Tuesday, May 31, 2011

He Missed Me

Today was my first day back to work and I think the lentil missed me. See? We're holding hands. :)


Monday, May 30, 2011

Two Months!!!

Let's start by saying that we are back on the eating every 2-3 hours around the clock, but he's so darling that who could complain?

My little lentil is officially 2 months old and we have the shots to prove it!

Here is a first thing in the morning shot followed by a "Where's my milk?!?" shot.



Nana (Urdu for maternal grandfather - said nah-nah) and Zayd spent some quality time together playing during the afternoon.


Once we made it back to San Antonio, the little guy was cooing up a storm and I got my favorite shot of the day:

And we ended the day with our first walk without the carseat attachment. My precious peanut is *pretty much* big enough to ride in his stroller with no extra support. He was happy as a clam to get to see the world!



Friday, May 27, 2011

Hallelujah!


Ask and you shall receive.

Little lentil was in bed by nine last night and slept till midnight! Mommy was so happy. After a feed and a change it was back to sleep for both of us.

At 4:48 I look up at the clock. Confused. 4:48? Where is the baby!?! He's here. Asleep? Did we just finish eating? Hmmmm. I should have been up twice by now. It turned out my sweet peanut was still sleeping and had been since midnight. It wasn't until 5:30 that he wanted some milk. Score.

Please, please, please, let this happen again tonight. I promise to sleep straight through to 5:30!

Here's little man being Little Superman!




Thursday, May 26, 2011

Exhausted

Zayd took his first two hour nap today...EVER! It was miraculous, especially because I was right beside him sleeping away.

We had two three hour stretches between feedings as well! What a marvelous and mature turn of events!

All of this begs the question, why do I seem more sleepy today than the other 50+ days when we never slept two straight hours? Maybe my body is starting to remember how sleep can be! Either way, we are heading to Houston tomorrow where there is no shortage of hands eager to hold this little lentil so I am sure I'm in for some deserved relaxation!

I'm posting from my phone right now but I will get a pick of him in the morning. He is wearing the MOST adorable jammies!


Monday, May 23, 2011

Ceiling Fan Repairman



We used to say that Zayd would be an astronaut. Now, with NASA in a dubious position and the cessation of space exploration, we might have to start looking elsewhere. (To know my opinions on this just listen to Neil deGrasse Tyson talk about space exploration.) (Here's a *poor* clip with an awesome message )

Sam likes to make a joke that Zayd will grow up to be a ceiling fan repairman. It is really true that as long as there is a ceiling fan in the room (spinning or not), my little guy can be entertained. Yesterday at Max's Wine Dive there was a fan about two stories up, and Zayd patiently watched it go round while I dined on french fries and Sam and Sonia had more exciting fare.

Here are a few shots of him from this morning talking and laughing with the ceiling fan in his bedroom. Look at how big he is! And how big his big boy diapers are!





But, maybe he will be a boxer? (This is a joke. I would NEVER let him ruin that gorgeous face!)

Friday, May 20, 2011

Back to Baseline!

I was going to start the post as follows:
"Every time I speak with my mom, I recount all of Zayd's poops since our last conversation..."

Then, I looked myself square in the face and decided to be honest:
"Every time I talk to the inner circle, I recount all of Zayd's poops for the last 24 hours..."

But I am stronger than this. So, here goes:
"Every time I talk to ANYONE, I recount all of Zayd's poops since last Monday. It has been a whirlwind of diapers, colic, and emotions!"

We have had a heck of a couple weeks around here! Last time I wrote we were on a short "good spell" that ended up lasting through the week - seven days! Then mommy (that's me!) got cocky and thought she could just go adding foods to her diet willy nilly. I assumed that since the arrival of Prevacid into our little lives corresponded exactly with Zayd turning into Angel-Baby (I call him Devil-Baby, as well) that reflux was the issue all along and my diet was of little consequence. I had the gaul to add soy! Soy! I was loving tofu with soy sauce and edamame for two straight days without much consequence. Then Monday hit and all hell broke loose. The poops were nightmarish and so was my little Devil-Baby. He pretty much didn't stop crying until Thursday. One good thing came out of those three days - I clearly can identify an allergic reaction. It isn't defined by green poops alone, but rather hellish poops (details omitted) and a Devil-Baby.

