Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Breastfeeding Is Going Great
We're well into Ollie's third month and I have to say that all hiccups in the breastfeeding relationship are well behind us now. He's not only a great nurser, but his suction has improved, he doesn't gulp air like he did at first, he's more efficient (not as "lazy" about eating and able to fill up in less time), and the time between nursing sessions is getting longer.
As one woman said to me at a La Leche League meeting, "Breastfeeding is simple but not easy." She meant "simple" in the sense of it being affordable, convenient, and healthy but "not easy" in the sense that, at least at first, it takes time for both mom and baby to learn. All of my breastfeeding friends have said that it's hard at first but that it gets exponentially easier after the first couple of months. I think we've hit that milestone. Nursing Ollie is now both simple AND easy.
I love our time together. Sometimes while he's eating, he's alert, even smiling and babbling at me. Other times, his eyes are closed and, as he nurses, he'll work his little fingers lazily on my belly. The nursing relationship is now all that I had hoped it would be. I wanted this so badly when Merrit was small and grieved the fact that we couldn't share this special part of the mother-child relationship. To be honest, I don't think the "bonding" between Merrit and I suffered at all for him being bottle-fed/g-tube-fed, but I am loving the opportunity to nurse Ollie.
I am awed at the symbiotic nature of breastfeeding, how beneficial it is for both baby and mommy. And I'm awed by the unique properties and superior composition of breastmilk. Nothing compares!
As one woman said to me at a La Leche League meeting, "Breastfeeding is simple but not easy." She meant "simple" in the sense of it being affordable, convenient, and healthy but "not easy" in the sense that, at least at first, it takes time for both mom and baby to learn. All of my breastfeeding friends have said that it's hard at first but that it gets exponentially easier after the first couple of months. I think we've hit that milestone. Nursing Ollie is now both simple AND easy.
I love our time together. Sometimes while he's eating, he's alert, even smiling and babbling at me. Other times, his eyes are closed and, as he nurses, he'll work his little fingers lazily on my belly. The nursing relationship is now all that I had hoped it would be. I wanted this so badly when Merrit was small and grieved the fact that we couldn't share this special part of the mother-child relationship. To be honest, I don't think the "bonding" between Merrit and I suffered at all for him being bottle-fed/g-tube-fed, but I am loving the opportunity to nurse Ollie.
I am awed at the symbiotic nature of breastfeeding, how beneficial it is for both baby and mommy. And I'm awed by the unique properties and superior composition of breastmilk. Nothing compares!
- Breastmilk helps mature the immune system (Breastmilk is a complex living substance, like blood, with a long list of active germ-fighting and health-promoting ingredients. A drop of breastmilk contains around one million white blood cells!)
- Breastmilk helps prevent upper respiratory infections, wheezing, pneumonia and influenza.( I definitely attribute part of Ollie's speedy recovery from RSV to the fact that he's breastfed!)
- Breastmilk promotes the growth of healthful bacteria in the intestines. (These bacteria manufacture vitamins and nutrients and keep harmful bacteria in check.)
- Breastmilk enhances brain growth. (Studies have shown that children who are breastfed have higher I.Q. scores and get higher grades in school, even after other influences on school performance are taken into account. And the intellectual advantage gained from breastfeeding is greater the longer the baby is breastfed.)
- Breastmilk develops better visual acuity.
- Breastmilk helps prevent ear infections.
- Breastmilk reduces the incidence of SIDS.
- Breastmilk lowers the risk of acquiring juvenile diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, asthma, allergies, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and childhood cancers.
- Breastmilk prevents obesity later in life.
- Breastfeeding reduces the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer.
- Breastfeeding lessens osteoporosis later in life.
- Breastfeeding promotes postpartum weight loss. (I’m happy to report that I have lost 25 pounds since Ollie was born! )
- Breastfeeding costs less. (I've read that it costs around $1,200 a year for formula.)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Betting on Blue
Ollie's eyes are still looking pretty blue. He is almost four months old and they say that the eyes can change color up to six months of age, so we'll have to wait and see. Merrit's were blue for the longest time, but eventually turned to be a deep green color (like Mike's eyes). Ollie favors me in other ways, though, so Mike and I are betting on blue.
