Babywise

Now that Josiah is about a month old I've decided it's time to work on a routine. He's been eating and sleeping according to "his schedule" since he was born and since I'll be heading back to work soon I thought now would be a good time to start implementing an eating/playing/sleeping routine. I had a friend suggest the Babywise method to me and I really like the idea! It involves feeding your baby every 2.5-3 hours (since it takes that long for them to digest, unless of course they are going through a growth spurt or just happen to be hungry), allowing baby to be awake (or "play) for 30-45 minutes after eating, and then putting them down to sleep for 45 minutes or until the next 3 hour feeding. By following this schedule I am helping my child learn what to expect throughout the day and also keeping him from nursing to sleep (which has been an issue from day one!) Plus, he will learn how to self-soothe and put himself to sleep rather than being rocked to sleep every time (also an issue since day one!).

The toughest part about this schedule is the CIO "cry it out" part of the sleeping time. I've been going back and forth on whether or not to let him CIO-heck, he's only a month old, isn't that a little young to let your infant cry and cry and cry? Well, I've decided to give it a try since I've heard so many great responses from people who have done it. My philosophy is that I want to teach him to fall asleep on his own but also let him know that I'm there and have not abandoned him (maybe this is more for my comfort!). What I'll do is I rock him until he is starting to fall asleep, then I'll lay him in his crib and leave the room. When the initial crying starts I'll go in and check on him just to make sure he's ok (clean diaper, not still hungry, pacifier in mouth, etc.) and if he's fine I'll pat him until he's calm and then leave the room again. Then if he starts crying some more I'll wait 5-10 minutes and then go in and try to calm him again. We have yet to see him cry himself to sleep-it seems that even though I'll lay him down when he's basically half asleep he will somehow cry himself so that he is completely awake! This morning he gave himself the hiccups and I decided to bring him out to the swing and after 2 minutes he was half asleep again. It's hard to hear him cry, but my hope is that after being consistent and sticking to the schedule that he will be a happier baby when he is awake, eat really well when nursing, and sleep well during naps and throughout the night! Maybe I will eventually be able to let him cry longer than 5-10 minutes but right now I'm just not sure. We will have to see how this first week goes!

ice ice baby...

When I was pregnant I started eating ice all the time! I drank tons of ice water and would fish out the ice cubes and start chomping away. This habit seems to have continued into post pregnancy and I now find myself walking to the freezer, pulling out an ice cube and popping it in my mouth. No wonder I'm freezing all of the time!

A Lifetime of Learning

The past 3 weeks have been a lifetime of learning for Andrew and I. As our little boy is growing, we are learning how to take care of him and meet his needs. Nursing has been going well and I've even started pumping so that Andrew can take a middle of the night feeding. I LOVE that Andrew is able to help out because then I can manage 6 or more hours of sleep and I won't need much of a nap during the day when it's me all by myself. What I don't like about nursing-growth spurts! Josiah went through a growth spurt from Monday until Thursday and it was awful! He was nursing pretty much every hour to an hour and half. And in the evenings he would fuss constantly because he was so hungry. We would end up feeding him a 4 oz. bottle because he wasn't getting much out of me and I would pump extra to make up for it.

Thankfully, middle of the night feedings have been going well. We are starting to work on a bedtime routine but it's definitely been a struggle trying to get Josiah to sleep between 8 and 9 p.m. This is probably because he is sleeping too much in the evenings. We've definitely learned that he needs a full tummy before he goes to bed. Last night I nursed at 7, 8:15, and then again at 9:30 and it took until 11 p.m. to get him to fall asleep in his crib. I really don't enjoy these cluster feedings and would prefer to give him a bottle because he eats more and is more satisfied. The nice thing is that I find myself only having to get up 2-3 times a night (and when Andrew takes a feeding it really helps!) I know it will take a while to really get a bedtime routine established, it's just a struggle when I really want to spend my evenings relaxing with Andrew.

Later this week we have a friend coming to do some family pictures! I'm so excited! But for now, here are a few pictures I can offer.

Josiah laying so nicely on the couch...who knew that a couple seconds later he would spit up all over our microfiber, hard to clean couch. We have now learned to always place a blanket or burp cloth underneath him.

Josiah loves the swing (to an extent). The swing has been my lifesaver in the mornings so I can get a shower in!

