Shelving & Whoopi

Sounds good doesn't it? Actually souns a little acrobatic...

I heard a loud thud today. The baby bathtub often falls down in the front bath so I ignored it. The hubby comes home, goes upstairs and I hear "Waa wa wa wa wa." So I wander upstairs to see what he said and find that half the shelving in my closet has been pulled out of the wall and is on the floor. The builder of this fine 2 year old home didn't bother to install the closet stuff into the studs and didn't bother to use molly bolts either. So umm being that I am a clothes horse, its no wonder it came out of the wall and I am surprised it didn't happen sooner.

I really really need to call the last place I was given to find out who made our fricking paint. The builder doesn't have record of it anymore and I've tried two of the three major paint companies in town already. Otherwise I get to get something close and while the Hubby is deployed paint one wall at a time.

As for Whoopi well FINALLY I get to watch the View again! Whoopi will be replacing that Cow. Thank heavens too! I mean Whoopi is very liberal which is cool, she can taunt Elizabeth but she's also really good at working on drawing out the actual point of Elizabeth or Joy. Sometimes they babble inchorently where Whoopi sums up their babble into two sentences.

Yeah! Can't wait for the season to start!!!

Hip U/S

Oz had his hip U/S this morning. I guess this is a mandatory Army or medical deal for all breech babies. Apparently there are higher cases of hip displaysia in breech babies than normal presentation. We arrived 35 minutues early because I was afraid I'd be late getting on post. The staff there are real dolls and took him early. He was a good boy too and only complained once. The tech took a few pictures of one hip more than the other but as always they can't say anything. So I will wait to hear from a doc or will find out what's up at his well baby appt.

Oh and its neat to see another body part. I've seen so many U/S of ovaries, the uterus and the baby that it was neat to see a totally different body part. Pretty cool!


Oh and on some of the suggestions - I have them written down, but I want to try or eliminate one thing at a time and give it a chance to make a difference. If we do all of it at once I won't know if its the Gripe Water, the Meds, or Oz just growing out of it. So thanks for the info and thankfully by blog can't forget for whent I do.

Holy Baby Shit Batman!

Gotta laugh at myself, seriously I do....

Ed and I hit the clinics today. First him, he is a serious fatty which is great. He's now 9 lbs 11 oz, which makes me think when I went in last week they made an error converting the weight from kilos to lbs. Anyways the doc heard me out and said no problem on trying the meds for the one month until we do our well baby in a month. (speaking of which I need to call and make an appt for that.) So tonight I will give him his first dose and see how this goes.

Then it was my turn, my incision is infected and a part of one of the sutures was sticking out of my skin and it was an internal suture. According to the doc, I'm okay and it doesn't need antibiotics, but to keep an eye on it, keep it clean, dry and if it smells funky then to come back. I also got my post partum check up. The Doc said to leave my 3 fibroids and my endo attached ovaries alone. If we want a second child, cleaning the stuff out right now is a bad idea since it will just grow back and could get worse.

So back to baby shit - The nurse was kind enough to feed Oz while I was being examined. I went to the waiting room to pick him up and burp him to have a pregnant woman tell me he's dirty. Oz had a major blowout. It came out both legs, up the back and all over kingdom come. Of course since I picked him up I ended up with baby shit all over the front of me. There was no changing table on that floor so I had to walk around covered in baby shit, my boy covered in shit and wander to a place to change him. Apparently when I try the thermometer up his little bum it didn't do a damn thing for helping Oz take a crap. The Med Tech does it and Oz loses 5 days worth of crap into his diaper.

I used ALL of my wipes just cleaning him off. I also used his onesie to help clean me off. He had it on his socks, onesie, blanket and body. I just started dumping dirty clothes on the floor of the bathroom. A couple of moms wandered in and I got "oh a blow out I'm sorry." They even offered a few wipes since I used all of mine just to clean him up. Finally we get him clean, changed and cleaned up the car seat/stroller as best as I could.

Now mind you I brought Oz clean clothes in my diaper bag, I didn't bring me any. So I got to sit in the pharmacy for 45 minutes covered in smelly, green, baby shit. That was so much fun and thankfully, no one said a word to me about being covered in crap.

I never thought such a small little ass could produce so much shit in one sitting. Oh and I must ask the tech next time what is the special technique that they do in order to create the mass Exodus of baby crap within 5 minutes of having a thermometer stuck in their behind.

