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.