Josiah right after his first bath! He didn't like it too much, BUT he did not pee all over like he has the last few times. Last time I put him down on the clean towel to dry him off and he peed all over himself. I didn't bother washing him again, who would want to risk more pee or shooting poo all over the place?

Poo Party

I've been trying to be better about letting Josiah's diapers "stew" for a few minutes before changing him because too often I go to change him and 5 minutes later he has another full one. This morning I thought I had been successful at waiting it out, only to find that my son has the ability to shoot poo 3 feet across the room!

I was changing him and lifting up his bottom to put on the diaper cream when it shot out of him like a jet. I found poo running down his bedroom door, which was about 3 feet away from the changing table. No wonder he was fussy this morning!

A Week of Firsts for Mommy

As a new mom I have experienced many “firsts” in my life since the birth of Josiah. You don’t realize how much life is going to change until it’s already happening. I’ve had a few emotional ups and downs, many of them having to do with the changes that are taking place. Here are some of them:

-First time pushing a human out of me (I think it’s crazy that men will never get to experience labor!)

-First time getting stitches

-First time fainting at the sight of blood

-First time nursing (we’ve had some rough moments with nursing, but I feel reassured that when my supply can’t meet the demand of my son, or when latching on seems to be too difficult at the time, that a little formula will satisfy him. Only a few more days and I will be pumping regularly so Andrew can help bottle feed at night).

-First time getting peed, pooped, and spit up on consistently

-First time sleeping without ear plugs since the year 2005

-First time experiencing sleep deprivation that wasn’t caused by school or work

-First time experiencing the love that a parent truly has for their child-what a blessing! Sometimes I sit and look at my son and can't help but cry because I can't imagine my life without him. He is so special and even though there are times when I would love some peace, quiet, and a full nights sleep, I know that my life is truly blessed by God!

Josiah Jonathan Potratz

I woke up Friday morning Oct. 29th with lots of energy. The doctor had warned me that I may get a boost of energy before labor and so I was thinking today might be the day! I went to the chiropractor and to work feeling really great. When I got home around 6 p.m. though I started having contractions, which seemed like my normal Braxton Hicks contractions that I get every evening. However, they started to get a little more painful throughout the evening and I was thinking to myself "maybe labor really will kick in tonight!" I went to bed around 11:00 p.m. but never really fell asleep because of the painful contractions. At 11:30 they started to get really painful and seemed to come every 7 minutes. At 12: 50 a.m. I decided to call First Nurse and see if I should come in. He said to wait until my contractions were 5 minutes apart. Well, only an hour later my contractions were really painful and coming at 4-5 minutes apart. I called First Nurse again and they told me to go ahead and come in. At this point I was freaking out because I was in SO MUCH pain that I could barely move and I just kept thinking to myself "we NEED to be at the hospital NOW!" We got to the hospital a little after 2 a.m. and they immediately put me in a delivery room (thank goodness they didn't put me in one of those tiny triage rooms that they did before). I immediately asked for an epidural but the anesthesiologist had just gone back to do a C-Section and would be quite awhile. I was in horrible pain and the contractions were so close together! They checked me and I was only 5 c.m. but my labor progressed very quickly and I was a full 10 within 2 hours. The anesthesiologist made it into my room to give me the epidural at about 4 a.m. (just in time for me to start pushing). However, it took a couple of hours for me to push, so by the time Josiah was crowning I was already in pain again. I didn't even use the actual epidural because they give you a medicine that numbs you from the waste down first that only lasts 2 hours. I was having such a hard time pushing that the doctor said not to start the actual epidural once the numbing went away. It was so painful! They ended up giving me an episiotomy because I was having a hard time pushing. After they did the episiotomy, Josiah was born within a few minutes after a few more pushes.

My little boy was born at 6:35 a.m, 8 pounds 7 ounces, and 20 inches long. He was a very healthy little boy!

It took me a while to recover after delivery. I was put on lots of pain medication because of the stitches and the painful contractions that come with nursing. A few hours later I tried to get out of bed for the first time and passed out on the way to the bathroom, so I sat in bed until late afternoon before getting up to clean up from delivery. It was nice that he was born so early Saturday morning because we had plenty of time in the hospital over the weekend to rest up while Josiah slept in the nursery. We came home Monday afternoon and it's been a roller coaster since. Each day seems to get a little better as I find time to rest and as I get better at nursing. What we have learned so far about little Josiah: He loves soft blankies, will one day be a musician because music soothes him immensely, and loves to be cuddled.