Babyland update

Little items of interest not cool enough to have their own post:

1. Our little beefcake has graduated into 3-6 month clothing. I was sad to pack up all his little newborn clothing, a lot of which he never wore. He is growing so fast!

2. I swear his little hands are growing bigger everyday. I suppose all of him is growing but I just notice his little hands.

3. Smiles are like a battery recharge. I can be so dead tired and all he has to do is smile at me in the morning and I am completely recharged. Wonderful things those smiles are.

4. I've been attempting to learn different nursery rhymes or kids songs over the past few weeks. I've always known some of the lyrics to most songs but I thought I'd learn all the lyrics. The latest is I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. I have the damn song in my head ALL the time. I've been singing it all weekend....when I'm in the shower, making dinner, in the car......I want to pull my hair out. Wesley seems to like it though.

Wesley goes to the zoo!

I will be the first to admit my love for animals, I've been nuts over animals for as long as I can recall (hence my own "zoo" at home). So when I learned that our city zoo just had a baby giraffe and opened a new penguin exhibit I knew I had to go. So today my mom, friend Jessica, her son Alex, Wesley and I went to the zoo. It was great fun. Wesley slept most of the time in his stroller but I didn't think he would get much out of it anyways being so small. It was just nice getting out of the house for the day, sometimes I feel really cooped up in here. The zoo will be a lot of fun once Wesley is old enough to know where he is, can't wait!

My little secret

Wesley slept the whole night last night in his CRIB! You might ask "Why is this so important?" I'm ashamed to say he's been sleeping in his swing since he came home from the hospital. He LOVES his swing. It is the papasan swing that has a soft little pod that his lays in. I always said that if Fisher Price would only make one for adults I would be in it all the time. Anyways, I would place him in it and turn it on for 10 minutes until he was asleep and then I would turn it off and he would sleep 10+ hours. I thought if it aint broke don't fix it. Well I then started to think about his little back all curled up in his swing and how that can't be very good for him, so I decided to bite the bullet and move him to his crib last night. I thought this would be a battle, I prepared myself to be up all night with a crying baby....nope, he slept all night long. When I went in to check on him at 8:30 he was just in there smiling up at his mobile. He is such a good baby, I'm quite lucky.

We have our first laugh!

We went over to my parents house this past weekend to celebrate my fathers birthday and our little man had his first chuckle. My mother was showing him a tractor brochure and he was just so amused by the colorful pictures of bright red tractors be couldn't help but laugh out loud. It was just the cutest thing ever, everyone was just sitting around laughing because he was laughing. I just love all these "firsts." It is truly amazing that he can go from a tiny screaming newborn into a little smiling baby and now a laughing little man. Looking forward to the next "first."

Our poor dogs...

So the dogs are adjusting OK to the new arrival in the house. I was actually pretty worried about bringing such a small, soft fleshy creature into a house with about 150 pounds of dog running around. You see, anything that is left lying around the house such as slippers, socks or anything else that can be construed as a "toy" is ripped to shreds. So when Wesley came home we stayed on the other side of the house for a few weeks before entering the "lion's den" (the side of the house where the dogs live). They were able to smell him but not see him, so when I finally did introduce them there was no problem at all. Sometimes out little terrier Chance will sniff a little socked foot and try and take a nibble but we are working on that.

The animal house

I just ran across an article about how it's not so wonderful to have a spotless, germ free house when raising a child. It says it's better for children to come into contact with germs, pet dander and dust so that their immune systems can defend against them and boost their immunity making them have less allergies and sickness. Yeah....if this is true then Wesley won't ever have the slightest sniffle or be sick. Between what the dogs bring in on the floor from outside, the cat exploding it's hair everywhere and the bird feathers floating through the air this child should have the toughest immune system out there!

eBay-a-holic!

So my last post I was talking about all the wonderful baby things out there....well, I'm not about to go buy anything baby related "new." I mean, the child uses these things for about one month before he's grown into something else. Enter eBay. I love eBay, I used to mainly just sell stuff but now I have found the baby category. There are clothes, toys, pretty much anything you see in the stores you can buy on eBay for about one quarter the price or less. When I see something in the parenting magazines I want I just go buy it on eBay. Now that it's getting cooler I just bought Wesley a snow suit and coat. The coat is just too cute, it's suede with wool edging, complete with mittens, booties and a hat. I will dress him up in it and add a picture even though it's 90 degrees here today. I paid a whopping $9.99 for the coat, hat, booties and mittens and it's even GAP. I'm going to have to really limit myself for Christmas! Man, I'm having too much fun!

