2 Months!

Sebastian is 2 months old, WOWSA, and weighing in at 13 pounds.  I looked it up on the growth chart and that puts him in the 90th percentile.  Must be the German genes...  or maybe he has his Mommy's appetite?

90th%?  I don't believe it.

Which means Basti has quickly outgrown his newbie onesies and some of his PJs (they were big to start).  The sizing on baby clothes is quite meaningless...  Basti is wearing so-called size 6 months already.  And here goes my review on baby clothes:
- Onesies:  Great.  With three snap buttons that make it easy to remove for diaper change.
- T-shirts:  Meh.  They ride up the belly and have to constantly pull back down.  I don't use them.
- Pants:  Ok. Add a step in the diaper changing process.  Only use them for outings.
- PJs:  Footie PJs with snap buttons all along the front are great.  Even better if the hands have the fold-over cover.  PJ gowns not so good, cumbersome to pull the bottom hem all the way up past the belly for diaper change.
- Sleep sack swaddle:  Faaantastic.  Keep baby nice and cozy and contained for sleeping.  Basti does sleep a little longer during day time naps if he is properly swaddled.

Basti's eyebrows are showing and his eyelashes are longer.  Still have goopy eyes.  The hair on the top of his head stands up!  Definitely a trait from Mommy's side (see comparison pic of Mommy as baby below).  His hair is especially nice and soft after a bath.  Basti's scalp is on the oily side, so needs to be washed every other day, otherwise he will get small crusty spots (cradle cap) towards the hairline.  Basti is starting to enjoy warm baths a little more, but he doesn't like getting his hair towel dried.  Next time we will try blow drying.

Basti has been introduced to the bottle...  breastmilk, not formula.  Start training him so he knows how to drink out of the bottle in case I'm not around.  He doesn't seem to mind it much...  takes a bit for him to get the hang of it at first and then he'll drink more consistently.  However we haven't been very consistent in giving him a bottle every day...  it takes so much more effort.  And cleaning bottles and nipples...  sigh, add that to the list of things to do.

I have gotten a little braver in getting out of the house with Basti.  I think my greatest "fear" going out into the world is Basti crying inconsolably and me having a breakdown.  Agh.  But we have gone on trips to the supermarket and even a few lunch outings!  And I have also taken Maja and Basti on walks!  Unfortunately, the house we live in now is off a busy street with no sidewalk...  so driving is required to get to a walking friendly area.  We have gone to the park and neighborhood by downtown, must be a sight to see:  frazzled new mom holding doggie on leash on the left hand and pushing stroller with the right hand.  Basti has mostly slept through our adventures.  As long as we keep moving he is ok, once the stroller/car stops he sometimes starts to complain.

Sebastian has started focusing on his mobile and other hanging toys a bit.  We introduced the mirror, he likes to watch us watching him through it.  Not a big fan of tummy time, but we must keep on practicing to build up those neck muscles.  Although the other day he passed out in the middle of tummy time...  I would too if I had a giant fussy soft giraffe!

I have been asked a few times if Basti cries all the time because I keep posting pics of him crying...  well no. He is actually a pretty happy baby, I think.  I just think he is very cute when he cries.  So here is a video of him being happy.

Curve Ball

Just when we thought we had the hang of it...  

Fussy baby.

Which is something several parents had warned us of: once we think baby has a routine, he will surprise us.  After the last post, Basti went through a period of about a day and a half without pooping (he usually pooped every few hours) and at night he had a massive spit up (we think it is the Mexican food...  since it has happened 3 times that I have Mexican food and he spits ups a lot, coincidence?).  At the same time I had also switched to soy milk and broke out in hives.  Plus Basti was getting very fussy and sleeping for short periods and nursing for only 5 to 10 minutes at a time and then screaming hysterically at my nipple and I was just beyond exhausted.  Aggghhh...  crazyness.  I thought I was going to lose my  mind a couple of times.  I have to admit at one point I got so frustrated because Basti would not calm down that I hollered for Philipp to come rescue us, and as soon as Basti was in his Poppy's arms he was quiet.  WHY?!?!  A co-worker told Philipp that sometimes she had a hard time putting her son to sleep and her husband would have to do it, doctor told her sometimes baby smells mother's milk and gets confused if he should eat or sleep.

