How anyone with children can manage to blog on a regular basis astonishes me. I think about the things I want to write about, but I never get to my laptop. Or if I do have a little bit of time, I use it to read, nap, shower, eat, or watch one of my shows.
It has been almost seven weeks with our little guy. It is an adjustment period for sure. I love everything about him, from his long fingers and toes, to the scent that emanates from his little head. What I don't like is the constant fussiness, because honestly, nothing can make you feel like the worst parent on earth than your child's cries. I wish I knew what he needed, I wish he could communicate. But after a bottle and just before he falls asleep, when he smiles, it reminds me how worth it all of this is. He has the best smile...like Lily's. OH man, am I glad the kids got Mr. Rhoads' smile. :)
For now, it is the process of elimination; has he been fed? Does he need to spit up or burp? Soiled diaper? Does he just want to be rocked and held? Does he need to be alone? His needs are all over the place, whatever makes him content one day is different from the next. What I have found that does work most of the time is bouncing him on my knee. Especially after night feedings. He enjoys being in constant motion, which has resulted in a sore back. I don't mind carrying him in my Tula, though. But it isn't always feasible. He is eating every 3-4 hours which is pretty good. So in that sense he is fairly consistent. I have also found that when Lily is in school and Matt is at work, he tends to relax more and naps better. So far, he dislikes the car seat- unless he is very sleepy. The first time he and I went to pick up Lily from school, he cried the entire way there, which is only 8 minutes but felt like an eternity. It is awful, but there is not much that can be done. Loud metal or any other rhythmic type of sounds calms him sometimes, but once he has reached a certain point, he is too pissed and it's hard to bring him down from it. You hear how people say that babies like noise, and that they should be able to sleep through anything. Not my kids. Lily didn't sleep in her stroller when we were out and about, or just nap anywhere. Michael sleeps well at night I think because we keep it dark, with white noise on. He wakes, we change his diaper, feed him, burps, then he is down again for another few hours. I have been trying to do that during the day and it is working out well. He likes the swing, white noise (particularly partial to vacuum sounds), and being wrapped up.
His fourth trimester is a long one!
Within the past few days, he has been following Lily around with his eyes. When he hears her voice, he searches for her. It is the cutest thing. When we were playing on the floor the other day, Lily sat next to him to sing to him and he kicked, cooed and reached out to her with his little arm. I caught a photo of it, and posted it on instagram. I was quite proud!
I have to say the amount of love and support from friends and family has been nothing short of amazing. We have gotten homemade meals, books, a beautiful, stylish bag to be used as a diaper bag, clothes for the baby, pumped breastmilk from two friends, and the gift of free babysitting so we could get some glorious sleep. Our neighbors even got both Michael and Lily some cute pjs, and a $100 gift card for groceries. It was incredibly kind and unexpected! I feel very fortunate for the people in my life.
As of now, we are a sick household, unfortunately. It had been a while since we all got sick, and it happened with a baby to boot. My poor babies. Including Matt. I hope these colds go away sooner than later because we all know it is no fun. For now, we are watching a lot of tv, doing a lot of reading and snuggling. In that aspect it isn't so bad. :)
