2U2: Week Two

I'm kind of a pessimist.  If you know me at all, this isn't news to you.  I like to expect the worst and then be pleasantly surprised when life doesn't suck.  So when Casey went back to work last Monday, I did just that.  Fortunately, Parker still sleeps a ton (well, during the day at least...), so most of the time it's just me and Lu hanging out while he naps; it's those short intervals when they're both awake that things get interesting.

Here's a recap of our second week:

BREASTFEEDING
All signs of engorgement are gone.  Praise God!  Parker is still exclusively breastfed and latching well.  I think his 2 week growth spurt started on Friday, so he's been eating even more frequently.  He tends to be more alert and interested during his nighttime nursing sessions; I have to change his diaper before switching breasts during the daytime nursing sessions to make sure he's awake.

NAPS
Naps are Parker's strong suit, more so than nighttime sleep.  He extended his waketime over the last week and is now between 45-60 minutes.  Although there were several occasions that he surpassed his typical waketime and refused to sleep altogether...like on Friday...when he was up for 6 consecutive hours...and again on Saturday, when he was up for 3 consecutive hours (you know, during our newborn session).  He naps for 3 hours, and I wake him almost every time.  I put him down awake but drowsy, and swaddled.  He still doesn't seem to mind all the noise from Sissy. 

Lucy is still taking two naps a day, usually at 10:30 and 3:30, and sleeps for 1.5-2 hours each time.  She goes down with her Boppy, blankie, sippy, monkey, and a book.  I love naptime.

NIGHTTIME SLEEP
To put it simply, I dread going to bed each night.  (Maybe I jinxed our good luck with last week's update?)  Parker has his days and nights mixed up.  He sleeps like a rock all day and is drowsy during his waketime; but, come nighttime, he's wide awake, usually for 60 minutes, and sleeping in 1.5 hour intervals.  IT'S BRUTAL.  Everything I've read says to wait it out, and that it will resolve on it's own, but that can take up to one month.  We usually end up bed-sharing by the end of the night because I'm just so desperate for sleep...  I'm frustrated.  I don't want to fall into the same bad habits that I did with Lucy (nursing to soothe, bed-sharing out of desperation, yadda yadda yadda).

I wanted to start CIO, but Parker had (still has) the worst congestion AND two clogged tear ducts (which seem to be better now)...and he's in the middle of his 2 week growth spurt...so it didn't seem right.       

Lu has been going down at 8 pm, and sleeping in later and later!  Between 7:30-8:30!!!  Thank you, sweet girl!

DIAPERING
Both kiddos are in cloth.  (Except for Lu at bedtime.)  Parker is in prefolds and Thirsties covers - seriously, it's the only cover worth purchasing.  I use The Newspaper fold (a.k.a. Angel Wing fold), and Casey uses The Twist.  We haven't had any leaks and that makes me one happy, happy girl.  We were able to stop circumcision care after 10 days, which has saved us some time and mess during each change.

I've been laundering each day, and we've never run out of clean diapers.  ::knocks on wood::  Lu is usually in BumGenius 4.0 pockets or a Thirsties cover with a Flip insert.  (Trying to keep the prefolds set aside for Parker.)

SIBLING INTERACTION
Lu is still very much in love with her baby brother.  She loves to give him kisses and hugs.  Sometimes she's a little too rough; she wants to play with him like she plays with us...which involves hitting, kicking, licking, etc.  This morning she got really pissed when I used one of her blankets to cushion him; she tried to yank it out from under him.

She hasn't shown any signs of jealousy.  When I'm nursing Parker, she's usually walking around the bedroom or couch (wherever we're situated) making a mess playing with her toys.  Sometimes she'll stand behind me and gently tap my back as I'm burping Parker.

CONCLUSION

It was a good week overall.  Parker's nasty umbilical cord fell off and we're all still alive (just tired).  We may even attempt to venture out of the house during Week Three.  Stay tuned!