We seem to have recovered from those chaotic days.  Basti is back to nursing for longer periods and being content.  He goes for longer periods without pooping (I read that around this time there is no more colostrum in the milk which acts as a laxative), but his poops now come with an explosive vengeance and are way stinkier.  Although he doesn't just pass out nursing as he did when he was a newbie, we have sort of figured out how to put him down for naps (the length of which we cannot control) swaddled and with the help of a white noise app.

At night we have sort of a routine which happens anytime between 7:30 - 9:00 pm, depending on how Basti feels.  If he is due for a bath (every 3 days or so), we give him a nice warm bath in his whale tub.  He cries when we first put him in the water, but then calms down for the full body massage.  However he doesn't like the drying part.  Then we put his PJs on and sit down for book reading.  Once he starts to squirm and get fussy, its meal time.  Then swaddle and sleepy music.  Finally he either nurses till he passes out or we rock him to sleep.  There have been a few times neither method works and his eyes are still wide open...  so we just put him in the crib and pat him to sleep.  Of course, there's all sorts of variations to the routine I just described.

At night he will sleep anywhere between 3 to 5 hour stretches.  Several times he has woken up not really wanting to nurse and we have a stare down in the dim light...  until he is ready to nurse and go back to sleep. The night shift schedule is kinda sorta wake up at 2 am +/- 1 hour, feed/change/sleep routine takes anywhere between 45 to 90 minutes.  Next wake up is kinda sorta at 5 am +/- 1 hour.  And then it's morning, which seems to be the hardest part of the day for me.  Several times I have zoned out while Basti is nursing.  Philipp will bring me a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk or a cup of chamomile tea to keep me going.

Most weekdays it's just Basti and me at home, which makes for crazy juggling for me.  How to prepare food and eat with one arm holding Basti if he just doesn't want to be put down.  Mommy has to eat or she will collapse, but I also can't bear to hear him crying inconsolable because he is alone in the swing or laying in his crib.  Same goes for when I need a pee break.  Philipp and Maja will go to work, although sometimes they get to stay and "work" from home which is a huge relief for me.

And all through this...  I have suffer from chronic exhaustion.  Yes yes, everybody says to sleep when baby sleeps.  Easier said than done.  Sometimes baby naps don't last long enough for me to get my head on the pillow.  Sometimes I just can't fall asleep.  Sometimes I have things to do...  like prepare food, eat, take a shower, use toilet, wash baby clothes, stock up changing station, pump milk, wash bottles, play with Maja, talk with Philipp, keep in touch with the outside world, pay bills, update this blog.

6.5 Weeks

My favorite moment with Sebastian is giving him a nice cuddly hug when I pick him up as he is waking up and he is all warm and snuggly.  Aw.  I also love watching him stretch stretch stretch as he is waking up or after a good milk suckling session.  Aw aw.

Speaking of sleeping...  Sebastian is a loud sleeper.  He will make all sorts of rumbly noises as he stirs in his sleep.  At first we couldn't tell if he was waking up or awake or just stirring, took a while to figure it out.  Although sometimes I still can't quite tell.  Usually I wait to see if he will settle down on his own or if he gets louder and opens his eyes.  Difficult part is that his sleepy noises will often wake me up before it's time to feed.  Darn.  Last night as we were all in bed waiting to sleep to take over, both Sebastian and Maja were making sleeping noises at the same time...  Philipp said maybe they were having a dream together.  Hee hee.

Sebastian is also loud when nursing.  He makes this very cute little donkey noise, trying to figure out how to breathe and suck.  In the last couple of weeks he has reduced his nursing noises, I guess he has figure it out.  Although now sometimes he gets fussy and will try to cry and suck at the same time which doesn't quite work.

I think it was last week we noticed that Sebastian has started to produce tears!  I think his chubby face is so cute when he is wailing, not that I make him cry on purpose.  It's funny when Sebastian is especially loud and Philipp cries back at him, which makes Sebastian quiet down for a moment .

