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April 16, 2004
April 16: Sacraments, and This Better Be a Growth Spurt
Oh geez, two weeks have gone by without an entry and that's 1/3 of Peter's life, isn't it? Eek. For anyone wondering if I'll ever write up his birth story--my 6 week check is next week and we'll be talking with the midwives about everything that's happened and they'll hand over a copy of their notes from the whole thing. Once I've got those, I'll start writing. Now that I can both think clearly and sit in my computer chair again, I've got a fighting chance at getting it written. If the baby runs out of clean diapers because I spend all my extra time writing, I'm blaming you guys.
Okay, now to wrack my brain over what happened last week (week 5)...
The biggest things were that Peter started cooing, and his smiles were definitely directed at things (usually the wall), rather than just random. He's been smiling since the beginning, and even though I'm sure it wasn't gas, it certainly wasn't the result of my making a silly face or anything.
I spent a lot of time last week driving Peter and I from here to there and back again. He no longer seems terrified of the car, and I'm getting better at putting the diaper bag over my shoulder, grabbing the keys by my teeth, and getting out the door with the baby in the crook of my arm. This process is somewhat easier when using a Snugli, but only worth the bother if the items being carried also include the camera, an extra backpack of diapers, and other odds and ends. I have a big diaper bag and I shove as much junk into it as possible to avoid making two trips to the car. Among the places we went last week--an indoor park with a playgroup, church (5 times), my IL's, the airport, BRU, and the grocery store. I find that Peter will happily be in the sling when we're out and about, but rarely sits calmly without fussing if we're just sitting at home. Stinker.
On Friday, we picked up my friend Cheryl from the airport. She came to fill her role as Peter's godmother, eat two Easter dinners, and generally be a huge help around the house for five days. Apparently her mom and grandma threatened her with death if she didn't leave Minnesota before stocking our freezer and bellies with tasty Italian food and counters clear of dirty dishes. Her experience with babies was limited to remembering back to age 5 when her sister was born, so I promised her no diaper changing, even though she was willing. By the time she left Tuesday, she was competent at the bounce-and-sway and Peter had done his cling-at-the-shoulder move that meant he trusted her, so she learned quickly =) I'm still eating the pancakes she left in the freezer and we haven't washed any dishes since she left, so she left us in really good shape. She hadn't been here since our wedding 2 1/2 years ago, although we've been together a handful of times other places. Seven years after we shared a dorm room, we're far better friends than we were at the time, when I was tempted to throw her out of a Jeep in Death Valley. I'm so glad that cell phones now have free long distance. Love ya Cheryl :)
A couple paragraphs back I mentioned going to church five times. It was a big weekend for Peter and I. At the Easter Vigil on Saturday night, I was confirmed into the Catholic Church and also had my first Communion and on the same night, Peter was baptized. My family is entirely Lutheran and Dan's is either Lutheran or Methodist, but EVERYBODY came to the Vigil--my parents, grandparents, aunt, and uncles, Dan's parents, sisters, and grandparents. Fourteen people total, plus Dan, Peter, Cheryl, my sponsor, and I. This is a two hour service at 7:30pm, which means that my grandparents traveled across town to attend a service they didn't agree with, an hour past their bedtime. I was impressed and honored, while simultaneously scared silly that Peter would either scream or nurse throughout the whole thing. As it turned out, Peter was an angel--I fed him just before it started, and between the confirmations and Communion, which was enough for him to stay quiet and calm until the reception afterwards where he screamed throughout. Couldn't really blame him, since there were a ton of people grabbing at him and it was awfully late. During the baptism itself, he startled as the water was poured over his head, but didn't even open his eyes. I was hoping that if he started screaming, it would be during the baptism itself when he was supposed to be watched by the 700 people in the church, and not some other moment. Four adults were also baptized, in addition to ten confirmands (candidates) plus me. Although I wanted to focus more on taking my first Eucharist and everything that entailed, it was hard not to be swept up by thinking about Peter. It's a relief knowing that he is now part of God's family in a stronger way than he was before. I hope Dan and I are able to raise him to know and love Christ as much as we hope. It's my belief that doing so is more important than anything else I accomplish in my life. It's amazing to realize that it's up to us to form and shape who he will grow up to be. (The other four church trips were for the rehearsal, Good Friday service, my first reconciliation, and Easter Sunday service at my IL's church.)
