fussy babies

Well towards the end of my breastfeeding Kale was getting super fussy. Ryan kept telling me he had colic and me being a mommy, with my internal instinct knew that it was not. I have heard about colicy babies and I know that they scream for three hours straight and high pitch. Kale was not doing that but he was getting fussy around nine and staying fussy on and off until about eleven. Well once we switched him to formula he is no longer fussy at all. It was because he wasn't getting enough. Now he goes to bed at nine and sleeps until four or five. Such a difference.

However, before I stopped breastfeeding on one of his fussy nights Ryan did some research on fussy babies and we found this amazing website. It gave us all kinds of tips on how to help with fussy babies. One of them was bicycling their legs. Well even when Kale isn't fussy he absolutely LOVES laying on his daddy's stomach while his daddy bicycles his legs and tells him they are going to canada. Ryan will talk to him and Kale coos away back to his daddy. It is the cutest thing ever.

The website also talked about not letting your baby just cry. It is ok for a few minutes but the baby begins to think you're not meeting his needs and will start to stop to express his needs to you which is not good.

The website also told us about bouncing or dancing with the baby. Babies are used to this because in my womb they moved around and they like you doing this it automatically calms them down. And this so does work with Kale. In the morning time we have dance time. Kale loves country music. Well actually really he loves all music but we listen to country in the mornings and I dance around the living room with him. He LOVES it. He just stares up at me and is so content. This is also how I get him to sleep for his morning nap.

The website really did help us and it helped us to better understand why Kale does some of the things he does.

you learn from your mistakes

Well Ryan and I made our first mistake parenting. I don't know if you would even call it a mistake. Well we had started pretty much right when Kale came home I would pump and Ryan would get up with Kale once during the night and feed him my pumped milk. We also gave Kale a passy and everything was going great. No problems. Well when Ryan's mom came into town I wanted to visit with her and she watched Kale and let us get out of the house well I stopped pumping like I should and so we had to go to formula and we fed Kale formula. Well even after she left this continued and we did it some when Ryan was watching Kale because like I said I wasn't pumping like I should. Well the week after his mom left Kale started acting really funny about breastfeeding. He was not taking to my boob like he had been and he would pitch fits and really fight me. So ofcourse I didn't want my little boy to go hungry so we would feed him formula. Well when I finally got around to pumping again after things settled after Ryan's mom left, I pumped and noticed I wasn't getting the five ounces I was in one sitting. I was not even getting an once and that included from both boobs. I started crying and was really upset and mad at myself for letting this happen. Well we tried to get my milk back and it just wasn't coming back. Kale was not having the poopy diapers he should be having and was so fussy at night. We thought that maybe he was collicy but once he started not having any poopy diapers for two days I knew that he wasn't getting enough. We had taken him off formula and weren't feeding him any bottles. Well he started to act like he was really hungry so I caved in and fed him a bottle and then another one. It was like we had a completely different baby. He was not fussy at all that night. He went from crying from 9-12 on and off and not going down till 12 to he went to bed at nine that night. Well yesterday I was reading one of my breastfeeding books that I did not read before I started breastfeeding or while I was pregnant like I should have done. I came to realize I had given him nipple confusion you should not give them a bottle or passy until at least after six weeks from what my book said and also it said if he was not getting enough it could lead to dehydration and if he did become dehydrated he might end up in the hospital and it could cause permanent damage. After reading that I made a decision to feed him formula. I am very disappointed in myself for letting this happen, but there is nothing I can do about it now. You learn from your mistakes and at least with the next baby I will know no passy's and no bottles until after six weeks. I hate that he is not going to get my breast milk because I know that is best and I could just hit myself over the head but I messed up and I just have to deal with it now. He is not taking formula bad though, he wasn't gassy at all yesterday and he was gassy with my breastmilk. He did spit up a little bit which he barely did with me breastfeeding, but I don't want my little man to starve so I made a choice.

It is crazy, but that is exactly what was making him a fussy baby. Ryan kept telling him he had collic and I knew he didn't. I knew he was still hungry but Ryan didn't want to give him bottles or formula and so I went with it for a couple days. Since we have switched him to formula and it has only been one day it seriously is like we have a new baby. He is not fussy. He only cries when he needs something. Last night he went down at 9:45 and he slept until 4:30. We were so proud of him! I mean that is so good for a newborn baby. I was so impressed! With him going to bed earlier he doesn't sleep in as late but he still sleeps in pretty good. He sleeps on and off until about 9. At nine he is ready to be up and does not want to go back to sleep. He is up and ready to spend time with his mommy.