Sebastian was born with the top parts of his ears flattened.  I even asked Nurse A on our first doctor visit if I should be concerned about flattening his hear even more when I hold him for nursing, she said newborns are squishy and not to be worried.  His ears have "popped" in the last couple of weeks, the left one was first, the right one goes back and forth so I try to be mindful of how I hold his head while nursing on that side to avoid squashing his ear.

Yesterday Sebastian spent a good amount of time sleeping.  At night he even had a 5 hours stretch of sleep (unfortunately I still wake up at the about 3 hour mark which is his average sleep cycle), and in the afternoon he had two good 3 hours naps.  Today was another story though.  At night he was only sleeping 2 hours at a time, and this morning wanting to feed every 1.5 - 2 hours.  Ouch.  I guess he was resting up yesterday for his frantic eating today.

It just so happened I had planned on introducing the bottle to Sebastian today. I managed to pump about 2oz of milk early in the morning (first time using the pump), and Philipp gave it to Sebastian later. Took a little trial and error to figure out how to get Sebastian to suck out of the bottle without drowning from the flow. He managed to drink about 1.5oz, I would say that was a pretty good first try.

And now I'm reminded to let you know Sebastian's nickname, as several people have asked.  Drum roll please...  Basti!  It's the German short version of Sebastian.  I tend to call him Basti Bear, so it rhymes with Maja Bear.

Big Sister Maja

With the arrival of Sebastian, unfortunately I have not been able to spend much quality time with my baby Maja.  I do feel guilty about that, but my sweet Maja has been very patient with me.  We do get our night time cuddles, and if the timing is right I give her full body massages in the morning.  Usually at the between 1 and 3 am feeding (of Sebastian), Maja will get out of bed and stretch.  Then open the sliding door to the yard so she can go out if she needs to.  However, a couple of times she has found a nosy cat in the yard and has gone crazy barking at it in the middle of the night.  Philipp found the best way to break her focus on the cat and get her back in the house is to use the magic word "Belohnung" (reward in German).

Maja is very curious about Sebastian.  Taking any chance she gets to give him kisses on his feet and hands, which he often doesn't mind.  Except when he is sleeping because that will wake him up.  Of course, we are very careful when Maja is playful around Sebastian as she can be very strong and abrupt without realizing it.

On weekdays, Philipp will still take Maja to the office with him to keep the routine going.  Of course, I prefer weekends (or days Philipp can "work" from home) when we are all home eating and napping together.  Plus it is nice to have someone else attend to Sebastian so I can sneak away to take a shower or eat or whatever.

After Birth

My body has gone through a lot of changes since Sebastian was born, some expected some not.  Sometimes I still can't believe this little munchkin was in my belly!

For about a week after the birth, my whole body was achy from the exertion of labor.  And my lower back would get sore from just walking around the supermarket.  Now my lower back gets sore from carrying Sebastian around the house.  Two days ago we went to a bbq party, when we got home I felt as if I'd been cruising a trade show all day: sore back and achy feet.  Philipp offered a warm bath, but that would take away from precious sleep time so I declined.

Adding to the achiness, my wrists have been very sore from bending them at odd angles holding Sebastian.  Philipp got me wrist braces, which keep my wrists straight but make it very awkward to do anything with my hands.  So I put on the wrist braces only one at a time and when I'm doing nothing but watching TV...  when I remember.  Other than that, I just have to be mindful of how I hold Sebastian and try to keep my wrists straight.

Also, my fingers are kinda stiff.  Right after giving birth, my hands were a bit swollen.  My wedding ring was feeling very tight so I had to take it off and hung it around my neck on a chain.  Took 4 weeks for my fingers to get back to normal to put my ring back on.  But my fingers are still stiff-ish.  A couple of times my right hand has cramped up after an odd maneuver holding Sebastian.

