Baby Update - 8 weeks old

Age:  8 weeks

Weight: He's not being weighed until tomorrow.

Feeding: He still feeds very regularly and is often fidgety towards the end and sick afterwards but he has seemed a bit less uncomfortable with the Gaviscon.  ALS gave him another expressed bottle yesterday and he wolfed it down (a bit too quickly as he projectile vomited after)!

Sleep: He hasn't slept too badly this week but I'm exhausted because we've had a lot of very early mornings and late nights because of Christmas.  He's happily settled wherever we are though (although not often during the day) and I've been very impressed with him taking it all in his stride.

Routine: Routine has gone completely out of the window this week with it being Christmas but we are going to try and get into a bit more of a regular routine in the new year, wish us luck!

Likes/dislikes:  He really enjoys having his face wiped - whenever I wipe his mouth with a muslin he has a good chuckle at it - which I've never known any child to like before!  He dislikes having hiccups - he gets them a lot and gets very angry at them.

Firsts:  First Christmas of course! We also went to my dad's and had our first road trip/night away from home.  First bath with mummy in the big bath at my dad's too and his first trip to the beach (albeit a cold and windy walk with dad's dogs).

Milestones: He's starting to laugh and definitely starting to recognise mummy and daddy,. 

Things we did: We have had lots and lots of Christmas celebrations in the last 5 days with family and friends - he has taken it all in his stride and been absolutely spoilt rotten.  We also hit the Boxing Day sales to spend his Christmas vouchers!  We have also hired a Caboo sling to try which we are getting on well with.

Me: Exercise has gone by the wayside this week with how busy we have been but that's okay, after all it's Christmas!  I'm incredibly sleep deprived after a lot of very early starts, long days, late nights and quite a lot of driving so I'm feeling a little overwhelmed but I'm always emotional when I'm tired so it's to be expected.  It will be nice to chill out for a couple of days now before ALS goes back to work on Tuesday.

7 weeks 1 day - teddies everywhere.

7 weeks 2 days - trying out the sling.

7 weeks 4 days - mummy's little pudding on Christmas day.

7 weeks 4 days - looking fancy (if not a little serious) at Christmas dinner.

7 weeks 5 days - pulling faces.

7 weeks 5 days - catching flies.

7 weeks 6 days - second Christmas at Nanna & Grampy's.

8 weeks - mummy propaganda.

8 weeks - holding mummy's chocolate.

Christmas 2017 - what a lucky little boy!

Baby Update - 7 weeks old

Age:  7 weeks

Weight: When he was weighed at 6 weeks 1 day he was 9 lb 5 oz and he's due to be weighed again next week at 8 weeks 1 day because his weight gain is at the lower end of normal.

Feeding: We are still feeding pretty much every 2 hours with the occasional longer stint.  He had a bottle of expressed milk from ALS for the first time on Saturday and he took it brilliantly so at least now I know I can leave him for a bit if I need to.  He had his hospital appointment about his tongue tie but it was decided that it is mild enough to leave. 

Sleep: We've been to the GP and got some Gaviscon for his reflux and after the first dose he slept through from midnight until 6 am.  However, that was a fluke and the last 2 nights we've been back to 4 hours at most.  On Tuesday night he was horrendous and didn't settle at all until half 2 and then was wide awake after his half 6 feed so we ended up getting up.  Last night, however, he settled around half 2, fed at half 6 and then came into bed with me for snuggles and slept through to half 10 so I got a nice lie in.

Routine: We've not really had much of a routine this week as we've been out and about lots.  We have a pretty standard routine in a morning where he wakes up for a feed then I get him changed and ready for the day then get myself ready and fed before his next feed.  At night we take it in turns to get ourselves ready for bed (whilst the other one changes him or gives him his Gaviscon) then ALS goes to sleep and I feed him and settle him down.

Likes/dislikes:  He really loves bathtime still, he absolutely loves swimming around in the tub.  He's finally started to enjoy his owl as well (pictured below) which keeps him mesmerised while I get myself ready in a morning.  He doesn't like being held like a baby unless he's sleepy and loves to be upright and looking around. 

Firsts:  We went to our first Christmas fuddle at my workplace and went out for a Christmas meal with our walking group.  Today I left him for the first time with my mother in law whilst I collected my car from the garage due to a misunderstanding and there not being enough room for me and OJ in my father in law's car - I managed  to choke back the tears and it was only 45 minutes but it was so hard!

