Journal
Sign guestbook
Arthur's Mummy's Diary
Matthew's Belly Gallery
Nathan's Belly Gallery
Benjamin's Belly Gallery
My Fertility Friend Chart
2006-07-15 - 11.40pm��previous entry��next entry
One month old!! - smiles, coos, and photos!
Oh my gosh, I have neglected this diary TERRIBLY lately!! I meant to update it regularly till Matthew and I are signed off by the doctor at 6 weeks, but I just haven't updated in the last two weeks! That's HALF of Matthew's life so far!!! Urgh.
I have written a couple of updates in my normal diary in that time though, because I have been finding the adjustment to being a Mummy of two rather difficult, and I wrote about it there instead. It's getting easier now, which is a big relief!
Matthew was one month old yesterday! How crazy is that. I felt sad today when I was holding him and looking at him gazing around the room and taking everything in eagerly. Already his whole first month is in the past and my days of having a tiny newborn are memories instead of a current event :( But that is how it goes! And I'm not sad about that in any abnormal way, it was just a fleeting feeling. I am excited to see all the months that are to come with this new sweet little person!
So what do I need to catch up on here? We took Matthew to the Registry Office at 2 weeks and 5 days old, to register his birth. We all went as a family, even though you don't need to do that. We all went together when we registered Arthur, like a big special event, and even took photos in the waiting area! So we wanted to do the same this time. Neil did take a couple of photos but they came out HORRIBLE, so you can't see them, haha! Anyway, his existence is registered :) And I love the part where it says our address as the place of birth!
Matthew is growing really fast! The health visitor came and weighed him on Monday, at 3 weeks and 5 days old, and he weighed 9lbs 13oz!!! He was 8lbs 8.5oz at the previous weigh-in at 13 days old. He is doing great and she was really pleased with him. She also did his head circumference, as she had forgotten her measuring thing at her first visit. His head measured 35cm at birth (13 and 3/4 inches I think) and is now 36.5cm. His head is somewhere between the 25th and 50th percentile, she said, which is normal, but he has SUCH a different build to Arthur! Arthur's head just got bigger and bigger! I think it was already 38cm around this time, after being 34cm at birth, and he has always had a bigger than average head for his age! Matthew's looks to be the opposite, like Neil's is. Matthew's weight is currently at the 60th percentile, and he was just under the 50th at birth, so he's doing well.
Matthew has been out of size 0 Kissaluvs for a good couple of weeks (Arthur was still in them, though only just barely, at this age!) and has been fitting size 1 Kissaluvs since then. He fits them well on the closest setting, though that is getting a little tight now. He easily fits size 1 Tots Bots and the replicas that I made before I had Arthur. Arthur wasn't quite fitting those yet at this age. Matthew seems quite long and lean compared with Arthur at the same age though, so I'm surprised he fits bigger sizes than Arthur did. They really are very different shapes. Matthew wears Fuzzi Bunz as often as we can get them washed for him. I have quite a lot of them in size small but not enough absorbent inserts. I bought a dozen but there's a fault with the batch and they are the wrong size, so I have to send them back and get them replaced, ugh! In the meantime we're a bit short on things to stuff his Fuzzis with! I am bidding on some more at eBay, as it seems we can't have too MANY Fuzzi Bunz! They are by far the best fit on Matthew out of all his nappies, and the slimmest and softest for him by a long way. They perform wonderfully and can last him the night with two inserts inside (one has to be hemp and the other microfibre though), whereas ALL his other nappies get wet through before the night is over.
He has outgrown all his newborn-size clothes (up to 10lbs), even the Next ones which are generous sizes. The 0-3 month clothes (up to 14lbs) have stopped being baggy on him and now fit perfectly. His 0-3 month vests and sleepsuits are actually beginning to be a little tight at the crotch, but he does wear cloth nappies so that's probably all it is. Except that he usually wears Fuzzi Bunz now and those are very slim cloth nappies. I am already frantically searching eBay for summer items in size 3-6 months!! I didn't really think I'd need that size for summer things, but maybe I'll even need a few 6-9 month items if the summer stays hot for the duration and he continues growing like he is!
The health visitor is coming back at 8 weeks to do my postnatal check, the one with the screen for postnatal depression, etc. And she'll check Matthew of course! I have to make Matthew's 6 week baby check with the GP, and a separate one for me with the GP, for my postnatal check at 6 weeks. I think all is well though. Matthew is doing wonderfully and I feel fine. My stitches have gone I think, and my bleeding is all but finished. I have put my cloth pads away - they have been wonderful to use, and so easy to wash. I have put them away looking like new and with no stains or anything! I'm really pleased with them and will definitely use them next time.
I have been trying to remember to do my postnatal exercises (I'm so bad at things like that!). So far I'm only allowed to do the pelvic floor ones and pelvic tilts. I don't think I am doing them as frequently as you're supposed to, but I always remember in bed before I go to sleep, so that's once a day at least!
