Talking in your sleep

Earlier in the week, Sydney yelled "Ow! Ow! Ow!" in his sleep.

The most recent sleep-talking was an incident where Sydney yelled "Away! Away!" and clung to Mommy. Turns out, this was the first night we tried to put Silas in the nursery for bedtime so that WE, as parents, could get a little sleep. The sleep apnea guinea pig sounds must have scared Sydney - not knowing that his baby brother was in the room. (We can relate... we thought Silas sounded like a stray cat or some other odd animal the first time we heard his strange noises as he stretches and starts to wake up.)

After a brief snuggle, Sydney was fine and ready to go back to bed... and Mommy nursed Silas and put him back to bed as well.

Had a hard time NOT being a smuck

Today, I called the doctor's office to get a refill on 2 prescriptions. The receptionist screened the call and asked me which medicine I needed. They seemed more concerned to locate my 6-week followup appointment in the computer system for some reason - even though my refill request was THE PURPOSE of my call. Then, when they took a message for the doctor's office and I had to repeat my request yet again. A few hours later, the nurse called me to ask me what medicines I needed refilling.

Hmmm, had I not already told them MULTIPLE TIMES?!?! (And do they REALLY have NO RECORD of my meds that were prescribed by THIS DOCTOR in my medical records?)

So, the nurse asks me what meds I need. She needed ME to tell her the name of the medicine, the strength and the directions. (Hmmmm, scratching my head....)

She seems puzzled that I am asking for a prenatal vitamin. She asks "Are you nursing or WHY exactly do you still need a prenatal vitamin?"

The smart-@$$ in me wanted to say "I'm trying to get pregnant." (Especially since I am in my NO-TOUCH 6-week recovery period.)

Sounds like a guinea pig with sleep apnea

We have a playpen in our room for Silas to sleep in. Once he starts sleeping for longer stretches, we will consider putting him into his crib in the nursery, but for now, we didn't want to interrupt Sydney's sleep.

Sadly, we are finding it difficult to sleep with Silas in the room. He makes A LOT of noise when he sleeps. In fact, with all of his rustling around, little squeaks and breathing patterns, sometimes we think he sounds like a guinea pig with sleep apnea.

Mike is thinking that his playpen may make its way into the hallway (so that we can still hear him, but he won't keep Sydney awake.) I remind myself that THIS is why we never bothered with a baby monitor... as babies DO make A LOT of strange noises when they sleep.

Speaking of sleep... I am hoping that the cute little guinea pig is sound asleep now so that I can fall asleep without listening to him wiggle and squeak. One thing is for sure... he SURE IS CUTE!!

OW...2 year molar!

Sydney has started BITING again... and chewing on EVERYTHING! We pulled out the "Teeth are not for biting" book from the library, as well as the baby teething rings for his urges to bite. Also, we remind him that "BITING HURTS" by reminding him of the day that he was helping Mike plant flowers and the beetle bit his finger... and how much THAT HURT!

Sydney also has been over-using the word "OW!" He yells it loudly when you try to hold his hand, when you attempt to lay him down to diaper him, or when you try to get him to do ANYTHING he doesn't want to do. He yells "OW!" whenever something doesn't go his way... for example, if his toy horse gets stuck inside the barn, he yells "OW!"

Mommy is TRYING to teach him: we only say "OW!" when we are hurt.

Don't get me wrong... the new (upper) 2-year molar that just poked through the surface probably DOES leave him in a near-constant source of pain and discomfort, but this is NOT what the word "OW!" was intended for.

NOTE: During the night, late Tuesday/early Wednesday of this week, Sydney started yelling "Ow! Ow!Ow!" and Mike went into the nursery to find Sydney SOUND ASLEEP... and dreaming! Hmmm, not only does he over-use "Ow!" during the day, but now, it seems that he is TALKING IN HIS SLEEP, too! (Funny!)

Doctor's visit brings feelings of elation

We took Silas in for his "3-week well child" appointment yesterday; he was 18 days old, but the popularity of our pediatrician makes scheduling rather difficult so, we took what we could get (that did not interfere with nap time.)

Silas was born at 8# 14 ounces. (D)

When we left the hospital, he had dropped to 8# 7 ounces. (D)

A few days later, at the nurse's home visit, he had dropped to 8# 4.5 ounces. (D)

The next day, at his jaundice check-up, he was 8# 5 ounces. (OS)

At Wednesday's breastfeeding support group, he was 9# 13 ounces. (D)

At Thursday's (2.5 week) 3-week well-child appointment, he was 10# 3 ounces. (OS)

(KEY: D is for most-accurate digital scale, OS is for "old-school" scale.)

Doctor was INCREDIBLY PLEASED with his weight gain and the fact that mommy has PLENTY OF MILK. (Doc said it is hard to tell new mommies that they should supplement with formula because their milk supply doesn't seem to be enough to support their baby yet.)

Doctor checked him over from head-to-toe and said that Silas is looking GREAT! We had also asked about some literature that the Parents-As-Teachers left us that indicated that babies "should" keep their fists clenched most of the time at this age; we had noticed that Silas often has his hands relaxed and wide open. (He also likes to stretch out his arms and legs instead of staying curled up in a newborn ball.) Doctor assures us that it is a great sign of development that Silas is NOT keeping his fists clenched; it shows his comfort as well as his brain's ability to control hand function. NO WORRIES!

Skin does NOT look jaundiced. The whites of his eyes are still yellow, but that is commonly the LAST thing to change back to normal. Also, breastfed babies tend to lose their jaundice SLOWER than formula-fed babies. NO WORRIES!

