Our Married Life

Trying to get some play time after we eat with tummy time. But all she wants tip do is sleep.

We’re at the point where Baby E needs to get on a better sleep schedule. Unfortunately she sleeps throughout the day and is wide awake in the early morning and night time between 9-midnight. That doesn’t give us much time to actually sleep.

I hope it’s not too early to try to put her on a sleep routine, but with Brian going back to work already I think it’s much needed. We’ll follow the 7,10,2 schedule. Bathe her at around 5:30 or 6. Feed her at 7 and put her to bed right after. Feed her again at 10 and then once more at 2. We’ll still follow her cues, so if she happens to wake up before or later we’ll push out the time. This already corresponds to her current feeding schedule, but not her sleep schedule. The next few days will be rough, but I’m hoping we’ll get this routine down by week 6 and maybe start transitioning her to her own crib starting at week 8. Who knows if any of this is overly agressive. As a project manager by profession, I feel like I have to have set milestones and schedules so that we have some sort of control. I’m hoping the parent-led/baby-led routine will work for us.

Most of my post partum issues are gone. Except for two really annoying ones. Carpal tunnel and that annoying numbing sensation on my left thigh. The doctor said the numbness will go away in a few months. Thank goodness there isn’t pain and it doesn’t bother me.

But the carpal tunnel needs to go away. It’s terrible and is making me weak in both hands. I can barely put my seatbelt on because if I happen to hit the right nerve, the pain would shoot down my arm. I also think the way I hold the baby while she’s nursing doesn’t help it either. Hoping it’s not a permanent issue…

We are still tired and sleepy but at least we get to sleep in. I don’t think we get out of bed till around 10 am.

Baby’s congestion is still going strong. We’ve tried just about everything but you can still hear her struggle to breathe at night. Luckily she’s able to sleep. The last couple of days she’s been grunting more during her sleep. I think it’s just a new found ability and probably related to gas, but Brian seems to think its related to her congestion. I guess we will ask the doc during our next appt.

I just hope her congestion goes away so that she can sleep in her pack n play and eventually her own crib before month 2.

Baby E has been stuffed up for over a week. She’s sleeping much better since we started having her sleep in her bouncer but I’m not doing much better.

She sounds so small and fragile. Makes it hard to not wake up every time she makes a noise. She breathes fine most of the time but when she tries to take a deep breath she really struggles. She wheezes big and sounds awful and miserable but usually settles right back to sleep. I wish I could do the same.

Everything says congestion is very common in newborns/babies but that doesn’t stop me from worrying. We are using saline spray, a humidifier, and steam to try to clear it up but I’m not sure it’s helping.

Hopefully she starts feeling better soon.

We aren’t quite at 3 weeks yet, almost though. It feels like forever ago when I gave birth. Baby E has changed so much over the last few days. It’s amazing. I guess with all the events and family over the last week and a half it’s been hard to track any real milestones.

We are still working on getting the feeding in a rhythm that works for us. I’ve been pumping more over the past week only because it was easier. But each time I pump, I feel guilty that I’m missing out on any bonding we may have. So beginning last night I’ve cut back. I feel like we’ve started over.

It seems that after feeding off one side she’s done. She’d go for about 20 minutes so I’m not concerned that she’s not getting enough. But that leaves me lopsided until her next feeding. Perhaps after today we’ll both figure each other out and my body can regulate the supply based on her needs. I plan to
pump a couple times a day just so she gets used to the bottle.

We also had to start giving her a paci
only because she kept reaching for her fingers. But luckily we haven’t had to use it the last couple of days. Maybe because I’ve responded by feeding her. So far she’s eating every 2.5 – 3 hours. I still rely on an alarm at night, but she usually starts stirring and waking a few minutes before it goes off.

I really hope we get this straightened out by the time Brian goes to work next week…luckily all the family have left so no more distractions.

I grew up a Christian while both parents practiced both Buddhism and Christianity. Since college I haven’t really been in touch with my faith, probably because I wasn’t forced to go to church every Sunday. I’d like to start Baby E on the right foot. But Brian and I need to reacclimate ourselves with the church environment. We tried a few churches over the years but never found one that stuck. We want to be part of a church community that we feel comfortable in.

We really don’t want to go to church just for the sake of the baby…

This just means that things like the baby’s baptism may have to wait a few months or maybe a few years.

I hope by doing this, Baby E will have a solid foundation in her faith. She can then decide what she wants to do when she gets older.

I had to drop off a few things at the funeral home yesterday. I asked to see my dad at that time. I can’t describe the emotion. It was both fear and sadness. Fear because I’m in the room with my dad’s dead body. Sadness bc I wanted to say something but knew he wouldn’t hear me. I’m glad I got to see him
alone, and was comforted knowing that Brian and Baby E were in the car waiting for me.

I’m hoping Monday is the last time I will have to deal with this process….