Liam in "Action"

This morning Liam was totally working it out on the play mat - until I turned the camera on....

Check out his new slippers!  He likes them better than socks.  They are already too small though.  Apparently his feet are also bigger than 3-6mos.  Good thing they were only $2.

Week 5 Pictures

Liam learns to self soothe with Eyore's ear.

Lewis gives Liam a doggy kiss while Scout supervises.

Liam rocks out in his crazy pants.

Liam chilling on the change table before we head out to the library.  This is one of his fave things to do - but usually in naked mode... which is not appropriate for the interwebs.

Liam learning about 'spring' and how snow is not just for winter anymore.

Liam enjoying his aquarium from Aunt Mel and Uncle Ryan.

A close up of Liam's male pattern baldness.  Seems his infant hair is falling out and the new stuff is coming in white!

Learning

Well, it's been 4 weeks (and 3 days) since our little boy has been in the world.  In that time, Kev and I have been scrambeling to learn how to care for a new life in the most healthy of ways.  For those of you who have been following the blog - you will know this has not always been so stress free for us.  But, we are happy to report - for now atleast -  it appears we have come out the good end of both feeding and sleeing with Liam.  It only took 4 whole weeks, but we have arrived at some form of 'normal' and routine. 

And what a difference that can make!

This morning when Liam woke up at 7:30am, done sleeping and ready to start the day. I thought to myself "come on Liam, cant you sleep till 10am like you did the other day" and then I realized - 7:30am is a blessing!  I have heard stories from other moms who's day continually starts at 5am or earlier.  I think maybe we stave that off by getting him up when Kev gets up at 4:30am for a diaper change, a chair feeding and then back to bed.  Those extra few hours are enough really.  Also, considering that when we do get up at 7:30 that we spend atleast another hour in the chair snuggling and feeding and napping.  I am pretty lucky that way.  I will stop complaining.

Feeding is a non-issue now.  Well, it is still something I am concerned about but, we have been proven to be feeding more than enough at each weigh-in so I have to just let it go and trust that he drinks/eats what he needs and as long as I respond to his call for food promptly, the system works.

Speaking of his 'call for food'.  Liam has develpoed a very distinct 'feed me' cry.  I think he has taken his French Canadian hertiage a little seriously because when he wants to eat he very distinctly screams "Lait".  I will try to make a recording some time.  It is actually kind of hillarious.... well, as hillarious as a baby screaming can be, I guess.

Today was a new adventure in learning.  After being downstairs for a total of 1 hour and already exhausting the usual rotation of play mat, bouncy chair, swing, tummy time, holding, repeat, I found myself a little desperate for something new to do with Liam.  I know - pathetic.  So I cranked out some Raffi.  I layed Liam on my chest and sang along with this album.

And, to my suprise I knew every single word to every single song. Now, even after working in daycares for around 10 years, I am pretty sure that this album wasn't in heavy rotation, if at all.  So, this got me thinking. This album was released the year of my birth.  If my parents bought it new (which I doubt) than I probebly had been listening to it for the first couple years of my life. Lets say 6.  So, perhaps since age 6 I have heard these songs a few times max.  So, technically I havent heard this album in 28 years... but somehow - with all the other 'stuff' that has come and gone in my memory - this music still remains. To me that is amazing. To think that my brain at that ealy of an age absorbed this entire album and never let it go.  This also kind of makes me hyper conscious to what music I will be playing while I nurse and change diapers now too.  The music my iPod is saturated with is completely NOT the sort of tunes I want Liam's brain to absorbe and never let go of.  While I enjoy the tunes for the memories they hold from my life, and for some of the messages they carry, or their funky beats ... they certainly are not 'baby proof' in their language or subject matter!  Time to retire my iPod for alone time only.  Liam needs something better - something I'd be proud to have shared with him.

So, back to Raffi.  He's a pretty cool dude, if you didn't know.  He's done some pretty awesome things for children over the years. "In his three-decade career, Raffi has refused all commercial endorsement offers, and Troubadour Music, his own triple-bottom-line company, has never directly advertised or marketed to children. He is a passionate advocate for a child’s right to live free of commercial exploitation."  This makes me love his music even more.  Then there is his Center for Child Honouring initiative. http://www.raffinews.com/ . He is the kind of musician I am super proud to introduce Liam to for sure.

