Quick update on the bottle situation… There has been more screaming and more rejection, but finally we figured out something that works. He cannot be held in a breastfeeding or similar position when given a bottle…meaning, no laying down or cradling. If he is held on our lap, sitting up, with his back leaning against us, he will accept the bottle. We’ve done it like that twice today with no screaming or rejection…a little fussiness, but nothing too bad. YAY.

Without further adeiu, here is our “9 Things Meme” (9 Things that we love…and yes, originally it was 7, but I liked Insert Metaphor’s idea of 9 pictures and these go for both Nutella and I)

 

In no particular order, these things are:

1. Vacations
2. Gourmet food
3. Sleeping Miles
4. Theatre
5. Our chihuahua
6. Wineries
7. Friends
8. Smiling Miles
9. Each other

Thanks to the 3 blogs that tagged us…it looks like by now, pretty much everyone has done this If you haven’t, consider yourself tagged.

Have a wonderful Independence Day if you’re in the US! See you in a week!

Perhaps we should have recognized that previous picture as foreboding. This was going to be a light, happy post full of pictures for that 7-9 things meme that’s going around, since we’ve been tagged and all, but we’ll tackle that one tomorrow. Here’s a little about our last two evenings.

Nutella had her last physical therapy appointment yesterday, so I was at home with little Mr. Miles for an hour. The timing was such that I was going to give him a bottle of breastmilk…no big deal. He’s been taking bottles on and off for a while now, though mostly feeding from the actual breast 90% of the time. So I begin to feed him, he sucks down an ounce, and then proceeds to SCREAMOHMYGODMAKEMEDEAF. Now, Nutella told me he hadn’t napped all day so my immediate thought was: Overtired. It happens. I finally get him calm, Nutella arrives home, feeds him from the boob, and he goes to sleep.

Tonight we spy some breastmilk in the fridge that is about to expire, so we decide I will give him that before sleep and then Nutella will finish him off with the boob. As soon as the bottle goes in his mouth (and yes, the milk was room temperature and tasted fine), he proceeds to SCREAMBLOODYMURDER again. And he’s had several naps throughout the day. It’s like something just clicked in his 2-month brain and he only. wants. boob. Unfortunately, he needs to be able to take a bottle, too. We had planned on going out on our beach trip and having the g-parents give him a bottle. Not to mention Nutella is going back to work soon and there will only be bottles during the day.

So, over the next two hours, we proceeded to try and feed him the bottle, try and maintain some sense of sanity and hearing while he screamed, calm him and try the whole thing over and over and over again. He finally got so tired and so hungry, he gave up and gulped down what was in the bottle. Tomorrow we’re going to do bottles and breast every other feeding until he accepts the bottle again without a fuss. This is definitely one of those Not Fun times of parenthood. My ears are still ringing.

Today is Miles’ 2 month birthday!  To celebrate, we took our first trip on public transportation where he was fascinated by the moving lights of the train as it sped through the tunnels.  We went into the city to visit a big annual festival and met up with a few other mommy friends, one of whom I went to high school with and haven’t seen since 2005.  How would I ever have friends if it weren’t for F@cebook? 

Miles typically sleeps when we are out with the stroller, but not today.  Too much to see and hear.  I had to keep the shade over him because it was very sunny and bright out, but he stayed wide awake the whole time anyway.  We nursed twice while we were out and he did quite well.  Once we got home and I had fed him, we swaddled him tightly and put him in his crib with the shade drawn because the kid NEEDED a nap.

I have to say, that the past 2 weeks or so he’s become very fun.  Smiling and laughing, engaging with people, interested in objects and sounds.  He’s holding his head up by himself 90% of the time and staring at the world in wonder.  His patterns are becoming more regular.  On Saturday we are leaving for a week at the beach with my parents and we will be introducing him to sand and to the water in the pool and ocean.  I hope he enjoys it and that it’s the beginning of a summer tradition.  Sure, he’s too young to appreciate caramel corn, boardwalk fries, putt-putt golf, skee ball, and stargazing but in the years to come we will share our love of these things with him and learn to love them anew through his eyes. 

Wow, I wasn’t expecting this post to get gooey, but there you go!  How about a fun anecdote and picture in anticipation of the holiday weekend for those of us in the US?

So, the other evening Strawberry was holding Miles just before feeding time.  Being the impatient little thing that he is, he decided not to wait for me to take him.  Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t quite work that way.

Nipple confusion

Strawberry took it as a compliment, but hopes he wouldn’t try it with just anyone!

