Little Tidbits

This post is just a bunch of random tidbits. Updates about Garrett and the family, etc.

First of all, I can not believe Garrett is all ready 3 weeks old. The time flies. He is growing so quickly. I weighed him today and he is exactly 12 pounds. His face is changing and it is neat to see his personality bloom. He started smiling on Thursday, which is wonderful. He has the most precious smile. I haven’t been able to get it on camera yet. Cami got to see him smile for that first time with me so that was special. I can’t wait to hear him laugh. Who wants to bet it will be Camden that gets him to laugh first? He is a roly poly little little thing and can roll from his side to his tummy or from his side to his back. He hasn’t yet rolled from his tummy to his back again but he’s been close.

Garrett is a pretty easy going little guy. He usually only squawks when he needs to go to the bathroom. He took to Elimination Communication (EC) like a pro. He is pretty good about letting me know when he has to go and he pretty much refuses to poop in his diaper. The only time he gets good and mad and cries his little heart out is when he has to poop. His tummy still hurts him sometimes when he has to go but he is starting to get the hang of it and about half the time he is calm through them.

Camden is still adjusting great to being a big sister. Camden says her favorite thing about having a little brother is that she gets to help “pick out his diapers. That is my favorite part about being a big sister, helping you.” How sweet is that? She is also a cloth diaper fanatic like me. LOL. I was antisipating a lot of regression from Camden and maybe it is too soon and the regression will come later but so far so good. She only slept in our room for those few nights when she was sick and then one other night she came in, in the middle of the night and told me that she didn’t, “want to be lonely” so we let her hop up into the bed with all of us. She is going to bed good at night and will even let Mike put her to bed, which is nice. There is a bit too much movie watching but I’m not going to worry about it right now.

The move to Bellingham is a bit stressful. Yesterday it looked like we weren’t going to be able to move directly to Bellingham and would have to move to Moses Lake for 6-9 months first and that really stressed me out. The hormones are definitely there because I had a hard time rationally talking about it with Mike and instead became a blubbering mess. Luckily there is no housing available in Moses Lake right now. All of the apartments are full and have a six month waiting list. So if we do move to Bellingham in October, which was the original plan, there is a chance that Mike might not have work right away. It looks like no matter what we do the transition isn’t going to go as smoothly as we hoped. Cross your fingers for us.

Next Thursday our ward at Church is going to throw Garrett a baby shower which is so sweet. I will try to get some pictures of that.

I swear I originally had a lot more to say but my brain isn’t working anymore, so that is all for now. Here are some pics:

2 1/2 Weeks, holding his head up so high!

Two weeks old

The Family Bed

Sweet Little Baby Hand

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One Week Old

Garrett is a week old today. I cannot believe how fast this week has gone by. It is hard to put into words how wonderful it feels to become a mother again. It is hard to understand the love and the power that resides within it and how consuming and overpowering it is. Hard to understand how it is possible to love someone so much that you’ve just only met. How it is possible for my heart to open so wide and have enough room and love for both Camden and Garrett is beyond me. I suppose it is just one of those mysteries of Motherhood.

This week has gone by in a blur but it has been great. I am still on that “high” and I keep waiting to come down from it. There’s that constant bit of tiredness that accompanies a new baby but it is hard for me to get any extra sleep because I still sleep in such a light state because every little peep has me popping my eyes open.

There are so many things that are better this time around because I am more relaxed. I think my favorite is co-sleeping. With Camden I never intended to co-sleep. In fact, I swore to myself that I would never co-sleep when I was pregnant with her but wound up co-sleeping out of necessity because my little girl refused to sleep unless she was in my arms and she never slept for more than an hour and a half at a time and usually it was more like an hour. With Garrett I knew that I wanted to co-sleep again and it has been so wonderful, relaxing and natural. He sleeps so peacefully snuggled up against me and the best time of the day is in the early morning waking up to each other and just staring at one another and enjoying one another’s company. Garrett also loves skin to skin contact (Camden hated it) and this has been just another precious thing to enjoy with him.

