Days with Dad, Nights with Mom

This past week marked my return to work following two months off for bed rest and then giving birth to Jacob. It was so sad leaving him the first morning (and each morning thereafter), but it was reassuring to know that it was Dad taking care of him and not a complete stranger. Dave claimed that he couldn't sleep at all the first night, so his first day as Mr. Mom was a little rough. Until then, I had been taking care of Jakey for the bulk of the day, so I don't think Dave really realized exactly what was in store for him and how draining it would be by himself. I think each day's been getting a little better, but I know Dave definitely appreciates the weekends now more than ever.

I get off work at 3:30 and am home by 4pm, but there's really not time in the evening for any quality family bonding time. Dave and I try to make a quick dinner and eat together before he goes to pass out for a few hours. He's generally up with the little guy for his 3:30am feeding so that I can get some decent sleep to be semi-refreshed for work, so he sleeps from about 6 or 7 until midnight or shortly after.

During that time, I feed Jacob and sit with him for about thirty minutes or so to make sure his "food" stays down. IF he falls asleep (which usually only lasts for about twenty minutes if I'm not holding him or laying with him on the couch), I can run around, start a load of laundry, wash the dishes real quick, check on the dog's and cats' food and water, and maybe go to the bathroom. If he doesn't fall asleep, then it's a long evening of holding him and consoling him through his gas pains and fussiness. Holding, rocking, swaying, talking in a soothing tone, feeding him a little more, or constantly offering him his pacifier to try to get his mind off of the pain.

The poor little guy turns beet red on occasion and thrashes around in my arms until he passes gas or until the pain subsides. Sometimes it's so intense that he dozes off for a few minutes afterwards. Gas drops and "gripe water" don't seem to do anything for him after the first minute or two. We recently switched formulas to one that's supposed to be good for preventing/relieving/easing gas and fussiness. His pediatrician said that if it didn't seem to be helping after a week to give her a call, so we'll probably be trying something new soon since we're almost through a second week.

Anyway, during calm moments, I read him stories, try to play with him on his lounger pillow or in his new vibrating bouncy chair, listen to music and dance with him, sing silly made-up songs, or attempt some Tummy Time. This week, I ended up passing out with him on the couch - him cuddled up in a blanket on his Boppy lounger pillow and me next to him with my arm around him - after his 8 o'clock-ish feeding.

I'm trying to start a little bedtime routine with him this weekend to give us a little more structure, predictability, and mommy-baby bonding time at night. I gave him a sponge bath last night and then read him a few stories after consoling him from the tortures of said bath. He was out like a light within about ten minutes (due to wearing himself out from crying about the bath). Tonight I'm planning on bathing him in his baby bathtub. He hates that so much right now, but I'm hoping that he'll start warming up to it with more and more exposure. It's definitely not the most comfortable thing, and I can imagine it would be pretty chilly having half of your body above the water. Hmmmmm. I keep the bathroom nice and warm and try to constantly pour some of the bathwater over his tummy, but it hasn't made a difference so far. A few people on this baby-community website that I frequent have mentioned having great bathtimes with a "wash POD", but I'm not sure it'd be worth it just for the few months before he outgrows it. Then again, if Bed Bath & Beyond have it in their store, I may go pick one up today. :P If he doesn't like it, we can always take it back. Or can I? Can you return used bathtubs?! And if he DOES like it, then spending $25 for calm baths for three months or so is a worthwhile investment for both my sanity and for Jakey's happiness. (I just called the store and they don't carry any of the baby stuff. So, with shipping it would cost $28 to buy it online. Everything is returnable, but they only refund the cost of the item itself plus tax. Hmmmm, again.)

He's starting to eat a tiny bit more at most of his feedings which means that he's finally starting to sleep a little more at night. This past week, I've been passing out with him on the couch around 9 or 10pm, and he's been sleeping until about 2:30 or later. We get up for a feeding - which takes about an hour (20 minutes or so for him to eat and then 30-40 minutes to sit up with him) - and then pass back out until somewhere around 6:30. It's so nice getting the little extra sleep even if it IS interrupted.

At Jacob's last appointment with his pediatrician, he only weighed one pound over his birth weight. So, he's at 7lbs., 7oz. now and is 20 3/4 inches long. His eating wasn't so good prior to that appointment, though, and he was spitting up quite a bit. So, hopefully he's been gaining weight better since then. He's just barely "on the charts" as far as his weight and height for his age, but he IS on the charts. His pediatrician said she wasn't too concerned right now as long as he started eating a little more and continued to gain some weight. She said that he had lots of time to play "catch up" with other kids his age. He got his first shot that day. He would have received it at the hospital when he was born, but I figured he had been through enough trauma with being born and then having the circumcision on which his dad had insisted. I held him for his shot just like I did for his blood draws for his bilirubin level checks, but this one hurt a lot. He cried and wailed for several minutes afterwards and then passed out in the car on the way home. I think he gets the second dose at that appointment. Poor little guy.

This weekend was beautiful, so we all spent a little time outside between chores and running errands. Saturday, I walked up to the shopping plaza with Jake and went to the Hallmark store. We found the Easter toys and he really perked up when I showed him a fuzzy yellow chickie that cheeped when you squeeze his tummy. He opened his eyes wide and flashed a beautiful smile... so of course I had to buy it for him. We walked around the store for a while looking at things and talking about them and also listening to the sample snippets of the CD's they have for sale. He still looooves music.

Today, Dave and I drove him up to Rock Springs Park and took him for a walk in his stroller. He was awake for the first five minutes or so and then passed out as usual. The weather was gorgeous - in the high-60's - right up until we were about to leave. The clouds in the distance were pretty dark and dreary and the tornado sirens were sounding. We got home just in time before the ten or fifteen minute downpour... never heard anything about a tornado.

Time flies with a baby. There's just never enough to do what you want to do. It's already 7:30 on Sunday night, and we're trying to figure out how to make dinner and get a few other things done so that Dave can get a nap in before starting his "midnight shift" with Jacob. Nevertheless, we just have make due.