Now, we are back on pears, peaches (new!), squash, potatoes, rice, quinoa (new!), EVOO, and salt. I dream about eating cookies. No, literally, I dreamt I went back to work and found a box of chocolate chip cookies on my desk that had been there since I left back in March. I ate the whole box and was only worried about people finding out that I was gross enough to eat two-month old cookies. But, really, dreaming about eating yummy stuff is pretty great. It *feels* like you really cheated but without having to battle Devil-Baby. :)

I spend my days fantasizing about the new food I will add every four days. So far this is what I have:
  • Kale (May 20)
  • Avocado (May 24)
  • Chickpeas (May 28)
  • Banana (June 1)
  • Oats (June 5) (Not that exciting but very non-allergenic and it gets me closer to a cookie of sorts)
  • Sunflower Seeds (June 9) (Also not exciting but an excellent source of protein and a great snack)
And my little lentil is doing wonderfully! Here he is enjoying the day with his Momma. After waking up, he tried out his little seat while I scarfed down Rice Cereal with Rice Milk. (Not half bad!)

And here he is patiently waiting for Mom to get dressed for our 5K walk through the King William District. Notice that he is wearing his big boy diapers! (So, they are huge.) They are the ones I bought so long ago and posted about on this very blog.


And a little yawn from my little guy.

And here we are along the River Walk in King William. In hindsight, it was too hot to take the little lentil out for a 5k. Thank goodness he is tan.




Thursday, May 19, 2011

Seven Slings

Thanks to a dear friend Crystal, I got a free seven sling! I had heard some less than positive reviews about this little ditty but I must say that for a front carry, Zayd and I like it quite well!

He's been a pretty happy boy today and many of our days recently, but I will devote an entire post to that and our dieting woes and successes. For this minute, I just wanted you all to see the little lentil rocking out his Seven Sling!


As you can see from the pictures, this little peanut is ready for a nap.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Gardening for Two

Today marks baby Zayd's second happy day in a row. :)

He even reacted well when our walk got rained (sprinkled, really) out. We headed to the back porch to enjoy the rain and tend to our patio plants. Zayd looks unhappy but its really only because I took the camera out.

Here's the two of us walking in our backyard after the rain stopped.

Apparently, he was asleep. :)

So, if tomorrow brings me my angel baby, that will be three good days in a row - a first in our tiny family. If not, I will just hold on to the memory of today and wait for our next two day stint!



Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Daddy's Birthday

Today was a fabulous day. The little lentil spent hours awake and happy. Happy! Yes, I too was shocked.

We had a very adventurous day preparing for the big lentils birthday. We went to the quarry and got cards, lamb chops, a fruit tart, and the tallest candles we could find. I set it all up so we could hastily light the tart as soon as Daddy stepped in the door. He would be greeted with presents, cards, a birthday tart, and beer.

There was time to kill after the preparations were done and I decided to press my luck with this angel baby attitude Zayd had adopted. Off to his room for playtime. Now, let me preface this by saying that (in case you hadn't guessed from previous posts) we don't have a lot of playtime. My sweet boy will rarely let you set him down or sit still without making one heck of a fuss. We spend our days walking or bouncing.  But today (!) we had tummy time, we played in our baby gym, we played with a rattle and when Sam walked in the house, we were sitting in our rocking chair reading. Reading! In our chair! The way I had envisioned back when Zayd was s fetal lentil. I knew Sam would be home at any minute but I decided that he would be happier to see us calmly reading in our rocking chair than to be greeted with song and a lit birthday tart.

And he was happy and more than a little stunned.

So,  on our next bad day, I suppose I need to come reflect on this post and remember that there will be many many chances to sit in our rocking chair and cuddle with my adorable almond joy.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Fussy Baby Detective