"Both favorites."
- Brian Regan
"Both favorites."
- Brian Regan
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Grabbing for the Toes
Ollie is grabbing for his toes now. Here are some pictures of him performing this latest trick.
Baby Roo is thriving. He's got such a healthy appetite, and he's really filling out all over…you can see it in his cheeks, his thighs, his belly, and his arms. He's growing out of most of his 0-3 month outfits.
Baby Roo is thriving. He's got such a healthy appetite, and he's really filling out all over…you can see it in his cheeks, his thighs, his belly, and his arms. He's growing out of most of his 0-3 month outfits.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sleep Deprivation
We're all hurtin'!
Only a dad who's THIS tired would allow himself to be used for 45 minutes straight as a racehorse, rocketship, and finally a monster truck. Ollie only got in on the fun for a few minutes, sandwiched between the "engine" and the "jockey/astronaut/driver."
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
"B" Sounds and Blowing Bubbles, Pteradactyl Laugh, Getting Ticklish
Just a few short days after journaling about the "G" sounds, Ollie busts out with the "B" sounds. "Ba ba boo ga goo goo gaaaah mmmmm," followed up with a little raspberry sound and an impressive burst of saliva-bubbles.
I could never tire of hearing him babble away like that. It's so awesome!
But perhaps the best noise of all is his little laugh, which we've come to call his "pteradactyl laugh." Of course, it's practically impossible for me to convey accurately in writing what it sounds like but he laughs out loud and then, when he breathes in, it sounds like a little baby-dinosaur-screech. Mix that with the open-mouth grin and the squinty eyes and it's just darn cute.
He's getting ticklish now and is enjoying favorite games of babies everywhere: Peek-a-Boo, Raspberries-on-the-Belly, and This-Little-Piggy.
I could never tire of hearing him babble away like that. It's so awesome!
But perhaps the best noise of all is his little laugh, which we've come to call his "pteradactyl laugh." Of course, it's practically impossible for me to convey accurately in writing what it sounds like but he laughs out loud and then, when he breathes in, it sounds like a little baby-dinosaur-screech. Mix that with the open-mouth grin and the squinty eyes and it's just darn cute.
He's getting ticklish now and is enjoying favorite games of babies everywhere: Peek-a-Boo, Raspberries-on-the-Belly, and This-Little-Piggy.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Scaling Mount Boppy; Happy Valentine's Day
"Almost theeeeere..."
"What a view!"
And, on a different note, Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Birth Order and the Influence of the Older Sibling
I've been doing some reading about birth order and I think I have figured out one of the reasons why the second-born (or baby of the family in a family with two siblings, like ours) is often the "comedian" in the family.
JUST LOOK at the kind of sibling-interaction the baby gets, from his/her earliest memories:
But just when you think that there's no hope for a tender, sweet moment between the two of them, the older one surprises you. So sweet!!
I think the whole idea of birth order is fascinating! I thought I'd share a couple of excerpts from a Time Magazine article entitled "The Power of Birth Order" (Oct 2007) that I was reading just the other day.
Firstborns do more than survive; they thrive. In a recent survey of corporate heads conducted by Vistage, an international organization of CEOs, poll takers reported that 43% of the people who occupy the big chair in boardrooms are firstborns, 33% are middle-borns and 23% are last-borns. Eldest siblings are disproportionately represented among surgeons and M.B.A.s too, according to Stanford University psychologist Robert Zajonc. And a recent study found a statistically significant overload of firstborns in what is--or at least ought to be--the country's most august club: the U.S. Congress. "We know that birth order determines occupational prestige to a large extent," says Zajonc. "There is some expectation that firstborns are somehow better qualified for certain occupations."