So first it was Miles that got snuffly, then Nutella, and now me. We all have the same icky cold. Thankfully, Miles seems to be the furthest through it and is back to sleeping in longer chunks at night. The two days after the shots though? Those were awful. We had him on baby ty.lenol every 4-6 hours, but the effects of the shots and the cold made him extremely fussy and clingy and wakeful all through the night. It’s so hard to get through periods like that, but thankfully we appear to be on the other side now. And this morning it seemed like he was actually enjoying the snot sucker. lol. My advice? Try turning everything, even nasal aspiration, into a game.

We did have some fun this weekend though. We went to an art show, to lunch with a friend, and to the zoo. I thought it would be really hard to go places with a baby before we had him, but it’s turned out to be easier than expected. He tends to nap a lot in his sling or stroller, and when he’s not, he’s very interested in his surroundings…remaining wide-eyed and quietly alert for up to an hour. He always flirts with our friends, flashing smiles and staring at their faces. He’s such a joy to show off. Usually when he gets fussy when we’re out, it’s because he’s overstimulated and getting him to nap fixes it. And we’ve found it’s easiest to change and feed him in the car right when we get to where we’re going and/or before we leave.

rock on

Interested in the red panda

Tuckered out with stuffed panda

Just in time for his 2 month appt (held a few days early because the Dr. is on vacation next week), Miles developed a case of the snotty sniffles.  No fever, and he doesn’t seem terribly bothered by it, but he sounds so sad when he sniffs and snorts.  Although he didn’t sleep well last night, waking us every 2 hours instead of giving us his longer 4-5 hour stretches. We’ve been treating him as recommended with liberal use of the snot sucker (nasal aspirator), some homemade saline drops, and keeping him in the steamy bathroom with me when I shower.  The doctor wasn’t concerned at his appointment today.

The first part of the appointment was uneventful.  Miles is a big healthy boy.  He’s gained a full 2 lbs since his last visit on June 2, putting him at 12 lbs 4 oz.   Length is 23.5 inches, head circumference 39cm. Somewhere in the 75th percentile for all of them.  According to our copy of  ”Your baby week to week,”  he’s the size and weight of an average 3 month old.  We are just about ready to switch him to the medium gDiapers and we need to go through his clothes again to remove the things he’s outgrown.  His dosage of baby Z@ntac has also been increased to accommodate his weight gain.

Today he got his first round of vaccinations with 2 shots.  We dosed him with some Tylen*l before the appointment because we’ve read that a fever is common after receiving them. He got a combined DTaP/ HiB /polio called Pent@cel and a single pneumococcal.  Poor guy was SHOCKED and HORRIFIED.  The nurse was very quick and before he’d even taken a breath after his first scream, she was all done.  I was ready and waiting to put him to my breast and he latched right on and calmed down.  He certainly does have a fair red headed-like complexion.  His whole head turned bright red when he screamed.  For now, he’s drowsy and I hope he won’t suffer too much from these vaccinations.  No more until his 4 month appointment.  For me (needlephobic, remember?), these 2 quick shots were much easier to deal with than the horrible drawn out heel pricks for his PKU test when he was only a few days old.  As a reward for being such a good boy, Miles was sent on his way with these:

Battle wounds

We put Miles on his tummy two evenings ago, and minutes later, he had rolled onto his back and looked mildly stunned. He hasn’t done it again since, but it was very exciting for all. He also rolls onto his side when we place him on his back.

He’s found his hands and fingers and frequently puts them in his mouth. It definitely keeps him busy while he’s waiting on getting his diaper changed or before/after breastfeeding. He responds to our smiles and babytalk with his own smiles and makes funny coos and squawks when he’s amused. We notice he’s becoming more of a “baby” than a newborn and it’s pretty exciting.

Unfortunately, the poor boy has to suffer through his first set of vaccinations on Thursday. Really not looking forward to that. We are delaying the less important ones, but it’s still a lot for anyone to go through. Hopefully our big boy will get through it ok, and we’re anxious to see just how big he is now.

Mirror Miles

how YOU doin?

Our appointment with the lawyer yesterday to complete the second parent adoption paperwork was quick and easy. All forms are signed and we have provided some pictures of us, Miles, and our families for the judge, having been able to get the home visit and reference letters waived. Our lawyer is pretty sure our court date will be in late July or early August, whereupon we will spend some of the day with other gay couples in the same position and celebrate when the judge approves all of our adoptions. We’re looking forward to it!

Miles slept through most of his visit with the lawyer, and then later in the evening, we had a yummy dinner at Outback Steakhouse and he slept through most of that, too. Unfortunately, it’s been a harder week with regards to his night time sleep patterns. Sometimes it’s a 5-hour stretch, but for a couple nights in a row, it’s been back to 2-3. Backsliding is hard, but we have to remind ourselves it won’t be like this for too much longer.

