Healing up

I am finally healing from delivery! It only took 5 weeks to do so. I can go out and walk and Gus loves to come with me. Of course that means he is being carried or riding in the stroller. The constant movement is what he really loves. Riding soothes his fussiness. We all have our ways of calming down the crying baby. Grandma likes to rock him and dance with him. Grandpa has his special bounce. And I do the Baby Bjorn or just feed him (an advantage over the grandparents). Everyday I feel like I have more energy and can do more activities. Of course, Gus now weighs upwards of 11 pounds, so I need to start training my muscles!

Gus is really starting to look at faces. Before, he was cross-eyed or would stare at the ceiling and door jams. Now, he will look right at you. And if you tell him a funny joke (I try to keep them clean, even though I only know mostly dirty jokes), he will smile, chuckle, and coo at you. Gus also likes to sit on laps and read books, especially if the books rhyme. We got a book the other day from his Grand Mommy about zoo animals that not only rhymes, but has fuzzy textures to feel.

We go for a doctors appointment on Monday. I'll learn how well he is eating (by his chubby cheeks, I can tell he gets enough), how tall he is growing (I don't know much about babies, but he seems awfully tall to me), and he will get vaccinated. Yay shots! I guess vaccines are a hot topic these days. I personally believe the scientific studies. Not only do they have nothing to do with autism, but they save lives.

I have posted pictures of the various ways that Gus likes to be held. Also, it is cold here in Colorado, so we have a snow suit and hat for him to wear on his walks.

The Baby Bjorn

Grandma's Dance

Cousin-ville

Gus is one month old now! Boy is he growing big and tall. He still has attachment issues as in he does not like to be unattached from people. Thank God for the Baby Bjorn. Between me and his grandparents, Gus can be held most of the time. He is increasing time spent by himself in his bouncy chair and his play gym, but the cradle is still equivalent to a vat of acid. I have a Rainforest mobile on his crib that plays music to soothe him and as an incentive for him to lay in there, but it does not help.

Gus does like music. Since I cannot remember any nursery rhymes, I bought a CD with nursery rhyme songs on it, and we listen and sing together. I read that if babies smile before 6 weeks, that it is coincidental, but he smiles when we sing songs. His favorite song is Rubber Ducky.

This past weekend, Gus got a visit from his Uncle Geoff, Aunt Erin, and two cousins, Finley 5 and Eli 19 months. Gus is in love with his cousin Finley, and Eli is in love with "baby Gus". Gus has periods of awake time, but he stares at the ceiling and doors. I put on some music and his Finley start dancing around the room, Gus started tracking her. He was mesmerized! And he would smile at her too. She likes to show off her dancing skills and he loves to watch; a relationship made in heaven!

Finally, Gus began cooing this week. It is so cute when you talk to him and then he'll just spurt out a "ehhhhhh". It is almost like he is a real person!

Do babies smell?

I am sure this is true of most newborns, but Gus only wants to be held. And he doesn't just want to be held, he wants to be snuggled 24 hours a day. Since being born, Gus has not tolerated sleeping one night by himself in his cradle (or bassinet at the hospital). While he requires to sleep with me at night, at least my little man sleeps. He wakes up to eat every 3-4 hours but goes right back to sleep. This past week, I attempted to put him to sleep in his cradle at night, but he would not tolerate it. It was as if I was putting him in a vat of acid. He cries the most angry pitiful cry you've ever heard. I even tried getting him to fall completely asleep, then placing him in his bed. He woke up within 30 minutes (instead of 3 hours in my bed). After 1 and 1/2 nights of trying this, I was so sleep deprived, that I just let him come back with me. Of course, I worry about co-sleeping, so I have set up his own "area" in my bed. He sleeps right by my head on a blanket. This way, I can keep all pillows and blankets away from him, and I don't have to worry about rolling over on him. Even though I don't touch him most of the night, it is where he likes to sleep. I guess he must smell me. Meanwhile, I have been trying to put him in his cradle during the day when he falls asleep. This too only lasts 30 minutes max.

Gus's butt looks better, but is not healed. The ulcer is slowly closing up. Through hypervigilance of his mom and grandparents, he never spends more than 2 minutes in a poopy diaper. Also, he gets a couple of "sitz baths" a day.

Finally, little Gus is starting to fill out a little. His cheeks are getting chubby (I always wanted a baby with chubby cheeks) and he is getting quite the Buddah belly. My parents good friends Kent and Mary sent me a really nice, awesome breast pump. It works great and I have tried pumping in attempts to start getting ready to return to work. I should say that I have tried pumping, but he eats every 2 hours during the day from both breasts. Unless I want to pump in the middle of the night, there is nothing left to pump. The few times that he only wants one breast, I get 3 to 3.5 oz from the other one. I swear he eats 6 oz every 2 hours. But he has a lot of filling out to do!

I posted some pictures of his chubby cheeks and even one of him sleeping in his cradle. This is a very rare sight.

What is that?

Gus continues to grow bigger, filling in his tall body. He is up to 9 pounds, and fits into his 3-6 month old clothings. Well, his legs and arms fit into the 3-6 month old clothing, but he is so skinny that he doesn't fill out the clothing. It is like that awkward stage when you are trying to grow out your hair. Too short to pull in a pony tail and not long enough to look good. I'll have to keep feeding the little Gus so he can be more proportional.