Pee-pee Teepee for the sprinkling wee-wee

It is truly amazing what baby products are out there! I ran across the pee-pee teepee for the sprinkling wee-wee (yes, that's its actual name) and had to have one. They are little cotton teepee's with airplanes all over them that you place over the little ones wee willie. I wish I had them when he first came home from the hospital because that was when Wesley would spray us almost every time he was changed. He still does it occasionally, mostly in the tub now. I will add a picture of said pee-pee teepee in use....the poor kid has to be so humiliated! I plan to show these pictures to his future girl friend (he he evil laughter). I can wear the pee-pee teepee on my willie
......or I can wear it on my head.

2 Months Old Today!

Our little man is two months old today! We just got back from his doctor appointment and here are his stats:

Weight: 12 pounds (65% percentile)
Height: 22 3/8 (40%)
Head Circ: 41 cm (90%)

So we have a short, some-what skinny, big headed baby. The doctor answered all of my questions and then some. Sounds like everything is right on track. Wesley was all smiles for the doctor until he started poking around his little willie (checking the circumcision) then he just screamed like a banshee. Poor kid. We start shots at 4 months so there will be quite a bit more screaming next visit. That will be something to look forward to.

My dear husband......

Sean is a natural with Wesley. Some new dads are intimidated by a baby, scared to hold them or change them. Not my husband, he's been just wonderful from the beginning. He will tackle a poopy diaper without thinking twice. He also has this uncanny ability to get Wesley to stop screaming and go to sleep by rocking him in his arms. It might be because he doesn't smell like a milk factory but who knows. Wesley's one lucky kid to have him as a dad.

Wishing I was an inventor!

Ok, so I've written that Wesley sleeps all night long which is wonderful. He's been doing this for like four weeks now. The problem is that he's SUPPOSED to be eating about every four hours during the night since he's breast fed. Since he's going 9-10 hours at night sleeping I still have to get up twice or three times during the night to pump. I feel like a dairy cow, it's very strange. So I have to set my cell phone alarm (my regular alarm wakes up the baby) for 1:30 and 4:30 in the morning. I stumble around the pitch black house trying to be as quiet as I can while I find all the parts needed to pump. I'm trying to figure out how I can invent a pump that you wear to bed and works on a timer and automatically starts up and pumps the milk into a cooler while I sleep. That would be so cool.

As a new mom......

I often wonder WHAT IN THE WORLD DID I DO WITH ALL MY FREE TIME before I had Wesley?! I didn't realize how much of a 24 hour a job it would be. I do enjoy being a mom but I kind of assumed I would still be able to do many of the things I did before I had a baby. You know like putting on make up, feeding the dogs or even just writing on this blog. It's a whole different world with a baby! It's so very worth it though. We went for a walk in the stroller this afternoon and he just wouldn't stop smiling at me, I tried to get some pictures and got one of him kind of smiling. He's really changed a ton in just the past week. He's cooing and "talking" to me all the time, it's so cute. I can't even imagine going back to my boring life without him. Having a baby really does change everything.

Don't Go Grandma!

I haven't updated little Wesley's blog in awhile because his Grandma has been visiting. She drove all the way from New Mexico and has been so wonderful since she arrived. That baby hasn't been out of her arms in three days which has in turn given my arms a much needed break (it's splendid). Unfortunately my new babysitter/ cook/ maid is leaving tomorrow..how sad. She will be missed. It has been nice having someone else to sit around the house and be a complete bum with. I guess it will just go back to me, the dogs and Wesley. I have added some new pictures this week. These are seven week old pictures of Wesley with my parents and Sean's Mom who is visiting. Also I have added one with little guy looking at himself in the mirror I propped up next to his changing table. This picture was taken right before the mirror fell over on his head. Thank God it was a foam mirror. Boy, talk about the calm before the storm! One of the first (but not last) "Horrible Mother Moments."

Goodbye Baby Blob!

