Still standing.

So, tomorrow marks Joseph’s 2 week birthday, and even though it’s not a monthly mark, I figured I’d blog about what’s been going on in our world since we brought our bundle of joy home with us.

Since I like to break things down into categories, I’ll go ahead and start here…

Temperament:
I feel like I hit the baby jackpot with my little guy.  He’s the calmest, sweetest little baby I’ve ever been around.  I thought I had it fairly easy with Anna, but Joseph has taken it to a whole new level.  He rarely fusses – the only time he does is when he’s hungry or needs a diaper change.  Even when he’s at his fussiest, he’s still pretty mild mannered and only cries for brief periods of time.  He’s also easily calmed down by the “shush” sound, and he loves being swaddled and close to people (me especially). 



Feeding: Breastfeeding is going pretty well.  At this point with Anna, I was giving her more bottles than straight BFing, and she was starting to have a lazy latch/difficulty getting latched.  I had to exclusively pump for months with her, so I wanted to avoid that this time around.  I haven’t given Joseph a bottle yet although I did cave in and give him a pacifier one night when he woke more than normal.  He’s not really a fan of the pacifier at this point, but I think it’s because even the smallest one is still too big for him. 

He’s currently eating every 2 to 3 hours, sometimes every 4.  He eats for about 30 minutes (15 minutes/boob).  I change him in between boobs, and after he’s done he falls asleep pretty easily and is good for another 2 – 3 hours.  I’ve honestly gotten more sleep since he’s been born than I did while I was pregnant with him.  I guess having pregnancy insomnia for 9 months really helps you build up a tolerance for sleep interruption. 

I will start pumping probably next week to build up a freezer supply.  At this point, I’m unable to go anywhere without him since I’m his only food source.  Plus, Joe hardly gets to see him since he’s always with me.  I think he’d like to be able to feed his son once before he goes off to college!



Sleeping:
Joseph pretty much sleeps about 22 hours/day with very few moments of alert/awake time in between.  I was honestly worried about his sleepiness since I didn’t have that issue with Anna, but I got confirmation from some friends that this is totally normal with some newborns and that I just got lucky with him.  We’ll see how this pans out.  I’m sure it won’t be like this forever – especially since I’m jinxing myself by typing it out! 



Health:
Joseph has had an eye infection since we left the hospital.  We were told that it is fairly common for newborns to have eye infections in the first few weeks of life, so he’s been on an eye antibiotic since we got home.  I was a bad mom and didn’t give it to him every 8 hours around the clock initially, so he still has some gunk issues, but we’re staying on top of it now and are hoping it clears up soon. 

At his first pediatrician appointment, he’d gained 4 oz. and was nearly back up to his hospital weight.

hospital weight: 7 lbs. 12 oz.
weight when he was discharged: 7 lbs. 5 oz.
weight at first pedi appointment: 7 lbs. 9 oz.


According to the measurements at the appointment, he’s already grown an inch (21.5”), but the nurse said that the hospital measurements aren’t always 100% accurate, so it’s hard to say if he’s really grown that much or not.  Just looking at him, I can tell he’s getting bigger for sure. 

His circumcision has healed perfectly.  It looks totally normal, and we no longer have to put Vaseline on the tip (thank God). 

We’re still waiting for that darn belly button stump to fall off!  I’m excited to give him his first real, non-sponge bath, but we have to wait until the belly button stump is gone.  I apply alcohol to it daily, but it’s still holding on for dear life.



Activities: Since I get cabin fever very easily, we’ve already taken J a few places – Target and Chili’s (my two favorite places on earth).  He got a little fussy in Target, but we were able to check out before he had a meltdown.  He slept the entire time at Chili’s.  I’ve yet to nurse in public, so I’m scared to bring him too many places at this point.  There aren’t many options for nursing mothers, and I’m not empowered enough at this point to just whip it out and feed him anywhere. 

As you’ve seen peppered in between each category, I’ve added some newborn photos that I took of Joseph.  I took them when he was 9 days old, but unfortunately he chose that time to be wide awake throughout most of the session.  So, I only got a few decent shots where he wasn’t crying and fussy.  Oh well, at least I got a few. 

 
Siblings:
Anna has been a great help with Joseph.  She’s helped me give him sponge baths, change his diaper, gotten me supplies when I need them, etc.  She’s totally in love with her brother, but she also wants to own him.  I think she’s having a hard time understanding that Joseph is not her baby, and that’s probably all my fault.  I tried to really pump her up while I was pregnant to let her know that Joseph was coming and that we’d need her help once he was here.  I think she just assumed she’d be his mom and that I would be the helper. 

She’s also had some issues with jealousy and needs a lot more attention lately.  If I start feeding him, she immediately becomes clingy and wants me to hold her (which is nearly impossible with a baby in your lap).  She also gets upset and tells me to not feed the baby.  Then when I do, she throws a tantrum for what seems like hours.  It’s been very frustrating these past few weeks, and I’ve lost my temper more than I care to admit.  Who would’ve thought I’d have more problems with my toddler than my newborn?  I hope the new car smell eventually wears off of the baby and Anna soon realizes that we still love her very much and nothing has changed (or will change) in that department.  I think it will just take time. 

We’ve kept Anna out of daycare these past few weeks and plan on keeping her home while I’m on maternity leave (to save money), but I may send her at least one day/week just so she can have some interaction outside of us.  I want her to still feel like she’s living a normal life.  So much has changed for her. 

 
So, that’s where we are now!  I hope to keep my blog updated with everything this time around.  I would add more pictures here, but all J has been doing is sleeping, and there are only so many sleeping photos I can take of him.  :)