Wow! My little baby is already four weeks old! This last month has gone by pretty fast. It's scary to think how fast the rest of the year (even the next 18 years) is going to go! At his first well baby appointment, which was when he was five days old, he had gained back some weight he had lost since he was born, since all babies lose a little weight after birth. He was a little jaundice, as I have already mentioned in another post, but we just had to keep him well fed. So when we took him back for his 2 week appointment, he had gained another pound (up to 9 lbs 1 oz) and his jaundice was gone. I can tell that he's gaining weight (although I haven't weighed him lately) because he's starting to get little fat rolls and is getting harder to lift out of the bassinet for nighttime feedings when I'm half asleep! He does have baby acne though, on his cheeks and under his chin, but the doctor said there isn't anything you can do for it and that most babies get it. It will eventually go away. Still a cutie pie, though! :)
A little tummy time
Sleeping is going pretty good. He likes to sleep, but unfortunately, sometimes he does all of his sleeping during the day and then wants to stay up until 2 am, which is not what I want to do! Most of the time, though, he does really well at night and usually wants to eat about every 2-3 hours. Sometimes I get even luckier and he'll go four hours. I love those times! Since I'm nursing, I have him sleeping in a bassinet next to my side of the bed. It's really nice to just be able to grab him out and feed him, rather than get up and go make a bottle in the middle of the night. The downside is that I'm the only one that can feed him. I did get a pump, but I still just think it's easier to nurse him at night. I love having the pump though, because even though I'm glad I decided to nurse, I don't really want to do it in public, and I can get away for more than a few hours if needed. Also, other people can feed him sometimes. Owen and I really don't get out too much, though, since it's been so cold lately (but starting to get much better), and it just seems easier to stay home sometimes. I want Owen to get used to bottles right away, so he gets 1 or 2 bottles a day, and other than that, I just nurse him.
Since my first babies were my dogs, I'm trying to come up with other "pet names" for Owen. I normally call my dogs "BooBoo" (other than their names, of course) and so I started calling Owen: "Pumpkin" (but it sounds more like Punkin), "Punky" (short for Punkin), "Chunky Monkey", "Chubbers", and sometimes just "Baby". The hard part for me now, though, is NOT to call my dogs by these names, which I have done. I also call Ryan "Babe", which is a switch from "Sweetie" after I started calling my dogs "Sweetie" sometimes. I just have too many boys in my life, I can't keep them straight! Speaking of keeping names straight, my mom now has two grandsons: Ian and Owen. My mom has a hard time calling them by the right name already, but I must admit I have screwed it up a few times too. I think our whole family will probably screw it up at least a few times. And on top of that, Ian is getting a new little sibling soon, and if its a boy, one of the names that they are thinking about is Ethan! We are going to get SO confused!
I was a little worried about how the dogs would like Owen, but they are doing really well. Ace, our chihuahua, is addicted to licking his hands. I know some people are probably thinking it's gross to let your dog lick your baby, but I kind of figure I can't monitor it 24/7 so I'm not too uptight about it. Plus, I usually have those little mittens that prevent babies from accidently scratching themselves on Owen because he little hands get kind of cold, so most of the time, Ace doesn't have the opportunity. But he really loves to lick his little hands and smell his diaper. Our lab, Ragnar, on the other hand, doesn't really pay too much attention to him anymore. When we first brought him home, Ragnar would bark when Owen cried. He doesn't do that anymore, but does sometimes get a little whiny when Owen is on the floor and crying. And he will go check him out when he's in his swing. But otherwise, Raggie's not too interested in the baby. He's more interested in the dirty diapers. He took one off the table one day before I could throw it away, and I think he was surprised by what he found inside. But he still likes to check them out if there is one around.I'm sure this next month is going to go just as fast, and at his 2 month doctor appointment, he has to get his first round of vaccinations. He's not going to like it, but I have a feeling I'm going to like it less. Poor baby!
