Sing a song

One of the things which I like to do with Daniel is listen to music and sing songs with him. Since we have been home I've done atleast 1 feed a day with the ipod on, playing James and my music. When playing with him in the loungeroom I have put on Playschool and this week some Bible songs. It is quite fun singing with him and he seems to enjoy it. If he's upset, often singing will help him to settle too. This week I forgot to put in a cd so was going through songs which I have sung with my Year 1 kids and Daniel decided to join in with me. (Please ignore my singing, but enjoy listening to Daniel's singing)

We did more tummy time and I just love Daniel's smiles and his facial features. He is just so cute! I could waste so much time looking at him.

 On Thursday night we went to mum and dad's place like we do normally and Jens and Oscar were there. After a few lovely cuddles and smiles with Jenny, Oscar then had a look at Daniel and it was the first time really that Daniel was attentive toward Oscar. The two boys just looked at each other for ages. Oscar was trying to have Daniel smile at him, and then he eventually did.

It was so sweet too to see that Oscar was holding Daniel's hand while looking at him. He then started patting Daniel's head and Daniel really seemed to like it.

 Then Oscar started to try and give Daniel a hug. Again, so sweet! It is a bit tricky to do while Daniel is in Jens' arms but Oscar managed to work it. He is just so gentle with him.

We also had another first. As Daniel is doing so well at settling himself, we have decided that we will do that at mum and dad's place, rather than trying to settle him in our arms. It also frees us up to be able to eat dinner with the family which is nice. So mum set up the portacot for him. This was his first time in something other than a bassinet. He looks so little in it. He was a little bit upset to start with but after a couple of times going in to pat him and comfort him, he went to sleep! Champion!

Then when we went home, we put him back into his capsule. Then when we got home, I wrapped him up again and put him into his bed. He then went back to sleep! Awesome work Daniel! That was another first. Normally I feed him again and then put him down, but this time he didn't need it. And he then slept like normal.

During the days, he is sleeping less. This is ok. I did like the chance to have a nap in the day when he went down and the chance to do more things, but it is also nice to be able to play with him. I can't wait for him to be a bit bigger and be able to grab things and play with things. I know it's a long way off, but it will be nice to watch him develop all those skills.

Also, on Wednesday we went back to school to show Daniel off to the kids. They were so taken by him. They wanted to touch him, but I wasn't very keen for that. I did a show and tell and then took questions. Some of their questions were great! None of the 'Do you like him?' sort of questions which was good. They asked things like 'What is his favourite food?' (milk), 'How does he have his milk?' (a tricky one to answer but Liam was happy with me saying with his mouth. I didn't think it was suitable to explain how he had his milk to a bunch of year 1 students), 'What is his favourite thing to do?' (sleep and eat), 'Who changes his dirty nappies?' (I do, but Mr Noble does sometimes too), 'When was he born?' (27th June), 'Why do babies cry when they come out of their mummy's tummy?' (Daniel actually didn't cry until he had some needles in his legs, but they cry because it's so different), 'Did I get cut open for him to come out of my tummy?' (no, I didn't), 'How do you know that he is tired?' (He will yawn, move his legs a lot, suck on his hands), 'How long does he eat for?' (45mins-1hr), 'Does he cry a lot?' (no, Daniel doesn't cry much, just when he wants me to know something).

My favourite one though was 'How old is Daniel?' (8 weeks old). 'But what number is he?' (He is 8 weeks old). 'So he is 0?' (No, he is a month and a bit old.) 'But he is 0'. (Ok, yes he is zero). Oh boy. So funny their concept of time!

They then did some writing about Daniel's and my visit. It was awesome to see how much they listened to what I said and what they remembered. It was nice that a couple of kids wrote that I don't have a big tummy anymore (phew!). But what they took in was great to see. I wish I could get copies of their writing. We will be back at school on the 3rd September as that's photo day so I will go in for a quick visit.

