Alex Is 3 Weeks Old...?

ALREADY??? How did that happen? Oh, right time. I hate it.



We just got back yesterday from our first long trip. We drove about 5 hours to my Aunt Kay's, so we could see the best fireworks. I'm firmly convinced that Eastport has the best fireworks in Maine. Especially since Portland's was effed up and all caught on fire again this year. They need to hire a different company.

The four worst things that happened were:

GW forgot to bring the stroller.

I forgot to bring my sneakers.

We had no sun hat for Alex.

We got eaten alive my hordes of hungry mosquitoes and no-see-em's.


All in all, it could be worse.

GW didn't know I wanted the stroller. Um, hun, that thing needs to go EVERYWHERE with us. He had to wear Alex (my boobs don't allow me to wear the carrier we have, I need to make a sling), and it was about 90 degrees, so, lesson learned.

I got blisters on both my feet from my flats, so I ended up wearing socks with them after that. I'm a dummy.

Aunt Kay called my cousin Marie, and she was able to find a smallish hat that belonged to her youngest (Jason, 5) and was able to modify it to fit Alex for a quick fix. I need to find the pattern for a sun hat an make one for him. I know I saved the website for it, now I need to do it. After I beat my sewing machine and get a new needle...

I have some serious welts all over me (2 enormous ones on my butt, of all places, this is one of the worst to get bitten) from the bugs. I have a very bad reaction to bug bites. I just keep slapping more of my prescription ointment on them. Not much else I can do. **sigh**



So, back to Alex... He had some issues with latching on, and for the first week or so of his little life, he gave me blisters on my nipples... OWWW!! I never had that much trouble with TJ. One of the nurses in the hospital gave us some very bad advice.
Use a pacifier.
It worked like a charm. But...
There was one day that Alex wouldn't take my breast for 8 hours. After the first four hours, we figured out it was the paci that was causing the problem. He was hungry, but sucking on the paci was easier. We took it away. Four hours (and lots of screaming from him, and crying for me) later, he was so frustrated that we weren't giving it back, that he finally ate. That day was just awful. Engorgement & a baby that won't nurse is a recipe for some serious pain.

But he's got it down now. He eats about every 2-3 hours during the day, and is much better at getting a good latch. At night, he sleeps for 4-6 hours at a time, which means that I sometimes have to get up & pump. It never fails that as soon as I start pumping, he wakes up and wants to be fed.

We've learned how to tell what his fussing means, too. So much easier now that we know this cry means "I'm tired", that one means "I'm hungry", and this other one means "I'm totally pissed off and I don't know why"- usually a very wet or dirty diaper is the cause of that one.

Alex has also made a sort-of schedule, too. Right now, it's nap time. I know you're supposed to sleep when the baby sleeps, but when do I get to eat? (I already did that ;) ) So... ummm.. yeah, that's it for this one, I guess.