Two Month Checkup

No pictures today, since my batteries won't hold a charge.

Ean had his two month checkup yesterday. Baby boy weighs 16 pounds, 5 ounces! He's in the 99th percentile. I knew he was big, but I didn't realize he was that big!

He got a rotavirus vaccine, and I got chewed out for not doing the other vaccines just yet. I have a feeling we're about to be discharged from the doctor's office, because every time we go there I get reamed for vaccines. It's not that my kids arne't vaccinated. They just aren't vaccinated on the doctor's schedule. I don't feel that it's safe to bombard their tiny systems with so many foreign substances at once. They end up having most of their vaccines by the time they're 5 (except Hepatitis and Chicken Pox, because we don't give those.) This is not good enough for the doctor, apparently.

So anyway, he seems to have no reaction to the rotavirus vaccine, which is good, and his spitting up is obviously not reflux since he's gaining so much weight. Momma's little chunky-butt. :D

2 months already!

With the holidays and all, I have been unable to update on my sweet Ean.

He is nine weeks and two days old as I'm typing this. He turned exactly 2 months on Sunday, the 27th.

At some point, right around the 8 week mark, Ean developed a personality! He now looks into my eyes, rather than looking through me, and he loves to be talked to. When I talk to him, his whole body moves. His trunk moves side to side, his arms flap, and his legs pedal up and down. He smiles with his whole face, and he giggles when he really gets smiling.

He looks up at me when he's nursing and gives me a big grin, which just melts my heart.

Ean loves to talk now. His mouth moves all over, like he's trying to form words, and then he'll finally let out a breathy "oooooh" or a "guuuuuu." He makes lots of little gurgly sounds. His breathing also has that classic two-month rattle, since he's starting to make more saliva.

He is in size 6-9 month clothes now, officially. He outgrew the last of the 3-6 months. When he's wearing certain diapers, he needs a size 12 month onesie because the diaper is huge.

My other babies were all summer babies, so Ean is the first kid to wear onesies all the time under clothes. It's chilly in our house, and he seems extra sensitive to temperature. Actually, he's extra sensitive to everything - he hates lots of noise and confusion, he hates lots of smells, he hates bright lights and big crowds. I guess he isn't headed to NYC anytime soon...

Ean still cries every night for no apparent reason. We are trying Gripe Water. It does seem to distract him for a little bit, so he stops crying for a couple minutes, then starts right back up.

Despite that, he is squishy and huggable and the sweetest thing ever. I think I'll keep him.

Seven weeks....

... plus one day.

He is crying, and doesn't sleep, and nurses 24/7, so no real update. Have not been able to put him down for days. He has slept a total of 45 minutes since 7 this morning.

Tired.

Six Weeks!

(Written Wednesday, December 9.)

Six weeks and one day, since I didn't have a chance to update yesterday.

Ean weighs around 13.5 pounds now, and wears mostly size 6-9 months. He is a chunky butt.

His diaper rash is completely gone. I switched to cloth. I hate it, because I don't have good covers (even the good ones I bought are crap) so they leak everywhere. But he doesn't have a rash, and that's the most important thing. None of the creams the doctor prescribed were working, but switching did, even though the doctor insisted that the rash wasn't due to a diaper allergy.

I know it was an allergy, because it's gone now, and because I have an allergy too. I am horribly allergic to feminine hygiene products (I have to use cloth) and the rash I get looks exactly like the rash Ean had.

Ean is spending a lot more time awake now. He likes to watch his brother and sisters playing, and he is starting to smile at everyone, not just me. He cries every night but I think I've found the solution - when he is crying because he's overtired, I set him down in his swing. He cries alone and it breaks my heart (I am a strictly "no-CIO" parent) but it only lasts a little bit. It feels like at least fifteen minutes but last night when I watched the clock, it wasn't even a whole minute. He then stops crying and looks around, and that's when I pick him up and he goes right to sleep. It's like he needs a second to cry, and get it out of his system, without any stimulation.

He looks exactly like his big sister. I wonder who he'll look like as he gets older?

Five Weeks, with smiley pictures!

Ean is five weeks old today. It's just unbelievable to me that five weeks have gone by so quickly.

We were at the doctor again today, for his terrible diaper rash. Turns out, I was right in the first place - he has thrush. It's in his mouth, and it's on his bottom. The diaper rash has a secondary bacterial infection, and its really bad, bloody and oozing. We have three different creams to put on it now. I also have some diaper covers coming in the mail soon, so he can be back in cloth full time. Cloth seems to help the rash dramatically, but he outgrew all his diaper covers so he's in disposables now.

He was weighed at the doctor, and he now tips the scales at 12 pounds, 10 ounces. Chunky boy!

Here are some pictures I took today.

One Month! And a Milestone!

Ean is one month old today. A whole month! This month has gone by faster than any month I've ever experienced.

Ean gave me something wonderful for his one month birthday - a smile! A real smile! We were soaking in the tub, and I had him lying on his back on my arms, completely submerged except for his head, which he loves. I was singing to him and smiling, and he gazed into my face and then broke out into a huge grin!

I am so happy this time around. I had a week or two with awful depression, but that's gone now and I really feel happy. This is such a different experience for me. Usually the depression doesn't go away until a year or more (or I get pregnant, whichever comes first!) But this time, it went away just like baby blues are supposed to. I feel strong and capable. I feel especially good after a shower, because The Hub, having spent twenty minutes alone with all five kids, says to me, "Honey, I don't know how you do it. I could never take care of them full time like you do." That just makes my day, and when times do get rough, like in the evening when Ean is crying and fussy, I just remember that, and it makes me feel so much better.

Four Weeks, and a Checkup.

Okay. Four weeks and one day, because I forgot to update. Also, he is 3 weeks in this picture, because the batteries in my camera are dead.

Ean had a checkup on Monday. We decided to take him in because his mouth looked thrushy, but the doctor thinks it's just spit-up that's sticking around too long. I've got some remedies I am going to try because it doesn't seem like spit-up to me, but anyway.

At 3 weeks and 6 days of age, Ean weighed 11 pounds, 15 ounces, and 22 1/2" long. He's grown 1 1/2" in length and gained 1 pound, 9 ounces.

Ean has to wear cloth diapers. No disposables. We tried Pampers and Luv's, but they both leak terribly. As in, soaking outfits with each pee, and ruining them with each poop. Huggies fit, and don't leak, but he breaks out in an awful rash. So it looks like for now we're doing cloth, which is fine with me. With the older kids, I switch back and forth regularly. I don't have any covers that fit Ean though, so that will be an early Christmas present for me.

He is starting to be more alert, and likes to sit in his seat and look around. He also decided that he doesn't like to have his legs up like a frog when he's being worn, and he definitely doesn't like being on his belly - unless he's tummy to tummy in the wrap, of course. He is still spitting up a LOT, but he doesn't seem to be in discomfort unless he's lying down, and he is obviously gaining weight, so I'm not going to worry about reflux at this point.

I love him. I can't even tell you how much I love him. There is nothing sweeter than planting a big kiss on his squishy cheek, or holding him on my chest and kissing his velvety little head. I can't get enough of him. He is so amazing.