For eldest siblings, this is a pretty sweet deal. There is not much incentive for them to change a family system that provides them so many goodies, and typically they don't try to. Younger siblings see things differently and struggle early on to shake up the existing order. They clearly don't have size on their side, as their physically larger siblings keep them in line with what researchers call a high-power strategy. "If you're bigger than your siblings, you punch 'em," says psychologist Frank Sulloway, a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and the man who has for decades been seen as the U.S.'s leading authority on birth order.
It's not clear whether such behavior extends to career choice, but Sandra Black, an associate professor of economics at ucla, is intrigued by findings that firstborns tend to earn more than later-borns, with income dropping about 1% for every step down the birth-order ladder. Most researchers assume this is due to the educational advantages eldest siblings get, but Black thinks there may be more to it. "I'd be interested in whether it's because the second child is taking the riskier jobs," she says.
Black's forthcoming studies will be designed to answer that question, but research by Ben Dattner, a business consultant and professor of industrial and organizational psychology at New York University, is showing that even when later-borns take conservative jobs in the corporate world, they approach their work in a high-wire way. Firstborn CEOs, for example, do best when they're making incremental improvements in their companies: shedding underperforming products, maximizing profits from existing lines and generally making sure the trains run on time. Later-born CEOs are more inclined to blow up the trains and lay new track. "Later-borns are better at transformational change," says Dattner. "They pursue riskier, more innovative, more creative approaches."
Stack up enough anecdotal maybes, and they start to look like a scientific definitely. Things that appear definite, however, have a funny way of surprising you, and birth order may conceal all manner of hidden dimensions—within individuals, within families, within the scientific studies. "People read birth-order books the way they read horoscopes," warns Toni Falbo, professor of educational psychology at the University of Texas. "'I'm a middle-born, so that explains everything in my life'—it's just not like that."
JUST LOOK at the kind of sibling-interaction the baby gets, from his/her earliest memories:
But just when you think that there's no hope for a tender, sweet moment between the two of them, the older one surprises you. So sweet!!
I think the whole idea of birth order is fascinating! I thought I'd share a couple of excerpts from a Time Magazine article entitled "The Power of Birth Order" (Oct 2007) that I was reading just the other day.
Firstborns do more than survive; they thrive. In a recent survey of corporate heads conducted by Vistage, an international organization of CEOs, poll takers reported that 43% of the people who occupy the big chair in boardrooms are firstborns, 33% are middle-borns and 23% are last-borns. Eldest siblings are disproportionately represented among surgeons and M.B.A.s too, according to Stanford University psychologist Robert Zajonc. And a recent study found a statistically significant overload of firstborns in what is--or at least ought to be--the country's most august club: the U.S. Congress. "We know that birth order determines occupational prestige to a large extent," says Zajonc. "There is some expectation that firstborns are somehow better qualified for certain occupations."
For eldest siblings, this is a pretty sweet deal. There is not much incentive for them to change a family system that provides them so many goodies, and typically they don't try to. Younger siblings see things differently and struggle early on to shake up the existing order. They clearly don't have size on their side, as their physically larger siblings keep them in line with what researchers call a high-power strategy. "If you're bigger than your siblings, you punch 'em," says psychologist Frank Sulloway, a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and the man who has for decades been seen as the U.S.'s leading authority on birth order.
But there are low-power strategies too, and one of the most effective ones is humor. It's awfully hard to resist the charms of someone who can make you laugh, and families abound with stories of last-borns who are the clowns of the brood, able to get their way simply by being funny or outrageous. Birth-order scholars often observe that some of history's great satirists--Voltaire, Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain--were among the youngest members of large families, a pattern that continues today. Faux bloviator Stephen Colbert--who yields to no one in his ability to get a laugh--often points out that he's the last of 11 children.