So, anyways... Liam promptly fell asleep during the "Brush your teeth" song while I sang along and tapped the beat on his back.  Going to have to add this activity to the daily rotation for sure!

Here is a short video of Liam nestled under my chins dreaming of 'Lait' while he listen to Raffi.

HAPPY 1 MONTH LIAM!

Week 4 Pics - a week of firsts

First time in the Snugglie carrier... he's not a huge fan yet.

First time meeting Maggie - Liam's babysitter (in about 10 years)

First time meeting Jamie.  Jamie's first time holding a baby!

First visit to the Swan Pond.  Ofcouse, the swan was 'off duty' at the time.

First time wearing the coolest shirt ever.  Shortly after this shot he kindly spit up his entire meal and rendered it unwearable... and 4 other outfits that day.

First time in the vibrating chair without screaming the whole time (only 1/2 the time)

First time visiting Bottrill at his resturant

First time grocery shopping

Good-Bye Disposible Diapers!

Liam has finally chubbed up enough to fit his cloth diapers!

Just in time too - his disposibles where starting to leave nasty marks on his legs and things were starting to look a little raw down there.

As I type this... I consider how ridiculous this information might be to many of you.

At this point, we celebrate the small stuff Okay!

Week 3 Pics

Liam and Mommy's first day with no Daddy help.

Liam finds his thumb... and how to poke himself in the eye.

Group nap time.

Auntie Val visits

Auntie Val is a baby whisperer.

A Message from Liam.

An end to the drama... I think

It's been a tough 5 days.  It seemed as soon as the LC took us off our 'plan' and told us to just feed when he is hungry that Liam has been completely unhappy.  There have been noises you wouldn't think could come from a 2.5 week old both in the burping and tooting department.  I'd say he'd rival his Uncle Ryan anyday!  Our first instinct was - he's allergic to something I ate.  Crap - what did I eat?  Immediately cut out tomatoes because I have been having lots of pastas in the last few days.  No change.  Liam was getting even more upset and gassy and it got to the point that he wouldn't even lay down on his back without writhing in pain and screaming a pitch that made our spine throb. Days passed and I ejected dairy from my meals... even though we have a nice new bucket of my favourite ice cream in the freezer.  No change.

Today... well last night-ish, Liam was inconsolable.  Wouldn't lay down, wouldn't sit up. Wouldn't calm down dispite all of Daddy's stories, or songs or perpetual motion tactics.  Nothing we could do.  There was a point where Liam was happy to lay on his belly with his head hanging over a pillow and toot, but that time had passed.

The toot position

So we moved onto Gripe water, some crazy named homeopathic stuff and then just went back to perpetual motion, leg pumps, belly massage and constant back patting.  Nothing worked.  So then we thought maybe he was starving.  Maybe Liam just wasn't getting the milk he needed from me in our new 'no supplementing' plan.  So we cracked out the bottle again.  Loaded it with 60ml of boob juice and Liam drank it like he had just found an oasis in the dessert. What the....

And then he slept.

He slept for over 4 hours.  Both Kev and I woke up before he did and checked to be sure he was still breathing. 

And then he woke up.

Time to feed again.  Liam has only been taking 10 minute feeds at a time since Sunday.  It seems like he was getting more than his share when I counted his suck/swallow ratios... but reliably, he would stop at 10 minutes, pass out and his body would go limp.  That is all he wanted.  No matter how many times I 'offered' a second helping, he just didnt want any.

So, off to the nursery at 4am for a feeding.  10 mins later, Liam is passed out.  I am determined to make him eat more.  So I wait.  I know, given the last 4 days that he will wake up eventually and cry hysterically until he is fed again - so I wait.  He wakes 20 minutes later, burps, coos and does some leg pumps and passes out again.  This happens until about 6am before he is actually interested in feeding again.  Another 10 minute feeding.  By now I have a numb butt, a sore neck from half sleeping in a chair and I have to wee.  Shift change.

