Baby = One Month

I can’t believe that it’s been a month already. My little man is a month old, I’ve been home a month and now there are two months to go until I’m part time at work. I’m pretty worried about that transition. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it’s going to be. I’m trying not to spend too much time thinking about it now because there are a LOT of other things going on right now. . .

We’re still working on the diaper thing, I’m using the Huggies Pure and Natural (free sample here) for right now. I’m going to give the gdiapers another shot here shortly to see if the rash thing was just because he was so young. If it doesn’t work out, there’s always a market for them on Craigslist! I think he’s also finally getting big enough to try the Bum Genius diapers again. We will see.

Breastfeeding is continuing to get better – I thoroughly understand why some women give up though. If I didn’t have a support system to educate me on how to breastfeed and a supportive husband to help out and encourage me, I would have quit. It is demanding on your time, your body, your sleep . . . but I believe that it’s worth it for a variety of reasons (health, finances, bonding with baby, etc). I will say that it really started to get better when I got a baby application for my new iphone (yes, I’m a dork like that [it's called 'Total Baby' for those of you that are fellow nerds]). It times the feedings, keeps track of which side was last, keeps track of diapers, immunizations, doctors visits, his growth. . . etc. Now, if I could only get it to do the laundry and clean the house! I have gotten good at typing one-handed and holding a book one handed as well. It’s amazing the adaptations you make for baby!

He is still sleeping at night but waking up frequently to eat (although last night he slept for 5 hours straight – amazing!). It’s kinda stressful at times but I know it will continue to get better as he grows and his stomach gets bigger so it can hold more milk. He has gone through several growth spurts where I pretty much sit on the couch and feed him all day. He’s growing and healthy though, and we are getting more sleep than we anticipated so I can’t complain! Additionally, the sling is such an amazing tool to help him fall asleep – I am definitely going to continue making these for all my friends that are having babies. It’s just invaluable!

And while we’re on the topic of babies sleeping, I have had many recommendations for the book Babywise, which advocates ‘parent directed scheduling’ to get your baby to sleep through the night sooner. I want to take a quick moment to address this book because many people don’t know the potential harm from this system. The American Academy of Pediatrics has denounced this method and our hospital sent us home with literature asking new parents not to use this method. It basically boils down to the fact that an infant needs to be feed 2-3 hours (or more often during growth spurts) and putting the baby on your schedule can lead to ‘failure to thrive’ and dehydration. Babies aren’t manipulative or lying to you when they cry. You can not spoil an infant. They have simple needs (food, sleep, changing, cuddling) and one way to communicate all of them. You can’t feed your baby too much and I fear that the Babywise method could lead parents to try and schedule their child into their schedule at the harm of the baby. And as an added side note, the author, Ezzo, has a very shady history. That doesn’t really help my opinion of the book. So there’s my brief commentary on that controversial book. My recommendation? The Happiest Baby on the Block – very middle of the road (in regards to parenting style) with sound medical advice. Ultimately, every baby is different and you have to make the decisions that work for your baby and your family.

I want to say thank you again to all the friends that have been bringing us food. It really has helped eased our transition and relieved so much stress on us. It’s so nice not to have to plan our meals and try and figure out how to juggle grocery shopping and cooking at this point. So thank you everyone so much – it means the world to us!

OK, that’s all I have for today. Sorry for the infrequent postings and I know there have been a lot of baby posts recently but I will start getting back into the routine of cooking and crafting at some point!