I feel like a broken record but I love my little guy so much. He has funny little quirks (like hair on his earlobes and silly pinky toes that overlap his other toes) but he is just an absolute ball of perfection. For the first few days he didn’t like to open his eyes much and when he did he mostly just opened the right one. He still does that sometimes and I like to refer to it as his “pirate eye.” He also has the squeaky girlish squeal that is both hilarious and annoying. We keep joking with him that he better stop doing that before he meets his Uncle Dave or he’ll never live it down.

He is such a mild and calm little baby but for the first few days it was tough because he was having problems with his digestion and would scream at the top of his lungs when he had to have a bowel movement. It was so hard to witness because he would be peacefully sleeping and then just begin screaming and thrashing about and I knew something had to be wrong. I was so thankful that the chiropractic adjustment solved his digestive issues and he no longer wakes from sleeping and screams and the whole house is able to sleep much better now.

He does not have a very high frustration tolerance though and does not always give much warning that he is getting mad – all though this does seem to have gotten better since his adjustment yesterday. He seems pickier about what position he wants to be held in and if he starts to cry you have to be very quick or it will turn into a scream.

Yesterday, his umbilical cord fell off and so we were able to start using cloth diapers. Hooray! I love using cloth diapers which must seem so silly to some people. I have also started practicing EC with him part time and so far it is going really well. I’ll post more about the details of this later but so far today I caught quite a few of his bowel movements and a couple of his pees.

Garrett is also very strong. He almost rolled himself over yesterday when he got angry. He can also hold his head up really high and for quite a long time. I’m going to try to get a picture of it because Camden could hold her head up really well as a newborn too but he can hold his head up higher than she could at nearly 3 weeks old.

Garrett sleeps like a dream. I’m not counting on it staying this way and assume it is because he is just a very tired newborn but he will sleep for 3-5 hour stretches at night which is absolutely wonderful. He is nursing well now too. At first it took a bit of work because he was so tired the first few days and he also struggles a bit with a lazy latch and doesn’t like to open his mouth wide enough but he is getting the hang of it now. Engorgement is finally gone and I am very thankful for that.

Camden loves being a big sister. She is all ready getting protective over Garrett and made sure to tell Lisa when she visited that Lisa could not take Garrett home with her because it was “her” brother. So cute. She comes over to me periodically throughout the day to say hi to him and talk about how cute he is or give him hugs and kisses. First thing in the morning she comes into the room and every day this week she has said “where is my brother?” and I have to show him to her. I think she is afraid he’ll leave or disappear. Unfortunately, when he becomes mobile and can terrorize her possessions I think it will be less of a fear and more of a plea. LOL. I am surprised at how much Camden does not hover around and mess with him too much. It has been really nice for her to love on him and enjoy him but for her to still go about her regular activities.

So far Garrett seems to enjoy the car. He’s only been on two car rides but he’s handled it pretty well. Today we went out to dinner with the girls and took them to Sonic. I wore Garrett in the moby wrap and he slept the whole time. I cannot overemphasize enough what a lifesaver it is to have a wrap and to wear your baby.

I’m sure I could drone on and on and on about this little guy forever. I just can’t believe that Mike and I have a son. We feel so blessed and so overjoyed.

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We’re Moving…

Well we are going to be moving, yet again, in a little more than 2 months. Mike and I have tried to promise each other that we would stop moving so often but for one reason or another we have never stayed in one house longer than 2 years. This will be Camdens 5th house that she has lived in and she is only 3 1/2 years old. Poor thing. LOL.

We will be moving back to the beautiful Northwest and most likely in Bellingham or the surrounding area by October 1st. We want to time the move before the winter hits the mountain passes but we’ll also have a new baby so we didn’t want to move September 1st. Our new baby will only be about 4-5 weeks when we move so please wish us luck. I will be pretty much all but useless during the actual move which is nice in some ways but annoying in others. We’ve all ready had members of our Church and our friends offer to help us in any way that we need, so that is nice.

Camden is excited about the move but that is because I don’t think she realizes how far away our friends will be. I am a bit worried on how well she will be able to handle so many changes at once, the move and the new baby. I’m worried she’s really going to regress a lot but I guess there is not much you can do about that. On a positive note, Camden is very excited to be able to see her sister more often and to spend more time with her cousins and see her grandparents more often.