Ohhhh and on some adorable news - Oz smiled at me and Dad while we were talking to him. This was his first smile that didn't have anything to do with him farting or taking a crap.

Sigh....

Looks like Oz and I will be trekking back to the doctor on Monday (If I call early enough). I wanted to give it a week on the new formula/breast milk mix and see what improvements or lack there of happen.

He's not spitting up as much, but he is sleeping horribly and after about 20 minutes after eating he's arching his back and hollering out in pain. We still keep him upright for that 30-45 minutes after eating but sometimes he wakes himself up writhing around, hollering as well. He burps like a champ, 3 or 4 burps after food. Also the pain events are usually followed by some farting. He hasn't actually pooped since last Thursday and then it was only once that day.

I hope that I get a doc that will give meds a try. I look at it as give him a 30 day supply. Improvements based on meds should show anywhere from 2-14 days. The 30 day supply would take us to his 2 month well baby. If the meds don't show improvement then something else is wrong and we need to come back anyways to have them start looking at other things. So at least give me the 30 day supply to try and see if it helps.

So wish me luck that we get an appointment AND that a doc will be willing to try meds to help out the little man. (And help mommy because she isn't sleeping either and is starting to think she is the Lizard Queen.)

Baby Humor

I'm exhausted, Ed's not really improving all that much after changing what the NP asked me to. I know it's only been 2 days but I'd like my child to not cry out and flail about 30 minutes after eating.

So I thought I'd share some baby humor -

- Number of times I've fallen asleep with the baby in my lap - Countless
- I can finally see my toes and have no more Cankles
- I finally shaved my legs in over a month
- Number of times Oz has managed to pee on the wall - 3
- Number of times Oz has managed to pee on me - 2
- Number of times Oz has projectile vomited on me at 3 am - 2
- Number of times I've checked the car carrier to make sure I didn't forget him where I was - 5
- Number of times I've lost a sock and find that I'm sitting on it - too many
- Number of days until Oz is One Month Old - 1

HA - HA! (Ala Nelson style)

Dear Advice Nurse,

To quote Bender - BITE MY SHINEY METAL ASS!





My son has reflux, the advice nurse told me last Thursday it was just colic, I was a first time mom and implied that I was being a spaz. Sadly it took at one of the largest Army installations 4 days to finally get a doctor's appointment, but the NP confirmed it was reflux.

Our daytime routine is perfect according to her. He sleeps in a bouncey seat or his car seat. We burp often, I mean a ton! Just his night routine needs an adjustment - no more sleeping flat in his crib for now. We need to put him to bed in his car seat as well - it can go into his room but to keep him sleeping upright for about a month or so. Feed a little less at night so he's not overful and more in likely to cause a backflow of his food into his esophogous. We are also to buy a wedge to put in his crib and elevate his side so he sleeps on his side.

Also since I am still struggling with milk production, they said if I have to give formula to use something different than what we currently are using. So we were given Similac the upset tummy kind to use instead.

So I even in my punch drunk state still recognized that my little boy has what I have - reflux. Reflux in babies is something they will grow out of BUT modifications in feedings and sometimes medication is required to keep acid damage at a minmum.

So that Advice Nurse can BITE MY SHINEY METAL ASS!

Just keep...

swimming,
Just keep swimming,
Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming.




I love my son, but I hate his current sleeping patterns.




Holding out for 6.

Reading....

still here, reading a few books and dealing with the little man's gassy tummy. Poor dude, I feel for him. The gas drops are working, but lying flat is causing some serious crying fits. We've elevated one end of his crib to see if that will help this afternoon.

At least he's back to pooping and farting like a normal little boy - woohoo!

ML - White noise is the Fisherprice aquarium thingie with just the bubble noises on. Working through Health sleep habits, Happy Child & am waiting on Happiest Baby on the Block to arrive. Need to look for the miracle blanket still. I'd rather swaddle without his arms being bound, can that count as swaddling?

Dang it!

The boy is suffering from gassey tummy again. Grrrr, I hate seeing him struggle to poop and its making him not want to sleep (okay so partly mom, party gas). During the day I put him on his tummy for supervised sleeping. I visit him every 5 minutes to make sure he's okay - thank heavens for a pack n play that way during the day he's not more than a foot from me.

Hopefully tonight he will sleep his normal 1030 pm to 2 am, but it will be interesting because he will be on his back. He's not old enough to do tummy sleeping where I can't look at him every 5 minutues.

