It truly seems like yesterday that iris came into the world, but at the same time it feels like we were never without her! She has changed so much from the tiny, calm baby who arrived on the scene exactly one month ago.
Here are some observations at the one-month mark:
Dislikes:
When Iris was born, the only thing that truly made her cry was being cold -- especially having cold wipes on her bottom during diaper changes! On the way home from the hospital, our first stop was Babies 'R' Us to get a wipes warmer! She doesn't mind the cold wipes as much now, but she does throw her arms out and grimace when she has a cold wipe touch her during changes on-the-go. She also startles and fusses when people touch her with cold hands.
Iris also liked baths when she was a new-newborn. The people at the hospital said she would cry when they gave her her first bath, but she didn't! She also loved her first at-home bath, and we got some great shots of her smiling in the warm water. Now, however, she cries for most of the experience... hmm, maybe the water is too cold?
Likes:
Iris' absolute favourite thing is her "trees:" Granny Abe got us a set of woodland-themed wall decals, and we put all the trees from the set on the wall behind the change pad. When she's being changed, Iris loves to stare at the gingham and polka-dot patterned trees! She gazes and smiles, and now flails her limbs happily. She also has a giraffe music box-type thing that plays "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" that she now watches as it turns! She's a curious little explorer.
She also likes going for walks in the stroller, for the most part, and riding in the car calms her as well. We recently got her a "My Little Snugabunny" bouncer, and it puts her right to sleep! A lifesaver for us during mealtimes, haha.
Personality:
Iris is a very content little honey-baby! I feed her on demand and we pick her up whenever she starts to cry. She's very good with people as well. In general, when someone other than Steve or I holds her, she just looks at them and doesn't fuss or anything! I even handed her to a complete stranger at the La Leche League meeting I attended while I tried on a baby carrier. She is a very friendly baby!
On the other hand, when she's upset, she lets us know it! She's pretty gassy, and cries really intensely when she's experiencing any sort of discomfort! She also cries when she notices that her diaper is full. We had a crazy night last night, she was up from 2:30 to 7 a.m. crying on and off during a seemingly endless cycle of eat-burp-pee!
She is also a trickster. When I'm getting her ready to go out, I've noticed that when she cries at being in her carseat, her eyes don't "screw up" the way they do when she's truly upset! She just closes them and makes all the noises she can, haha. Silly girl!
Faces:
Iris is very expressive. She has two distinct faces that we've nicknamed:
"Turtle" face: When she's asleep and she stirs, she'll raise her eyebrows and sort of grimace, and stick her chin waaay out like a little turtle! This is my absolute favourite face, and I'm rewarded with it a lot when she sleeps on my chest.
"Mugwump" face: This is a grump-face! We've noticed that she makes this face right before she poops (and sometimes when she's gassy and sometimes when she's just plain uncomfortable). She furrows her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth turn way down, and she makes direct eye contact. Today at the doctor, we were waiting for the doctor to come in after the receptionist weighed and measured Iris (10 lbs 1 oz!). Iris was naked and I was holding her, and I saw her make mugwump face. Steve said I should hold her over the sink because it seemed like she was going to poop, but I figured I'd just put a clean diaper under her...as soon as she was over the travel change pad we'd brought, she let loose! If I had held her over the sink when Steve suggested it, I totally would have "caught" the poop! Woohoo Iris, good elimination communication!
There are so many other sweet faces, like when she purses her little lips and looks at us inquisitively, her "rooting" faces with the little tongue sticking out, the hilarious faces she makes during burping that remind me of the white ghosty things from Princess Mononoke... I could go on all night!
Looks:
When she was born, Iris was the spitting image of me as a baby. She had thick black hair (which she hasn't lost any of, despite many people's predictions), and the little chin was all me too! She also has my tiny feet and curly toes. It also struck me when she was born that she looked a lot like my mom, especially in the eyes. However, as she grows, we're starting to see Steve more and more: the eyes are distinctly "him," and her cute little nose looks like it could be like Steve's mom's. However, as my sister pointed out, every day she just looks more and more like herself!
Iris is also starting to be able to "follow" things with her eyes, and when she's awake she's much more alert. She's becoming more and more mobile, in terms of waving her arms and kicking her legs. She has an incredibly strong grip (my poor nipples...) and extremely sharp fingernails! We need to cut those soon... She also has a very strong neck, and when we hold her upright she locks her little knees, making it hard to sit her down again! She still folds her legs up in the "womb" position, but I have a feeling that won't last for much longer. She's such a wonder!
I can't wait to continue watching her grow :)
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Early Adventures in Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding: the ancient art of feeding one's offspring! Why doesn't anyone tell you how freakin' HARD it is?!
