Reflecting on Nolan's fourth week

So many changes and new things in Nolan's fourth week of life! David and I just can't believe we will be celebrating him turning one month old on Saturday and are thankful the time hasn't gone by too quickly.

His reflux appears to be getting better, he's not spitting up at every feeding and goes a day or two without spitting up at all. He's also not straining, struggling, screaming nor drawing his legs up after eating when he needs to burp. Because he's gaining weight and thriving, there's no medical concern either. Nolan's legs and arms are getting so long, his newborn one piece sleep 'n plays are up near his knees and his hands break out of his fold-over mitts! We tried moving him to his 0-3mo clothing but they swallow him! He still has onesies, t-shirts, and pants in newborn size that fit well so, we will just have to adjust to him wearing socks and having his hands free to scratch his face. He's so alert these days, even following the sound of your voice or a loud sound, like the doorbell, with his eyes and turning his head towards the noise. He breastfeeds very well, every two to four hours during the day and every four to five hours at night and we introduced the bottle this past week! He's still not a true fan of the pacifier but we keep trying. :) We love to hold him (especially Emily!) and rock him to sleep and are grateful he transfers easily to his bassinet, car seat, vibrating chair, and swing to sleep for naps and at night time. He really loves the swaying motion of his swing and the motion of the car best. He's such a joy, so kissable and sweet!


6/24 - I took Nolan out solo today, to visit my friend Leah, who had her daughter on the 14th. I made sure he was fed, burped, and dry and then, rocked him to sleep, put him in his car seat and drove just two miles to Leah's house. Nolan slept the entire two and a half hours I was gone. It was so nice to visit with her and hear all about her brand new baby, Liv. It was even nicer to feel that validation only another new mom can give you when you are sleep-deprived and wondering if things are ever going to get "easier". :) Nolan had two long naps today at 12:30pm and 5:30pm (while visiting Leah), all other naps were less than an hour. He must be rounded out that three week old growth spurt, eating every hour or so to get as many calories as he can. He then surprised David and I by falling asleep at 10:30pm and staying asleep until after 2:00am! He hasn't been sleeping a long stretch at night until around Midnight... good thing I decided to lay down at 10:30pm or I would've missed one of those very precious and rare times to sleep myself.

6/25 - Nolan's eye is completely cleared up, no more yellow gunk! His baby acne; however, is making a comeback all over his chubby little cheeks. Ugh. Tonight I had my first glass of red wine... meh. It didn't live up to all the hype I created in my head. Figures.

6/26 - Now that Nolan is three weeks old, I am pumping once a day for two to four minutes to begin creating my freezer stash in order to introduce the bottle. I have my Medela Pump In-Style double electric breast pump that I used with Emily but only pump one breast at a time for two minutes each. I got a combined five ounces and decided to stop there as I never know when Nolan will wake and want to breastfeed and I didn't want to be empty. Like with Emily, David is going to offer the bottle with Nolan propped up on the Boppy or in his vibrating chair so that he doesn't get mixed signals and attempt to breast feed. David's first attempt at offering the bottle was a semi-success; Nolan rolled the bottle's nipple around in his mouth and he did latch on a suck a few times but soon swatted it away and turned his head, rooting for my breast. Another huge development today: Nolan took a pacifier! David was at Target picking up a few grocery items and diapers when he saw the Nuk pacifiers, which advertise being "the best pacifier for breastfed babies" and decided to buy a pack to try. We had been using The First Years Gumdrops pacifiers, which got rave reviews on Amazon but Nolan absolutely hated. Once Nolan was fed, burped, and changed, he began to cry and root for my breast to soothe himself to sleep on (which always ends in disaster because once my milk lets down, he gets very upset because he's too full and just wants to suck). David took the opportunity to take Nolan from me, swaddle him tight, "shhh" him and sway him, and offer the Nuk. Nolan turned away and spit it out a few times but then, latched onto it and sucked forcefully before falling asleep. Talk about a huge success! :) My girlfriend Shelby visited this afternoon (what a treat!) and Nolan took that opportunity to sleep over two hours... he has crazy timing! And lastly, Nolan must have been exhausted from all the excitement of the bottle, the pacifier, and Shelby visiting because he slept a five hour stretch plus an additional three hours after a quick feeding.


