Tuesday, May 24, 2011

7The State of :Things: Two Weeks In

Liam  is two weeks old today.  It’s kind of hard to believe we’ve been parents for an entire two weeks.  So I thought I’d give an update on how things are going here.

--Liam now weighs 7 lbs. 14.5 oz.  He had gained six ounces from last Wednesday to yesterday, so our boy is on a healthy little growth streak.  Also…he was two inches longer than he was at birth.

--Liam is starting to figure out the joy of stretching out.  Our boy still lays like a frog for most of the time, but occasionally, he’ll kick out and stretch.

--Liam has made himself a nice little schedule.  He wakes up every 3-4 hours and gets his diaper changed, eats, and hangs out a bit before going back to sleep.  Except at 2 AM.  At 2 AM he wants to hang out for a long time.  And possibly poop in his brand new clean diaper.  He likes to talk politics and celebrity gossip and anything else under the sun at 2 AM.  I blame Andy.  He did that to me all the time while I was pregnant….he would come to bed and wake me up to talk in the middle of the night.  I don’t find it to be a charming trait in either of them…but they are both so darn cute.

--During his hang out time, Liam has started looking around more.  He has this black and white pattern card that came in one of his toys, and he can follow it all the way around with his eyes.  He also likes just being held and talked to.  He and I talk about ridiculous things…”Ollie just moved his left paw.  Ollie is biting his leg fur.  Ollie stop biting your leg fur.  Liam, you are making a funny face.  Is Mama insane?”

--Andy’s mom came back to help for the week, and I am so thankful.  I don’t think I could do everything without her right now.

--My PICC line comes out on Friday….and I am so excited.  I think it will change our whole world.  I definitely feel like our schedule will be freer.  THhe things we will be able to stop doing soon: my iv line each afternoon…which takes a full hour.  I will be able to stop pumping and dumping…which will free up a few hours a day…and definitely allow for more nighttime sleep.  No more preparing formula and warming bottles and sterilizing nipples.  Next week, we won’t have to apply Liam’s mouth and rash creams four times a day.  We’ll just have a lot less to do every day.

--As a side note on that last point, I think Andy finally realized why I’m so much more tired than he is.  He and his mom had changed Liam’s diaper at 2, and brought him to me to feed.  They fell asleep around 2:20…and I stayed up to feed him, try to get him to fall back to sleep, and to pump.    At 3:50 I woke Andy up and asked him to take Liam  back to his bed….I think it was the first time he realized how long it takes to do everything I do in the middle of the night.

--In a surprising twist, Andy is gung ho in love with Liam’s cloth diapers.  To the point that he made the decision to stop using disposable over the weekend.  And since he’s the primary diaper changer right now, he’s the one that gets to make that call.  He likes them because they are super absorbent—they keep the wetness off our boy, he likes the way they cover him, and they seem to really be good for his rash.  He has also taken care of all poop removal in the cloth, and seems to be totally okay with it.  He told me the other day that he was really hesitant about it…but he’s really glad I made the call on them because he feels like they are so much better for Liam.

--I’m recovering well.  No more fevers.  My medicine seems to be working well.  I’ve gotten the hang of giving myself an iv treatment.  I hate my PICC line with a passion.  It gets in the way.  I can’t hold Liam in my right arm because the lumens dig into the back of his head.  If I leave my elbow crooked for too long (like holding a bottle or pump) it hurts when I straighten it.  My left arm, neck, and shoulder are super sore from doing all the baby work, since I can do very little with the right side.  I don’t have two necks.  I meant the left side of my neck.

--My c-section scar is healing up well.  It only hurts a little, and sometimes more itches than anything.  My pain has lessened significantly in the last few days…I’d say I’ll be recovered from that pretty shortly.  And that’s exciting. (Shannon—thank you so much for telling me about the brace thing---I ordered one and it has been my absolute best friend)

--Also…just to keep things interesting, I ended up with some bruising in the vein in my right hand where the iv was in the hospital.  I had no idea it could appear so much later.  But it hurts like heck and I have to use hot compresses to help it go down.  Now how funny is that?

--And lastly, Oliver.  Ollie has adjusted well.  He loves Liam, and is very protective of him.  He just wants to watch him (and lick him…but we try to stop that) and love him.  He’s very sweet.  He did learn this weekend that he doesn’t have to wake up for diaper changes and feedings overnight and now stays firmly planted in bed and asleep whenever we get up with Liam.  So I’d say he’s the best rested member of the family.   He never showed any signs of jealousy, and has done crazy well considering the chaos our house has been in.  He goes to the groomer this afternoon, and he LOVES the girl who does his hair…so I’m hoping she showers him with some extra special attention (she always does…Andy sometimes has to pick him and carry him out to get him to leave because he loves his groomer so much)

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