Christmas Means Cuddling

Josh, Noah, and I spent a beautiful Christmas in Louisville, visiting with more relatives than I can count -- which meant Noah was held by a great-uncle, aunt, cousin, or grandparent from dawn till dusk. And while he doesn't yet appreciate all the cool toys he was given, he was thrilled with the attention.

Thankfully, Noah and the rest of the family made this Christmas much easier for Josh and I. We spent less time bouncing from one house to the next and more time enjoying his interactions with all the new faces.

It's exciting to see how for us, Christmas is changing each year. Last year, we were announcing our pregnancy. This year, we have a cuddly little baby. Next year, God willing, we'll have a walking toddler, the year after, a talker, etc... I feel so incredibly blessed to experience each stage. I still find that I'm praying a lot more as a mom than I ever did before. This Christmas, that meant I just couldn't stop counting my blessings. (Well, between Noah's bedtime crying fits, when my prayers took on a different tone... If only we'd figured out the reflux beforehand! But I guess if I can thank God for my blessings, I can trust him with a few bumps along the way.)

The Case of the Crying Baby

The Clues
-- Baby goes to sleep easily in his crib for naps
-- He's on a 3-hour eat-activity-sleep cycle during the day and rarely cries
-- Around 8:30pm, he gets his last meal and then goes to bed by 9pm
-- Between 8:30pm-10:00pm he often cries for 30-60min - most vigorously when placed in his crib
-- He's been crying around bedtime for the past 2 months and it did not improve at the magical 3-month mark (when colic is supposed to improve)
-- When his last meal and bedtime were moved 1 hour earlier, there was no change

The Context
Josh and I have spent the past month or two racking our brains. We tried music, swaddling, pacifiers, light, dark, rocking, temperature, etc. We thought he might be overtired or overstimulated. We thought he might have gas or a burp. We tried the Pick-up/Put-down technique recommended for babies who won't go to sleep on their own. We tried tracking my eating habits. Nothing worked. As a result, our evenings were tense and consumed by consoling our son, trying to get him to sleep without establishing bad habits.

Then, Sunday night, after striking out again, we had a breakthrough.

The Answer
Reflux.

We thought his crying was a sleep problem. It was an eating problem. Bedtime was the only time he ate and went directly to bed. So last night and tonight, we've fed him earlier (6-7pm) and then waited to put him to bed around 8pm. Sweet success. He's gone right to sleep both nights. And boy do I feel the difference. I'd forgotten what it felt like to have a peaceful evening.

Maybe this was God's gentle way of giving me extra empathy for parents of colicky babies? If so, I'm so glad this case seems to be drawing to a close -- and just in time for the new year.

Speaking of New Year's, I'll write about Christmas soon - you can tell my priorities have shifted a little!

Socks Are Evil

Noah just put his foot in his mouth (after proudly removing his socks). His parents do that from time to time, but they're not nearly so delighted with themselves when they do... ;)

Balding?!

If I told you Josh or Noah was losing hair, it wouldn't be particularly surprising, but when I started noticing long brown curly hairs on my pillow, in the drain, and just about everywhere else, I panicked. I do NOT want to be bald at 30! (Or at any age, for that matter.)

You can imagine my relief when I got an email last week with a headline saying, "Losing Your Hair?" It turns out, I don't have some strange infection or rare early-feminine-balding disease as I had feared. Apparently, hair stays in place longer when you're pregnant and then about 3 months after delivery, it finally decides to jump ship. So I'm just getting back to my pre-pregnancy mane. (The knowledge of which led to much rejoicing.)

That said, it still surprises me how much pregnancy affects the body. I've read several books about pregnancy and talked to friends and family at length, yet I'm still surprised by symptoms I've never heard of. I guess it's to be expected, since I did create and birth another human being. But having lived for 29 years with one body, it's a little weird to still be experiencing so many changes. And just when I thought they were over... my drain gets clogged with hair. I think it's God's way of reminding me that life will never be the same. And that's quite OK.

On a Roll

Even with all the illness we've been battling, it seems nothing stands in the way of progress! Noah keeps surprising us (and himself) with his discoveries...

* Last Sunday, I set him on his floor gym for a little "tummy time." I had just set him down, looked away, and looked back to see him staring up at me with a huge smile on his face. He'd figured out a way OUT of tummy time! Then, just this morning, we were hanging out making faces at each other on my bed and he rolled right onto his stomach. He was thrilled -- until he realized he'd put himself in "tummy time." If only he could remember how he got out last time...

* According to BabyCenter.com, during this month Noah is learning that his food supply is not attached to him. That's right, I actually am a seperate person (though sometimes I get confused about this myself). To test this, he bobs on and off when I'm feeding him or grips the bottle when he discovers that I'm not at the other end of the nipple.

* Noah has started to see the world from a whole new perspective -- sitting up! Those neck muscles have figured out the tricky job of holding up such a big head so that now he can sit (or "stand") with support -- and it's amazing how much better the room looks when you're not just staring at the ceiling!

* And the piece de resistance? FEET! I haven't seen them in his mouth yet, and I'm quite sure he doesn't know they're attached, but boy those polka-dotted things look like fun!

I Spoke Too Soon

I wrote my last post on Wednesday.
Josh got the stomach bug Thursday.
I got an upper respiratory infection Friday.
Which means I feel like I have the flu and a cold combined.
And I don't feel like writing... ;)

Sick

Noah and I were recently entered into an involuntary, drastic, unnecessary, and particularly uncomfortable diet program. Thankfully, we've both come out the other side, lighter, a bit stir-crazy, and glad to have our first stomach bug behind us. A few things we learned from the experience?

- Sick Baby => Sick Mommy => Busy Daddy

- Breast milk doesn't pass the bug to a baby, but touching the baby does -- even if he's already had the bug. (Yeah - learned that one the hard way.)

- Problem: Milk makes nausea worse. Noah is nauseous. Noah only drinks milk. Solution: Pedialyte, which looks an awful lot like sugar-water but costs significantly more, especially since I bought the name brand (I couldn't bring myself to economize when Noah was so uncomfortable. I just don't trust flavored generics. Have you ever tried fake Nyquil?).

- Projectile vomiting is not hyperbole. In fact, it's quite aptly named. But now I actually understand it (dare I say I'm thankful for it?) because I saw how it helped Noah avoid choking.

- When I'm nauseous, I want to be horizontal, still, and untouched. Not Noah. He wants to be held and walked. Needless to say, I saw one too many reruns of Will & Grace over the weekend.

- Healthy Baby = Happy Mommy. It was sooo good to see Noah's smiling face this morning! I'm just praying that between God's grace and hand sanitizer, we can keep it smiling as long as possible.