kim through
   the looking glass

Well, it’s 3:56PM and my first day alone with two children is coming to a close. I’m considering it a success because both of my kids are still alive

A great friend came over for most of the day to help me out and it was a lifesaver! She came over in the morning and kept Gwen occupied while I attempted to take a nap with Gil … who woke up as soon as we laid down. She’s coming back shortly to bake cookies with me and distract me from the fact that I did NOT get an afternoon nap - Gil woke up at noon when we came in from a walk and was still awake at 2PM when Gwen needed a nap desperately, so I put her down and decided that it wasn’t worth laying down once Gil (finally) fell asleep (at 3:15PM) since the liklihood of him staying asleep AND Gwen staying asleep for an appreciable amount of time was slim-to-none. (Of course, it’s 4PM and she’s still sleeping. I should have gone down!)

I will admit that things got a bit difficult while trying to get Gwen down for her nap with a screaming newborn. I was maybe a bit harsh trying to get her to lay down and stay still. I may have emphatically told Gil that he sucked when I tried to lay down to sleep and he woke up … for the third time.

But overall? I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and Brad will be home in a few hours.

I can do this.

Gil is just over two weeks old. Although in some ways it feels like he’s fit right into our little family like he was never missing, in other ways, he is still very new, as are our experiences with him.

Gil has an almost constant need to nurse. Forget every 2 hours. Forget every hour. When this boy is awake, he is stuck like glue to my breast. When he sleeps, he sleeps hard - 1 or 2 hours at a time, minimum.

Gwen seems to be taking this in stride - most of the time, anyways. She seems to realize that “baby” needs mommy and needs to nurse. In fact, two days ago, Gwen was in my room with Gil and I while I was dressing for the day. Gil was propped up on a pillow on the bed looking around and Gwen was watching him. “Mommy. Baby.” She said. In Gwen speak, this means, ‘Mommy, I want you to hold Gil.’ I told her that just as soon as I was ready, I’d pick him up. “Mommy. Baby. Sling.” She said, again. I think I’ve got a novice babywearer on my hands! Read the rest of this entry »

… is about to get a whole lot more difficult!

The past two weeks, I’ve had some combination of Brad and my mom here with me. An extra set of hands to wrangle Gwen into her coat. A pair of hands to get a snack ready. Hands to hold Gil while Gwen and I enjoy our special time together snuggling down for her nap.

Sadly, I will be all alone tomorrow.

And I’m more than a little scared.

Gil is a very frequent nurser. As in, when he’s awake, he’s generally attached to the breast. The. Whole. Time. He’s hard to wear for extended periods because I’m frequently switching him from breast to breast. He’s very rarely awake and settled, happy to be carried around - his need to suck is great, and I’m happy to meet it. Unfortunately, that makes it hard to attend to Gwen’s needs as well!

I know I’ll survive - goodness knows other mothers have been met with more difficult challenges (ie. twins/triplets, two closer in age that mine, developmental disabilities, etc.) and survived - even thrived! Think of me while I find my way to mother another, would you please?

To see this article on frequent nursing on kellymom. Gwen ate every 45 minutes. This guy basically never unlatches

Wow, that title seems odd.

While I’ve been witness to a few of Gil’s pees and have been able to make the cue sound (’pssssssss’), I’ve never purposefully caught one.

Until just now.

I’ve read everywhere about how you’re most likely to catch a pee just after a nap, since babies tend not to want to soil their sleeping area.

Makes sense to me - what other animals encourage their young to do so?

So as Gil was waking from his long afternoon nap (12-2:45PM today!), I removed his (dry!) diaper to nurse him and observe his cues. He nursed a long while on the first side with no sign of a pee and then pulled off, arched his back and straightened his legs. I held him in the basic under-thigh hold over our potty insert.

And he peed!

I made the cueing sound as he peed and aimed the stream a bit and he finished. I offered again after the second time, thinking he might have to poop, but he didn’t.

Yay for our first Natural Infant Hygiene success!

***UPDATE***

Just after I hit ‘post’, Gil came off the second side doing some fussing and leg stretching. So I figured, ‘what the heck!’ and took him over to the potty. Took off the (still dry!) diaper and held him over it in position - immediate pee! I was so taken aback I didn’t manage to cue him until pretty well after he finished. He was still a bit squirmy, so I said, “Do you need to poop?” and made a grunting sound, being sure to flex my abs. And my little man pooped! Wow. I can’t believe this crazy stuff works

.. comes once again from the Peaceful Parenting blog. This article, Parenting in Peace has given me some things to think about and some things to strive toward. Go read it!

Happy one week, little man! Today you weighed 7lbs even - a full 4 oz over your birth weight! You seem to be gaining about 6 oz every two days … which translates to a LOT of time nursing you. I don’t mind much, although your big sister is a little jealous.

Here are some random facts I’ve learned about you in the last week:

• You hate having your diaper changed just slightly more than you hate being unlatched from my breast
• You are a switch nurser - at each feed, I switch you from side to side multiple times … someday I hope you go down to only one or two breasts per feed!
• When you sneeze, you whack yourself in the head … it’s quite cute!
• You definitely recognize both your daddy’s and Gwen’s voices

Here follows the birth story of our son, Gil. If you don’t enjoy reading the more graphic details of birth, I’d suggest not reading it

Read the rest of this entry »

I thought I should check-in with everyone and give an update

Gil is nursing very well … in fact, he nurses all. day. long. And it’s not just comfort nursing, either. The little guy switches back and forth stimulating letdown after letdown. He burps occasionally and spits up every once in a while, but even when he does, it’s only a mouthful.

Gil weighed 6 lbs 4 oz on Monday morning and my midwife came bac to do the PKU test - aka the torturous heel-prick test - on Tuesday afternoon. She agreed to weigh him even though she didn’t think that over a day we’d see much measurable gain - he was 6 lbs 10 oz! Two ounces shy of his birth weight by day 4!

Gil was a bit slow in getting his gut started. He had great easy meconium poops, but after that, the frequency petered out big time! My midwife was a bit concerned about jaundice - he was a teeny bit yellow and not clearing his bowels - so set a goal for two poops by noon yesterday. If we didn’t get our poops, we were to take him in for a bilirubin level. He gave us three by 9AM - stinker!

As for me, I feel great! A little tired, but compared to last time, I feel like million dollars! I am completely healed up, there is no soreness anywhere, and I feel like being a mother is a tonne easier this time. So much more relaxed!!!

More pictures and a birth story to come very soon. I’d like to check some of my details against the birth notes when my midwife comes on Friday.

Please join us in welcoming the newest member of our family - a son!

William (Gil) Farrell Schellingerhoudt was born at home 3:23PM on February 19, 2010. He was 6 lbs 12oz and 20 inches long.

I had a FAST labour - I thought I was in labour in the morning, but it had quite the pause … in the end, my active labour lasted only 2.5 hours and I only pushed a few times!

We’re doing well - getting to know one another and getting breastfeeding well established. I’ll check in with you all soon with a birth story