6/27 - David is off work today, Monday, and Friday, to continue helping me entertain Emily and keep the household running. It was nice to have his company and his help while giving Nolan a bath today. I even got in a nap because Nolan slept from 9:30-12pm and 1:15-4:50pm today. We've officially eaten through everything in our freezer and the timing of this was perfect as I'm no longer exhausted and am eager to return to the kitchen to cook for my family, one of the places I am happiest. I'm going to continue making two of the meals we enjoy most; one to eat that evening and one to freeze for later on those days when we're just too busy or too tired to cook.

6/28 - Nolan slept eight hours last night! Holy moly... a fluke or is the growth spurt over?!? David and I both woke up bewildered that it was light out and Nolan was passed out in his swing. He was in his swing, as opposed to his bassinet upstairs by our bed because he fell asleep at 9:30pm and David and I both thought it was just a late evening nap, something he does every day. I laid down at 10:00pm on the couch, just to get a little nap in and I'm glad I did but boy am I tired of sleeping on the couch! Unfortunately, Nolan's great night of rest did not equate to a happy, restful day today. Nolan was very fussy and gassy and just generally uncomfortable. He had a six hour "witching hour" period this evening until he finally passed out at 12:30am and then, only slept four hours. The witching hour period was so stressful on us both, so very frustrating, because no amount of holding, rocking, bouncing, swaying, "shhh"-ing, swaddling, singing/humming, feeding, burping, nor diaper changes calmed him. I'm downloading The Happiest Baby on the Block (THBOTB)book to my Kindle today.


6/29 - To avoid public nursing and the disaster that was last Wednesday, I dropped Emily off at School Skills and drove straight back home, letting David pick her up. Nolan was asleep the entire hour the trip took. Last night, after reading THBOTB, we were all a lot happier and Nolan slept much better. It's amazing how if you can just recreate the womb for newborns (under three months of age) how quickly they calm down and you can meet their immediate needs. Nolan isn't a colicky baby, that much we are certain of but he is very sensitive to the outside world and really does need the womb recreated for him in the late evening hours in order for him to sleep. Once he was fed, burped, and changed, I held him very tightly in a blanket (not a true swaddle because he likes his arms free) to keep his limbs from flailing, bounced/swayed with him, turned up the baby monitor from Emily's room so he could hear her white noise machine, "shhh"ed him, and gave him a pacifier (which he turned away from). He was calm in seconds and was able to fall off to sleep after doing the five "S" from 5:45-8:55pm, again from 9:45-10:30pm, and again from 12:15am-3:30am. When he woke at 3:30am he was calm and nursed quickly and quietly before falling back asleep at 3:55am-6:00am. There really wasn't a witching hour at all this evening and I wholeheartedly believe it was due to THBOTB. :)

6/30 - Four weeks old today and I gave Nolan his very first bath in our bath tub! I just love the Munchkin brand bath sponges as they have a slight incline for baby's head to keep water out of his ears and easily allow the warm bath water (just a few inches!) to soak through and keep him warm. He absolutely loved it and didn't make a sound. He slowly kicked both legs in and out of the water and looked around, wide-eyed. Emily was there to help with the soap and to sing to him to keep him calm, as she confidently declared he needed. :) It was so much easier to sit beside the tub and use one arm to reach down and wash him... no back pain like bending over the changing table to bathe him.

Comments

  1. Wow, an 8 hour stretch of sleep is impressive even if it was a fluke! Glad Happiest Baby is working too. That absolutely saved us with Celia. I don't know what I would have done without it, and she actually still likes to sleep with white noise playing. Glad you guys are doing well. That month went by fast!

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