9 Weeks Old Tomorrow!
Surprise! I managed to find a few minutes to write a few words.
Liam will be 9 weeks old as of tomorrow! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by and how quickly he has grown. I was just looking through his pictures on Google+ (gotta love automatic back-up feature) and was amazed at how much he has filled out.
As many of you know, probably from Facebook, my biggest challenge with motherhood has been breastfeeding. I was warned it would be hard, but no one could have really prepared me for how hard it would be. It's all-consuming. I have had trouble finding time to eat and/or sleep. Take your pick. Poor Dave--Unfortunately, he bears the brunt of my displeasure when I go too long without food or sleep. He is constantly reminding me to nap when Liam does, but that becomes difficult, too, when I also feel the need to get out of the house and do something other than serve food at the 24-7 all-you-can-eat-buffet-for-one.
Aside from that, I *love* being a mom. I love watching Liam's growth and progression, and seeing his smiles are nothing short of heavenly. I swear people were crazy when they said that seeing your baby smile at you made it all worth it. Well, they were right. I somehow forget momentarily how tired and cranky I am when this little guy looks me straight in the eyes and his faces breaks out into a wide smile. Pure and utter joy. hehe... His and mine, I think!
It's been surprising how much newborn babies *need* their mommies in the early weeks. Again, I thought it was a bit exaggerated when people would say the newborns need their mothers, but just after he was born, it was like magic whenever I picked up my fussy little babe. Dave would try to soothe him, but he'd continue to fuss. When Liam was finally in my arms, he'd settle immediately. Seriously... He went from screaming-at-the-top-of-my-voice to 'ahhhhh' (and his entire body would relax) within a second of being in my arms. I admit, this did bolster my ego quite a bit in the beginning, but after several weeks, it's wearing me down a little. I still love it, but I also acknowledge that mommies need a break too.
Which leads me to my next thought: THANK THE HEAVENS ABOVE AND ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD FOR GRANDPARENTS!!! My mom comes by a couple times a week and either cooks food for me or holds the baby. Either way, it is SOOO nice to have a few moments where I'm not sitting on the couch or laying in the bed. Dave's parents came to stay for 5 days when Liam was 5 weeks old, and it was awesome! She rocked and held the baby for a couple hours so I could get some shut-eye, and I really only had to get up to feed the baby. Actually, during that week, he was still taking a bottle, so I got even more sleep! Woohoo!
This past week offered up a new challenge. In the first 8 weeks of Liam's life, he literally woke up, nursed, fell asleep over and over again. Every day. For. 8. Weeks. When we started transitioning away from the nipple shield, my little babe bit the dickens out of my right nipple, and it smarted for no less than 4 days afterwards. It was then I sought out help. I had heard that breastfeeding shouldn't be painful after the first week or so, and I had been at it for 8 weeks and it still hurt. So I scheduled an appointment with a lactation consultant, who spent 30 minutes at our session just talking with me about what we've done, the concerns I have, and what I wanted to see change. She watched me nurse the baby and said that I was a natural. She didn't have any critiques to give me on how to nurse the baby and, after watching Liam cry when I changed his diaper, suggested that I get him checked for a tongue-tie. It would explain the pain I was having. Well, I took her advice and scheduled an appointment with our pediatrician and then the ENT. The former confirmed suspicion of a tongue-tie, and the ENT made the diagnosis. So we had the tongue-tie clipped.
The change was immediate. I nursed him in the office just after the doc went snip-snip with his scissors, and there was no pain. I could feel the pressure of his tongue and pull of his suction, but no pain, and he didn't bite me. It was a little more tender on the bitten side, but ultimately no pain. WOOHOO! Wish I had gotten this diagnosis sooner.
Since then, Liam actually stays awake longer between feedings, and the nursing sessions themselves usually take no more than 30 minutes. Lickety-split and we're done. It's like night and day. Of course, now I find myself trying to cope with the new pattern, and it's a bit of a struggle. I don't have a way to predict when he's going to sleep now. Of course, he's been asleep in my arms the entire time I've been writing this. He sort of woke up a few minutes ago, but he soothed himself back to sleep. I just kept typing. I suspect he's going to be growing a bit faster now that he can get milk more efficiently, but wow! What a ride!
Anyway, he's really going to wake up soon, and if my memory serves, he has a dirty diaper that needs changing.