I have always known that when I had a baby, I would breastfeed. The hospital I gave birth at heavily promotes breastfeeding, so I was able to have immediate skin-to-skin contact with Iris for the first hour of her life, and they showed me the basic mechanics. I had lots of colostrum, and Iris sort of latched on after about half an hour, which was a relief. However, during my 48 hours in the hospital, all I could think about when I was feeding her was how much it hurt! The nurses were sort of helpful, but not really. One came in at around 6 a.m. on the morning we were discharged and found me in tears. My nipples were blistered and I was in a lot of pain. She asked me if it hurt-hurt, or if it was just a pulling sensation. Uhh...? I didn't really know what to say! I continued to soldier through the pain.
At our two-day appointment (Iris was four days old), Iris had gained double what she needed to since being discharged from the hospital and her poop had changed from tarry meconium to yellow, seedy breastmilk poop, so everything appeared to be going well, except for the state of my poor nipples. I had a latch assessment, and the nurse told me to "hug" Iris to my body more, and to angle my nipple up into the roof of her mouth when she latched to avoid her "lipstick-ing" it. I did, and definitely noticed a difference... until I got home.
My blisters did heal, but the pain stayed. I searched the internet constantly, finding that maybe I had painful let-down, maybe her mouth was still to small to latch properly... I was using lanolin, which helped with the healing, but it started to make my nipples tingle uncomfortably. My milk coming in led to major engorgement. Breastfeeding is hard!
At Iris' two-week appointment, she weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz, up a full 1 lb 1 oz from her birthweight of 7/11! She's a very healthy and happy girl. Despite the pain I breastfeed on demand, no matter what. Over the next two weeks I continued to feed through the pain, searching and searching. Finally, I realized: I should focus more on positioning, and not feel bad about popping her off to correct her latch. In online forums I read about flipping her upper lip up to be properly "flanged," and also about expressing a bit of milk after she feeds to rub on my nipples instead of the lanolin. At four weeks on the dot, her latch seemed to correct itself! I still find myself a little bit apprehensive when she latches on, and my letdown is still a bit painful, but the pain goes away within a few seconds. Today I thought she was bearing down with her gums, but it was just her little razor-nails clamping down on my breast beside her mouth! Amazing.
Long story short, if you're a new mom who is trying to breastfeed, don't give up! It is not easy, and can even be painful, but it will get better. I am so thankful that I haven't had more intense problems like blocked ducts or mastitis. The key seems to be patience, patience, patience, and practice makes perfect! Both you and baby are learning, and it definitely takes two to get it right. At this point, I'm actually finding it to be enjoyable!
Another key: set yourself up in one spot, with something to do that doesn't require your hands. I find watching Netflix to be quite handy, haha! Going on the internet is a no, since it makes it really hard to keep the baby in the correct position, at least at first. I made the mistake of thinking I could do more than "just" breastfeed in the early days, which I think contributed to the problems I had in a very big way!
Happy feeding :)
I have always known that when I had a baby, I would breastfeed. The hospital I gave birth at heavily promotes breastfeeding, so I was able to have immediate skin-to-skin contact with Iris for the first hour of her life, and they showed me the basic mechanics. I had lots of colostrum, and Iris sort of latched on after about half an hour, which was a relief. However, during my 48 hours in the hospital, all I could think about when I was feeding her was how much it hurt! The nurses were sort of helpful, but not really. One came in at around 6 a.m. on the morning we were discharged and found me in tears. My nipples were blistered and I was in a lot of pain. She asked me if it hurt-hurt, or if it was just a pulling sensation. Uhh...? I didn't really know what to say! I continued to soldier through the pain.
At our two-day appointment (Iris was four days old), Iris had gained double what she needed to since being discharged from the hospital and her poop had changed from tarry meconium to yellow, seedy breastmilk poop, so everything appeared to be going well, except for the state of my poor nipples. I had a latch assessment, and the nurse told me to "hug" Iris to my body more, and to angle my nipple up into the roof of her mouth when she latched to avoid her "lipstick-ing" it. I did, and definitely noticed a difference... until I got home.
My blisters did heal, but the pain stayed. I searched the internet constantly, finding that maybe I had painful let-down, maybe her mouth was still to small to latch properly... I was using lanolin, which helped with the healing, but it started to make my nipples tingle uncomfortably. My milk coming in led to major engorgement. Breastfeeding is hard!
At Iris' two-week appointment, she weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz, up a full 1 lb 1 oz from her birthweight of 7/11! She's a very healthy and happy girl. Despite the pain I breastfeed on demand, no matter what. Over the next two weeks I continued to feed through the pain, searching and searching. Finally, I realized: I should focus more on positioning, and not feel bad about popping her off to correct her latch. In online forums I read about flipping her upper lip up to be properly "flanged," and also about expressing a bit of milk after she feeds to rub on my nipples instead of the lanolin. At four weeks on the dot, her latch seemed to correct itself! I still find myself a little bit apprehensive when she latches on, and my letdown is still a bit painful, but the pain goes away within a few seconds. Today I thought she was bearing down with her gums, but it was just her little razor-nails clamping down on my breast beside her mouth! Amazing.
