Motherhood: Month two

I thought month one went by quickly. Well, this month flew by even faster. I can't believe Wyatt is two months old already.

Here's our two month update:

Wyatt
Month two can be summed up this way: happy baby in the mornings…

cranky baby in the afternoons.

In the a.m. hours, Wyatt smiles, coos, and is interested in his toys. In the afternoon and evening hours, he's either sleeping, eating, puking, or screaming. He was technically diagnosed with colic. Though I still think what he's dealing with is just general baby fussiness + reflux.

I must say this to the little guy ten times a day, "you're such a big baby!" He really isn't that big, but he's HUGE compared to where he was. His lowest weight was 6lbs 2oz. At his 2 month checkup yesterday he weighed 11lbs 9oz! This means he went from the 5th percentile for weight to the 50th in fewer than 2 months. Someone likes eating! He's also in the 50th percentile for height (22.5 inches) and head circumference (39.5cm). Basically, this means he's perfect.

These are Wyatt's lucky Giants pajamas. He's worn them during the last 5 Giants games. In those games, the Giants are undefeated. If Wyatt can still fit into these pjs on Feb. 5, the Giants will win the Superbowl. Fellow fans, you are welcome.

Except for his sleeping habits. But we may have found a solution: stomach sleeping. The past few nights, we've allowed Wyatt to sleep on his belly and he's slept much better. I know this is not the recommended way to let a baby sleep (it increases SIDS risk), but Wyatt's doctor is OK with it. A lot of refluxy babies are only comfortable on their bellies. His doctor said we could either allow him to stomach sleep or give him stronger reflux meds. He said there are similar risks to each choice so it was up to us. We're going to let him sleep on his tummy and see how that goes. We have the Angelcare movement and sound monitor which offers some reassurance and he can lift his head and turn it from side to side, but it is still a bit nerve-wracking allowing our baby to do something considered so dangerous...

Mom
...but our not sleeping situation was also becoming unsafe.

This past Friday night, after 8.5 weeks of very little sleep, I had a bit of a breakdown. I couldn't get Wyatt to sleep more than a half hour at a time that night. Around 4:00 a.m., I heard him screaming and got up to take care of him. I was up, but not completely awake. I was aware of my weird between sleep and awake state and totally freaked out. I gave Wyatt to Jeff and started packing my bags. I was convinced I was a danger to Wyatt and had to leave. It was completely crazy and irrational. I remember packing, turning on the shower but not getting in it, and calling up my mom crying. Thankfully, I didn't go anywhere, and Jeff allowed me to sleep for 5 full hours. I awoke to everyone being really worried about me. We decided something had to change before I really lost it.

I looked for night nurses and postpartum doulas all weekend, but most didn't get back to me. We interviewed one, but her ideas didn't mesh well with ours, unfortunately. We're still looking for someone, though I hope stomach sleeping will the answer to our problems.

Otherwise, I'm doing OK. My workouts are going surprisingly well. I wish I could run longer or more often, but that's not going to happen until the sleep situation improves. And I'm fine with that.

Clearly, this was taken in the p.m. hours.

As for my body, I lost 5lbs this month and am 4lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight (though about 9lbs away from my "normal" weight). But that number on the scale really means nothing. Pregnancy changed my body so much that I don't even fit in pants one size bigger than my usual size. My stomach is flabbier, my hips are wider, and my thighs are thicker. I know I need to be patient, but I also need to be realistic. I'll give myself one more month of living in sweat pants, and if no other clothes fit by then, I'll suck it up and head to the mall.

And honestly, if I never get my pre-baby body back exactly, that's OK too. I'll take a cuddly baby over a trim waistline any day.

I can't wait to see what month three brings!

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