Thursday, April 16, 2009

The easiest baby ever?


I think Luke might win the gold medal in this category. He spends oodles of quiet awake time, checking out his surroundings. I wake him up every three hours at night to eat. When he does wake up in the middle of the night, it's usually just a quiet "mmm" that I hear from him.

The biggest challenge so far has been feeding. We almost went to the bottle after several days of fighting with him about whether he wanted to latch on and stay on long enough to eat. Luke and I argued about it many times over hours of "feeding" sessions during which he finally decided to eat, but with extreme prejudice. Somehow we have worked out our differences and now he finishes his meals within 30-45 minutes, which is acceptable to both of us.

He also has quite a lot to say about diaper changes, but that is understandable, in my opinion. Those wipes are cold. Sometimes he retaliates with a golden shower for me or Tim, which we are trying to remediate, mostly with a strategically placed washcloth. This makes actual cleaning of his bum challenging, so if anyone has other ideas, we would welcome them readily.

This morning I had my first outing with all three children by myself. I was the only one not crying, but that in itself is an accomplishment. Now Kate is happily at school, Claire is watching what is likely to be the first hour of many of cartoons, and Luke is sleeping. I also wish I was sleeping, but am pretty sure it is unwise to leave Claire awake by herself.

Sheila left this morning, and Tim's mom arrives this afternoon, in a strategically-timed effort by the entire family. I am so thankful to have an extra adult around for a few more weeks, as I am fairly certain I would be huddled in a corner rocking to and fro without significant help right now.

9 comments:

Katie said...

Let me get this straight: You WAKE HIM to feed him? you WAKE A SLEEPING BABY? I am hyperventilating over here. Holy shit. I am jealous. Can Luke come over and talk to Andrew for a while?

Although, 45 minute feeding sessions sound rather hellacious. I prefer the quick 10 that goes on over here (maybe that's why he wakes up all the time!?)

I'm glad you have help! We need more newborn photos. He is precious!

Carrie S said...

Luke sounds like the blessing we expected him to be. I hope that Sterling is as easy. I should come and visit and rub Luke on my belly! I hope the "changing of the guard" goes well. Wish we could come and visit, too. Hope breastfeeding continues to progress well. And, may you be blessed like I was with boys that quickly stop spouting at any sign of fresh air. Noah and Isaac hardly did it at all - Jacob however, dowsed everyone whenever possible!
Love you all!

Deborah said...

Thank God for family, huh. :) I'm glad Luke's settling in with the family well. Have you even heard of pee pee tee pees? They're little cones that you place over your baby boy so you don't get showered! We never got to use them, obviously, but I always thought they were cute. (At least the name is)Good luck and keep up the great work!

Deborah said...

Sorry, that's supposed to be "have your eveR heard..." ... And I'm even getting more sleep now. You should have heard me just a couple of weeks ago... Hang in there!

Lucy said...

Loving the pictures of Luke. He's so precious! You are so lucky to have family coming to help you out.

Andrea_Ben said...

we always used wash cloths. Now we don't need them anymore, strike that, very often. I am glad he is a happy easy baby, surely that helps with 2 crazy little ladies to run around after :0)

What a sweet little guy!!

Amie said...

Hey Jen! I finally remembered to check your blog and was greatly rewarded with pictures of your newest little angel!

So glad to hear things are going good with Luke and the girls. Hope you're getting a little more sleep lately.

Amie

Elizabeth said...

Wow! But you have always had good sleepers.

How is he so big when the feeding is going so poorly? Ugh. Breasfeeding sucks. Hah hah.

Why did the first outing go so terribly? I am immensely curious about your three children experiment. (And I no longer trust you when you say you are done. Next time I turn around, you will probably be on number four.)

Jen said...

Elizabeth - he is doing better with nursing now that we have sworn off bottles. And I don't even remember what the problems were with us all leaving the house that day - just lots of tears from everyone for some reason. As for your last comment, we ARE done! I do love this baby stage (even moreso now that I know more what I'm doing), but I HATE the last trimester of pregnancy, and my body won't be happy if I have another baby.