Good Baby
October 27, 2008
Ezra is a good baby.
He cries when he is hungry (a sweet, braying, lamb-ish sort of cry), when he wants to be held (which is pretty much all the time, thank God for the half a dozen or so slings I purchased in string of neurotic fits, although he'd probably be just as happy slung around my torso in a Thomas the Tank Engine bedsheet), and when he's naked on his back during diaper changes with his limbs madly flailing wot wot halp halp mayday MAYDAY!
He spends more and more time each day in a state of quiet, awestruck alert, looking around with his eyes wide, the corners of his mouth just starting to dance around the idea of a smile, giving us a peek at what we think might be some dimples.
He eats every two hours during the day -- a frustrating bit of math, as he takes at least a half hour to eat, then it's 10 minutes of pumping, a diaper change, a new outfit, a scrubbing of the pump parts, maybe time to pee and retrieve my cup of room temperature coffee from wherever I left it, and then...huh. Time to nurse again. Every free minute is a luxury -- if you asked me what I'd do with a morning to myself I'd say that I would eat an English muffin as TWO SEPARATE HALVES, MY GOD, instead of mashing it sandwich-like into my mouth in as few bites as possible during the minute and a half it takes to sterilize the breast pump. But hey, he eats, and he eats well.
And he sleeps, as little sleepy newborns are wont to do. We've had two nights of solid, uninterrupted sleep, though the norm usually involves one brief waking around 3 am for the briefest of nursing sessions and then several more hours of silence until it's time to wake up slightly late and scramble to get Noah to school on time.
Yes, Ezra is a very good baby.
But of course, he is a BABY, and therefore prone to changing the rules on you at any point in time, particularly in the late hours of the evening, and maybe again in the wee hours of the morning, and all the hours in between, and I guess that explains why I brushed my teeth with face wash this morning and only barely noticed.
Next up, the old "jigger of pumped breastmilk in my coffee" trick.
He is too cute. And talk about changing the rules at any moment - my sister just had her first last Thursday and the babe was silent for two days (literally did not cry ONCE) until they got home. She then proceeded to scream all. night. long. But, the exceeding cuteness of these newborns, it makes up for such things.
Ah, look at that face! How could he be anything but perfect? How's Noah adjusting?
We used to buy Mentadent toothpaste...the kind that stands on the counter and you pump from the top? Until baby #2 came along and one morning Mama brushed her teeth with Softsoap hand soap. Yep. THAT tired.
Oh, that face. That face can make you forget the taste of face wash, yes?
Behbeh cuteness cheeks and nom nom nom cannot speak hormones coursing BLAST YOU AMALAH!! That baby is TOO much yum!
He's beautiful. I'm glad things are going well with you.
When I see him up close like that, I start to understand the fascination with botox and plastic surgery. Man, what I wouldn't give for velvet-soft skin like that.
That face! Oh, that face that makes me want to snuggle him and give him smooches.
He's perfect, Amy.
yay good babies! I am thirlled things are going so well for your fam! And please keep up with the pics! he is just soooo cute!
yeah, oh gosh, it's SO hard when they eat so often and PUMPING is involved. and you have a toddler! i dunno how you do it! i basically sobbed my eyes out over all the feeding/pumping dramz (AND I HAD THRUSH!), last month, in my post:
http://mylostandfoundoflife.blogspot.com/2008/09/this-must-be-joke.html
but he sounds like a beautiful baby boy, which helps you forget how gross you always thought cold coffee was. right? :)
Breast milk in coffee? Holy shit man, that is so gross!!! Is this a common thing with breastfeeding women??
at the risk of grossing myself out even further, what does it taste like?
Wahhh! Little baby face!
I can't get over the fact that in 3 weeks or less we're going to have a new little dude in our house too. I hope your good-baby vibes are contagious.
Thank you for posting, your baby stories help me stay excited instead of just plain old insane.