There are three other major discoveries made this week. The first is Gus might have red hair. It is not flaming red, but more of a strawberry blonde. However, since his hair is mostly peach fuzz, it is very hard to tell. I did have a stranger come up to me and tell me she admired my baby's red hair. Up until that point, I was in denial. Now many of you are wondering how a girl with "coal black hair" could produce a red head? I have no red heads in my family, but Jonathan's dad was allegedly a red head before he turned gray. Also, Jonathan has a niece that came out with red RED hair. Funny how how genes work.

The second thing I found on my son this week is more serious. I found an ulcer on his bottom. Being the ICU nurse, I thought the worse and freaked out. People all told me that I would be a paranoid frantic mother. I never believed them until this happened. I called the pediatrician office and described the ulcer. The nurse was sure it was just a diaper rash but let me come in anyway. I told Dr. Maddy it was NOT a diaper rash. He has a stage 2 decubitis ulcer! She thought I was paraonoid until she saw it with her own eyes. It made me feel better that the doctor was a little freaked too. She prescribed some topical antibiotics. My parents and I dunked his little butt in a sink of warm water with each diaper changed. We even "aired it out" by laying him on real cloth diapers (thanks T. Love!) with his cute butt in the air. He could lay like that with his eyes open and his butt wiggling for hours. After three days of this, the ulcer did not improve. I went back and this time saw Dr. Ellen. She was even more freaked out than Dr. Maddy. She drew blood cultures, a CBC, and swabbed the ulcer. Her and her doctor husband examined it, left for awhile and came back only to declare he has an echthyma. If it is indeed an echthyma, then according to google (my personal medical reference), it is caused by a Staph infection. He started on oral Keflex three times a day. Gus hates that stuff just as much as the vitamins (see previous post), only this time I have to give it to him. The paranoid frantic nurse mother in me thinks it is MRSA (the super bug!), and when I told the doctor this, she just thought I was a paranoid frantic nurse mother. Gus started the Keflex today and so far his ulcer looks the same. The good news is that he does not have a fever, he is eating/sleeping/peeing/pooping and crying the same as before.

The third thing I found was after I decided to let Gus soak in his baby tub. Gus LOVES water. He splashed for almost 30 minutes with a smile on his face. I'd post the video, but there is genitalia involved and I don't want to be accused of kiddie porn. You'll just have to take my word for it. I did post a picture of it though. I can't wait to get him in a pool this summer. He will be a swimmer just like his momma!

Send all your well wishes toward Gus's butt in hopes that it heals soon!

I love this picture! He is smiling.

Gus in his 3-6 month outfit. Long enough but not chubby enough. Red hair?

He loves the play gym his Uncle Geiman bought him.

Playing in the bath tub.

A Week of Firsts

Gus has been home for a week now. He has had so many firsts: his first introduction to the pets of the house (Tasha the dog and 2 cats), his first bath after his belly button thing fell off, his first pediatrician visit, his first immunization shot (and he didn't even cry!), his first snowfall, his first black president. There are so many to count. Gus is a calm, easy going baby. He rarely cries unless he has good reason such as being hungry, wanting to be snuggled, or having his butt wiped with a cold wipe. He is consolable and has even began making funny grunting/cooing sounds.

The only time he got really pissed and cried like I've never seen him cry was when I tried to give him the pediatrician recommended vitamins. I bought them over the counter and the vitamins are in liquid form. I drew up the 1 mL into the syringe and easy enough fed it to him. Now, I have to admit, the stuff smelled nasty! As soon as little Gus realized that this was not tasty milk, he started spitting, coughing and licking things. On top of that, he screamed his poor little head off. You'd thought I was sticking him with needles. Because we were both completely traumatized by the whole experience, I looked up in a book about how vital Vitamin D is to my baby. I don't want Gus getting Rickets. However, I found A book that says it can wait until 2 months to start the torture. His Aunt Amy is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, thinks I am a softy, but she didn't see how mad he was! This boy is going to be a force to be reckoned with!

My favorite part of the day is the 20-30 minutes when he is actually awake. His poor little eyes are still crossed when he focuses on me, but it is adorable. This is why most pictures I post he has his eyes closed. I'm glad someone is getting their sleep.

Welcome to the world, Gus Aliff

On January 17th, 2009 at 4:46pm, my beautiful son was born. He put me through 36 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, and the use of the salad tongs, but it was all worth it. At 22 inches tall (if you don't know about babies like I didn't, that is above the 97%) and 7lbs 11oz, I have one large scrawny baby. He has the biggest feet and longest monkey toes I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure he is going to be a quarterback and will most likely play for Virginia Tech.

My parents have graciously took us in to help with the first few months. I think they have fallen just in love with him as I did. Because he is only a few days old, he has very few tricks: crying, sleeping, eating, pooping, and of course CRYING. As we get to know each other, I'm hoping the crying trick will minimize. . . wishful thinking I am sure. Gus is a wonderful, sweet and adorable baby. I can't wait to share his milestones.