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!
Owen on his 3 week birthday
4 comments:
Owen is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! He is such a cute baby. Definitely just keep holding him during those crying fits and at sleepytime. Before you know it he'll be grown up and never wanting to cuddle with you!
Just curious if you have tried swaddling him when you put him down at night - we used the miracle blanket after several recommendations and it worked wonders.. while Chase screamed getting into it he would quickly calm down and fall asleep.. just a thought!
Beer works well for me ..... oh wait.
I don't think that you have anything to worry about with his sleep. We had Will in our bed with us for about 3 months (basically until he was able to sleep for most of the night) and he transitioned very well to the crib. He has had a couple of nights where we've had to have him cry it out a little on the initial attempt, but most nights we rock him to sleep and he goes right down. He also wakes up extremely happy every morning. I've become very much a fan of the "what would cavemen do" philosophy. If holding him works to get him to sleep... then hold him.
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