We thought Saturday involved a lot of running around, but Sunday was crazier. We drove to the western suburbs to get to Dan's parents' church by 10am. Getting ready to go out is almost comical these days--it takes us twice as long since someone has to hold the baby while the other gets ready. And then gathering everything he will need is pretty nutty. I ended up spending most of the service sitting just outside the sanctuary because we overslept and didn't have time to feed Peter before we left. Then after he ate, he was just fussy enough that I didn't want to risk bringing him in. So I heard the opening worship choruses and the closing song and postlude (postlude was the same as at our wedding). There was another mom, with a 3 week old, out with me, so we traded baby info throughout the service.
After the service, we (Cheryl, Dan, Peter, and I) went to his parents' house to rest for a bit before driving to the southeast suburbs to my grandma's cousin's house for Easter dinner #1. Our map was wrong, so we spent an extra 15 minutes driving in circles. The extended family got a kick out of seeing Peter for the first time, and I managed to nurse him on the couch, surrounded by people, including the old men playing poker. Darn it, I wanted to see Phil Mickelson win the Masters, I wasn't leaving the room.
We then drove back to Dan's parents' for Easter dinner #2. Yeah, we got both places half an hour late. I figure they should be glad we showed up at all. We can only time Peter's eating so much and I'm not about to try to nurse him in the carseat. At the IL's, we told everyone that Peter was flipping out and not to expect to hold him, which was mostly true. Essentially, we wanted to keep him away from the under-age-12 cousins enough so he wouldn't go ballistic. Anyone who would gently rock him in a quiet room was given the okay. He didn't do too badly. We realized that we really need a rocking chair. We have a quasi-rocking chair from IKEA, but it isn't the same. Although I brought that IKEA chair home with me from California, I think it has lived its life and needs to head to garage sale world so we have space for a real rocker.
On Monday, Cheryl and I brought Peter to the doctor for his one month check up. He'd been sleeping 2 1/2 hours when we got there and he was not pleased to wake up being stripped naked and placed on the scale. He measured in at 11 lbs, 10 oz and 24" long. That's up 26 oz in 12 days, or nearly 3 lbs in 3 weeks (right after his nursing strike), and an extra 2" in length. No wonder he's outgrowing his 0-3 mo clothes. I realized later that he nursed immediately after getting weighed, so he would have been an extra 3 oz most likely if he'd eaten first. Egads. After his first two weeks of up and down and up and down, it was so wonderful to see that my milk is doing its job. Other than seeing where his measurements put him on the growth charts (95th percentile for weight, off the charts for height), I asked the doctor about his baby acne, and that was about it. Ah, the baby acne. It showed up two weeks ago and seems to be on its way out now. The poor tyke's face felt like sandpaper and was at its worst just in time for Easter. Argh. So long as it's getting better now.
After some goofiness at the parking ramp, Cheryl left Tuesday afternoon (two trips to Dairy Queen under our belts), and once again I was left to care for the little guy by myself during the day. Wednesday he was kind and slept until 11. By the time we got ourselves going and the diapers washed, it was 4pm and we went to my parents' to hang out with my dad and watch the Timberwolves clinch the top seed in the West. Whenever I go there, no matter what I plan to do, I seem to just sit at the computer the whole time. At my IL's, I show up and promptly fall asleep on their couch. Oh well.
Thursday we stayed home. I tried to do laundry and even hung clothes out on the line, but was thwarted by rainstorms in the afternoon and ended up throwing everything in the dryer after all. Drat.
Which brings us to today. Granted, I was asking a lot when I brought him to a park for a playgroup, over to a friend's house, to Peapods to update my registry (suddenly, I'm having two baby showers in May), and to Dan's grandparents' for dinner. I was home for half an hour to reload on diapers and feed him between 11am and 8:30pm. But man, he's been acting goofy today.
First off, he woke up to nurse every 90 minutes to 2 hours last night, which seemed more than normal. He chomped at my right nipple again after a few days' break at 5 this morning, which doesn't exactly make me cheery. I'd gone to bed at 2am, which didn't help. He woke up at 8:15 (the earliest he ever gets up) and was cranky even after feeding and changing him. He proceeded to nurse every 45-90 minutes the rest of the day. He slept while we were at the park--I managed to sunburn my left arm, but kept him covered and burn-free. At the friend's house, her 13 month old was fascinated by the screaming, pooping creature that had invaded her living room. Oh--I forgot to mentioned that Monday morning, Peter pooped in the tub TWICE. Yes, he was sitting in my lap while this happened. Used a lot of hot water that day. He's been making a habit of pooping/peeing immediately after or while we're changing his diaper lately. Twice since Wednesday we've gone through 3 diapers in half an hour with this.
