Bombs Away!

Abby hasn't pooped since last Sunday. At her 2-week checkup, her doctor told me to expect this. Sometimes babies go up to 2 weeks without pooping, and it is completely normal. There have been several times over the past week that she has had such stinky, powerful gas that we thought she was definitely pooping, but no luck.

Damon and I have a deal worked out for the weekends. I take care of the middle of the night feedings, since I'm used to them, and he takes her downstairs early in the morning. This way, I can get a few hours of uninterrupted, quiet sleep. I look forward all week long to these few hours because Abby is not there to provide her own soundtrack.

This morning, I was in that perfect sleep place. I was in the perfect spot on the bed, my pillow was just right, and I was between worlds: no longer awake, but not yet fully asleep. Suddenly, there is a loud pounding on the bedroom door. Being a new mom, I'm thinking the worst. I could only imagine the horror that awaited me behind that door. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.

There was Damon, holding Abby gently but as far away from him as he could, with poop everywhere. This wasn't just a normal poop; this was an explosion of astronomical proportions. Her whole bottom-half was covered in it. It was caked on her legs and feet, and her diaper was completely full. This was the first explosive poop she has taken, and it was huge! Thankfully, we had her in one of those sleepers with the feet instead of a sleeping gown. Otherwise, Damon would have been covered in poop too. Sadly, her sleeper was not salvageable. There was so much poop in the legs that we decided it was best to throw it away. We had to give her a bath after we were done because we just couldn't get it all. She just laid on that changing table and laughed at her inexperienced parents the whole time.

Progress

Abby is going through her first phase. Since Monday, she has not wanted to be put down to sleep at all. She will only sleep on my chest or right next to me. Every time she falls asleep I try to put her down in her co-sleeper, but minutes later she is wide awake and so angry. It becomes so frustrating because she will be dead to the world, but the second her head hits her bed, it's like she was never asleep. The only time she allows me to put her down to sleep is in the evenings. Those 2-3 hours free are heaven.

We have made some progress, though. She finally seems to be getting her days and nights in order. The last couple of nights, she has only woken up to eat. I have been up for an hour at a time, tops. Last night, she actually stayed asleep when I put her back down in the co-sleeper for another 1.5 hours. AND, the night before, she woke up after she had been asleep for a couple of hours, but Damon gave her a pacifier and she fell back to sleep BY HERSELF! She's starting to develop self-soothing skills. Some people have suggested letting her cry it out, but everything I have read says that she is just too young and it is impossible to spoil her at this young age. I have been keeping a sleep log to track when she sleeps and when she is awake, and we have a definite pattern emerging. The book I have been reading about sleep habits says it is very important not to keep a baby up more than 2 hours at a time. It is so true! As soon as that 1.5-hour mark comes around, she immediately shows signs that it is time to start soothing to get her to sleep. She has been sleeping pretty well the last few days too, as long as I don’t move too much. She is incredibly noisy in her sleep, though, so it is hard for to sleep well too, but I am so grateful that I have been getting any sleep at all. I have read so many horror stories on the internet of poor mothers who don't get any sleep in these first couple of months. If only she'd sleep in her own bed.



She is getting so strong. It is a rare moment that she is actually happy on her stomach. After a few minutes, she becomes very angry.


Look at all that hair! It is getting so thick in the back and sides.


This is what makes it all worthwile. We actually managed to take a picture of one of her rare smiles. She is starting to smile real, non-gassy smiles more and more.

Happy Birthday Abby

Abby turned one month old Tuesday. A whole month has gone by already! Before we know it, she's going to be all grown up. I wish there was a way to stop time, so she could stay a newborn forever. At the same time, though, I can't wait to hear her call me "mama" or for her to start sleeping through the night. There have been so many changes in her already.

She started off as a little blob that we couldn't wake up to eat. Now, she can’t seem to get enough to eat. Unfortunately, she's developed acid reflux. She was in a lot of pain for a while. She wasn't sleeping well, she was upset more and more. I finally decided to take her to the doctor last Friday and she was diagnosed with reflux, so now she's taking Zantac three times a day. What a difference that has made! She still has her fussy times where she's inconsolable, but she spends most of her awake time happy and alert instead of in pain. She's gone from this:



To this. I know her eyes won't stay this color, but aren't they gorgeous? They are so blue.



Have I mentioned her gas? Oh my god, this girl has the worst gas I have ever heard, or smelled. She could seriously give John a run for his money. When I took her to the doctor, I thought it was her gas that was causing so much pain. I think her gas has actually become much more stinky since the zantac. This is one of her gassy faces. Sorry these are so blurry. I had my legs up, and she was sitting on my thighs, so they're super close shots.



Finally, here's one I wish she'd do more of. She does sleep a lot, but she's so loud it's hard for me to get any sleep. She grunts, farts, and moves around all the time. It's rare for her to sleep more than 10 minutes without making some noise. Being a first-time mom, I jump at the slightest noise. It's getting easier distinguishing her "I'm sound asleep and just like to make noise" from her "hey, I'm awake. Feed me!" noises, though.



I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything in the world, though. Damon has been hearing parenting stories at work from staff and his residents, so we know we have a relatively easy baby. We are so lucky to have a beautiful, healthy baby. Hopefully, this month we can start figuring out some sort of schedule. It's been difficult to juggle life and having a baby, so I'm sorry if you don't hear from us as often as you should. We can't wait to see what wonderful new changes the second month will have in store for us.

Mom, sorry you missed the real snow. It's been snowing on and off since the day after you left! This was the view from our kitchen on Saturday morning

For those who haven't been here yet, here's our kitchen (obviously) after bath time. 

Nice and warm again.  

Abby's first real bath. She didn't like it very much.  

Hi

Since everyone is constantly asking for pictures and updates on Abby, I thought this would be the best way to keep everyone informed at once. I can't guarantee that I will post on a regular basis, but I will try to at least once a week.

Abby is growing so fast already. Last week, at her 2-week checkup she was up to 8lbs. 2.5 oz. and 21.5" long. That's more than a pound, and 1.5 inches, gained since birth already. She is much more alert than she was that first week, but there are times in the middle of the night when we miss the baby we had a hard time waking up. She is eating really well these days (as you can see from her growth), and we are still supplementing with pumped breastmilk. In fact, she eats more bottled milk than actual boob. It's nice to have Damon be a part of feedings too, especially on the weekends. He's been great about getting up with her on weekends and letting me sleep.

Ok, I know what everyone really wants are pictures, so here you go.