*Just for clarification, I noticed in his “birth story” post I said his APGR went from a 5 to a 10. It actually went from a 5 to a 9.
Whew! I cannot believe that our sweet baby Myles is already ten days old! Of course it feels like he just joined our family (because he did!), but in a way it feels like he has always been here with us!
These last ten days have been a whirlwind—full of doctor’s appointments, nursing, diaper changes, and exhaustion.
First off, the doctor’s appointments. Because Myles was only in the hospital a little over 24 hours, we had to bring him in the very next day for his first pediatrician appointment. At that appointment on Tuesday, the doctor said that his weight gain was borderline where it should be and that he also might be a little jaundiced. So we came in for another appointment on Thursday. On Thursday the doctor said his weight gain was good and he was NOT jaundiced so we were good to go. However, as we were leaving the appointment a nurse ran over to stop us. She said that he had failed his PKU and actually tested “borderline positive” for hypothyroidism. So we had to go back Friday to have his PKU redone. Then yesterday (Wednesday) they called to say his new PKU results were in—and he was still testing positive for hypothyroidism. So this morning I took him in (this was my first time out with the three kids on my own. Whew! That’s a lot of work to go anywhere with three under five!) for more bloodwork and tests. They took FIVE tubes of blood from his little tiny arm! He cried and thrashed and tried to get away and they had to hold him down. However, I think his mom cried more than he did! Man is it hard to see your little guy go through something like that! Anyway, the nurse said he is so borderline, they actually think he is probably totally fine. But for now it is just wait and see what the test results end up saying!
Nursing--The majority of our time has been spent with me nursing this little guy. He LOVES nursing and I think he would be quite content being nursed all day every day. Mom, on the other hand, is NOT a fan of nursing. Sigh. He usually eats every hour or two hours during the day for 20-40 minutes each time. This means I’m usually feeding him all day long! Lately he does take a couple of pretty good naps that are about 1-2 hours long. Then at night he goes 2 or 3 hours in between feedings. So from people I’ve talked to and things I’ve read online, that is a pretty typical schedule for a breastfed newborn. However, for a mom who needs around 10 hours of sleep a night PLUS takes naps every day… I’m so tired!!! Oh well, what do you do? I’m sure I will get used to it… eventually! I will add that I have an app on my phone that keeps track of my feedings. It times how long I feed him and tells me which side I should start the next feeding. Technology is fantastic! My app has been a lifesaver because my brain is pretty fried and I couldn’t remember or keep track on my own!
Diaper Changes—We plan on using cloth diapers with Myles. However, cloth diapers come up higher than disposable diapers (and you can’t roll them down) so we weren’t going to use them until his umbilical cord fell off. Well that happened and I was excited (and nervous) to start cloth.
Doesn’t he look so cute in his little diapers?!?
Unfortunately, when the diapers are pulled up where they should be (in this picture it’s really low for some reason), it covers his belly button. Since his belly button is still healing, it caused some irritation and bleeding. So we only used the cloth for about a day and a half and will be holding off on our cloth diapers until he is COMPLETELY healed!
Exhaustion—For the first several days, Myles was ONLY happy when I was holding him. He didn’t even want anyone else to hold him—only me! In fact, he wouldn’t even SLEEP unless I was holding him! So for the first week, I had to sleep sitting up on the couch holding him. Needless to say, I was EXHAUSTED! Then I read about a Rock and Play. It’s like a cross between a bouncy seat and a bassinet. We went and bought one for Myles and now he will actually sleep without me holding him! I’m still super tired, but I consider that a success!!!
I guess that’s about it for our first week. Other than the doctor’s appointments, we have just stayed at home every day. The last day or so, I feed him at about 7:30, then feed the big kids at about 8. Then the rest of the morning is spent getting everyone ready and nursing and trying to do a few chores (sadly as much as I try, I am ALWAYS behind on my chores!). After lunch we have nap time (usually I end up holding him during naptime because he wants to sleep AND cuddle during that time). Then the afternoon is spent more of the same—nursing and trying to get some chores done in between. Austin gets home at 6 or so and we have dinner and then it is time to get everyone in bed. Once again, at night time Myles only wants cuddled by mom so I spend a lot of time holding him until around 9 or 10 when he goes to bed (then up around midnight, three, five, and then we start over again at 7ish). It’s not too bad of a schedule, but I look forward to the days when we nurse less and sleep more!
Now time for pictures!!! I haven’t been good at posting pictures or keeping people updated so far, but I have been snapping a few pictures as we go about our day! Excuse the picture overload, but I just think he is too too cute! I also take a lot because I love the different facial expressions he makes!
We call this his “grumpy little man” face. He uses it a lot. : D
I love his little feet in this picture!
This is his “super full tummy” look:
Sound to sleep in his Rock and Play:
His first bath. So far he has NOT been impressed with bath time!
So I’ll just warn you—the next few pictures are about 100 pictures of the exact same poses. However, once again, I kept snapping because of his changing facial expressions! I can’t help it! I love the little chubby monkey’s many different looks! It must be a mom thing—I can’t see anyone else getting too excited by these pictures, haha.
I take it back—MAKENNA also gets excited about all his different expressions! She loves to look through all his pictures too. : )
Oh, I guess this is a good time to mention how the big kids have been doing with a new baby in the house. They have actually done really well. Makenna LOVES the baby and wants to constantly be touching him and looking at him and talking to him. I’ve had to warn her several times to get out of his face! It’s hard for her though because she loves him so, so much! Max is occasionally a bit rough with him. He doesn’t want any of this cuddling business—he wants a rough and tumble brother he can PLAY with! So for the most part, Max just does his own thing and expects brother to do his own too! The kids have watched a LOT of TV lately. I’m just always so busy nursing I haven’t had a lot of time to do other things with them. So for the amount they have been without mom’s attention, they have been doing great actually! I’m hoping I’ll be better at spreading the attention around soon!
Okay, okay… I’m done! : D
Anyway, so just to kind of close things out (I’ve been typing this out as fast as I can while he is napping but I have GOT to go lay down for a nap too!), we seriously love this guy! I cannot stop kissing his fat little cheeks and I absolutely love looking at him and his dark hair and shiny, big eyes. In my nonbiased opinion, I think he is a BEAUTIFUL baby! He is actually a really good baby too—a bit needy with his always wanting to be held and whatnot, but all in all a good baby. I feel like he is also getting grown up really fast. When you hold him now he loves to lift his head up and look all around and everything. He also stays awake quite a bit and is very alert and likes to look around at everything. He also seems to be chunking up and filling out even more. If he has made so many changes in just ten days, I can’t wait to see what he is like in a few more weeks!