Any suggestions besides the gas drops? He's getting 90% mommy milk, with 1 bottle or 2 a day of formula while my production starts to catch up to his eating habits.

I just feel so bad watching him make those faces while trying to poop. The gas is normal, even the stinky stuff. But the painful faces, arching his back and now the sleeping best on his tummy has me a bit flustered. I want him to be a happy baby not a cranky I hate to poop cuz it hurts me baby.

Double Edged Sword

Having family in town is a bit of a double edged sword. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that my parents get to see and hang with their first grandchild. They definately are a blessing by helping with feedings, changes and giving me a chance to catch up on sleep. I can't thank them enough for doing all of that and sharing in our joy.

I am though a little irked that while I got that extra sleep they never put Oz down. The last couple of weeks we've been working with him so he would sleep in his pack n play or his crib. Now the little man wakes up every 40 minutes or so and wants to be held and to sleep on your chest. I am a little frustrated with my parents for undoing something so simple as being able to put a sleeping baby in his crib.

I know, I know it can be fixed and I have asked that they please put him down while sleeping, but to feel free to hold him during feedings, play with him during wake time and of course gurgle cute sayings during changes. It just kills me because just as he was allowing me to sleep a 4 hour stretch from 10 pm to 2 am - I'm now back to not sleeping at night more than say 2 hours in a row.

ETA - Before I get more hate mail, I don't put my son in his crib the instant he's asleep. I also don't employ the tricks like taking him for a car ride in order to get him asleep just so I can "get rid" of him either. I didn't even know Ferber was a real person until MammaLuxe pointed it out in another post. I thought Ferber was a joke from the movie Meet the Fockers. So no we aren't trying to Feberize him. But, after 10, 15, 20 minutes of snuggles and cuddles while sleeping we would like him to spend the rest of his nap time in his crib, barring changes or extra burps. Even then we still rock and cuddle him a bit after changing or helping him to burp that extra burp.

So please no hate mail on how I refuse to touch my son & that I am denying my parents the right to hold and snuggle Oz. I'm still just so darned happy to have my parents here, who want to lend a hand and felt like a jerk even having to say to them "can you let him sleep a little bit in his crib."

Two weeks

Oz had his two week check up. I'm sorry I've become a mommy blogger only. I should writing about mil life too here but its more fun at the moment to talk about the little man.

I was still on driving restriction so my Dad drove me and Oz to post to the appt. He is back up to his birth weight (I would have liked more than that but he is eating like a piggy) of 8lbs 3oz. When he left the hospital he was at 7lbs 14oz. So he is gaining which is good. Today we upped his feedings to 3.5 oz - he's going through a growth spurt so says his doctor. He grew though almost 2 frickin' inches! Yes the boy is now 21 3/4 inches! He's going to be long and skinny like his daddy. His head grew a cm or so too.

I had my list of things to ask the doc and they were all good. His red butt is not diaper rash or a yeast infection but just that his bum is sensitive. So we A&D him to death. They don't think he has reflux but I do need to burp him in mulitple positions until we find one that basically makes him burp each time. His scalely feet are normal, lotion if we want otherwise don't worry about it. His little hips and giant belly are normal and he's not malnutritioned.

Oh and the best part is that I learned how to use the aspirator bulb correctly. Funny the boy didn't care how often I stuck that up his nose until I learned I wasn't doing it right. When I did do it correctly, I pulled out some serious mocos from that boy's nose! He slept better after that, but he did scream bloody murder and batted at the aspirator. So that thing is no longer fun for him - Poor guy.

I need to upload more photos, he's got some great ones where he literally looks like he's a drunkard who has passed out. Cute little buggar he is!

The Boy

Hanging with Pappa



Fully tummy brings a smile



Bouncey seats are miracle workers!

If I were a carpenter.....

While sitting with the boy, the dog and the spouse we watched the dog freak out. Of course we telling her to hush and stop barking...okay its more like "shut up please!" Two seconds later, a loud crash and thud takes place. We open the blinds we keep closed to keep the shine off of the TV to see the following:

This apparently is what happens when carpenter ants take residence in your tree. We have a second tree closer to the house that has the same problem but umm is still standing. A tree removal guy is coming on Monday to take care of both. Of course it can't be cheap, but with Oz's room so close to the grouping of trees the second sickly tree is coming out pronto!

Anyone remember

Beavis & Butthead?

What character does this remind you of?



This is his fav sleeping position next to his tummy. I wish we could let him sleep on his tummy beause he likes it so much, but unless its on me or right next to me it's back-city for him.