TIP*TIP*TIP*TIP
This may weird you out, but it also may save you a nanosecond or three.
In my breastfeeding class, they gave us a tip with the pumping. They said - hey, your milk is good in the fridge for 8 days, right? So presumably the milk on your pump parts is good for as long. So, if you pump and then stick the pump bits in a Ziplock bag and keep them in the fridge, you do not have to wash them in between every single pump!
I do this, and have done since I went back to work when my kid was 6 weeks. I wash them daily, after work, but in between my 3 work pumpings I keep them in a Ziplock in my little minifridge. He hasn't died of septicemia yet, so I think it's been pretty safe. Up to you if you want to try it, but believe me it helps me stay in the game! (I've been pumping for him for 5 months now. You cut corners where you can and do what you gotta do to keep going, am I right?)
PS OMIGOD adorable. Delicious little man. Nom Nom.
I second the comment about the pump parts in the fridge; if you have something common like the Medela horns then you couls also buy another set or two and wash them in the dishwasher at the end of the day. (If you have Medela's or Avent with the little bitty parts - wash those bits with hot water, let dry. I think the only time I sterilized was when I took the stuff out of the package.)
And Ezra's adorable - my babe was due 10/18 and is still hanging out on the inside.
Isn't the second one so much easier emotionally? The first was a drop off the cliff. "We're parents! What now?!" After that it was "A baby? Come on in! We got this! And by the way, you are so tiny and amazing and gorgeous."
The one-on-one face time is beyond precious when they try to imitate your cooing. My favorite was "Ooooooo". Those little lips!
Is there anything more wondrous than a newborn?
I'm just so thrilled for the Amalah clan.
And God Bless decent sleep in the early weeks.
I third the pump parts in the refrigerator suggestion! I pumped for 12 months, and that was definitely a life (and time) saver! I usually left the horns hooked up to the bottles and stuck them on a tall shelf. The next time I needed to pump I just took them out and plugged them back into the tubes that I had left connected to the pump. No reassembly required!
also, cute baby!
I'm with the other posters -- no need to STERILIZE your pump parts between uses. BM is good in the fridge days, or good for 8 hours @ room temp. Pop everything into a ziploc and leave it at room temp! No need to freeze your boobs when it comes time to pump again. That practice, combined with multiple sets of everything, can have you washing pump parts and bottles just once or twice a day. WAAAAYYYYY easier for tired mamas. Or better yet, you can ask dad to do it while you sleep.
You can wrap up your pump parts in a plastic bag and stick it all in the fridge instead of sterilizing after every use.
It's just your breastmilk, and it's clean the same way you can mix milk from two different pumping sessions into the same bottle or storage bag. It will save you a lot of time and you can clean everything in the evening. I promise you will not poison Ezra.
And many congratulations on how well the b-feeding is going so far!!!
It may be my 36+ week hormones, but I got teary at your sweet words for your good baby Ezra in this post. Awww. I got overwhelmed for a sec with the idea that, whoa, *I'll* be doing/feeling this in a few weeks! I hope it's as good.
woops, should have read the previous comments!
Maybe someone thought you needed to wash your mouth out with soap!
I forget what Noah was like as a baby, but am guessing Ezra is a bit different. Of course, it helps that nursing is going so well and like all second time moms you are much more relaxed.
He is so adorable!
Eek about brushing your teeth! Someone moved the toothpaste, huh?
So glad that he is eating well for you and very jealous of all that combined sleep during the actual night time. I'm hoping the baby I'm currently housing will be just as good as your Ezra!
And good looking to boot! Give yourself a break on the pump sterilization, a run through very hot water should do the trick if you're going to be back at it so soon - do you pump after every feeding? Soon enough you'll have a nice supply in both boob and freezer and things will fall into a new rhythm. And then when you get used to that, it will abruptly change =)
So Jeff asks me if I want another baby after reading your blog (I, uh, have 5 daughters, have a thing for the peeps) and I have to answer: honestly, no, I don't necessarily want anymore of mine but I'll take yours, Amalah! Too cute!