Kale's fussy time

We learned in the breastfeeding class that every baby has a fussy time of day. Well Kale's is around 9-10ish. I normally bounce him around the house while patting his butt and he hushes and normally falls to sleep. Ryan says that this is spoiling him. Just as a mommy I can't stand to hear my beautiful baby boy cry. It makes me really nervous and it hurts my heart. I just can't stand it. Well Ryan has been letting him cry just a little bit and it has been driving me nuts. I know even at this age they are smart and already testing the waters to see what they can get. If you constantly bounce them when they are crying they are going to cry until they get what they want. Babies are very smart. However, I just want to give in. I can't stand to hear my baby boy upset. It is very hard for me. Ryan and I definitely butt heads on this, which ofcourse there is always going to be something that parents butt heads on. I definitely don't want our child to be a spoiled brat but it is just so hard. That little boy is my everything and I hate to see him upset. It is definitely my first mile stone that I have to get past as a mommy. We will see how I do.

Kale's first bath

I haven't written about Kale's first bath yet and I wanted to because it was definitely an experience. We went for his two week check up and the doctor looked at the umbiblical cord and told us to only put the alcohol on it twice a day now and showed us how to kind of play with it when putting the alcohol on I guess to speed up the process or to help it fall off. That night when Kale woke up for one of his feedings I went to change him. I was exhausted and half awake and started to undress him when something caught my eye. I noticed the black cord was no longer on his belly button ofcourse that was enough for me to become wide awake. I ran in the room and told Ryan. I was so excited for the next day because I knew we could give Kale a real bath. He loved his little sponge bath so I was sure he would love the real one even more. My sister had bought us this really neat baby bath. Well when I got it out it seemed a little different than what the normal baby bath looked like but it was so cool. We tried to give Kale a bath in it but we weren't allowed to fill the bath with that much water and it was elevated in a way where he kept sliding down the whole time and I think it made him feel really insecure. He cried the whole time. I felt so bad for him and began to wonder if maybe he didn't really like his bath. Well we ended up going to walmart and getting the normal old average baby bath that you could fill with water and he lays on a hamock. I was curious to see if it was the baby bath or the actual bath that he was not enjoying. We gave him a bath the next night in his new bath tub and he absolutely loved it. He gets scared at first I think because the hamock is cold but once you start pouring the water over him he is the happiest baby in the world. He makes cooing sounds and tries to eat his hand the whole time. When we go to wash his face he opens his mouth to eat the rag. It is so cute. It never fails right when we put him in he pees. It is the funniest thing ever...we just kind of wait for it. The other night when we took pictures of him happy in his bath, I heard him poot, right as I was saying he better not poop in his bath sure enough..poop comes out of his little butt. We had to grab him clean out his bath and start all over the whole time Ryan and I are laughing so hard. I absolutely love being a mom. My son is so wonderful and I enjoy just being able to make memories and enjoy the cute little baby things he does. It is so rewarding.

Kale and Mommy's first day at home alone

Well today is the first day that Kale and mommy were home without daddy. I was a little nervous just because Ryan has been here at home with us to help with everything for the past month; however, everything went great. Kale has been a good little boy all day. It was actually kind of nice because I was able to return to my routine. When Ryan is here I tend to ignore things that need to be done around the house just because I want to hang out with him. So, today I got back on a routine. While Kale took his naps I cleaned up the house and just straightened up. He has been a little fussy today. It's the whole getting him off bottles makes him a bit fussy and it seems he gets hungry more often, but other than that things have been great.

I can't believe he is a month old today. It feels like just yesterday i was checking into the hospital anticipating the arrival of my son and today he has been here for a month. It is crazy how quickly time flies. He is growing up so quickly before my eyes, especially his belly because he is an eating fool. I think he would eat all day if I would let him, but I don't. I think once my milk gets back to where it used to be he won't eat so frequently...

He got a little fussy towards three and it was not time for him to eat yet so I decided since the weather was nice I would take him on a walk to help me shed my last few pounds and get me back in shape because I definitely am not in shape like I used to be..He absolutely loved going a walk as soon as I got the stroller going he instantly fell asleep! I think I am definitely going to take him on a walk everyday if the weather permits. Not only is it good and relaxing for him, but it also is good for me. I could definitely tell I was out of shape because after I had been walking for a little bit pushing him up the hills in the neighborhood was definitely a job. My sister is coming down to help me when Ryan gets his surgery and I told her to bring Jayden's stroller because then we can take both of them on a walk! Not that my sister needs it or anything but it will be something fun we can both do.