Hello Mister Personality! It turns out that six weeks is the "magic" week. Wesley has turned from a little blob of screaming flesh into an expressive, happy baby. Earlier in the week he had his first smile. I think it was a smile anyways. His whole face seemed to smile, it was great. Makes it all worth while. And now he's cooing. It's so nice to hear something other than gas come out of him. I will attempt to take a picture of the smiling little man if I can. He's ultra serious so getting a smile while holding a camera will be difficult.

Cleanest House Ever!

We had a pretty rough patch today where little Wesley cried for a decent stretch. I, needing a break, decided to put him in his swing and vacuum the house. I look over and he is passed out sleeping. You know I've heard vacuum cleaners will do that but I'd never tried it. So if you call the house and never get an answer it's because I'm vacuuming from sun up till sun down.

I love you Baby Bjorn!

Well during the day this little man has decided that sleeping is for the birds, which is understandable since he sleeps sooo very much at night. The only way I can get him to sleep is to plop him in the Baby Bjorn front carrier and walk all over the house. Now you'd think once he was asleep I could stop walking, but no....the moment I stop walking he wakes up. So I have resorted to doing everything I possibly can around the house while walking with a baby strapped to my chest. I eat lunch, respond to emails on the laptop, and as of this week am now sculpting while walking. I finally decided to start sculpting again this week and was curious as to how I would be able to do it with a baby around. Well, the front carrier is the key! I got five sculptures done while walking around the living room this week. I guess the good news is I'm getting exercise.

Eating while carrying a baby on your chest is also fun. When he finally does come out of the carrier he's usually got all sorts of food stuck to him. He had a pretty good sized piece of granola bar stuck to his arm this afternoon. I laughed and then ate it.

The Amazing Sleeping Wesley

So I seem to not have a typical baby on my hands. This little man is sleeping more at night than me or Sean. On an typical night he sleeps 7-9 hours without waking up. Of course I can't be happy about anything, I now worry he's sleeping too much. I wake up during the night to make sure he's alive because every baby book out there says a breastfed baby needs to eat every 4 hours at the most during the night. So I even called the pediatricians office today and talked with a nurse to make sure this is ok. She laughed and said "Thank your lucky stars!" She said if he's gaining weight well (he's up to 10.5 pounds) and has enough wet and soiled diapers (7-10 a day) then he's fine.
You'd think I could just be happy.

Reflections

So I felt I must reflect on my conversation I just had with my mother-in-law. We were talking about boob size and milk production.....and I must ask myself "Where are my giant knockers?" All these women around me are either pregnant or having babies and they have these huge milk jugs strapped to their chests while I'm stuck with nada, zip, zero. I mean they haven't grown much at all, not even during my pregnancy. The doctor said many babies go through growth spurts around one month, and sure enough little Wesley has been feeding around the clock. He seems very unsatisfied after eating, so I've been once again diving into my frozen breast milk supply in the freezer and pumping the poor child full of milk. He then drifts off into one of his milk comas and stares off into space in his swing. He is gaining weight and has the proper wet/soiled diapers so I'm not too concerned. It sucks though, I was really wanting to try on a pair of double D's for a few months (and then give 'em back!). What's a girl to do?

Starting to get the hang of this baby thing....

So we are officially one month into the baby experience as of tomorrow. I'd have to say the first two weeks are scary, the third week is frustrating and the fourth week is a breeze. I'm starting to understand what the screaming means (most of the time) and we are becoming pros at the sleeping through the night thing. Last night he went to bed at 12:30 am and slept nonstop until 9 in the morning, it was heaven! So I guess I'll keep him :)

Last weekend we went and visited Wesley's cousin Serenity who is 2.5 days older then he is. I added some pictures of the screaming pair. It will be fun watching them grow and change into little people.

The Happiest Little Wesley on the Block

So after our little non-stop screaming week I went online and bought two things: The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD and a new exciting mobile. The DVD was highly recommended by other Mom's on a forum I visit and I thought "What the heck!" SO after a week it arrived and I watched it Wednesday while little man was sleeping. Boy, what a wonderful video! It outlines five steps to get your baby to calm down and even sleep longer. I was actually hoping he would wake up and explode crying so I could try out my nifty new skills. Now after two days it has helped quite a lot in just my confidence level. One of the five steps is swaddling, he just loves being swaddled! Anyways, I would highly recommend the DVD to all new parents.

As for the new mobile....he could care less.

Little Wesley is four weeks old today!