Long story short, if you're a new mom who is trying to breastfeed, don't give up! It is not easy, and can even be painful, but it will get better. I am so thankful that I haven't had more intense problems like blocked ducts or mastitis. The key seems to be patience, patience, patience, and practice makes perfect! Both you and baby are learning, and it definitely takes two to get it right. At this point, I'm actually finding it to be enjoyable!
Another key: set yourself up in one spot, with something to do that doesn't require your hands. I find watching Netflix to be quite handy, haha! Going on the internet is a no, since it makes it really hard to keep the baby in the correct position, at least at first. I made the mistake of thinking I could do more than "just" breastfeed in the early days, which I think contributed to the problems I had in a very big way!
Happy feeding :)
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Elimination Communication Begins!
Warning: this post contains lots of poop-talk :P
Today we caught our first and second pees and our first poop! We're so proud of our sweet Iris for being such a clever and "communicative" baby.
What is elimination communication? Basically, parents and their babies can "communicate" based on "cues" surrounding the elimination of pee and poo. This way the baby doesn't have to sit in his or her own excrement, and they don't have to "unlearn" using their diaper as a toilet!
We find that Iris is the most upset when she has a wet or dirty diaper. We had researched elimination communication a lot during the pregnancy, and so from day one we were looking for Iris' "cues." Steve was the first to notice that she kind of "whistles" when she's about to pee, and the red face and grunts and limb-flailing are a dead giveaway for poops! Yesterday I went to a La Leche League meeting (more on that in an upcoming post on breastfeeding), and I met a woman who was practicing EC with her baby. I talked about it with her, and when I got home I couldn't get it out of my head. Later that day there were three instances where she had not wetted her diaper (only pooped), and then either peed on the change mat or into her clean diaper as soon as it was on. With the third I ran to get the potty, but it was too late! Finally, at her 4:30 a.m. post-feed poop change, again she hadn't peed. After cleaning up her bottom, she farted, and I thought she was going to poop again -- I held her over the potty, and she peed almost right away! I was shocked, and SO excited! She used a potty at 4 weeks, 1.5 days old!
Later today, Steve and I caught a pee AND a poo together. It was so neat to see the surprise on his face that I know was on mine when I caught the pee earlier! This is such an exciting milestone for us, and we can't wait to keep practicing. We forgot to "cue" her (we're supposed to make a sound when she eliminates so she'll form associations), but that will come. Our book on EC says that even catching one pee or poo a day is a great success, so go us, and go Iris!
This is such an exciting adventure, and I am so proud of our sweet baby!
Today we caught our first and second pees and our first poop! We're so proud of our sweet Iris for being such a clever and "communicative" baby.
What is elimination communication? Basically, parents and their babies can "communicate" based on "cues" surrounding the elimination of pee and poo. This way the baby doesn't have to sit in his or her own excrement, and they don't have to "unlearn" using their diaper as a toilet!
We find that Iris is the most upset when she has a wet or dirty diaper. We had researched elimination communication a lot during the pregnancy, and so from day one we were looking for Iris' "cues." Steve was the first to notice that she kind of "whistles" when she's about to pee, and the red face and grunts and limb-flailing are a dead giveaway for poops! Yesterday I went to a La Leche League meeting (more on that in an upcoming post on breastfeeding), and I met a woman who was practicing EC with her baby. I talked about it with her, and when I got home I couldn't get it out of my head. Later that day there were three instances where she had not wetted her diaper (only pooped), and then either peed on the change mat or into her clean diaper as soon as it was on. With the third I ran to get the potty, but it was too late! Finally, at her 4:30 a.m. post-feed poop change, again she hadn't peed. After cleaning up her bottom, she farted, and I thought she was going to poop again -- I held her over the potty, and she peed almost right away! I was shocked, and SO excited! She used a potty at 4 weeks, 1.5 days old!
Later today, Steve and I caught a pee AND a poo together. It was so neat to see the surprise on his face that I know was on mine when I caught the pee earlier! This is such an exciting milestone for us, and we can't wait to keep practicing. We forgot to "cue" her (we're supposed to make a sound when she eliminates so she'll form associations), but that will come. Our book on EC says that even catching one pee or poo a day is a great success, so go us, and go Iris!
This is such an exciting adventure, and I am so proud of our sweet baby!
Four Weeks In!
Wow, I sure fell off the blogging horse for a while there! Although I had every intention of blogging every scrap of pregnancy information, I... didn't. Oh well! Here we are, with the sweetest four-week-old baby we could ever imagine! She is perfect. Everyone says that about their babies, but... well, you know.