More later...whenever I can sneak some time again.
Liam will be 9 weeks old as of tomorrow! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by and how quickly he has grown. I was just looking through his pictures on Google+ (gotta love automatic back-up feature) and was amazed at how much he has filled out.
As many of you know, probably from Facebook, my biggest challenge with motherhood has been breastfeeding. I was warned it would be hard, but no one could have really prepared me for how hard it would be. It's all-consuming. I have had trouble finding time to eat and/or sleep. Take your pick. Poor Dave--Unfortunately, he bears the brunt of my displeasure when I go too long without food or sleep. He is constantly reminding me to nap when Liam does, but that becomes difficult, too, when I also feel the need to get out of the house and do something other than serve food at the 24-7 all-you-can-eat-buffet-for-one.
Aside from that, I *love* being a mom. I love watching Liam's growth and progression, and seeing his smiles are nothing short of heavenly. I swear people were crazy when they said that seeing your baby smile at you made it all worth it. Well, they were right. I somehow forget momentarily how tired and cranky I am when this little guy looks me straight in the eyes and his faces breaks out into a wide smile. Pure and utter joy. hehe... His and mine, I think!
It's been surprising how much newborn babies *need* their mommies in the early weeks. Again, I thought it was a bit exaggerated when people would say the newborns need their mothers, but just after he was born, it was like magic whenever I picked up my fussy little babe. Dave would try to soothe him, but he'd continue to fuss. When Liam was finally in my arms, he'd settle immediately. Seriously... He went from screaming-at-the-top-of-my-voice to 'ahhhhh' (and his entire body would relax) within a second of being in my arms. I admit, this did bolster my ego quite a bit in the beginning, but after several weeks, it's wearing me down a little. I still love it, but I also acknowledge that mommies need a break too.
Which leads me to my next thought: THANK THE HEAVENS ABOVE AND ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD FOR GRANDPARENTS!!! My mom comes by a couple times a week and either cooks food for me or holds the baby. Either way, it is SOOO nice to have a few moments where I'm not sitting on the couch or laying in the bed. Dave's parents came to stay for 5 days when Liam was 5 weeks old, and it was awesome! She rocked and held the baby for a couple hours so I could get some shut-eye, and I really only had to get up to feed the baby. Actually, during that week, he was still taking a bottle, so I got even more sleep! Woohoo!
This past week offered up a new challenge. In the first 8 weeks of Liam's life, he literally woke up, nursed, fell asleep over and over again. Every day. For. 8. Weeks. When we started transitioning away from the nipple shield, my little babe bit the dickens out of my right nipple, and it smarted for no less than 4 days afterwards. It was then I sought out help. I had heard that breastfeeding shouldn't be painful after the first week or so, and I had been at it for 8 weeks and it still hurt. So I scheduled an appointment with a lactation consultant, who spent 30 minutes at our session just talking with me about what we've done, the concerns I have, and what I wanted to see change. She watched me nurse the baby and said that I was a natural. She didn't have any critiques to give me on how to nurse the baby and, after watching Liam cry when I changed his diaper, suggested that I get him checked for a tongue-tie. It would explain the pain I was having. Well, I took her advice and scheduled an appointment with our pediatrician and then the ENT. The former confirmed suspicion of a tongue-tie, and the ENT made the diagnosis. So we had the tongue-tie clipped.
The change was immediate. I nursed him in the office just after the doc went snip-snip with his scissors, and there was no pain. I could feel the pressure of his tongue and pull of his suction, but no pain, and he didn't bite me. It was a little more tender on the bitten side, but ultimately no pain. WOOHOO! Wish I had gotten this diagnosis sooner.
Since then, Liam actually stays awake longer between feedings, and the nursing sessions themselves usually take no more than 30 minutes. Lickety-split and we're done. It's like night and day. Of course, now I find myself trying to cope with the new pattern, and it's a bit of a struggle. I don't have a way to predict when he's going to sleep now. Of course, he's been asleep in my arms the entire time I've been writing this. He sort of woke up a few minutes ago, but he soothed himself back to sleep. I just kept typing. I suspect he's going to be growing a bit faster now that he can get milk more efficiently, but wow! What a ride!
Anyway, he's really going to wake up soon, and if my memory serves, he has a dirty diaper that needs changing.
More later...whenever I can sneak some time again.
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