At first I actually missed rubbing my giant watermelon belly, just like that it turned into a wobbly emptiness.  I'm surprised how quickly the baby weight has come off.  For the last few weeks I have been hovering at 127#, only 7# over my "normal" weight.  It looks like I have a bit of a beer gut.  My old jeans don't fit, so I am still wearing the stretchy yoga pants that got me through pregnancy (although they are looking quite worn and have rips at the hem from Maja tugging on them).  And since I don't get out of the house much, I am often wearing PJ pants and nursing tank tops.

Since birth, my teeth have been getting increasingly sensitive, especially the incisors and lower front teeth.  I managed to sneak out to go have the dentist check out my teeth last week...  Dentist has a 5 month old (second kid) so she was very understanding and said she had the same issue.  And the reason being that I'm likely clenching my teeth more with the lack of sleep and stress of a newborn, and the added clenching causes my gum line to recede exposing the root.  AGH.  So dentist told me to always wear my night guard when I sleep, even naps during the day.  And if I noticed I'm clenching even when awake to wear the guard during the day too.  And I was given a paste to put into my night guard to help reduce sensitivity.  Plus I'm brushing with Sensodyne.

Stretch marks are more visible now (or maybe I just couldn't see them before because they are concentrated on the lower part of my belly).  They're not as bad as I had expected them to be, I'm just hoping they will turn from pinkish to more skin colorish.  Dark line down my belly is still there.  Inside of my belly button is also dark, looks like I have dirt in there.

And then there's the exhaustion.  Sleeping for only a few hours at a time and then being alert for 1-2 hours to care for baby is crazy.  Taking care of a newborn is hard...  for me, mostly because I am just SO TIRED.  My head is often in a fog.  I feel it has gotten harder, probably from accumulated exhaustion.  I've been on the verge of losing my mind twice...  Once in the middle of the night and another in the late afternoon, I was so tired and couldn't figure out why Sebastian was crying.  Usually a short list of issues solves the fussiness:
- Hungry
- Needs burping
- Wet diaper
- Wants to change position / viewing angle
- Tired, needs a nap

Getting out of the house is tough, with a newborn.  Trying to time the exit with feeding/nap time.  And it has gotten harder as Sebastian gets older because he doesn't just sleep and eat now...  he has wakeful moments and he wants to be entertained.  But today we had an amazingly productive day!  First thing in the morning we went to the supermarket, just the two of us.  WOW!  And then I made chili and cornbread.  WHA?!?  We took a long nap in the afternoon, and I have been updating this blog post through the day.  YEY!

5 Weeks Old

The last week has gone by so quickly, I kept thinking it was a week day ahead and on week 6 instead.  I am all confusion, although Philipp says my memory has gotten better (I don't ask him the same question twice within 5 minutes).

Sebastian's schedule is slightly more predictable.  Although sometimes when I think I know, he changes it up.  

Let's go back in the weeks of his life.

Week 1

Poop: fascinating stuff.  The meconium (black tar-like first poop) took 3 days to clear out.  It wasn't as sticky as expected, but you should have seen the black bubble coming out of his butt (as I changed his diaper)!  Holy smokes.  By Thursday (Aug 2) morning, poop was a little looser and greenish.  My milk came at the same time, so by evening poops were already yellowish mustard.

Thursday morning was also his first well-baby appointment with the pediatrician.  However, no pediatrician was available so Nurse A checked him out.  Weighing in at 6#10oz, it is normal for babies to lose a little weight in their first days of life.  Once the milk comes in and they start chugging, their weight will shoot up quickly.

Week 2

Eyelashes growing!  And nails grow at record speed, need to trim them a couple of times a week.  Wow.

On Tuesday (Aug 7) I noticed his eyes were goopy with white/greenish discharge.  So I called the pediatrician's office and was advised to bring him in to the walk-in hour (no appointment needed 8-8:45am weekdays) just to make sure it was not an eye infection him being so little.  So in the morning (Aug 8) we pack up and head out, Nurse A's diagnosis is a blocked tear duct which is pretty common in babies.  Just wipe with a damp cloth or cotton ball, and massage the inside of the eye a few times a day.  Weighing in at 7#5oz.

