Owen At 3 Weeks Old

We've heard things from people saying that the first few weeks are the hardest. We're not sure if they mean the first 3 or the first 52, but I can tell you that the first 3 are something else. Owen is different almost every day. One day we'll think he's becoming more pleasant only to be faced with a 2 1/2 hour nonstop crying spell the next day.

Owen on his 3 week birthday

Overall, though, looking back at the first 3 weeks, it is easy to see signs of him maturing. For example:

• His cord finally fell out! It took three weeks, but it is gone.
• We had to move him to Size 1 diapers because he had grown out of the Newborn size. I was wondering when we'd know to switch him. Now I realize that it's pretty obvious. When you have to struggle to get the tabs at the back to meet the tabs at the front, time to switch.
• He focuses really well on our faces. A couple weeks ago, he would sort of look at us, but it was a dazed stare. Now when he is in his swing he can follow us as we move around the room.
• He has better control over his hands and arms. It's not perfect. They still flail around most of the time, but he is doing much better with not scratching his face even with his razor blade finger nails.

The one area where we may have made a mistake from the beginning is in not getting him used to sleeping on his own either in his playpen or crib. Most of the time he falls asleep on one of our chests, which works really well when trying to get him to sleep, but it also means that if we try to get him to sleep on his own, he screams bloody murder. I know they say you can't spoil a newborn, so maybe this does not fall into the realm of "spoiling" him, but he does learn patterns quickly and this is a pattern that we're having trouble breaking. If anyone out there has run into the same thing and has some advice (i.e. let him keep sleeping on his chest for now and he'll tell you when he doesn't want to anymore, put him in his crib and let him cry a bit, etc.) we'll take it.

Now it's off to the pediatrician for Owen's circumcision. Pretty sure that guarantees a couple rough days. But, hey, better to do it now over when he's 16 years old, right?

P.S. A couple new photos have been posted to our Picasa Web Album. Enjoy!

12 Days In. Still Surviving. Barely.

As this entry is posted, Owen has just turned 12 days old. I've said it a million times already, but I will say it again. He is an awesome kid. However, at the same time, wow, he is a challenge. Everyone warns you going into parenthood that the first few weeks are rough, but I don't think anyone understands how rough those first weeks are until you are thrown into the middle of them.

Bridget and I are relatively laid back people. I like to think that we lived a pretty low stress lifestyle. Well, throw that out the window. This kid has our stress levels at a maximum and from what I can tell he's not even a challenging kid! He's is easily consoled simply by holding him, changing him, or feeding him, and he sleeps most of the day. Still, we don't get more than a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time and we know that will not change anytime soon. Combine the lack of sleep with a baby who can only tell you what he wants through crying and fussing and you have an ultimate recipe for stress.

One victory that we do like to claim is the battle for the correct choice of formula. We've been supplementing Owen's meals with formula since just a couple days after his birth. At first we gave him normal formula. We were using standard Enfamil Lipil and he seemed to be doing OK. However, when he started to take more at each feeding, all of a sudden our sleepy, content baby was fussy almost every minute he was awake. After about 48 hours of this, we thought it might be because of the formula. One thing pointing us in that direction is that I was lactose intolerant as an infant myself. In those days, it took 6 months of my parents being unbelievably patient with me and working with doctors to find out why I was never content. But in 2009, all I had to do was look at our pantry and find a sample of Enfamil Gentlease Lipil, specially designed for babies with fussiness and gas. We switched him to that and within 12 hours we were back to a content kid. Chalk one up for the new parents!

So, yes, life is one big ball of stress right now. But, we're making it and we both know that at some point soon that little guy is going to look up at us and give us a genuine smile and make all of the first few weeks of stress melt away in an instant. In the meantime, we're getting better at this parenting thing. Hey, even as I write this, Bridget has managed to put him down in his bassinet for over a half an hour to nap! Another small victory! We'll take whatever we can get...

Owen Thomas Labutta

Owen Thomas Labutta. Born on April 1, 2009 at 1:28PM ET. 8 lb. 14. oz. 21 1/2 in.

This tiny little guy has completely captured the hearts and the attention of Bridget and I. Sure, we haven't slept much since he was born. We knew we wouldn't. But every time I'm awake at 4:00AM changing a dirty diaper, I look at his little face, with his little eyes, perfect little nose, and those pouty little lips, and just smile. Why would I want to be asleep and miss these moments? It's hard to believe that he's already 5 days old. He's amazing.

Of course, the lack of sleep and attention to Owen has prevented me from updating this blog and posting videos of Owen as I had hoped to do. I have, however, posted a bunch of photos of Owen in my Picasa web album, which you can view here. I hope, as we become better at this parenting thing, that I'll be able to put together a couple videos and show our little man in motion.

Bridget and I would like to thank everyone for all of their notes and flowers and gifts over the past week and really throughout her pregnancy. It was great to know that there were so many people out there supporting and celebrating Owen's birth with us!