Scarlett is 7 Weeks Old / King-Size Upgrade / Paternity Leave Ending
Today, May 7th, Scarlett is seven weeks old. At her one-month checkup, she weighed nine pounds and four ounces, which is up from her birth-weight of six pounds eleven ounces. She also grew to twenty-two inches from her birth length of twenty inches which our pediatrician said indicates she'll be a tall girl. She went in for another weigh-in recently and was up over eleven pounds already, so the girl is really putting on weight and thriving. During April, she had a condition called, "seborrheic dermatitis," which caused pimple-like bumps all over her face, neck, and head. Thankfully, it wasn't itchy and cleared up in a couple weeks and her skin looks smooth once again. Lately, she's been really gassy at night and we're trying to figure out why. One of the things Nicole is trying is to cut out dairy entirely. It's gonna be rough for a while but we need to give this little girl some relief somehow.
Otherwise, she's a typical two-month-old: Fussy all the time, likes to spit out pacifiers then scream to get it back into her mouth, and doesn't want to be alone ever. But there's lots of good things, too: She's begun smiling at us, her little cooing noises are adorable, and she's fairly easy. What I mean by that is that for all the fussing she does, there's usually a fast solution. Either feeding her (For the second time in two hours) or giving her a change of scenery, there's usually something we can do and it works. The hardest part, however, is the overnight hours. She never sleeps more than two hours at once without waking up to fuss and either demand milk or complain about being gassy. It's been rough but we're coping by changing things up and rolling with the punches.
For example, during the first few weeks after the birth, Nicole and I would take shifts performing "baby duty" during the overnight hours. I'd have her for three hours, then Nicole would, and we'd repeat while the other slept. That worked for a few weeks but it wasn't sustainable. We then shifted to having her in a bassinet overnight which Scarlett didn't like so we tried swaddling her which made things worse. She really hates being alone in an enclosed space and while swaddling seems to work for all other babies, Scarlett screams like we're torturing her. It doesn't matter who does it from her parents to doctors, this baby doesn't do swaddling. So we've been jumping from solution to solution which brings us to the concept of co-sleeping: Instead of using a bassinet, we bring the baby into bed with us. This concept makes overnight nursing faster and Scarlett seems to sleep better when she's with us more so than even if the bassinet is right up against the bed. It seems like it could be a good ultimate solution.
The only problem was that our queen-sized bed was too small for co-sleeping. You need a king-sized bed which also has to be lower to the ground or have guard rails. I've always wanted a king-size bed so for me this was a good deal even though we put a lot of money into the queen bed and it would be a shame to get rid of it on the chance that co-sleeping would work. We found a home for the old bed and found a discounted king-size mattress at a local furniture close-out store, so all the pieces fell into place quickly. We've been sleeping on it on the floor for a week or so now and co-sleeping seems to be working a little better than using the bassinet. Once we solve Scarlett's gassiness issue, we might all be sleeping longer, easier, and simply better.
Everyone who's had kids has been telling us that this gets better and after seven weeks of not getting a single night of uninterrupted sleep since before Scarlett's birth, I hope they're right. The days bleed one into the next and we've grown to forget what day of the week it is since it doesn't matter. The good news is that Nicole and I are united in our appreciation of each other and having these eight weeks off for paternity leave has been such a blessing. Both of us have been able to focus on the baby 100% and although my first chunk of paternity leave is about to end in another week, it's been amazing. Sure, I haven't done anything outside of supporting Scarlett and Nicole, but that's what it's all about. My home office has become a dumping ground for all the projects and unimportant off-beat tasks that have piled up over the last two months. I just don't have the time or any of it and it's just not a priority. Going back to work in a week is going to be weird but I'm still working remote which means I'll still be within ear-shot to help with the baby. We're very lucky that we're both in this position professionally and It's difficult to imagine having any other job situation. We often contemplate what it must be like for other couples who have children and don't get any kind of baby-leave. It must be so tough so we try to be grateful to each other every chance we get. And Scarlett will be worth it. Babies aren't easy and that's okay. We're doing well and we're holding true to each other.
Otherwise, she's a typical two-month-old: Fussy all the time, likes to spit out pacifiers then scream to get it back into her mouth, and doesn't want to be alone ever. But there's lots of good things, too: She's begun smiling at us, her little cooing noises are adorable, and she's fairly easy. What I mean by that is that for all the fussing she does, there's usually a fast solution. Either feeding her (For the second time in two hours) or giving her a change of scenery, there's usually something we can do and it works. The hardest part, however, is the overnight hours. She never sleeps more than two hours at once without waking up to fuss and either demand milk or complain about being gassy. It's been rough but we're coping by changing things up and rolling with the punches.
For example, during the first few weeks after the birth, Nicole and I would take shifts performing "baby duty" during the overnight hours. I'd have her for three hours, then Nicole would, and we'd repeat while the other slept. That worked for a few weeks but it wasn't sustainable. We then shifted to having her in a bassinet overnight which Scarlett didn't like so we tried swaddling her which made things worse. She really hates being alone in an enclosed space and while swaddling seems to work for all other babies, Scarlett screams like we're torturing her. It doesn't matter who does it from her parents to doctors, this baby doesn't do swaddling. So we've been jumping from solution to solution which brings us to the concept of co-sleeping: Instead of using a bassinet, we bring the baby into bed with us. This concept makes overnight nursing faster and Scarlett seems to sleep better when she's with us more so than even if the bassinet is right up against the bed. It seems like it could be a good ultimate solution.
The only problem was that our queen-sized bed was too small for co-sleeping. You need a king-sized bed which also has to be lower to the ground or have guard rails. I've always wanted a king-size bed so for me this was a good deal even though we put a lot of money into the queen bed and it would be a shame to get rid of it on the chance that co-sleeping would work. We found a home for the old bed and found a discounted king-size mattress at a local furniture close-out store, so all the pieces fell into place quickly. We've been sleeping on it on the floor for a week or so now and co-sleeping seems to be working a little better than using the bassinet. Once we solve Scarlett's gassiness issue, we might all be sleeping longer, easier, and simply better.
Everyone who's had kids has been telling us that this gets better and after seven weeks of not getting a single night of uninterrupted sleep since before Scarlett's birth, I hope they're right. The days bleed one into the next and we've grown to forget what day of the week it is since it doesn't matter. The good news is that Nicole and I are united in our appreciation of each other and having these eight weeks off for paternity leave has been such a blessing. Both of us have been able to focus on the baby 100% and although my first chunk of paternity leave is about to end in another week, it's been amazing. Sure, I haven't done anything outside of supporting Scarlett and Nicole, but that's what it's all about. My home office has become a dumping ground for all the projects and unimportant off-beat tasks that have piled up over the last two months. I just don't have the time or any of it and it's just not a priority. Going back to work in a week is going to be weird but I'm still working remote which means I'll still be within ear-shot to help with the baby. We're very lucky that we're both in this position professionally and It's difficult to imagine having any other job situation. We often contemplate what it must be like for other couples who have children and don't get any kind of baby-leave. It must be so tough so we try to be grateful to each other every chance we get. And Scarlett will be worth it. Babies aren't easy and that's okay. We're doing well and we're holding true to each other.