When Peter wasn't fussy today, he was the cutest thing--he's either a complete charmer, or screaming his thankfully-now-clear lungs out. Not only is he smiling and cooing, but he pretty much holds up his head without help, and will stand on someone's legs with minimal support of his arms. He's a strong bugger.
I'm pretty sure he rolled over on Wednesday, too. I set him on our big, green chair while I grabbed something from the kitchen, and found him on his belly when I came back. I'm 80% sure I laid him on his back, but I didn't see it, so I've been second-guessing myself. Dan's theory is that he arched his back (he does that after nursing or when he's upset) and flailed his arm to land on his side, then just happened to shift his weight to end up belly-down. I appreciate the fact that I can leave him on his changing pad to wash my hands. He's five weeks old--I don't need him rolling yet!
He didn't fall asleep until after 10 when Dan brought him up to bed. He last ate three hours ago, and I'm surprised I haven't heard him yelling yet. I'm crossing my fingers that this fussy (not that I'd ever describe him as mellow), constantly-nursing thing means he's going through his six week old growth spurt and it's not his new pattern. At least it's the weekend and Dan can share holding time for a couple days.
Next week, I'm going to have to tell my boss that I'm not coming back. Anyone with any advice for that would be appreciated.
I'm back to buying diapers again because he's almost outgrown all his non-Kissaluvs fitteds, plus most of his covers. I expected more than a month of use out of them, but I wasn't planning on Monster Baby. Hopefully we'll get some at these showers (one from my extended family and one from high school friends).
My sister comes home in three weeks. I'm ecstatic that she'll finally get to meet Peter, but I'm not so keen on the fact that she'll be taking her car back. Thankfully, the bus strike that's been in place since I was in labor was just resolved so I won't be completely house-bound, but I've gotten used to the freedom of having a second vehicle. Drat.
So far as my recovery is going, I'm doing pretty well. I started sitting on any and all chairs just in time to spend a lot of time in church pews last week. I still take at least one bath a day and will until my six week check next Wednesday. I've been having some discomfort (okay, at 3am, I'd use a stronger word) that I have a feeling might be a hemmorhoid, but I'll take that over healing tears any day. Not sure why that would show up at 5 weeks postpartum, but I'll deal. I still use panty liners, but I haven't seen red blood for three weeks. I still feel like I'm dripping something some days--how TMI is that? The way things are going, in another week I'll guess that those small annoyances will be essentially done.
I'm freaking out a bit about our insurance situation. I found out that my coverage through FMLA at work requires I return to the job for 30 days, or I have to pay the full cost of my insurance from the time I go off payroll, which is right about now. That costs $500 bi-weekly, which I really don't want to pay. Dan can get covered through his employer (and their lousy small business coverage), and technically Peter and I could too, but it's so bad that it's more cost effective to buy private insurance, which I think we'll do until August when we can go under Dan's grad school's plan. I just added Peter as a dependent last week and I hope that if we cancel that coverage now, the hospital/doctor/etc get everything straight. We've gotten a couple bills already because I was slow to add him and I'm not looking forward to making the calls to clear everything up. I still haven't seen the full cost of his NICU stay. And we want to submit a claim to pay for the homebirth, and maybe even the chiropractic visits. I'd love to see the $2500 again from the homebirth. I've checked and the out-of-pocket annual max for my insurance is $800--I'm just assuming that's what we'll be paying by the time everything's said and done.
One last thing--Peter's losing his hair. The only place he's got more than slight fuzz is around the nape of his neck. It's still long and plentiful there, and more than one person has mentioned that if he had a beard, he'd look a lot like his grandfather =) I'm sure that hair will go soon too, and we'll have the bald baby I thought I'd start with. He never had a ton of hair, but it's still sad to see it go. His eyes seem to be the same blue as they started, but we'll see if time changes those, too.
Once again, post-baby Amy seems too lazy to bother editing, so excuse the typos. It's time for sleep around here.
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