growth spurts

In one word, growth spurts suck. Parker had his first one at about 3 weeks and there was a 2 day period where he ate literally every hour. I sat on the couch all day and just fed him.

Now we're on growth spurt number two which he's right on time for at 6 weeks. It started last night and I was up feeding him every hour and a half. It was awful. At one point at like 4am I think I cried myself to sleep from exhaustion. This morning started off the same way but he's slowly going back to his 2 hour eating. I am praying that he sleeps better tonight. Supposedly I have two more growth spurts to look forward to at 3 months and 6 months.

On a happier note... I got some big smiles last night! Matt was there to watch it happen. We were sitting on the couch talking to Parker and I gave him kisses. Then gave a huge smile right after! Matt tried to record it but of course Parker was embarrassed and didn't do it again. I really love this kid, but I was not expecting it to be this much work.

smile

I'm pretty sure that Parker smiled for the first time today! He loves when I make noises at him and kiss his squishy face.

He has the sweetest big gummy smile too! His mouth opens up wide and his eyes get small. I hope he is a smiley boy from now on!

My life is on baby time.

I've been trying to think about a daily schedule for Parker and I because I need some routine and I know he'll benefit from it too. The problem is, Parker is so unpredictable! I never know how hell be from day to day.Yesterday he was up almost all day with 20 minute naps here and there. Then he did a 5 hour sleep stretch last night which was a first! Of course I had to wake him up to eat though. My boobs were hard as rocks!

So anyway, now today he's been sleeping for 30-60 minutes at a time! He still eats about every 2-2.5 hours so that's something I can go off of. I'm worried that if he sleeps a lot during the day then he will sleep less at night. I know everyone says "sleep when the baby sleeps" but I've never been a napper. I can't sleep past like 9am and it's impossible to even try once the sun is up.
So. The routine. I guess it's a work in progress? Eventually it'll include scheduled naps, feeding, playtime and walks. I'll let you know when we get there.

Finally asleep!

After eating every hour today and napping no longer than 45 minutes I finally put an end to it. I know he's not hungry, wet, bored, or hurt. He's just overtired. So I put Parker in the Moby wrap and started vacuuming. He was out in 2 minutes flat. Woo!

sleep tricks

Sometimes it's really hard to get Parker to fall asleep. Matt and I have learned some tricks over the past few weeks. We turn on either the vacuum, blender, hair dryer, or let water run from the faucet. If that doesn't work then it's a car ride... or I have to hold him and rock, sway or bounce. I have a moby wrap too and he does pretty well in it now that he's stronger. But he is funny and will stiffen his legs and push himself up to get out. Smart kid. Usually that's the first thing I do but I don't want him to get used to only falling asleep with me holding him.

I started reading a book called The No-Cry Sleep Solution. There's no way I'm gonna let my baby "cry it out" because he gets so worked up he makes himself gag. So far it's a good book and I'm more aware of things I can do to get Parker to sleep better. He's still really young and I don't expect him to be a perfect sleeper. But I want to be prepared in case he does have trouble. Hopefully we won't get to that. For now he sleeps well at night, it's the daytime naps were working on.

sad day

Yesterday Parker was super fussy. He wanted to eat every 30 minutes or so from morning until early afternoon. I'm pretty sure poor baby was gassy and had a tummy ache. I tried everything to calm him down. Tummy rub, bouncing, swaying, walking outside, swaddling, shushing... but Parker just wanted to nurse and be held all day.

Eventually it got to the point where we were both bawling. He was crying so hard that his face was turning red and he was making himself gag. It killed me to see him so upset. I finally gave him some gripe water which seemed to calm him down thankfully. He had only taken one 45 minute nap but by about 3pm he fell asleep in me for 2 hours. I didn't dare to move in fear he'd wake up and cry again.
After Matt got home from work, Parker seemed to be better. Later on, we gave him a warm bath which he loves. That totally calmed him down and soon after he was ready for bed.

The hardest part about days like yesterday is that I feel so helpless to making my little baby happy. I had tried everything I could think of without getting in the car and taking him on a drive. Some days it's really hard to stay at home with an infant. It's definitely not as easy as I had imagined. I wish I lived closer to my friends and family in Gilbert. Tucson can feel very isolating.

First Easter

On Sunday we celebrated Easter with my family. My siblings and parents came to visit, cook us food, and help with some chores around the house. I was so grateful to not have to make anything or do dishes that day. Parker was so good and let us pose him for a bit for some Easter pictures. I may be biased but he is one cute kid!

I was bummed that I didn't get to make him an Easter basket. I'm still scared to take him out to run errands though. Next year for sure we'll go all out. Dye eggs, get visited by the Easter bunny, and get dressed up for Easter service at church.

Guys have it so easy.

My husband went back to work during the day now and I admit I am a bit jealous that he gets adult interaction. It's frustrating when you're home all day with a baby then have to take care of him all night. No sleeping through the night, meeting up for happy hour with friends, going out to get a haircut (let alone having enough time to shave your legs in the shower) and even going grocery shopping is out of the question.

Guys have it so easy when it comes to taking care of babies. I don't think they understand how not only physically but emotionally draining it can be. Changing a diaper at 2am can be really tricky when you've only had 3 hours of sleep.

When I'm in bed, I want to actually try to get some sleep before I have to get up in 2-3 hours to a fussy, hungry baby. Then go to bed an hour later and repeat. There is no snooze button anymore. Parker sleeps about 6 hours on and off at night and about the same during the day. Sometimes an hour more but I'm not a daytime sleeper. I've tried. Anyways, it's way less than what the "average" baby his age sleeps according to the chart below from The Baby Center.
I can't wait until he gets on a better schedule.