Getting so big!

I've really noticed how big John is getting! Today I put him in a cute overalls outfit that he also wore last Sunday. Last week it was long on him and this week it fit him well! It won't be too long before he starts growing out of his 0-3 month clothes!

I also took a couple of pictures of him with Ollie and in his carseat to really see his growth. Here's a slideshow to illustrate:

Finally, it looks like John is technically sleeping through the night, going 7 hours between feedings. The last two nights he ate at 11:30 and didn't wake up until 6:45. Triumph! :)

Thoughts on schedules

I've been thinking a lot lately about how John is on a schedule. I've HAD to think about it because complete strangers have been giving me a hard time about it. It's funny how people who don't even know you presume to know what is best for your family.

Anyway, there are some definite misunderstandings that abound. First of all, we don't make John wait 3 hours to eat. If he is hungry sooner, we feed him! We're not monsters, people!

We do wake him up every 3 hours to eat. This is the optimal schedule for newborns, as it is used for preemies and other babies with growth problems. Research shows it's not good for them to go more than 3 hours during the day. And if he slept all day, he'd be up all night. We think it's important for him to have his days and nights straight.

Anyway, most of the time this is a moot point, as he wakes himself up every 3 hours like clockwork to eat. He eats, then stays awake playing or just chilling for about an hour, and then goes back to sleep. It's a predictable routine for his benefit.

Some people say we're doing it selfishly to fit him into our schedule. To the contrary, we work our schedules around him. He's due to eat at 7:00 p.m.? Well, you can be sure he will wake up hungry then, and it doesn't matter if we've eaten yet or not, or whether we're at a restaurant or at home. That's when he wants to eat, so we put our dinner on hold. How is that us fitting him into our schedule?

Another misconception is that we are somehow not giving him enough physical love. The boy is plenty snuggled and played with and loved! It is quite frankly insulting to suggest that just because he will sleep somewhere besides my arms that he is not getting enough love and affection.

The best part about the routine, though, is that we know why he's crying based on where he is in a sleep cycle. I know if he's crying if he's hungry, as opposed to just crying because he is tired and needs a nap. So we can attend to his need and not have to guess, so therefore he doesn't have to cry that much. Isn't that a good thing?

None of this really matters, though. I'm explaining my reasoning, but the point is, I really don't need to justify why we're doing what we're doing. If it works for John, then isn't that all that matters? Not sure why a flexible schedule or routine is such a hot-button topic, but apparently it is! I just get tired of know-it-alls, but I guess having other people tell you how to parent your children is just part of life...

We have a website, too...

It has come to my attention that our website links to our blog, but our blog doesn't link to our website. Andy said he's just been giving out the blog address because he forgot the web address. :)

We've got tons of pictures and a few (mostly newborn) videos over there. Here's the address: willfamilyaz.googlepages.com. For future reference, I've added a link at the top right of this blog. Enjoy!

Lots of doctor consultations! Plus getting back to normal...

It's been busy around here! Yesterday I had an emergency dental appointment for pain in my mouth - it's fine now.

John had some tummy troubles yesterday, so I called the pediatrician and gave him the facts. He'd been having some diapers that were, shall we say, different. He'd also been eating less and spitting up more. The doctor put John on Pedialyte for 24 hours. I'm not sure it's helping, but John sure does like it! He's eating a ton!

Then today, I noticed John's eyes getting worse. They've been teary with a little goop in the corners, and I figured that was normal. But today they are so goopy that his eyes stick shut while he's sleeping. So we've got an appointment for tomorrow morning. Hopefully we will get all of our questions about goopy eyes and funky digestive systems answered!

Things are going well otherwise. John's still sleeping 5-6 hours at night. Andy's taking the 10:00ish feeding, I'm taking the 4:00ish feeding, and Andy's taking the 7:00ish feeding. So we are both getting around 7 hours of sleep at a time. This makes things SO much easier.

To that end, I went back to Weight Watchers today. It felt good to take some action. I'm a Lifetime Member, so I don't have to pay for the next three months while I lose my baby weight, which is nice. I'm also going to lead a Biggest Loser Challenge on my May 2008 babies message board starting next month.

Also, I SANG TODAY!! For reals, not just singing lullabies (or Do-Re-Mi, or ABBA) to John. I actually stood in front of my piano in my studio and sang some actual classical exercises and part of an Italian aria!

Being completely honest, it sounded like absolute crap! But hey, I haven't sung in exactly 8 weeks AND I had major abdominal surgery. My voice was definitely very rusty, but it didn't seem to hurt my abs.

I quit early, thinking I didn't want to push it. But it felt good to sing again! It's one more step toward feeling like the old me!

He smiled!

John turned six weeks old yesterday. John's been getting ready to smile for a while. He'd give us the hint of a smile, or grin while sleeping, but not a real smile in response to us.

Yesterday, he yawned and I smiled and said "Oh, big yawn!" and when he saw me smiling the yawn turned into a big smile. It was so cute. I still wasn't sure, though, if it was accidental or not.

Then this morning Andy came in while I was brushing my teeth with the biggest smile on his face. He said, "You have to come see this. I was talking to John and he was totally smiling at me. He kept doing it, it is totally real and not just accidental! Come look!" So I went into the family room where John was in his swing, and sure enough, as soon as Andy started talking to him, he started smiling like crazy!

It was so precious. He has such a cute little smile. It totally brought a tear to my eye, what a special moment! I didn't get any pictures because I was so busy enjoying it. I'm sure I'll be able to take pictures once it becomes a little more commonplace, but for now, I'm just going to watch and smile back!

And a quick sleeping update: He was sleeping for a full 6 hours at a time earlier in the week, but has fallen back to 4. I think he's having a growth spurt. Ah well.

Andy's been great about taking the night feeds on weekends so that I can try to catch up on my sleep. He's such a great daddy and a great husband! In fact, I will use this post to wish him a happy first Father's Day!

One month old!

I guess that a month has gone by fairly quickly, John is already one month old today.

Yesterday, our church recognized John's birth. They had a rose on the altar to commemorate it, and they also put an announcement in the bulletin and introduced him at the end of the service. It was great!

We weighed John a couple of days ago by weighing Andy, and then Andy holding John. According to this unofficial measurement, John now weighs 11.3 pounds, which is over 4 pounds more than he weighed at birth! I can't believe how fast he is growing. Here's a side by side comparison of him in his carseat, first on the way home from the hospital and second on Saturday:



We had a fun photo shoot yesterday, here are two of my favorites:



John has been doing really well with his sleeping schedule. He has pretty much dropped one of his nighttime feedings. Now he's eating at roughly 10:00 p.m., 3:00 a.m., and 7:00 a.m. This is really good news! I am taking the 3:00 and Andy is taking the 7:00 so we are each getting a good chunk of sleep.

John has also become much more alert this week, you can tell he is really looking at things. He's started to respond to toys, as well as tracking movements with his eyes. He has such a sweet little personality. We love him so much and can't believe how fast time is going!