2 weeks old

I feel like whenever I have a minute that I'm not exhausted, I should jump on here and write for a little bit. I was doing a lot of writing by hand the first week home, but not so much now. I think that is because during the day, William is nursing and sleeping in the living room and at night, I'm too tired to write. Night is getting into a bit of a pattern. He usually gets up every two hours for a total of five times. Last night though, he was up for an hour around 130. I had to go get Mike because after nursing him on both sides and changing his diaper and clothes, I was not going to walk him around the house. Mike did a bit and then laid him on his chest and William slept for about 45 minutes, which was just long enough for me to get some rest and for William to decide he was hungry again. Most nights though, William wakes up, I determine if he needs a new diaper (I've been avoiding changing pee diapers unless they are very full), change his clothes if necessary (which is happening less and less), then nurse him. After about 15 or 20 minutes of suckling, he drifts off and lets go of the breast. I then try to wait ten minutes before I swaddle him and move him into the crib. Then I go back to sleep for an hour or two before we repeat. He always poops right after he is asleep, and I don't change him because he hates having his diaper changed. I figure at this stage its okay because he only sleeps a couple hours.

We went to the doctor's for the two week check up yesterday. William has gained 10 ounces in this past week. That means he is 8 lbs 11 ounces, which is 11 ounces over his birth weight. So, in the last two weeks, he's regained the normal newborn weight loss plus a lot more. The doctor was impressed, but didn't give us a percentile. Everything was good at the doctor's. His circumsition is healed as is his belly button. He has some infant rash and newborn acne, but nothing out of the ordinary. We finally got the results of that jaundice test from a week ago, and it was normal, though we already new he was fine. The doctor suggested giving him vitamin D, but as we never gave it to Natalie, I'm not really thinking about it. He didn't get any shots, so that was a plus.

Natalie, however, has a fever. We noticed it Thursday night putting her to bed, but didn't actually take her temperature until the next morning. We then had the doctor verify it since we were there. The doctor didn't seem too worried about since it is just a low grade fever. We are hoping that it is just from teething, because Natalie has been chewing on things and drooling some. It was higher last night, so we gave her some Tylenol before bed, and it seems a bit lower as the day has gone on today. She looks a bit more worn than usual, but in general, it hasn't slowed her down any. She's more cranky and eating less.

Speaking of cranky, this morning we got everyone dressed and went out into the yard. Mike wanted to finally get the yard all the way cleaned up from the hurricane the weekend William was born. So, we brought William out in his infant seat and sat him in the shade. Meanwhile, we gave Natalie the plastic rake I got her at the dollar store. Everything went pretty well for about half an hour. Natalie helped rake and helped put leaves in the barrel. She picked flowers. She wandered around the yard and ran threw the leaves. But then she wanted to go on a walk. I'd picked up William because he was fussing (probably because he was a little cold out there in the breezy shade). I put him back in his seat for us to go on the walk, and Natalie freaked out. She wanted me to carry William on the walk. Eventually, I gave him and carried him on my right arm (not my usual arm) so that she could hold my left hand (which is her preferred hand). She was still a little cranky on the walk though because none of the neighbors were out to interact with. I was pretty surprised that she made such a big deal about William having to come on the walk with us.

Not too much else going on around here. We marvel at how William already seems older and bigger. He is fitting into his 0-3 month size clothes, where he had to wear newborn size before. He does tummy time and lays under his toy gym. We prop up books for him to look at. He has hour or longer awake periods. He is much better at relatching on when he lets go during feeding, though he is spitting up more and has period where he just mouths the nipple instead of actually eating. I'm very excited for when he is just a little bit older and can sit up assisted without his head flopping over and can start holding toys. Not to mention when he starts real smiles. The baby book says that all of these things can happen before the end of October, which seems so much faster than with Natalie, but looking back at pictures, I know its not. I think its just that time is moving quickly. I can't believe that Mike's two weeks home are already up. He is home tomorrow, then returns to work on Monday. I'm a bit nervous about having them both all day long, all week long. Moments like now when both are sleeping isn't a big deal. And when just one is sleeping isn't a big deal. Its when they both are awake that I'm worried about. I'm worried about getting them both from the car into play group or the library. Will I be able to get Natale to hold my hand while I push the stroller? Should I not try and just carry the seat? I'm thinking no because while that's an option now that he is small, in a couple months he will be too heavy to carry in one hand in the seat. The sling is working out alright expect for two things. First of all, he seems to get really hot when he's in it and he's only wearing a onesie. I'm worried about him over heating now, and later when we are both dressed for cold weather. Second, for some reason when I go to adjust it tighter, it is pulling the rings closer to my neck instead of pulling the slack through the rings. Not sure what I did wrong there to cause that so I rethreaded it and we'll have to see if that helps next time I wear it. But, as it stands now, putting him in the sling right from the car to walk him in somewhere isn't an option. I'm also worried about Natalie acting up while I'm nursing him. Thus far it hasn't been a problem because almost all the time Mike is hear to entertain her or meet her needs.

That's the last thing to write about quickly as William starts waking up. Its been hard watching Natalie go to Mike for so much. It makes me sad that I can't be there for all of bed time and bath. Or that find myself nursing William on the couch and have to say "Maybe Daddy can get that for you." It just makes me feel like she isn't going to come to me for things anymore or that she is going to think I don't care for her as much. Overall, I know it will balance out in the end, but its hard to not be able to care for her as I did before, especially when I don't really know what she thinks about it. Two nights ago, she was crying for me at bed time. I couldn't distinguish what she was saying, but carried William in to her room with me to see what was that matter. It made me really sad that she was missing me so much, but at the same time, its really the first time since we went to the hospital that she's expressed missing me at all.