breastfeeding

The whole time I was pregnant Ryan and I had decided that I would definitely breastfeed if everything went well and I could..We went to the breastfeeding basics class and the class helped alot and the lactation consultant was helpful with questions and explaining everything and had said that she would be there to help with breastfeeding in the hospital. After I had Kale and I was still in the labor and delivery room he was crying because he was hungry, I asked one of the nurses if I should go ahead and feed him and she said yes, I could. So I gave it a shot. She helped a little bit and we got him to where my nipple was in his mouth but he would not suck. He just sat there and didn't do anything. Well after a few minutes I told one of the nurses he was not sucking and asked if they could get the lactation nurse she told me that the lactation nurse would come in and help me as soon as I got into my postpartum room. So they took Kale and got me ready to transfer me to postpartum. Well in postpartum the lactation nurse still hadn't come to see me after Kale had been out of the nursery for about an hour. I knew he had to be hungry so I said something to one of the nurses asking her if the lactation consultant was ever going to come see me because my son had still not eaten. This nurse then tried to help me get him to eat and she could not succeed either. She had told me the reason the lactation nurse didn't come in was because the nurses in labor and delivery had said that he had eaten after he was born. FALSE! The nursery nurse couldn't get him to eat so she brought in a pump and told me to try and pump because he needed to eat before they had to take him back into the nursery. They brought me a pump and I tried pumping and could not get anything. I began to worry that maybe I didn't have any milk inside me. I called her back in and told her that I had not gotten anything and asked her if this meant that my body had not produced it and she told me no, that he was the best pump out there and even though the pump hadn't gotten anything didn't mean that he wouldn't be able to. Finally they got him latched on except he was dimpling when he sucked so finally the lactation consultant came to see me. She tried to get him to suck and he wouldn't she then stuck her finger in his mouth and said that he didn't even act like he was interested in her finger so he ovbiously was not hungry and we would try again later and she left. This kind of made me mad because it had been five hours or more since my son had been born and he still had not eaten anything. They had to take him to the nursery and she said since he had not eaten they would try and give him a little formula in the nursery. I said ok because my little boy was not cooperating with my breast and I did not want him to go hungry. They gave him a little formula in the nursery and then brought him back and one of the nursery nurses came in and helped me and finally we got him to suck. But it seemed that as soon as anyone saw him latch on to one boob they would leave and he would fall off and then I wouldn't be able to get him back on. I ended up leaving the hospital really nervous about breastfeeding. I had only gotten him to latch on by myself once and it was pointless to ask for help because no one really helped in the hospital. Luckily when I got home everything went well and he attached just fine. However, the lactation consultant said it shouldn't hurt and it did hurt but I got some cream and that helped and once my nipples toughened up now I don't feel a thing. However, when I was breastfeeding and pumping I got kind of depressed and didn't really want to do it anymore. It seemed like all I did with my dad was pump and feed him pump and feed him. When Ryan's mom came down we started to give him more formula and I started to kind of shy away from breastfeeding. When I was pumping I noticed a HUGE decrease in my milk production and I started crying. I wanted what was best for my baby and I wanted to breastfeed so we started to work really hard at getting my milk back. Also by giving Kale a bottle at first everything was going well and he would still take my boob but then he started to cry and fight with me when I tried to breastfeed him. I talked to my mom about it and she said it was a really bad idea to give him a bottle that what he was doing was he was starting to resist my boob because he has to work to get the milk out of there and with a bottle it is easier. So now we are not giving him any more bottles unless we are out because it's not like I can whip out my boob and it has been hard because sometimes I can tell he wants a bottle and i want to cave in but I don't. So things are getting better. But I definitely know why so many moms quit breastfeeding it is work

Ryan's return to work

Ryan has been at home with me and Kale since Kale was born. So tomorrow it would have been a month he has taken off from work haha :) I didn't realize he had taken off that much until I did the math. I have loved having him at home and us getting to spend so much time as a family. Tomorrow he goes back to work, I had completely forgotten about it until on the way home from breakfast he said he was dreading tomorrow. It sure is going to be interesting me being at home without him. It is kind of sad. I love having him home and us all spending the days together. I hate that he has to go back to work too for the pure fact that is probably going to kill his back. I feel so bad for him. I know he can't wait to get his surgery and to be honest I can't wait for him to get it either. His back is causing him so much pain. Sometimes he can't even hold his son for long periods of time because that hurts it. He gets surgery on April 2nd. So he won't be back at work for long before he is back at the house with us. I think my sister might come down and help us out the first week just because not only am I going to have to take care of our son but I am sure he won't exactly be mobile right after his surgery and will need my help with things too. I am going to be one busy girl taking care of both of my babies. :) I hope that the surgery corrects the problem for good. My mom and I were talking while she was down here and I don't even know how I am going to be able to be at the hospital with him while is getting the surgery. I mean for one I definitely can't spend the night because we have Kale. And then also there are so many germs and things that Kale could catch in the hospital and I definitely don't want to expose him to any of that especially because he hasn't had his first round of shots yet. So it should be interesting to say the least as to how I am going to be there for my husband. I really don't want him to go through this alone. He has always been there for me. He went to all of my doctor appointments when I was pregnant except two and he just could not be there because of work. So I want to be there for him, especially when it is something like surgery. I don't know how long he has to stay in the hospital. Last time he had back surgery they sent him home after 24 hours but that was only because he hounded the crap out of them and that surgery was not as big as this one. So hopefully it will work out and I can be there for him. If my sister can come down at least she could watch Kale for a little bit so I could spend some time at the hospital because I don't want my husband to go through this alone. It is something him and I are going to have to sit down and talk about, but I hope it works out so that i can be there for him. I know it would mean the world to him and it is very important to me.