Kev takes post in the nursing chair.  Recommences perpetual motion, silly songs, fancy iPhone apps made to calm babies... Liam cries and cries.  I am too tired to respond and so lean Liam in Kev's capable hands to catch 60 mins of sleep.

7:30am, shift change again.  This time we go skin to skin and I settle in for the long haul.  Another 10 minute feed followed by hours and hours of 'kangaroo' snuggling.  Liam is quiet but gassy.  9am Kev brings me some eggs and toast, to which I devour trying not to get crumbs in Liam's hair.  11am I move into the bed to continue kangaroo.  Liam is less a fan of this location, but eventually settles.  12:30 bath time.

The rest is a blurr... but it eventually leads to us leaving for the hospital for another weigh in.

Today Liam weighed in at 8lbs 14oz at the Lactation Consultant.  That is a 9 oz gain in 5 days - more than 'heathy' according to Donna (our LC).  So what the heck is his problem?!  I feed Liam from one side and they weigh him again to see how much he has taken in.  85ml!  85ml in 10 minutes!  Holy crap!  I was worried he wasn't getting enough.  85 is the high end of what he should be getting each feeding.  OKay - so he isn't starving.  Phew!  It seems... after some discussion, that Liam is drinking too fast... or rather I am 'letting down' too fast and he is getting too much of the foremilk and not enough of the hindmilk.  For those who don't know... hindmilk is where all the calories are.  Foremilk is like ... sugar water essentially.  Not so filling.  Okay - things are coming together.

The gas is explained by his gulping of milk while it comes out too fast, and also because the composition of foremilk... well, let's just say it is digested almost instantly and is already on it's way 'out' while he is still drinking.

Anyways - long story short.  Crisis averted.  Drama has ceased.

Well... mystery drama atleast.  We still have a crying baby - but rumour has it they do that from time to time.  This must just be one of those times.

Week 2 Pics

Pondering

Having a bad hair day

Liam meets Auntie Naledi and his new best bud in her belly

Thinking about goatees with Uncle Jason

Liam and Mommy

Just being cute

"Breast" Feeding - and everything inbetween.

It has been 2 weeks since Liam's birth.  He was weighed today and is up to 7lbs 14oz now.  He has shown a 2oz wieght gain daily lately so - by the weekend, we can expect that he will be back to his birthwieght.

Phew.

This weight gain has been a lot of work.  Kev and I are pretty much exhaused into delerium at this point.  Feeding every 2 hours... which takes about an hour each.  We pretty much live in the nursery.  We have a system developed (finally) that has me feeding at the boob while Kev preps a bottle with an extra big nipple on it.  Then, while Kev feeds Liam from the bottle, I pump more milk for the next feeding.  We found out at the Lactation Consultant that Liam's latching issues had to do with him having kind of a small mouth.  He also is sensitive to having his hard palate touched.  The big bottle nipple 'de-sensitizes' him to this by giving him the gratification of instant milk reward.  He only needed to use it once before he was already better at drinking straight from the boob.  It was magic.  We hope that by the end of this week we can stop with the bottle and there will be enough milk for satisfying him fully just by feeding at the boob.  Fingers crossed please!

Below are a series of pictures of all the different ways we have had to feed Liam in the past 14 days.  Looking back - it's been kind of crazy.  At the end of the day though - we did whatever we could to get calories in, so we could get energy out and he could learn to suck and drink from Mommy.  It has been soooooo worth it.



Our First attempt at feeding involved dropping milk onto Liam's tounge. It was messy and wastefull. It fed him though, so we wont complain

 

Next we moved onto a feeding tube syphon.  Less messy, more 'active' for Liam to work for his food, but still not teaching him how to feed properly.

And here is the current method.  Liam has to take the big round nipple all the way into his mouth so that it touches his hard pallet.  This is teaching his to open his mouth wide enough, and be able to take my nipple in deep enough that he can create enough suction to get the milk out.  He's doing a great job!

So there you have it.  3 ways to feed your kid, should you find yourself not able to feed at the boob.  Who knew!  We are also feeding from the boob - but I am pretty sure no one wants to see a pic of that!

Onward and upward from here.  Hopefully by the weekend we will get to cut out all these supplementing things and be 'au natural'  from here on out.

Hopefully...