It's not clear whether such behavior extends to career choice, but Sandra Black, an associate professor of economics at ucla, is intrigued by findings that firstborns tend to earn more than later-borns, with income dropping about 1% for every step down the birth-order ladder. Most researchers assume this is due to the educational advantages eldest siblings get, but Black thinks there may be more to it. "I'd be interested in whether it's because the second child is taking the riskier jobs," she says.
Black's forthcoming studies will be designed to answer that question, but research by Ben Dattner, a business consultant and professor of industrial and organizational psychology at New York University, is showing that even when later-borns take conservative jobs in the corporate world, they approach their work in a high-wire way. Firstborn CEOs, for example, do best when they're making incremental improvements in their companies: shedding underperforming products, maximizing profits from existing lines and generally making sure the trains run on time. Later-born CEOs are more inclined to blow up the trains and lay new track. "Later-borns are better at transformational change," says Dattner. "They pursue riskier, more innovative, more creative approaches."
Stack up enough anecdotal maybes, and they start to look like a scientific definitely. Things that appear definite, however, have a funny way of surprising you, and birth order may conceal all manner of hidden dimensions—within individuals, within families, within the scientific studies. "People read birth-order books the way they read horoscopes," warns Toni Falbo, professor of educational psychology at the University of Texas. "'I'm a middle-born, so that explains everything in my life'—it's just not like that."
Monday, February 11, 2008
"Goo Goo Ga Ga"
Roo is making definite "G" sounds (as in "goo goo ga ga")... the first evidence of his exploring consonant sounds. It's so weird to hear that particular sound as his FIRST sound since that was one of the very last sounds that Merrit could make. ("G" and "K" in particular are almost impossible to make without an intact palate because the tongue and the soft palate have to make contact to form the sound properly.) In big ways and in small ways, life with Ollie is vastly different than life with Merrit was. Hearing Roo say "goo goo" is so cool.
I was telling Mike just the other day that sometimes, when I hear Roo making noise, for a split second my mind thinks that he's pulled his trach out! (When Merrit was this age, the only time he made noise was when he'd either pulled out his trach or had it plugged/blocked by something.)
And, as I write that, I just HAVE TO LAUGH because at this very moment Merrit is racing back and forth across the living room with a rocketship that he made at preschool (a paper-towel tube wrapped in foil with yellow and red streamer "flames" taped to one end), screeching the rocket sound-effects, doing the full countdown ("10, 9, 8....blast ooooooooooooooooofffffffffffff!").
Meanwhile, Roo is contentedly swinging in his baby swing, not minding the intergalactic drama playing out in front of him. Ha ha.
I was telling Mike just the other day that sometimes, when I hear Roo making noise, for a split second my mind thinks that he's pulled his trach out! (When Merrit was this age, the only time he made noise was when he'd either pulled out his trach or had it plugged/blocked by something.)
And, as I write that, I just HAVE TO LAUGH because at this very moment Merrit is racing back and forth across the living room with a rocketship that he made at preschool (a paper-towel tube wrapped in foil with yellow and red streamer "flames" taped to one end), screeching the rocket sound-effects, doing the full countdown ("10, 9, 8....blast ooooooooooooooooofffffffffffff!").
Meanwhile, Roo is contentedly swinging in his baby swing, not minding the intergalactic drama playing out in front of him. Ha ha.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Nanny and Papa Visit; Lovin' the Bouncy Seat; Nose-to-Nose with Dad
We had a nice, albeit brief, visit with Nanny and Papa this weekend. They came out our way to see the grandkids. (That sounds weird! I still can't get used to saying "the kids" or "the boys.")
We had such a nice time with them. They are the most dotingest (wow, so grammatically incorrect!) grandparents ever. Enjoy the pictures!
Handsome guys: Papa Clyde with Ollie.
"Don't even think about takin' this baby away from me...and you can put THAT in your book."
They love him to pieces!
Smaaaaaaaaack!
Ollie LOVES his little bouncer. We move it all around the house so that he can always be near us. During mealtimes, he sits in it next to Mike's chair. When we're hanging out in the living room, we move it in there. We take it outside and let him "catch some rays" on nice days.
