Everything hasn't been quite as smooth sailing as it was in our heads. Nights have been kind of rough. One night he did really well, taking two-hour long naps and feeding at regular intervals, but most nights he's done something that's called "cluster feeding," which basically means that he eats on and off for four or five hours. Sarah does not like cluster feeding. Out of desperation, we've already broken one of the cardinal rules of breast-feeding: I gave him a bottle of formula today so that he would go to sleep, and so that Sarah could rest. He seems no worse for it though, and is thriving quite nicely.
Each day brings a little more alert playtime, which are the moments that get us through the rough patches. They are also the moments that we document with photographs (obviously). He's really gotten the hang of breastfeeding, which we'd been told might take two weeks or more. He can follow a toy (or, this evening, his grandma Kathleen) with his eyes for a minute or two. And yesterday he was able, while on his tummy, to pick up his head and turn it. Oh, and he's discovered how to suck his thumb. We may hate this last skill in about two years, but for now, it's a nice developmental step.
Even though there have been moments of great exhaustion and frustration, we wouldn't have our lives any other way. Besides, the hospital told us they had a strict "no returns" policy.
Finally, this weekend Nicholas met his other two grandparents, two more uncles, and one great-grandmother. He has quite the large family, this one!
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| Nicholas Meets More Relatives |
Bottles are said to be the end of breastfeeding, but remember that your long-term ability to raise the little guy is the best thing. All three of you need to be able to cope and sleep and all of that. Please please please do not beat yourself (or each other) up about decisions you make about feeding, or sleep methods, or stuff like that. If you start doing that, call me and we will talk.
ReplyDeleteAwesome that so many family members are able to make trips over/down/up to meet Nicholas! It's really cool to be able to grab pictures of those visits - that ended up being how we taught Abby who people are. (Nana and Baby... it's funny that she does not recognize herself, just some random baby.)
Wishes of sleep and peace for all of you!
Congratulations--he is beautiful in every way!
ReplyDeleteAh, the memories. Lack of sleep and nonstop feedings are right up there. Lazarus was premature and to catch him up, the doctor had us supplement the breast feeding with formula (second-shift Donovan came on board for that one). In our case, it never caused a problem for breast feeding. When he was up to speed, we cut out the formula completely. As for sleep, we broke cardinal rule #2: never put them in bed with you. Well, it was that or I was crawling into the crib with him because that kid breast fed ALL NIGHT LONG.
Don't worry--all you need at any one time is a good night's sleep among the three of you. Good luck and have lots of fun. These are the best days. Debbie Scaduto White