Milestones: He's started properly cooing and chattering away this week. We are also getting lots more smiles when he sees us without us having to do anything. 

Things we did: We went to visit my workplace, we went for a lovely walk and Christmas meal, we visited grandparents and had lots of playtime at home.  We got a few more Christmas decorations up around the house too.  

Me: I'd pretty much stopped bleeding but then this week it's started up again a bit more - possibly because I've been exercising more.  I'm still having issues with constipation and haemorrhoids but I won't go into detail!

This week it was also a whole year since our failed transfer - I allowed myself a quiet thought for that little embryo and then spent the day considering how lucky I am that things are so different this year.  Instead of spending Christmas disappointed, upset and resentful, we are spending our first Christmas as a family with the best gift ever.

6 weeks 1 day - fast asleep on mummy's lap.

6 weeks 2 days - tummy time.

6 weeks 5 days - tiny yawn from a tiny elf, ready for the fuddle.

6 weeks 6 days - chattering away.

6 weeks 6 days - fast asleep.

6 weeks 6 days - still asleep even when we moved him upstairs for bathtime!

7 weeks - chatting to Mr Owl!

Sometimes it's hard...

So far parenting has been pretty smooth sailing for us and we're incredibly grateful for that but the last 2 days have been incredibly challenging.

We've suspected OJ has reflux for a while now and we took him to the GP a couple of weeks ago. However, as he was gaining weight well and not too bothered by the reflux, they decided not to treat it. Over the last week or so it has become a far bigger problem in terms of keeping him awake at night and making it impossible to put him down on his back. I mentioned it to the Health Visitor, along with showing her a recording of the horrible sounds he makes when he's laid flat. She confirmed it sounded like reflux and told me to go back to the GP, especially as his weight gain is on the lower end of normal. We are also at the hospital on Monday to see about his tongue tie.

I couldn't get an appointment with the GP on Friday as it was lunchtime by the time the Health Visitor had left so we have to wait until Monday. It's now Sunday evening and we've had an incredibly testing couple of days as OJ has appeared to be in a lot of pain and discomfort, presumably with the reflux. He's been very hard to settle and we are even finding feeding difficult as he's clearly uncomfortable and fidgety. Fortunately ALS has been around with it being the weekend and he's been wonderfully supportive to both myself and OJ.

We are very lucky that it's taken us 6 weeks to experience a particularly bad day or two but I just thought I'd share that it's never all plain sailing.

Baby Update - 6 weeks old

Age:  6 weeks

Weight: He doesn't get weighed until tomorrow but I'll add it in once I have it.

Feeding: He still likes to eat every 2 hours during the day until we go to bed - often it's closer to an hour and a half if he's stayed awake.  Then he'll have a couple of 4 hours stints which usually means just one night feeding,around 3-4 am, although the last few nights there has been a few more mostly for comfort as he's really unsettled with what I think is reflux - I'm going to speak to the Health Visitor tomorrow.  He sometimes goes longer through the day if we're out and about as the pushchair/car send him to sleep.  We did have one night where he slept for a solid 8 hours and I woke up absolutely drowning in milk!

Sleep: He's been awake a lot during the day up until a couple of days ago but yesterday and today he's slept most of the day.  I'm putting that down to being more comfortable being upright in our arms or his bouncer and making up for lost sleep at night when he's unsettled in his crib - we've tried raising the head of it but it doesn't seem to have made any difference.  He sleeps better at night if he's face down on my chest but obviously that's not practical (nor entirely safe) so I avoid it as often as possible - sometimes it's the only option though.

Routine: Routine has gone out of the window this week due to some pretty heavy snow and a few really poor night's sleep but we're getting done what we need to.

Likes/dislikes:  He really likes his bouncer - he loves bouncing in it when he's awake and finds it really comfortable for sleeping in during the day.  He's a big fan of gripe water as well - he seems to love the taste of it - but more importantly it really helps with his wind.

Firsts:  We had our first meal out as a family - it involved some public breastfeeding and a super poop explosion but on the whole it was an enjoyable experience!  He also experienced snow for the first time and daddy built him a snowman!  He lay in his big boy cot watching his mobile for the first time too whilst I tidied up in the nursery.

Milestones: Sleeping through the night... just once!

Things we did: We went out for a meal.  We went to daddy's work and sat in the cafe for 30 minutes whilst he worked.  A lot of my dad's side of the family came over for my grandma's 85th birthday so OJ got to meet all of his aunties and uncles. My dad visited last night for the first time since OJ was about a week old which was lovely. 