Here's Ollie in his bouncer, camped out in the play area (used to be the breakfast nook in our kitchen).
Father and son. Aaaawww, so sweet...
Okay, maybe a bit cheezy...
Baby's First Prayer: "Please God, let me have Mommy's nose."
We had such a nice time with them. They are the most dotingest (wow, so grammatically incorrect!) grandparents ever. Enjoy the pictures!
Handsome guys: Papa Clyde with Ollie.
"Don't even think about takin' this baby away from me...and you can put THAT in your book."
They love him to pieces!
Smaaaaaaaaack!
Ollie LOVES his little bouncer. We move it all around the house so that he can always be near us. During mealtimes, he sits in it next to Mike's chair. When we're hanging out in the living room, we move it in there. We take it outside and let him "catch some rays" on nice days.
Here's Ollie in his bouncer, camped out in the play area (used to be the breakfast nook in our kitchen).
Father and son. Aaaawww, so sweet...
Okay, maybe a bit cheezy...
Baby's First Prayer: "Please God, let me have Mommy's nose."
Monday, February 4, 2008
Healthy & Strong, Happy & Content
Tomorrow morning will be one week since our whole "event" with the apnea caused by the nasty RSV bug. Wow, where has a week gone?!
Roo is doing unbelievably well. Hardly any cough. No congestion at all. Sleeping well. Happy and content. Great appetite.
Mike is better, too...Thanks to all of you who've asked about his cold. He went back to work today; he's covered up with work from unexpectedly being out four days last week, but he says that he'll be caught up again soon.
Merrit's cough and cold are completely better now, too. So I guess we're all healthy.
Well...
I did make a short visit to the Urgent Care clinic this morning. In the end, it was just silly, but peace of mind is a good thing, I guess. I have been having chest pains for the last three days. Turns out, I'm perfectly healthy (did a x-ray and EKG)...the doc thinks that the pain is due to bruised or broken cartilage in between my ribs. He tried to get me to think back to how I might have hurt myself during the last week and everything that happened with Roo. The only thing I could think of was the hours of leaning against the edge of the PICU crib (which is chest-height). Who knows if it was that or not...but the doc says this should heal up on its own soon.
Okay, NO MORE DRAMA for a while...honest! :-)
Some Developmental Milestones
On a more mundane note, here are some new things Roo is up to...
I also decided to start weaning little Ollie off of his night-time feeds. I figured that he'd had two nights in the hospital and a full night here at home (the first night we got back when he slept so well) that he didn't wake up to eat...so maybe we could just keep up the momentum.
He goes to bed at about 10:30pm. Historically, he wakes up a few times to eat. But lately, I've been offering him a pacifier (instead of milk) when he wakes up. The paci seems to work well until he wakes at about 4:00am or so. I guess he's genuinely hungry by then. But now, instead of pulling him into bed with me, I've been feeding him in the living room and putting him back in his own bed afterwards.
We've only been doing it for a few nights but it seems to be working well so far. I'd like to get him sleeping from 10:30 til about 6:00 or 6:30. For a 13-week old baby, I think it's reasonable to start moving in that direction.
Once he's sleeping well at night, we'll move him out of our room and into his "big crib" in the room he'll share with Merrit. Merrit's looking forward to having Roo in the room with him. So cute!
Well, that's it for tonight...it's 11:40pm....and 4:00 comes early! :-)
Roo is doing unbelievably well. Hardly any cough. No congestion at all. Sleeping well. Happy and content. Great appetite.
Mike is better, too...Thanks to all of you who've asked about his cold. He went back to work today; he's covered up with work from unexpectedly being out four days last week, but he says that he'll be caught up again soon.
Merrit's cough and cold are completely better now, too. So I guess we're all healthy.
Well...
