This is how we hang...

Hey Daddy, is this safe? I'm sitting in my seat ON THE BED. Obviously Mom was not in the room.

sweet face

exaggerated yawn

sleepy face

playing with Daddy one night

He's boring. Mama is way more fun:)

please don't make me take a bath

and please stop taking my picture

My husband

My husband is a great Dad. Really he is. He gets up with the baby during the night so I can get extra sleep, he washes bottles, helps me with bath time, the whole nine yards. My husband does not however want to participate in anything that might a) make the baby upset (he doesn't want Reese to have a negative association with Daddy) or b) be a little gross. What this means for me is that if I am home I change dirty diapers, I clean up spit-up, and I have to use the nasal aspirator (which I'm still having a hard time with).

Case in point, last night Reese was still struggling to go the bathroom. My little man grunted and grunted for twenty minutes and had very little to show for it in his diaper. So after a quick call to Nonna, we decided it was indeed time for a glycerin suppository. Not pleasant, I know. Lofton and both have terrible memories of them from childhood (as does Aunt Cassie), but it was necessary.

As I walked down the hall towards the nursery I called over my shoulder for help. Lofton reluctantly followed. Helpful behavior would have been distracting Reese as I tried to painlessly (yeah right) stick the suppository in the first time. * Side note- I thought I could lift his legs (as if I were cleaning him after a diaper change) and stick the thing in. It didn't work. Helpful also would have been holding Reese down (gently, this is terrible I know) as I put him on his belly so I could insert the suppository the other way. My helpful husband was participating in none of this!

Anyhow, the medicine was a success.

And on a brighter note, Reese slept from 9:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. without a feeding last night. And after his late-night-snack he went back to sleep until 6:00 a.m.. He only woke up then because he lost the (damn) pacifier. He didn't eat again until 7:00.

I'll post later about my love/hate relationship with the pacifier.

Bundle up...

It's chilly outside!

We went on a stroller walk this morning. One of us was warm and cozy, sleeping most of the two mile route. The other of us was tired and out of breath. It was great to be outside getting some exercise. I'm so pleased Reese enjoys strolling.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but his new fleece hat has ear flaps. Too cute!

relief

Relief comes in many forms when you are a new mom. As I have said to many people over the past few days, I never anticipated that I would be so concerned with another person's bathroom habits as I have been over the past few weeks.

After a few days of trying the new Similac formula, Reese was not feeling any better. In fact, things had gotten worse. He was not only screaming after meals, but his little tummy was so tight from not going to the bathroom. Friday was the proverbial straw (you know the one that broke the camels back?). Reese cried/wailed all day. If he wasn't sleeping (which let me tell you, didn't happen often) he was wailing. The screaming was horrible. He would draw his legs up to his chest- then push them out all the way. His little fists were so tightly clenched one of them turned purple. It was clear he was in pain. At one point Lofton suggested we go to the emergency room, but I knew that was not necessary.

My research/gut told that he was either colicky or lactose intolerant. The two are very closely related. In fact, almost half of colicky babies are lactose intolerant. Their symptoms mirror each other. Pain after eating, hard time staying asleep, gas, even nasal congestion and eczema (both of which we suffer from).

Luckily, Dr. Greer had given us a sample of some ready to use Similac Sensitive R.S.. A lactose free formula for lactose intolerant babies. After almost two full days on this formula I can (knock-on-wood) say that we are feeling much MUCH better. We have even been to the bathroom:) I am optimistic this means we are just lactose intolerant (easily dealt with) and not colicky (not fun for at least six more weeks).

My little man is napping in his bed, sweet as he can be. I have been able to bake a cake, do laundry, and even blog. I'm hopeful this behavior will continue. We might even be able to move him back to his own bed at night!

So thank you Abbott Pharmaceuticals for making Similac Sensitive R.S. I would pay much more than the $5.50 you charge per bottle to have a happy baby.

Also, I purchased something called Gripe Water at Target. It is for colicky babies also. Gripe water is an herbal supplement I read about in American Baby magazine and I researched online. It is a mixture of Ginger root, Fennel seed, and a component found in baking soda. We have been giving this to Reese also, in conjunction with his Mylicon, and it seems to help as well. A little odd I know, but we were desperate.

Sleep

This is how little man likes to sleep...

which is clearly against the recommendations of any doctor or book. The catch phrase is "Tummy to play, back to sleep." Whatever. He won't sleep on his back, and if he isn't sleeping neither are we. After five weeks i have given up on "training" him to sleep on his back which is what the books suggest. Therefore I have purchased this...

Meet the Angelcare Deluxe Movement Sensor, otherwise known as my new best friend. Here is the description straight from the website:

The under-the-mattress Movement Sensor Pad detects your baby's movements and sends the signal to the Nursery Unit, which sounds an alarm ONLY if no movement is detected for 20 seconds. It also transmits all other nursery sounds and has a Movement Indicator Light showing if movement is being detected. The Parents' Units receive the alarm and all other nursery sounds.Two Parents' Units give you the flexibility of always leaving one in your bedroom while moving the second unit to the room you are in while your baby is sleeping. Additional features include a nightlight on the nursery unit, color LCD displays, out or range indicator and temperature feature. Both units are rechargeable and include 8 channels with a range of 820 ft. Includes an under-the-mattress Sensor Pad, a Nursery Unit, a Parents Unit (sound monitor) and two AC adapters. Requires 12 AAA batteries (8 AAA batteries included).

Basically the blue mat goes under the mattress and is detects motion/movement. If there isn't any for twenty seconds an alarm sounds. This way, Reese can sleep on his tummy and we (as in me, because Lofton can sleep regardless of the situation) don't have to worry that he is going to stop breathing (which is the concern with tummy sleeping, i.e. SIDS).

I'll update tomorrow and tell you how our night goes. Pray for us.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Paw-Paw! We are so excited we got to celebrate with you last night! We love you!!

Stomach problems

We took our first non-required trip to the doctor Monday. Little man has been having some serious stomach issues. He was screaming everytime he ate and pulling his little legs up to his belly in pain. It was not fun to watch, so we decided to take a visit to Auburn and see Dr. Greer.

I had researched a lot about digestive problems and i had previously talked to Heidi (the nurse at the office) when we changed his formula. She told me then that it takes a while for babies stomachs to develop and adjust to eating outside th womb. Regardless, I decided that we would take Reese in anyway. If the doctor told us everything was fine then so be it. At least we would know a screaming baby is normal.

Well, we found out that Reese weighs a heaping twelve pounds. Much too big for where he started and his age. Evidently we are stuffing him too full! Dr. Greer explained that Reese doesn't know the difference between gas pain and hunger pain. Therefore he acts like he's hungry even when he isn't. We were feeding him about five ounces every four hours, and calorically he only needs four.

So Reese will be spending some time on the treadmill this weekend!

Dr. Greer also changed his formula again. This time to a different brand. We are now on Similac, not Enfamil. After a week, if Reese is still not feeling better, we are to switch him to a lactose free formula.

It makes me so sad to see him in pain. I hope this issue is resolved soon.

*spell check isn't working and i'm typing with one hand, so please ignore my errors