I will post tomorrow and give details about mine and Kale's first day at home without daddy!

Nana and Papa's second visit

I have not written on here in forever...It has been kind of tough just because when Kale is asleep Ryan and I like to spend that time together. So therefore I don't spend too much time on the internet besides getting on facebook to add the latest pictures of our beautiful son!

This weekend nana and papa (my mom and dad) came down for their second visit. I loved seeing them again. It's kind of different now because I can't just hop in my car and go up to Atlanta to see them anymore they have to come down here because I have a little new baby son. My mom absolutely loved seeing him again. Luckily for her he had been a little fussy Friday night and didn't go to bed at his regular time so he was up when they got here around 11:30. I told her he knew they were coming and just wanted to stay awake to see his nana and papa. Haha. After she had held him for a few minutes he fell asleep in her arms. It amazes me how wonderful my mom is with babies which I guess she would have to be. She did have four kids. No matter how fussy Kale or even Jayden was when she was young my mom knows exactly what to do to calm them down. Like when Kale was crying she held onto his hands and he stopped. She said holding their hands sometimes makes them feel secure. It just amazes me. Everytime she comes down I learn something new.

Kale has this new schedule where he wakes up at around nine and I feed him and then he lays on mine or his dad's chest and falls back asleep for a while. Well Saturday after I fed him we went into the guest bedroom where my parents were sleeping and he fell asleep between my mother and I. My mom was snuggling up so close to him. She kept commenting on how he looks like a little man. He really does and his facial expressions are so funny. When he is annoyed or about to get ready you can so tell by his face. My mom was shocked at how much he stays awake and looks around. She said most babies his age don't. He just looks around and takes everything in.

Saturday I left him for a little bit with Ryan and my mom, dad, and I went shopping. My parents bought me a couple dresses from Old navy. I feel really good about the way I look. I mean I am still not where I want to be but since after the first week I had him I am in Mediums so I only have one more size to go. Really the only reason I am in mediums is because my boobs are so huge. So I really don't know if I will able to go back to small shirts. My mom has been on a diet and looks absolutely amazing she has lost a lot of weight. I need to pick up my pace or she is going to get skinnier than me haha so we also went to JcPennys to buy her some new clothes because nothing she has fits her anymore. I hated being away from kale. I think about him the whole time I am gone and get this anxious feeling until he is back with me.

That night we took him out for the first time we went to Texas RoadHouse. We were really glad that we sat kind of back away from everyone because they were really busy and I just didn't want him to get sick or anything. He slept ofcourse until our food came. Haha Go figure. As soon as our plates were put on the table he woke up and started fussing. My mom held onto him but I felt bad for her doing that because she wasn't getting to enjoy her food, but she loved it and said she did it all while we were growing up and she didn't mind AT ALL. Ryan finished not soon after and ended up feeding him a bottle and then he went right back into his carseat and was fine.

Last night, he did not sleep that well. He got up at 1:30 and stayed up for an hour just looking around and then when he got up for his four a.m. feeding he stayed up until 6:30. Haha. He has never done that before not once since he was born. I think he might have slept too much during the day plus he fell asleep for the night a lot earlier than he normally does.

This morning before my parents left we went to cracker barrael to eat and he slept through the whole meal. I was expecting him to get up again right when our food was placed on the table but he didn 't. I guess he slept so good to make up for him not sleeping good last night.

Oh I almost forgot my mom bought him his first bathing suit at Old Navy when we went shopping it is 0-3 months so it isn't going to fit him right now but it is so cute. I can't wait to take him to the pool or I really would like to get him a baby pool for this summer once he gets a little bit older.

I hated to see my parents leave. I always do. It just sucks. I told them if we eneded up staying in Valdosta and not having to move to Arizona that they should move down here. Haha. It is nice to do some wishful thinking.