Lastly, I weighed Daniel on Thursday (after a week and a half) and he had put on 500g! I was hoping for 200g so that was a wonderful surprise! It was nice to have a week where I was just confident in that he was getting what he needed and was happy. Now I feel that we are out of the woods with regard to the feeding stress. We have his 6-8week check on Monday with the community nurse so I can't wait to see her response when she sees how much weight he has put on!

Roll Over, Roll Over

This morning James and I were doing our normal morning routine where after I fed Daniel, James would play with him so I can have a shower and then breakfast. This morning while James was playing with him, Daniel was doing tummy time. He was holding his head so high, we were both proud of him. 

Then when I went to take my tablets, James then shouted out that Daniel had rolled over! We don't think he did it on purpose, but still, he was on his tummy, then he was on his back. Of course, he couldn't perform it again for us but we were pretty impressed. So now we need to be extra cautious of him on the change table as we don't know when he will perform another roll. It is nice that James got to see Daniel's first smile and now his first roll. Good boy for saving these firsts for when James is home.

Then this afternoon I put him on his mat before feeding him and he was playing with the mobile for the first time. I took this video.

I just loved watching him because I think you can tell he knows what to do, and he wants to do it. You can see the process he used to lift his hand up to touch it. Legs kick around, a bit of a roll and then the arm up in the air. I wonder what he is going to do next!

Yesterday we went to Hills Harvest which is the school fete at Rouse Hill. Daniel slept the whole time, even though we had forward planned to take a bottle of EMB for his lunch. It was nice to see some of the teachers again and some of my students and their parents. I am planning on going into school to visit on Wednesday to show him to the kids and also to go and visit some of the staff who we haven't see yet and for some people to have cuddles. So that's the plan.

We have also had fun dressing him up. Because winter is almost over I have decided to put him into the warm winter outfits that were gifts of 000 because otherwise he won't be able to wear them which would be sad. His outfit yesterday and today when we went out was a giraffe suit. He was so snug and cute! We didn't have him wear the hat for long as he didn't really like it.

 The last thing is that I am not too sure how my milk supply is going, but I think it is going well. On Monday I dropped my motilium tablets to taking 2 tablets 2 times a day, under the condition that I weigh Daniel this week and check that he is still putting on the 150g each week. Yesterday I expressed after we got home from the fete I expressed while James gave Daniel the bottle. I expressed 145mL, the most I have done. Then Daniel decided to have a massive sleep so I expressed again, just 5mins each side, at around 7. I got 100mL from that shorter time. Then last night, when Daniel finally woke at 12:30am, I woke up and was covered in milk. Clearly expressing isn't as effective as Daniel drinking from me. So I will keep an eye on how many times I wake covered in milk (it has happened one other night) and then chat with the health nurse next Monday about if I drop down to 2 tablets each day. But I will only do that if Daniel is still putting on weight. Just funny considering all the problems we have had.

A week of Firsts

This week has been a week of firsts for Daniel. On Monday when Nana came around he had his first hair cut. While others have said he didn't need it, I wanted him to get rid of his mullet as it was getting pretty long. Because he doesn't have full control of his head and he doesn't necessarily stay still we did it while I fed him - easy for Daniel to stay still, tricky for mum to be able to cut it. But she did a pretty good job I think.

Cutting while feeding

The result. Thanks Nana!

 To say thanks Daniel gave Nana some nice smiles.

 Then on Thursday night we went to Nana and Poppy's place for dinner, like we do each week. This week after Daniel's feed he was happy to lie down on their play mat. I love watching Oscar with him! He is so mesmerised by Daniel and how he does different things. He watched how Daniel fed again and he was happy to help him with playing.

Oscar shaking the toys

And kisses for Daniel

Then today Daniel and I went to the park with the Howies. After having a nice sleep while we hung out, he then had a bit of a play. This was a lot of firsts.

First time on a slide. Oscar won

First time on a slide on his own.

First time on horse equipment things

He loved it!

First time on a swing.

First time playing frizbee. Thanks for helping Auntie Jenny!

