Our little wild thing is now four weeks old and growing every day! He is gaining weight quickly and doing well! I thought I'd use this post to share some happenings since his birth that I've kept quiet and just updates on life with this sweet little guy.
As most of you may know, when Maddox was born he had some breathing complications and had to be observed for an additional amount of time before he could come be in our room. This was a major concern for us when we first brought him home, but our fears were eased when we later visited the doctor and he confirmed that it sounded like all of the fluid was out of his lungs and his breathing appeared normal.
Another thing that we learned is that I have hyperlactation/strong letdown/oversupply of breastmilk. Because of this, Maddox would fuss during most of our nursing sessions and would often choke while nursing because the milk would come out so fast. The only option to help cure this? Pump before nursing. I debated and felt that although I could potentially do this, it would create a lot more work and difficulty. Have you heard a baby crying at 2am because he's hungry and doesn't want to wait another second before eating? Exactly. Pumping before nursing just didn't make sense to me. Because of this, I've taken to pumping my milk and feeding it to him via bottle. It has worked WONDERS for us and I am so happy that he can continue to reap the benefits of drinking breastmilk!
On the afternoon of Halloween, we received some concerning news from our doctor that we needed to repeat our newborn screening as Maddox tested in the borderline range for both Cystic Fibrosis and Hypothyroidism. We were alarmed, scared, confused, anxious, and very, very sad about the possibility that our sweet little man could have either of these disorders. It made for a very depressing Halloween!! We took him that afternoon to have his screening re-done. When we went to our pediatrician the following week for his two-week checkup, he confirmed what we had hoped and prayed for the entire week prior--clear test results and a healthy baby boy!
Maddox developed a diaper rash around the 2.5-3 week old mark. I couldn't figure out why he was crying during every diaper change until Andy pointed out the rash. It ended up getting worse and worse and is now quite blistered! We went to the doctor for this one, too. You might recall me asking for help for this on Facebook prior to our doctor appointment. We tried Boudreaux's, Vaseline, A&D, powder, and Desitin. The doctor recommended Mylanta/Maalox and Desitin mixed together. I mixed this up and threw in some anti fungal cream and some neosporin for good measure. It's healing slooooowwwwwly. :)
Feeding is going well! Around 2 weeks old Maddox spoiled us and slept around 5 hours one night (it was the night of the time change). Ever since then I've been hopeful....without result. He typically goes 3 hours between feedings. When I started pumping and feeding, this became a little difficult and time consuming at night, because I let Andy sleep at night (he's still working and I'm not--I felt it only fair!) and I got up to feed Maddox, change him, and pump. It took over an hour each time he woke up. This weekend I finally purchased a hands-free pumping bra and it has changed feeding time! I am able to pump while feeding Maddox in the middle of the night and then change his diaper and back to bed! It takes around 20 minutes, which is incredible as compared to the time I spent before we developed our routine!
Maddox has also stopped wanting to be swaddled. Sometime last week he started fussing when I would try to swaddle him in his swaddle sack. I had previously read somewhere that crying/fussing during swaddling was a sign that babies no longer want to be swaddled. I put him in a sleep sack instead, which allows his arms to be free and his legs are still sort of contained in a sack. Although he does move around more and it takes him a little longer to get to sleep, he isn't fussing any longer. I'm open to ideas on how to get him down at night more quickly. He tends to be restless at night when I first put him down and I have to hold in his pacifier for a long time before he goes to sleep. Once he gets to sleep, he sleeps like a champ for 2-3 hours, but the getting him there isn't ideal. Ideas??
I cannot believe that in three short days my little man will be one month old. I keep looking back to the day I met him and first kissed his sweet little face with such joy. I have truly enjoyed the past four weeks with him and cannot wait to watch him grow into a fun little monster!
PS, it's true. Already Maddox loves pooping and farting as loud as possible. It's a boy thing. :)