What a cute baby! I'm glad he's being so good for you.
Just read your last post about the tongue-tie. Glad you got that taken care of. Both our boys were tongue-tied and, while we were told they would probably stretch out and not be problematic, our eldest ended up having terrible problems. He couldn't latch properly and hurt me quite badly. He was diagnosed when he was a few months old. Ultimately, it needed to be released. Doing it later on is slightly (but only slightly) more of an ordeal than the earlier procedure. So when they told us (at the hospital, shortly after his birth) that our youngest was tongue-tied, we refused to leave the hospital until they'd released it. :)
Adorable!
Hang in there - the breastfeeding/pumping routine will, in all likelihood get easier soon. I promise you it will be worth it. It's so freeing to be able to run out of the house with just a 3-6 month old, a couple diapers and your purse. Food is ready for them anywhere, anytime.
Oh, he is darling. And already looking a lot like you. Those Amy genes must be strong!
My daughter was a lot like that--nursed all day, which was EXHAUSTING, but blessedly slept all night, pretty much from word go. But the nursing all day thing I thought would kill me--I kept saying why didn't anybody TELL ME they did this? Every nursing session lasted two hours and every night she nursed from 6 pm to 10 pm almost without stopping. But hey, she slept--and she slept early and often and well. And then she nursed less and less and less and now she is 1 and still nursing but kind of "eh" about it. We could stop any time but I suppose I am the one clinging to it now!
I was told by our lactation consultant that you don't have to sterilize the breast pump parts after each pumping session because of the antimicrobial properties or whatever they are safe you can just store the pump parts in a an opened ziploc in the fridge and clean them at the end of the day. I will try and find the research to back my statement up too
Awwww...keep the pictures coming. Ezra is so sweet with his new baby cuteness. And something is coming for him, soon, soon, soon! (Or at least as soon as I can remember to score a box)
Awww....he's adorable! Both your boys are ;-) I've got 2 of my own and I wouldn't change it for anything, nope...
So happy for you guys!
I just wanna kiss his little face!
I'm glad he's a good baby as well as being an adorable one! :)
I something like 15th the not sterilizing pump parts. Rinse them in hot water, put them in the drain rack to dry, use again later. Medela makes wipes too, for use in a pinch (like pumping in a car, not that I would know anything about that.) total lifesaver.
Baby cuteness? I can get behind that too.
I brushed MY teeth with Desitin. Top that.
He is lovely, Amy. I'm so glad things are going so well for you.
I can't wait to see his preshus little smile.
And for the record, I once loaded my toothbrush with Differin. And my only excuse was stupidity, not lack of sleep.
I'm suffering through morning sickness right now and sometimes wondering why the heck I decided to start this up baby-making machine all over again.
But then I read your lovely posts about Mr. Ezra and it reminds me -- oh yeah, little babies are super awesome. So thanks very much to you and the boob-man.
Please, let's not ever use "BM" as an abbreviation for breast milk. I was seriously confused as to why boofyq was keeping BMs in the fridge, and my baby is 7. Maybe *I* need more sleep??? Sorry boofyq!
Bossy just decided, reading your post, that 'baby' is one of her favorite words.
Aaaaawwww...he is the cutest little guy!
He certainly is adorable! He reminds me of when mine were that small. Each one was like a snowflake too. My oldest daughter was so good, she lulled us into a false sence of security that all babies were that quiet. My second daughter didn't fuss much more than the average baby, but she's go to sleep the second you laid her down for a nap. My youngest boy though? Now HE was a challenge. He fussed all the time. We all thought he had to have the worst case of colic any baby ever had. That is, until we all figured out he fussed until he learned to do something new. He was happy for about two weeks. Eventually he'd get bored again and repeat the whole process over and over.
totaltrans1@gmail.com
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You did it now! Mentioning on your blog that you get several uninterrupted hours of sleep a night will surely mean that those nights are over ;) Just ask Frank: http://franknotes.wordpress.com/2008/03/18/another-letter/
(I hope this doesn't happen and that precious face is enough to make it worth it)
oh, that sweet little face, I just want to smooch him! I'm so glad things are going so well for you :)
"limbs madly flailing wot wot halp halp mayday MAYDAY!"