So, we are on day 7 of the Total Elimination Diet and while we had a nice run of happy calm baby Zayd, that period seems to have ended. I just can't imagine colic where the baby spends all of their awake time miserable. Here is how the last week has played out:
  • Tuesday - Started diet with a moderately fussy baby
  • Wednesday - Awesome baby. My mom declared, "This is an entirely different baby." When I brought him in the house from our long drive back to SATX, he sat calmly in his car seat, awake and looking around, and Sam couldn't believe it.
  • Thursday - Moderately fussy baby
  • Friday - Fantastic baby! We read books and he swang himself to sleep. When we woke up in the morning, I took this video. (That I can't upload - I'll work on it...) I was shocked to see him wake up without a shriek!
  • Saturday - Awesome baby strikes again! We went to a friend's house and he was a pretty adorable yet sleepy little guy. I made this video later in the day. (Again - it isn't working.) I couldn't believe my luck - two consecutive good days.
  • Saturday night - he fought gas during his sleep from around 2 am on. By seven, he was so unhappy that we had to start the day even though neither of us had slept much. I blamed it on some lentils I had before bed, and figured it would be gone by morning.
  • Sunday - seemed to start off ok after the bad night as Zayd and I took a long nap together. By noon, I knew this would be a bad day. He was sleepy, fussy, and gassy. Not a good mix. He colic'd the evening away.
  • Today - Another restless gassy night and he has been a terror this morning. He comes screaming of the breast during feedings. His arms are flailing. He's inconsolable. Its a disaster.
So, then you try to put all of this together. It can't be the food right? I am eating the same 5 foods day in and day out. It doesn't sound like colic because its from morning till night. It just doesn't make sense...

Thoughts?

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Chubby Chubby Chubby

Zayd is really porking up! He weighs 9 pounds 14 ounces (with his clothes on and possibly a wet diaper)! This seems like startlingly rapid weight gain but I am just not going to worry about it. I have a long list of other things I could fret over if I really wanted to.

Here is a shot of him from week four enjoying some snuggly time in bed with momma.


And here is him this morning waking up with pops.
Wowzer! And also new this week: he can bring his hands together!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Total Elimination Diet

So, I have now been on the Total Elimination Diet for four days. I am not sure if it is doing anything. He has had two good days and one bad so that seems positive. BUT his poops seem to moving towards less healthy rather than more healthy. No need to describe the color and consistency but we have new problems popping up. It makes me suspect a rice allergy. Ha

So, with only pears, rice, millet, squash, and potatoes, what has Mommy been eating?
  • Soup of pureed pears and acorn squash with broth
  • Rice pasta with paper thin zucchini and some soup for sauce
  • Millet with rice vinegar
  • Rice sticks with roasted sweet potatoes, zucchini, and potatoes and rice vinegar
  • Rice cereal with rice milk
  • Brown rice and lentils
Mommy is hungry! But I am losing this baby weight. And little Zayd is finding it - he is a whopping 9 pounds 14 onces. (I sort of can't understand how he gained more than a pound in a week but am hoping this isn't a sign of a problem.)

I Know One of Us is Sleepy


Who wants to tell this baby that its 3am?

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

You know your a new mother when...

You turn off the shower and cross your fingers hoping not to hear screaming from your little one.

Score one point for this vibrating seat.


Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Working it Out

So, I haven't posted much lately. Motherhood has been wonderful but overwhelming.

The little lentil is an awesome baby. He is getting more sophisticated everyday. He laughed yesterday and made my day! It was buffered by screaming on either side but you take what you can get when your peanut has been labeled colicky. That being said, I am becoming increasingly convinced that something more substantial than colic is afflicting my little guy. He screams a lot. He wakes from sleep shrieking. He yelps while he eats. He spends a lot of time grunting and with his brows strenuously knit together.

And it breaks my heart.

And, at its worst, it makes my head ring with a nervous energy that is deafening.

So, now we have turned ourselves wholeheartedly toward two goals: heal Zayd's stomach and manage mommy's anxiety. That's right. I've been officially classified as suffering from post-partum depression.

I am mildly shocked that after overcoming the subchorionic hematoma, fighting to find the birth team I needed, and providing my baby with the birth I felt he deserved, that I can't muscle my way through this. I know that isn't how PPD works. I get it. But it is a new feeling to not be able to control and manage my environment and most importantly my reactions to it. I got through 22 hours of labor using nothing more than my mind for pain management. But I can't utilize my mind to convince myself that my sweet screaming baby is going to be okay? It's fascinating.

So, to heal the lentil we are sticking with the mylicon, gripe water, and probiotics. We are now starting an elimination diet to figure out what exactly triggers this lentil's pains. So, four days of rice, squash, potatoes (sweet and regular!) and pears. It might be longer but I am hoping we see a difference in four days. We will then add a new food in every four days and monitor the lentil.