6 weeks

Ok we are definitely seeing smiling and alert periods from Nathan. I remember with Neil reading that they will only be awake for an hour at a time but Nathan seems to be awake in longer spurts than that. He also seems to be developing a pattern although he does sleep a lot. He has an awake period around 4am or so, which I try to ignore. If I close my eyes it sometimes helps him go back to sleep.

Then he has another awake period around 7am or 8am. I try to feed him around 9am and then he seems to take a really long nap for a few hours. It worried me at first, because I thought he was flipping nights and days. But so far KNOCK ON WOOD he still is somewhat kinda sleeping at night. He really doesn't do any long spurts which sucks for me, nursing. Anyway, so he usually wakes up now between noon and 1, nurses, and then is awake for just a short period and takes another long nap. Then he has another awake period in the evening around when Neil goes to bed (7pm). I'm watching for patterns so maybe I read into this too much at this point. We'll see with my update next week.

So sleep wise it's more of the same. There seems to be cluster feeding in the evening. The La Leche League leader said he's not actually getting a lot of milk; he's using me to settle down (which is okay). When he's done cluster nursing he sleeps for his longest period, which is 3 hours typically. That is NOT long enough. But that is when I actually get to sleep in my own bed. That is heavenly. Dave takes Nathan downstairs as necessary but seems to be able to get him into the crib and then I get him when he wakes up, to nurse him. I sleep my best in my own bed with Nathan in a different room. I can hear him starting to cry but don't hear all the little grunts and other weird noises he makes constantly.

I have tried several times to cosleep in our bed but I just can't do it. They say don't sleep in a recliner or couch with a baby because they could get trapped in the side and suffocate. That is definitely scary to think about. But it's also the only way I can sleep after his 3 hour "long" sleep. So I still generally move to the recliner. I feel like I can prop my arms up on the sides and he's between them, so that's the only way I can actually fall asleep. And I really only doze. I'm such a light sleeper I wake up if/when he moves. He also seems to be quieter and sleep better in my arms. Go figure.

He continues to roll over when I put him on his stomach. Although the doctor said that doesn't count, I think once he realizes he can do it on purpose it's going to happen constantly. Even on his back he tends to go to one side or the other.

Nathan is also pretty gassy, which is normal for infants. I think that it takes time for their bodies to grow into everything. We do bicycle legs, etc., quite a bit. And sometimes it's just a matter of letting them grunt; it must make them feel better or get the gas out. But both Neil and Nathan have done it.

Newborns are hard. No way around it. From talking to friends when I was going through this with Neil, it just kind of seems like in general it gets worse and worse until you hit 6 weeks and then it starts to get better. I do not want to jinx it but I don't think it has really gotten worse. And in general, a baby second time around is much easier. It's not easy, but easier. We know more what to expect, even if we forgot. And we're a bit calmer, more relaxed, which I think helps. I can already see Nathan interacting more and I'm just looking forward to watching him develop into a little person. I look at Neil and can't even imagine what Nathan is going to be like when he's at Neil's age! And I am so looking forward to being there for all this. I do hope we're on the upswing now.

One thing I have never mentioned is that Nathan chokes quite a bit. The doctor said babies this young don't cough or choke... so I have to admit I'm a bit concerned about it. I googled and it could be from getting milk too fast but he doesn't choke during nursing; it's at other random times. The doctor mentioned reflux, which Neil had, but Nathan doesn't really spit up much. He rarely does. So I don't know. I'm going to bring this up at his 2 month appointment again. It's a bit scary when he just randomly starts choking.