Hahaha, too funny, I can just see the poor little guy. I am going to bookmark this post just so that I can read that sentence again and again...
He is just so dang cute! He sounds like such a good baby...which makes me jealous as I have had the most nightmarish babies ever. But your sweet boy likes to try to make me forget those bad babies & consider another (ahh, the horror!)
And here's a tip (that actually did work on my naughty girls) for those wailing, flailing diaper changes . While they are lying there half-naked and squalling, just put your hand gently on their belly as much as you can while cleaning & re-diapering. It helps them feel less out-in-the-open-&-alone & cuts down on some of the screamies!
One of those hands-free pumping bras or bands would allow you to eat your English muffin one half at a time! My son is tube-fed so I'm exclusively pumping and my hands-free band is a HUGE help.
I am so happy Ezra is a good baby for you and things are really clicking. When you had Noah, I had my first baby two days later. So, for me at least, we kinda went through that together. Alas, no new baby for me now. It feels weird (and sad).
Emma was a terror on the changing table! She HATED it and never really adjusted to it. I got her a mobile made especially for the changing table:
http://www.geniusbabies.com/changing-table-flutterbug-mobile.html
The best thing about it is that it doesn't use batteries. Just give it a little wind up and you are good to go!
(If you want Emma's, I'd be happy to send it to you!)
He's soooo sweet. I'm so glad my newborn is past the eating every two hours phase. That was hard!
I am about to save you a ton of time, and possibly your sanity. After a pump session you can throw all your pump parts into a ziplock back and throw them into the fridge. Presto, you only have to wash them once a day! Tons of time saved. And possibly your sanity.
I pumped for my daughter for 10 months and I thought I was going to go insane washing those damn parts every two hours.
My son was on the same two hour schedule. Eventually, he went a little longer 3 hours or so, but would latch on with gusto and grunt like a little pig while nursing. You could almost hear him smacking his lips. He's almost four and still eats a lot - high metabolism - he can put away two hot dogs and still look slim.
He looks like Jason. :)
what a darling. drink up that sleep while you can :-)
Hmmm. He'll do just fine for a mid-morning snack. Yes, I think I would like to eat him now. You best be on alert!
Your baby is so adorable. You are causing me to ovulate or something. Yes I would like another but seeing pictures of your latest makes me go, "WANTBABYNOW".
Thanks.
He's Perfect!!!
Awww, a belated Congratulations to you & your family on the arrival of your second baby boy. He's absolutely precious and sounds like a perfectly wonderful baby. Enjoy!
so glad to know when you pee. I have no idea how i made it through all these days without knowing something so detrimental. we probably know everything there is to know about you now. you're just so great and special. really cool how you can make babies too. you're so different.
cliché.
really, you talk about yourself all day long. doesn't it get tiring? you are soooo boring. don't you have anything else going on?
and you still haven't told us how often "he" takes a shit!!
you really make me want to vomit.
I'm loving the refrigeration of pumping supplies ideas. **filed for future**
To save time, you can put your pump parts in the refrigerator in between pumping sessions and wash them once a day. Good luck!
oops.. sorry about the repeat suggestion... didn't read all the comments. Still... love your blog..
Almost makes me want another! Can I have my uterus back so I can have another? :)
How is big brother holding up?
Um....Jen? Who left a comment about 4 entries above mine? Who asked you to take your precious time and leave a comment?
Sorry, that is so un-called for.