8 weeks

AJ is 8 weeks.   Wow.  He's becoming a little person.  He can hold his head up pretty well now when he's upright.  He's making all sorts of cute noises!  I love that.  And he smiles all the time.  

We had a low moment last week.  I had a day where I felt terrible.  I thought I might be getting sick.  I was fatigued, achy and had chills.   His thrush flared up and was giving me tons of pain.  The day got harder and harder and when I tried to nurse him at 7 I was having horrendous pain.  I decided to give him a bottle but when trying to make the bottle he was screaming so I started crying too.  Poor Steve got home to both of us balling.  We decided that I would pump for a day to let my body heal.  I took a long bath and Steve took AJ for a while.  That was such a great decision.  I've felt good all week since.  My body has healed and it barely hurts to feed him.  

I was nervous about pumping enough but I did ok.  It seems like he drinks more from the bottle than he would if he nursed.  So I did some research and found out that's true.  We started to offer a pacifier after the bottle and it's helped a lot!  I may also try premie nipples on the bottles to slow the flow.  He sucks down the bottles even with the newborn size.   I'm nervous he'll  drink more at daycare than he really "should" or actually needs to.  But I don't want him to run out of be hungry.  So I'm starting to freeze some so I can build my supply.   

We took AJ to the zoo this weekend.  I needed to get out.  It was a quick trip because it was hot.  But I was able to see my boss and coworker.  It was nice catching up.  I saw my cute bears, new skunk, manatees, our wolves and Panther.  Made me a little more happy about returning to work in a month. 

Tomorrow he gets his 2 month shots before his big trip to VA and NJ to visit family!!!   Big week ahead.  We can't wait! 

Also side note:   He loves his Boppy! 

7 weeks

7 weeks today!  AJ is getting big!  I'm still having pain with breastfeeding.  I have good days and bad days.   I'm hoping we will get through the bad days.  I've had a few moments where I've wanted to quit.  But the good still out weighs the bad.  Being tired does not help!  I had a small meltdown this am when I was in pain.  But Steve helped me and gave me a pep talk.   Then I took at 2.5 hour nap. Much needed!  

We got some good news.  Steve got the job as a manager of a Golftec center closer to our home.  He starts in October.     It's only 15 mins from our house, 1 mile from daycare, and he got a raise.  It used to take him 45 mins to get to work so this is huge!  Steve is going to be our daycare person. He'll take AJ and pick him up.  We only need daycare 3 days a week and found out that our daycare will do that.  So we only have to pay for the 3 days instead of 5.   That will save us like $60 a week!  Good news.  

What a difference 7 weeks makes....

Pre pregnancy shape

I had my 6 week check up.  I'm all cleared to work out.  After sitting around for 6 weeks, I am very excited.    I plan to start running again.  I will run when Steve is around in the evenings so he can take AJ.  I went out last night and did a run/walk for 25 mins.  It felt great!  It wasn't too hard and I feel pretty good.   I have about 10 lbs I'd like to lose to get back to where I was pre pregnancy.  I understand that will take a while.  The biggest thing is getting into some pants other than maternity.  I may have to go buy a pair before that happens!  I also want to work out to get my body used to being active.   Going back to work is going to be killer.  I'll be on my feet for 12 hours, in the sun, lifting 40 plus lbs each day.  I will also start scuba diving again.  I'm really excited for that!  It's been almost a year since I last dove with our manatees.    So here we go! 

Boba

Today out of desperation I pulled out our boba carrier.  I just hadn't gotten around to using it.  But AJ wouldn't stop fussing.  I nursed him, held him, put him in his swing and still was fussy.  As soon as I put him in the boba he got quiet.  10 minutes later he fell asleep.  

We are both now relaxed! Phew! 

6 weeks

This week has gone a little better.  We tend to have good days and bad.  Overall  he isn't eating as much.  Tends to have one day of eating all day and others where he sleeps a lot!  Nights are going better too.  He slept from 930 till 215 last night!  But he was up most of the day and was very fussy.  He finally wore himself out.  We are getting him to sleep in his cosleeper better.  He has to be out cold!  If he's even slightly awake then he wakes up as soon as you put him down. We may try his crib to see if he likes that better.  

We got his head X-rayed.   They had to strap him in.  He was not happy!  He cried the whole time.  They had to roll him in his side while he was strapped in.  Steve stayed with him the whole time.  It was adorable and sad at the same time.  But good news is that his head is not fractured.  His hematoma has calcified and will take a few months to heal.  

He is starting to grab things.  I brought out some toys yesterday and he grabbed one.  Not really on purpose but he still held it.  He is growing like crazy!!  He looks huge in his car seat now.  We don't need to use the head support anymore.  

I've started taking walks with him and Ethel each night.  I'm doing pretty good with pushing the stroller and walking Ethel.  It's nice to get out and about!!  

Breastfeeding woes

I've hit that point where he is cluster feeding.   Today he's pretty much been eating since 2am and it's 530 pm now!  I think we got 1 hour sleep in there.  He'll fall asleep for like 15 mins then wake up yelling to eat.   Not the worst thing except his thrush is still around.  The night before last was the worst!!  It was so painful.   It's mainly on one side so today I am having him nurse on one side only and pumping the other.  Luckily he's taking a bottle great.  We actually switched to a Dr Brown bottle which he seems to like a lot better.   Steve has offered him a bottle throughout the day so I get a 15 min break.   Once we get the thrush cleared up then I will feel better.   I'm glad he's growing but it sure is tough on me.   They weren't kidding that the first 3 months is hard!!   

1 month checkup

AJ had his one month check up!  

He is growing but more up than out.  He is going to be skinny and tall.  Today he was 8 lbs 12 oz.  He is up 2 lbs 2 oz from birth but still only in the 23%.  He was 23 inches today which put him in the 90%.  Not sure where he got the height from considering we are all pretty short.  

AJ was born with a hematoma on his head.  Usually they are more common with vacuum births.  His was pretty big but it has gone down.  But our doctor wants us to get his head X-rayed to make sure it's not fractured. 

Otherwise he looks good!