 He enjoyed resting with Uncle Howie.

And I absolutely loved his outfit today. It is still a bit big (he is still wearing 0000s but this is a 000) from a teacher at school. Because it is a winter outfit I'm going to dress him in it otherwise he won't wear it at all. I think it is very trendy and cute!

The tops are from the teacher, I put on different pants because they are too big. But it works.

I like it when Daniel is dressed like a little boy, instead of wearing one pieces all the time.

He is still doing a great job with lifting his head lots, particularly at tummy time. He doesn't really mind being on his tummy which is nice. He is content to lie there for 5 or so minutes and then get flipped over onto his back.

 I have also been singing lots of songs with Daniel from Playschool CDs during play time and doing the actions with him. Most of the time he just watches but sometimes he cracks a smile. He does enjoy being sung to which is nice. I have also been doing 'This Little Piggy' when changing him and during play time. Sometimes he loves it, showing lots of smiles. Today was one of those days. I hope you enjoy the video.

I am loving seeing his personality come out more and smiling more, also for other people. He is still doing pretty well with his sleeping. Last night was the first night where he was a bit unsettled after his feed at 2am. I needed to go in once to settle him, but then he went back to sleep.

Also, I had my 6 week appointment with my obstetrician. It was lovely to see Dr Booker, Rhonda and Tanya again. They were all very proud of me and how far Daniel and I had come with feeding and for the way that we persisted. They were very happy to hear that he is putting on weight and are happy for me to continue to take the motilium to keep the milk supply up so I just need to call them each time I need a new script. I am healing/have healed well which is good. As I was leaving Dr Booker said 'I'll see you for babies 2 and 3'. I laughed and said definitely not 3, maybe 2. Will wait and see. I am so happy that I went with him. All 3 of them were just so lovely, went above and beyond what their job was, were so supportive and understanding of every step. As Rhonda said, everyone there went through the ups and downs of feeding with me, even the receptionists. I will definitely go back to them in the future with any other kids we may have. 

Daniel's check ups

Yesterday Daniel went to see the pediatrician to get his 6 week check. Dr Chaitow was very pleased with Dan's progress over the 2 weeks since we'd seen him. He had put on 500g which was excellent, and he is starting to grow into his skin - but still needs to grow more. All other checks were good. I asked about taking Motilium still and he said I can drop down to 2 tablets twice a day but to weigh him again next week and if he hasn't put on the 150g that he has done the past 2 weeks then I up the meds again. Basically it's a see how I go. He said that it won't hurt to continue taking it though, but I will double check that on Wednesday with Dr Booker. As I was leaving he said that all looked good and I shouldn't need to bring Daniel back to him, unless he starts to go downhill again. Then he said 'Otherwise I'll see you in 2014'. Funny man. I said we'll see about that.

Then this afternoon Daniel went to Paul to get his 6 week injections. After sitting in the waiting room for 1hr 15mins (I love it how Paul runs late all the time... not) Daniel was quite good. He was ready for a sleep and did have a 20min nap while waiting. Then he sat there happily watching everything for around 30mins but then he became hungry and started to cry. Of course this was just before we were to go in. Fortunately he unattached himself from the first side just before Paul called us in so he was mostly content. He was weighed again (he'd put on 70g from yesterday, but that might be because he had just had some food), and measured. He has grown 5cm since birth. Go Dan! Then we had the oral vaccine. He quite liked it and ate it very happily. Then came the needles. He did really well. It's funny that I hate needles so had to look away from it while they did it, just like when they give me needles. But Dan had a few 'tears' (if he had tears) but then after being dressed again and a cuddle he was quite content. Yay.

We then came home and had the rest of his feed and a bit of a play and now he is trying to go to sleep. I'm hoping that the injections don't make him unsettled tonight... but we will take it as it comes I guess. 