We are using dummies for Matthew sometimes, because he has been really unsettled and inconsolable at times, though nothing like the PAINFUL crying before I cut milk out of my diet. I am still not drinking milk and he seems much improved for it. I did think I would have to cut all dairy out too, but his nappy rash and green poo has calmed right down, and he doesn't seem in pain with his tummy any more, so I think he's okay with the dairy foods in my diet. I might try putting milk on my cereal one morning and watch him for the next day or two to see how he reacts. If he's okay then I'll have milk on cereal every morning and see how he goes. If he reacts then I will know not to try it again for a few months! I MISS milk so much! I knew I would but I am just LONGING for a glass of ice-cold milk, or a nice bowl of cereal with milk on it. Marmite on toast just does NOT go with water (bleurgh!) or even juice. Pfthth. But I will do anything for my sweet tiny boy! I don't mind missing milk for him to have a happy tummy :)
Anyway, but he still has times when he cries and cries and CRIES, and that can be so hard. I have tried swaddling him but he doesn't really react any differently when he's swaddled. Plus it's hot and he seems to get sweaty and grumpy and overheated very easily (like his Mummy!). We have a new air conditioner (yippee!!) and I can swaddle him much more happily in the cool of the air conditioning, but it doesn't seem to do much for him. He HATES his arms being swaddled, and he doesn't seem to notice being swaddled other than that, tightly or loosely, so I don't bother doing it any more.
The two things we are finding to be the most helpful are dummies and that wonderful Fisher Price kick and play bouncy chair! How UN-attachment parenting is this?!! Hehe! Soooo different to how we did things with Arthur. But this time, we HAVE Arthur to see to at the same time. I can't wear Matthew in a sling all the time around the house because my back hurts and he gets too hot and Arthur can't get to me easily to breastfeed when he wants to. Matthew likes to be rocked and to suck when he is frantic and restless. He is frantic and restless such a LOT of the time, and at those times he really seems to NEED to suck. He is bringing up tons of milk when I put him to the breast every time he roots or cries for comfort, and gets uncomfortable wind, so we gave him a little finger to suck and that seemed to be just what he was looking for. He didn't like us to take the little finger away even when he was asleep though, so we tried him with a dummy. He seemed to be rejecting it at first, but we did persevere and when he took it after a long day of unhappy fussing and crying and tired-Mummyness, he just relaxed completely and went off to sleep straight away in his bouncy chair, and I suddenly LOVED dummies (having hated them all my life!)!! I always felt like they were things grown-ups use for their own benefit, but then I watched my tiny boy and saw how much it was comforting HIM and how his tense body just went limp and relaxed as he sucked and dozed off. He doesn't like the taste of them when they have been sterilized (we boil them), even if I express a little breast milk onto them, but once he has used that dummy for a while, he doesn't mind it at all. The thing is, we have to keep sterilizing them so he hates the taste again! Other than that, they are soooo helpful. I can do a little more in the house, like make myself some lunch, go for a wee, get Arthur's lunch or change his nappy, etc, with Matthew in the bouncy chair with a dummy. He is content there for a few minutes while I get those important things done, and I don't have to feel desperate about leaving him crying or just NOT getting anyone's lunch that day otherwise. He doesn't stay like that long enough for me to nurse Arthur to sleep for his nap, so juggling that timing is tricky.
The bouncy chair is very soothing for him because it has a vibrate function that he likes. If he is inconsolable, I can now put him in that chair with the buzzer on, and help him to take a dummy, and then rock the chair - he likes it bounced VIGOROUSLY when he's really upset! This combination is the ONLY thing that will calm him down enough to go to sleep when he is crying and I can't soothe him. He still does cry quite a lot of the day, but the spells of crying are much shorter now that I've found methods of soothing him. He will also happily doze in there with the buzzer on and a dummy to suck, while I get the chance to play some Duplo with Arthur for 30 minutes or something like that. That makes a HUGE difference to Arthur, to have my undivided attention for a block of time, and also for me, to feel like I am still able to give my toddler some vital one-on-one time. It eases my anxiety over that, so it helps a lot. And Matthew is happy!
So I have some photos - I have just realized that ALL of them are of Matthew in the bouncy chair!! That looks bad. But it has to be said, the only time I get chance to pick up the camera is when Matthew is in the bouncy chair! He really isn't in it as much as this entry suggests! He is in my arms a LOT, and on the breast a lot, and in his cot quite a lot too. I sometimes put him on the activity mat but he so far hates that, and it's really hard to prevent Arthur from pulling it about and getting too boisterous around Matthew's delicate little body on the floor! I end up using a less-than-calm tone of voice with Arthur, constantly, the whole time poor Matthew is on the mat, and I think that must be the reason that Matthew cries there now. He must associate it with me being all cross and tense, and hearing my voice all grumpy and irritated :( I hate that. So anyway, he doesn't like floor mats so far. I want to start giving him some tummy time somewhere, but it's hard to find him places that are safe from Arthur's running energetic little feet! The house is so cluttered and small, and there is just NO floor space for Matthew and Arthur to share right now. His neck is so strong though! He can lift his head to 45 degrees lying flat on his tummy on my chest.
