My baby boy is 5 weeks old…

I meant to do a “4 Week” post but was so busy that it never materialized.  Sorry, Joe!  What with my mother-in-law arriving, Chris’ conference organization, hosting the reception, having people over for dinner, and just generally keeping up with a newborn, I found that at the end of each day I was exhausted and couldn’t wait to fall into bed.  So, 5 weeks it is.

Eating

Joe eats pretty much round the clock.  I’m not a fan of putting a baby that’s this young on a feeding schedule.  Joe eats when he’s hungry.  I’m sure that as he gets older, things will settle out, but for now, we’re strictly doing an “on demand” breastfeeding routine.  He typically eats for 30 minutes at a time during the day, then goes through a burping/changing session, and will maybe eat for another 15 minutes to get the hind milk.  At night and in the evenings, he’ll eat for 30 minutes, do a burp/change session, eat for another 15 minutes on the same side, do another burp session, and then eat for 15 minutes on the other side.  We’ve had several days where I felt like all I did was breastfeed, burp, and change with quick bathroom/snack breaks in-between for yours truly.  I find myself taking up residence on the couch with my Kindle and computer nearby.  I’m hoping that these start to taper off just a bit.  Doing that day after day is a tough!

Sleeping

It used to be that Joe took several 20 minute “mini-naps” during the  day, but usually nothing longer.  He’d sleep for 5 – 6 hours at night, get up for 2 hours of feeding, and then go back to sleep for 1 1/2 – 2 hours after that.  Now it’s shifted a little.  He’s taking longer naps during the day, only going about 4 hours during the night, up and eating for 1 hour, and then back down for 1 1/2 hours maximum.  Joe is a noisy sleeper and sometimes gets a bit gassy!  He’ll grunt and make baby noises, which keeps me awake.  I rarely go more than 1 hour without being awoken by some sound of his, and that’s with the fan going and the sleep sheep making white noise in the background.  There have been a few mornings where I was so tired that I had to hand Joe off to Chris so that I could try to get another hour of sleep.  I feel like a failure when I do that, but I know that in order to take the best care of Joe, I have to be at least somewhat rested.

Growing

Joe is growing like a weed.  He weighed 9.75 pounds at his 4 week home midwife visit.  She didn’t weigh him this week because he was out like a light {she was a bit late in getting here, and by the time she arrived she had missed the window of him being up}.  It made me sad to realize that he’s already outgrown some of his newborn outfits.  I lamented the fact to Chris and said, “I don’t want him to grow up!  It’s all happening too fast!”  Time is just flying by.

Movement

Joe is a kicker.  He will kick and push himself into a standing position whenever I’m holding him.  Such strong little legs!  He’s also inadvertently grasped some of the rings that hang down from his bouncy chair, and it’s fun to watch his facial expression when he realizes that there’s something in his hand.  Usually, he tries with all his might to pull it into his mouth and just ends up knocking it out of his hand, but it’s cute to watch 🙂

Visitors

Aside from being visited by my mom and various friends around New Zealand, Joe has also been visited by Chris’ mom!  She arrived last week and has been a big help.  It’s also nice to have another adult around during the day.  Chris has been so busy that he leaves early most mornings and doesn’t get back till very late.  When he does get home, he has loose ends that require his attention and time, so that he and I don’t have much opportunity to talk till we’re in bed.  At that point, I’m so tired and worried that Joe is going to wake up that all I want to do is sleep!  So having Janice around to talk to during the day has been nice.  And she certainly loves her grandson!

Joe changes a little bit with each passing day.  He is more aware of his surroundings and more alert. It’s so fun to watch him, but at the same time I’m already missing my sweet little newborn, that scrunched up baby who made little “mewing” noises rather than crying.  I love my sweet little 5 week old, too, but he’s growing up so fast!