Me: I've started actual workouts this week and it's great to be back to doing something - I'm a long way off powerlifting again but it's a start.  I've done my measurements and taken some progress photos so I'm ready to see what I can do.  I won't be bothering looking at my diet until after Christmas though!  I know I've lost a lot of muscle and gained fat as I weigh the same as I did pre-pregnancy but my waist is a 7 inches bigger!

5 weeks 1 day - I'll never poop alone again but he's so settled on the bathroom floor for some reason!

5 weeks 1 day - changing time would be a lot easier if he didn't do this every time I take my hands off him!

5 weeks 2 days - enjoying his mobile in his big boy cot!

5 weeks 3 days - fast asleep whilst we watched Elf but at least he was dressed for the occasion.

5 weeks 4 days - skin to skin snuggles after he peed all over himself, look at that chubby face!

5 weeks 5 days - fast asleep in his bouncer.

5 weeks 5 days - snuggled up cosy ready for shopping.

5 weeks 6 days - he always ends up on his side and loves sleeping with his hands over his face.

6 weeks in and 6 weeks out - I can't believe this tiny bunch of cells grew into my beautiful boy!

58.6 kg, 32 inch waist - ready to make some changes.

Baby Update - 5 weeks

Age:  5 weeks

Weight: We've been told not to get him weighed now until the Health Visitor visits in a couple of weeks so I'm not sure - however, I weighed myself yesterday (4 weeks 6 days) both holding him and without him then worked out the difference.  There was a 4.4 kg difference which equates to 9 lb 11 oz!  That would be an increase of over 1 lb in 9 days so I don't know how accurate it is but he's definitely putting on weight so I'm happy.

Feeding: Feeding is going really well - some days he has a lot more than others but it balances out over the week.  He did have one day last week where he only ate about half as much as normal and slept a lot but I think he must have just been tired or growing because he made up for it the next day!  I've started trying to get a few pumping sessions in when ALS is at home so that I can get a stash of breast milk frozen ready for occasions when I'm not around or for when I want a drink.

Sleep: In terms of night time sleeping I can't really complain.  He usually goes down after his feed around 11 pm and sleeps until 3 or 4 am then feeds every 2 hours after that with naps in between.  If I have things to do we get up after his 8-9 am feed, if not we might stay in bed (if he goes back to sleep) until his 10-11 am feed so I can catch up on some sleep too. In terms of daytime sleep he often doesn't have much at all.  It's not unusual for him to be awake from lunchtime right through to 8 pm with just the odd couple of short naps.

Routine: We're doing pretty well although I've probably stayed in bed late a few too many times this week!  We managed to go out by ourselves and do some Christmas shopping this week and I've managed to get plenty of stuff done around the house when ALS is home during the day or during the occasional nap.

Likes/dislikes:  He absolutely loves playing with his daddy and enjoys it when you pull faces and make silly noises at him.  He loves bath time but detests getting out!  He's not a fan of being still and constantly wriggles around. 

Firsts:  |He wore his first proper outfit that isn't a sleepsuit.  We had our first proper smiles the other day and plenty since - it's the most adorable thing I've ever seen.  We have our first proper Christmas tree up too (previously we've just had a little fibre optic one).  He also had his first "squad" meet up with the guys from the gym when we had them all round for a pizza party on Saturday night.  Oh and he's worn his first few Christmas outfits!

Milestones: Proper responsive smiles! :D

Things we did: We went Christmas shopping, we had a nice long power walk, we went out for lunch with a couple of our friends and daddy on Saturday followed by a pizza party with the guys from the gym.  We've also decorated the house for Christmas and mummy has even wrapped all her Christmas presents!

Me: Yesterday I did my first proper exercise since OJ was born.  I won't be cleared to lift weights or do anything too strenuous until 6 weeks postnatal (and my appointment has ended up being 8 weeks postnatal) but I turned my trip to Sainsbury's into a proper power walk.  It's about 4.5 km with some big hills and I managed to get there and back, including picking up a few bits of shopping, in around 50 minutes so I'm pretty proud of that.  Last time I did that walk was the day before I went into labour when I was trying to get things moving!

4 weeks 1 day old - tiny snuggles.

4 weeks 1 day old - "You lookin' at me?" 

4 weeks 1 day old - wearing his first Christmas outfit ready to decorate the tree.

4weeks 2 days old (1 month) - 1 month update with the bear

4 weeks 2 days old - first proper oufit.