When noticing that the umbilical cord was still attached, he asked if we wanted it removed. (I explained that Sydney was convinced that it is POOP on the baby's belly button, but I have since convinced him that it is NOT POOP, but that it is an OWIE on baby's belly button.) They removed it in the office and the gauze/tape can come off today. (YAY! They removed it before it started to REALLY STINK; Sydney's umbilical cord got really, REALLY rotten smelling before it fell off!)

Doc told us that we could let Silas sleep and that we could feed him when HE WAKES UP HUNGRY! (Doc said we could even go 6-7 hours, if Silas/your milk supply would let you! Sadly, my milk production has NOT taken a break yet.)

THIS was THE BEST NEWS EVER for these sleep-deprived, zombie-like parents!

Last night, Silas nursed on-and-off from 8pm-9:40pm before Mike FINALLY took him from me so that I could get to sleep. Then, Silas woke at 1am for a diaper change and feeding. He woke again at 5am for a partial feeding and now, at 6:30am, it sounds like he is ready to have the other side.

It is a great step in the right direction and left mommy waking up feeling MUCH BETTER! Hopefully, after a few days that include more hours of sleep, I will start to feel human again!

STATS

Age: 18 days

Head: 37.5cm (50%)

Weight: 10# 3oz (75%)

Height: 22" (75%)

Hair: brown, which seems to be lightening in color a little

Eyes: deep blue

051911 New blog header 3+1=4

Catching up... on sleep!

I find myself wondering:

WHERE DID MAY GO?

It seems like just yesterday that we were checking ourselves into the hospital for our scheduled induction on May 1st, but now, the month is 60% gone and feels as if it has been one big, sleep-deprived BLUR!

I attended the breastfeeding support group yesterday, during naptime, so that I could get a before/after weight on Silas and check on a potential blocked duct/gland. Turns out, after a rather mediocre feeding, he took in a whopping 5 ounces, leaving the lactation consultant to declare: Whoa, Mommy's got milk!

Before feeding, Silas weighed in at 9# 13.3 ounces.

After hearing such news, Mike declared that I should: STOP SETTING YOUR ALARM TO FEED HIM AND START GET SOME SLEEP! Last night, I allowed Silas to sleep and feel as if I actually got some quality sleep (other than the night sweats, leaving me, my pajamas and the bedsheets soaking wet). I woke to the baby, at 3:20am, feeling well-rested (and regretably have NOT gone back to bed yet as I hear Sydney calling out "Mommy... Mommy... Mommy!" from his sunny-side bedroom.)

Today is the second day this month that I woke up feeling GOOD. Hopefully, today, I will continue to feel good ALL DAY LONG and will be able to enjoy a nap this afternoon when Sydney does!

Now, duty calls... I need to go bond with my "little big guy" before baby's feeding time begins again!

UPDATE: Thought, for sure, that Sydney would want some one-on-one time with Mommy. Instead, he kept asking about BABY. I was surprised that Sydney made sure (to make enough noise and shake the playpen enough) to wake the baby. Sydney LOVES his baby brother! He showers him with TONS of kisses and hugs. After every hug that he gives, he announces "Thank you baby!" (It is SO CUTE!)

NOTE: I figured it was time to update the blog heading - to include our newest addition so, THIS is what I was working on this morning after Silas went back to bed and I got to enjoy a beautiful, foggy sunrise.

Sydney: "Eat grass too"

Mike grows grass for our cats to eat.

Sydney observes the neighbor dogs tethered to a stake on their property, but having access to half of our front yard. To him, the dogs are also eating grass.

Sydney announced "Sydney eat grass, too" and crouched down, pretending to eat grass.

Optimistically, Mike says "at least he doesn't touch the things that look like candy bars". (Oh, Mike... PLEASE do NOT teach him that!!!!) Good thing that little dogs make little turds.

EEEEeeeewwwww!

Sydney and our neighbor's dogs in our yard.

Sydney in our neighbor's yard, while their dogs are in our yard.

The new and improved Guard family (PICS)

Our new and improved family

MY BOYS: Daddy (Mike), Sydney and Silas

Proud parents with new baby Silas Jacob... a few hours old

Hello Silas... I am your mommy!

Silas is nice and alert this morning, just a few hours old!

Doctor barely made it to the hospital in time, but thankfully she made it so that Daddy got to catch (and cut the cord). (Funny for me to view our pics from the birth... to see Doc standing in the background with a smile on her face while Mike is front and center, proudly delivering his son!)

HOLY COW... our genes mix well together... looks like we've got TWO SUPER CUTE KIDS that look an awful lot like each other!

Looks like panting dog inside belly

Late last night, my belly started to move strangely. It appeared as if there was a panting dog inside of it. Baby Silas was doing SOMETHING strange for nearly 40 minutes straight. Then, he did some moving around. (My mom said it was as if he was trying to move furniture around in there.) Then, he went back to the odd panting sensation.

Eventually, I called the night nurse to report his odd behavior. (He has not done this before.) They thought it was best to go in a get him checked to make sure that there was not fetal stress.

The nurse in labor & delivery looked at me like I was smoking crack. My mom confirmed that it DID look like a panting dog belly. I was hooked up to monitors and they watched Silas for a while. The nurse laughed at all of his wild and crazy movements in there. We all started to wonder IF he is still head down with all that activity.

His heart rate ran anywhere from 112 to high 160's, depending upon activity.

The on-call doctor told the nurse to send us home around 1:15am because baby's stats were good. He claims to have heard from some moms that their bellies were quivering like that before and did NOT seem concerned. They are looking forward to greeting us at 5:30pm for our scheduled induction.

Baby Silas, TODAY just "might" be your birthday!

• • • • • • • •

Speaking of birthdays, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Alder!!!