Visits from Aunt Amy and Uncle Brian

Gus's Aunt Amy and Uncle Brian (well not blood related relatives, but my best friend and her husband) came all the way from Philly to visit their beloved Gustav. I don't know who loved who more! Amy has also taken on the role of spoiling our baby boy. In fact, the couple are now in charge of his fashion. When they arrived, they found poor Gus's pants were jacked up to his chin, and he was wearing sandals over socks. OH MY! Amy promptly pulled his pants down to his waist and removed the sandals. She then proceeded to buy him real shoes. Oh Aunt Amy! Now my baby is styling!

Thank you for loving my son. And thank you for making the trip out to see him. We love you!






On the other hand, I have discovered that Gus still likes to be swaddled. While he is as big as a 6 month old, he is only two months old and technically a newborn. Babys R Us is a little discriminatory and only sells swaddles in size small! How dare they! My good friend Theresa Love (T Love) had her eye out for swaddles and found this lovely tiger one that fits. You will see that T Love and I have the same fashion sense. . .

Two Months Old

My little Gus is growing! I cannot believe it has been two months since I pushed him out and brought him home with me. They tell you babies grow up so fast, and "they" are right! Gus is really starting to settle into life outside the womb. As he gets older, he is working out a schedule. This is great for all of us. Now that he goes to bed early, I can avoid Gus going to the dark side. As my dad says, it isn't so bad that Gus goes to the dark side, it is just he has to take us all with him! The dark side is of course that period when he gets over tired. . . an over tired baby is a very very bad thing!

Another thing is Gus is turning into quite the music lover. When I was 9 months pregnant, my mom and I went to see Handel's Messiah. In utero, Gus kicked and danced so much, I swear he wore a blister in my uterus. As a newborn, he loves music just as much. He has a little toy that plays nursery rhymes and has lights that go along with it. He coos and smiles at that toy and tries to sing along. I've never been the sappy type, but he is so damn cute. I don't know who is entertained more: Gus by the toy, or me at Gus being entertained by the toy.

Gus is such a joy in my life. I never knew I could ever love someone so much. While I loved my life before his arrival, I could not imagine life without him.

Here are a few pictures of my chunky monkey. Isn't he fun?!

Which Theory is the Right One?

Before having a baby, I had no idea all the theories out there on raising children. Furthermore, there are such diverse methods that I became very confused on who to listen to. My biggest dilemma is the sleeping thing. I am so lucky to have a baby that sleeps through the night, so I don't want to complain. If you have been reading my blog, you will know that while Gus sleeps through the night (with the exception of feedings), he won't sleep in his own bed. I read everything from let him cry it out to keep him in your bed until he feels comfortable (like 5 years old). Some psychiatrists say that crying it out will cause attachment issues. For instance:

• The problem is that when infants are left to cry themselves to sleep, they are forced to conclude that they are not lovable enough to engage their parents' desires to comfort them. If they actually stop crying, it is because they have abandoned all hope that help will come
• A newborn baby in the early stage of growth is very vulnerable and it is the parents’ duty to satisfy every need of their offspring. Letting him ‘cry it out’ could be very psychologically and physically damaging to the child in the early stages of development

Abandoned. Vulnerable. Psychologically damaging. (cringe). I decided to listen to my instinct. I didn't want to let him cry it out at such a young age. Instead, I just kept trying. And this week is it. He finally sleeps the whole night AND in his own bed. In my readings, I also found out that some people say to make your baby sleep every nap in the bed too. Personally, I like holding my baby. I love when Gus falls asleep in my chest. I'll keep this rule for later in his life. He is only little once, and I want to enjoy every second of it!

As he gets older, I'm also trying to figure out his schedule. The one thing that I have learned is that Gus "goes to the dark side" in the evening. Once he goes over the line, there is nothing we can do to calm him down. The poor guys, he gets so tired that he can't even concentrate on falling asleep. I started him on a bed time routine. He gets a bath which he loves. Then he puts his PJs on and we read a book. Finally, he says good-night to his grandparents and I put him down. Sadly, he does cry for about 5-10 minutes, but it is mostly his protest cry. He has gotten more and more use to this routine. Then I wake him up at 11pm for another feeding. The last couple of nights, he goes back to bed and doesn't wake up until 6:30am! What a wonderful baby! I feel totally guilty for letting him cry for that short period. Let me tell you, though. Once Gus has gone to the dark side, nothing comforts him. He cries no matter what. Letting him cry himself to sleep seems like the only answer. My instincts tell me this is okay.

More picture of my Gus continues to grow.

6 Weeks Old!

My Gus is 6 weeks old. And what a busy week we had. The weather is finally getting nice here. Last week, my parents and I drove about 30 minutes to this tiny mountain town. By small town, I mean the town is about three blocks long with no stoplights or stop signs. It is a great place to go in the summer time if you like to shop for hippie art. However, in the winter time, nothing is open. I just wanted to go someplace different and this was perfect. My dad strapped Gus to him in the Baby Bjorn, and we strolled down the road. Gus slept the whole time.

On the way back, we stopped in a larger city (population 3,000) at a second-hand children shop where I finally invested in a used swing. I settled on the Fisher Price Aquarium Take Along Swing. Poor Gus. It is a love/hate relationship with that swing. See, Gus hates naps during the day. The more tired he gets, the more cranky he gets. I swear he hits himself in the head to keep himself awake. Last week he asked Grandma for some toothpicks to help splint his eyes open. Sadly (for Gus), the swing puts him to sleep. Of course, it is not instantaneous. He fights it with his protest cries. Sometimes he fights it for up to an hour! But the swing wins every time.

Gus is finally sleeping in his cradle! Yeah me! For the past 4-5 nights, he has been falling asleep and staying asleep for part of or all of the night, except for feedings. Because he actually falls asleep in his cradle, I consider this a major victory. I'm not ready to let him "cry it out" yet, so it is reassuring to me that he can do this all by himself. Even if it is in incremental steps.

Another major event was that we went to the pediatrician yesterday for his "2 month" visit that we did at 6 weeks. Remember when I said I believe in vaccines? I still do, however, I can see why anti-vaccine people get so upset. At this visit, he got his Hepatitis B, Polio, Pneumococcal, DTP, Rotavirus, and Hib. I swear, those nurses were hitting him left and right. I know it is important, but I wonder why they do so much at one time? I will leave that to Aunt Amy to answer who is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. Gus took it like a man and only whimpered when they stuck him. Of course, they did the obligatory weigh-in. Here are his stats.

Weight= 12 pounds 5 oz = 90%
Height = 24.5 inches = > 97% (not on the curve)
Head Circumference = 15.5 inches = 50%

My big boy!

Finally, last night I tried putting him to bed early. The usual routine is for Gus to hang out with us until 10pm. Sometimes he is sleeping, sometimes he is in his swing, and sometimes he is just chilling out staring at the ceiling. Then at 10pm, my mom and I go to my room. She puts him in his PJs while I get ready for bed. I feed him and he falls asleep. Well, last night, my mom and I did this at 7pm but we told Gus it was 10pm (he doesn't not know how to read a clock yet). My mom changed him and I got in bed. I fed him and put him in his cradle. It took all of 30 seconds for Gus to express his distaste for our sneaky maneuver. I brought him downstairs to watch the season finale of the Bachelor (a whole different story) and he was as wide awake as he gets. I shot a video of him and am including it in this blog. You will hear me talking to him about sleeping and I just thought I'd give you background!

Pop-pop carrying Gus


My smiling boy

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.