In sleeping news, the last 2 nights he has had his dinner feed and then has settled himself without us needing to go in and say hi. We are so proud of him! Hopefully it will happen again tonight. Also he decided to sleep for 7-8 hours (9hours between feeds). Now I just need to have him understand that that is awesome if it started at 7/8 at night, not 3:30 in the afternoon. But I really can't complain. He is such a champion sleeper!

Play and Sleep

James and I know that we are very fortunate to have a baby who can sleep. Now that Daniel's weight seems to be going on (dress weight he put on 250g in a week), and he now wakes when he is hungry, it is wonderful that he can sleep. Until this week we have basically been holding him until he was asleep and then putting him down. This week we have started putting him down when he is awake and having him settle himself and he has been doing quite well. James and I have been impressed. He hasn't been too upset, and when he has we have given him cuddles then put him back down and he has been able to go to sleep. I hope this skill doesn't leave him. He still enjoys being held, and we will do this occasionally, particularly when we are out. I do think holding him to sleep is something we will miss doing as it is such a lovely time, but it is also nice that he can put himself to sleep.

The difficulty though is trying to catch him before he gets too tired. We are slowly learning his 'tired signs'. It is hard because tired signs are very similar to hungry signs. Sometimes he becomes tired straight after eating, so I get confused about if he wants more food or not. He eats for about 1hour and then plays for 10-15mins before he starts to become tired. We have been enjoying listening and singing along to Playschool this week. 

 He has also been doing a great job with lifting his head during tummy time.

We have also been getting a lot more smiles which has been lovely. It is such a blessing to see him grow and develop. 

Next week we have 3 of our 6 week appointments. Monday - Pediatrician, Tuesday - GP for immunisations (hoping he goes well), Wednesday - Obstetrician. So Daniel will probably be weighed again and hopefully he will have gained weight again too. 

 

1st week without James

This week James went back to work. After 4.5 weeks of him being around it has been different not having him here. It has been a little bit hard but I have been surprised at how well I have handled it. Keeping busy has helped out too.

On Monday we went to see the pediatrician to have Daniel checked out as he was referred by the gp. He looked at Daniel and said that everything looks good besides him being on the skinny side. Being skin and bones on his arms and legs he said that Daniel wasn't getting enough food. He asked how I was feeding him and I told him about how I was needing to wake him to feed. The pediatrician told me to go to demand feeding and to only feed 10 mins each side then express 10 mins each side and give him what was expressed. He also said Daniel needed to get a urine test just to check he didn't have an infection. He also told me to continue taking the motilium so that my milk supply doesn't drop as we need him to put on weight.

I was listening to him but wasn't really processing everything until after I left. Last time we did demand feeding, Daniel only fed 4-5 times in a day and he lost weight. This really scared me. It didn't make sense to decrease the amount of times he feeds to put on weight. And it went against the lactation consultant's instructions, who I would think knows about feeding.

We went straight to the SAN to get the urine test. As I was on my way to a group postnatal session I was thinking it would be a quick in and out so left the nappy bag in the car. Wrong! Daniel had done a massive poo so they couldn't take a sample. They gave me the bags to try and collect some at home and bring it back in.

We then headed to the group session. This was a follow up group with the psycologist that I went to during prenatal times. The postnatal group was with 4 other mums and their bubs. It was pretty good just chatting with them about each of our experiences. I met another lady who has had similar problems with her daughter not putting on weight and having difficulty with feeding. It was nice to hear that it isn't just me. We have swapped numbers and plan to message each other to see how the other one is going. Hopefully she is going well.

After the session we went to Grandma K's place for lunch. That was a lovely time. Daniel slept during lunch and then I woke him to feed. It was nice chatting with Grandma and learning more about her life. I never knew that she and Grandpa only went out for a year before they got married. She is also very proud of Daniel. She took great pleasure pushing him in the pram to go back to the car and stopping to show him to anyone we passed. Love it!