4 weeks 2 days old - all tuckered out at the pizza party.

4 weeks 3 days old - bonding with Zeus cat.

4 weeks 3 days - first proper smile during bath time.

4 weeks 4 days - mesmerised by the Christmas tree whilst mummy wraps presents.

4 weeks 5 days - shopping with mummy (so many people stopped me to tell me how adorable he is).

4 weeks 6 days - sleeping like Superman!

5 weeks old - he was really grizzly and overtired, 2 seconds with his dummy in and he fell asleep like this!

Baby Update - 4 weeks

Age:  4 weeks

Weight: 8 lb 9 oz (weighed at 3 weeks 4 days)

Feeding: We are having a few issues with reflux leading to occasional cluster feeding and OJ being quite fidgety during a feed, sometimes he even throws up whilst on the breast.  However he's still putting weight on well so the Health Visitor isn't concerned.  We've introduced a dummy this week (mostly at night, but occasionally if we're out and about) and a few times he's actually managed to go 4-5 hours between feeds at night.

Sleep: Since we got the co-sleeper crib things have been a lot better.  It's really handy for me to be able to reach out and soothe him without having to get out of bed.  He's also sleeping better with a dummy although he is quite unsettled still on his back and usually around 5 am (after his last night time feed) it gets to the point where he won't settle at all - he doesn't cry, he just ends up coughing, spluttering, gagging and being sick so I tend to bring him into our bed at that point so that I can lie him face down on my chest or tuck him next to me on his side and this seems to help.  

Routine: We're getting on pretty well and even managed to get out the house by 10 am one day.  He tends to have a fussy period for a few hours in an evening which is a bit of a pain as it usually starts just as ALS goes to work - but as long as I've accepted that I'm not getting anything done during those few hours we're coping okay.  I did have a moment last night where he was crying and the only thing that would settle him was walking around with him but I was in too much pain so I had to sit down - this led to me crying as well because I felt bad for not being able to settle him and ended up giving him the dummy.  It was a momentary blip and ALS reassured me when he got home that I'd not failed just because I gave him a dummy.

Likes/dislikes:  He really loves tummy time and can hold himself upright on my breastfeeding cushion.  He likes getting out of the house for walks too.  He dislikes being laid on his back, even in your arms.  He's far too curious and likes to be looking around and seeing what's going on so prefers to be held upright.

Firsts:  We had our first meet up with a group of mums who go for walks - we even went for lunch with them afterwards.  This was my first meal out since having OJ and it was lovely!  As I've mentioned above he has his first dummy and we had our first solid 4 hour stint of sleep.  He's also started using a sleeping bag at night this week and he's much happier than with blankets because it means he can wriggle around.

Milestones: He's just about started smiling today - it seemed to be in response to his grandad, although it may still just be wind.  He can push himself up during tummy time when he's propped over a cushion as well.

Things we did: We went to another Christmas fair, we went for a couple of nice walks, we've been shopping a few times and we've had lots of visits from OJs grandparents (especially on ALS' side of the family).  

Me: I'm struggling with the fact that I'm 4 weeks post delivery and still in excessive pain if I'm standing or dawdling around (such as shopping or pottering around the house) for more than about 10 minutes.  The pain is like really severe bruising around my vagina but my scar has healed really well so I'm not sure where it's really coming from.  If I'm walking at a decent pace I don't seem to have the same issue which is weird.  My body is starting to get back to a normal shape again which I'm very happy with and I'm desperate to get back to some exercise once this pain goes away.  I was going to bring it up at my 6 week postnatal check with the GP but my surgery don't do one - they just check you over at your baby's 8 week check - so I'll have to wait another 4 weeks or make a specific appointment to be seen.

3 weeks 1 day old - morning cuddles.

3 weeks 2 days old - yawning away in his bouncer.

3 weeks 2 days old - fast asleep on his tummy on mummy's lap.

3 weeks 3 days old - snuggled up cosy at the Christmas fair.

3 weeks 3 days old - first time in his sleeping bag.

3 weeks 4 days old - holding himself up on his cushion during tummy time.

3 weeks 5 days old - mummy trying to capture a picture of her favourite expression.

3 weeks 6 days old - snuggled up with mummy after being unsettled for a while.

3 weeks 6 days old - fast asleep in the booth at the pub.

4 weeks old - 2 minutes before he fell asleep sucking on his dummy.

4 weeks postpartum - 57.5 kg.