I am both excited and saddened about the move. Excited to be back in the beautiful Northwest and to take advantage of all the wonderful things the area has to offer. I have found some really neat mommy groups to join all ready and have all ready located a liscensed raw milk farm to buy milk from and it will be nice to be close to Trader Joe’s and a food co-op and all the wonderful farmer’s markets, etc. But I am really, really going to miss my friends and it also stinks to be moving to Bellingham in October which pretty much means we will be moving into rain for about the first six months of our move. We keep trying to prepare Cami for the rain but all she says is, “I don’t like rain.” LOL.

We have less than 4 weeks until the baby is due and I am finally starting to feel prepared for this baby as far as organization goes. I’ve made almost all the last minute purchases we need and unpacked all the blankets and burp cloths, clothing, etc. I’m waiting on one more package in the mail that has some diaper pins, snappi’s and cloth diaper liners in it and the only thing we have left to purchase is one small pack of 7th generation disposable diapers that we’ll use for the first few days before I start cloth diapering and also some baby bath soap (I think I will get something by Earth Mama Angel Baby). I still have to wash everything since I got the Allens Naturally soap I ordered on Friday and haven’t had a chance to launder anything yet. I also need Mike to go to the hardware store and buy the eye hook to install in the ceiling for the Happy Hangup we have. I think that’s it?

Mentally, I am getting really excited to have this baby and am excited about the birth. Baby likes to hangout posterior a lot which is really convenient for me because it is not as uncomfortable as when they are anterior but labor wise we want baby to turn anterior soon. I am having a lot more braxton hicks contactions and they are definitely getting stronger but I don’t really think this baby will be early. I’m thinking he/she will be born right around the due date (August 22nd). I should be having a prenatal appointment sometime this week and I will update when that happens. I think Shilowe is also going to take some more pregnancy shots of me this week.

Someone from Church called last week and they want to throw me a baby shower which I thought was really, really sweet. I was definitely not planning on one of those this time around. They are trying to decide if we are going to have it before or after the baby is born since we don’t know the baby’s gender. I am hoping they’ll plan it for after so that everyone will have a chance to see the baby since with the move happening right after the baby is born I don’t think we’ll make it to Church to say good-bye before we go.

Anyway, it’s been hard to keep up with the blog lately so I’m sure it will only get worse over the next several months trying to juggle a new baby, a 3 year old, finding a new place to live and moving across the state. Wish us luck!

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Help Protect Co-Sleeping – Co-Sleeping Survey

I got this in my email inbox today. We were/are a co-sleeping family and so matters like this are dear to our heart. If you have ever or are currently co-sleeping please take a minute to fill out this very quick survey and be counted. Co-sleeping is not neglect.

Go to SURVEY

Hello breastfeeding supporters and educators,

As you well know, the best food for a new child is
breast milk. You also know that not everyone believes
that fact. The formula companies have successfully
“separated” today’s woman from her breast, at least
mentally. The leaders of the La Leche League are
trying to undo this unfortunate shift of culture, and
we thank you for it.

As you may also know, many of these same “Big Corp”
interests are attacking the Family Bed saying it can’t
be done safely. They, for all intensive purposes, have
a firm grasp on America’s idea about the ONLY safe
place that a child should sleep, a safety approved
crib. Co-sleeping or bed-sharing can be an integral
part of most breastfeeding situations. It makes it
easier, which helps extend the duration. However,
there is a very real movement to officially label
co-sleeping as NEGLECT. This would be a major step
back for breastfeeding.

There are important bed-sharing guidelines that need
to be followed, and not omitted. Public health
departments and the general public are being bombarded
with news stories calling for the end of co-sleeping.
They say it’s dangerous and can’t be done safely. You
as a professional know different.

Help get the message out to save this beneficial
parenting choice. Please ask your successful
co-sleeping families to help prove something that Mr.
Big Corp would like to hide…that people can and are
co-sleeping/bed-sharing safely.

www.co-sleepingsurvey.com is a 30 second survey that
allows parents who have or are currently
co-sleeping/bed-sharing to count themselves as safe
parents. The website has been live for under a week
and over 1000 people have signed up. Most of them are
breastfeeding women. This number is desperately needed
to prove that co-sleeping and bed-sharing can be done
safely and the only thing that needs to be abolished
is the discrimination against this valuable practice.

Thanks,

Co-sleepingsurvey.com

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