Мой красивейший сынок!

So she just doesn't swear like a sailor

During a quiet moment I did trot over to the blog one of the Anon's mentioned. I've read her before, but had no idea she was pregnant. Although I swear a lot more than she does she's had similar issues:

We are starting to have a little bitty routine. I usually have to wake him up every 2-3 hours to nurse. We nurse, do a diaper change, nurse a little more, then back to sleep. Exciting, huh! The first two days home, we couldn't get him to fall asleep on his back at all. Jon actually had to sleep on the floor the first night with Tanner on his chest! It's hard not being able to ever put your baby down! Last night, after beginning the night on the couch with Tanner sleeping on MY chest, I was trying all I could think of to get him to go down in his crib or his pack and play without screaming. (I even tried a pacifier, which is a no-no in those early breastfeeding days! -- Thankfully, he wasn't at all interested.) Finally, I figured out that if you swaddled him with his arms out, after his diaper change, before going back to nursing, he will fall asleep peacefully and allow me to put him in his crib. Thank the LORD!!! Hopefully, this continues to work. Otherwise, it's back to the drawing board!

She just didn't chose to write out her frustrations, she wrote after the fact in a calmer manner than I. BUT read people our issues were still the same - setting up a routine and figuring out how to get him to have a little independance without banishing him to the back of the orphanage. (I'm just not going to let that one go am I)

Имейте большой день!

Future Frat Boy

Poor Oz. After two days, two great days where he slept either in a pack n play or his crib (last night) he is having a crapper day today. We even went for a walk with the doggie last evening (I can only walk about 6 houses but its better than nothing right now).

I feel sooooooo bad for him. He's having a gassy tummy today. His poopies and farts smell worse than a frat boy's after a night of drinking and Taco Bell. Its obvious he's not happy while passing this stuff, he makes the sadest faces. I wish I could pass the gas for him but I can't.

We are working on feeding him in more of a sitting up position. Also making sure I stay away from too much dairy, garlic and spicey foods. The only one I remember eating the last two days was some asago cheese. It may have given him the upset tummy. We are burping him as much as possible and even stopping mid feeding to burp and go back to feeding.

I've checked in with two friends that are lactation consultants to see what else I could do to help out Oz and his tummy. Hopefully this will pass by the end of the weekend. If it doesn't then I will need to call the doc and have them check for Reflux or see if I am allowed to give him those gas drops yet (The medical staff told me not to give any OTC meds to Oz before his first check up). I understand why too, they don't want the meds to mask any serious medical issues.

So my poor little man has had very little sleep and must be totally exhausted. This is definately a day where if I sleep on the couch so he's comfy then my swollen feeties be damned. I just want the little man to feel better.

Доброй ночи!

Dear Anonymous...

First of all have some balls and leave your name. Nice of you to judge under the veil of anonymity; but, hey chicken shits come in all forms don’t they.

"I'm so sad for your baby. Imagine just coming into this world, it's got to be a confusing/scary thing. And then left to cry for 20 minutes until you finally realize that no comfort is coming and you just give up. I think a lot of your problems reveal themselves in your attitude. You've just received the greatest blessing you will ever get in your life and yet you "joke" about wanting to hire a total stranger to raise your child. Yeah, you need a major attitude adjustment."

Second of all, we didn’t leave him in the sense of totally walking away, he was within 5 feet of us, we stroked his arms, his head, talked to him etc – but we did NOT allow him to fall asleep on us. And yes I joked about a nanny; I have a sense of humor something you apparently don’t.

Third, my attitude was one that had 3 hours of sleep in 4 days after having major surgery. You have your belly cut open, no sleep, swollen feet that you can’t walk on, refuse to take the pain killers they gave you because they don’t go with breastfeeding and you don’t want to poison your child and tell me exactly how peachy you’d feel.

Since I don’t know you and obviously you have no fucking clue who I am, I vent when I write. All the negative I feel I write out so I can take care of business. In fact journaling is considered a very healthy way to deal and work with the stressors of life. You might want to read my about me section and learn a little more about me before judging off of one post.