I did make a short visit to the Urgent Care clinic this morning. In the end, it was just silly, but peace of mind is a good thing, I guess. I have been having chest pains for the last three days. Turns out, I'm perfectly healthy (did a x-ray and EKG)...the doc thinks that the pain is due to bruised or broken cartilage in between my ribs. He tried to get me to think back to how I might have hurt myself during the last week and everything that happened with Roo. The only thing I could think of was the hours of leaning against the edge of the PICU crib (which is chest-height). Who knows if it was that or not...but the doc says this should heal up on its own soon.
Okay, NO MORE DRAMA for a while...honest! :-)
Some Developmental Milestones
On a more mundane note, here are some new things Roo is up to...
- He's fascinated with watching his hands.
- He's putting his hands together, i.e., the left hand has "found" the right hand.
- He's sticking out his tongue a lot.
- He's laughing and playing along with us, anticipating what comes next in games like peek-a-boo and tickling.
- He's watching his feet, though not grabbing for them yet.
- He's getting better at keeping his paci in his mouth.
- He's starting to grab for the dangling toys on his bouncy seat.
I also decided to start weaning little Ollie off of his night-time feeds. I figured that he'd had two nights in the hospital and a full night here at home (the first night we got back when he slept so well) that he didn't wake up to eat...so maybe we could just keep up the momentum.
He goes to bed at about 10:30pm. Historically, he wakes up a few times to eat. But lately, I've been offering him a pacifier (instead of milk) when he wakes up. The paci seems to work well until he wakes at about 4:00am or so. I guess he's genuinely hungry by then. But now, instead of pulling him into bed with me, I've been feeding him in the living room and putting him back in his own bed afterwards.
We've only been doing it for a few nights but it seems to be working well so far. I'd like to get him sleeping from 10:30 til about 6:00 or 6:30. For a 13-week old baby, I think it's reasonable to start moving in that direction.
Once he's sleeping well at night, we'll move him out of our room and into his "big crib" in the room he'll share with Merrit. Merrit's looking forward to having Roo in the room with him. So cute!
Well, that's it for tonight...it's 11:40pm....and 4:00 comes early! :-)
Sunday, February 3, 2008
"Oliver Many Blessings"
A couple of weeks ago, Mike's prayer before dinner went something like this:
"...And thank you for Merrit and for all of our many blessings."
Which to my ear sounded like:
"...And thank you for Merrit and for Oliver Many Blessings."
It's like a little nickname. Pretty cute. Oliver is a child blessed with "many blessings," that's for sure!
"...And thank you for Merrit and for all of our many blessings."
Which to my ear sounded like:
"...And thank you for Merrit and for Oliver Many Blessings."
It's like a little nickname. Pretty cute. Oliver is a child blessed with "many blessings," that's for sure!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Slept through the Night, Visit to Pediatrician, Weight Check
For the first time ever, Ollie slept all night long. From 11:30 last night until 8:30 this morning. Actually, I had to wake him up at 8:30 to get him ready for a follow-up visit with our pediatrician. He was soooooo tired! It was great to see him getting such good rest, comfortable at home in his own little bed. :-)
Of course, I hardly slept! Even though I was so tired myself, I kept waking up to check on him. I couldn't help it. We have a little "sidecar" basinette that hooks onto the side of our big bed, so I was able to reach out, make sure he was breathing, and go back to sleep pretty easily. A long night for me, to say the least. I'm just glad he was able to rest.
This morning, we went to see our regular pediatrician so that he could follow up with us after all the excitement of this week.
Roo is up to 13 pounds, 8 ounces. He's a little chunk! I'll post some new pictures soon.
Of course, I hardly slept! Even though I was so tired myself, I kept waking up to check on him. I couldn't help it. We have a little "sidecar" basinette that hooks onto the side of our big bed, so I was able to reach out, make sure he was breathing, and go back to sleep pretty easily. A long night for me, to say the least. I'm just glad he was able to rest.
This morning, we went to see our regular pediatrician so that he could follow up with us after all the excitement of this week.
Roo is up to 13 pounds, 8 ounces. He's a little chunk! I'll post some new pictures soon.
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