Setri's baby hair has started thinning- probably his last days of having straight hair.
In the last week he has figured out exactly where his hands are and how to bring them to his mouth for chewing. Previously it seemed to be more incidental- accidentally bringing hand to mouth and then deciding to chew.
The horrid rash/dermatitis thing on Setri's beautiful little face and scalp is clearing up. It left some dry, flaky skin that we were worried might turn into cradle cap but we applied walnut oil and it seems to have just about done the trick.
About 2 weeks ago he expanded his vocabulary from generic crying to include his 'protest cry' of 'ack!'. A short, sharp 'ack' tells us he's not in pain or hungry, but he might be uncomfortable or does not like something and it should be fixed immediately. E.g. having a shirt pulled over his head. If 'ack!' is not resolved it will turn into a complaining cry. It's very cute.
He is HEAVY! Of course he was born heavy, but wow is he growing fast. He fits well into clothes marked '3-6 months'. When he was born he had really chubby arms and legs and a trim waist. He has not only regained the arm and leg fat rolls he lost in hospital, he has also packed on a layer of fat around the torso. Plus his head looks like it's grown a lot. Also glad we went for mostly adjustable 'one-size fits most' and a couple of medium modern cloth nappies instead of newborn-sized, as he's already well out of the smallest setting on the OSFM.
To get that heavy, he eats often and eats a lot- scarcely any time at all between feeds when he is having a growth spurt, and draining both boobs too! Sometimes he eats so often I barely have time to get anything to eat all day (e.g yesterday: 2 pieces of bread between waking and 5pm). Luckily I don't find myself getting particularly hungry (probably because I still have just under 10kg of pregnancy fat as energy reserves)!
He hardly seems to sleep during the day at all. This meant really good sleeps during the night... Right up til Gam had to go back to work last week. It was then Setri started a reign of terror from around 5-6pm til at least midnight, forcing us to take shifts of lifting him and bouncing him in order to stop him from crying. Last 2 nights have been better, but it's the weekend, innit? Let's see what happens tonight before we start thinking things have improved.
Setri used to smile only when he was dropping off to sleep with my boob as a pillow after a feed. Now he smiles and almost giggles when he's given some nappy-free time, and seems to be coming up with even more vocalisations- little coos and aahhs. He's also more 'chatty' when he's awake and not feeding, making eye contact and giving experimental cheeky grins. God I love those!
His head control has gotten even better. Setri routinely holds his head up when we sit him upright and can hold his head up for a solid minute when he's not tired. He can turn his head from side to side to look at things that interest him (just as likely to be the kitchen light or the TV as his parents' loving faces, sadly!). He's also developed a degree of trunk control and can briefly hold himself upright when supported at the hips.
Setri's vision has improved markedly. Today he turned his head and followed with his eyes as Gam walked across the room.
Man-sized farts. Boy does that boy produce some window-rattlers. When he poos, everybody knows about it... And of course given that he eats so much, that's a fairly frequent occurrence. Thankfully farting and pooing does not seem to cause the little guy as much distress as it did for the first 2 weeks after we brought him home. Who knew it could be so difficult?
Cuddles. Setri loves cuddles from anybody unless he's hungry. He hates being put down, even if we try and do it sneakily while he's asleep. Anyone who is fit enough to lift him up and down repeatedly when he suffers gas pains is able to stop him from crying.
Our first 4 weeks have been not as exhausting as I anticipated, but a lot less productive due to how often Setri feeds and how little he sleeps during the day. We're doing well if we can wash and dry a load of nappies, a load of towels (we get through a lot of towels because I leak milk like a goddamn tap when Setri is feeding) and some clothes for ourselves (no chance of being lazy and getting two wears out of something when you leak like a tap...), as well as feed ourselves some dinner. We don't get to eat too many meals together, as at that time of night Setri is either having gas pains or needing a feed. I'm not going to complain though, as even though we co-sleep he goes for long stretches without feeding during the night.
I think Gam is finding most of this a fairly unenjoyable experience, maybe feeling a bit neglected and deprived?... I'd love for him to share his thoughts here but I don't know if he will... To be fair he has a lot less spare time than he used to, and has been relaxing when he can by playing xbox and computer games.
1 comment:
It's amazing how quickly the times passes, and you don't even realise you haven't got anything done. I had all these plans for what I would do when I was "home from work" but it turned out all I did was breastfeed and change nappies! Oh, and go out for coffee, like every day (I'd meet someone for breakfast, someone for morning tea, someone for lunch, someone for afternoon tea and then tell matt I'd been too busy to get anything done at home...)
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