Not much to report over here.  Things are starting to fall into a natural rhythm.  Miles continues to be cute and demanding, but is getting better at sleeping during the night.  Sometimes 5 or 6 hour stretches, which is great for sleeping, but not so great for the breastfeeding boobies!

We have an appointment with our lawyer for Thursday morning to finalize the paperwork for Strawberry’s 2nd parent adoption.  Once it’s complete, it could be as little as 6 weeks before Miles legally has 2 mommies.  As much of a pain in the ass as it is, we are so thankful that it’s possible for us.

Without further ado… cute pictures!

Supermodel!

 

chillin' on the couch

 

And they call it puppy love

 

Snug in my nest

My 6 week postpartum appointment with the midwives was Thursday. I got the green light to resume all previous activities, but was told to be gentle with myself because it should still take some time to get back to normal. Really great news is I’m back to within 11 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight and now I’m allowed to start exercising again. With my stretch marks and everything, I’m not going to be “bikini-ready” this summer, but I have hopes for the future.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned on the blog about my postpartum  recovery is that I suffered some nerve damage in my feet and lower legs as a result of the epidural, prolonged labor & pushing while in stirrups. Immediately after birth, both of my legs were very swollen as well as numb and tingly. I could barely walk even with support. Things improved over the next few days, but by one week postpartum, I still had reduced sensation, pins & needles, and reduced range of motion in my left foot. I kept seeing my chiropractor after pregnancy and he thought I might have some nerve damage and referred me to a neurologist. I had an EMG (runs electrical current through your nerves & muscles) and was diagnosed with damage to my common peroneal nerve (which runs from the outside of your knee down to your foot). I’ve been in physical therapy for two weeks, twice a week, and doing my own exercises every day and have begun to see improvement in my range of motion, but the numbness and tingling will have to eventually go away on their own, which the doctors think will happen.

I have to say, that of all of the symptoms and side effects of pregnancy and birth, this is not one I had ever heard of or expected. It has been very frustrating to deal with. For the first few days at home, I couldn’t even carry Miles up and down the stairs safely. I’m very grateful that it’s my left foot that is affected so that I can still drive. Arranging child care for Miles while I go to appointments has been a hassle, but I’m very glad we have family close by so that I’m able to do it.

Yesterday marked 6 weeks for Miles. He has certainly come a long way. On average, he gives us 7 hours of sleep at night broken up into 3-4 hour chunks. He smiles and sometimes laughs. He’s outgrown some of his first outfits, which we are now passing along to the other couples we know with babies on the way. He has become more interactive with his toys, like the bouncer and the playmat, and likes to stare at shapes, lines, and faces. He’s also able to lift his chest up with his arms when he’s on his belly. He does well in groups of people, as he tends to fall asleep in the sling. He’s definitely much easier and fun to deal with on a day to day basis now.

Naked tummy time

Oooh toy

Sweet sleeper

So, I’ve been at this breastfeeding thing for a few weeks now and I wanted to share my personal reviews of several nursing bras.  Let me explain that I had a small ribcage measurement and a large cup size, even prior to pregnancy.  I haven’t worn a non underwire bra since middle school.  My size cannot be found in most department stores in the US and Vickies doesn’t make anything in my size.  I began my search for a functional, supportive, and possibly attractive nursing bra when I was 8 months pregnant.  These were purchased from a combination of the internet and specialty breastfeeding boutiques.  All of the bras below have drop cups and function as nursing bras. Here are the details:

Fancee Free 94366- soft, mostly cotton stretchy material.  Poor support, very similar to a shelf bra or inexpensive sports bra.  The straps were far too long, I cut and shortened them about 4 inches.  I have it in white though some sizes are available in black.  No separation, uni-boob appearance.

Anita 5062- very stretchy poly nylon material.  Poor support similar to a shelf bra or inexpensive sports bra.  Very low cut, boobs don’t stay in when leaning over or laying down. No separation.

Fancee Free 94305 (sold as “Extra Support Bra”)- mostly cotton material.  Good support.  Inner cup material is so itchy I find the bra unwearable. Some separation, slightly pointy silhouette.

Fancee Free 93201 (sold as “Great Support Bra”)- non-stretch, mostly cotton material. Some support.  Low cut, good for v-neck shirts. No real separation, but supportive enough to wear with everyday clothes. Natural silhouette.

Goddess 2050 non-stretch nylon material.  Excellent support and separation. High cut in the center, so a rather “granny-like” look, however it comes in beige for better camouflage against caucasian skin tones. Stays comfortable all day long. Slightly pointy silhouette.

Freya 2034- silky non-stretch, poly-nylon material.  Excellent support and separation.   Low cut in the front,  sexy black and beige polka dot pattern.  Natural silhouette.  Expensive. Wife likes.