zealousness to eat. No dice. Little Boo is not always hungry when he shows that sign, it's a habit and mom and dad were too dumb to know and putting a bottle in his mouth...ha! Like I said, CLUELESS. Let me be clear though, he is fine...not harmed by our idiocy in any way. He is healthy and please do not mistake my humor for lack of care or concern or empathy; our child is perfectly fine, he's just a lean mean, over eatin' machine, and since he is, we can find comfort in laughing at our hits and misses in the parenting world.
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| in his wardrobe change after newborn pics with Aunt Lu |
The reason we found this out? Well, our little guy has been quite a bit fussier the past couple of days than he ever has and was spitting up and not sleeping as great as before (the past two nights, I was up with him from 3a.m. on, holding him the ENTIRE night) and being the over-analyzer that I am, I freaked out. Rightfully so, yes? I mean, wouldn't this drive even the most rationale person mad?!? I think, yes. Sleep deprivation is no joke, yo! But...I'm glad I did overanalyze and worry true to my form because our pediatrician and her nurse practitioner are so, so reassuring and calming and give us such great peace of mind so my worrying does not get out of control as it can tend to do. Jackbaby has been so mild-mannered and calm, that I've been convinced the bottom will drop out and he will be colicky. I was kind of feeling like our payment is now due...we've just been too lucky. I've also been quite concerned about reflux because this mama is the reflux queen (I've had two stomach surgeries for it and take a prescription pill everyday as well too)...he got everything from his dad, hopefully my frequent and weird health issues are not the only things he actually gets from me! Turns out, the reason for these nights and his step up in the fuss department is because his tummy has been too, too full. Thank goodness. She did say we've been doing everything right (REALLY?!?), but he has simply been eating too much. Holy crap, maybe we're not horrible parents afterall...which is good news because I was ready to stamp my wardrobe with a scarlet 'HP'. Anyway, she gave us some valuable tips for scheduling and for helping any coincidental tummy discomfort that may arise as we adjust and Jack perfects the art of pooing. I'm hoping this helps and we can get our days and nights reversed (Jackbaby is a wee bit backwards on these!) and he'll get the stomach relief he needs...IF his parents can stop being such dummies! Whew.
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| I took this on my phone as Lu was taking his newborn pics |
Now, onto our 3 week update...
STATS: Jack Robert - 3 weeks:
Weight: 7lbs, 11 oz. (+1 pound from last week)
Height: 20 1/4"
Head: 34cm
LOVES: snuggling with Mommy; visiting with people; eating; sitting in his chair; his hands!
EATING: it was 3 ounces every 2 1/2 - 3 hours (sometimes he'd eat 4 which is no bueno we learned!), but now we're going with 2 ounces every 2 hours in the day and 3-4 every 3-4hours as needed in the night. We want to streeeeetch out those nightly feeding times but know it's tough with a newborn...specifically a breastmilk fed newborn.
FIRSTS: visit to Nanny and BigBob's (Poppy's) house; visit to Daddy's work/ office; night stay with Daddy out of town; visit to Mommy's school to meet her students; holding head up and turning it from one side to the other (very short increments, but he's doing it!); half rolling over (we know it will be awhile for the full monte, but he's so cute getting halfway around); cooked breakfast with Mommy; and too big for a few outfits!
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| first time to fit/ sit in his chair...thinking about it... |
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| feeling good... |
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| still considering his thoughts... |
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| ...ahhhhh...this is NICE! |
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| ...and, we love it. |
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| cooking breakfast with mom! |
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| first visit to Daddy's work - sitting in his chair in his office :) |
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| head up on Mom's chest |
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| head up - just chillin'! |
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| off to Nanny and BigBob's! |
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| halfway over |
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| in action - rolling :) |
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| halfway over again |
PERSONALITY: still pretty mild-mannered and calm...even when he's upset or fussy! He's also showing that he's tough to wake up (like Mommy) and loves to be around people (yay for a social butterfly!). He seems to be quite the ham!
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| silly faces are his specialty :) |
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| feelin' good, but then... |
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| my child looks tipsy... |
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| tipsier... |
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| straight hammered... (Milk drunk, folks) |
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| ....aaaaand he's out. |
CLOTHES: we're moving into 0-3 months! Still can wear a lot of his newborn clothes, but they are most definitely getting snug.
DIAPERS: newborn diapers are getting a wee-bit snug. We have one and a half packs left and once we finish those, we're moving into size 1.
PARENTS: We're getting into a routine...as parents, that is. I always work to make sure J is up and alert when his Daddy gets home from work so they can have some visit time since he's been with me all day. B still has the first feeding in the night and that helps a lot! Sometimes, he is just hard to wake up...someone should give the daddys those mommy instincts because I wake up for every single peep!
MOMMY MOMENT: J wasn't feeling great the other day and he had to hear my voice everywhere we were. Monday was a successful day for me as far as balancing being a mommy and being a housewife as I got every chore done I had planned and every got some other stuff done too. Toots obviously went with me everywhere around the house when he wasn't sleeping, but got upset if I wasn't constantly talking to him when he wasn't being held.
FUNNY MOMENT: Last night, we had some visitors coming over and I of course had Jack in a very cute outfit. Before their arrival, B was changing his diaper and saw that it was quite messy and asked me to be his wingman to ensure there was no "spray". As soon as he said that, Jack started peeing everywhere...we were managing that (it was A LOT) and he of course starts the pooing too...well, guess who rang the doorbell right at that moment?!? Ahhhh, perfect timing, that kid :)
FUN FACTS: Jack sleeps in his crib every single night! He still has what seems to be an outie, and has quite the precious little body build! Daddy got him a chair for the kitchen that attaches to our dining room chairs and changes shape as he gets older (it's a highchair for newborns, infants, AND a booster for toddlers). People told me I was crazy to already want a highchair...um no, I knew what I wanted and it is way cool! For B and me both, dinner with the family was a non-negotiable, you did NOT miss it...so we expect the same thing for J-man and love that he is already at the table with us, if only for decoration!
NICKNAMES: same ones - I just always call him "Boo" or "Toots". B always calls him "Bubby"
WHAT'S ON OUR SCHEDULE: Mamaw, Papaw, Aunt Sis, Uncle Joe, Spencer, and JilliBean are all coming in this weekend! Yay! Also, our birth announcement will be mailed by the end of this week...yay again!
OTHER PICS FROM WEEK 3:
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| another pic I snapped over Lu's shoulder as she was taking his REAL newborn pics (I'm just an imposter!) |
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| feeling better about baths! |
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| I love that oooooooo face! |
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| our Boo :) |
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| he's the funniest sleeper! (ALWAYS gets out of his swaddles and blankers) "I'm FREEEEEEEE!!!" |
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| Mommy's very first pic after giving birth |
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| "Mom, no lullabies today, please!" |
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| sho dawg, you STANKY! |
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| I was cooking dinner and heard him clanking around in his gym and then didn't hear him anymore - well, seems that someone passed out on the job! He sleeps EXACTLY like his Daddy! |
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| do exactly as they say and every mother of a baby boy should have some! |
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| "ta-da!" |
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| Daddy brought this home for me from his work trip! Can't wait to fit on it! |
