Alex is a month old today! Usually I would say the time has flown by but as I think about my recovery it went by very slow for the most part. Things kept happening one after another so I was never catching a break. It looks like things are looking up now :).
During the first few weeks of life you are getting to know your little one. We have come to find that Alex is the complete opposite of Evan. It doesn't come as a surprise because all babies are different but this is good and bad.
So far Alex is a better sleeper then Evan when it comes to long stretches but Evan could always fall asleep on his own. Alex needs his mommy during night time feedings so he ends up sleeping in our bed after the first stretch. I'm not patient enough to rock him for almost an hour because I need sleep to take care of my mommy and wife duties during the day. During the day I noticed he will cry for a few mins and then he's out so now that I'm recovered enough I can start being a little tough and let him cry a few mins. But can I handle that? If it works I will probably get more sleep because I stay in one spot and I'm protecting him from being crushed by the both of us. Alex still sleeps most of the day. Makes it nice but makes me a little worried that he gets too much so he wont sleep at night and maybe his day's and night's are mixed up. So far he's sleeping great through the night though. He sleeps 3 1/2 to 4 hour stretches at night so I'm only waking up one to two times.
Alex is a better eater then Evan and I hope this lasts. Evan ate every hour and a half to two hours but Alex goes every three. He can go longer sometimes but I make sure to wake him up. Alex actually eats, Evan ate very little (still does). It's probably why he ate so often. It makes me wonder how he gained weight. Speaking of weight, Alex was weighed yesterday and he's now 8lb 13oz. He gained over a pound in two weeks! Keep growing babe!!
Evan and Alex both hated sponge baths but once their cord stumps fell off they loved baths. Alex reminds us of a frog in the tub but a very cute one!
Evan tries to jump in while he takes one but since Alex is too little I cant let him. In a few months maybe. Right now he can just sit and watch.
Alex loves having a pacifier. Evan hated them.
When I got pregnant with Alex I got a free sample one from a friends work. I gave it to Evan to see what he would do. He obviously didn't know what to do so it was funny watching him. Matt comes home and he goes and shows him. He has it in his mouth (upside down), has a smile on his face and says "Baby!" The nice thing is Alex doesn't always need it so hopefully he doesn't grow attached.
The biggest difference between the two is that Alex is a screamer and Evan wasn't. Matt's parents didn't really hear Evan cry till he was about 1 1/2 months old. Alex screams a lot but we figured out why. He seemed always uncomfortable after feedings. We thought it was gas so we gave him gas drops. It helped but not all the time. Eventually it got worse. I would hold him for a long time while he screamed. Nothing seemed to help. I made an appointment yesterday to have him be seen and they suspect Reflux (GERD). It could take up to five days to know for sure if the meds he's on works. If not we'll try something stronger and if it still doesn't help then there's something else wrong.
We're very blessed having Alex join our family. He's a sweetheart and we love him dearly. We look forward to getting to know him more as he grows up.
4 comments:
awwww Alex is so cute just like my lil Evan! I need to come for a visit soon!
Hey, Elise!! I'm so psyched for you guys and your two little boys. :) How cute!! Alex sounds a lot like Annie. She SCREAMED so much day and night but would take forever long naps during the day, right from the start. Sometimes I would have to wake her up after 5 or 5 1/2 hours. I probably never should have let her sleep that long, but it was so nice sometimes. :) Then at night she would wake up and be UP for hours, needing to be rocked and danced around the room all night long or she would just scream some more. Meanwhile, we wanted to go back to sleep right away. We did all the gas relief stuff and went to have her tested for the reflux. They said she had a little bit of reflux, and they put her on Zantac. At the end of everything, though, she was still a screamer and a feisty crazy baby. I don't know, it didn't seem like any of the medicine worked. The best way we found to keep her happy was to have her in the swing (FULL speed, that thing was rockin') or we'd swing her in her carseat (but that was really hard on my back!)--That's great that Alex takes a pacifier--Annie never did, but she loved to suck on my pinky finger upside down. That SAVED me. Once we figured out she would suck on that and be pacified, she could fall asleep like that. Anyway, now that I look back on it, and see the kind of kid Annie is now, I'm convinced nothing was really wrong with her, but she just had an insane need for movement and excitement. Once she was able to sit up, or even roll over, she started to be so much happier! I think it was her ability to control her body more and move around that she just couldn't do as a newborn.
Sorry I babbled on so much! I just thought I'd reminisce for a little bit and let you know I totally remember how it feels to have a screamer. :) But they've got so much personality--even at that little young age!! Have fun! Wish we could meet him! :)
My baby girl had/has reflux. She is almost 7 weeks now and is is slowly going away...so there is hope if that is it!
Thanks for the info everyone! The funny thing is Alex may not be a screamer to you but he is to us because Evan hardly cried. He would just wimper/fuss for a little bit. If he was in pain or anything yes he would but that wasn't often. Alex cries more and it can get to a big scream if whatever his discomfort is not gone right away. He really screams after feedings but since I put him on Zantac it has helped. I'm no longer afraid to feed him knowing I will be holding him for a long time trying to calm him down. I know this wont last long and hope it's sooner then later. Could take 2 to 6 months.
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