I've had children. We're retired Army and sometimes I was alone w/kids in a foreign country at a new duty station so I know overwhelmed. Our daughter and her husband are army and she just had a baby on 7/30/07. I cannot imagine that she would let her newborn cry for 20 minutes. Just reading your post made me think of the orphanages in Russia where babies are left to cry until eventually they don't bother anymore and just get that vacant look. You're supposed to be the adult. Whatever pain you're going thru you will have to suck up,be a mom, and nurture your child. You've been given an incredible opportunity to mold a future adult - what a blessing! You have a real cutie! I came to read your blog thru the link at Itsy Bitsy Me. Check out the blog Keeping the Faith. She just had a baby, too. The difference between her attitude and your attitude is light years apart. I think it's a matter of perspective. Best Wishes.

Again another person who judges under anonymity, very nice and how Christian of you too. Yes that’s it, I am no better than a Russian orphanage. Lord give me a break people, I was tired, cranky, in pain, had my guts cut open, won’t take anything but Tylenol so I don’t poison my breast milk, but I don’t give two shits about my child. Okay whatever. Like I said it’s real easy to judge someone while hiding behind the title of anonymous.

I’m not worried though, my boy is just fine. We needed to start a rhythm & we have – we just had to figure it out. No book can teach you how to be the perfect parents you two claim to be and some how I doubt you were as Jesus like as you claim. And no one is perfect over night either, but thanks for not allowing me even one night of feeling overwhelmed, not to mention the craziness that ensues with the changing hormones of not being pregnant anymore.

As I type, my son is lying pressed up against my thigh, content, sleeping and practicing his smiles in his sleep. In the past 4 days since the night you seem so fond to judge me on, he has continued to up his food requirements eating more and more and fallen more into a regular sleep/feed/wake/sleep pattern. A child who wasn't thriving and is losing the will to live wouldn't be eating more he'd be that vacant, listless vessel you speak of in Russian orphanages.

Oz isn't listless in fact he’s particularly found of the Very Hungry Caterpillar, has ticklish feet, hates his arms to be covered up, manages to kick his socks off every chance he gets and like Mozart over Chopin.

But hey, my attitude sucks and I am no better than a Russian orphanage. Please take your judgement and stuff it. I am allowed to have a bad day and write about it. Its pretty sad too that I have to defend myself over one night, over one bad day. But apparently in your Jesus like states you never had any of those either.

Too lazy...

He's here! Little Oz is here! Just a few days earlier than his due date is all.

I'm too lazy to create a footer. Read below to see what's new.

A little rough

Life this past week (Happy Birthday Oz) has been pure hell. Part of it apparently was my mistake and part of it is learning how to be a parent. I made the mistake of allowing Oz to sleep on me. This made for me sleeping sitting up on the couch, feet on the floor, baby on the stomach - for the 4 hours he would sleep at night. My feet are still swollen from the surgery because I never put them up.

Finally I had a mental breakdown.....Hubby had left at 10 am to get the paperwork for the birth certificate, enroll Oz in DEERS, enroll him in Tricare, get a hair cut and pick up some stuff from the market. Oz had fallen asleep in his bouncer so we left him there.

At 1230 I fed him, changed him, talked and played with him until 1315. I then rocked him, turned the TV down, dimmed the room and put him in his pack n play.About 5 minutes later he started to cry. I let him cry for 15 min and then talked to him, stroked his belly and arms and gave him a binky. About 10 minutes later he started wailing again. I let him go 15 minutes and then attempted to burp him again, rocked him a little and put him down. Again a few minutes later he started wailing again. I went into the living room and walking in a big circle just trying to think about something else while he cried. This went on until 1500 when it was time to feed him again. I warmed up his bottle, called my friend and fed him and talked to her so I could make sure I was calm while feeding him. This is how its been the whole time he's been home...including all night.

Ugh so after I handed off the baby to Hubby and told him I needed a break and went and deadheaded the flowers we decied to just let him cry. He could see us, and we touched and patted him, talked to him too but didn't pick him up every five minutes. After about 20 minutes he cried himself to sleep. And he slept until his next feeding. He was also more awake, alert and a stronger sucker on the bottle.Then we put him down again same way for this last feeding we just finished. He wasn't quite as strong sucking and we had to burp him several times but hopefully we can put him down and have him sleep like earlier.

We are actually keeping a schedule now, a loose one but still a schedule to help him sleep, eat, play etc. This makes sure he eats enough times during the day and leaves the door open to help him learn to sleep through the night.

This stuff is killing me though. I don't want him sleeping with us either. I know some folks dig co-sleeping but we don't even want to go there. Tonight is our last night of someone sleeping on the couch and him finally now sleeping in the pack n play.

Please tell me this will work - Or I am selling my organs on the black market to hire a nanny.