That night James and I sat down and had a chat for around 1-1.5hrs to discuss whether we do demand feeding or not. After a lot of tears from me, a lot of what if chats, James said 'we haven't got anything to lose by demand feeding'. We decided to try it and see what his weight was on Wednesday. If it dropped we were going to call up again and chat with the pediatrician to say that it wasn't working. I just couldn't get out of my head that he lost weight last time. It was really stressful for James and I and such an area of unknown. I struggled with thinking that I hated the idea of causing Daniel to lose more weight. 

Tuesday Mum came around and helped around the house. I attempted to catch Daniel's urine sample and succeeded. It took a while of just standing there holding the bag over him and telling him that he got no food until he gave me some wee. What a bonding experience. He was eventually a good boy and provided for me and Mum was a champ and took it to pathology while I fed him. It is so lovely having mum help by cleaning the house. It makes the house feel nicer. I hope I can be like her and when Daniel is a dad I can help him out around the house.

Wednesday saw James work from home so he could come to the appointment with the community nurse as we didn't know what this would hold. I was expecting Daniel to have lost weight and therefore have the formula chat. We updated her on all the appointments we had had then did the weigh in. Daniel had put on 100g in 2 days, 150g in a week. I didn't believe it so asked him to be weighed again. It was right. He had finally passed birth weight! 2 weeks too late, but still, better late than never. They were very happy with the progress, as were we. We changed to feeding plan to continue to be demand feeding, but to do 25mins on the first side and then up to 25 mins on the 2nd side. I then only express if I feel up to it. Hopefully this will be the last plan for a while! 

Thursday was a busy day! Jayne came to visit (she has moved to Qld so popped in to visit). It was a lovely to see her and Daniel enjoyed cuddles with her. We then went to the Thursday mothers group session. There were some new people in the group and some who were there 2 weeks ago. It was a nice session though. We then went out for lunch which was lovely. Part of me is worried though that a mothers group isn't going to form from it. I'm not too sure who would be up for it. Most of the mums sound like they are planning on going back to work. I want to join a mother's group. I have seen how beneficial it has been for both James' and my sisters as well as other friends... I guess I will just wait and see. As James said, I still have 7 weeks there to hopefully form good friendships and a mothers' group. After coming home for a feed we then went to Mum and Dad's for dinner. I love how much my family is taken by Daniel. He is a very loved little boy - even when he is really upset and crying lots.

Then today was hard. Last night we had what sounds like a normal baby. I fed Daniel in the night and for the first time he just wouldn't settle. A couple of times I put him down, waited and he looked like he was sleeping well, climbed back into bed and then he started crying. This happened a couple of times. The funniest time was when I got up at 3:30. Fed Daniel for an hour, settled him, and returned to bed. He then started to cry. James rolled over and asked me if he was due for a feed. I told him that he was very unobservant and I had just fed him so no. :-p He again took a while to settle. This was just very different to what we have had so far. I was also worried about James being woken as he had to go to work. I guess we again can't complain as it was only 30mins each time, but it was a shock to the system after having such a good time. Then today he has continued being a bit unsettled. My cousin Kimberly and my friend Liz came to visit and he enjoyed his cuddles but also cried a fair bit. After Liz he woke himself up after a short sleep so I took him for a walk to try and encourage him to sleep. In the 45min walk he didn't sleep, instead sat there wide eyed. Then when I get to the shops to buy some things for dinner, he fell asleep. (I was expecting the opposite and he'd start crying so I was happy with this option). I am finding it hard to know what he is wanting. I don't know why this has suddenly changed, but it has. I am going well with the feeding, and he seems content after feeding. He then enjoys a short play. He is doing amazingly well with tummy time! Lifting his head so very well! But he will then become a bit unsettled. I wrap him and pat him but then he just cries. He will smack his lips together and move around a lot. I don't know if he suddenly becomes hungry again, has tummy pains or is just too sleepy and can't get to sleep properly. I just don't know. I hope it will settle soon and I can understand him soon.

So overall I have survived my 1st week at home without James during the day. Daniel has put on weight! Hoping it continues. We are doing well and am hoping for a good nights sleep.

Sorry for such a long post!