Huggies, Pampers, and Luvs.. Oh My!!!

Our little Andrew is two weeks old now. I've already gone against some of the things I said I would "never" do when I had a baby. It's definitely been a trying week, but having Bill's help at home has been amazing.

When Drew was 10 days old, his umbilical stump finally fell off. I found it in his blanket (which was really gross) and I had a little freak out moment. Of course, Bill emailed the pediatrician right away because we worry about everything and wanted to make sure there wasn't anything special we needed to do. Dr. Fisher assured us that it was perfectly normal and that Drew could now have a regular submersion bath instead of sponge baths.

This week's challenges:

Challenge #1: Nocturnal Baby: Drew has decided that he is a night owl. He sleeps great during the day when we have our visitors (which makes everyone think he is the PERFECT baby) and then he is up ALL night. Bill and I have tried everything. We've tried swaddling him. He hates it. This child has had his hands and arms up by his face since he was in the womb. I have the ultrasound pictures to prove it. Try swaddling his arms by his sides. The child becomes Houdini and it is his mission to get his arms out of that swaddle as fast as possible (and as loudly as possible- screaming bloody murder the entire time!). So the swaddle is out.

Next we tried letting him sleep on us for a little bit, which he loves, then putting him in his bassinet. He hates the bassinet. 15 minutes after putting him down in the bassinet, he is awake with hiccups and sobbing.

We then tried the rocker/bouncer. He loves it. He just won't sleep in it. It vibrates, plays all kinds of sounds, and rocks. Maybe he is too overstimulated, but he loves looking at all the patterns.

The only thing that works at the moment is letting him sleep on us. He likes the closeness and warmth. I'm sure it reminds him of the womb. At this moment, I'm ok with it. As long as he decides to sleep somewhere else by the time my maternity leave is over!

Challenge #2: Diaper Dilemma: I received all kinds of diapers at my baby shower, which has been great because we could decide which ones we liked best. In the hospital, they gave us Pampers, but they were size 1 and we had to fold them over for his umbilical cord. Overall, we liked them. Then we tried Huggies. We loved them, because the newborn size had the wetness indicator. This made our lives so much easier because with every other diaper we were like scientists, trying to decide if it was wet or not! After running out of all the other brands, I went out and bought a huge box of the Huggies that we liked. Drew has decided to have some fun with us and has peed through almost every single Huggies we have put on him. No kidding- in one day we changed his onesie about 6 times because the silly boy had wet through each diaper. I have declared a strike on Huggies. We are going back to Pampers asap!

Challenge #3: Bathtime: There is NO way this is a one person job!!! Even in our awesome baby tub, Drew is a slippery, sobbing mess and there is no way that I could do this by myself. Bill and I have decided to tag team bath time. He is the "holder" and I am the "scrubber". Poor Drew. We'll get the hang of it eventually!!!

Challenge #4: To Pacify? Let Him Cry It Out??? : Before Andrew was born and his entire first week I was completely against using a pacifier. He loves to suck though, and slowly this week we've started introducing the paci. I don't want him to become dependent on it, but it has been a lifesaver during those times when he is screaming and trying to eat his hands (especially right after he's had an hour long feeding, and I know he can't possibly still be hungry!). We've decided to use the paci's that we registered for, which just so happen to be the ones the hospital gave us. They are the "Soothies" brand, and I highly recommend them.

I also said that I would never ever just let my baby cry without soothing him myself. Well, that's kind of gone out the window too. For the first week, any time Andrew even made a peep that seemed like he was on the verge of crying, I would pick him up and soothe him. I've realized I just can't do that all the time because then I'm holding him 24/7 and I literally get nothing done. Brushing my teeth and showering were luxuries that first week! Now, we're learning his cries and we've been letting him do his little "weak" cries on his own. Once it progresses into his "Pick me up now or my head is going to explode" cries, then we pick him up. It doesn't make me a bad parent if I don't have my child tethered to me 24/7.

This week's celebrations: 

Amidst all of the struggles this week, Bill and I are realizing that we are coming a long way as parents. Feeding is going a lot better and we're learning not to worry so much about the "little" things. Obviously, the mother has a natural bond with her baby because she carried him for 9 months. Bill has been going above and beyond to bond with his son, which I think is so precious. I love seeing him with Andrew. He is such a great dad already.

We've had lots of visitors this week. Drew has done such a good job being handed from person to person. Everyone is smitten with him, and how could you not be?

Aunt Gina, Kurtis, and Uncle Kurt

My mom and dad (Sito & Grandpa)

My grandparents on mom's side (Great Grandpapa &Great Sito)

Our first "outing" to visit Sito & Grandpa at their house in Lake Orion

Auntie Dez came to visit (and made us an awesome spaghetti dinner!)

Auntie Kim and Uncle Steve came to visit (Mandy's best friends)

Meeting Uncle Tony (Bill's brother) for the first time at our second "outing" to visit Bill's parents in Novi

Focused on Grandma at our visit with Bill's parents

We really have so much to be thankful for! We have a healthy, beautiful baby who all in all, is well behaved. We have a wonderful support system of family and friends that love us. We're becoming better at this "parenting thing" with every passing day. :)