I have been laying him on his side or his tummy sometimes to help him go to sleep. I feel anxious about that, especially the tummy position, but he is so comfy like that and sleeps so peacefully. He can lift and turn his head in his sleep when he is on his tummy. I find him facing the other way when I know he wasn't facing that way earlier, and then facing back the original way a while later. I check on him a lot when he's sleeping on his tummy. I just get so anxious. I know when I was a baby, all mothers put their babies on their tummies to sleep, and I ALWAYS sleep on my tummy from birth, but the latest advice.... it just makes me anxious, that's all, like I'm taking a risk. Hmmm.
Okay, here is a photo of Matthew the first day we tried the dummy with him. He was 3 weeks old. It had been a trying day, and the INSTANT relief when he took that dummy and started sucking, was so wonderful for both us and him, that I took a photo to mark the occasion! He went straight to sleep:
Here is another photo from later the same day. I LOVE this photo! Matthew was being all alert and gazing at people. It was evening and Arthur was asleep upstairs. Neil had a moment to just take in his littlest son for a while, and I took this photo of them "learning" each other :)
The rest of the photos I wanted to post were taken today. Matthew is smiling!!! He smiled for the first time (at me!) at 3 weeks and 5 days old. Arthur was 4 and a half weeks I think, so a bit earlier than Arthur. The next day he smiled again, twice (at me again, yay!). Meg was here, being wonderful and helping me out (thank you Meg!), and she witnessed the smiles :) The next day, at four weeks old, he smiled a LOT more, like he was really getting the hang of it! He still hasn't smiled for Neil yet though :( Poor Neil. He keeps trying to make him smile, but he doesn't do it. I guess he hasn't had much time with Neil. Neil spent as much time with Arthur as I did when Arthur was a tiny baby, but now he has to do more with Arthur while I attend to Matthew's needs, so he doesn't quite have the same closeness with him that he did with Arthur. I am hoping he'll get some extra time with Matthew this weekend and see a smile!
Matthew smiles at me a lot each day now. He is also starting to try and "talk" to me. He concentrates so hard on my face and I can see him working up some huge effort in his throat, and making shapes with his mouth, and at the end of ALL that effort, this tiny little "aaaoooh" cooing sound comes out! It's so sweet! He has a very different voice to Arthur's. Arthur's was always clear and chipmunky, but Matthew's is quite husky and lower in tone. His cry has always struck me the same way too - much huskier and lower tone than Arthur's ever was. Also, Matthew has a different shaped mouth to Arthur, you can see it when he smiles. Arthur has Neil's mouth shape. In Neil's family, every single one of them has the same shape mouth. When they smile, you can see just as much gum as teeth, and on my side you don't see ANY gum when we smile! I am noticing that when Matthew smiles, I can't see any of his gums, so I am thinking he must have my mouth shape. What different little boys! :)
Anyway, I am more in love with Matthew than EVER with all this smiley bonding stuff! ;) It's so lovely. I often feel that all I want to do is gaze into his eyes and coo and talk to him for HOURS on end. I really could just do that forever. But Arthur needs me too, so I mustn't. I am so in love with my boys! :) Here are some photos from today - my tiny boy thinking about smiling, thinking about it some more, and then finally smiling at me :) And then yawning, and falling asleep after the long tiring smiling session, hehe! He's so lovely. I love him sooooooo much!!
Well, my sweet tiny man is waking up for some milk so I will finish now. He is in my bed at the moment, but when I have fed him and changed him (and fed him again!), I'll put him down in his cot bed. He is doing great there. Soooo different to Arthur already. I am beginning to let myself hope - which could be a mistake! But at night I feed him, and lay him down in the cot bed WIDE AWAKE, turn out the light and lie down in my bed waiting for him to get fussy and need me to pick him up again, and most often he doesn't. He just goes right to sleep on his own! Which is great for 1 month old, so I am happy about that. I sometimes put him back in there after his first night feed, but mostly he stays in bed with me after that waking. Both work fine for us, though I do like my space in bed! But it's so sweet to have him snuggled up against me :) Okay, got to go. I'll update again asap, and try to take more photos soon. I'm trying to get to emails, especially thank-yous but I am not doing too well at finding the time so far. Thanks for all the lovely notes and messages again! xxx
Recent entries.....
Babies 7 and 8! :) - 2016-01-10
Babies 6 and 7! - 2013-02-17
Baby #5 !! - 2010-04-03
Nearly 3 months postpartum! - 2009-10-05
6 weeks old already! - 2009-08-25