KerryAndGabe.com

It’s hard to believe that our little man is already a week old! I’m still working on that birth story, but I thought I’d post a little update on Cullen’s first week. Just as the birth itself was completely different from Maddie’s, his first week couldn’t be more different from Maddie’s first week. Maddie’s first week involved a lot of screaming and very little sleeping for anyone. It also included a whole lot of crying (mostly from me).

Cullen has been a very laid back baby in his first week of life. His cry can be loud and piercing, but he does it with purpose. He doesn’t like wardrobe changes, diaper changes, or being hungry. Even when he’s mad, he can be soothed just by picking him up and holding him close. We just can’t get over how much easier he has been than Maddie was at this point. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he continues to be easy going.

He has been sleeping the majority of his days and nights. Unlike his sister, he seems to have no problem sleeping in the bassinet (or anywhere else). We have been using the Arm’s Reach Co-sleeper this time and LOVE it. It’s so convenient to be able to see him when I’m laying down, and it’s easy to reach him when it is time to nurse.

When he’s awake and not nursing, he seems content to look around. Not much seems to bother him.

Nursing has been going well. I have some soreness that I remember from last time, but other than that I think he’s feeding well. In his first week, he nursed 136 times (thanks to the Total Baby iPhone app, tracking this stuff has been easier than last time with the notepad and pen). During that time, we have changed about 70 diapers (a few in the hospital were not recorded in the app). His birth weight was 8 pounds, 10 ounces and he dropped to 8 pounds, 1 ounce in the hospital. At our appointment today with the lactation consultant, he was up to 8 pounds, 4 ounces. They feel he is on track to regain his birth weight in a reasonable time.

We have had a few issues. The pediatrician and lactation consultants noted that Cullen was tongue tied in the hospital. I’m not sure how much it was affecting his nursing, but that was their main concern. We took him to the lactation consultant at the pediatrician’s office, and she was concerned about how that was affecting his latch and ability to nurse efficiently. We were referred to an ENT for evaluation. We went to that appointment yesterday, and they felt that it was a good idea to clip his tongue. The frenotomy was a very simple procedure that took seconds to perform, and he was able to nurse immediately afterward. I didn’t immediately notice a difference in his nursing, but I’m thinking he might be a bit more efficient now. His overall number of nursings and length of time have decreased, yet his diaper output and weight gain still seem to be on target.

We have another concern that is upsetting. We may have a need to visit a pediatric urologist to evaluate his circumcision. I already feel bad that we put him through that pain, and now there’s a question to whether it needs correcting. Time will tell what is going to happen there, but I’m pretty mad about things not being done properly the first time. It’s possible that a subsequent surgery wouldn’t be able to happen until he’s a year old. I’m extremely unhappy about putting a toddler through that, so we are going to have to see what information we can get and options that we have over the next few weeks.

Big sister Maddie is adjusting to her new role. She spent the majority of the first several days ignoring her little brother. We think maybe she figured he might go away if she didn’t acknowledge his existence. She was mostly indifferent. She is very excited about her brother now. She wants to hold him and says good night to him when she goes to bed. She has been telling her daycare teachers about “baby Cullen.” It’s very sweet. She has been pretty attached to Daddy, and Gabe has been giving her extra attention whenever possible.

She is curious about her brother and often just wants to sit next to us when we are holding him. When we told her that baby Cullen was hungry in the first few days, she asked if he was going to have some applesauce. We explained that baby Cullen only eats Mommy’s milk for now and that he’s too little for applesauce. Maddie will now say, “Cullen eats Mommy’s milk” and sometimes “Cullen eats Mommy’s boobie.” The other day, she told a friend on the phone that Mommy’s milk comes from Dr. Pepper! I guess she’s partially right!

My parents were here with Maddie while we were at the hospital, and they stayed a few days after we got home. We had one night on our own, and then my mom came back to help us until this morning. We’re on our own until at least Monday when Gabe’s mom is coming to meet her new grandson for the first time. We have introduced Cullen to his Kentucky grandparents over the webcam. Grandma is excited to meet him in person and snuggle with him!

Until then, we are snowbound as we already have an inch on the ground, and they are expecting it to snow for the next 24 hours or so. We have plenty of food and diapers and hope that the next few days go smoothly for us as we venture on our own.

We are so happy to finally have Cullen in our lives. It’s weird to say that I have “kids” now, using the plural. I’ve only said it aloud a few times. That part is an adjustment, too! So far, we are enjoying our cozy life as a family of four!

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Posted by kerry on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 6:58pm.
Categories: life.