A few times this week we've had pee leak out of diapers...  are we putting these things on wrong?  It is the diaper?  Nurse A tells us...  make sure the penis is pointing down when you put the diaper on.  Ahhh..  Doh!

Noticed the umbilical cord stump was missing in the evening during a diaper change!  Where is it?!?  Fortunately, found it on the chair by the computer, it fell off while Popo was showing Sebastian to Oliver over gchat.  

Fortunately Sebastian had no issues latching on and sucking, but he had a tendency of passing out during his feedings.  So on Thursday (Aug 9) we go to the lactation consultation session.  My concerns are

- Sebastian keeps passing out after chugging for a few minutes: seems there is overabundance of milk.  So introduce more vertical positioning of baby while feeding: baby butt on my leg, let baby head relax (not so supported by my hand) so he can choose to latch or not to latch, scoot my butt out so baby head leans a little on breast.  I tried this for a day, but it wasn't working well...  it felt awkward and Sebastian wasn't feeding well, so we reverted back to our usual position (him horizontal on breastfeeding pillow, supported by my arms/hands).

Overabundance also brings awareness of possible issues like blocked ducts and mastitis.  So must watch for lumps/tenderness/red splotchiness.  Make sure to massage breasts and put hot compresses as needed to relieve engorgement.

- How long at each breast: each feeding will take about 45 minutes (of interrupted sucking, include burping, mid-feeding diaper change).  Offer only one breast per feeding, and swap sides with every feeding session.

- How to know when breast is empty: breast is never really empty since as long as baby is sucking milk is being produced.

Week 3

2 week well-baby appointmnet on Tuesday (Aug 14) when we finally get to meet Dr. D (he had been on vacation).  Sebastian measures in at: 8#6oz weight, 20.5in length, 36.2cm head circumference.  All looking good!

It's great that Sebastian can sleep through almost anything...  Maja barking, talking, laughing, TV, bathroom noises, etc.  BUT it is often hard to get him to fall asleep on his own in the cold lonely crib.

Week 4

We are experimenting with all types of diapers to find the ones we like the best.  In the lineup of disposable diapers we have:
- Naty by Nature Babycare supposed eco-friendly biodegradable chlorine-free:  I like.  P says they are stiff and can't be so comfortable.  We have a few boxes of these diapers as they were on the baby registry, so we will work through them and then decide.
- Seventh Generation Free and Clear free of everything:  I think they are fine.  P don't like, too papery rough.  How committed are we to being eco-conscious?  And are these diapers truly "eco-friendly"?
- Huggies Snug & Dry: these leaked pee and poop all over several times, so definitely out the door.  Didn't even bother finishing the bag (only used about 10 out of 50) because cleaning up the explosion is more work than they're worth.  They are the cheapest ones...  now we know why.
- Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive hypoallergenic and fragance free with wetness indicator: like the wetness indicator lots!  Although it's not so good at indicating pooped diapers.
- Pampers Swaddlers Regular with wetness indicator: I don't like the fragrance, P doesn't mind it and thinks it helps mask the stinky poops.  I think the fragrance + poop makes a worse smell, plus it is harder to tell if a diaper change is needed.

Going through ~15 diapers a day, this is certainly an important decision.

Week 5 

Gave Sebastian his first bath in the bathtub...  he was not thrilled.  Likely the water cools off his body pretty quick, so we need to add more water to his whale tub and keep pouring warm water over his body.  He still doesn't like the hair washing.  All the exertion from crying through the bath torture session makes him pass out pretty quick at bed time.

Tried weighing Sebastian on the bathroom scale, although it isn't very accurate.  We figured he is about 10.5#.  Wow.  And he seems to have outgrown his newborn and some of the 0-3months onesies.  He really doesn't like having his noggin squeezed through the opening of the onesies, and I don't have the heart to torture him that way.

On Thursday (Aug 30) Sebastian emptied his tummy on me 3 times within 2 hours during his bed-time feeding.  Ouch.  He didn't seemed bothered by it or in pain.  So I fed him a 4th time and it stuck, thank goodness.  No repeats of this feat.