We've already broken a few of the standards we imagined for our little one. We didn't want her to be exposed to any "screens" for the first part of her life. Oops! She's still pretty small so she can't really process what's going on yet, but she seems to be getting to that point! She's so alert and wonderful. We avert her when we notice her gazing in the direction of the TV or the laptops though... ahh! I had also planned not to "do anything" while breastfeeding, but I ended up watching a lot of Netflix! In the early days I also tried to do things like go on my laptop while breastfeeding, which bit me in the ass since we're still having some latching and positioning problems, but they've been getting corrected in the past few days as I've been consciously working at it. Oops.
But! We're pretty successful parents, I think. I suppose we fall under the "attachment" category. Iris sleeps on my chest every night, and I'm breastfeeding. More on that crazy adventure soon! We also plan to do "elimination communication," or working with the baby to "catch" pees and poops so she doesn't have to sit in them for any period of time. We're also easing into baby-wearing, I just learned how to use our Baby K'Tan. We have a Snugli also but the only time we put her in it, she cried, so we haven't tried it again yet.
I know this post is very sporadic, but I'll just blame it on mommy-brain! Much more to come, having a little baby is so exciting and action-packed!
We've already broken a few of the standards we imagined for our little one. We didn't want her to be exposed to any "screens" for the first part of her life. Oops! She's still pretty small so she can't really process what's going on yet, but she seems to be getting to that point! She's so alert and wonderful. We avert her when we notice her gazing in the direction of the TV or the laptops though... ahh! I had also planned not to "do anything" while breastfeeding, but I ended up watching a lot of Netflix! In the early days I also tried to do things like go on my laptop while breastfeeding, which bit me in the ass since we're still having some latching and positioning problems, but they've been getting corrected in the past few days as I've been consciously working at it. Oops.
But! We're pretty successful parents, I think. I suppose we fall under the "attachment" category. Iris sleeps on my chest every night, and I'm breastfeeding. More on that crazy adventure soon! We also plan to do "elimination communication," or working with the baby to "catch" pees and poops so she doesn't have to sit in them for any period of time. We're also easing into baby-wearing, I just learned how to use our Baby K'Tan. We have a Snugli also but the only time we put her in it, she cried, so we haven't tried it again yet.
I know this post is very sporadic, but I'll just blame it on mommy-brain! Much more to come, having a little baby is so exciting and action-packed!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Premature Parents
 |
| March 14, 2013 |
Surprise! The feeling when you see that the second line has
developed on a pregnancy test is inexplicable. It’s exciting, and can be scary…
especially if it’s unplanned, and especially if you’re young and
“unestablished!” The average age of childbirth in Canada in 2009 was 29.4.[1] When
our baby was conceived, Steve and I had just turned 23 and 25, respectively! We
had moved to Toronto six months earlier with no real life goals (more school?
Find jobs!), and were living completely paycheque-to-paycheque – he working as
a waiter, I as a full-time sales associate. We didn’t even have enough money to
buy a pregnancy test until a week after I started thinking I might be pregnant!
When we
finally got the test, on March 14, 2013, we took one and waited. Steve had
mentioned that I could be pregnant to his parents, in passing, thinking there was no way that I actually was. I actually
felt pretty certain: I had been really sensitive to smells, and I had had a
weird spotty period. We can actually pinpoint the date of conception, as
February was a very stressful month for us and we only had sex once! The
“period” was about 13 days after that – exactly the time implantation would
have occurred. So here we were, waiting for the result! We let the room and talked
about the possibilities. I was kind of excited, and Steve was terrified. When
we were sure it had been at least three minutes, he went into the bathroom to
check… and walked out slowly, with his hands up to his face, pulling his eyes
downward like a bloodhound! I ran in and saw the positive result, and could
barely contain my initial excitement!
However,
we were so, so scared. As mentioned above, we barely had any money. We could
barely take care of ourselves, so how were we supposed to take care of a baby?!
We started googling, and found that almost all of the information out there
assumes that new parents have careers and are already well-established in life.
Scary!! That didn’t help the preliminary anxiety surrounding the discovery. There’s
nothing like the voice of the internet to make you feel inadequate! Granted, I have
a bachelor’s degree, but so far all that has gotten me is a retail job, and not
for lack of trying. What were we going to do? And what would our parents say?!
So this
is the premise of the blog: the journey of two young “premature” parents in a
world of information geared to thirty-something career-people. We want to do
things right, hard as it will be, so this will be an account of the decisions
and steps we take to raise our sweet baby as best we can! We’ll share the joys
and sorrows and new perspectives gained along the way, and hopefully some
advice for other people, be they young or less-than-established, having babies
as well. Here we go!
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